The global media body has condemned the government for shutting down four radio stations during the violent riot that sparked off two days ago.

In a statement issued on Friday by Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) based in USA, the CJP Africa Programme coordinator, Mr Tom Rhodes, said the Ugandan government is making a broad assertion to crackdown on the critical media.

"The government is employing sweeping measures and making broad assertions to crack down on critical media," Mr Tom Rhodes said. "They're not fooling anyone."

The government-run Uganda Broadcasting Council (UBC) effectively shut down four radio stations on Thursday and Friday, 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 worth billions of shillings destroyed.

Violence erupted after the government blocked Buganda Kingdom Katikkiro John Baptist Walusimbi from visiting Kayunga District in northern Kampala ahead of Kabaka visit.

The traditional Buganda king holds largely ceremonial powers but has considerable political influence over the Baganda, the country's largest ethnic group. Central Broadcasting Service (CBS), which is owned by the Buganda Kingdom, has been off air since around 6 p.m. local time on Thursday, when the UBC used technicians backed by soldiers to seize transmitting equipment.

Later on Friday, the council agents backed by soldiers also raided the studios of Radio Sapientia; a Catholic Church-run station. The station had aired a morning talk show during which callers reacted to Thursday's deadly riots. A similar raid took place at Radio Two, a community station popularly known as Akaboozi Ku Biiri.

Ssuubi FM, a commercial and youth-oriented station, was not spared either as the station was forced off the air after it was as raided by UBC technicians and soldiers, accusing it of "inciting the public to violence."

In a statement by UBC chairman, Mr Godfrey Mutabazi, the four radio stations are accused of inciting violence and breaching "minimum broadcasting standards."

Live debate programmes, 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.

Meanwhile, civil society groups yesterday strongly condemned the infringing of civil rights and press freedom by the government over the current standoff between the central government and Buganda Kingdom.

Addressing a press conference yesterday in Kampala, the national coordinator of Human Rights Network, Mr Mohammed Ndifuna, said Human Rights groups were shocked at the carnage and chaos that have enveloped Kampala and other parts of Buganda following the denial by the government of the right and freedom to Kabaka to travel to Kayunga.

"This situation bares the failure of the state to champion principled nation building and integration or to generate national political consensus on key issues. This state of affairs has resulted into the closure of four radio stations without giving them a fair hearing.

Under Section 4 of Uganda Communication Commission's Act, the Uganda Communication Commission has the mandate to supervise media houses," Mr Ndifuna said. He continued "Specifically, Section 4(L) the commission is mandate to receive, investigate and take action on complaints against media houses. This role should be done fairly and justly."

The Human Rights group also warned that if the government does not leave it citizens to practice the rights enshrined in the Constitution and stop the "extra" killings by the Police, their group would use both local judicial systems and the International Criminal Court to sue whoever will be responsible for the ongoing shoot to kill order.

"Civil societies have consistently reiterated that the State should build capacity of the police so as to protect and not to deny enjoyment of the right of assembly, association and expression." so that a peaceful event is denied a confrontation that the police claim there acting to prevent comes to fulfillment.