Brutality, legal battles as media marks World Press Freedom Day

WBS’ Lwanga winces in pain after he was clobbered by Old Kampala DPC Joram Mwesigye. PHOTO BY RACHEAL MABALA

What you need to know:

World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a recommendation adopted at the 26th Session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on media pluralism and independence.

Early last year, Andrew Lwanga, a cameraman with Wavah Broadcasting Services (WBS) was part of journalists covering the arrest of youth activists when suddenly policemen, led by Old Kampala Police chief Joram Mwesigye, descended on him, beating him with electric wires and batons.
He sustained injuries notably on his spine and has since been bedridden, unable to fend for his family.
Kagwa represents the hundreds of journalists each year who are tortured by state forces such as the police and army while in line of duty.

According to the Human Rights Network for Journalists (HRNJ), several journalists have over the years been physically attacked, including being shot, intimidated, arbitrarily arrested and detained as well as losing their equipment such as cameras and recorders. Many more are in court battling charges sanctioned against them by the State.
Media houses have also been gagged by the state which has resulted in self-censorship and suffocation of the dissemination of vital information, practitioners and rights activists say.

According to Haruna Kanabi, a veteran journalist, the country has witnessed nasty events such as the closure of Daily Monitor and Red Pepper, irreparable damages caused to colleagues like Lwanga among others.
“We should not celebrate but rather mark the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) to remind our tormentors that press freedom is vital for our democracy that must be protected and upheld at all times. We call upon those responsible to consider the existing laws and policies that guard free expression and media,” says Kanabi, adding that more than a dozen laws enacted to muzzle press freedom include the Press and Journalism Act of 2000, Uganda Communications Act 2013 and a looming amendment to take away the power of Parliament to approve regulations on information and communication.

Curtailing media freedom
Geoffrey Wakulira Ssebagala, a journalist and rights activist, says this year’s World Press Freedom Day has come at the time when government is positioning to curtail media freedom further.
“The arrest and charges placed against Robert Shaka who was suspected to be TVO and Charles Rwomushana, among others, is a clear sign that freedom of expression online is heading for dark days,” says Ssebagala.
He says the platforms and content are being criminalised by the current regime.

However, Col (rtd) Shabban Bantariza, the deputy director of the government Media Centre, says the country should celebrate liberalisation of the economy that made it possible for the prosperity of private media.
“We now have hundreds of radios, scores of newspapers and television stations all of them with freedom to compete among each other and even against government. The little skirmishes that once in a while come up between the media and the government agents are occupational hazards,” says Col Bantariza.

“If you are driving a car, you must look into the driving mirror to look behind you and see what threats are behind you,” says Col. Bantariza adding, “If you get injured in the process, it is regrettable but expected and understandable so long as no body in government or outside condones it.”
But Bantariza says government needs the media to disseminate and educate the people but also the media needs government for protection in execution of their noble duty.
“The media should constructively criticise government to make it perform better but not to fight and the government will not fight the media because we are the one who liberalised it in order to have better quality reporting for the development of our country,” he adds.

Worthy cause
Foundation for Human Rights Initiative executive director Dr Livingstone Sewanyana says WPFD should be celebrated because it reminds the public about the important role the media plays in promoting social, economic and political transformation.
“In our fight against poverty, injustice and social deprivation, the media remains one of the single most important player. If the media plays its rightful role, then the public are able to know the sources of injustice; those who are corrupt, why government programmes fail and why sustainable development continues to elude us,” says Dr Sewanyana, .
Despite its role, Dr Sewanyana says the media faces a gigantic task in society where state institutions are highly compromised, “Where the truth is largely hidden and where might is right, and journalists become soft targets.”
He says; “As we commemorate the day, the media will need to know that only the truth can emancipate us. It is only when the journalists side with the weak that the mighty will be rendered helpless and that the battle can only be won when we all work in unison.”

Set standards
According to Sewanyana, the day is important to remind journalists of the standards they must adhere too and how important it is that even if they are seen as victims because justice can never be received on a silver plate.
“Overall, we cherish the role the media has played in exposing fraud, advancing rights and speaking out for those who are less privileged. The road will not be smooth neither will the future be certain requiring those who are ready for the job therefore to stand up to be counted,” he says.
Dr Sewanyana says just like any other professions, there is need to mentor upcoming journalists, give them space, motivate them sufficiently and recognise talent, rid out masqueraders and those who continuously compromise the profession.
He warns: “Journalists cannot expect to be treated differently when other rights are being compromised. They must be seen in context of the struggle. When they are victimised, thrown out of covering Parliament, when they are mistreated, journalists must realise that it the price.”

Yona Wanjala, the executive director of Defenders’ Protection Initiative (DPI), says journalists are part of the human rights defenders who need to be empowered with skills of safety and security due to their noble cause.
“The nature of journalists’ work puts them on the spot. That is why they need to be equipped to assess their risks, understand the environment to come up with informed decisions,” says Wanjala.
He reveals that they have started a Journalists’ Safety Dialogue dubbed “Ekyooto” with the aim of moblising journalists and media practitioners to discuss topical issues in the country on the various options that can be implemented to ensure media safety and security.

Wokulila says there is a concern over the right to privacy online which calls for Parliament to widely consult citizens on the proposed Data Protection and Privacy bill tabled before Parliament last month.
“We have witnessed on several occasions telecommunication companies abusing or misusing citizens personal information in their possession. We demand that such information should be withdrawn from them to reduce the risks surrounds keeping it private hands of companies that came to do business,” he says.
This year’s WPFD, according to UNESCO, will address three key themes; Freedom of information and sustainable development, protecting press freedom from censorship and surveillance overreach and ensuring safety for journalism online and offline.

Robert Sempala, the national coordinator of Human Rights Network for Journalists –Uganda (HRNJ-U) castigates bribery leading to concealment of information and killing stories by both reporters and editors, saying it amount to abuse of press freedom.
“Where sources call up reporters to withhold information purporting to provide additional comments or saying it is premature when the sole purpose is to stifle the flow of the information. But where reporters stand firm and file the stories, the news sources directly involve editors who kill the stories,” says Sempala.
Sempala says such moves amount to abuse of authority and office on the part of those who conspire to kill the story.
“Station managers need to put up stringent conditions for receiving money from sources. On the sources of news, they should labour explain their sides rather than killing the flow of information,” says Sempala. He appeals to media managers to play a progressive role in defending and asserting the need for free and critical media.