Draft Media Bill under fire

Mar 15, 2010

THE Press and Journalist Bill, 2010, which the information ministry is proposing, has been called unconstitutional.

By Norman Katende
THE Press and Journalist Bill, 2010, which the information ministry is proposing, has been called unconstitutional.

The Bill, which is being discussed by the Cabinet, seeks to empower the Media Council to control the licencing of newspapers.

The newspapers, whose licence will be renewed annually, will also be barred from publishing materials that are prejudicial to national security, stability and unity or any matters injurious to Uganda’s relations with its neighbours and friends and materials that amount to economic sabotage.

Dr. Peter Mwesige, the African Centre for Media Excellence director, said most of the proposals in the Bill are dangerous, and if passed, would further erode press freedom.

“It appears that the Government is worried that anybody can start a newspaper. But this is the very essence of freedom-to impart information,” Mwesige added.

The director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, Livingstone Sewanyana, said: “We need to appreciate that media freedom is not absolute. But the restriction should not amount to erosion and abuse of freedom.”

Uganda Journalist’s Union’s Lucy Ekadu called on media houses to oppose the law.

“If the Government is annoyed with the way some papers report, there are legal provisions in which to sort it out,” she said.

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