Former Makerere University Researcher, Dr Stella Nyanzi who was recently convicted to 18 Months in prison has appealed against her sentence.
Through her lawyer Isaac Semakadde ,Nyanzi has lodged her appeal to the High Court challenging her conviction and sentence.
On August 2, 2019, Buganda Road Court Grade one Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu Musenze sentenced Nyanzi to 18 months in prison after she was convicted of cyber harassment contrary to sections 24(1) and 24(2) (a) of the Computer Misuse Act (2011).
Nyanzi is however expected to serve nine months in prison since court deducted the nine months she had spent on remand.
Nonetheless, in her appeal, Nyanzi argues that the court did not have the jurisdiction and that she allowed the charge that was incurably defective, unacceptably vague and barred by law.
She wants the conviction quashed and the punishment set aside on grounds that the magistrate passed an illegal and disproportionate sentence.
“That the learned trial magistrate erred in law and fact when she failed to accord to the appellant the necessary facilities to compel the attendance of witnesses, and thereby infringed on the appellant’s right to a fair hearing,” reads the court document.DM