Ugandans push for deportation of Mukono-based American ‘preacher’ over racist social media commentary

Ugandans and other nationalities across Africa have launched a campaign calling for the prosecution and or deportation of an American who describes himself as a Christian missionary, after a content creator linked him to racist posts and comments on social media.

The American, identified online as Mac Miller, lives in Lweza in Mukono district and runs a TikTok account with more than 27,500 followers. 

He claims to be aged 21.

His content shows him preaching, interacting with residents and working with young Ugandan children.

The controversy began after content creator Eric Bryanstone published screenshots which he said showed Miller liking or responding to racist content.

One of the posts was a TikTok video of white women dancing with their black friends. Miller liked a racist meme attached to the video.

He also liked a comment which read: “What’s your biggest red flag? Being brown.”

Another comment claimed that white people were “better than Africans”. Miller liked and reacted to it with a salute emoji according to screenshots shared by Eric.

The screenshots sparked anger across Instagram, TikTok and other platforms. Hundreds of people questioned why he was conducting missionary work among people he allegedly demeaned online.

“This guy is a racist and a hypocrite,” one TikTok user wrote.

“Preaching while being racist is just outrageous,” another comment read.

Other users demanded action from Ugandan authorities. One asked Ugandans to report him, while another wrote: “Let him go back to his country.”

A commenter from South Africa urged Uganda to “do the right thing” and challenge what she described as false expressions of love.

Some users connected the allegations to the history of missionary activity and colonialism in Africa. 

Miller’s Instagram account disappeared shortly after users reported it. His TikTok account however, remained active by Thursday afternoon, but angry comments had flooded his videos.

The allegations have not been tested by the police, immigration authorities or a court. 

Miller had also not issued a public response to the specific accusations by the time the material for this story was reviewed.

Miller appears to have moved to Uganda around March 2026. His earlier videos documented hitchhiking across the United States and travelling in parts of Asia.

After arriving in Uganda, his content shifted towards life in Mukono, conversations with residents and attempts to learn Luganda.

Some of them however, entail hints of racism.

One video shows him speaking to a man at a chapati stall. Miller tells the man, “I think you are a monkey,” before making sounds associated with a monkey. The man laughs during the exchange

A few weeks after settling in Mukono, Miller appeared to have taken on a group of young boys with whom he spent time, teaching them football and boxing and taking them for food and films.

His social media profile describes him as a missionary “travelling the world and preaching the gospel”.

In one video he caught an interaction between him and immigration authorities where he was tasked to explain his purpose of visiting Uganda. He denied trying to settle in the country. 

Following expiration of his visa, he was forced to have it renewed.

Ugandan authorities cannot deport a foreigner merely because social media users demand it. They must act under immigration law and follow due process.

Section 47(g) of the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act allows the Internal Affairs minister or the director of immigration to declare a foreigner an “undesirable immigrant” using information from a government or another source they consider reliable. 

A declaration by the director requires confirmation by the minister.

Section 49(4) allows the National Citizenship and Immigration Board to cancel an entry permit if its holder breaches the conditions of stay, violates the Act or becomes a prohibited or undesirable immigrant.

Under Section 54, the Internal Affairs minister may issue a written deportation order against a prohibited immigrant or a person whose presence in Uganda is unlawful. The order may bar that person for a specified period or indefinitely.

The same section protects the affected person’s right to challenge the decision. They may appeal to the High Court within 15 days and later approach the Court of Appeal. The High Court may suspend deportation while the appeal remains pending.

Section 53 also bars a foreign national from taking employment, practising a profession or conducting private business without the required immigration facility. This applies whether the activity earns money or not.

Immigration authorities could therefore check Miller’s passport, visa, pass or work permit and establish whether his missionary and content-creation activities comply with his approved immigration status.

Article 21 of Uganda’s Constitution guarantees equality before the law and prohibits discrimination based on race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, religion and other grounds. 

However, that constitutional protection does not mean every racist or offensive statement automatically amounts to a criminal offence. 

Authorities would need to identify a valid offence and prove every element of it.

Uganda’s Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, 2022 had introduced an online hate-speech offence covering content likely to demean a person or group or promote hostility. However, the Constitutional Court declared the entire amendment null and void on March 17, 2026 because Parliament passed it without establishing the required quorum.

The government and its agencies were ordered to stop enforcing the invalidated provisions. Authorities could not lawfully rely on that struck-down hate-speech provision alone to prosecute Miller.