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Reacting to the ruling, Mukasa, now a sub-editor with The Weekly Observer, told me: "They're willing to spend taxpayer money trying to protect a corrupt government official at the altar of press freedom. It's very unfortunate." Mukasa and the others are free on what is called a police bond, which requires them to periodically report to police or a magistrate.
Mukasa's
fellow editors at the Observer, James
Tumusiime and Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda have been on police bond since 2006
on charges of "promoting sectarianism."
For now, their trial has been suspended pending a Supreme Court ruling on a challenge filed by Andrew Mwenda, editor of The Independent and a 2008 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee. Mwenda, himself under indefinite police bond and facing at least 21 criminal charges, has challenged the constitutionality of sectarianism and sedition laws. (Mwenda successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to strike down the offense of "publishing false news" in 2004.)
With these major press freedom
issues before
Otim
was immediately charged
with treason, a capital offense. The charge does not relate to journalism: He
is accused, along with 10 others, of forming an armed rebel movement to
overthrow the administration. The government has yet to present evidence
backing the accusations but says it has seized weapons and military equipment
related to the alleged offense.
For weeks, various officials had publicly denied reports that Otim was in government custody. Kiiza obtained a High Court order on June 11 declaring the secret detention unconstitutional and compelling the government to produce the journalist.
Otim's extrajudicial detention has concerned many in the Ugandan media, with some expressing fears of intensifying repression in the lead up to elections in 2011--the kind unleashed against critical journalists during the 2005 polls.
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Congratulation Keita, you really follow Ugandan media.
Go ahead.