{"id":22446,"date":"2026-01-14T08:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T08:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/22446\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T08:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T08:20:09","slug":"zam-decries-musevenis-clampdown-on-ugandan-journalists-activists-ahead-presidential-election-poll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/22446\/","title":{"rendered":"ZAM decries Museveni\u2019s clampdown on Ugandan journalists, activists ahead presidential election poll"},"content":{"rendered":"

ZAM\u2019s investigative journalism network has called on the international community to stand by Ugandan journalists and activists as President Yoweri Museveni\u2019s government clamps down on media outlets and civil society organisations.<\/p>\n

In its statement released less than 48 hours before Uganda\u2019s general elections, ZAM noted that the call was urgent as \u201ccitizens face an iron fist from an autocratic president set to remain in power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Tuesday, 13 January, two days before elections to be held on January 15, Uganda\u2019s autocratic regime suspended ten human rights and media organisations in the country,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

It added, \u201cThe suspension, which included the freezing of the organisations\u2019 bank accounts, was announced by Uganda\u2019s \u2018NGO Bureau\u2019 with immediate effect, citing investigations into activities alleged to be prejudicial to national security.\u201d<\/p>\n

ZAM said the affected organisations include ZAM network partners\u2014the investigative journalism Agora Research Centre, the Network of Public Interest Lawyers, and the civil liberties monitoring organisation Chapter Four.<\/p>\n

Besides these, the Alliance for Election Finance Monitoring, the Centre for Constitutional Governance, the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda, the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, the African Centre for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, and the African Centre for Media Excellence were also suspended.<\/p>\n

It clarified that each organisation received letters from the \u2018bureau\u2019 notifying them of the suspension, citing intelligence information alleging that they are \u201cengaged in activities that contravene Uganda\u2019s laws and threaten national security, contrary to Section 42(d) of the NGO Act.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

The clampdown comes barely two days before Uganda conducts its presidential elections on January 15.<\/p>\n

The organisations that have now been banned by Mr Museveni\u2019s government would have been the foremost entities checking on feared human rights abuses and vote rigging, especially by the ruling party.<\/p>\n

Speaking further, ZAM said, \u201cThis clampdown does not stand on its own. A day before the banning, the army already rolled out tanks and deployed soldiers across several suburbs in Uganda\u2019s capital, Kampala, and other towns.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo weeks earlier, executive director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance Sarah Bireete was imprisoned and charged over vague allegations, with analysts pointing out that Bireete had been critical of Uganda\u2019s President Yoweri Museveni (81), who is running for a seventh five-year term in the elections. Previous elections in Uganda in 2021, in which Museveni ran for his sixth term, resulted in 54 killings of pro-democracy protesters.\u201d<\/p>\n

ZAM further reiterates its stand with Uganda\u2019s journalists, pro-democracy activists, public interest lawyers and professionals, and other independent voices who have now seen their hopes for a fair chance to cast their vote on polling day dashed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe and our partner Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors call on the international community to support Uganda\u2019s civil society and strongly pressurise Uganda\u2019s rulers to abandon its oppressive ways,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

It added, \u201cLike in Tanzania previously\u2014an election that saw 700+ people killed last October\u2014an autocratic regime\u2019s pro forma voting event is simply not a real election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peoples Gazette earlier reported that Mr Museveni\u2019s government announced a crackdown on internet access in Uganda, less than 48 hours before the country\u2019s general elections.<\/p>\n

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) on Tuesday directed all mobile network operators and internet service providers to suspend public internet access, new SIM card sales and registrations, and outbound data roaming to neighbouring countries in the One Network Area to shut down internet access by 06:00 p.m. local time.<\/p>\n


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