Ugandan authorities fired teargas on a peaceful sit-down protest by a group of journalists in the country’s capital Kampala this week, following the government-enforced closure of a number of national news outlets on May 20.
The Kenyan owned Daily Monitor, Uganda’s best selling independent newspaper, along with the Red Pepper and two associated radio stations have faced censure by the authorities since they reportedly printed internal government rumours of a plot to assassinate those who opposed the succession of President Museveni’s son.
Since then, the premises of these agencies have been under police occupation, and their printing presses disabled. They have been forcibly prohibited from continuing operations until they hand over the evidence for their claims, supposedly an internal security letter by one of the country’s top generals.
The situation escalated on Tuesday when police were confronted at the premises of the Daily Monitor by a crowd of around 100 journalists protesting the closure and its infringement of free speech. Organised by the Ugandan Human Rights Network for Journalists, they denounced the clampdown as a “violation of media freedom and economic sabotage.”
Yet despite the apparently peaceful nature of their protest, it is reported that police opened fire with tear gas on around 20 of the journalists, confiscating cameras, beating some with batons, and arresting two. A police spokesman, although confirming this, insisted that they had only opened fire after being provoked, and that those arrested were later released.
Although the newspapers remain closed, the Daily Monitor has maintained its online presence. In a statement on the paper’s website, Managing Director Alex Asiimwe has urged his staff to remain calm, yet remains defiant: “We’ll continue to engage the authorities at all levels… It’s moments like these that refine a business, removing impurities and making us all better”
