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Let us bring to book torture culprits - UJA
Television journalist, Mr Zambali Bulasio Mukasa. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Mr Mathias Rukundo, the president of UJA, said: “We buy them [security personnel] guns and uniforms. We pay them fees for training and pay tuition for their children. There is something wrong with them.”
The Uganda Journalism Association (UJA) has called upon security agencies to investigate and discipline errant officers who violate journalists’ rights.
The call was made while commemorating the 30th World Press Freedom Day anniversary at UJA headquarters in Kawempe, Kampala, yesterday.
READ HERE: A State of torture?
Mr Zambali Bulasio Mukasa, the president of the Church of Uganda Media Association, said: “…there has been persistent attacks on the press (journalists) in form of torture, intimidation of licence withdraws, clobbering, unwarranted arrests, detentions, damage of work tools, etc, by individual security personnel from the Police, Army, Resident District Comissioners’ and press regulators.”
He added: “Such acts by the men in uniform have left several journalists with physical impairment’’.
Mr Mathias Rukundo, the president of UJA, said: “We buy them [security personnel] guns and uniforms. We pay them fees for training and pay tuition for their children. There is something wrong with them.”
“We shall use court and other mechanisms to make sure they understand the profession of journalism,” Mr Rukundo added.
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The UJA president said arbitrary directives by the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) has affected journalism.
“Arbitrary directives by the government media regulating body, the UCC, have led to loss of jobs. For example, 39 journalists from 13 media houses were in 2019 told by the Commission through their employers to leave their jobs following the publication and broadcasting of the news which the government felt was not in its favour,’ he said.
Respect for law
The government should ensure that all laws such as the Prohibition of Torture Act 2012 and Enforcement of Human Rights Act 2019 are used to deal with errant security personnel.
