Kyadondo East Member of Parliament, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi wine has expressed his dismay over the increasing abuse of human rights in Uganda.
His remarks followed the story of James Akena, a photojournalist with Reuters, who was brutally clobbered by military last year during protest of free Bobi wine in Kampala.
Akena is currently confined in a wheelchair.
Using his social media platforms, Bobi wine lamented that freedom of the press is increasingly “shrinking” and called on authorities to better protect journalists.
He said story of Akena, who is an award winning photo-journalist with Reuters is very painful and sad for such a person who was carrying out his duty as a journalist.
“For covering the #FreeBobiWine protests last year, Mr. Akena was brutally clobbered by men wearing our uniform and bearing our national flag! His pleas that he was only a journalist doing his job landed on deaf ears as he was flogged by men who we pay to protect us!” he wrote.
“We must end the wanton abuse of authority and restore the respect of human rights in our country,” he wrote.
He said the struggle is to end the rampant abuse of authority and restore the respect for human rights in Uganda.
He noted the habit of violating human rights and one is left to move freely will not be tolerated.
Bobi Wine said that never should a normal Ugandan be treated in the way Akena was handled; never.
A number of journalists have been arrested, severely beaten up by security while carrying out their work.
In all the cases, no one has been held accountable.
He said when journalists are targeted, societies as a whole pay a price as no democracy is complete without press freedom.
Harassment of journalists is on the rise in Uganda, and freedom of speech is under threat, according to a recent report by Amnesty International.
Various reports by human rights activists have for many years ranked Police as the number one violator of human rights.
