DEFINING UGANDA'S PRESS INDEPENDENCE

Press independence can be defined as the freedom of communication and expression through mediums mainly print and electronic media. Uganda’s media industry dates back to pre independence era.

According to Sewanyana (2007), first media outlets in Uganda were newsletters owned by missionaries; these included Mengo Notes fist published in 1902 under Church Missionary Society, Munno published in 1911. Other newspapers included Agafa e Mengo owned by Buganda kingdom, Uganda Herald first published in1912, Matalisi first published in 1923 among others.

In the same way, cracking media freedom dates back to the same era. Newspapers were subject to restrictions imposed by the colonial authorities, including the Newspapers Surety Ordinance No. 9 of 1910 and the Press Censorship Ordinance No. 4 of 1915 which penalized publication of information regarding British military activity. This crack down went on until independence.

The 1962 independence brought a short lived press freedom. Sewanyana  (2007) further states that the first shot against media in post independence era was in 1966 when Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) government under Milton Obote deported Ted Jones, Uganda corrspondant for two Nairobi based publications, The Kenya Weekly News and The Reporter as well as Billy Chibber,  a reporter for Daily Nation. The government also closed Ssekanyolya, a pro-Buganda kingdom newsletter that had been a thorn in the fresh of the colonial government. This was during the Kabaka crisis.

In 1970s when Amin came to power, media was also vulnerable to the dictates by government as well as murder of several journalists such as Clement Kiggundu, editor of Munno among others.

 In 1986, NRM came to power after the famous bush and its greatest contribution to media independence was liberalisation of broadcast media in 1993 which had been owned by state since 1950s when UBC radio then called Radio Uganda was launched. However, this government has also followed bandwagon of predecessors in wielding press independence.

Many factors both direct and indirect are affecting press independence. They include the following;

Parliament of Uganda continues to pass bill that constrict media freedom further. At its promulgation, the Constitution of Republic of Uganda (1995) at least provided for media freedom. For example, Article 29(1) (a) guarantees the right to free expression, which includes the freedom of the media.  Article 41 (1) gives every citizen the right of access to information in the possession of the state. Article 43 (1) states that these and other fundamental rights shall be enjoyed as long as this does not prejudice the rights and freedoms of others, or the public interest.  Article 43 (2)(c) goes on to say that any such limitations(including media freedom) should only be those acceptable and demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society, or what is provided in the Constitution (Friedrich 2012). However, since 1995 parliament has been enacting Acts which have been narrowing media freedom in one way or other. Press and Journalist Act (1995) section 8 establish Media Council which is empowered to licences and journalists and evoke such licences. The implication of this Act is that journalists cannot express themselves freely when they know that their licences can be easily terminated. Uganda Communication Act (2013) establishes Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) and this commission is authorized to licences and revoke licences for media outlets. This Act indirectly limit media freedom since owners of media outlets can stop journalists from covering stories of public interest that can lead to revocation of their licences. Regulation of the Interception of Communications Act (2010).This limits journalists’ ability to gather information as it threatens the confidentiality of journalists’ sources. Similarly, the Computer Misuse Act, Electronic Transactions Act, Electronic Signatures Act all allow the authorities to seize electronic communication and thus could compromise journalists’ sources. Section 9 (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (2002) also makes it a criminal offence to publish and disseminate news or materials “that promote terrorism”, without precisely defining “terrorism”. Anyone convicted of this and other offences under the Act can be sentenced to death. With these Acts, press is not independent in decision making.

The state has been at fore front in curbing media freedom using different security agencies such as the policy, army, Internal and external security organisations. Last month Daily Monitor reported stories about denial of opposition access to radio stations in Kabale and Kasese as they continue to sensitise Ugandans about electoral reform demands. In Kabale, Maj Gen Muntu and opposition activist Bishop Zac Niringiye were pulled off a talk show on Voice of Kigezi by police, hardly 30 minutes into the programme and two other local FM stations were ordered not to host the opposition politicians, whom the police claimed would incite the people against the government (Muhereza & Rumanzi, 2014). The same happened in Kasese, Police raided Guide Radio and stopped a talk show in which Forum for Democratic Change president Mugisha Muntu was being hosted.  Rwenzori regional police commander, Mr Thomas Kasimo, who led the team, claimed Gen Muntu was inciting violence. He further told media reporters that he had instructions from above to order halt of the programme (Kahungu and Ninsiima 2014).

Apart from using state agencies to suppress media independence, president Museveni has been threatening media outlets and individual journalist. Freedom House (2013) in its Freedom of Press-Uganda Report termed president’s threat to press freedom real and proliferating. In December 2012, he threatened to close radio stations that hosted critics of his government. The threat came after a controversy surrounding the mysterious death of Cerinah Nebanda, a ruling party legislator who was very critical of the administration. In the same year President who was visibly incensed by Charles Onyango-Obbo’s  articles on UPDF operations in Solmalia that were published in the East African newspaper wrote a damning opinion in the New Vision describing Obbo as a pathetic liar, charlatan, evil man and one of the greatest enemies of the NRM party. He further labelled Obbo a quisling traitor “always grovelling in the dust for that sponsorship, (Museveni 2012). Obbo moved to Nairobi in 2003 and he is now working as Nation Media Group’s executive editor for Africa and Digital Media.

While documenting his life and experience at Daily Monitor, he noted:

I will only mention that I am still keeping count, and so far the number of times that Ugandan journalists combined have appeared in court, are still fewer than the number of times I did when I was Editor of the Monitor ( Obbo, 2012)

With such threats from president journalist can easily leave out stories that can put them at loggerheads with the president.

 The state/government has compressed press independence further through closing down media houses majorly for political reasons. This instigates fear among different media houses and individual journalists who desist to publish or air out stories that would lead them into squabbles with the state hence curbing press independence indirectly. An editor can intentionally refuse to assign a reporter to cover a story and when a reporter or freelance journalists report such stories; editors bash them out deliberately through gate keeping process. In May last year, government raided Daily Monitor and Red Pepper claiming to be looking for a letter written by renegade Gen David Tinyefuza. The letter alleged that President Yoweri Museveni was grooming his son to succeed him and those who opposed this risked assassination. These papers in addition to Dembe FM and K-FM affiliated to Daily Monitor where shut down for eleven days under the pretext of searching for the letter after government claimed that the director general, Internal Security Organization, to whom the letter was addressed, as well as the officers to whom the letter was copied never received it hence reasoning that it was only the Daily Monitor and Red Pepper in possession of the letter. They were re-opened after President Museveni and the management of Nation Media Group, which owns the Daily Monitor met in Addis Ababa. Among others, they (Daily Monitor) agreed to be sensitive to and not publish or air stories that can generate tensions, ethnic hatred, cause insecurity or disturb law and order (Byaruhanga 2013). Daily Monitor was also closed in 2002 and 1998 for publishing political stories respectively. However in 2003 government snubbed public outcry to shut down Red Pepper, a local tabloid. On 15^th may, hundreds of Christians took to the streets to protest publication of pornography and obscenity by the paper. The match stated at the Constitutional Square and ended at parliament where Christians who were joined by then Archbishop of Church of Uganda Mplanyi Nkoyooyo presented a memorandum to then speaker of Edward Ssekandi calling for immediate ban and closure (Mwesigye 2003).

It is important to note that Penal Code section 166 provides that:

(1)   Any person who

(a) for the purpose of or by way of trade or for the purpose of distribution or public exhibition, makes, produces or has in his or her possession any one or more obscene writings, drawings, prints, paintings, printed matter, pictures, posters, emblems, photographs, cinematograph films or any other obscene objects, or any other object tending to corrupt morals;

(4) A court may, on the application of the Director of Public Prosecutions, a state attorney, a public prosecutor or a superintendent of police, order the destruction of any obscene matter or thing to which this section relates, whether any person may or may not have been convicted under the provisions of this section in respect of such obscene matter or thing and ban the producer (Penal Code Act, 1995).     

Under this section, government could have banned Red Pepper or convicted the owner though this did not happen. Had it been a political issue, as usual, state would have responded by shutting down the paper even before public outcry. Currently, Entaasi, a weekly runyankole tabloid affiliated to Red Pepper is notorious for publication of pornographic and obscene materials, however the state is noiseless about the issue though they shut down newspapers which publish or air out controversial political stories.

Increasing corporate media ownership in Uganda is a threat to press independence. As the media landscape continue to experience a growth boom, also the interest of investors both domestic and foreign is increasing for example, according to Lugalambi, Mwesigye and Bussiek (2010)  state-owned media giant, Vision Group, is the market leader in the newspaper sector and its shares are some of the best performers on the Uganda Stock Exchange. It is spreading its wings over radio and TV. In August 2008 it acquired Radio West, which has the largest audience in western Uganda, In 2009 Vision Group launched Bukedde TV, which joined Bukedde FM. It also owns TV west affiliated to radio West in Mbarara, Urban TV, X-fm among others. In the print media Vision Group own New Vision- Uganda’s leading daily, Bukedde- a Luganda daily, Orumuri, Rupiny, Etop, among others as well as Magazines. The Nation Media Group owns the leading independent newspaper, Daily Monitor- a major TV station NTV, KFM radio and Dembe FM. The Vision Group and NMG between themselves control the biggest share of the public space in which the national discourse is conducted. The implication of this corporate media ownership is that Vision Group which ‘state is owned’ cannot publish or air out stories critical to the NRM government while Nation Media Group’s Daily Monitor which has endured a hostile relationship with the government after it was temporally shut down for 10days last year and in 2002 can easily kill stories critical to the government. 

In relation to ownership, the state is still own the ‘public broadcaster’- UBC radio and TV. According Lugalambi, Mwesigye and Bussiek (2010), UBC TV has one channel while UBC Radio transmits programmes on five channels; Red, Blue, Butebo, Star FM and Magic FM. The three main channels (Red, Blue and Butebo) comprise a national network of 18 FM- and MW-based radio stations. Except for Star FM, which broadcasts exclusively in luganda, the Red, Blue and Butebo channels use 23 different languages grouped by region. Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) Act (2005) was passed in aiming ‘to introduce a viable, independent, and professionally run public broadcaster accountable to the public is yet to bear fruits nearly 10yrs after this Act was passed. Can UBC, be a public broadcaster when its board of directors is appointed by the government?. Daily Monitor (2014) reported that former minister and Jinja Municipality MP Igeme Nathan Nabeeta was appointed UBC board chairperson last month. It ought to be remembered that UBC is governed by a board of directors appointed by the minister of information. Section 7(2) of the UBC Act states that the directors shall be appointed by the minister  of information from among prominent Ugandans of proven integrity by virtue of their qualifications, expertise and experience in the fields of broadcasting, technology, media law, business management, finance, and journalism’. So can this board employ journalists critical to the government? The answer would be no. With government still owning UBC radio and TV, we ought to forget objective reporting from the public broadcaster.

Commercialisation is another hindrance of media independence; liberalisation of broadcast media in early 1990s led to explosion of radios and TVs. Today, we have more than 270 radios and about 40 TVs registered by the Uganda Communication Commission and influence of advertisers is general cutting across from corporate and individually owned outlets. It is the desire by these media owners to maximise profits which result into reduced investment in training and remuneration for media practitioners, research and quality production with more concentration on entertainment and marketing. However, the ultimate impact of commercialisation is dependency by these media outlets on adverts of earn profits because ‘advertiser is the king.’ These advertisers have their interests which sometimes can be against editorial policy. Since the owners are interested in maximising profits, they fore go their editorial policies and succumb to the interests of advertisers. Rhodes(2013) argued that advertising correlates to media censorship and he use a prominent example of Nation Media Group which own among others Daily Monitor, NTV Uganda, K-FM and Ddembe FM in Uganda and others broadcast and print outlets in Kenya and Uganda. Nations Media Group is the most successful and largest independent media house in East and Central Africa. In 2012, its revenue had increased by nearly 50% in five years to US$142.5 million and he noted that advertising trajectory in East Africa’s media has rose to nearly five folds in East African press in the last five years. In 2012, press was awash with stories alleging of graft in prime Minister’s office involving misuse of donor funds, he quoted Barbara Among, then foreign editor of Daily Monitor saying ‘As editors, we insisted on covering the story despite some objections from Prime Minister’s office’ while Don Wanyama, Daily Monitor’s Managing Editor said that with the office’s budget, there was less report about the scandal. Prime minister’s office oversees five ministries is one of the biggest advertisers in Uganda.

Thus, in his opinion:

Because advertising represent the greatest source of revenue both government and non government agencies wield huge influence which often allows them to control quietly what is published and what is not, according to journalists and media analysts. Advertisers offer lucrative ads to sweeten any coverage or threaten to stop ads if a paper writes critically about them (Rhodes, 2013).     

Hence, it is imperative argue that advertisers are the biggest financial supporters of the press and yet they are also the biggest suppressor of media freedom.

Most Ugandan journalists are not trained hence lacking professional to make ethical decisions and these journalists who are not trained are under paid. This under payment coupled with lack of professional skills have facilitated the ever increasing bribing of journalists leading to reporting of news subjectively rather than objectively.

Uganda Human Rights Commission reported:

we continues to observe and receive report on unprofessional tendencies which were centrally to code of ethics and they included demanding of money in exchange for publishing or airing stories and this was attested to by the public announcements that were made by different media houses both print and electronic notifying public that they don’t charge for airing or publishing stories...( Kemigisha (2012, p.13)

Press and Journalist Act (1995) had emphasised need for professionalism by defining who qualifies to be a journalist on top of stipulating code of ethics. National Institute Journalists Uganda was mandated to enrol members who are eligible however this body is not functional hence proliferation of non professional journalists. The body was supposed to enrol a journalist who is a holder of university degree in journalism or Mass communication; or he or she is a holder of a university degree plus a qualification in journalist or mass communication and has practised journalism for at least one year. According to the Act, Media Council established under section 8 was supposed to issue licences to journalists with certificate of enrolment. With loopholes in both Media Council and National Institute of Journalist Uganda (NIJU), local media should brace for more talented than trained journalists who will be under paid and lacking professional ethics hence easily bribed.

All in all, the media independence is threatened when governments are in political crisis, so when media report negative stories, authority from above steps in directly or indirectly to desist further coverage of these stories though commercialisation is also an emerging threat.

REFERENCE LIST

Byaruhanga C 2013, ‘Uganda's Daily Monitor reopens after police closure’ BBC, 30th May, viewed 5^th April 2014, www.bbc.co.uk/../world-africa-22717291

Friedrich E S, 2012, African Media Barometer, FES Media Africa Printing Press, Windhoek Namibia

Kemigisha R2013, ‘Freedom of Assembly, Media Still major issues of concern’ The Uganda Human Rights Commission Magazine, vol. XIV, No. 2 p 13.

 Kahungu T and Ninsiima E, 2014 ‘Police raid Kasese radio, throw out Gen Muntu,’ Sunday Monitor, 30^th March, pg 3.

 Muhereza R & Rumanzi P, 2014, ‘Besigye,Muntu clash with police in Kabale,’ Saturday Monitor,  29^th  March, p.4

Museveni Y K, 21002, Mogadishu: Museveni responds to Obbo, New Vision, 7^th May, viewed 3^rd April 2014, New Vision Archives database.

Mwesigye P, ‘Ban Red Pepper call is plain Intolerance’ The Monitor, 15^th May, viewed 5^th April, 2014 

Lugalambi G, Mwesigye P and Bussiek P 2010, Public Broadcasting Africa Series-Uganda, Compress Printers, Nairobi Kenya

Oyango-Obbo C ,2012, ‘Uganda’s ‘Great’ Independent Monitor Lives To See 20: We Fought The Good Fight, Lost Many Battles, Won The Big Wars’ Naked Chiefs 8^th July, viewed 3^rd April 2014, Naked Chiefs Archives database.

Penal Code Act 1950 (Laws of Uganda), viewed 5^th April, 2014, www.ulii.org/../120

Rhodes T, ‘Advertising and Censorship in East Africa’s Press’ Committee to Protect Journalists, viewed 3^rd April, www.cpj.org/attack s-on-press...

Sewanyana L (ed), Freedom of Expression in Defence of Media Freedom in Uganda, Report for the period 1^st June-30^th November 2007.