Author Archives: Patience

LOCAL EU STATEMENT ON THE CLOSURE OF MEDIA HOUSES IN UGANDA

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The European Union Delegation issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Uganda and the Norwegian Head of Mission:

Following recent police action, leading to the continuing prevention of the publication of the Daily Monitor and the Red Pepper, and the closure of KFM and Dembe FM radio stations, the EU Delegation is deeply concerned about respect for freedom of expression and freedom of the press. A free, independent and vibrant press is essential to a democratic society.

These fundamental rights are provided for under the Constitution of Uganda and must be upheld under close scrutiny of the Court.

ENDS

Statement By Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-U)

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Kampala 20th /May/2013

The crackdown on four media houses today by security agencies under unclear circumstances is a serious threat to freedom of the media and expression in the country. The security agencies actions to deactivate KFM and Dembe FM and the besieging of Monitor publications and Red Pepper publications are intended to keep Ugandans ignorant about sensitive governance issues which are of greater public importance.

This morning, security personnel armed with Kalashinovs loaded with live ammunition, cordoned off the Daily Monitor and Red Pepper publications restricting entry and exit of all the employees. At mid-day the security personnel proceeded to switch off KFM and Dembe FM radio stations both housed within Monitor publication premises. The employees of Daily Monitor told HRNJ-Uganda that the security personnel told them that they had a court order declaring their offices a scene of crime before they proceeded to search for “documents”.

The besieging of the Monitor publications, the Red Pepper and arbitrary switch-off of two radio stations clearly indicates an orchestrated invasion on free speech and drastically injures the rights to freedom of expression, media and access to information. The effect of these wanton actions does not only affect the media houses but also ordinary citizens who use these media houses as a platform to exercise their constitutionally granted right to communicate, as well as the right to receive, impart and disseminate information

Instead of the government facilitating the enjoyment of this freedom, it has facilitated an unjustifiable interference by security operatives who have boldly attacked the media in a bid to curtail press freedom. These constant attacks on journalists and media houses are in direct contravention of the Constitution of Uganda, regional and international conventions that Uganda has ratified.

There is a growing concern in Uganda about the narrowing space for journalists and media practitioners to express themselves. The state of Press freedom in Uganda continues to remain elusive despite the fact that it is the state’s obligation to protect, respect as well as promote it.

HRNJ-Uganda stands in full support of the affected media houses and shall offer all the support it can to the defense of their rights and freedoms. We call upon all friends of the media to join us in this endeavor.

Wokulira Geoffrey Ssebaggala
National Coordinator
Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda

Statement By Uganda Human Rights Commission

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The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) is deeply concerned by the actions of police on Monday 20th
May 2013 when it cordoned off and searched the premises of The Monitor Publications in Namuwongo, Kampala and The Red pepper Newspaper in Namanve. The sealing off of the Monitor premises was spontaneously followed by the inaccessibility of airwaves of the 93.3 KFM and Dembe radios housed in the said premises.

The Uganda Human Rights Commission is constitutionally mandated to update the public on the state of human rights in the country and to offer guidance to the Government and the general public on emerging human rights issues. As a national human rights institution therefore, the UHRC is disturbed and strongly condemns the recent events that are in its view are a threat to the enjoyment of media freedoms in Uganda.

Enjoyment of freedom of the press in Uganda

Whereas the Uganda Human Rights Commission recognizes that enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression in Uganda is backed by a clearly laid down legal framework contained in human rights instruments at the international, regional and national level, the media the world over and particularly in Uganda continues to face challenges in its work especially in exercising the right to freedom of expression without hindrance. At the national level the
right is found in the 1995 Constitution of Uganda in Article 29(1) (a); and it is also backed by other media laws in Uganda including the Press and Journalist Act 1995; the Electronic Media Act, 1996; the Access to Information Act, 2005 and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2002; Regulation of the Interception of Communications Act, 2010 and Penal Code Act, 1950. However, like all the other rights, the right to freedom of expression is not an absolute right and is subject to limitations contained in recognized human rights instruments at the international, regional and national levels.

A free, independent and vibrant media is indispensible in any democratic society. The freedom of the press is part of a wider fundamental freedom of speech and expression which underpins all other human rights and democratic freedoms. As such, the right to receive and impart information and ideas as a freedom of expression is important for media practitioners to freely express their views without intimidation, violence, censorship or fear of prosecution. We
recognize that in the enjoyment of this freedom the media has a social responsibility to report responsibly and is expected not to violate other people’s human rights, morality and safety.

The Commission recognizes the unique ability that the media has in shaping public perception and also the fact that the media plays a similar role to that of the Commission in as far as being a watchdog on the promotion and protection of human rights and it is therefore a platform for advancing democracy, good governance, human rights, transparency, development and accountability in Uganda. It plays a fundamental role in informing and educating the public about issues that affect them so as to enable them to take informed decisions on all governance issues in the country. Press freedoms therefore are the cornerstone in deepening democracy, promoting good governance, defending the rule of law as well as protecting the fundamental human rights and freedoms and we should guard them jealously.

Human rights concerns on closure of media houses

The recent closure of media houses therefore raises a number of human
rights concerns to the Uganda Human Rights Commission which include the following:

1. The Act of closing the media houses amounted to a denial of information to the public and as such a violation of freedom of press contrary to Article 29(1)(a) of the Constitution and the right to seek, receive and impart information.

2. The Commission further notes that the method of operation and manner in which the media houses were cordoned off breach the fundamental principle of the inalienable right to
a fair hearing.

3. The move by police to compel the journalists to reveal their source of information is in contravention of their professional ethical standards.

4. We also note that the action of cordoning off of these media houses for the third day
running to date which has disrupted and denied the affected media houses the ability to engage in normal daily business activities which has regrettably led to economic losses for these companies and their staff.

Recommendations
In view of the above concerns, the Uganda Human Rights Commission hereby makes the following recommendations.

1. UHRC urges Government to observe and uphold its duties to respect protect and fulfill the media freedoms.

2. We urge the police to exercise restraint at all times and strictly abide by the provisions of the court order.

3. We urge Police to expeditiously complete the search exercise so as to allow normality to return in the media houses

4. Media practitioners are encouraged to perform their duties professionally and to act within the confines of the law while maintaining the highest standard of ethical conduct and to refrain from publishing news that has the potential to excite and inflame rather than
inform.

5. There is also need for Parliament and all stakeholders in the protection and promotion of human rights to review all media laws to assess their compliance with international human rights standards in order to implement law reforms that would improve the media regulatory environment and to expedite the process of expunging from the law books all press laws that have been nullified by the Courts of law.

Conclusion

In conclusion therefore, the Uganda Human Rights Commission will continue to raise issues of concern in the area of human rights and reiterate our call to government to uphold
its duty to respect, to protect and fulfill the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression and in particular freedom of the press by creating a conducive environment for all players to exercise this and other rights without hindrances.

Commissioner
Stephen Basaliza

For: Chairperson, Uganda
Human Rights Commission

Statement By African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME)

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Uganda Police abusing its powers and law

Kampala—20th May 2013

The raid and siege of the Daily Monitor and Red Pepper offices by the Uganda Police today, May 20, is an abuse of power and the law, and a blatant violation of the Constitution.
In a press release defending their action, the police have said they were responding to the failure of Daily Monitor journalists to “avail and provide the original copy of a letter and other related documents, purportedly authored by Gen. David Sejusa (a.k.a.Tinyefuza), and the source of the said missive”.
The police, accusing the paper of “adamantly” refusing to comply with the court order that required them to produce a copy of the letter and identify their source, say they sought and received a search warrant by the Nakawa Magistrates Court.
Arguing that the Daily Monitor and Red Pepper premises have been cordoned off in accordance with the laws of Uganda, the press release said, “Police shall continue to occupy and search the two premises until the said documents are retrieved to assist with ongoing investigations.”
But this is only half the story. When the court issued the order compelling the Daily Monitor journalists to produce Gen. Sejusa’s letter and identify their source, the company’s lawyers appealed. As the paper’s Managing Director, Mr Alex Asiimwe, said in a statement: “This matter is in court and management has contested the demand by the police for us to disclose the source of the story, and the matter is yet to be decided.”
In any case, under the pretext of conducting the search, police have ordered the shutdown of KFM and Dembe FM, the two radio stations owned and run by Monitor Publications, publishers of the Daily Monitor. And it is unlikely that the Daily Monitor and Red Pepper newspapers will come out tomorrow.
All four are important sources of information for many Ugandans, whose right to receive information has been violated by the police action.
The police action, itself a blatant disregard of court process and therefore rule of law, appears to be meant to send a signal to the Ugandan media and the public that critical reporting and commentary on sensitive affairs of government will not be tolerated
.
We must all stand up against this intimidation and wanton violation of the rights to free expression.
It is gratifying that several civil society actors led by the Foundation of Human Rights Initiative today congregated outside the Daily Monitor premises in solidarity with the media house. For a long time, the wider Ugandan civil society has been intriguingly silent on the question of press freedom. It is a struggle that they had left to media houses and a few media NGOs.
We all have to remember that press freedom and freedom of expression are not just about the rights of journalists and the media to receive and disseminate information. They are more about the right of the public to receive and impart information without which, as our Supreme Court reminded us many years ago, they can’t meaningfully participate in their own governance.
An attack on the Daily Monitor and Red Pepper, no matter the degree of their imperfections, is an attack on the citizens of Uganda. We at the African Centre for Media Excellence are outraged and condemn this despicable police action.
For more information, contact Executive Director Peter G. Mwesige on +256-772-313067 or [email protected] or Director of Programmes Bernard Tabaire on +256-772-575140 or [email protected]

***
About ACME

The African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) is a Kampala-based independent, non-profit organisation committed to helping African journalists to seek and achieve professional excellence and improving journalism and mass communication in Africa.

We conduct research and training that can help make our news media more reliable and credible sources of information on public affairs, effective tools for monitoring official power, and vibrant forums for public debate.

We train and support people in the private sector, civil society, academia, and the government to acquire or improve skills to engage more effectively with the media, as well as educate young people and the public on how to better appreciate the forces that shape the news.

We also engage in local and international advocacy on press freedom and freedom of expression.

STATEMENT ON CURRENT SITUATION AT RED PEPPER

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May 21, 2013

Yesterday morning, we received a search warrant from Magistrate’s Court in Nakawa requiring us to hand over to the police a Press Release that we had received from Gen. David Sejusa’s lawyers and published in the Red Pepper on May 15th 2013.
After consulting with our lawyers, we proceeded to hand over to the police a copy of this same Press Release. The police went ahead and carried out a search of our offices and cordoned of the area. Because of this, we have not been able to publish an edition of Red Pepper and it’s sister papers today.
We are saddened and disappointed that despite us complying with the court’s request, the police have refused to vacate our premises and to allow us to carry on with our work. They insist that they are carrying out more search for documents which they neither told us nor the magistrate who gave them the search warrant.
We have since been informed by our friends in government that this is not about just a Press Release which was distributed to all media in Uganda, but a long term plan orchestrated to cripple Red Pepper economically and disable its capacity to do business in Uganda anymore. We have been informed that the plan is to keep our offices closed for as long as they like, dismantle our new printing press, destroy our computers and servers by installing malicious malware and then hand over the junk when they are satisfied that we have been taken back to the stone age.
We need to remind all Ugandans and the international community that this is not the first time a raid of this nature is happening to Red Pepper. In 2008, men with guns, dressed in military uniform and riding government pick up trucks bombed this same printing press and burnt it down.
The act was captured on CCTV and despite a police investigation; none of the culprits has ever been brought to justice. This latest invasion is therefore another attempt to whet their long held desire to cripple an investment that is employing hundreds of Ugandans. This is a classic case of economic sabotage in which the government turns against a business owned by its citizens.
The Red Pepper is a law-abiding company. We respect the police and the courts of law. But we demand that the police and the courts of law do the same of law adding businesses in this country. There is no justifiable reason why the police and the courts should deny the hundreds of innocent Ugandans who work at The Red Pepper an opportunity to continue earning a living. If there’s a criminal case to pursue, we believe the process can go on without necessarily disabling the operations of a legally established company in Uganda.
We ask that the police and the courts to do their job without interfering with the freedom of the press as enshrined in the Constitution of Uganda.
Richard Tusiime
CEO
The Pepper Publications Limited

Caught In the Pen Crossfire

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We were born at the dawn of peace. Ours is the generation that fed on the prosperity testament.

We were told stories that started with; “in those turbulent years…”

My father tells one where he fled his work place, just him and his portable radio (hoping yet another coup wouldn’t happen), and followed village paths to get to his family about 40kms away.

Wide-eyed, as our minds raced to decipher the complexities of politics, war and destruction, we knew one thing for sure; it was not a time the story tellers wished to re-live.

We were told this country has come so far, but finally the guns are silent, peace reigns and our lives depended on books and pens—literally.

We were called “the Museveni generation”. We were not raised to fear pens. But we were raised to fear guns.

Tales abound, of military men who could neither read, write nor reason, but solved every problem with the muzzle of their gun.

We have been brought up in the time of military men who wrote books. I read Sowing the Mustard Seed in secondary school. Much later, I came across Uganda’s Revolution 1979-1986.; How I Saw It. No matter what their critics might say, these books document bits of our history, that generations to come might read, long after storytelling is out of style.

We have lived in the time of a professional, educated army; the former “kadogos” that went to high school with my elder brother, the high-ranking officers who sat A’ levels and had their photos printed in the newspapers.

And so we didn’t think we would get to witness a time when pens—letters written in ink—throw an entire country in panic.

The General Sejusa letter issue, and the ensuing frenzy brought about by a clamp-down on media houses, has left me wondering whether this government is more afraid of words and paper, than the time when guns did all the talking.

Those who lived through those days would shudder at such a statement. In fact, they would shudder at someone talking back to a soldier. And yet there seems to be a view among the powers that be, albeit veiled, that men that were told to get an education, learn to civilly express their opinions, would be better off silent.

The government seems to be telling them to stay miles away from pens and notebooks, to the extent that the Uganda Police doubts Gen. Sejusa actually originated that letter. At least, that was one of the excuses they gave for ransacking media houses in search of the original copy.

What else, but the fear of words, would lead to the deployment of security forces, and cordoning off of institutions that are only the public’s mouth piece?

We are the generation that can rattle off the personal freedoms as laid down in our constitution, without skipping a word. We were never led to believe that we would live in the dangerous days of pens.