Uganda’s Creative Industry Steps Up Fight Against Piracy -

Piracy remains one of the most persistent threats to Uganda’s creative industry, undermining the livelihoods of filmmakers, musicians, broadcasters, and other content creators who depend on their work for income.

During an episode of The Ugandan Podcast, hosted by the Ministry of ICT & National Guidance, regulators, industry players, and creatives revealed that the fight against piracy is becoming more urgent, complex, and costly.

Dr. Abdul Sallam Waiswa, Head of Litigation, Prosecution and Legal Advisory at the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), described piracy as a broad term summarizing any action through which someone accesses another person’s creative work and uses it for personal benefit without permission. He explained that the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act of 2006 grants creators full ownership of their original works, and any interference with their commercial rights is punishable.

If you publish your movie, write your song or book, the law gives you exclusive rights. Anyone that interferes with those rights could amount to piracy,” he emphasized.

From illegally copying films to decrypting pay-TV signals and using internet-based devices that broadcast premium content for free, the forms of piracy have evolved and multiplied. Dr. Waiswa noted that even individuals who believe they are simply watching a movie are often unknowingly participating in copyright infringement.

“People feel like they are just watching a movie that is expensive at the cinema, but if you copy that movie, put it on a CD and show it on TV without permission, that is piracy because you are denying the owner a chance to commercially exploit their work,” he said.

Device-based piracy has grown rapidly in recent years. These devices, often purchased from abroad, come loaded with software that illegally decrypts signals from pay-TV services.

Uganda’s Creative Industry Steps Up Fight Against Piracy
By Kenneth Kazibwe | Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Uganda’s Creative Industry Steps Up Fight Against Piracy