By Our Reporters
Faruk Kirunda, a media assistant to NRM Chairman YK Museveni has challenged MPs to show seriousness about media freedom by originating private members’ bills that can result into more liberal media legislation. Speaking on CBS’ popular Nze ngabwendaba news interview segment moderated by Alex Nsubuga, Kirunda was the interviewee for the International Press Freedom day Friday 3rd May.
He was interviewed on a range of issues after moderator Alex Nsubuga failed to get hold of any of the Luganda-speaking ministers. The major focus was on the Press Freedom Index report which showed significant decline in Uganda’s performance. Authored by reporters without borders, the report indicated that Uganda was increasingly becoming one of the most unsafe jurisdictions for journalism practice. BBC and other global news channels picked on the report and had a field day on Uganda whose leadership was portrayed as one that is very intolerant to media giving publicity to their opponents.
Seizing on the bad publicity on the global channels, the Opposition Chief Whip Ibrahim Semujju Nganda got Deputy Speaker Oulanyah during the Thursday plenary session in Parliament to direct the relevant government ministers to come to the floor of Parliament next week and explain what they intend to do to ensure such bad publicity resulting from police brutality against journalists doesn’t make Uganda unattractive to tourists.
Several other MPs, both NRM and opposition, used the subsequent debate to bash government and more so the regulator UCC for stifling media spaces including the latest circular banning some media employees. They accused UCC of acting unreasonably by denying the accused media practitioners the right to a fair hearing guaranteed in Article 28 of the Constitution. It was against this background of unanimous condemnation that CBS dedicated Friday’s Nze nga bwendaba segment to someone from the President’s innermost circles hence the decision to zero in on Kirunda who regularly writes newspaper columns defending the regime.
In his submission, Kirunda said its pretentious for the MPs to gang up on UCC boss Godfrey Mutabazi and bash him yet for him is simply implementing the law as it is. “Let those MPs who are seeking cheap popularity among journalists act honestly. They know what to do and how to act to change the situation. They are part of government and can do more than mere lamentation. What stops them from originating a private members bill and change the laws that are being used to police the media in a manner they say is draconian? Please next time they speak to you task them to explain rather than hiding behind lame excuses to smear the government which is merely implementing the laws made by themselves,” Kirunda said.
He said some MPs suffer from populism which won’t help beyond getting them temporary visibility on the national TV without the fundamental problem going away. He said the other challenge is that of additional training for journalists so that they become hands- on beyond what they learn in the lecture room.
