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By
Owen Alton Baluku
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Uganda Communications Commission has been challenged about its
heavy-handed approach to perceived threats to public order by the media.
Speaking at a World Press Freedom Day 2019 conference in Kampala, Dr
Wairagala Wakabi, the executive director of the Collaboration on International ICT
Policy for Eastern and Southern Africa (CIPESA) said there has never been a case in Uganda where an internet or media
shutdown was necessary or proportionate to a perceived threat. He said
unnecessary shutdowns and directives by Uganda Communications Commission (UCC)
infringe on rights of access to information and freedom of expression.
“In trying to regulate online information, legitimate opinion by media
might be sanctioned,” he said. “Directives like the recent one from UCC are
likely to cause media to practice a lot of self-censorship. There’s going to be
less diversity in opinions, on and offline.”
On April 30 2019, UCC ordered 13 radio and television stations to
suspend news managers, producers and heads of programming following alleged
breach of minimum broadcasting standards.
Wakabi said the actions of UCC are detrimental to democracy “especially
at crucial times such as during elections when media should prominently play
their watchdog role and citizens need access to broad range of diverse
information for decision making.”
Responding to this submission, Mr Ibrahim Bossa, the UCC spokesperson,
justified the regulator’s directives. He said were are carried out after engagement
with media houses and were not intended to punish journalists and the media.
“The directive to suspend content controllers was so that they could
give way for investigations, which is common practice. It is okay for the
regulator to intervene so that it can protect society from information that
sensational, prejudicial and likely to incite,” he said.
Ms Patricia Twasiima Bigirwa, programme officer at human rights NGO Chapter Four, questioned UCC’s assertion that its actions were made in the interest
of the public. She said that the directives infringed on the rights of citizens
by denying them to access to vital information about what is happening in the
country.
In his presentation, Dr Wakabi discussed findings of a CIPESA study on
the techno-political characteristics of countries that order shutdowns.
“A big number of them are characterised as authoritarian, tend to be
lowly ranked on the 2018 press freedom index, are main predators of media freedom
and their leaders have stayed in power for more than 13 years.”
He said many democracy deficits come with shutdowns and that they must
be addressed even as the struggle for press freedom continues.
The panel discussion was part of the WPFD national conference organised
by African Centre for Media Excellence, the Uganda Human Rights Commission,
Freedom House and other media development partners.
Ends
