HRNJ-Uganda alert, Daily Monitor journalist assaulted in prison

Ntungamo, 18^th/May/2012; A freelance journalist for the Daily Monitor in Ntugamo district was assaulted in prison by inmates of a crowded Ntugamo local government prison where he had been remanded.

Rumanzi was remanded on Wednesday by Ntungamo Grade One Magistrate Francis Matenga on charges of incitement to violence. He had been remanded to jail until 30^th/May/ 2012 after failing to get two sureties. He was however released on Thursday on a non-cash bail when Monitor Publications lawyer Joshua Mariiro secured a production warrant and a bail application was heard. His mother Annie Rumanzi and a station manager for a local station Radio Ankole, Eliot Kabangira Maganbe stood surety for him.

He told Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) that he was beaten three times by the inmates whose leader kept questioning he had delayed to go to court. “They beat me three times during the time I was in prison. They seemed to be working on someone’s orders. Other inmates were not beaten that time. The healthy conditions in the prison were appalling. The one room prison had 368 inmates instead of the 87 it was meant to accommodate.” he said.

Prosecution alleges that Mr Rumanzi uttered words that contravene section 51 of the Penal Code Act. The said words were however not on the charge sheet.

He was arrested by Special Forces Group (SFG) guarding the first Lady Janet Museveni on April 29^th at Kyamate Cathedral which is the seat of South Ankole Diocese. The SFG ordered the police to detain him for allegedly interfering with the security of the First Lady by interfering with their movement. He was released on bond after two days in police custody.

At the time of his arrest, Rumanzi was covering the installation of the members of South Ankole Diocese synod at St. Mathew Cathedral Kyamate in Ntungamo district where Ms. Museveni was the chief guest.

The SFG claimed that Rumanzi was arrested for interfering with the security of the First Lady, but later the police’s crime investigation officer said he was to be charged from sedition, while his bond papers had the offence of obstruction. He was finally charged with inciting violence.

He would report back to court on June 19 for hearing of the case.

“These are tramped up charges meant to silence any form of critical journalism. Rumanzi was initially cleared by the SFG but later chased away from the news scene under unclear reasons. We call upon the court to expedite the case hearing and give the journalist a fair trial.” said the HRNJ-Uganda Programme Coordinator Wokulira Ssebaggala

For More Information Contact;

 Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda)

 Kivebulaya Road Mengo Kampala Opp. St. Marcelino Pre. School

 P.O.BOX. 71314 Clock Tower Kampala

 Tel: +256-414-272934 / +256-414-667627

 E-mail: news@hrnjuganda.org

              humanrajournalists@yahoo.co.uk

 Website: www.hrnjuganda.org

 BLOG: http://hrnjuganda.blogpost.com

HRNJ-Uganda alert, Police quiz political Pearl FM talk show host over a radio Programme.

Kampala, 18^th/May/2012; the police have quizzed a Pearl FM radio journalist Nyombi Mahmoud  for over 2 hours over  a talk show Programme he hosted Saturday 05^th/May discussing the level of Parliamentary democracy in Uganda as compared to other countries.

Nyombi moderates the weekly Programme ‘Mwoyo gwa ggwanga –The Patriot’ which airs Saturdays from 9:00AM to 11:00AM local time. The Programme in question was to feature the president’s Deputy Principal Private Secretary Kintu Nyago who never turned up for the show. It therefore was made a call-in Programme about the day’s topic of parliamentary democracy in Uganda. It centered on the revelation by the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga that she was under pressure from some ruling NRM party members to gag opposition members of Parliament.

He was summoned and interrogated by the Assistant Inspector of Police Byamugisha Jackson the In-Charge of media crimes at the police station. Pearl FM is a private radio located in Kampala just a few meters away from the police station.

Byamugisha confessed that he was acting on orders from above. “This matter was brought to the attention of the CID Director by the Inspector General of Police himself, so it was referred to me by the CID headquarters. I listened to the Programme recording and found no substance for our investigations, but since am acting on orders from above, I sent the recording to another department to transcribe and translate the material there.”

Nyombi told HRNJ-Uganda that he was surprised by the summons; an action he believes was meant to sway him away from allowing alternative views and free debate from airing on the radio.

“This is an attempt to sway me away from allowing free debate on current topical issues. I believe I handle the Programmes very professionally, maybe that’s not what they want, but I will remain objective and give every one equal opportunity. The police officer seemed to be working under immense pressure from somewhere. ” he told HRNJ-Uganda at the police.

Byamugisha noted that Nyombi would be used as a witness in case of criminal charges against the callers. He was with lawyer Hussein Muwonge, Pearl’s Administrative Assistant Yassin Kironde, Chief News Editor Kisembo Abubaker and Programmes Director Uthman Menya among others. Others present were the HRNJ-Uganda Programme Coordinator Wokulira Ssebaggala and lawyer Catherine Anite.

Nyombi recorded a statement and was released without a charge.

“This is a scheme by the government to use the police to silence all free media and debate on matters of national importance. All the recent human rights status reports have clearly shown that the police have become the government’s coercive arm against all critical media. Since Byamugisha stated that he did not find any matter to warrant police investigations, they should not influence Nyombi to be a witness in case of any criminal charges. We commend Pearl FM and other journalists for standing in solidarity against such police schemes.” said the HRNJ-Uganda Programme Coordinator, Wokulira Ssebaggala

For More Information Contact;

 Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda)

 Kivebulaya Road Mengo Kampala Opp. St. Marcelino Pre. School

 P.O.BOX. 71314 Clock Tower Kampala

 Tel: +256-414-272934 / +256-414-667627

 E-mail: news@hrnjuganda.org

              humanrajournalists@yahoo.co.uk

 Website: www.hrnjuganda.org

 BLOG: http://hrnjuganda.blogpost.com

IMPACT OF LIBERALIZATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE MEDIA IN UGANDA

Kampala 2^nd/May/2012; HRNJ-Uganda released a report on Media Liberalization in Uganda just a day after World Labour Day celebrations and hours before World Press Freedom day. The report, a result of a study carried out in various media houses established that commercial interests are overriding quality, content and working environment of media outlets.

A total of 150 interviews were conducted. The key informants included media owners and managers, Uganda Communications Commission, Broadcasting Council, Media Council and journalists.

Uganda has a vibrant and dynamic media industry covering divergent interests and views. The industry expanded with the adoption of a liberalisation policy in that has seen an increase in the number of radio and TV stations as well as newspapers. The total number of licensed media outlets is over 240 including both the operational and non-operational ones.

Whereas there is an increase in media outlets in Uganda, this does not necessarily mean there is freedom of expression and speech. The Media Rights and freedoms are continuously violated and abused by the state and non-state actors. Many media houses have been closed for being critical of government; others have gone in self-censure while the operation of many other outlets is determined by the commercial interests of the founders and those of their clients.

However there are other managerial and ownership factors that have greatly undermined the industry. This study established terrible working conditions for the practitioners- especially news reporters. They include among others;

1. The desire by the media owners to maximise profits which has resulted into reduced investment in training and remuneration for media practitioners, research and quality production with more concentration on entertainment and marketing. This has come with a cost to the industry

      ii.            Lack of transparency in media houses and the failure for media houses to contract practitioners is common.

    iii.            Many media houses have opted for freelance practitioners who are paid on piecemeal basis. The payment ranges from less than a dollar to a few dollars per story. This has consequently affected the quality of the output.

    iv.            The study also established that with the exception of salaries, there are no other benefits and protection measures for those working in risky areas.

From the research, the following recommendations were made;

i.                    Media owners and media practitioners should interest themselves with laws that govern them and be able to advocate for fair laws and policies for a better operating environment

ii.                  Protection and safety mechanisms for media practitioners and owners should be put in place by the various stake holders including security agencies.

iii.                Security plans and allowances for those working in risky areas must be considered through health insurance schemes, legal defence and rescue plans.

iv.                Media practitioners should consider creating or joining the existing labour unions to be able to demand for fair pay and protection from their employees. The unions need to be focused, neutral and independent.

v.                  Media houses should invest in research to better the quality of their products. This will lead to healthy competition and resultant development of the industry as a whole.

vi.                Parliament should work with central government and other stakeholders to improve the present media laws to enable the media and other stakeholders practice freely. The laws should focus on facilitating media to practice their freedoms as generally accepted in a democratic society as opposed to control and monitoring media activities. Media laws should also allow the media council to punish media houses that violate the rights of media practitioners.

vii.              Government should increase training of police, army and other security agencies to improve on their relations with the public and also the media. Government should also punish security agents who infringe media rights.

We encourage all journalists whether contracted or not to join hands in advocating for respect of human rights and press freedom in Uganda. We further urge media owners to improve on the working conditions of their employees.

To view the report: http://www.hrnjuganda.org/liberalisation_and_media_book.pdf

For More Information Contact;

 Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda)

 Kivebulaya Road Mengo Kampala Opp. St. Marcelino Pre. School

 P.O.BOX. 71314 Clock Tower Kampala

 Tel: +256-414-272934 / +256-414-667627

 E-mail: news@hrnjuganda.org

              humanrajournalists@yahoo.co.uk

 Website: www.hrnjuganda.org

JOURNALIST ARRESTED BY JANET MUSEVENI’S GUARDS RELEASED, HE FACES SEDITION CHARGES.

Ntungamo, 01^st/May/2012; A freelance reporter with Daily Monitor in Ntungamo District, Perez Rumanzi, who was arrested by Special Forces Group (SFG) guarding the first Lady Janet Museveni, has been released on bond after two days in police custody. He risks facing sedition charges.

Rumanzi, 27, was arrested by the SFG personnel who ordered the police to detain him for allegedly interfering with the security of the First Lady. He was covering the installation of the members of South Ankole Diocese synod at St. Mathew Cathedral Kyamate in Ntungamo district where Ms. Museveni was the chief guest.

The SFG spokesperson, Capt. Edson Kwesiga is quoted to have said that Rumanzi had been allowed to cover the function but his conduct necessitated that he be stopped and that he was arrested after he told security personnel that their time in government would also end. 

He told Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) that he was a victim of persecution because he had been cleared earlier in the morning to cover the function. “I was cleared by security to cover the function, but when I left the place to off-load pictures from my memory card, I returned and continued taking others but security people told me I should leave because I had not been cleared. When they told me to go away, I went and kept the camera and returned to attend the service because I had just been cleared in the morning. They then said they did not want me there. They arrested me and called police to detain me. When I demanded to know what crime I had committed, they said that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.

Upon being told that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Rumanzi short back saying, “It will once be a right place at a right time for journalists when we have our freedom…..”

He said that he did not see the charge sheet while entering and coming out of the cells, but the officer in charge of crime investigations at the police told him that he was likely to be charged with sedition. The Monitor’ Bureau Chief for Mbarara Alfred Tumushabe told HRNJ-Uganda that Rumanzi‘s bond papers had the offence of obstruction.

HRNJ-Uganda commends the professional way in which the police handled the matter, and the fact that Rumanzi was not tortured while in detention and was allowed access to his people.

“We however are concerned by the way the first lady’s security personnel treated the journalist. This is not the first time Rumanzi was being turned away from covering such functions. It is a violation of media freedom and rights provided by the Constitution. The police should not use a nullified law of sedition to charge the journalist. The matter should also be expedited to give Rumanzi’s a right to defend himself in a fair process.” Said the HRNJ-Uganda Programme Coordinator Wokulira Ssebaggala

For More Information Contact;

 Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda)

 Kivebulaya Road Mengo Kampala Opp. St. Marcelino Pre. School

 P.O.BOX. 71314 Clock Tower Kampala

 Tel: +256-414-272934 / +256-414-667627

 E-mail: news@hrnjuganda.org

              humanrajournalists@yahoo.co.uk

 Website: www.hrnjuganda.org

 BLOG: http://hrnjuganda.blogpost.com