Monitor scribes grilled again, bond extended

Jan 05, 2009

TWO Daily Monitor scribes were yesterday grilled again at the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) headquarters over publishing a story said to be prejudicial to national security.

By Chris Kiwawulo

TWO Daily Monitor scribes were yesterday grilled again at the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) headquarters over publishing a story said to be prejudicial to national security.

Grace Matsiko and Angelo Izama, both senior reporters, were interrogated for over four hours in connection with a story they wrote last week on Operation Lightening Thunder, a joint military offensive on LRA rebels in DR Congo.

Their bond was extended to Thursday. Before the extention, the Police informed the duo that they would be charged for aiding the enemy and causing public disruption.

The article, Reclusive Kony: UPDF’s tactics under spotlight was published in Sunday Monitor of December 28, 2008 in the Inside Politics section.

The article, according to the Police, was prejudicial to national security, contrary to Section 37 of the Penal Code Act.

Led by the Police’s media offences department boss Charles Kataratambi, the detectives are interested in knowing the scribes’ source of information and intention in publishing the story.

Flanked by the paper’s company secretary Anne Abeja-Muhwezi and their lawyer Assumpta Kemigisha of Nangwala, Rezida and Company Advocates, the two scribes were released at 6:00pm.

Abeja-Muhwezi dismissed the allegations against the scribes as unfounded, adding that the accused had not been taken to court because the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had not sanctioned their files.

“We hope the DPP sanctions their files early on Thursday so that they appear in court,” she said. Earlier, Kataratambi had driven to the DPP’s office in Kampala to get the two reporters’ files sanctioned so that they can be produced in court but failed to get the consent due to unknown reasons.

The third journalist, Daniel Kalinaki, who appeared on January 2 when the scribes were first summoned, did not appear yesterday.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});