Buhweju county MP Francis Mwijukye.

MPs have angrily attacked the Uganda communication commission for the continued suffocation of media houses which is costing government billions of revenue. The matter was raised by Buhweju county MP Francis Mwijukye who said that continued closure of media houses is a move gagging the media.

He described the raid on Red Pepper on 21^st November 2017 where five directors and three editors were arrested and company sealed off saw phone and computers taken by Police as a move aimed at intimidating media and journalists at large.

He noted that when they raided Red Pepper, 370 phones were taken from staff, 100 computers confiscated and over 5000 people lost jobs.

Hon Medard Lubega Sseggona, the Busiro East MP   noted there is a high level of impunity among Uganda communication commission that should not be allowed to be implemented amongst Government institutions.

ALSO READ:Lyomoki asks Kadaga to abandon devil worshiping

Sseggona revealed that UCC has refused to renew licenses of almost all media houses in the country, saying Government is using the method to gag media houses when it comes to critical issues and this is denying government revenue.

Mwijukye said that the attack on the media houses cannot be seen as an isolated case noting that even the editor of Monitor Charles Bichachi and the Editor of New Vision Felix Wasike are out on bail.

However, Busia municipality MP Geoffrey Macho rubbished Mwijukye’s concern wondering if it was in order for Parliament to discuss a matter that is before courts of law.

The Speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga asked Mwijukye to stick to matters that aren’t before court like the confiscation of phones and computers and asked the MPs to table the issue as a substantial motion for Parliament to debate and take a position on the whole sector.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:Doctors want Health Ministry permanent secretary sacked

The post MPs attack UCC over suffocating media houses first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

We gave them the press release they had asked for but despite that they have continued to search our offices for the same press release for the last four days.

Unable to use our facilities we went to the ‘bush’ and on Wednesday Red Pepper published an edition and outed it on the market.

To our shock, the police pounced on innocent agents and vendors, put them in police detention after destroying copies of Red Pepper’s ‘freedom issue’.

The Uganda police has not only closed off our headquarters but they have  gone ahead to deny us our right to publish and trade even after the internal affairs Minister’s statement to parliament that Government has not stopped the besieged newspapers from trading.

We are now forced to believe that the police are intent not on investigating Gen Sejusa’s infamous letter but are focused on financially crippling our company and the hundreds of Ugandans who work here.

This therefore is not a criminal investigation but economic sabotage.

We would like to inform our esteemed readers, advertisers and friends that we are doing everything humanly possible to comply with lawful court orders and request that you remain calm as we invoke the law to force the Uganda Police to allow us our right to trade.

Today, the Police seized more computers from our offices in their unending search.

We demand that the police stop vandalizing our property and immediately vacate our premises.

They have no right to continue denying us our right to do business in Uganda.

Management

Pepper Publications Ltd

The post Red Pepper statement on police closing and deployment at offices first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Journalists and human rights activists have today condemned the action by the government to close down two newspapers and two radio stations for their reporting on the controversial letter by Gen. David Sejusa.

Police officers today sealed off offices of Daily Monitor, armed with a search warrant. But the search turned into closure as the police led by Criminal Investigations Department Deputy Director Godfrey Musana said the Daily Monitor premises are a crime scene. The police also sealed off offices of Red Pepper, a daily tabloid and declared it a crime scene too.

The security operatives switched off the printeries of the newspapers, as well kfm and Dembe fm to the astonishment of the staff of two media establishments.

“Instead of carrying out the search, the armed men disabled the printing press, computer servers and radio transmission equipment.”“The intention was to prevent the monitor from operating, broadcasting and printing its newspapers. We are horrified by this act, which is a gross disregard of the Ugandan law and a violation of the Monitor’s constitutional right,” said Alex Asiimwe, Daily Monitor’s Managing Director .

In a press statement, Police Spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said the police received intelligence information that there are people who have started scanning signatures of senior government officials “with the intention of using the said signatures on documents claiming they are officials documents from government whereas not.”

The Uganda Journalists Association President Joshua Kyalimpa and the Coordinator of the Uganda Journalists Human Rights Network Wokulira Sebagala issues statements today condemning the government for what they termed as attack on press freedom and freedom of expression.

These events are a result of coverage of Gen. Sejusa’s controversial letter first published by Daily Monitor on May 7. The letter by Gen. Sejusa aka Tinyefuza was written to the Director of the Internal Security Organisation to investment claims that there is a plot to assassinate or link to rebellion senior army and government officials allegedly against “Muhoozi project”   an alleged plan to have the president’s son succeed him in State House.

Gen. Sejusa, the coordinator of intelligence agencies is said to have mentioned himself Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, Chief of Defence Forces Aronda Nyakairima among the people being framed.

In an email showed to journalists by a Kampala his lawyer Joseph Luzige, Gen. Sejusa accepted to have written the letter but said he handed it over to the Director of ISO himself and is not sure how it got to journalists.

Here are more articles and documents on the matter

Court orders Daily Monitor journalists to name source– African Center for Media Excellence

Monitor offices under police siege -Daily Monitor

Military officer’s assassination allegations ensnare journalists

‘Warning to media against undermining national security’

Police question Monitor journalists as government moves to gag media

President’s aide storms newspaper office, threatens journalists

Govt is tampering with right to know

ISO agent arrested at Monitor, Gen Tinye’s case goes to court

Oguttu accuses UCC, minister of intimidating journalists

UCC (Uganda Communiction Commision) warning.pdf

Police statement on Daily Monitor Red Pepper premises search 20-05-13.docx

Police statement on Daily Monitor Red Pepper premises search 20-05-13.docx

The post Uganda government condemned for closing newspapers and radio stations in latest media attack first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

 But this is not the case with the FDC President, Col. Kiiza Besigye. He has told the members of FDC inKampalathat for him he doesn’t read the Daily Red Pepper, Onion, Entasi and Kamunye newspaper. Why? Besigye says this is because the above newspapers are reportedly used by the NRM government to write negative stories about FDC and Besigye.

 Besigye also says that he hardly read the government owned newspapers of the New Vision and Bukedde because they too are used to fight opposition.

 The FDC leader says he only reads the Weekly Observer and the Daily monitor because according to him these two newspapers write professionally and accurately.

By Moureen Nakyanzi

The post Uganda’s opposition leader Col. Kiiza Besigye says he doesn’t read Red Pepper first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

 A number of members of parliament, security operatives, members of the academia world, business community and the general public attended the second day of the graduation.

Ultimate Media

The post Makerere University graduation enters day two first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

In the last two weeks alone, Red Peppers car parking in Namanve on Kampala Jinja road has seen an addition eleven cars.

The company’s editor Bob Tumwesigye has bought an Audi while Red Pepper’s crime reporter, Stanly Ndawula has bought a Mercedes Benz. Most of the cars the red pepper staff has bought is in the Toyota family.

What sounds laughable but could be true is that even some cleaners and get keepers at the Red Pepper also vow to buy cars. You see the Red Pepper Publications has a habit of guaranteeing its workers in the banks to get loan.

By James Okello

The post Car buying craze at Red Pepper first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The Kanyamas have been put at all the club entrances to ensure that no person enters into the rouge with a camera. Some of the media houses that had been made it a habit to get pictures from the club include Red Pepper, Daily Onion and Bukedde, a Luganda newspaper.

We are told that the club banned cameras because some of the photojournalists would take pictures of half naked women from the club and print them in newspapers.

A source at the managerial level of the club told this informer that ‘we have banned cameras indefinitely because some of our customers have complained that negative reporting was tarnishing their names and image.’

By James Okello

The post Cameras banned at club Rouge in the capital city of Uganda, Kampala first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Now we have been told that the managers of Club Rouge, Ivan Kaganzi and Spear Abowe have instructed their workers to show extreme love and care to their customers such that even if Club Cascades opens they remain in business.

The new club is going to be opened by the managing director of Bluecube SMS media, Innocent Nahabwe who is also a former Advertising manager of the Daily Red Pepper, Daily Onion, Kamunye and Entasi newspaper.

It is expected that Club Rouge is going to get stiff competition from Club Cascades since it is directly opposite to it.

The post Managers of Club Rough panics as another club opens next door first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

amooti of amarula family dozing (Red Pepper photo)

It is said Amooti who works at Beat Fm has been seen sleeping in night clubs such as A-Y pub in Makindye, New Life bar in Nakulabye and Password pub also in Nakulabye.

In fact Amooti have been heard telling his pals that he doesn’t know what has happened to him because he has turned himself into a sleeping master.

But Amooti is not alone. Many people experience sleeping disorders that make them sleep at work while some fail to sleep at all. Here is more information on what causes sleeping disorders and how you can solve them.

Why people dose off during the day or office hours

A doctor explain what causes drowsiness during the day and causes you to sleep in office or public places.

Daytime dozing may be a warning of a stroke

A story by Reuters from a research by Bernadette Boden-Albala of Columbia University in New York and colleagues that found a link between day time dozing and stroke.

Sleep disorders and how o stop them

A story on symptoms, treatment and help for common sleep disorders

The post Why many people like Amarula Family’s Amooti sleep at work first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Sources in the Namanve based enterprise inform us that the managers of the leading tabloid in Uganda, the Daily Red Pepper are planning to start a radio station and a TV in 2012.

The Red Pepper radio station and TV would be broadcasting related news content carried in the daily red pepper, Kamunye, entasi and Onion news tabloids, according to sources.

The red pepper TV and FM radio station would broadcast in both Luganda and English, but the wonder is on what kind of content they will carry.

The development has come at a time when another media house, WBS TV has announced plans to launch Wavah FM at their Naguru-based offices in Kampala next year. The announcement for WBS TV to start an FM radio station was announced last week by the company’s general manager David Kimotho on the weekend.

By Doreen Nyanzi

The post Red Pepper to start radio and TV station after Wavamuno jumps in first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.