Every year on May 3, the world pauses to honor one of the most foundational pillars of any functioning democracy: a free press. World Press Freedom Day is not merely a date on the calendar. It is a mirror, a reckoning, and a rallying cry for all of us who believe that without truth, there can be no justice, no accountability, and no hope.
Here at Kalisho Info, we mark this day with deep pride in the work of journalism and, equally, with a sobering awareness of the difficult terrain that journalists across Uganda continue to navigate every single day.
A Global Conversation That Hits Close to Home
This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme, “Reporting in the Brave New World: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media,” is one that resonates powerfully far beyond the conference halls of Brussels or the chambers of UNESCO. It lands squarely in the laps of every journalist sitting in a Kampala newsroom, filing stories from a rural district, or running a digital outlet on a shoestring budget.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping journalism in profound ways. It offers remarkable tools: faster fact-checking, broader language access, more efficient data analysis, and the capacity to amplify voices that once went unheard. But it also brings genuinely troubling risks. Deepfake technology, AI-generated disinformation, and the potential for digital surveillance of journalists are threats that are no longer theoretical. They are here. They are growing. And for journalists working in environments already hostile to free reporting, they make a difficult job significantly more dangerous.
UNESCO has rightly noted that press freedom has experienced its steepest decline since 2012, a fall comparable in scale to some of the most turbulent periods of the 20th century. That is not a distant statistic. That is our world, and it demands our attention.
Uganda’s Press Freedom Reality: Courage Meets Crisis
To speak honestly about press freedom in Uganda on this day is to hold two truths at once.
The first truth is that Uganda has an incredibly brave community of journalists. Men and women who wake up every morning committed to telling the stories that matter, who face real risk and press on anyway, who understand that their work is not just a profession but a public service. We celebrate them. We are proud to share the same vocation.
The second truth is harder. Uganda’s media environment remains deeply concerning, and the evidence is undeniable.
In 2024 alone, the Human Rights Network for Journalists documented 110 cases of human rights violations against journalists, including physical assaults, arbitrary arrests, equipment confiscation, and cyber harassment. The report, titled “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back,” captured exactly the tension that defines this moment: a landmark court ruling that held military officers personally liable for journalist rights violations, overshadowed by a wave of abuses that showed just how far we have yet to go.
During the Kawempe North by-election in March 2025, at least 32 journalists, including three women, were assaulted by security operatives while simply doing their jobs. Covering a democratic process should not require body armor. It should not come with the risk of a split lip or a broken camera or worse. And yet, for too many Ugandan journalists, that is the reality.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has raised formal concerns about the escalating restrictions on media freedom and internet access in Uganda, particularly as the country approaches the 2026 general elections. The Commission’s warnings are not abstract. They describe a climate in which journalists face not just the risk of physical harm, but also judicial intimidation, equipment seizures, revoked accreditation, and online harassment.
Facebook has remained blocked in Uganda since 2021. Investigative journalists have faced charges for publishing without licenses. Journalists from established outlets have been barred from covering Parliament and presidential proceedings. These are not isolated incidents. They form a pattern, and that pattern matters.
Journalism Is Not the Enemy
It needs to be said plainly: journalism is not a threat to Uganda. Journalism is one of the most powerful tools Uganda has.
When journalists report on corruption, they give citizens the information they need to demand better. When they cover elections, they hold the process accountable to the public it is supposed to serve. When they amplify the voices of ordinary Ugandans, they give shape and sound to the democratic conversation that every society depends on.
As Danson Kahyana, a Ugandan contributing editor at Index on Censorship, put it so powerfully on World Press Freedom Day 2025: “The moment press freedom is threatened, expect democracy to rot and die from within because nobody will be able to say, ‘Look, the emperor is naked!'”
That image should stay with all of us. A press that cannot report freely is a press that cannot serve the public. And a public that cannot be served by a free press is a public left vulnerable to the unchecked exercise of power.
The Digital Dimension
For digital platforms like Kalisho Info, the intersection of press freedom and technology is not abstract. It is personal.
We operate in a space where the tools available to us are extraordinary, and where the risks are equally real. Disinformation spreads faster online than corrections ever can. Algorithms can be gamed to suppress independent voices. Cyber harassment disproportionately targets women journalists, and Uganda’s female media practitioners face layered threats that go beyond what their male counterparts typically experience.
At the same time, digital platforms have opened a new kind of journalism, one that is faster, more accessible, and more connected to communities. We believe in that journalism. We are committed to practicing it responsibly, ethically, and without fear or favor.
We also believe that the Ugandan public deserves access to independent digital media. The government’s record of internet disruptions and social media restrictions during sensitive political moments represents a direct attack on the public’s right to know. Connectivity is not a luxury. For journalists and citizens alike, access to information is a fundamental right.
What World Press Freedom Day Calls Us to Do
Marking this day is not enough. Commemoration without commitment is just ceremony.
Here is what we believe this day should call us toward:
Protect journalists physically. Security forces must be held accountable for attacks on media practitioners. The culture of impunity around journalist abuse must end. The landmark 2024 court ruling that held military officers personally liable was a step in the right direction. It must not be an isolated moment; it must be a precedent.
Uphold access to information. Journalists must be allowed to cover Parliament, courts, elections, and all matters of public life without accreditation being used as a tool of retaliation. Blocking journalists from covering democratic processes undermines democracy itself.
Support independent media financially. The economic fragility of independent media is a press freedom issue. When newsrooms cannot pay their reporters, reporters self-censor. When media outlets depend on powerful interests for survival, editorial independence suffers. Sustainable, independent journalism requires deliberate investment.
Invest in digital safety. Media organizations must prioritize training journalists, especially women and younger reporters, on digital safety, data protection, and the responsible use of AI tools. This is no longer optional.
Engage the public. Press freedom is not just a journalist’s concern. It belongs to every Ugandan who has ever wanted to know the truth about how their country is being run. Civil society, civic educators, and ordinary citizens all have a role to play in demanding and defending media freedom.
A Word of Gratitude and Solidarity
To every journalist in Uganda and beyond who has ever filed a story despite fear, published a report despite pressure, or shown up to cover an event despite the risk of violence: we see you. We honor you. Your courage is the foundation on which public trust in journalism is built.
To our readers at Kalisho Info: thank you for believing in quality journalism. Thank you for choosing to be informed. Every time you read, share, and engage with independent reporting, you cast a vote for the kind of media environment Uganda deserves.
And to those who would prefer that journalists stay silent: the press is not going anywhere. Not today. Not ever.
