Media Freedom

Statements on Public Order Management Bill

GOVERNMENT STATEMENT ON THE POLICE SEARCH AT THE MONITOR PUBLICATIONS

(i) They highly regretted the story that led to the closure of the Monitor newspaper and KFM and Dembe Radio stations.

(ii) They undertook that the Monitor newspaper will only publish or air stories which are properly sourced, verified and factual.

(iii) They also undertook that the reporting in the Monitor newspaper will always be objective, fair and balanced.

(iv) They undertook to be sensitive to and not publish or air stories that can generate tensions, ethnic hatred, cause insecurity or disturb law and order.

(v) They acknowledged that there had been violations of their editorial policy by their Reporters and Editors in Uganda. They availed us with a copy of their Editorial Policy and undertook to ensure that both the letter and the spirit of the policy are respected…

We (@ugandarn) stand in solidarity with media houses besieged, searched and closed by the Uganda Police, an act of suppression of press freedom.

The Daily Monitor is still accessible online

Get the Red Pepper here

[National Perspective]: Press Freedom; Is The Media Space Shrinking in Uganda? (Audio 30mins)

NGO FORUM: The Right To Freedom Of Information Is An Extension Of The Freedom Of Expression
We the Citizens of Uganda, convened under the umbrella of various Civil Society actors hereby condemn the continued harassment of the electronic and print media by the Uganda Police Force among other state security agencies. We are increasingly concerned about the siege of The Monitor Publications LTD from 20th May 2013 to date by the police…

Repressing Rights While Talking Law in Uganda

By HRW’s Maria Burnett via Huffington Post

No matter what happens with the Muhoozi project, the attention on this episode should not obscure a much more sinister reality. President Museveni seems to be sending a signal that he won’t tolerate free and independent media when he begins his campaigns for the 2016 elections — in what will be his thirtieth year in office…

Police Curtailing Media Freedom– UN-OHCHR
The sealing off of the media premises and the restriction of movement of their personnel to carry out their professional activities is a flagrant violation of Uganda’s obligations under international human rights law. Journalists must be able to speak and write without fear of persecution, arrest and intimidation…

[Blog]: Caught In the Pen Crossfire

We were born at the dawn of peace. Ours is the generation that fed on the prosperity testament…We were called “the Museveni generation”. We were not raised to fear pens. But we were raised to fear guns…

Local EU Statement On The Closure Of Media Houses In Uganda

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…

Amnesty International Press Release
The Ugandan authorities’ desperation to control an uncomfortable political story has exposed their disregard for freedom of expression and violated the right of Ugandans to receive information,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Africa Director.
“The police must immediately withdraw from the offices of all media outlets targeted in this disturbing crackdown, and allow them to go about their journalistic work…

Statement On Current Situation At Red Pepper

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…

Statement By African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME)

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…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…

Statement By Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC)

A free, independent and vibrant media is indispensable 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…

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

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…