Rights groups warn Uganda over lock-up of Red Pepper editors

Media rights groups have warned the Ugandan government over continued detention of eight managers of a private tabloid.

A Kampala court last week locked up directors and editors of Red Pepper in a Jinja prison for allegedly publishing a story linking Kampala to a plot to topple Rwanda President Paul Kagame.

MUSEVENI

The accused directors are Richard Tusiime (the managing director), Johnson Musinguzi (finance), Patrick Mugumya (operations) and Arinatiwe Rugyendo (company secretary and chief marketing officer).

The journalists are Richard Kintu (news editor), Ben Byarabaha (associate editor), Francis Tumusiime (special projects editor) and James Mujuni (a reporter).

They were also accused of disturbing the peace of President Museveni, his brother and military chief, General Salim Saleh, and Security Minister Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde.

The magistrate denied them bail after the prosecution argued that their freedom would "endanger national security".

The rights groups asked government to re-open the Red Pepper and also release its directors and editors or face collective action by the media and human rights community.

The groups’ protest at a joint media briefing in Kampala on Tuesday come two weeks after the directors and journalists were locked up.

THREATS

Mr Robert Ssempala, the National Coordinator of Human Rights Network for Journalists in Uganda, who spoke on behalf of the others, asked the government to respect human rights.

“Government is reminded that continued persecution and oppression of journalists is a violation of press freedom. The government should amend laws that continue to criminalise the work of journalists,” he said.

The groups particularly hit out at Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) for what they termed “continued media witch-hunt”.

They said media houses, particularly outside of Kampala, have been pressurised not to host and publish dissenting voices.

“Every media house must be free to interview any public figure whatever their political stance. UCC must be seen to work for the promotion and growth of the media rather than control and curtail its freedoms,” he said.

“Whether we like or agree with the content the Red Pepper publishes, this attack on press freedom undermines the freedom of all journalists to report freely on the facts. The government must stop using arrests and prosecutions as a means to intimidate journalists engaged in lawful and legitimate work.”

THE US

Other civil society organisations included Uganda Media Women Association, Chapter Four, Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, Human Rights Network, Human Rights Centre – Uganda, Hub for Investigative Media, Foreign Correspondents Association in Uganda and Centre for Public Interest Litigation, among others.

The call comes barely a week after  US Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac described the media environment in Uganda as “increasingly threatening” and reminded government of its responsibility to “safeguard the constitutional right”.

Ambassador Malac opined that the raid on Red Pepper and arrest and charging of its senior editors “simply for publishing an article” was uncalled for.

FREEDOM

She added that if the “government believes that media stories contain falsehoods, there are legal ways to challenge the stories.”

Freedom of the press has been declining in Uganda in recent years, according to the Washington based-rights body, Freedom House.

“Uganda declined due to increased government pressure on media outlets regarding coverage of political events, along with a growth in bribery in exchange for favourable election-related reporting,” Freedom House noted in its 2016 report.

According to the body’s country rankings, Uganda ranked 24th on the continent and at 122 in globally.

Additional reporting by Harry Misiko.