Uganda declares criminal defamation unconstitutional, strikes down cybercrime law

Kampala, March 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Tuesday’s ruling by the Constitutional Court of Uganda to declare criminal defamation unconstitutional, the latest African court to abolish the crime in recent years.

In a consolidated judgment, in response to three petitions filed by rights groups in 2022, the court also nullified the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, 2022, finding that Parliament passed the law without the mandatory quorum of one-third of all members.