Freedom of The Press
As in many African countries, government agencies continue to impinge on the freedom of the press in Uganda.
In late 2002, the independent Monitor newspaper was temporarily closed by the army and police. Journalists from the paper continued to come under attack in 2004, two of whom were publicly denounced as "rebel collaborators" by a spokesman for the UPDF.
In February 2004, the Supreme Court ruled the offence of "publication of false news" to be void and unconstitutional.
In 2005, Uganda was rated as the 13th most free press of 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa In 2010, Uganda was rated the 15th most free press of 48 countries.
On the 24th day of January 2012 Issac Kasamani, a photo journalist alleged in a newspaper report that he had been shot at by a police officer whilst covering an opposition rally. An independent investigation into this incident was immediately ordered and an independent report completed by a foreign national concluded that no live ammunition was fired on the date in question. Upon release of this report Ugandan Minister Hon. James Baba expressed concern over the standards of reporting surrounding the incident and announced his intention to look closely at media regulation. This is of international concern.
In November 2012, John Ssegawa, co-director of the critical State of the Nation play reported that Uganda's Media Council had decided to ban further showings. Ssegawa said the theatre production company would continue to stage the production and defy the ban.
Read more about this topic: Human Rights In Uganda
Famous quotes containing the words freedom of the, freedom of, freedom and/or press:
“Woe to that nation whose literature is cut short by the intrusion of force. This is not merely interference with freedom of the press but the sealing up of a nation’s heart, the excision of its memory.”
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918)
“Freedom of enterprise was from the beginning not altogether a blessing. As the liberty to work or to starve, it spelled toil, insecurity, and fear for the vast majority of the population. If the individual were no longer compelled to prove himself on the market, as a free economic subject, the disappearance of this freedom would be one of the greatest achievements of civilization.”
—Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)
“If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“Whenever [Leonard Bernstein] entered or exited a country he would fill in on his passport form not composer or conductor, but musician. Of course people in the press spent a lot of Lenny’s life telling him what he should have done; he should have been a concert pianist, he should have composed more.... And people wouldn’t let him live his own life. But he created his own career, in his own image.”
—John Mauceri (b. 1945)