Stop harrasing Journalists! Media Practitioners warn Police.

By Teddy Namayanja and Sandra Nsimiire

Media practitioners are asking government to implement the commitment made to the United Nations to investigate and bring perpetrators of violence against Journalists to justice especially the Uganda Police Force which they accuse of harassing Journalists, confiscating and destroying their gadgets.

They have issued a strong warning against the force and threatened to petition international authorities if they do not stop attacking Journalists. The sentiments that triggered this call were echoed during the media dialogue held on May 3, 2013 to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day at ESAMI AUDITORIUM in Kampala.

The dialogue brought together Journalists under the Uganda Journalists Association, Journalism students from Makerere University, Human Rights activists and defenders from Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, Uganda Human Rights Commission, and Uganda Law Society among others.

The Uganda Police Force was also represented by the forces Spokesperson Judith Nabakooba with the Police Spokesperson In charge Of Kampala Metropolitan region, Idi Ibin Ssenkumbi.

A short video collection entitled; “In their own words” showing the brutality that Journalists have suffered at the hands of the custodians who would otherwise protect them was shown. It was quite disturbing and sad. It would appear that the jubilee old nation had gone back to primal stages of human growth.
As if that was not enough, live testimonies of Journalists recently attacked and beaten by the Uganda Prison authorities in Kalisizo Government Prison in Rakai District were more disturbing. On the fateful day of March 18, 2013 Pascal Lutabi a correspondent for WBS TV and Daily Monitor together with John Bosco Mulyowa who reports for Government owned Bukedde TV, Bukedde Radio and Bukedde News Paper woke up to their daily routine and on rumours that 10 inmates had escaped from Kalisizo prison, the two hurried to capture all the details to make headlines as the story developed, however their day ended in agony as they were assaulted and later detained at Rakai Police Station. We captured their countable story.

“They nearly killed me; they punched me and beat me as if I was a terrorist. I felt severe pain on the head and in the abdomen. They kicked me, boxed me, hit me with a gun butt and stick. They destroyed my video camera. I, along with my colleague had actually first gone to the prison reception from where the Officer in Charge of the station turned us away. As we interviewed nearby residents, a prison warden identified as Semata Robert came and hit me with a stick. I fell down but continued to protect my camera, until four other prison warders including one Kyomwiri Frank joined him in the beating. The scuffle lasted for over 30 minutes.”  Lutabi accounted.

Participants also heard from Mulyowa that a prison warden threw stones at him when he saw him recording the incident with a video camera. “I dodged the stones, and when he tried to chase me, I boarded a commercial motorcycle (boda boda) and fled. When I came back later to check on Lutabi at Kalisizo Police Station, I was arrested and detained for over an hour, but was later released at night after recording a statement, without any charges preferred against me,” he said.

“It all happened in full view of the locals but they feared to intervene. When the police arrived at the scene, Pascal fled for dear life, but the prison warders pursued him and beat him again before the police handcuffed him and took him to Kalisizo police station,” another journalist who witnessed the incident told participants.

According to human rights observers, such incidents of assault against Journalists are a clear indication that there’s still a long way to go in as far as reviewing National Legislation for many African countries especially in Uganda is concerned.

 The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders Mrs. Margaret Sekagya said threats Journalists face in regard to Freedom of Expression is vivid through Government control over public media and politically motivated cases against independent media houses and the failure by Government to fairly bring to book all its officials that continue to committee crimes against Journalists in different forms.

In addition, majority of African states have still not adopted laws guaranteeing the Right to Information while those in existence are still weak.
More to that, the unduly harsh punishments, including imprisonment, fines and loss of civil rights to practice Journalism are still in place.