Daily Monitor Ordered to Pay Millions Over X Post

KAMPALA — When lawyer Silver Kayondo published his thoughts about Uganda’s relationship with the World Bank on X in August 2023, he likely expected his words to contribute to a wider debate on international finance and the country’s economic future.

Instead, the post became the centre of a legal battle that would raise questions about ownership of digital content, the responsibilities of news organisations when using online material and the limits of republishing social media posts.

Nearly three years later, the Commercial Division of the High Court in Kampala has ruled in Kayondo’s favour, ordering Daily Monitor, NTV Uganda and journalist Deogratious Wamala to jointly pay him Shs185 million for altering, publishing and attributing statements to him without his express permission.

In a judgment delivered on July 27, 2026, High Court Judge Dr Ginamia Melody Ngwatu found that Kayondo’s post was not simply an unprotected idea shared online, but a creative work entitled to copyright protection.

The court ruled that the defendants had substantially copied and modified his work, presenting altered statements as though they were his own words and causing potential harm to his professional reputation.

“The act of altering, misquoting and distorting a copyrighted work in a manner that damages the reputation of the author, in my view, is not fair and thus the defendants have failed to establish their defence of fair use and practice. Therefore, the above can only lead to the conclusion that the defendants have infringed the copyright of the plaintiff,” Justice Ngwatu ruled.

The judge also ordered Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda, which operate under Nation Media Group, to publish an apology on their print and online platforms.

The post that sparked the legal battle

The dispute traces back to an X thread titled “World Bank-Uganda” that Kayondo published on August 10, 2023, through his verified account.

At the time, Uganda was facing international pressure after the World Bank suspended new financing following the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

Kayondo, a lawyer specialising in corporate, commercial and international finance law, shared his views on the role of international lenders and Uganda’s relationship with development partners.

One of his observations stated:

“Lenders push values of their shareholders.”

According to court documents, the post later became the foundation of a Saturday Monitor article titled “Inside Uganda’s talks with the World Bank,” written by journalist Wamala.

Kayondo said he discovered the publication on September 16, 2023, after his colleague Derrick Ainebyona shared a link to the article in the Western Lawyers’ Forum, a professional WhatsApp group with more than 300 members.

His complaint was not simply that his work had been reproduced, but that it had been changed.

The article quoted him as saying: “Lenders push value for their shareholders.”

It also included the statement: “Uganda, as a donor-dependent country, may be left with little choice but to adhere, Mr Kayondo added.”

Kayondo told court that he never made that statement and that the changes significantly altered the meaning of his original post.

A dispute over reputation and digital ownership

For Kayondo, the case represented more than a disagreement over wording.

He argued that the publication affected a professional reputation built over years in the specialised field of international finance.

Court documents indicate that Kayondo told court he had invested more than Shs370 million ($100,000) in training, professional development and acquiring expertise in international finance.

He argued that the defendants benefited from his specialised knowledge while presenting altered words as though they were his own.

Kayondo claimed that Daily Monitor, NTV Uganda and Wamala infringed his copyright, misrepresented his views, violated his personality rights, acted negligently and defamed him.

He further argued that the publication damaged his standing among clients, colleagues and professional networks familiar with his work.

Media houses defend publication

Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda denied liability, arguing that Kayondo’s post did not qualify for copyright protection because it contained ideas and concepts rather than a protected literary work.

The media organisations maintained that the article was a legitimate exercise of journalism because it addressed a matter of public interest, identified Kayondo as the source and contributed to public discussion about Uganda’s economic relationship with the World Bank.

They also argued that there was no restriction against reproducing material shared publicly on social media and that the article had increased Kayondo’s public visibility rather than harmed his reputation.

However, Justice Ngwatu rejected the defence, holding that public availability of content online does not automatically remove the creator’s rights over their work.

The judge found that the defendants had altered Kayondo’s words and used his identity in a manner that amounted to copyright infringement, false attribution and unlawful processing of personal data under the Data Protection and Privacy Act.

Court finds altered quotation was defamatory

The court ruled that Kayondo had been presented as expressing views that he had not made.

Justice Ngwatu found that the altered statements had the potential to lower Kayondo’s reputation among people familiar with international finance and therefore amounted to defamation.

The court also faulted the failure to properly verify the accuracy of the attributed quotations before publication.

The judge held that journalistic responsibility required accuracy when reporting statements attributed to identifiable individuals.

The Shs185 million award

The court awarded Kayondo Shs165 million in general damages for the various violations established during the case.

The award included compensation for copyright infringement, false attribution and misrepresentation, defamation, negligence, unlawful processing of personal data and violation of personality rights.

The court further awarded Kayondo Shs20 million in aggravated damages, bringing the total compensation to Shs185 million.

Justice Ngwatu also ordered payment of interest on the damages, removal of the disputed content, publication of an apology clarifying that Kayondo was not the source of the contested opinions, and a permanent injunction preventing future unauthorised use of his content or personality.

The judgment was delivered a day before NMG announced restoration of its operations after weeks of shutdown by the government.

The judgment was delivered electronically through the court’s Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS).

The case proceeded ex parte after the defendants failed to file witness statements and trial documents within court timelines. An application seeking to overturn the ex parte proceedings was later dismissed.

For Kayondo, the case became a test of whether individuals who create and publish content online retain control over their words after they enter public debate.

For media organisations, the ruling highlights the growing legal responsibility that comes with using digital content in news reporting.

At the heart of the dispute was a question increasingly shaping the digital age: when a person publishes an opinion online, where does public access end and ownership begin?