By Francis Lubega
24th April 2024
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has asked the prosecutors in the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to always use lawful means to obtain evidence.
According to Dr. Abdul Salaam Waiswa, the Head Legal Affairs and Compliance at UCC, anyone including prosecutors can be a victim of cybercrime but it is illegal to intercept conversations without permission even if it’s for evidence in courts of law.
He added that the regulation of interception of Communications Act of 2010, doesn’t allow interception to take forever but just for a limited period of time.
Waiswa sounded the caution at the three day Annual Prosecutors Symposium which started in Kampala on Monday held under the theme “Strengthening Capacity for Prosecution to Counter Organized and Emerging Crimes”.
He also said that some people have installed software on their devices that automatically records every call that comes in, unfortunately, under the Computer Misuse Amendment Act of 2022 that is also illegal.
He appealed to people who have that kind of software on their phones or devices before they record, to first seek for consent.
He said if the investigations are done, and it’s confirmed that you recorded it, you can be prosecuted under the Computer Misuse Act and the sentence is 10 years in prison.
The head of Cyber Crimes Unit in the Office of the DPP Richard Birivumbuka appealed to prosecutors to be cautious while transacting any businesses online, saying that cyber-crimes have been recurrent and anyone can be targeted.
DPP Jane Frances Abodo recently revealed that Uganda is ranked 7th in Africa among the countries with the highest number of cases in organized crime.
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