Friday 17 of February 2012
Uganda: Journalists’ libel case adjourned to June
Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court has adjourned the criminal libel case in which two Daily Monitor journalists are accused of defaming President Museveni, to June 26.
The Magistrate’s court gave the adjournment in the case against Mr Henry Ochieng, the political editor, and Mr Angelo Izama, a senior reporter, to enable the Supreme Court to have more time to hear and determine an appeal lodged by four journalists who are challenging the constitutionality of the offence of criminal libel.
The appeal, which is pending before the Supreme Court since it’s not fully constituted, was lodged by journalists: Joachim Buwembo, Bernard Tabaire, Robert Mukasa and Emmanuel Gyezaho, after being dissatisfied with the Constitutional Court ruling that upheld the offence of criminal libel.
The journalists contend that the criminal libel infringes on media freedom.
Prosecution alleges Mr Ochieng and Mr Izama on December 20, 2009, unlawfully published a defamatory matter in an article that appeared in Sunday Monitor titled: “Will the people’s power defeat President Museveni in the poll?”
Core to the charges are allegations that the article compared President Museveni’s regime to that of Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was deposed in 1986.
The journalists deny the allegations.
February 17, 2012 by Anthony Wesaka
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Source: www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1329286/-/b0pcfiz/-/index.html (Accessed: 17.02.2012)
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