|
|
December 18, 1998
His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
Office of the President
State House
Kampala, Uganda
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) writes to strongly protest the
December 17, 1998, arrest of George Lugalambi, editor of the thrice-weekly
independent newspaper The Crusader, and the charge of "promoting sectarianism"
lodged against him in the Magistrate Court today. CPJ further protests the
December 17, 1998, detention of Crusader reporter Meddie Musisi, the search by
police of The Crusader's editorial offices, and the subsequent seizure of the
newspaper's documents.
Police officers arrested Lugalambi and transported him to the Kampala Central
Police Station, where he was detained overnight. Officers also detained Musisi
and released the journalist after interrogating him. In addition, police, who
stated that they were looking for seditious documents," searched The Crusader
editorial offices and seized the newspapers documents.
On December 18, 1998, Lugalambi was charged before Presiding Magistrate Jane
Alividza in the Kampala Magistrate Court with "promoting sectarianism contrary
to section 42a(i)(d) of the Penal Code Act as amended by Statute 9 of 1988."
Your Excellency's media advisor, John Nagenda, was the complainant. The
charges, which are in connection with an article published in the October 19,
1998, edition of The Crusader titled "Karuhanga's Excuse for Arming Bahima is
Nonsense," specify that Lugalambi published the article with the intent to
promote ill-will or hostility among the people of Nyabushozi (Mbarara District),
on the basis of ethnicity. Lugalambi was released on bail of 300,000 Uganda
shillings (US$ 300) in cash, on the condition that he report every two weeks to
the Criminal Investigation Department headquarters. The hearing for Lugalambi's
case is set for January 15, 1998.
CPJ believes Lugalambi's arrest is a warning from the government to Uganda's
journalists, that those who report on issues such as official corruption, ethnic
tension, and human rights will face reprisals from the authorities. CPJ points
out that Lugalambi's arrest follows the October 29, 1998, assault of Ogen Kevin
Aliro, chief sub-editor of the Kampala independent daily newspaper The Monitor,
following the journalist's report that members of the Internal Security
Organization and the Department of Military Intelligence have committed torture.
CPJ called for an impartial official investigation in a letter to Your
Excellency, and we take this opportunity to reiterate that request.
As a nonpartisan organization of organization of journalists dedicated to the
defense of our colleagues worldwide, CPJ strongly protests the arrest of and
charges filed against Lugalambi, the detention of Musisi, and the search of The
Crusader's editorial offices. These actions violate journalists' rights to
seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, as guaranteed by
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 9 of the
African Charter of Human and People's Rights, all to which we respectfully
remind Your Excellency, Uganda is a signatory.
CPJ strongly urges Your Excellency to see to it that the charge against
Lugalambi is immediately and unconditionally dropped. We also urge you to
ensure the right of Uganda's journalists to report the news freely and without
reprisal.
Thank you for your attention. We welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Join CPJ in Protesting Attacks on
the Press in Uganda
Send a letter to:
His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
Office of the President
State House
Kampala, Uganda
VIA FAX: 011-256-41235462
|
