RIGHTS-UGANDA: Newspapers to Some, Scavengers to Others

By Evelyn Kiapi Reprint | | Print |

Evelyn Kiapi Matsamura

KAMPALA, Aug 15 2005 (IPS) - Concern is growing over the prospects for press freedom in Uganda – this after claims by President Yoweri Museveni that the media were compromising security.

During a funeral service held earlier this month (Aug. 10) for Sudanese Vice-President John Garang, his entourage and seven Ugandans who were killed in a helicopter crash Jul. 31, Museveni expressed displeasure with the way in which the incident had been covered.

While local newspapers gave differing accounts of what happened, one publication – ‘The Red Pepper’ – reported that Garang had been shot in the head twice before the crash. This echoed speculation in Sudan that the country’s government was responsible for the death of Garang, a former rebel leader whose movement signed a peace agreement with authorities in January – after 21 years of civil war.

Sudanese officials dismissed the allegations, saying they had not been appraised of Garang’s travel plans (the former rebel was on board a Ugandan helicopter at the time of his death). However, the claims still sparked outbreaks of violence in Sudan.

Museveni threatened to close down ‘The Red Pepper’, as well as ‘The Weekly Observer’ and ‘Daily Monitor’ – all privately-owned publications.

"I am the elected leader of Uganda. I therefore have the ultimate mandate to run their affairs," said the head of state during the funeral ceremony, held in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. "I will no longer tolerate a newspaper which is like a vulture. For them, the misery of many is their joy.I will simply close it. Finish. End.These newspapers must stop or we shall stop them."

Shortly afterwards, K-FM radio station – a subsidiary of the Daily Monitor – was shut down by the Broadcasting Council (BC) after it aired a talk show which debated the possible causes of the helicopter crash. The host of the programme, Andrew Mwenda, was arrested on a charge of sedition before being granted bail Monday (Aug. 15).

Mwenda, who also serves as the political editor of the Daily Monitor, has denied the charge.

During the show he accused government of causing Garang’s death by, amongst others, providing him with a "junk helicopter". Mwenda further criticised Museveni’s threat to close down newspapers. The BC, which licenses and regulates radio and television stations, said K-FM had breached sections of the Electronic Media Law by airing such views.

Rights activists, media groups and opposition leaders have been quick to condemn the government’s actions.

"Threats by the president and other political leaders against the media are worrying and herald troubled times ahead for democracy in Uganda," said the president of the National Institute of Journalists of Uganda (NIJU), Linda Nabusayi Wamboka, in a statement.

"This act, at the time when the country is going through a political transition to multiparty democracy, has caused unnecessary outrage and risks worsening the security situation in the country," she added. "You don’t improve security by closing down channels of communication."

Wamboka urged the BC to re-open K-FM while it continued investigations into Mwenda’s conduct – adding that media organisations should be involved in these inquiries. She also noted, however, that the NIJU did not condone irresponsible journalism.

The vice-president of the East African Media Institute (EAMI), Michael Wakabi, described the closure of the station as a "most unfortunate action".

"EAMI takes exception to this act of deliberate intimidation that is clearly intended to stifle the media and freedom of expression in Uganda," he said.

Similar words came from the executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, Livingstone Ssewanyan. "High handed actions that cause fear and a chilling effect on independent thought and free expression deserve to be resisted," he said in a statement. The initiative, based in Kampala, is a non-government group which promotes human rights in Uganda.

However, Information Minister Nsaba Buturo defended the steps taken by authorities, saying Mwenda’s remarks could have sparked widespread killing in Sudan.

"Strong comments from Andrew Mwenda were made at the height of great tension inside the Sudan which had already led to the death of hundreds of people.Everybody remembers what happened in Rwanda in 1994," he said in a statement released Aug. 14.

Upwards of 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed during the Rwandan genocide, in 1994.

The former rebel group headed by Garang, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), took up arms against the Islamic government in Khartoum in a bid to gain religious freedom and greater autonomy for southern Sudan.

Although Uganda is home to over 100 radio stations, several television stations and a dozen newspapers, the media’s relationship with government has at times been a troubled one.

Last year, the army barred journalists from reporting on a civil war in northern Uganda, where government has been fighting rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) since 1986. The military claimed that previous coverage of the conflict had compromised its plans; it also accused certain journalists of being rebel collaborators.

In October 2002, the Daily Monitor was shut down for a week after reporting that a military helicopter had been shot down by LRA rebels.

Furthermore, the 2002 Anti-Terrorism Bill provides for the death penalty to be issued against journalists who publish material that supports terrorism.