Govt must not kill free press

The Press and Journalists (Amendment) Bill, 2010, which is now before Cabinet, should worry any person interested in democracy and freedom in Uganda.
While we respect the right of the government to amend laws as and when it deems fit, we are dismayed at the letter and spirit of this Bill.

At best, the Bill portrays its drafters as overzealous pursuers of what they see as the interests of the state. At worst, it exposes them as people out to kill all critical and dissenting voices.

Article 29 (1) (a) of the Constitution protects freedom of expression and the press, but this bill appears to encroach on these very freedoms.

Among other things, the Bill proposes annual registration and licensing of newspapers by a government-controlled media council, restricts foreign-ownership of the press, and seeks to influence newspaper content by criminalising the publication of information that is deemed prejudicial to national security, stability, unity or economic interests.

But who determines what is prejudicial or not to national security, stability or unity? Who defines the social and economic values that newspapers must espouse as suggested by the Bill?

A free press is a pillar of accountability in any democratic society. It speaks truth to those in power and reports about the things that are done in the name of the citizens including, as usually happens, things that the powerful would rather keep hidden away.
The press should exercise this mandate fairly and responsibly. We recognise this obligation and have, together as an industry, supported the creation of a code of conduct and an independent media council to enforce it.

However, this Bill does not just seek to regulate the press. It seeks to destroy critical and independent journalism by giving the government the power to determine what is fit to print and what is not.
This Bill is more than an attack on press freedom. It is an attack on our collective right, as Ugandans, to the truth and to the information we need to be free and self-governing. We appeal to all Ugandans to oppose this attempt to control free speech and to erode our right to know.

This editorial is jointly issued by concerned editors in Uganda