Vivian Agaba

The next few weeks are jammed with election-related activities, including the election of a President, Members of Parliament (MPs), and Local Government council representatives, who will lead us for the next five years.

As electoral campaigns are ongoing, we are increasingly seeing scenes of brutal attacks against innocent Ugandans, particularly by some members of the police force and the army. A case in point was when supporters of the Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, commonly known as Bobi Wine, were attacked during his campaign in Gulu City recently.

Attacks against journalists by some security agencies have continuously raised concerns from some members of the public, including religious leaders, human rights bodies, and the media fraternity, both in Uganda and beyond, like the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). These attacks range from physical violence and harassment to legal intimidation, digital threats, enforced disappearances, and worst-case scenario, death.