Uganda’s Press Freedom Crumbles Amid Electoral Repression
By James Kabengwa
Kampala, Uganda. As Kawempe North parliamentary by-election descended into chaos, Thursday, the arrests of two opposition lawmakers and multiple journalists—paired with a shocking military crackdown—have laid bare the escalating dangers faced by media workers.
The decision by Nation Media Group Uganda to withdraw Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda journalists from covering the polls, citing targeted attacks by soldiers and plainclothes agents, underscores a grim reality: journalism has become a life-threatening act of defiance.
Daniel Kalinaki, the Nation Media group’s General Manager, framed the withdrawal as a reluctant survival tactic in a message posted on X.
“Our teams are being hunted, their equipment destroyed, and their lives endangered simply for documenting the truth,” he said.
This retreat marks an ugly situation revealing how far the state will go to silence scrutiny during pivotal political moments.
The Kawempe North by-election, triggered by the death of former MP Mohammed Ssegirinya, was meant to showcase democracy.
Instead, it has become a theater of repression. Heavy military deployment transformed the constituency into a militarized zone, with security forces firing live rounds, lobbing tear gas, and arbitrarily detaining opposition figures and journalists.
Among those arrested were Mawokota MP Kiyaga Hilderman and Bukomansimbi MP and reporters from Daily Monitor and NBS TV held at undisclosed locations. Among many arrested, tortured or missing is Abubaker Lubowa, Tamale Raymond.
Journalists recount being chased by soldiers, cameras smashed, and drones confiscated. “They don’t want the world to see how they’re rigging this election,” said Mikeal Kakumirizi, a photojournalist who fled after being beaten.
The assault on journalists is not new but has intensified under President Yoweri Museveni’s 38-year rule. Once a regional media leader, the country now ranks 132nd out of 180 in Reporters Without Borders’ 2023 Press Freedom Index, below war-torn Sudan.
Laws like the 2016 Computer Misuse Act and 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act are routinely weaponized to criminalize critical reporting. The Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-U) documented 47 attacks on press personnel in 2023 alone—a 30% increase from 2022.
Independent outlets like Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda are frequent targets.
Journalists face arbitrary arrests, torture, and equipment seizures, while security forces act with impunity.
“The message is clear: toe the line or face consequences,” said Dr. Peter Mwesige of the African Centre for Excellence in.
The risks are existential. Journalists work in constant fear of reprisals—denied accreditation, barred from press briefings, or labeled “enemies of the state” for exposing corruption.
Media houses, meanwhile, face financial suffocation. Government-aligned businesses boycott independent outlets, starving them of ads.
The Kawempe crisis, however, reveals a darker trajectory. By silencing journalists during elections—the cornerstone of democracy—the state ensures skewed narratives and unchecked fraud. A 2023 Afrobarometer survey found 62% of Ugandans distrust electoral institutions, citing biased media coverage. Without transparency, public faith erodes further.
The international community, long silent, must pressure Kampala to end its war on truth-tellers. For now, reporters like those forced out of Kawempe North cling to a fragile hope: that their sacrifice will ignite a reckoning for Uganda’s fading democracy.
Uganda’s 2026 general elections loom as a flashpoint.
