“I have never spent a single penny of mine. Well-wishers, fans and friends have carried me on their shoulders all through. It is not me they carry though; it is the cause,” he said.
Makerere University philosophy lecturer and renowned cartoonist Dr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo has thanked thousands of supporters who raised more than sh30 million within 24 hours to help him pay court penalties imposed after he was found in contempt of court in a case involving Kampala International University (KIU).
In a statement shared on social media, Ssentongo described the fundraising campaign as an extraordinary show of solidarity, saying supporters were standing not just with him but with the principles of freedom of expression, accountability and justice.
“I sincerely thank you all for the overwhelming gesture of love in contributing towards my court penalties. I know you did this because you relate with my principles, work and commitments,” he wrote.
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The fundraising drive came days after the Civil Division of the High Court dismissed Ssentongo’s application for a stay of execution of the court orders against him, leaving him with less than 14 days to pay more than sh30m or risk serving three months in civil prison.
In a ruling delivered on August 6, Justice Bonny Isaac Teko held that Ssentongo had failed to demonstrate that refusing a stay of execution would render his pending appeal worthless. The judge ruled that the issues raised by the academic—including the jurisdiction of the registrar, the interpretation of the injunction and the contempt findings—would instead be fully determined by the appellate court.
Justice Teko further held that granting a stay would undermine the proper administration of justice and that KIU was entitled to enforce a valid court order while the appeal proceeds. The judge also noted that the financial penalties could be refunded if Ssentongo ultimately succeeds on appeal.
The contempt proceedings stem from an earlier ruling by court registrar Simon Kintu Zirintusa, who found Ssentongo in contempt over posts he made on X, formerly Twitter, despite an existing court order restraining him from discussing an ongoing dispute involving KIU.
The dispute arose after Ssentongo launched a social media campaign accusing KIU of refusing to refund more than sh5m in tuition fees belonging to his late brother’s child, who had transferred to another university. His campaign also attracted complaints from other former students who alleged problems ranging from tuition refund disputes to missing academic marks and other administrative grievances.
KIU subsequently petitioned the court, arguing that Ssentongo had continued commenting on the matter online in defiance of the court’s injunction, leading to the contempt proceedings.
Reacting to the public response, Ssentongo said contributors came from across political, religious and national divides, including supporters of both the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the opposition. He added that some government ministers also reached out with messages of concern.
According to him, donations ranged from as little as sh4,000 and came from Uganda as well as Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United States, Finland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, Germany, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil.
He said many people contributed because they wanted to defend freedoms and preserve civic space for accountability, while others were motivated by past experiences of injustice.
“This country has very many good people, and we could build on those to do much more good,” he said.
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Ssentongo also thanked lawyer Eron Kiiza, journalist Agather Atuhaire, and opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu for amplifying the fundraising campaign.
The Makerere academic revealed that since the legal battle began, he had not personally paid any legal expenses, saying friends, supporters and well-wishers had voluntarily met the costs throughout the case.
“I have never spent a single penny of mine. Well-wishers, fans and friends have carried me on their shoulders all through. It is not me they carry though; it is the cause,” he said.
The case has reignited debate over the growing use of contempt of court proceedings in Uganda, particularly in relation to social media commentary. Critics, including civil society activists and lawyers, argue that contempt proceedings are increasingly being used to discourage public discussion of matters of public interest, while the courts maintain that compliance with judicial orders is essential to the administration of justice.