At least six journalists covering yesterday’s district chairperson and direct councillor elections in Entebbe Municipality, Wakiso District, were briefly detained by joint security forces at Banga-Nakiwogo Polling Station, sparking fresh concerns over media freedom during electoral processes.
The journalists were rounded up by plain-clothed soldiers attached to the Special Forces Command (SFC) Banga-Nakiwogo barracks, alongside personnel from the Police Field Unit and newly-deployed Electoral Commission police constables.
According to accounts from the journalists, the media teams had agreed to move together for safety, citing past incidents in which reporters were attacked by both security personnel and hostile voters during elections in the municipality. Earlier in the day, the journalists had freely carried out their duties at several polling stations with heavy military and police deployment, including Katabi-Busambaga, without interference. Trouble began in the afternoon shortly after the journalists arrived at Banga-Nakiwogo Polling Station, where they had been covering proceedings for about 40 minutes.
Plain-clothed soldiers and uniformed police officers reportedly moved in and apprehended NTV journalist Ivan Kamana Walunyolo while he was conducting live coverage. During the scuffle, security personnel allegedly grabbed a phone and live broadcast equipment from the NTV camera operator, forcing the live bulletin off air. The journalists regrouped and followed their colleague as security officers confiscated the equipment and escorted the detained journalists away from the polling station.
Speaking to this publication, Mr Walunyolo said he was reporting on low voter turnout in Nakiwogo and complaints raised by Opposition leaders when security officers intervened.
‘The Opposition leaders were complaining that all their polling agents had been chased out of the polling station by the military and were standing outside the fence. They also alleged that soldiers were being ferried in to vote twice. That is when we were rounded up by SFC and police officers,’ Mr Walunyolo said.
He added that security personnel first confronted his camera operator.
‘They went to my cameraman and squeezed him in the ribs as they ordered him to get off air. When I approached them to ask what we had done wrong, they took both of us to their commander, who asked why we were siding with the Opposition,’ Mr Walunyolo said. According to the journalists, the soldiers told them they were required to seek permission from the Entebbe District Police Commander (DPC) before filming or broadcasting from the polling station because of its proximity to the Banga-Nakiwogo SFC barracks.
The journalists were subsequently removed from the polling station and taken to Entebbe Central Police Station, allegedly on the orders of the Entebbe DPC.
Upon arrival at the police station, senior police officers and the SFC commander reportedly made several phone calls to unidentified individuals before the journalists were released without any charge. By press time, neither the police nor the military had issued an official statement explaining the detention of the journalists.
The incident adds to a growing list of complaints by media practitioners over harassment and interference while covering electoral activities across the country.