Posts Tagged ‘Uganda’
June 28th, 2011
Radio presenter in
Uganda, Philips Ogile, yesterday
began a two-month community service sentence after he was convicted of privacy intrusion. In January 2007 Ogile took, and later published, a photograph of a woman stripped and searched by law enforcement officers. The woman was accused of stealing a mobile phone. Ogile was charged with three counts of indecent assault, defamation and indecently assaulting the modesty of a woman. The officer involved was charged with unlawful detention and fined 100, 000 Ugandan shillings (£25).
June 2nd, 2011
Police in
Uganda raided the offices of
Prime General Supply Limited, the publishers of a bi-weekly newspaper which is critical of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government. During the
raid on 25 May two senior editors and two other members of staff at Ggwanga newspaper were arrested on allegations of criminal libel. A computer and several documents concerning the activities of “Activists for Change” were also removed. Three employees have been released on police bail awaiting further questioning.
June 1st, 2011
A journalist appeared in Kampala Magistrates Court yesterday charged with criminal libel. Timothy Kalyegira, the editor of
Uganda Record, a website which has been critical of the country’s governing National Resistance Movement. Kalyegira was initially questioned over articles which suggested that Somali based militants,
al Shabaab, were connected to the 11 July
bombings in Kampala which killed 76 people. He is being remanded in Luzira Prison until his next trial date on 6 June.
May 23rd, 2011
Breathless narratives do not take full account of African realities, says Nick Young
(more…)
February 25th, 2011
A journalist was
attacked by a mob while covering the recent elections in Mbale district, south-eastern Uganda. Gerald Mutembu, who works for Wavah Broadcasting Service (WBS), was filming a scuffle between different groups fighting over the alleged bribery and intimidation tactics of supporters of the state minister for housing, Michael Werikhe. Six journalists have
reportedly been attacked in different parts of the country while covering the elections.
January 19th, 2011
The chief executive officer and managing director of Business Summit Review was
detained on January 11 after the magazine ran a cover cartoon depicting Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni slicing up a cake in celebration of 48 years of Uganda’s independence. Mustapha Mugisa was released a few hours after his arrest but faces charges of political offence.
November 2nd, 2010
A Ugandan judge has instructed the Rolling Stone newspaper to
stop publishing the names and photographs of people it claims are gay. Last month
the tabloid published names, photos, and addresses of 100 supposed homosexuals, alongside a banner that read, “Hang them.” The injunction came following a request by the gay rights group Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). The group says some
gay people were attacked after Rolling Stone published the information. Editor Giles Muhame was unrepentant, saying,
“We will publish more pictures but in a diplomatic way, so that we can dodge the law” and
“ I haven’t seen the court injunction but the war against gays will and must continue. We have to protect our children from this dirty homosexual affront”.
September 22nd, 2010
Kampala metropolitan police chief Andrew Sorowen announced on 20 September that public gatherings involving more than five people
must be cleared by the Inspector General of Police (IGP). He added that the measure also applied to wedding receptions and funerals, citing the threat of terrorism as justification. Police deputy spokesperson Vincent Sekatte later
said that official clearance was not required for private assemblies, but advised citizens wishing to hold such events to inform the IGP first. The new guidelines come amidst
outrage at the government’s proposed Public Order Management Bill, which would require organisers of rallies and demonstrations to obtain approval from the police.
