Stories on alleged parliament budget misappropriation leads to the arrest of journalists Dickson Mubiru and Alirabaki Ssengooba.
This statement was originally published on hrnjuganda.org on 20 June 2024.
Two (2) journalists, Dickson Mubiru and Alirabaki Ssengooba, were on Thursday, 20th June 2024, remanded to Luzira Prison, after writing a story related to corruption allegations, which didn’t go down well with those implicated in the story.
Mubiru, the editor, and his reporter Ssengooba used their Grapevine news website to report about investigations into budget misappropriation at parliament.
A few days after their story, the duo was summoned to the Police, which led to their arrest on Tuesday. They were detained at Central Police Station (CPS) until Thursday, when they were produced before a magistrate at Buganda Road Court to take a plea, which remanded them to Luzira until 21st June 2024 to apply for the bail.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, their charge changed into “operating an online publication without a valid license” instead of expected defamation.
HRNJ-Uganda condemned the arrest and charges against the journalists, arguing that the court plays its custodial role in upholding the freedom of journalists to do their work.
“We condemn the charging of journalists with flimsy crimes for simply doing their work. We urge the court to expedite the process, ensuring that the duo receives swift justice and can resume their important work without further harassment,” HRNJ-Uganda’s Executive Robert Ssempala, said.
He added, “Journalists must be protected, not persecuted for exercising their freedom of expression and holding those in power accountable.”
This particular journalist’s arrest comes at a time when the president has just raised his voice in his effort to stamp out corruption, leading to the arrest and detention of some MPs.
