Battered Journalists sue Gov’t, Col. Namanya

By Charles Katabalwa

3^rd March 2021

Journalists who were allegedly beaten recently covering former Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu in Kololo have sued the Attorney General and the Military Police Commander of the Operations, Lt. Col. Franklin Namanya a.k.a Napoleon in his individual capacity over human rights violations. 

These include John Cliff Wamala and Geoffrey Twesigye from NTV, Josephine Namakumbi of NBS TV and Shamim Nabakooza of Record TV.

In their application filed at the High Court Civil division, the journalists allege that the workers or juniors of the respondents on February 17th 2021 blocked them from covering Kyagulanyi who was taking a petition to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

They note that the conduct of the said respondents prevented them from doing their work and as such, they want them to be held liable for human rights violations and misconduct of their subordinates against the journalists.

They now want the Government and Namanya to compensate them for the general and exemplary damages as well as costs of the suit and also want court to declare the actions of human rights violations done to them illegal.

So far three cases have been filed pertaining the same issue the first being filed by lawyer Steven Kalali against Government on behalf of the victims and the second filed by the Uganda Journalists’ Association against Government and seven other soldiers who are said to have beaten them and the third being the one filed today. All cases are yet to be fixed for hearing.

The Chief of the Defense Forces, Gen. David Muhoozi has since apologized to the media and the public for the actions of his men and women for battering up journalists.

The army also released a statement showing that seven of the soldiers who were seen beating journalists were sentenced to a caution and others jailed for a period ranging from 62 to 90 days.