An administrator of a WhatsApp group has been mandated to reinstate a member who had previously been expelled by a judge in Uganda’s Makindye division in Kampala. The decision was taken in response to Herbert Baitwababo’s court-filed appeal, which he used to contest Allan Asinguza’s decision to kick him off of the WhatsApp group “Buyanja My Roots.”
A WhatsApp group was founded for the Buyanja sub-county in the Rukungiri district, according to the Ugandan newspaper Daily Monitor, and each member was required to pay Sh.30,000 (about Ksh.1,000) as a subscription fee. The group was started so that it could be sympathetic and helpful to locals.
Mr. Baitwababo stated in his declaration that “as members of the aforementioned WhatsApp group, we developed an idea of starting an association and agreed that one had to pay Sh.30,000 only to subscribe for the membership and as such, I fully registered.”
For “all communication and matters pertaining to the association,” the man continued, the WhatsApp group was used. According to Mr. Baitwababo’s affidavit, the issue arose when he requested Asinguza’s audit report, accountability for monies raised since the group’s founding in 2017, and the system by which they were able to oversee the group’s operations.
The administrator later kicked Baitwababo out of the WhatsApp group on May 17, 2023, which caused him to hurry to court and demand compensation.
The court further ruled on Monday that Baitwababo could never be expelled from the WhatsApp group “Buyanja My Roots,” since doing so would go against his freedom of association and rights.
The WhatsApp group “Buyanja My Roots” is to be rejoined by the applicant, it is hereby ordered. “A permanent injunction is also imposed prohibiting the Respondent, his agents, or his assignees from further impeding the Applicant’s right of association,” the magistrate commanded.
