Several major media houses have pulled their journalists from covering the Kawempe North parliamentary by-election following a wave of violent attacks by security operatives, including the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
The decision was made after multiple incidents of harassment, physical assault, and the confiscation of cameras and equipment from journalists reporting at polling stations in Kawempe North on Thursday.
The General Manager of Daily Monitor News paper Daniel Kalinaki confirmed the move, stating,“We have taken the difficult decision to temporarily withdraw our journalists from covering the Kawempe North by-election for their safety because they are being targeted and attacked by armed soldiers and undercover security operatives.”
Several journalists including Abubaker Lubowa, Raymond Tamale, Denis Kabugo, Francis Isano, and Hakim Wampamba were violently arrested by security personnel and bundled into a Toyota Hiace van, commonly known as a “drone.” Witnesses reported that the journalists were beaten and had their cameras destroyed while covering the arrest of opposition MPs Geoffrey Kayemba Ssolo and Hillary Kiyaga of the National Unity Platform (NUP).
“They put us at gunpoint and ordered us not to record anything,” one journalist who narrowly escaped arrest revealed. Others said they were forced to hide in nearby buildings and remove their press identification to avoid being targeted.
The atmosphere at polling stations, particularly in Kazo Angola, has been described as tense, with heavy deployment of mambas, drones, and plain-clothed operatives intimidating both journalists and election observers.
As a result, leading media organizations including Nation Media Group, Next Media, BBS Terefayina, and Radio Simba—have withdrawn their teams from the field, citing unacceptable risks to their journalists.
“We cannot continue to expose our journalists to this level of danger,” a newsroom editor stated. “We have withdrawn. Now they [UPDF] can freely do all their dirty things since our crime was ‘exposing’ them.”
The escalating violence against the press during the by-election has sparked widespread condemnation from media rights organizations and civil society, demanding accountability from authorities.
