Media Council accused of passing judgment and pushing journalists to sanitise the image of Parliament and legislators
PRESS FREEDOM | The Media Council of Uganda has summoned editors of The Observer newspaper to answer for "derogation of the sanctity of Parliament", among a raft of accusations related to not helping maintain public trust in MPs.
The Council chairman Paulo Ekochu said the May 8 summons is in reference to an article published in The Observer newspaper edition of April 24-30.
"Pursuant to powers vested in the Council under Section 9 of the Press and Journalists Act Cap. 105, you are hereby summoned to appear before the disciplinary committee of the Council on May 20 at 10am to answer to the issues raised herein," he said.
Mr Pius Muteekani Katunzi, managing editor of The Observer, confirmed receipt of the letter and said they will prepare an explanation to be delivered to the Council.
The bi-weekly paper ran the article under the headline, "MPs bribed to save government agencies".
Quoting unnamed sources, the article said MPs had received bribes ranging from Shs500,000 to Shs2 million to stop their merger under the government's rationalisation push.
"These agencies, facing the prospect of being phased out, have been actively lobbying MPs to support their continued existence," it said.
"The financial incentives reportedly come from influential figures within both the government and parliament, aiming to sway MPs in favour of retaining these agencies."
Parliament took strong issues with the publication, with Speaker Anita Among decrying the allegations during a plenary sitting on April 24.
"I am going to ask our legal officer to take up this case because you can't tarnish the integrity of my members, because no member was bribed... whatever didn't go through, it was a consensus," she said.
Mr Ekochu said that to a "reasonable man", the article "manifests a derogation of the sanctity of Parliament".
"It is necessary that its substance be interrogated with a view to assuring that journalistic principles of accuracy and balance have been exercised to the letter," he added.
But the summons has been heavily criticised as many appeared to see bias in Mr Ekochu's letter that starts by lecturing The Observer on the works of Parliament and goes as far as suggesting that it is "very important that the public trust in Parliament and in government is maintained."
Ms Agather Atuhaire, a journalist, lawyer and rights activist, said it was interesting that the Council was making maintainance of public trust in Parliament and its sanctity a job of journalists.
"They are not concerned at all about how the people occupying that Parliament are conducting themselves but they're in essence telling journalists that no matter what the occupiers of these offices do, make sure you protect the sanctity of the institution," she said.
"That's not what journalists, as members of the Fourth Estate, are supposed to do."
Media scholar and activist Dr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo called the letter "an obvious proxy fight for Parliament" and that it was flawed at many fronts.
"While summoning, they already passed judgement, and they are instead advising The Observer to do propaganda job for Parliament," he said.
"It [the Council] doesn't seem to be interested in whether Observer has evidence for its story or not, all that has been in the media about Parliament notwithstanding. They simply want to enforce 'public trust' in Parliament."
"Freedom of the press is vital. Liberty and democracy are founded on freedom of expression. It would be wholly wrong to respond to the present state of the law with any action that inhibits a free and vigorous press"- Paulo Ekochu, @MediaCouncilUg #MediaLawReformUG pic.twitter.com/bn34VkHUIe -- ACME Africa (@ACME_Africa) November 17, 2022
In 2022, Mr Ekochu said freedom of the press is vital and that liberty and democracy are founded on freedom of expression.
"It would be wholly wrong to respond to the present state of the law with any action that inhibits a free and vigorous press. That is the lifeblood of liberal democracy," he said.
But on Monday, he could not take kindly to the Nile Post inquiring into who the complainant that led to the summons was.
"Why would you want to know who lodged the complaint?" he asked. "The letter is summoning them to just come and explain whether the story that you read, whether it was balanced. Are you the one trying me now by asking me who is complaining?"
He said his interest was in finding out whether the story is right.
"Let us just get an explanation from them, not that we want to tell them that you are wrong or you are right,' he said. "Why are you asking me questions if you are telling me I am passing judgement? That is your interpretation of the letter, not ours."
This is the second time the Council is summoning The Observer editors. In 2022, it put the blue-mast on the spot over an article on the conduct of Health ministry permanent secretary Dr Diana Atwine.
But after spending nearly a year reporting regularly before the Council's disciplinary committee, no conclusion was made.
In the recent past, the Council accused editors from New Vision and online sites Entebbe Post, Nation Times, PML Daily, Ultimate News, Daily Express, Red Pepper, and The Onion of violating ethical standards in their coverage of Henrietta Nairuba Wamala, the head of the Uganda North America Association, and other top members of her administration.
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While in April 2021, it summoned editors of Daily Monitor over an article adapted from the Wall Street Journal that said Museveni 'inner circle' got Covid jabs.
The case was already before court at the time but Mr Ekochu insisted then that the Council had the right to know the veracity of the story.
"I think these media regulatory bodies are the biggest threat to independent journalism," said a journalist who preferred not to be named.
"They are used by political figures to intimidate and harass journalists."
Another source at The Observer who did not wish to be quoted said Mr Ekochu is already a judge in his own cause.
"If he believes we have degraded the integrity of Parliament, why does he summon us," the source said.
Ms Atuhaire, a vocal critic of a parliament that she previously covered and one of the principals in the social media exposes on the institutions, suggested that the Media Council let any aggrieved party take the matter to court first.
She said the Council can then come in to enforce discipline after it has been established that the information was false and defamatory.
