President Yoweri Museveni’s younger brother Sedrack Nzaire Nowomugisha Kaguta has sued Ismail Sadam, an assistant of junior lands minister Persis Namuganza over a Whatsapp post.
Nzaire alleges that on August 18, at 02:32pm, with intent to defame, ridicule, and or demean him, Sadam wrote, published and distribute a “defamatory” article titled ‘OPEN LETTER TO MR SHADRACK NZEIRE’ in a Whatsapp group named ‘PRO M7 YOUTH.’
In the impugned post, Sadam claims that Nzaire had refused to support Namuganza in the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections because the minister had allegedly blocked Nzaire from evicting an elderly woman from her land in Namugongo.
Namuganza lost to Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga in the race for second national vice chairperson of the NRM party.
But Nzaire said Sadam’s claims are untrue and were intended to defame him, contrary to Section 179 of the Penal Code Act and Computer Misuse Act.
The president’s brother had given Namuganza’s PA a week to publicly apologize to him and pay him pay Shs200m in damages and cough Shs20m more for his lawyers of Nabukenya Associated Advocates as legal costs.
After the Namuganza PA refused to apologize to him, Nzaire instructed his lawyers to sue him for his Whatsapp post.
Nzaire wants the Civil Division of the High Court to compel Sadam to pay him general, punitive and exemplary damages, costs of the case and their interest, for libel and defamation.