Ugandan authorities investigate 4 journalists in murder case, charge and jail 2
Nairobi, July 22, 2022 – Ugandan authorities should release journalists Ivan Mutyaba and Denis Isabirye immediately, drop all the charges against them, and drop their investigations into reporters Jacklin Nabatanzi and Muganza Julius Kiyumba, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. The four journalists are among a group of suspects recently arrested for their alleged…
Ugandan journalist Lawrence Kitatta goes into hiding after assault, suspected surveillance
Nairobi, March 31, 2022 — Ugandan authorities should investigate a February 22 assault on and several incidents of suspected surveillance of freelance journalist Lawrence Kitatta, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Kitatta, a photojournalist and reporter, has been in hiding and unable to work since March 11, he…
Two Ugandan journalists charged with cyberstalking the president, remanded to prison
Nairobi, March 17, 2022 — Ugandan authorities should unconditionally release The Alternative Digitalk television journalists Norman Tumuhimbise and Faridah Bikobere, drop any pending investigations against seven other journalists from the online media outlet, and rigorously investigate allegations that at least two of these journalists suffered serious physical abuse while in the custody of security personnel,…
Ugandan authorities detain 2 journalists on criminal libel charges
Nairobi, June 9, 2021— Ugandan authorities should drop the criminal libel charges against journalists Pidson Kareire and Darious Magara, and reform the country’s laws to decriminalize speech, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 27, the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Court in Kampala, the capital, charged Kareire and Magara with criminal defamation and…
Ugandan police summon Daily Monitor employees in libel and false news investigation
Nairobi, June 4, 2021 — Ugandan police should immediately drop their criminal investigation into the Daily Monitor newspaper and guarantee that the media can cover security forces’ alleged misconduct without retaliation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 31, the police Criminal Investigations Department summoned Tony Glencross, the managing director of the Daily…
Ugandan soldiers assault journalists at Bobi Wine event, face opaque military trial
Nairobi, February 25, 2021 — Ugandan authorities should ensure that soldiers who recently assaulted journalists covering an opposition political event are held to account in a credible and transparent process, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 17, a group of Ugandan military police officers used sticks and batons to beat at least…
Ugandan security personnel harass journalists, shut down radio station during elections
Between January 12 and January 20, 2021, Ugandan security personnel harassed and detained at least four journalists covering the country’s general elections, and shut down at least one radio station, according to a statement by the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda, a local human rights group, and journalists who spoke to CPJ. Ugandans voted in…
Ugandan networks block The Elephant news website before election
Several Ugandan internet networks blocked Kenya-based news website The Elephant in mid-December 2020, according to the site’s publisher, John Githongo, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app in January 2021, and a report by Qurium, a non-profit foundation registered in Sweden that provides hosting services for the website. Githongo told CPJ on January 19 that…
Internet access cut, social media banned during Uganda elections
Nairobi, January 14, 2021 – Ugandan authorities should immediately cease all efforts to disrupt internet access in the country and allow the press to cover the country’s elections freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Uganda Communications Commission, the country’s broadcasting and telecommunication regulator, ordered telecommunications providers to suspend internet services in…
CPJ joins call for Uganda to maintain internet access during election
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 54 other organizations in a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni calling on him to ensure open and unrestricted internet access during and after the country’s presidential election, scheduled for January 14. The letter notes that disruptions to internet access would undermine journalists’ ability to report on the…