Nairobi, August 23, 2018--Security forces beat and
detained at least four journalists covering protests in the Ugandan capital,
Kampala, on August 20, and confiscated or damaged their equipment. CPJ today
condemned the attacks and called on Ugandan authorities to hold those
responsible to account.
The journalists were arrested while covering protests
in Kampala to demand the release of lawmakers, including opposition MP Robert
Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, who were arrested last week in connection to
unrest in the northern town of Arua on August 13, during which President Yoweri
Museveni's convoy was stoned, according to reports.
In an August 22 blog post, President Museveni, who has
been in power since 1986, condemned the actions of security forces beating
journalists, but added that "the journalists working for foreign interests
or for our own local parasites tell lies." On August 19, the president
published a blog post about the recent political unrest in which he referred to
news outlets including Monitor and NTV as "fake news generators."
"President Museveni's public disdain for the news
media is especially alarming given the ongoing crackdown by police and military
personnel on journalists working to keep Uganda's public informed," said
Muthoki Mumo, CPJ's sub-Saharan Africa representative. "Ugandan
authorities should conduct rigorous investigations into the assaults on
journalists, hold accountable those responsible, and commit to preventing
future violence and detentions by security personnel."
Journalists attacked and detained on August 20 include
Reuters photojournalist James Akena, Alfred Ochwo, a photojournalist with
privately owned newspaper The Observer, and NTV journalists Ronald Galiwango
and Juma Kirya, according to journalists with whom CPJ spoke.
Footage of the attack on Akena, broadcast on local
stations and shared on social media, show at least two military officers
beating the journalist with long wooden sticks, even after he dropped to his
knees. The soldiers transported Akena to Kampala Central Police Station where
he was detained for several hours before being released unconditionally,
according to Isaac Kasamani, a freelance photographer with Agence
France-Presse, and Michael O'Hagan, co-chairperson of the Foreign
Correspondents Association of Uganda.
Kasamani, who went to the police station when he heard
of his colleague's arrest, told CPJ that the military had yet to return Akena's
camera, which they had confiscated, and that a subsequent hospital visit
revealed Akena suffered a fractured index finger and a broken ring finger on
his left hand, as well as injuries to his head and back.
A statement that Reuters' public relations department
shared with CPJ condemned the attack on Akena and said that the news agency
would "evaluate how to address this situation with the local authorities
in the coming days."
Ochwo told CPJ that he was returning to his
newspaper's office after photographing protests when about seven soldiers
confronted him. Some of them beat him with wooden sticks and threw his camera
to the ground, damaging it. He said he was put in a police pick-up truck, where
he found two other journalists, NTV's Galiwango and Kirya, already held. Ochwo
and Kirya told CPJ that one of the soldiers used pliers to pinch and pull
Ochwo's and Galiwango's flesh, leaving wounds on their shoulders and back.
The journalists were detained for several hours in
Central Police Station in Kampala, where they were forced to delete pictures
and footage on their cameras. Ochwo told CPJ that he left his camera at the
station as evidence for a report of malicious damage and assault that he filed
against security personnel.
Ochwo and Kirya told CPJ that the security personnel
appeared to be going after anyone recording the protests. They said that three
more people who had been recording and taking pictures with their phones were
arrested put into the truck with them. Kasamani told CPJ that on the day of the
protests he saw military personnel confiscating the phone of a young man who
had been filming security forces at the protest and in a separate incident an
officer warned a man against filming from a shop balcony. "The guy got
scared and ran away," Kasamani said.
In a statement circulated on Twitter, army
spokesperson Richard Karemire said the military was displeased over the
"unprofessional conduct of soldiers who molested some journalists."
He added that the Chief of Defense Forces has ordered the arrest and punishment
of those involved had been ordered. Karemire on August 21 declined to specify
to CPJ if any arrests had been made. Karemire on August 17 made similar
statements to CPJ following the assault of journalists in Arua.
Speaking to CPJ via telephone on August 21, police
spokesperson Emilian Kayima reiterated statements he made to CPJ the week prior
that security personnel did not target journalists and termed the assault and
detention of Akena as "unfortunate," saying that he had asked the
photojournalist to record a statement with police.
Security minister General Elly Tumwine on August 21
told CPJ not to "waste" his time, and that he was concerned with the
security of all Ugandans and not "isolated groups" like journalists,
before hanging up. When CPJ called him back to ask about journalists being
specifically targeted during their coverage of the protests, Tumwine repeated
earlier comments that he was concerned about the security of everyone, before
hanging up.
Ugandan security forces attack and detain journalists covering protests
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