The Law Development Centre Grade One Magistrate’s court has issued witness summons to the investigating officer and forensic experts in the case against journalist and human rights activist, Arnold Anthony Mukose.
Mukose is facing charges of broadcasting false news and sending false distress signals over allegations claiming that First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni had died earlier this year.
The prosecution alleges that between January and March 2026, Mukose and other individuals who are still at large unlawfully published false information on the Alternative Digital Channel, an online platform, claiming that the First Lady was dead. The prosecution contends that the publication caused distress to President Museveni’s wife.
Grade One magistrate Joanita Muwanika issued the summons yesterday, Tuesday following the admission into evidence of a search certificate presented by prosecution witness detective David Ilukut.
Testifying before court, Ilukut said he had served in the police force for more than 15 years, including 11 years in the investigations department. He told court that investigations involving WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged using other people’s phones had established that Mukose recorded and circulated video and audio messages claiming that the First Lady was dead.
Ilukut further testified that although he did not have a court order authorising the search, he recovered several items from Mukose. These included a national identity card, an East African passport, an MTN Uganda modem, a black Dell laptop and a small mobile phone without a battery or cover.
He said the recovered items were documented in a search certificate signed by Mukose, his lawyer Kato Tumusiime, local leaders, neighbours and himself.
The items, together with the search certificate, were subsequently handed over to the then Old Kampala Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officer-in-charge, Sarah Kataike, for further guidance and scrutiny.
However, during cross-examination by defence lawyers Kato Tumusiime and Simon Peter Esomu, Ilukut admitted that he had not documented the specifications of the electronic gadgets recovered during the search. He said the National ID and passport were the only items whose details had been recorded.
The court’s decision to summon the investigating officer and forensic experts is expected to pave the way for further examination of the evidence gathered during the investigations.
The case was adjourned to December 1, 2026, at 2:00 pm, when the investigating officer and forensic experts are expected to appear before court.
BACKGROUND
Mukose was allegedly abducted by security operatives on March 29, 2026, and remained missing before being produced before the LDC court on April 1. The proceedings were then presided over by magistrate Ivan Maloba. He was subsequently granted cash bail of Shs 5 million on May 5, 2026.
However, the case was dismissed on August 24, 2026, for want of prosecution but was later reinstated on October 12, 2026, after Mukose reportedly went to Old Kampala police station to reclaim his property, including items allegedly recovered during his abduction.
He was reportedly informed that the case had been re-sanctioned. Mukose was subsequently re-arrested and charged with the same offences before being remanded to Luzira Prison. He was later released on cash bail of Shs 1 million.
Mukose is also among the petitioners who successfully challenged several provisions of the Computer Misuse Act, 2022, before the Constitutional court.
Following the ruling, the Attorney General advised security agencies, including the Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), against charging suspects under the provisions of the law that had been nullified by the court.