The Watchdog in Distress — Electoral Politics, Police Brutality and the Chilling Effect on Journalism Practice in Uganda
This study explores the threats to the functions of the fourth estate and to electoral democracy. The study focuses on the Ugandan electoral season of 2020–2021 with the aim of revealing the most recent (a) parameters of harassment and intimidation by police, militia groups, and special forces against journalists covering the elections and to gain insights into (b) how New Vision newspaper management responds to security harassment by journalists, (c) what institutional support structures are in place, and (d) what impact all the above have on journalists’ watchdog functions. The study, designed as a qualitative investigation, involves interviews with journalists and editors from Uganda’s leading newspaper, The New Vision, and investigates an unabated proliferation of police brutality and intimidation. Perpetrators employ various tactics, including violence, to impede independent journalistic work. The impact has been self-censorship, information blackouts or resorting to ‘protocol journalism’ as a form of survival journalism. The findings also explain a duality in support structures. While some support exists in the form of training and medical and legal aid, the fact that the policies are vague opens up discriminative interpretations and applications, especially in regard to freelancers or if support means financial loss. The implications of these trends for an already existentially struggling profession are explained, along with suggestions for change.
Publisert i 2025
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