The Makindye-based Standard Utilities and Wildlife Court has begun handing down sentences to SIM card agents found guilty of irregularly registering SIM cards.

The punishments arise out of Regulation 28 of the Regulation of Interception of Communications Regulations, 2024 (RICA), under which it is an offence to register a SIM card without following the procedures and requirements specified in the regulations.

In two separate matters determined on June 1, 2026, the court sentenced two individuals to jail terms, payment of fines and a caution.

In the matter of Uganda vs Kasozi Bosco, the accused registered several Airtel Uganda SIM cards as belonging to one customer before reselling the cards to other suspects.

According to the court record, the holders of these SIM cards later used them to hijack the airwaves and interfere with the radio frequencies of Beat FM Uganda and Simba Radio. The lines were thereafter allegedly used to obtain money from unsuspecting members of the public.

The court sentenced Kasozi Bosco to serve four years in prison or pay a fine of UGX 1,800,000.

In the second matter, Uganda vs Masereka Joward & 2 Others, an Airtel Uganda SIM card selling officer in Kasese, while registering a customer, secretly made a second SIM card using the customer's credentials and later sold the line to another person.

The SIM card was subsequently sold to other individuals who later used it to commit aggravated robbery in Kalagi.

Masereka Joward, one of the three accused persons, pleaded guilty and asked the court for leniency. The court sentenced him to a caution after taking into account that he was a Senior Four student who had been lured into the criminal activity by the other accused persons.

The court has emphasized the dangers associated with unlawful SIM card registration, noting that "a SIM Card is like a bullet; once it is irregularly registered, it has the potential to cause unbearable harm and injury to the public, including electronic fraud, theft, obtaining money by pretense, etc."

The statement also notes that telecommunications companies may be fined if their agents fail to follow the proper procedures when registering customers.

Members of the public can check the number of SIM cards registered under their National Identification Number (NIN) by dialing *197#, selecting Option 2, and following the prompts.

Authorities say enforcement of the RICA Regulations remains key to protecting customers and the wider public from fraudulent activities linked to improperly registered SIM cards.