Uganda / Africa

  

Troubling crackdown on Ugandan journalists ahead of 2026 elections

Kampala, Uganda, March 27, 2025—After two weeks of attacks by masked anti-terrorism agents, police, and soldiers on Ugandan journalists covering an upcoming by-election, voting day proved even worse — forcing three major media houses to pull their reporters from the day’s top story. “We have taken the difficult decision to temporarily withdraw our @Daily Monitor…

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Ugandan journalist Ibrahim Miracle is treated at St. Francis Hospital Nsambya in the capital, Kampala, on February 26 after two security officers assaulted him while he was reporting. (Photo: Courtesy of Livingstone Matovu)

Ugandan anti-terrorism officers brutally assault journalist

Kampala, Uganda, March 4, 2025—Two masked officers with Uganda’s security agency Joint Anti-Terrorist Task Force (JAT) assaulted Ibrahim Miracle, a reporter for Christian broadcaster Top TV, while he was reporting in the capital, Kampala, on February 26. The journalist told CPJ that the attack left him hospitalized with severe injuries. “Security officers brutally attacked journalist…

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Authorities detain 2 Ugandan journalists on charges of publishing without license

Nairobi, June 27, 2024 — Ugandan authorities should release journalists Dickson Mubiru and Alirabaki Sengooba, drop all criminal charges against them, and take steps to reform laws that can be used to stifle journalism, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On June 20 the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court in the capital, Kampala, charged…

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On May 18, Ugandan journalists Zainab Namusaazi, Gertrude Mutyaba, and Magaret Kayondo said that opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu's private bodyguards harassed and assaulted them while they were covering the funeral of a prominent businessman in the central region district of Lwengo. Ssentamu, pictured here, spoke at the funeral. (Screenshot: Daily Monitor/YouTube)

Ugandan opposition leader’s bodyguards assault, harass three journalists

Kampala, May 22, 2024—Ugandan authorities should thoroughly investigate and hold to account those responsible for attacking journalists Zainab Namusaazi, Gertrude Mutyaba, and Magaret Kayondo, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On May 18, the private bodyguards of opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, harassed and assaulted the three journalists who…

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Freelance reporter Juliet Kyarisiima sustained a cut to her arm when she was assaulted by three armed men on May 12, in Uganda’s western Buhweju District, while covering a public meeting. (Photo courtesy of Juliet Kyarisiima)

Ugandan journalist Juliet Kyarisiima beaten and robbed while covering land dispute

Kampala, Uganda, May 14, 2024—Ugandan authorities must credibly investigate an assault on broadcast journalist Juliet Kyarisiima, hold the perpetrators to account, and ensure that journalists covering public events do not face violence, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On the evening of May 12, in Uganda’s western Buhweju District, three men armed with sticks…

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CPJ urges Uganda to investigate assaults on journalists covering opposition leader Bobi Wine

Nairobi, October 6, 2023–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an investigation into reports that Ugandan security personnel assaulted and detained multiple journalists covering the return home of opposition politician Robert Kyagulanyi, commonly known as Bobi Wine. At least 14 journalists, who were reporting on Wine’s return to Uganda from an overseas trip on Thursday,…

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At least 7 Ugandan journalists assaulted, robbed at news conferences

Nairobi, July 31, 2023—Ugandan authorities should investigate and prosecute those responsible for assaulting, robbing, and harassing seven journalists at two separate news conferences, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On July 20, unidentified men punched and kicked at least six journalists at the headquarters of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in the…

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Uganda’s anti-homosexuality law poses free speech fears for journalists

Kuchu Times was founded eight years ago to give voice to Uganda’s LGBTQ+ community. Now, a new anti-homosexuality law is threatening this mission at a time when LGBTQ+ Ugandans are facing beatings and evictions. “People will tell us their stories and ask us not to put them out there, not until it is safer,” Kuchu…

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Ugandan journalists robbed, assaulted while covering election

On June 14, 2023, unidentified people assaulted or harassed at least four reporters covering local elections in the eastern Uganda district of Bukedea, according to a report by the privately owned broadcaster NTV Uganda, a statement by the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-U) local press rights group, and three of those journalists, who spoke…

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Ugandan journalist Andrew Arinaitwe detained on criminal trespass charges

Nairobi, March 10, 2023—Ugandan authorities should immediately release freelance journalist Andrew Arinaitwe and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Sunday, March 5, authorities arrested Arinaitwe while he was reporting at a boarding school in the central district of Wakiso, according to a statement shared with CPJ by Kiiza…

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