Spokespersons available to take media interviews
Responding to the Uganda Communications Commission’s decision to order 13 radio and TV stations to suspend their news editors, producers and heads of programming, over “incitement” and “misrepresenting information”, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, Sarah Jackson, said:
“This order from Uganda’s communications commission represents a blatant attack on press freedom and a lamentable tendency towards state censorship. The Ugandan authorities must immediately rescind this decision and end the harassment and intimidation of journalists and media houses. Journalists must be allowed to freely do their job.”
Background
On 1 May 2019, the Uganda Communications Commission ordered seven radio stations and six TV channels to suspend their top editors and producers, apparently for their coverage of the arbitrary arrest of musician and opposition politician Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi.
The Commission ordered the media houses to submit within three days “recordings of all live programmes and news bulletins aired on the 29th of April 2019”, when Bobi Wine was arrested on his way the Criminal Investigation Directorate, who had summoned him.
Bobi Wine was released on bail on 2 May, after being held on remand at Luzira Maximum Security Prison for three days, charged with holding an illegal assembly and procession in July 2018, when he led a protest on a social media tax.
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For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Lucy Scholey, Amnesty International Canada (English), + 613-744-7667 ext. 236, lscholey@amnesty.ca
