MUHAMAD MATOVU
The national coordinator of the Human Rights Network for Journalists Uganda (HRNJ-U) Robert Ssempala has condemned the act of some journalists fighting their fellow colleagues while on duty.
This followed the women protest against Pastor Aloysius Bugingo where some journalists in support of the pastor turned against their colleagues.
Some of the journalists who had gone to cover the event were allegedly battered by Salt Media journalists.
The journalists affected include Siraje Kiberu of Record television and one Katongole of Bukedde.
Ssempala noted that such filthy actS of fighting fellow colleagues in the profession affect the industry and project a bad image of journalists.
“It’s very unfortunate, it should never happen again. We should never hear journalists fighting one another and in this regard the journalists implicated should take personal responsibility because their actions hinge on criminality,” he said.
He encouraged the employers of journalists implicated to take personal responsibility and action so as to serve as a deterrent to their employees from attacking other journalists.
“No one is above the law and in this regard. Salt Media must personally be held responsible,” he noted.
He added that such act of impunity leaves the journalism fraternity in a weaker bargaining point whenever media talks about being attack by external forces.
Internally we are supposed to be extremely collective in common front, we should not divide ourselves, so it leaves us in a very precarious situation that we must work so hard to get out and look at many things that can bring us together as oppose to dividing us, “he added.
He noted that a journalist must also realize that fighting and beating others is a crime punishable by law.
The president Uganda Journalist association Hajj Kazibwe Bashir Mbaziira condemned the act of journalist fighting one another.
“It’s really ugly and it paints a very bad image of Uganda especially as we run in the pursuit in fighting for the right of journalism fraternity in the country,” he noted.
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