Freedom Subject to Licence Attempts to licence journalists in Uganda, Zambia and other Commonwealth African countries ARTICLE 19 ARTICLE 19, London ISBN 1 902598 02 4 March 1999 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was written by Joanna Stevens, a legal consultant to ARTICLE 19. The author wishes to acknowledge the valuable assistance gained in compiling this report from “Alerts” issued by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) - distributed free of charge by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange Clearing House (IFEX) by e-mail subscription - which document threats to freedom of expression in Africa as they occur. The report was edited by Njonjo Mue, ARTICLE 19’s Legal Adviser, East and Southern Africa Regional Office. ARTICLE 19 would like to thank the European Commission for its support in funding this report. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 2. UGANDA ......................................................................................................................................... 7 2.1. Early drafts ............................................................................................................................ 7 2.2. A compromise Bill.................................................................................................................. 9 2.3. Journalists as spectators..................................................................................................... 12 2.4. NRC calls for “major surgery”.............................................................................................. 15 2.5. Select Committee hearings ................................................................................................. 16 2.6. The final Act ........................................................................................................................ 18 3. ZAMBIA ......................................................................................................................................... 22 3.1. The 1995 Announcement .................................................................................................... 22 3.2. The 1997 Bill . ..................................................................................................................... 23 3.3. The Joint Statement ............................................................................................................ 26 3.4. The formation of the MLC and the 12 April demonstration.................................................. 28 3.5. Total withdrawal demanded................................................................................................. 30 3.6. Donor pressure.................................................................................................................... 31 3.7. The High Court ruling .......................................................................................................... 33 4. OTHER COMMONWEALTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES .................................................................. 37 4.1. Nigeria................................................................................................................................. 37 4.2. Tanzania.............................................................................................................................. 42 4.3. Kenya .................................................................................................................................. 45 4.4. Botswana............................................................................................................................. 46 4.5. Swaziland............................................................................................................................ 49 - i - 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UGANDAN STATUTE .................................................................... 55 5.1. “Fishmongers” and “Photojournalists” need not apply......................................................... 55 5.2. The inauguration of the Media Council and the IEC............................................................ 59 5.3. Journalists Up-country......................................................................................................... 61 5.4. Circulation Up-country......................................................................................................... 64 5.5. Awaiting full implementation................................................................................................ 71 6. THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE UGANDAN STATUTE ....................................................... 85 6.1. Contents ............................................................................................................................. 86 6.2. Argument............................................................................................................................. 91 6.3. Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 149 6.4. Table of authorities............................................................................................................ 151 7. APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................. 156 7.1. The Press and Journalist Statute, 1995 (Uganda) ............................................................ 156 7.2. The Media Council of Zambia Bill, 1997............................................................................ 166 7.3. The Nigerian Press Council Decree No. 85 of 1992.......................................................... 171 7.5. Letter of the UJSC to The Minister of Information, Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of State for Defence, 15 January 1997 ......................................................... 180 7.6. Letter of Minister of Internal Affairs to the UJSC, 15 March 1997 ..................................... 183 - ii - We don’t want people to wake up and just become journalists when the role they play is vital in society. The issue of controlling the press is secondary to us. Eriya Kategaya, Chairman of the Cabinet Sub-committee on the Press, Uganda, The New Vision (Kampala), 21 April 1995. It has been argued that what the compulsory licensing of journalists seeks to achieve is to protect a paid occupation and that it is not directed against the exercise of freedom of expression… This argument is based on a distinction between professional journalism and the exercise of freedom of expression that the court cannot accept… The practice of professional journalism cannot be differentiated from freedom of expression. On the contrary, both are obviously intertwined, for the professional journalist is not, nor can he be, anything but someone who has decided to exercise freedom of expression in a continuous, regular and paid manner. Compulsory membership in an association prescribed by law for the practice of journalism, Judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, [1986] HRLJ, Vol.7, No. 1 at para 75. The debates over the Police and Criminal Evidence Act [in the UK] raised the issue of principle as to whether journalists should claim special protection from the normal process of the law. Although such protection was initially sought by media organizations, many of their members subsequently changed their minds when it became apparent that the special treatment awarded them in the Act would necessarily involve the courts in defining ‘journalism’ and in operating a special regime that would accord to practitioners favoured treatment by comparison with ordinary citizens. The special status offered by the Act infringes the principle that journalism is not a profession, but an exercise by occupation of the citizen’s right to freedom of expression. In retrospect, the media organizations (such as the Guild of British Newspaper Editors) who supported the Government’s offer of ‘special protection’ for journalists fell into an obvious trap, and damaged their members interests. Prior to the 1984 statute, police had not been granted access to untransmitted material at common law. But once a statutory route for obtaining that material came into existence, albeit with ‘special protections’ the police naturally exploited it and courts naturally decided that the protection was not very special after all. [Italics added]. G.Robertson and A. Nicol, Media Law, 3rd ed., Penguin, 1992, p. 207. Principle is indivisible, and we try to divide it at our peril. When we compromise our freedom because we think our immediate goals more important, we are likely to find that the power to exploit the compromise is not in our hands after all. Ronald Dworkin, “A New Map of Censorship”, Index on Censorship 23, May/June 1994, 9-15. We wish to reiterate the united and common stand of the Zambian media practitioners of our total rejection of this obnoxious bill and that there is nothing to - iii - debate regarding the draft bill which must be consigned to the rubbish bin of history. This stand is non-negotiable; there is no debate about a bad law. Robby Makayi, Chairman of the Media Liaison Committee, Statement issued on 14 April; IFEX Alert (MISA), 16 April 1997. What is the fancy about writing as an accredited journalist? That is not at all an attraction that any journalist will surrender his rights for. Bright Mwape, Vice Chairman of the Zambia Independent Media