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 themselves say the fight against piracy is becoming more urgent, complex and costly.
Dr Abdul Sallam Waiswa, Head of Litigation, Prosecution and Legal advisory at Uganda Communication Commission (UCC), describes piracy as a broad word that summarizes any action through which somebody accesses another person’s creative work and uses it for their own benefit without the owner’s permission. He explains 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 over the years. Dr Waiswa noted that even individuals who believe they are just 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.
In recent years, device-based piracy has become increasingly common. These devices often purchased from abroad come loaded with software that illegally decrypts signals from pay-TV services. “Once they connect to the internet, they unlock the encryptions that people like DStv have put in place and show all channels for free,” Dr Waiswa said, calling them a big problem for the industry.
For MultiChoice Uganda, the financial implications are staggering. Rinaldi Jamugisa, the PR and Communications Manager describes piracy in blunt terms, “For me, piracy in simple terms is theft and theft is taking what doesn’t belong to you.” According to Jamugisa, pirates acquire content through illegal channels, avoid the high licensing and production costs and sell it cheaply undermining legitimate broadcasters. “Where it will cost you 10 times more, they find ways of acquiring the content and pushing it through these devices. So, they are selling stolen content while we bear the cost.”
Citing a 2020 International Chamber of Commerce report where Jamugisa noted that East Africa loses about $110 billion annually to piracy while Uganda alone loses an estimated $110 million including $25.3 million in government revenue, the impact of piracy on the economy is damning. Beyond financial loss, piracy devastates livelihoods. “When you steal from creators, you are taking away their ability to take their children to school or afford medical care. A film set has very many people working on it and when you steal from a film, you deny all these people income,” Jamugisa said.
For filmmakers, the impact is personal and devastating. Award-winning producer and actor Mathew Nabwiso of Nabwiso Films says piracy has made filmmaking increasingly unsustainable. “Making film is very expensive and very risky. I have been on projects where you run out of funds, but you must continue. You have a crew and actors to pay but you are unable to pay them enough because someone has taken a chunk of what should be going to them. It is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed,” Nabwiso said.
Nabwiso raised concerns about platforms such as Muno Watch which he says host pirated foreign films while competing directly with local filmmakers. “As I’m trying to put a Ugandan film out there, Muno Watch has about 1,000 American films that are pirated. What steps are you taking to address such platforms?” he asked UCC.
In response, Dr Waiswa acknowledged the concerns but stressed UCC’s structural limitations noting that not everything about piracy falls within the strict mandate of UCC. However, he emphasized that all UCC licensees commit to airing only authorized content and encouraged creators to report infringements. “If you see anybody playing your music or movies without permission, report to us. Once you report, we can investigate.”
MultiChoice is also investing heavily in anti-piracy technology. Through its global cybersecurity arm, Irdeto, the company works with platforms like YouTube and TikTok to take down pages illegally streaming its content.
Jamugisa warned consumers of the hidden dangers of pirated streaming sites, including cyber-crime, data theft and exposure to criminal networks. “You subscribe, put your email, phone number, home location, accept cookies and permissions and these sites mine your data. People suddenly see money missing from accounts because their credit card details were stolen. Also, when you pay such sites, that money could be funding terrorism hence participating in criminal activities unknowingly,” he stressed.
Despite the scale of the challenge, all parties agree that only collective action involving creators, regulators broadcasters and the public will help curb piracy in order to protect the livelihoods of content creators and ensure the sustainability of the sector.
