Ugandan security forces raided the offices of a magazine regarded as critical of President Yoweri Museveni´s government, arresting three journalists and taking away computers, a lawyer said on Saturday. It was the second time the bi-monthly Independence has been raided since its launch in October last year. (26-APR-08)
Written by Francis Kwera, this article was first published today by www.reuters.org. The text of Reuters´s story has been left unchanged. To view Reuter´s own release, click here. The article has been edited and prepared for publication here by HRH F / Niels Jacob Harbitz. Illustration: Faximile from the banner logo on the Independent´s own website.
“They have accused my clients of being in possession of seditious materials and publishing inflammatory materials,” said Bob Kasango, the publication´s legal representative. Dozens of security officers went to the magazine´s offices at 8.30 a.m. (0530 GMT), arresting managing editor Andrew Mwenda, consulting editor Odobo Bichachi and journalist John Njoroge, he said.
“We think the government is not happy with a story The Independence published in a recent issue exposing atrocities committed by government forces during the war,” Kasango said, adding security officers took away various computers. Government officials were not immediately available for comment.But police confirmed the raid. “In their 10th issue, The Independence published three articles in which they defamed top government officials. We have been investigating these allegations but we found them to be untrue,” spokeswoman Judity Nabakhoba said. “We got search warrants and we confiscated CPUs, flash-disks and hard copy material which we are going to use as evidence to prosecute for seditious material and defamation.”
In power for two decades, Museveni´s government is criticised by rights groups for authoritarian tendencies including sometimes suppressing independent media. (Writing by Wangui Wanina; Editing by Janet Lawrence) (For full Reuters Africa
