Press freedom important to nation

With so much unchecked information, there is a desperate need for a respected, independent voice to identify what matters among the noise and chaos on the web (social media) and help make sense of what we are reading or watching.

One Sunday February 3, Sunday Monitor ran a wide-ranging interview of former Forum for Democratic Change President, Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye, in which he made a number of critical statements about the Ugandan government.

On Wednesday February 6, President Museveni replied to that interview in a statement run by several Ugandan newspapers.

I noted with concern an attack on the media by the President, “Dr Besigye gave an extensive interview in that enemy paper (Daily Monitor) attacking the achievements of NRM ….” President Museveni said. Mr President this was a deliberate attack on the freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Ugandan Constitution.

And while the freedom of the press may be guaranteed legally in Uganda, the reality on the ground is very different. It is very unfortunate that the President can view media criticism of what his government is doing as against the national interest.

But while the work of the trust is important, it is clearly not enough. There needs to be a wider recognition and support for the value of strong, independent journalism across the country by all media houses.

“I refused to comment for two reasons. Reason number one is that some of these newspapers endlessly tell lies. One would have to abandon more useful work to respond to the lies and malice of these papers always manipulated by the enemies of Uganda. The second reason is that I do not want to be used by the enemies of Uganda to also contribute to the diversion of the public’s attention from their core interests to the endless schemes of these enemies,” Mr Museveni said.

Importance of journalism
But by monitoring performance and results, acting as a watchdog and by fostering national debate, good journalism is crucial in ensuring the country identifies the problems that must be overcome and helping find solutions. Newspapers are pressurised into toeing a party line.

Journalists on many occasions face obstruction, harassment and even worse.
“The intention of these enemies is to divert the attention of the public from their core interests to these lies and also to scare businesses that may want to come to Uganda by presenting Uganda as potentially unstable,’ Mr Museveni charged.

Mr President, I would like to inform you that politics is a power relation between people and political groups. You very well know Mr President that politics is the struggle engaged by human beings to decide which members of societies get benefits or privileges. In other words, politics is where people argue to obtain something that they want and therefore the independence of the media should not be threatened.

In this era where everyone can post news or share their opinions, it is easy to fall into trap of believing the role of the traditional media and their journalists have become less valuable. But, in many ways they have become even more important.

With so much unchecked information, there is a desperate need for a respected, independent voice to identify what matters among the noise and chaos on the web (social media) and help make sense of what we are reading or watching.

“But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred,” Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

The writer is a communications specialist and a veteran Journalist.

Dr Joseph Kiyimba
kiyimbajoseph@yahoo.com