World’s press condemns media shutdowns in Uganda
In the early hours of Sunday, 28th June, Ugandan military personnel raided the premises of Nation Media Group-owned media houses in Kampala, forcing television and radio broadcasts off the air and shuttering print titles. Journalists and media leaders are being targeted online as the military increases its pressure on independent media across the country.
WAN-IFRA and the World Editors Forum has written to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to call for an immediate reopening of shuttered media, reminding the long-serving head of state of his government’s obligations under domestic and international law to protect the freedom of the press and ensure the safety of journalists and media workers.
Mr President,
We are writing on behalf of the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum to condemn the military-enforced shutdown of Nation Media Group titles and the targeting of independent media in Uganda. These actions are grave violations of both domestic and international standards established to protect freedom of expression and press freedom.
WAN-IFRA is appalled to learn that Nation Media Group radio, television and print titles — including the Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda — were raided by military personnel in the early hours of Sunday, 28th June. Reports indicate that journalists and staff at the company’s headquarters in Kampala were temporarily detained and prevented from leaving while television and radio transmissions were taken off air.
We understand that these actions were taken following directives issued by Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Public statements threatening individual journalists and media leaders, declaring media should operate only with military approval, and dismissing press freedom as something ‘not to believe in’, are particularly disturbing.
Mr President, these outrageous actions are being interpreted as a direct assault on constitutionally protected freedoms, and ultimately have no place in a democratic society. They represent an affront to the Ugandan people’s fundamental human right to access and receive information, and serve only to undermine the position of the Ugandan government vis-a-vis its duties and obligations.
WAN-IFRA appeals for the urgent reversal of this fateful trajectory, and calls on you to demand the reopening of all shuttered media titles and to oversee the immediate withdrawal of all military personnel.
We strongly encourage you to denounce General Kainerugaba’s statements as a means to clearly indicate his views are not representative of the official Ugandan government position with regards to the independent press.
And we call on you to provide guarantees for the safety and protection of all journalists and media workers as Uganda moves forward from this deeply regrettable incident.
Furthermore, we urge you to renew your government’s respect for the Ugandan Constitution and to reaffirm its obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, particularly the rights to freedom of expression, media freedom, and access to information.
We encourage you to take action on these points at your earliest opportunity. We assure you, Mr President, that we will be closely monitoring the developing situation for our colleagues and partners in Uganda on behalf of the global media industry, and equally will be encouraging our peers, European Union partners, and global stakeholders to do likewise.
Sincerely,
Stig Ørskov
CEO, WAN-IFRA
David Walmsley
President, World Editors Forum
