Type of Legislation and Specific Law or Section Scope of Law Enforcement Uganda (East Africa) (continued) Disinformation: The Computer Misuse Act, 2011 Against falsehoods: Uganda Communications Act, 2013 Section 25 criminalizes the willful and repeated use of electronic communication to disturb or attempt to disturb the peace, quiet, or right to privacy of any person. Section 25 stipulates a fine not exceeding 24 currency points (USD 178) or imprisonment not exceeding twelve months, or both. Section 5 sets out the functions of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), which includes a mandate to license, monitor, regulate, and set standards for communication services in Uganda. Section 31 prohibits a person from broadcasting any program unless it complies with Schedule 4, which sets out the “minimum broadcasting standards.” One of these is that news broadcasts must be “free from distortion of facts.” Section 31 requires that all broadcasters comply with Schedule 4. Violation of Schedule 4 may result in an order to remedy the situation, which may be a proportionate response. However, Section 41 also allows for the UCC to fine an operator up to 10 percent of its gross annual revenue, and suspend or revoke a license. Zambia (southern Africa) Disinformation: The Penal Code Act, Chapter 87 Section 67 of the Penal Code criminalized the publication of false news with the intention to cause fear and alarm amongst the public. This legislative instrument is no longer in force because of constitutional inconsistency. Zimbabwe (southern Africa) Misinformation: Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23) Legislation related to Covid-19: Public Health (Covid-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (No. 1) Cybercrime: The Cyber Crime, Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill, 2019 Section 31 criminalizes the publication or communication of false statements that are prejudicial to the state. It covers false statements that are “wholly or materially false.” Statements are considered prejudicial to the state when they either risk or cause public disorder, adversely affect the defense or economic interests of the country, or interfere with any essential service. Violation may result in “a fine up to or exceeding level fourteen or imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty years or both.” Section 14 states that publishing false news about any public official involved with enforcing or implementing the national lockdown, or about any private individual “that has the effect of prejudicing the State’s enforcement of the national lockdown” should be considered as “a false statement prejudicial to the State” for the purposes of Section 31 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. Violation may result in “a fine up to or exceeding level fourteen or imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty years or both.” Section 164C criminalizes the transmission of a “false data message intending to cause harm.” Specifically, “any person who unlawfully and intentionally by means of a computer or information system makes available, broadcasts or distributes data to any other person concerning an identified or identifiable person knowing it to be false with intent to cause psychological or economic harm shall be guilty of an offense.” Violation is punishable by “a fine not exceeding level 10 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or both.” I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH Sub -Saharan Africa – 1 86