The decision came after two journalists sued the government for failing to disclose the oil deals and give them access to the information. The court`s decision dealt a severe blow to media freedom and the protection of human rights. Seven years ago, a landmark decision also provided the African continent with a powerful example of freedom of expression. In 2014, the African Court on Human and Peoples` Rights ruled against Burkina Faso in what is now a landmark media freedom case in Konaté. A week later, Kampala`s central legislator, Muhammad Nsereko, introduced the bill to control the use of social media. Cite as: Mayamba, Johnson. “Uganda Must Repeal Colonial Laws to Guarantee Media Freedom,” GC Human Rights Preparedness, 31. March 2022, gchumanrights.org/preparedness/article-on/uganda-must-repeal-colonial-laws-to-guarantee-media-freedom.html The Penal Code Act (amended in 2007) is considered “the deadliest weapon against media freedom in Uganda”. Article 41 on sectarianism, Article 50 on the publication of false news, Article 53 on defamation of foreign princes, Article 179 on defamation and Article 180, which defines defamatory matters, among other things, are disastrous for freedom of expression. In particular, the sectarian offense is punishable by up to five years in prison and is often used to arrest and intimidate journalists. For example, when journalists report or discuss nepotism in the media, they are often quick to be accused of “promoting bigotry.” One such case is that of Basajja Mivule, who was arrested for criticizing the government for its tribalism. Government officials also sometimes invoke defamation sections against journalists and political opponents to hide government misconduct and protect their reputations.
Home page: gchumanrights.org/preparedness/article-on/uganda-must-repeal-colonial-laws-to-guarantee-media-freedom.html 10 “UCC orders social media shutdown ahead of tense survey,” The Daily Monitor, January 12, 2021. Available on www.monitor. co.ug/uganda/news/national/ucc-orders-social-media-shutdown-ahead-of-tense-poll-3254532 last accessed March 15, 2021. 11 Clare Muhindo, “Eight journalists beaten on the orders of a military officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,” African Centre for Media Excellence, February 17, 2021. Available at acme-ug.org/2021/02/17/eight-journalists-beaten-on-orders-of-military-officer-at- un-human-rights-office last accessed March 15, 2021. The new law is somewhat controversial. Uganda`s Attorney General, Fred Ruhindi, disagreed with the document, saying media producers should always be held accountable when mistakes are made on the radio. (Naturinda & Nalungo, loc. cit.) The country`s record – in terms of freedom of expression, access to information and the general media environment – is poor. In the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, Uganda has fallen from 117th place in 2018 to 125th place over the past three years.
Local and international media rights reports highlight the violations that security officials regularly commit against journalists with impunity. These include beatings, arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture, forced confiscation of media material and suppression of images. COVID-19 has exacerbated the situation. Moreover, “most of these attacks tend to be intensified during politically charged periods, such as periods of contentious political debate and during elections,” when human rights issues take centre stage. UNESCO stressed that such attacks intimidate journalists and affect their ability to work freely because “any attack distorts reality by creating a climate of fear and self-censorship.” Uganda has a number of laws that promote and protect media freedom and the right of access to information for every citizen. Most notable is Article 41(1) of the Ugandan Constitution of 1995, which states that every citizen has the right of access to information held by the State or any other State body or agency, unless the disclosure of the information would infringe the security or sovereignty of the State or interfere with another person`s right to privacy. Article 29 (a) of the Constitution also guarantees freedom of expression and opinion, including freedom of the press and other media. However, it appears that the same laws mentioned above have been used to criminalize the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution. This applies in particular to the 2000 Press and Journalists Act. This law aimed to professionalize journalism, to create structures and processes by which one becomes a journalist and practices journalism as a profession. Instead, however, the authorities abused the law to criminalize the practice of journalism, as was the case during the reporting period. This has been evident in several cases where the voice of the media has been muffled; with several restrictions on who is legally considered a journalist.
There have also been cases where broadcasting licences have been revoked without due process. Several journalists were arrested and tortured during the reporting period, threatening the independence of journalism. Of particular note is the closure of all social media platforms in Uganda;7 a law approved by the Ugandan president in response to Facebook`s closure of official NRM accounts.8 The law was justified by the president in a presidential speech in January. Although the NGO Article 19 praised some aspects of the bill, there were concerns that the media regulator was not sufficiently independent of the government.