By UJA Team
The Uganda Law Society has teamed up with the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) to fight the growing acts of impunity on journalists that undermine the enjoyment of press freedom in Uganda.
The acts of impunity in question include among others, persistent physical and cyber-attacks on journalists in form of beating/ assault/ clobbering, intimidation, work tools damage, interception of communication and interference while in line of professional duty.
Through the March Thursday 6, 2025 public engagement that was held at the society’s office in Kololo- Kampala, the society’s vice president Anthony Asiimwe observed that there was a growing trend of the human rights violation including for the journalists, which has informed the collaboration between the two organizations to work together in fighting them.
Asiimwe pointed out violence on journalists and citizens in an ongoing Kawempe North parliamentary by election by the security agencies under the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce (JAT) that left the Top Tv journalist Miracle Ibra seriously injured.
Ibra was hit on head with a baton by a JAT operative, leaving his eye nearly lost. JAT is a composition of the police and the army personnel.
The army spokesperson Gen. Felix Kulaije had since then told journalists that the JAT operative’s cruel response was triggered by the provocation from the leading opposition political party candidate supporters (NUP). Gen Kulaije had first denied knowledge of the same outfit during the prayer fellowship that had been organized by the journalists on Saturday March, 1, 2025, in Kampala capital following the scenes of electoral violence.
Asiimwe decried the excessive use of force by the security agencies, noting that such acts of lawlessness and intimidation only threaten the integrity of the electoral process as they erode public trust in rule of law and democratic governance.
the journalist behind the bars at Nakawa Chief Magistrate Court is Musa Ssewankambo.
The Uganda Law Society’s vice president reminded the security agencies their constitutional duty to uphold the rights of the Ugandans before he could urge the Electoral Commission (EC) to take a firm stance against electoral violence.
UJA Hails the Uganda Law Society Collaboration.
Speaking during the same engagement, UJA’ secretary general Emmanuel Kirunda praised the Uganda Law Society leadership for joining efforts with the journalists to end the growing acts of impunity against them. “I call upon other partners to combine forces with us like the lawyers to fight impunity against journalists”.
Kirunda noted that the growing attacks on journalists had far reaching implications on the press freedom landscape. “All this speaks to the acts of impunity in our country and I would like to use this space to condemn those acts, because they are illegal and casting our country in bad light”.
He added that attacks on journalists pose serious effect on the independence of the journalists as well as resulting into impairment or physical damage. “when a journalist is attacked it is the public that suffers, you won’t be able to access credible and well-balanced information as laid out by the journalists”.
The Uganda Journalists Association’s secretary general called upon the government to rein in on the violators of the human rights to protect the country’s economy and image.
Kirunda noted that four cases of violations of press freedom were recorded by our human rights desk between February 21 st and March 6 th . He explained that those cases were in form of detention, torture, beating and interception of news coverage.
With the case of detention, the judiciary was the violator when journalist Musa Ssewankambo was detained at Nakawa Chief Magistrate Court on 21st day of February as he captured un desirable footage to them about Dr. Kiiza Besigye’s retrial story.
Torture case, journalist Steven Mbidde with NTV was roughed up and floored in the dust by a swarm of police officers at Wandegeya police station on Wednesday March 5 th 2025 as they blocked him from following up a story of NUP detainees there, while Steven Kibwiika with NTV was on Tuesday March 4, 2025 beaten by the police officers at the same station and forced to delete his captured footage that was un desirable to them.
Journalist Miracle Ibra with Top Tv, was on 26th February 2025 brutally hit on head with a baton by security personnel under JAT during day one of Kawempe North parliamentary by election.
“The Pen is Mightier than the Sword.”
