Museveni pardons Red Pepper, orders for its re-opening

President Museveni yesterday evening warned Red Pepper directors and editors against reckless reporting before he ordered that the premises which have been cordoned off by security for more than three months, be re-opened.

In a meeting with the newspaper's directors at State House Entebbe on Tuesday evening, Museveni warned the directors to guard against recklessness that he said had caused problems.

"During the meeting, the President warned the directors and editors to stop being reckless and become more professional in the course of their reporting," Arinaitwe Rugyendo one of the directors, said in a statement released on Wednesday morning.

Rugyendo said Museveni pardoned them and promised to notify police of the same.

"He  promised to immediately order the police to vacate the  Red Pepper head office at Namanve and return all confiscated electronic equipment to the staff."

On  December 28, Buganda road chief magistrate James Eremye Mawanda granted police an order allowing them more time to keep at the Red Pepper offices  as part of investigations  with the purpose of "obtaining evidence relating to publication of information prejudice to security of the government of Uganda."

"The directors and senior editors pledged to the president and the nation to make Red Pepper a more transformed and professional publication going forward,"Rugyendo added.

On November, 20,2017 publication, the Red Pepper published a story titled "Museveni plans to overthrow Kagame" a story that led to its closure and a court case which is still raging.