African Media Barometer Uganda

Uganda’s constitution guarantees not only freedom of expression but also the right to access information. In spite of this, a growing number of repressive laws undermine these freedoms. State surveillance structures create a climate of fear among journalists, resulting in increasing self-censorship, and decreasing investigative reporting. Even though the Access to Information Act of 2005 was operationalized in April 2011 media houses are often not able to obtain documents from state authorities and hence refrain from publishing stories, fearing the legal implications of not reporting accurately.The national broadcaster is still state owned and lacks independence. Community broadcasters operate in an unclear regulatory environment exposing them to state interference.

Corruption among journalists is on the increase due to worsening working conditions in the less well established media houses. The self-regulatory Independent Media Council of Uganda (IMCU) has failed to take off and is not operating. The lack of unity among media organisations as well as government resistance to the IMCU may have contributed to its failure. On the positive side, a constitutional ruling in August 2010 abolished the law on sedition. This led to the throwing out of a number of government cases against journalists who were charged under this law.