By Ezaruku Draku Franklin

Police, for the 14^th time in a raw have once again emerged the top tormentors of journalist in Uganda, cementing their position as the undisputed rights violators of journalists in the country. The community and mob came second while UPDF took the third position in abusing and violating the rights of journalists in 2022.

The 14^th edition of Uganda press freedom index released by Human Rights Network for Journalists, Uganda indicates that 94 cases were recorded last year, down from 131 in 2021 and 174 in 2020.

Titled uncertain future for media, the report however says while the figures have come down, the situation still remains tense for journalists, especially those who ask accountability questions, demanding answers from those in positions of authority.

“From the political point of view, the state continued to harass and intimidate journalists considered critical. Several journalists were arrested, detained, assaulted and in some cases their equipment damaged while executing their work. It is of concern that all these acts were largely perpetrated by security agencies establishing a very dangerous pattern of abuse of journalists by the state. This is ironic given that the state has a duty to protect them,” the report says.

According to the report, female journalists continue to experience escalated risks of sexual and gender-based violence at the workplace and in the field and that because of this, several female journalists have been forced to make the difficult decision to quit the profession.

“From an economic perspective, most journalists and media houses continued to struggle with the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation of journalists was further escalated by the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,” the report says.

“With perennial challenges of poor pay, many journalists and media practitioners were extremely challenged by the surge in the cost of living occasioned by the reduced global fuel supply because of the war. The vulnerability of journalists was further heightened by the rather rabid technological evolution that saw a major media house lay off more than thirty (30) staff, promising to replace them with more tech-savvy ones,” it adds.

The report also says while the digital revolution presents numerous opportunities for press freedom, it threatens traditional journalism and poses several challenges including heightened state surveillance, emergency of unregulated citizen journalism and escalated cyber harassment of especially female journalists.

Robert Ssempala, the Executive Director of HRNJ Uganda, while releasing the report on Tuesday said the current political trajectory of the country points to very hard times for journalists and media rights practitioners. He said the pronouncements of a high ranking military official to the effect that he will crush critical journalists and that no one will protect them when he comes to power are of great concern especially coming from a serving military officer.

“Considering the level of abuses and violations committed against journalists and media practitioners as well as the evolving political context, HRNJ-Uganda calls for intentional constructive engagement between the industry and the state to discuss these challenges a majority of which are long-standing,” Ssempala said.

He said the socio-political circumstances prevailing in the country, and in particular the increased deterioration of democracy and the rule of law made it very difficult for journalists and media practitioners to thrive.

“Contrary to the expectation that the state would soften its stance on criticism after the heated 2021 general election, journalists and media practitioners continued to witness state curtailment of the enjoyment of their constitutionally protected rights and freedoms in 2022,” he said.

“Just like was the case in the past years, the state deployed its security forces to frustrate the work of critical journalists and those viewed to promote the opposition. Several journalists were arrested and detained without trial. Others were assaulted and their equipment damaged,” Ssempala added.

The numbers

In 2022, a total of 94 cases of human rights violations and abuses against journalists and media practitioners were recorded, according to the report. These involved assaults, unlawful arrests and detention, denial of information and sexual harassment of especially female journalists.

There were 30 cases of assaults, 22 cases of arrests, four cases of confiscation of Gadgets, 15 cases of damage of Equipment, three journalists were threatened, Nine were charged, 10 had blocked access and two cases were of unknown nature, bringing the total to 94.

Uganda police had the highest number of abuses and violations at 42 cases reported, followed by community and mob at 16, while UPDF came third with 11 cases. There were nine abuses committed by unknown people, while district environment officers abused the rights of journalists six times, CAOs had 4 cases of abuses, Mayors, three times and private security guards abused journalists three times also.

The report says although the number of reported cases is less than those reported in 2021, overall, the environment for the practice of journalism and the exercise of press rights and freedoms in Uganda in 2022 remained a hostile one.

The Freedom in the World Report 2022 ranked Uganda number 132 out of 180 countries, while Reporters Without Borders ranked Uganda 133 out of 180 countries in World Press Freedom Index 2022.

“Of even greater concern is the future of press freedom in Uganda. The amendment of the Computer Misuse Act to introduce stringent penalties for offences already provided for under existing laws will greatly impact the ability of journalists to obtain and publish information,” the report says.

“Even more scary are the blatant threats to crush the media by the first son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba. In a Twitter statement made in December 2022, the General threatened to crush journalists critical of his movement once he comes to power adding that no one would protect them,” the report added.

Allen Mercy, the public Diplomacy Counsellor at the US Embassy in Kampala said while Uganda’s constitution and many other constitutions around the world provide for freedom of expression, the situation still remains precarious for journalists in Uganda.

“In other words, the environment for journalism is bad 7 out of 10 countries and satisfactory in only 3 out of 10 countries globally.  Freedom of expression as driver of all rights…we must all be defenders of this most important right, but as journalists, you are at the forefront of this fight. The work you do sheds light on the shortcomings that deny people their universal human rights,” she said

 Retired Col Stephen Kalisiza, a commissioner at Uganda Human Rights Commission said the commission will stand with journalists in defending their rights. He asked journalists whose rights have been abused and violated must report the cases to the commission for prompt action.