Journalists protest illegal detention of colleague

By Davis Buyondo
 
RAKAI  - A group of journalists under Rakai Journalists Association, RAJA, on Monday stormed Mutukula police station in Kakuuto Sub-county protesting the illegal detention of their colleague.
 
Ivan Kimbowa of Daily Monitor correspondent was arrested by Denis Mbaine, the OC CIID of the station for taking pictures of residents who had implicated police in the rampant cattle theft in Mutukula.
 
The incident occurred at around 4pm at Mutukula border post. Mbaine roughed up Kimbowa, confiscated the camera before directing three armed officers to lock him up.
 
Attempts by residents to save the journalist were futile as the armed officers threatened them. Mbaine called Kimbowa a spy even with his company identity card being displayed.
 
However, Kimbowa was detained without any charge while Mbaine erased most of the photos on the camera which he took in his custody.
 
Led by Isma Ssozi Ssekimpi, the RAJA President, the journalists demanded for his immediate release.
 
Ssekimpi also stressed the issue of infringement of press freedom since Mbaine detained Kimbowa without any charges against him.
 
He explained that as an association, they are still consulting their legal advisors so as to place charges against Mbaine for illegal detention of a journalist.
 
John Bosco Mulyowa, one of the disgruntled journalists, says that many journalists in Rakai have become prone to police brutality for exposing all perpetrators of crime in the force.

John Male, another journalist, said that violation of press freedoms has increased with journalists being beaten, shot, detained and their gadgets confiscated which they will not tolerate.
 
However, Kimbowa was released and his camera returned but without pics.
 
According to Kimbowa, Mbaine slapped and pushed him several times and also dragged him like a dog by an ID spring around his neck.
 
He said that it is one of the officers informed other journalists to come to Kimbowa's rescue. He added that he is taking the matter to the Human Rights Commission.
 
And when contacted for a comment, Mbaine denied the allegations saying that it was preventive arrest. He explains that since residents had turned rowdy anything would have happened to Kimbowa in police presence.
 
Kimbowa becomes the second journalist to detain in unclear circumstances in less than a week.
 
He praised Kimbowa of taking heart to follow up on very pertinent issues without taking sides.
 
Last week Sadat Waligo a reporter in Lyantonde district was arrested on orders of the Resident District Commissioner Sulaiman Tiguragara Matojo over alleged defamation.
 
He had done a story in which one of the Late Minister Eriya Kategaya's widows implicated the RDC in the rampant theft of cows from their farm.