Opposition calls for boycott of government-owned media in Uganda

By ISAAC KHISA
Published September 22, 2009

Kampala, Uganda- The leading opposition political party in Uganda, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), has called upon the public to stop consuming media content from government-owned media institutions until the recently closed radio stations are brought back on air.

Addressing journalists at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, a Kampala suburb, the party president Dr Kizza Besigye said Ugandans should stop listening to government-owned TV and Radio stations as well as reading newspapers owned by the state.

“We are appealing to the Ugandan population to stop listening to government-owned radio stations and reading newspapers from government-owned firms.” He argued that Ugandans should the “freedom to listen to a variety [of stations].”

The Ugandan government owns the New Vision newspaper and its regional subsidiaries-the Rupiny (Luo), Orumuri (Alur), Bukedde (Luganda) and Etop (Ateso). In the electronic media, the government controls Ugandan Broadcasting Cooperation (UBC) radio and Television as well as the newly established Vision Voice radio.

Dr Besigye said it was not necessary to shut down the four radio stations since the government has a fully fledged ministry of information and media centre.
The government-run Uganda Broadcasting Council shut down four radio stations and ordered all radio stations to halt political debate programming in the wake of violent clashes in the capital, Kampala that left a least 20 people dead and property with hundreds of thousands of dollars destroyed.

Violence erupted after the government blocked Buganda Kingdom Katikkiro John Baptist from visiting Kayunga County in northern Kampala ahead of the Kabaka. The traditional Baganda king holds largely ceremonial powers but has considerable political influence over the Baganda, the country’s largest ethnic group.

The Central Broadcasting Service (CBS), which is owned by the Buganda kingdom, has been off air since September 10, 2009 when the Broadcasting Council seized the station’s transmitting equipment.

Council agents backed by soldiers also raided the studios of Radio Sapientia; a Catholic Church-run station, which was later brought back on air after writing an apology to the Council. The station had aired a morning talk show during which callers reacted to the riots. A similar raid took place at Radio Two, a community station popularly known as “Akaboozi ku biiri”.

Ssuubi FM, a commercial, youth-oriented station was also forced off air after being accused of “inciting the public to violence.”

In a statement issued by Chairman Broadcasting Council, Mr Godfrey Mutabazi accused the four radio stations of inciting violence and breaching “minimum broadcasting standards.”

Live debate programs, commonly known as “bimeeza,” were also banned for what the statement vaguely called “technical” shortcomings.

However, the statement did not make clear how long the stations would be off the air or how long the ban on talk shows would remain in force.

If the public decides to boycott the media as its intended, then the New vision newspaper and its sister paper Bukedde mainly read by Baganda will record a substantial loss.

In July this year, the Baganda rose up in arms against the Vision Group over a story that was published in the Sunday Vision newspaper of July 12, saying Kabaka Ronald Mutebi had, through a personal company – Rexba Ltd, mortgaged the land title of the kingdom headquarters, Bulange to an unnamed senior central government minister for a loan.

The article drew the anger of the Buganda Lukiiko, whose officials claimed it was a ploy by the central government to malign and humiliate the Kabaka before his subjects. The Lukiiko then passed a resolution calling on all Baganda not to buy copies of the New Vision and its sister paper, Bukedde. The wrangle only came to an end when the paper wrote an apology to the kingdom but after making significant losses.

This fight with Buganda, one of Uganda’s four ancient kingdoms, adds pressure to the ruling government after the opposition recently demanded for major reforms in the election process especially the composition of the Electoral Commission team before the next general elections slated for 2011. The clashes between the rioters and police broke out after the authorities barred the Buganda king from visiting Bugerere County in Kayunga District, east of the capital, a territory that Buganda Kingdom claims.

Former leader Milton Obote abolished the traditional kingdoms in the 1966, but Mr Museveni reinstated their traditional and ceremonial powers in 1993.

Human rights groups have criticized the “heavy-handed” response to the riots by the Ugandan police and military, which used live ammunition on crowds, beat and arrested journalists and shut down five radio stations.

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