Timothy Kalyegira, a former Daily Monitor columnist and current publisher of an online newspaper, Tuesday became the first Ugandan to face sedition charges arising from the use of new media, the Daily Monitor has reported. Police on Monday summoned Kalyegira to appear for interrogation over reports that questioned whether it was really the Somali-based militants, the al-Shabaab, that bombed and...
An opinion column in Uganda’s leading independent newspaper suggesting parallels between President Yoweri Museveni and former Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos led to criminal libel charges against two journalists Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists has said quoting local media reports. A magistrate in the capital, Kampala, charged Angelo Izama, a senior reporter, and Henry Ochieng...
The government-run Uganda Broadcasting Council effectively shut down four radio stations today and Thursday, and ordered all radio stations to halt political debate programming in the wake of violent clashes in the capital, Kampala, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported. Violence erupted after the government attempted to block the king of the Buganda ethnic group, Ronald Muwenda...
A Ugandan newspaper's critical caricature of President Yoweri Museveni led police to interrogate three journalists on allegations of sedition, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported quoting a defence attorney and local journalists. For four hours, 10 officers of the Media Crimes Department of Uganda's Criminal Investigations Directorate questioned the editorial decisions of...
Four journalists from Uganda's largest independent newspaper are facing criminal prosecutions, joining four others already charged since 2007, according to local journalists and news reports. Criminal prosecutions against the Monitor are on the rise against the backdrop of mounting national tensions in the lead-up to general elections in 2011. This month, President Yoweri Museveni, who is expected...
The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed concern at the ongoing police persecution of two Ugandan journalists. The police's Media Offences Department has repeatedly interrogated the two over a story critical of the government's handling of an international security operation against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army last month, according to a local lawyer and journalists. The two...
Ten to 15 men armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the offices of the Ugandan tabloid daily Red Pepper on Saturday, setting fire to a generator and the printing press, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. The men, riding in a convoy of five vehicles, carried out a well-orchestrated raid that lasted no more than 15 minutes, Red Pepper Managing Editor Arinaitwe Rugyendo told CPJ on Tuesday. Four...
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on the Ugandan government to "clearly and publicly" respond to local media reports claiming it has set up a high-level government task force to investigate journalists and control the media. "We call on the government to respond clearly and publicly to these allegations," said Gabriel Baglo, the Director of the IFJ Africa Office. "The...
The police in Uganda should respect a court ruling that lifts a ban on two live radio programmes, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said. The court decision Friday last allowed two live political shows on Life FM in Fort Portal to resume broadcasting, but the station has since received a warning from police about its future programming. On January 8, Regional Police Commander Martin...
