The Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, has sued a local journalist for reporting in the news a detailed report revealing how he (Ssenyonyi) was accused of taking huge bribes while serving as the chairperson of the parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE).
In his article, journalist Dean Lubowa Saava revealed how LoP Ssenyonyi reportedly obtained several bribes during his tenure as the COSASE chairperson.
According to utterances made by journalist Saava on several social media platforms, Joel Ssenyonyi took several bribes worth billions of shillings while serving as Chairperson of COSASE
Saava asserts that Ssenyonyi received lots of bribes to hide reports on several government entities that COSASE investigated and found to have anomalies.
The revelations by Saava have put Ssenyonyi in a tight spot, prompting him to backtrack on his earlier stance, where he stated that someone in his position should be open to criticism and allow people to talk about him freely.
LoP Ssenyonyi has now filed a legal suit demanding UGX200 million and a public apology from journalist Saava for possible blackmail.
This has also sparked mixed reactions from several Ugandans, including members of the opposition NUP, where Joel Ssenyonyi is among the top leaders.
“This is a bogus lawsuit coming from Joel Ssenyonyi, the leader of the opposition. I support you, but criticism is part of public service. Your lawyers are misleading you to silence critics on social media,” Hillary Taylor, aka Justice Hunter, an infamous gay rights activist but also a top leader of NUP’s diaspora chapter, posted on X, quoting Ssenyonyi’s lawsuit against Saava.
“If Museveni were to sue critics, all prisons would be flooding with dissidents! We must be tolerant of criticism and protect freedom of speech online. Even if journalist Dean is telling lies or hearsay, he has a right to be wrong, like many sharing misinformation about the junta.” shared NUP’s Diaspora supporter.
