The former Inspector of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura through his lawyers of Kampala Associated Advocates (KAA) wants the New Vision Printing and Publishing Company or Vision Group to compensate him billions of Shillings for allegedly publishing malicious, false, and defamatory propaganda against him in regard to the brutal murder for Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Andrew Felix Kaweesi in March 2017.
“You have accused our client or insinuated that he is guilty of a number of heinous crimes and in particular of the brutal and tragic murder of AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi,” a letter to New Vision’s Editor in Chief reads in part, adding that Vision Group has published insinuations with malice and in the full knowledge that the allegations are false.
“Your newspaper (New Vision) claims to have evidence thoroughly discrediting the baseless allegations that our client was involved in the sinister and brutal murder of his comrade AIGP Kaweesi. Yet not withstanding that evidence you claim to possess, and even after purportedly receiving that evidence, you went ahead to run a series of malicious stories against our client knowing that the stories were false and thoroughly discredited,” his lawyers say.
Kayihura though his lawyers says that the false and malicious propaganda was conducted on New Vision’s twitter handle and other social media platforms as well as well as sister publications like Bukedde, Saturday Vision and Sunday Vision as well as online versions of the publications.
He wants the media house to compensate him Shs300 million per story that was run maliciously in /on the Group’s newspapers, radio and social media platforms, meaning the compensation he is demanding is in billions of shillings.
Kayihura also says New Vision on September 30, 2018 ran published article accusing him of carrying out 100 irregular promotions and that on October 20, 2018 published an article “Kayihura in more trouble over crime preventers”. “Both stories contained clearly false and malicious allegations consistent with your malicious defamatory campaign,” Kayihura’s lawyers say on his behalf.
Kayihura through his lawyers urges that Bukedde Newspaper has been at the forefront of the defamatory campaign as well as has Bukedde FM. He says the newspaper on almost a daily basis from June 13 to August 30, 2018 ran a number of false and defamatory allegations against him.
The former IGP says the media house has gone as far as providing commentary on his health in total violation of his right to privacy. He says the media house alleged he had been admitted in a German hospital.
The lawyers say the allegations have presented Gen. Kayihura as a cold-blooded murderer, traitor and that the defamatory campaign was intended to “ensure that all right-thinking members of society shun him”.
Kayihura also wants the Vision group to apologise to him within seven days via its various media platforms where the said allegations were published or else he goes to court. The lawyers penned the compliant on November 1, 2018. It was copied to the Group’s CEO Robert Kabushenga and the Uganda Media Council.