Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has condemned in the strongest terms the ongoing attacks on journalists and media freedom in Uganda by security forces. On Tuesday, police turned their wrath on reporters covering a press conference of medical interns and senior house officers (SHOs), indiscriminately spraying them with pepper spray. Among those injured were Thomas Kitimbo, a video journalist for NBS Television, and photographer Francis Isano.
The briefing was a protest by medics over the delayed deployment of interns to training facilities and the overdue salaries for SHOs. During the scuffle, a police officer identified as Ogwal (badge number 49563) turned and pepper‑sprayed journalists who were wearing press jackets, holding cameras, and displaying identity cards. Media organisations have condemned the police action and are calling for the officer’s immediate reprimand.
In a statement, Kyagulanyi, leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP), warned that the Museveni “dictatorship” will target anyone it perceives as a threat, including journalists who expose its excesses. “Oppression does not spare anyone, no matter how insulated they might appear,” he said, urging all Ugandans, especially the media, to rise up and challenge Museveni’s regime.
Kitimbo questioned the motive behind the police’s conduct: “Someone can’t be on duty, holding a camera, and then be sprayed directly in the eye. What have I done?” Isano, visibly upset, replied, “Mr. Ogwal, you hurt my eyes, but God will judge you. You will remember this day.”
The 2022 Global Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders shows Uganda’s ranking slipping to 132 out of 180 countries, seven places lower than in 2021. While press freedom improved across most East African Community (EAC) nations, Uganda’s situation worsened, with journalists facing daily intimidation and violence from security operatives. The country’s media landscape includes more than 200 radio stations and about 30 television networks, many linked to members or supporters of the ruling National Resistance Movement.
The report notes that President Museveni does not tolerate criticism and frequently launches hateful commentary against the press. Despite constitutional protections under Articles 29 and 41, repeated violations by security forces have raised questions about a crisis of legitimacy. By 2022, Uganda’s “fourth pillar of democracy” – independent journalism – had been severely threatened by overt and covert repression from state actors, moving far from Reporters Without Borders’ definition of a free press: the ability of journalists, individually or collectively, to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest without political, economic, legal, or social interference, and without threats to their physical and mental safety.
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