The Chief Justice, Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo, says The Daily Monitor must stand its ground in defence of the truth and quality journalism as the newspaper marks thirty years of existence.
Delivering a keynote address at a dialogue in commemoration of the thirty years since the founding of The Monitor in 1992, Justice Owiny-Dollo commended the newspaper for what he described as its unrelenting spirit in the fight for media freedoms over the years.
While observing that The Daily Monitor has delivered on its promise to render quality service to its readers, he cautioned its management not to allow the vice of complacency or triumphalism to set in as it embarks on its journey as the oldest independent newspaper in the country.
The first edition of The Monitor was published on July 31st, 1992 by a team of journalists led by Wafula Oguttu, David Ouma Balikowa, Charles Onyango Obbo, Ogen Kevin Aliro, and Richard Tebere, among others. At the time, the newspaper became one of the strongest critics of the privatisation process.
It was one of the papers that provided alternative voices for the opposition players during the constitution-making process, which climaxed with the promulgation of the 1995 Constitution in October 1995. The Monitor, which positioned itself as a paper that builds the nation at the time, would soon be viewed as an opposition newspaper during a period when political parties were prohibited under Article 269 of the 1995 constitution.
Apart from contributing to the quality of journalism, the Chief Justice particularly hailed The Monitor, later renamed The Daily Monitor, for the role it has played in the protection and defence of constitutionally guaranteed rights. He said some of the legal battles that the newspaper was engaged in over the years have been able to get rid of some of the colonial laws like sedition and publication of false news, among others.
He cited Justice Mulenga’s Supreme Court ruling in the popularly quoted Charles Onyango Obbo, Andrew Mwenda vs. Attorney General. The Mulenga ruling, according to Justice Owiny-Dollo, is cited with approval in many countries around the world.
The Daily Monitor, through its former journalist, Andrew Mwenda, also successfully battled against the law on sedition, which was then part of the Penal Code Act. The Constitutional Court ruled against the law of sedition, saying its interpretation was so broad to the extent that it incriminated everybody in the enjoyment of one’s right of expression of thought.
The court declared that sections 39 and 40 of the Penal Code were inconsistent with Articles 29 and 43 of the Constitution and struck them off the Penal Code Act.
The Monitor’s founding editor-in-chief, Wafula Oguttu, said the paper has over the years been mistaken to be a voice of enemies of the ruling party. He denied that the mission was to oppose President Museveni’s government. He said the paper got that label because it offered space for everybody when there was no other media house to offer that space.
He said, “I think they expected us to do a different paper, but we said we shall maintain independence and do a paper that talks to everybody that stands firm for people’s rights.”
Oguttu decried the increasing commercialisation of journalism in Uganda and Africa. He said governments have also invaded journalism for spying.
When I was at The Monitor, I knew there were about four spies for the government. I knew them. I knew three, but I didn’t know the fourth one. But we discussed with Charles Onyango Obbo and agreed that we should not fight them. We should leave them, but we knew they were spies,” said Wafula Oguttu.
Oguttu added: “I think there are issues that we have to discuss as journalists.” You become a spy for the government instead of building a career because of a lack of money, ”
Wafula says that despite being taken over by the Nation Media Group, The Daily Monitor remains a strong brand the way it was founded and built. He observed that while it is a tough time for the media industry, The Daily Monitor should be able to survive for another thirty years.
The Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, congratulated The Daily Monitor upon reaching thirty years of existence. “Thirty years is not a joke, either for a human being or an organisation like The Monitor,” said Baryomunsi.
He urged media owners to address, among other things, what he called intellectual laziness among young journalists.
According to Baryomunsi, the most experienced journalists have left newsrooms for better pay, and they left the media houses with less experienced ones. He said there was a need to also have journalists better remunerated to ensure quality journalism.
