KAMPALA – Justice Simon Byabakama, Chairperson, Uganda Electoral Commission has urged editors to denounce the acts of violence and those who use political rhetoric to drive violence, ahead of the 2026 elections.
“Don’t give ammunition to those who want to sow seeds of sectarianism, hopelessness and division through the use of hate speech and language that creates discord and bitterness,” he said.
Byabakama emphasized the need to focus on responsibilities of citizens as much as their rights, point out key areas of collaboration with editors during the electoral season such as excessive commercialisation of the electoral processes, misinformation, disinformation and fake news, and encouraging youth participation.
He was speaking at the 3rd annual Uganda Editors’ Guild Convention in Kampala, where top editors, media professionals, and experts have converged for 2 days to discuss key issues in journalism, including AI in newsrooms, investigative journalism, data-driven reporting, and combating misinformation and disinformation ahead of the elections season in Uganda.
Mr. Daniel Kalinaki, the president of Uganda Editors’ Guild describing the convention as timely in light of the election year, emphasized that high-level engagements with key stakeholders are critical to negotiating for space and freedom for journalists to be able to do their work and speak a unified voice and counter vices such as electoral violence, and violence against journalists.
“The convention aims to focus on emerging issues around elections so we have all the key stakeholders in one room, editors can get a sense of the state of preparations for the elections, legislative changes and have high level engagement with decision makers,” he said.
“We must have in-depth conversations with people at the other end of the fence and bodies like Uganda Editors Guild create avenues for us to understand and hear each other.”
Kalinaki also highlighted that it is important that we focus on the relevance of journalism in Uganda and how to ensure that the quality of journalists coming into the newsrooms is not a mismatch with what the editors want.
Dr. George Lugalambi Executive Director The African Center for Media Excellence (ACME) emphasized that for sustainability to uplift the quality of journalism across the board is important not to have pockets of excellence but to collaborate at a high level as players in the media industry. “Conversations such as we are having are critical to enable us strengthen our internal mechanisms in the profession to enable self-regulation. As an editor you are the first regulator,” Dr Lugalambi highlighted.
The convention is supported by M-SPACE, a programme being implemented by consortium partners Uganda Editors Guild, ACME, Uganda Radio Network, and Uganda Media Women’s Association that is working towards enhancing the professionalism and accountability of media practitioners and institutions and improving the operating environment for media.
The Secretary/ Director of Legal Affairs at Uganda Communication Commission Ms. Susan Wegoye has called for a partnership with the media as we reflect on our role in society and ensuring accountability.
She has stressed the importance of verifying information before it is published now that the digital revolution and technological advancement have changed things around.
