Skip to main content

THESE BODABODA GUYS CALLED ME UGLY. CAN I SUE THEM FOR DEFAMATION ?.

By Editor

#Information_is_Power . #we_inform_the_uninformed .

Babirye is a senior six vacist who lives in Metu Village. Her parents are very rich well known business people in the area. Her parents have however been very strict with her and do not allow her to get outside of the gate because they don’t want her to get ‘spoilt’. 

One day, Nabirye, Babirye’s best friend came to visit her at home. After the visit, Nabirye asked that Babirye escort her to the boda boda stage. Babirye was scared to leave as this would be disobeying her parents, but Nabirye managed to convince her. As they were walking to the boda stage, the boda boda men started making gestures and praising Nabirye for her beauty. One was shouting ehh ‘size yange’ while another ‘ono omwana ankuba’. Babirye tried to silence them and that is when they started insulting her and calling her ugly. One even said that she is so ugly and that is why her parents do not want her to get out of the house because she would just be embarrassing them. Babirye is now sad and upset. Can she sue the boda men for defamation? 

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

According to the constitution of the Republic of Uganda, every person has the right to free speech and to express themselves in whatever way that they want. This means that you are free to give your opinion on whatever issue or matter.

However, the law (Uganda Penal Code Act) provides for the crime of defamation. Defamation refers to statements that are untrue about someone, and those statements are intended to damage that person’s reputation. Defamatory statements can take the form of either spoken (slander) or written (libel) words. Defamatory statements may be untrue, but they can also be partially true or misleading. Additionally, the statement must have been made to a third party, meaning that it was communicated to someone other than the person being defamed. 

In Uganda however the law only provides for defamatory statements that have been written down. Therefore, the boda boda men only speaking and calling Babirye ugly does not amount to defamation. She therefore would not be able to sue them even if the words were defamatory and hurtful to her.

Source: BarefootLaw 

📷: The Cooperator News

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Website for Free From Your PC or Laptop.

By Editor
Why pay for a web hosting service when your old computer can do the same thing? Learn how to self-host your site. If you're planning to launch a website but don't want to pay recurring monthly or annual hosting fees, you can use any old laptop or desktop PC to host a website for free. It's a great way to utilize your old system instead of throwing it away. In this guide, we will install and set up services on our 10-year-old laptop to host a WordPress, Joomla, or custom HTML or PHP-based website with a free SSL certificate. MAKEUSEOF VIDEO OF THE DAY Things You Will Need to Host a Website Following are the pre-requisites to host a website for free from home with just your computer: An old laptop or PC running Ubuntu Server. A registered domain name for your website Ethernet cable to connect the laptop or PC to router for reliable and fast connection Step 1: Update and Upgrade the Packages After  installing Ubuntu Server on your computer , execute the following c...
Post a Comment
Read more

We Bring You Brief Series of Sanctions Against Uganda Government Officials.

By Editor
📸: Gen Abel Kandiho. On 9-December-2021, USA slapped sanctions against the then CMI Commander Gen Abel Kandiho. 📸: Gen Kale Kayihura. On 9-December-2022, UK slapped sanctions against former Police Boss Gen Kale Kayihura. 📸: Commissioner General of Prisons, Johnson Byabashaija. Again on this 4-December-2023, the same USA has slapped sanctions against Uganda Prisons Commander Johnson Byabashaija over alleged torture and human rights abuses in Prisons across Uganda. We ask, has USA and UK made December as an LCM to slap sanctions against high ranking government officials in Uganda even when the sanctions just remain on paper without deeper investigations to ascertain logical conclusions or remedy to that effect ?. #iip_updates  #Information_is_Power  #we_inform_the_uninformed
Post a Comment
Read more

UGANDA ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO ELIMINATE NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARDS (IDs) FOR 2021 GENERAL ELECTIONS.

By Editor
The elimination of using National IDs (Ndagamuntu) for the 2021 elections should not have come as a surprise. One would be very NAIVE to think that Bobi Wine has not prepared for this in his Business Plan under the RISK section. It is public knowledge that our EC is not independent.  It is also public knowledge that Military Dictator Yoweri Museveni will never lose an election. What stunned us this morning is when we noticed that on social media, people were mocking Bobi with his "get your Ndagamuntu".  We are on record for saying to all Our readers that the National ID is like Apartheid in South Africa. Students of History would know how those IDs were being used to arrest people, deny them jobs, deny them basic services. Consequently, Bobi was not wrong and will never be wrong on the Ndagamuntu. Except the ones attacking him and mocking him forget that in Uganda, now, no National ID (Ndagamuntu), no service.  If you have not been denied registering your child i...
Post a Comment
Read more