The role and challenges of the media in promoting

peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable

development in Uganda

By Dr. William Tayeebwa,

Lecturer and Head, Department of Journalism and Communication, Makerere
University

Discussion Paper Presented for World Press Freedom Day 2017

Organized by the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME)
Kampala, 3rd May 2017
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Introduction
The challenges of the media in Uganda to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for
sustainable development as the theme for the 2017 World Press Freedom Day proposed by the
UNESCO, are based on many factors owing mainly to: aptitudes of individual journalists; the
political economy of media institutions; impediments on freedoms of the media as dictated by
the state; and a lack of courage by supra-national bodies and international governments (donors)
to impose international standards.

Conversely, the success of the media in promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for
sustainable development is essentially located at those four levels: individual, institutional, state,
and non-state actors such as NGOs, donor agencies, supra-national bodies.

At individual level, it is essential that journalists have not only the professional aptitudes to be
muckrakers, but also have the professional training that goes with the charisma. It often happens
that the highly trained journalists are also highly sought out by other sectors that pay much
better. Given the many challenges thrown their way in Uganda, individual journalists easily
burn-out and leave the profession to juniors who lack the professional competences to do a good
job on complex subjects such as peace, conflict and violence.

The senior journalists tend not to stay in the profession partly and probably mainly due to the
unpalatable professional environment accorded to them by the institutions they work for. These
unfavourable conditions include poor remuneration, to a lack of upward mobility schemes
within media institutions, to poor hiring practices tinted with favouritism or sometimes
nepotism. The owners of media institutions will often blame the imperatives of the market
whereby growth of the media sector in Uganda has stagnated or even declined. So, media houses
will often claim they dont make the money to keep highly qualified or experienced journalists or
to sponsor high quality investigative journalism that is the staple of peace and conflict reporting.

At the third level, the individual journalists and their institutions are often faced with a
restrictive legal regime that has made the practice of journalism in Uganda the more perilous. A
case in point is the November 2016 arrest and charging of KTV journalist Joy Doreen Biira with
abetting terrorism for doing her basic journalism work of covering the 25-27 November 2016
clashes in Kasese between security agencies of the state with the royal guard of the Bakonzo
king, Wesley Mumbere. I agree with Peter Mwesige, Executive Director of the African Centre for
Media Excellence (ACME) who noted that: Its a tragedy that they [government] still have laws
that equate telling the story about violence or insecurity or conflict to terrorism. Add to that the
fact that the plethora of laws that curtain freedoms of expression and of the media keeps
increasing by the year.

The fourth challenge is the inability by supra-national bodies (UN, OAU, EAC, COMESA etc)
and international governments (mainly donors) to courageously and proactively engage with
government on issues of freedoms of expression and of the media. The UNESCO 2017 PFD
concept note asks: How can we ensure the protection of fundamental freedoms when the rule of
law is not respected? (p.4). The answer is that stronger actions such as sanctions, travel bans,
freezing of assets, international arrests are key. The voices of Human Rights Watch, Freedom
House, Article 19, Unwanted Witness, Human Rights Network of Journalists-Uganda etcin
their numerous reports should not be in vain as is often the case.

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In quest of journalism that promotes peaceful and inclusive societies

The UNESCO on this day invites all sectors (all the four levels above) to work towards peace,
stability, respect for human rights and effective and transparent governance based on the rule of
law (p.5). This is an explicit call to work towards peace-building.

The concept of peace-building, while not mentioned explicitly in the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development as adopted by the 193 Member States of the United Nations in
September 2015, has been at the core of UN work for decades. The concept of sustainable
development is by default linked to peace-building as expounded by the UN in their 1992
Agenda for Development, which encompasses a wider range of issues such as economic
development, social development, empowerment of women, rights of the child, international
migration, environment among others (Annan, 2004). This peace building vision is clearly
echoed under SDG No.16 (Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development,
provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all
levels) (UNESCO 2017, p. 1).

Scholars such as Lynch & McGoldrick (2005) acknowledge that peace-building is a complex
and extensive process of helping a society recover from collective violence, which is often seen
as being grounded on four pillars: physical security, socio-economic development, building
political institutions, and reconciliation to build relationships and psychological security (p.37).

Writing about the work of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Cilliers et al. (2003) see peace-building
as a process of changing unjust structures through right relationships and it transforms the way
people, communities, and societies live, heal, and structure their relationships to promote justice
and peace in addition to creating a space in which mutual trust, respect, and interdependence
is fostered (p.377).

At a more concrete and micro level, peace-building can only be possible if the media institutions
help their journalists to conduct regular conflict mapping and analysis with the view of reporting
regularly on the drivers of conflict before violence erupts.
Conflict mapping also involves systematic conflict dynamics analysis where patterns and trends
are identified and possible accelerators and triggers for violence explored (Porto 2008, p. 56). Of
course it is acknowledged that conflict is an intrinsic and inevitable aspect of human interaction
that plays a positive role in spurring social change such as promoting justice, peace, sustainable
development and human rights (Howard, 2003; Lugalambi, 2006). The problem is when conflict
is not contained and it grows into violence.

In their study, Rupesinghe & Anderlini (1998) highlight the various conflicts and their sources;
such as identity conflicts, resources-based conflicts, conflicts over governance and authority
and ideological conflicts (pp. 33-45). The scholars agree that whereas it is fruitless to talk about
conflict prevention, it is worthwhile to intervene in conflicts to ensure they dont erupt into
violence (Howard, 2003; Lugalambi, 2006). Such media intervention, argues Lugalambi (2006), is
geared at the following objectives:
To champion a common vision based on those core principles and values around which
citizens ought to be encouraged to unite;
Focus citizens attention on issues of collective concern, to generate agreement, and to
persuade people to voice their opinion;

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Provide social intelligence that captures the essence of citizens perceptions of issues at
stake, thus identifying points of tension before they crack;
Direct the current of public opinion by articulating the concerns of the few who may
hold legitimate but contrary views from the dominant thinking held by the majority;
Critically engage with issues by rigorously inquiring into the motives of all the parties
(Lugalambi 2006:15).

Often the danger is the fear by journalism to engage in the above interventions, which are
essential for a constructive public discourse on drivers of conflict before violence breaks out. That
is what Joy Doreen Biira was doing in Kasese that Thursday 27 November 2016 when she was
arrested (Mumbere 2016). Thus, understandably, journalism is often curtailed by restrictive state
laws and regulations framed within a misconstrued philosophy that open-debate, especially in
the mass media, engenders political opposition, which is often anathema in many African
governments.

It is at this third level (government restrictive laws and actions) that supra-national bodies and
civil society (fourth level) ought to continue their courageous engagement with government, but
also proactively supporting courageous media institutions and journalists (Human Rights
Network for Journalists-Uganda) as well as innovatively funding investigative journalism
(ACME grants). Journalism should also organize better to challenge the state (e.g. the Mwenda,
Obbo and EAMI 1997 case against the State viz Section 50 of the Penal Code Act on false news).

In addition to the above quest, journalism scholarship (and practice) should be engaging in a
process of deconstructing media values that often valorize conflict, to a construction of media
values that promote communal harmony.

The need for a paradigm shift in journalism

The focus by journalists and journalism institutions on conflict-mapping and analysis is a call for
a paradigm shift in journalism to move away from the framing of news in a conflict-centric
manner to new framing that valorizes communal harmony, dialogue and reconciliation efforts
(Tayeebwa 2012, 2017). That paradigm has variously been called peace journalism or conflict-
sensitive-reporting.

Israeli scholar Dov Shinar (2007) makes a pointed observation that while a lot of work has been
done on the deconstruction of war discourse, hardly has any work been done on the invention,
development and marketing of a media peace discourse. He observes, for instance, that while
reporting peace, such as in peace processes, journalists were still using war jargon and frames
(pp.5-7).

Based on that observation, Tayeebwa (2012, 2017) investigated propositions by peace journalism
scholars to evaluate the uptake of conventional journalism frames that often valorize conflict or
violence against those that promote peace. The empirical data from a survey interrogation of
Ugandan journalists (n=183) and Burundian journalists (n=58) shows that while appreciative of
the frames of peace coverage, practitioners still apprize the conventional frames that promote
violence such as drama; crisis; extremism; threats; and destruction among others.

Using fieldwork evidence, Tayeebwa (2012, 2017) makes a praxis contribution by proposing a
deconstruction in journalism of the entrenched frames of conflict or violence by focusing on

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extrapolated frames of peace coverage from literature such as patience and moderation;
cooperation and consensus; calm belligerents; peacemakers and peace processes;
humanisation of enemies among others. He argues that such frames of peace reporting ought to
progressively replace the conventional frames of conflict or violence within journalism pedagogy
and praxis.

Figure 1: Deconstructing and (Re)framing the values of peace, conflict/violence

(Tayeebwa 2017)

The dominant argument of those who continue to make a case for the peace journalism model is
that it should be recognised as a positioned genre of journalism (such as investigative, business,
environmental etc) that focuses on covering conflict potentials (conflict mapping and analysis)
with a view to ensuring they do not escalate into violence.

For instance, Lynch and McGoldrick (2005) insist that the genres uniqueness is to focus on
highlighting the work of peace actors as well as peace processes and initiatives wherever they
happen. They further argue that it is such a genre that valorises pro-activity by focusing on
prevention before any violence or war occurs as opposed to war journalism which is often
reactive, waiting for violence before reporting (Lynch and McGoldrick 2005, p.6).

The genre also puts a higher premium on the responsibilities of journalists and their gate-keepers
make: Peace Journalism is when editors and reporters make choices - about what to report, and

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how to report it - that create opportunities for society at large to consider and to value non-
violent responses to conflict (Lynch and McGoldrick 2005, p.5).

Peace journalism at work in Uganda: The case of the Uganda Media Development Foundation
(UMDF)
Possibly the most prominent peace journalism initiative in Uganda is a project known as
promoting peace journalism through Radio in Uganda implemented by the Uganda Media
Development Foundation (UMDF) with funding from the Church Development Service of
Germany (EED).

The UMDF is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded in 1994 by a group of journalists

who wanted to see the mass media more engaged in the democratic and development processes
of the country. Since its inception, the UMDF has been central in the mid-career training of
journalists across the country in various genres including investigative, environment, health,
human rights and democracy, and most recently peace journalism.

The first phase of the UMDF-EED project was implemented for twenty-four months from
January 2009 to December 2010 with the core objective of promoting peace through radio
programming as well as nurturing a functional network of mass media practitioners in
partnership with Church workers to reduce and resolve regional conflicts. The second phase
covered the years 2011 and 2012.

The project focused on the four regions of the country that had been affected by armed
insurgency over the years. During the first two years of its implementation, the UMDF targeted
one hundred media practitioners working in radio stations. These included journalists, talk-show
presenters as well as programmers in the four conflict-prone regions of the country, namely;
Rwenzori (Western), West Nile (North Western), North Eastern, and Northern. The UMDF also
trained ten church media personnel engaged in peace and justice work for their respective
churches. These trained church-based media personnel ensure that any media house that makes
incendiary broadcast is brought to the attention of the peace journalism network for concerted
action.

The project also runs two Google group platforms under the rubrics of peace journalism and
conflict-sensitive reporting where the trainee peace journalists share their experiences and post
news stories for peer review.

Whereas the forty-two radio stations seven in West Nile, sixteen in Northern, ten in Eastern,
and nine in the Rwenzori region benefitted from the training, one radio station was chosen to
be a programming model.

In the Eastern region, Kyoga Veritas Radio (KVR 91.5FM) based in Soroti town was supported to
run a peace radio programme known as Teso mai koton (meaning the Teso we want). This
model station was later replaced by Voice of Teso 88.4 FM in Soroti. In the second phase of the
UMDF-EED project, 99.8 Step FM in Mbale was added for support in the Eastern region.
In the West Nile region (North Western), Radio Pacis (90.9FM) based in Arua town was
supported to run an appropriately titled Lets Talk Peace programme every Wednesday at
17:00hrs for thirty minutes. To cater for local language issues, Radio Paidha 87.8 FM broadcasting
from Nebbi town was added in the second phase of the UMDF-EED project.

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The model radio station originally chosen in the Rwenzori region (Western Uganda) was Grace
FM 94.2 in Kasese town. Until August 2011, it ran a programme calling to mind the concept of
citizenship titled Uganda Neyoha? (meaning in the local Runyakitara language To whom does
Uganda belong?). The programme was a two-hour talk-show aired every Saturday from 8:00 hrs
to 10:00 hrs. Following many management problems, Grace FM, like its counterpart KVR in
Soroti, lost the privileged status of model peace journalism station and was replaced by Guide
FM (90.3) in Kasese town, while Life FM (93.8) in Fort Portal town was the second station in the
region to be supported.

In Northern Uganda, the region most affected by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion in
the last two decades, the chosen peace journalism model station was Luo FM (92.4) in Pader
district. The station run the Pem programme (meaning Let us debate) every Saturday from
10:00 hrs to 12:00 noon, with an allowance for an extension of an extra hour if the issues being
discussed drew immense public interest as indicated by calls. In the second phase of the UMDF-
EED project, Radio Wa 89.8FM based in Lira town was added as a model station.

Is peace-journalism taking root nationwide?

Not yet, but like there will always be priests and pastors and imams or sheiks ensuring we do
not fall into sin, there is need for the formation of more peace-journalists across all media
institutions to play the following functions:
Identify conflict potentials (deliberate and strategic conflict mapping) with the aim of
highlighting those potentials before they develop into violence;
Provide more platforms to peacemakers and conciliatory voices, while tempering (not
necessarily denying) voices of violence. The positions/grievances of war-mongers ought
to be listened to in open forums in view of seeking solutions before violence breaks out
(Lugalambi 2006);
Help audiences to identify individual perpetrators of political vices e.g. corruption and
abuse of power, as opposed to ethnic generalizations with potential to cause ethnocide or
genocide;
Working on the political economy of media institutions to influence journalistic routines
and practices that dont favor creativity and new models at the behest of market
imperatives (Research projects of Tumusiime 2016; Odoobo 2016). This calls for more
proactive engagement with civil society and supra-national bodies in the enterprise of
journalism.

Martyrdom in journalism must never be sought after aggressively. Safety and prudence are to be
cherished so that the next story can be told.

The absolute need for journalists to be conversant with the many laws that impinge on freedoms
of the media (Constitution Article 29, 41 and 43; International Covenants; The Penal Code; The
Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002; The National Information Technology Authority Act 2009; The
Regulation of Interception of Communications Act 2010; The Electronic Transactions Act 2011;
The Uganda Communications Act 2013; The Computer Misuse Act of 2011; and the several
efforts to amend some or most of these laws).

Local bodies to monitor radio stations (and other media) is key to stem the tide of incendiary
discourse whenever it happens (Refer to: the Nuremberg trial and conviction of Julius Streicher

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the then editor of Der Stuermer in Nazi-Germany; the 2003 International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda (ICTR) trials and convictions of Jean Bosco Barayagwiza and Ferdinand Nahimana of
Radio-Television Libres des Mille Collines (RTLM) as well as for Hassan Ngeze the editor of
Kangura newspaper; the trial in 2012 at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of Kenyan
broadcaster Joshua Arap Sang of Kass FM).

The need to provide to journalists (and audiences) alternative frames of news coverage that
depart from the conventional conflict-centric ones (Tayeebwa 2017).

Conclusion
It is evident that the ability of journalism to promote peaceful and inclusive societies is curtailed
by failure of individual journalists to acquire and sustain professional skills, but also the inability
by media institutions to surmount the challenges posed by imperatives of the market as well as
the deliberate actions by the state to curtail freedoms of expression and of the media through
restrictive laws.

Yet, journalism still has an opportunity to continue reinventing itself through empowering
journalists to acquire skills such as in conflict mapping and analysis; as well as media institutions
to continue innovating to remain relevant and profitable without necessarily killing
professionalism. This is in addition to a willingness to practice new paradigms that have a higher
potential of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. While an
intransigent and paranoid State is harder to deal with to respect freedoms of expression and of
the media, professional journalism will always find avenues such as those accorded by new
media technologies (social media) as well as other open outlets outside the reach of the State.

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References
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