Indoja-u condemns continued police brutality on journalists covering Bobi Wine & POA. Whisper Eye Reports
The Independent Online Journalists Association-Uganda (Indoja-U) in a press statement yesterday evening has strongly condemned the continued brutal attacks on journalists by Uganda security forces covering mainly opposition politicians led by National Unity platform presidential candidate Hon Robert Kaygulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine and Forum for Democratic change presidential candidate Eng Patrick Amurita Oboi.
They also asked security agencies in Uganda to restrain themselves from acts that violate the Rights and Freedoms of not only the press but of all Ugandans.
Indoja-U, is an association that brings together online media in Uganda and it comprises close to 15 registered UCC licensed online websites that include www.capitaltimes.co.ug, www.spyuganda.com www.whipsereye.co.ug, www.grapevine.co.ug among others
Its statement reads, ” We appeal to all security agencies in Uganda to restrain themselves from acts that violet the Rights and Freedoms of not only the press but of all Ugandans.”
It adds, Very worrying also, is the fact that some of the perpetrators of these heinous acts are plain-clothed and hooded. Those in uniforms have also started plucking off their name tags and ranks during these illegal operations, mainly to evade being identified for accountability, because, they must at some point. The security personnel are now INTENTIONALLY targeting journalists who are covering these wanton injustices meted not only on the media but the general public.
Indoja-U also note , This also takes us back to the ugly scenes of Luuka District recently where the same Ashraf Kasirye, Sam Balikowa of Ghetto TV, among other journalists were violently teargassed and later brutally arrested, reportedly for covering the ugly scenes of the protests, where they also destroyed journalists’ equipment in order to destroy the footage, where more than 50 unarmed civilians lost lives.
They add, this as a serious attack on the freedoms of expression, not only to the media but the general public at large. Security is hereby reminded that journalists shoulder a pivotal role and social contract with the public, to collect, filter, and feed them with information to enable them to make informed choices because we all know, that an informed society is an empowered society.
“On this note, we grief with all the families of those who have since lost their loved ones during this electoral violence, including the late Francis Senteza Kalibala, Bobi Wine’s private security team, who is said to have been overrun by a military police patrol truck No.H4DF2382 today Sunday 27/12/2020 at Busega, a Kampala suburb”. they added.
