Ugandan Lawmakers Want to Clear House in the Parliamentary Press Corps
The main entrance to the Ugandan Parliament. Photo releases under Creative Commons by Andrew Regan.
Ugandan lawmakers are considering a proposal that would replace all journalists who started covering parliamentary proceedings before May 1, 2010, “in the interest of balanced media coverage”.
Grace Natabaalo, a renown Ugandan journalist, shared the full letter on Twitter:
#Uganda Parliament wants reporters who've been covering parliament for more than 5 years replaced. pic.twitter.com/8MGL3L97Tx
— Grace Natabaalo (@Natabaalo) March 11, 2015
The move, which will replace senior journalists with extensive experience in legislative politics, has shocked many Ugandans.
Bernard Tabaire called the order “silly”:
Parliament of #Uganda must immediately reverse its silly order kicking out reporters who have covered it for more than 5 years.
— Bernard Tabaire (@btabaire) March 11, 2015
Others, like Kemigisa Jacky, a social media enthusiast, considered it to be an abuse of power:
Abuse of power by parliament has just clocked 100% ! Parliamentary commission headed by Kadaga wants journos who covered it for 5yrs out
— kemigisa jacky (@JackyKemigisa) March 11, 2015
Many people are demanding answers. Morrison Rwakakamba, a public policy analyst and the CEO at Agency for Transformation, asked:
Really @Parliament_UG should let journalists be. What is Parliament hiding Madam Speaker?
— Rwakakamba (@Rwakakamba) March 11, 2015
Dan Mumbere, a host at Urban TV, tweeted:
How much dirt can one collect in 5 years as a Parliamentary reporter? That's the story I am looking out for. cc @JackyKemigisa
— Daniel M. Mumbere (@danmumbere) March 11, 2015
Grace Natabaalo suggested that the parliament should clean its own house, instead:
Parliament should be kicking out MPs who dodge sessions
— Grace Natabaalo (@Natabaalo) March 11, 2015
A Parliamentary report released last year showed that many MPs “attended less than 10 meetings out of an expected average of at least 60 sittings held for both sessional and standing committees over a seven month period”.
Following the public outcry, Ugandan Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah clarified the matter, saying the letter was intended to invite editors from various media houses to discuss what is only a proposal by the Parliamentary Commission.
