Clamp down on foreign press will backfire
Mar 27, 2006
The news that Canadian journalist Blake Lambert was thrown out of Uganda surprised me because Uganda is known to be a democratic state. The media Council refused to renew Lambert’s accreditation as a foreign journalist working in Uganda leading to his ouster from the country. This quickly reminds
By Ali Lubega
The news that Canadian journalist Blake Lambert was thrown out of Uganda surprised me because Uganda is known to be a democratic state. The media Council refused to renew Lambert’s accreditation as a foreign journalist working in Uganda leading to his ouster from the country. This quickly reminds me of Zimbabwe where foreign journalists are banned and I am worried that Uganda is taking a similar path.
Lambert, a journalist reporting for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Economist and Christian Science Monitor had lived in Uganda for sometime and reported on several issues ranging from the economy, politics to social issues.
I believe he was executing his duty as a journalist and to restrain him would be tantamount to undermining freedom of expression. Whereas some sections of the population have celebrated his ouster, it serves to remind them that freedom of expression is a right anyone can exercise in Uganda.
Lambert was accused of biased and false reporting on the government. The Minister of Information, Nsaba Buturo, said the government would clamp down on foreign journalists if they didn’t change the way they reported. This they did through reducing the accreditation of BBC correspondent Will Ross from one year to three months.
Whereas Lambert might have been following the rule to adhere to the public’s right to know, his association with Andrew Mwenda Live talk-show on KFM cast doubts on his real intentions. Someone may say he was part of the opposition but that is not the point considering that as a journalist he has to seek information from all sources, be it the government or opposition.
The Media Council that was put in place as a forum to arbitrate disputes between the media and government, and the media and the public seem not to wield a lot of authority as it appears the Media Centre usurped its powers. The Media Council has the responsibility to defend freedom of the press and to promote responsible journalism. A scenario like this wouldn’t have happened if the Media Council was in charge of accreditation.
It’s important that the Media Centre learns that the media shouldn’t only report what the government wants to hear but the truth. To clamp down on foreign journalists is to create bad blood with the foreign press which is shooting oneself in the foot.
The writer is a student of
Makerere University
The news that Canadian journalist Blake Lambert was thrown out of Uganda surprised me because Uganda is known to be a democratic state. The media Council refused to renew Lambert’s accreditation as a foreign journalist working in Uganda leading to his ouster from the country. This quickly reminds me of Zimbabwe where foreign journalists are banned and I am worried that Uganda is taking a similar path.
Lambert, a journalist reporting for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Economist and Christian Science Monitor had lived in Uganda for sometime and reported on several issues ranging from the economy, politics to social issues.
I believe he was executing his duty as a journalist and to restrain him would be tantamount to undermining freedom of expression. Whereas some sections of the population have celebrated his ouster, it serves to remind them that freedom of expression is a right anyone can exercise in Uganda.
Lambert was accused of biased and false reporting on the government. The Minister of Information, Nsaba Buturo, said the government would clamp down on foreign journalists if they didn’t change the way they reported. This they did through reducing the accreditation of BBC correspondent Will Ross from one year to three months.
Whereas Lambert might have been following the rule to adhere to the public’s right to know, his association with Andrew Mwenda Live talk-show on KFM cast doubts on his real intentions. Someone may say he was part of the opposition but that is not the point considering that as a journalist he has to seek information from all sources, be it the government or opposition.
The Media Council that was put in place as a forum to arbitrate disputes between the media and government, and the media and the public seem not to wield a lot of authority as it appears the Media Centre usurped its powers. The Media Council has the responsibility to defend freedom of the press and to promote responsible journalism. A scenario like this wouldn’t have happened if the Media Council was in charge of accreditation.
It’s important that the Media Centre learns that the media shouldn’t only report what the government wants to hear but the truth. To clamp down on foreign journalists is to create bad blood with the foreign press which is shooting oneself in the foot.
The writer is a student of
Makerere University