Uganda: "The Movement Times" newspaper, including origin and relations with political movements, NGOs and governments; whether the newspaper has a political alignment (2014-January 2016)
According to sources, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) is the ruling party in Uganda (Human Rights Watch 12 Jan. 2016; Freedom House 2016), with Yoweri Museveni serving as president since 1986 (ibid.). Sources report that the Movement Times newspaper belongs to the NRM party (KAS 2009, 73; New Vision 7 Apr. 2008), and is described as a "mouthpiece for the cause" (ibid.). A media monitoring report from April 2011 produced by the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) [1] also stated that the Movement Times was a newspaper of the ruling National Resistance Movement-Organization (NRM-O) (HRNJ-Uganda Apr. 2011, 11). Other sources describe the Movement Times newspaper as follows:
- A bi-monthly newspaper which was launched in 2008 and is headquartered in Kampala with a print and web edition (New Vision 7 Apr. 2008);
- A monthly newspaper used by NRM to communicate to voters (KAS 2009, 73).
In December 2010, Stephen Bwire of the Movement Times participated in a human rights training workshop which involved drafting the Kampala Declaration on Journalists as Bearers and Promoters of Human Rights; the workshop received support from the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and was organized by the Uganda Media Development Foundation (UMDF) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) [2] (UMDF Nov. 2011, 46, 49). Other supporters of the Kampala Declaration included numerous radio stations, as well HRNJ-Uganda (ibid., 49).
In its April 2011 report on Ugandan media, HRNJ-Uganda stated that while the organization "welcomes the idea of political parties starting their own media outlets, [they] are concerned that the said newspapers [Movement Times and The Citizen]…often times misreported issues concerning the rival parties" and expressed the view that "[s]uch misreporting is intended to mislead the public" (HRNJ-Uganda Apr. 2011, 11). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Notes
[1] The HRNJ-Uganda is a network of human rights journalists who enhance and promote human rights by increasing the capacity of journalists in Uganda; it was formed in 2005 as an independent media, non-profit and non-partisan group, and is made up of a diverse membership of over 200 human rights journalists (HRNJ-Uganda n.d.).
[2] The UMDF is a Ugandan NGO which seeks to “enhance the capacity of journalists to achieve media excellence” and promotes “the role of media in democracy and development” (UMDF n.d.). The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is a German political think tank and consulting agency whose “civic education programs aim at promoting freedom and liberty, peace, and justice” (KAS n.d.).
References
Freedom House. 2016. "Uganda." Freedom in the World 2016. [Accessed 28 Sept. 2016]
Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda). April 2011. Press Freedom Index Report. [Accessed 28 Sept. 2016]
Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda). N.d. "Who We Are." [Accessed 29 Sept. 2016]
Human Rights Watch. 12 January 2016. "Uganda: Suspend 'Crime Preventers'." [Accessed 28 Sept. 2016]
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). 2009. "Uganda." KAS Democracy Report 2009. [Accessed 28 Sept. 2016]
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). N.d. “About Us.” [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016]
New Vision. 7 April 2008. "Fourth Term Heats Up." (Factiva)
Uganda Media Development Foundation (UMDF). November 2011. Uganda Media Review: Media and Corruption. [Accessed 28 Sept. 2016]
Uganda Media Development Foundation (UMDF). N.d. “Vision and Mission.” [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016]
Additional Sources Consulted
Internet sites, including: ABYZ Links; African Centre for Media Excellence; AllAfrica; Amnesty International; Committee to Protect Journalists; ecoi.net; Factiva; Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung; Movement Times; National Resistance Movement; UN – Refworld.