Envoys tell govt to stop using Covid-19 to stifle democracy
What you need to know:
- Democracy is in decline globally and opportunities for citizen participation in decision making are weakening.
- Uganda's government among other things banned public rallies or political gatherings as a measure to contain the spread of the contagious virus.
Government must not use the Covid-19 pandemic to stifle free democratic debates and make sure Ugandans have the right information about the pandemic, actors have warned.
The call comes at a time when government has banned public rallies as a measure to contain the spread of the contagious virus.
During the democracy day debate at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel yesterday, the Swedish ambassador to Uganda, Mr Per Lindgärde, said disinformation and misinformation has hugely impacted democracy in Uganda and globally.
“The pandemic is changing the way we conduct our lives in ways we cannot yet fully apprehend. One aspect is the increasing reliance on the Internet for access to information, which poses a number of challenges for our societies. How do we ensure access to information for as many as possible? How do we tackle the issue of false information spreading, both intentionally and unintentionally?” he asked.
“Democracy is in decline globally and opportunities for citizen participation in decision making are weakening. This trend has been further compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. We must ensure that actions to combat the pandemic do not undermine democracy or its institutions,” he said.
The ambassador called for transparency and access to reliable and accurate information .
Ms Anna Merrifield, the Deputy Head of mission in Uganda, appealed to all stakeholders to fight disinformation.
Ms Merrifield said global social media companies such as Facebook are rapidly spreading in Africa with platforms used by individuals to spread disinformation and misinformation.
“As more people come online, the need to engage with these companies remains more pressing. While these communication channels remain open, we need to make sure these companies do more to stop the spread of disinformation not from the point of regulators, but also as consumers,” she said.
“We also need to be vigilant with the fact that technology changes so rapidly and in a few years, it will be a tough time for regulators to keep up. As European Union, we commit ourselves to work with both state and non-state actors in Uganda to take forward ideas on how to combat disinformation and misinformation,” she added.
Last month, the Uganda Communications Commission gave an ultimatum to bloggers and other online publishers to register with it before they can engage in any activity, a decision rights actors have challenged.
Ms Lillian Nalwago, the president of the Internet Society of Uganda, said the commission must not only focus at regulating the sector, but carry out sensitisation.
“Government has attempted to try to regulate social media but they haven’t achieved much. Is regulation the only solution though? The challenge is when the government uses the regulation to curtail freedom of speech.
The commission needs to sensitise the user, especially the younger generation,” she said.
Ms Ebise Emiru Angose, the president of Makerere University Debating Union, said democracy rests on the public shoulders and structures in place and therefore citizens should be cautious about the information they consume and spread.