Human rights activists are calling for a month-long deliberate campaign to promote press freedom in Uganda.
The calls come on the heels of the national commemorations of the World Press Freedom Day 2026, marked on May 3rd in Kampala under the theme; “Shaping a Future at Peace: Promoting Press Freedom for Human Rights, Development and Security”. The commemorative event was organized by the Uganda Media Sector Working Group (a private sector-led platform that aims to promote dialogue and coordinated measures for effective regulation, reform and development of the media industry in Uganda.
According to Kayinga Muddu, the chairperson of Human Rights Defenders in South Buganda, efforts to protect journalists should not be a one-off event, but rather continuous.
He thus calls on fellow human rights defenders and other stakeholders to organize commemorative events that will run throughout the month of May to raise more awareness about the importance of press freedom.
‘’There are so many laws that are coming and those laws sill presse journalists for example the protection of sovereignty bill, it has a clause which will say that journalists are sabotaging the economy, we urge the law makers not to pass laws that press an ordinary citizen’’, Kayinja said.
During yesterday’s commemorations, concerns over misuse of Artificial Intelligence in news production dominated messages delivered by various speakers. “Many people are now getting information from AI, but some of it is inaccurate at times, so editors must exercise caution and ensure human oversight”, said Godfrey Kabbyanga Baluku, the State Minister for National Guidance, who was chief guest.
His message comes as a 2-day conference to commemorate World Press Freedom Day opens today in Lusaka, Zambia.
Earlier, the United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres also emphasized the importance of protecting journalists saying all freedom depends on press freedom.
In his message for the World Press Freedom Day, posted on X, Guterres said that without press freedom, there can be no human rights, no sustainable development and no peace.
Guterres thus called on the global leadership to protect the rights of journalists and build a world where the truth and the truth-tellers are safe.
‘’Recently I have seen a sharp rise on the numbers of journalist killed often deliberately in war zones, 85% of crimes committed against journalists go uninvestigated and then it vanishes, unacceptable level of impunity, economic pressure, technologies and other manipulation also putting press freedom under unprecedented strain’’, Guterres said.
The World Press Freedom Day is commemorated annually on May 3rd as declared by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness about the importance of press freedom and to remind governments of their duty to uphold the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19th of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
