Kampala, 20^th July 2017, Unwanted Witness Uganda is saddened by the emerging practice by club proprietors to misuse private information collected via CCTV cameras to violate the privacy of Ugandans.

A video of a private meeting allegedly captured by Silk Liquid CCTV cameras in Kampala, has gone viral on social media. The video shows a renowned city lawyer David Mpanga meeting with Vision group’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Kabushenga allegedly strategizing to spread propaganda against businessman Sudhir Ruparelia.

The breaching of individuals’ privacy happens at a time when activists including Unwanted Witness-Uganda are demanding for the expeditious passage of the Privacy and Data Protection Bill, 2015 that has been shelved in parliament since 2014.

The bill seeks to operationalise Article 27 of the constitution of the Republic of Uganda, which prohibits interference with any person’s privacy, home, correspondence, communication or other property.

“With the continuous collection of citizens’ data by different entities, privacy standards are crucial for upholding democracy, freedom and security as well as human dignity,” says Dorothy Mukasa, the Acting Chief Executive Officer, Unwanted Witness-Uganda

She noted that under international human rights law, businesses are obliged to protect and promote human rights including the right to privacy.

The 2015 investigative report by Privacy International and Unwanted Witness indicated that government of Uganda had connived with hotel owners in and around the capital Kampala to covertly conduct surveillance on citizens.