Uganda journalist charged

2010-02-03 20:02

Kampala - A Ugandan journalist was arrested and charged with libel on Wednesday for comparing the country's government to that of the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos, his lawyer said.

Angelo Izama, a political writer with the independent Daily Monitor newspaper and co-chair of a public policy think tank, wrote the offending piece on December 20.

"This piece was written as commentary. It was a hypothetical analysis," said the paper's lawyer, Anne Abeja-Muhwezi.

"This is part of the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary elections of next year. Government is trying to muzzle certain critical journalists," she said.

On the same day, Izama wrote a front page story that claimed Uganda's government was training a para-military squad to serve the ruling party's interests in the upcoming election.

Authorities have also protested over the article, the Daily Monitor's managing editor Daniel Kalinaki said.

"There was a complaint from very high levels of government that the story would scare away investors," Kalinaki said.

Izama was questioned in relation to the para-military training story on several occasions, but the court charge only mentions the Marcos commentary.

Two reporters from the paper have also taken the government to court in an effort to compel it to release details of oil contracts negotiated with British and Canadian firms.

- SAPA