The Program Manager of Jal Fresh Fm in Gulu, Mr Bonny Payira and a panelist on the radio station’s straight line talk show were on Tuesday arrested by police on allegations of abusing President Yoweri Museveni.
Payira, the host of the political talk show Straight Line, was arrested on Tuesday evening immediately after the show together with one of the panelists identified as Mr Thomas Okot.
Agwani Samuel the LC3 councilor for Pece division who was part of the show was also detained and released later after he recorded a statement.
Mr Ogwetta Andrew Otto, the former Gulu University Guild president escaped arrest after he left the talk show 15 minutes before it ended.
Police alleges that the duo during a Talk Show aired on the Radio between 7
pm to 8 pm abused the personality of Mr Museveni who is the head of state.
Gulu district police commander, Mr Martin Okoyo said that Okot during the program which was being hosted by Payira called President Museveni a stupid man
However, when contacted, Okot denied abusing the personality of the president and instead stressed that it was useless for the president to commission projects that have not yet been completed.
“I only said it was a stupid action to be commissioning things like Gulu-Atiak road which is not yet completed and Gulu railway line which was commissioned in 2014 by the president but is not working up to now,” Okot told this reporter from the police cell.
He added that even Gulu main market is among the projects the president has commissioned but have not yet been put to active work since commissioning a month ago.
Okoyo says the two have been charged with sedition and the resident State Attorney will determine their fate after perusing through their files.
The case has been registered at Gulu central police station under CRB 1830/2015 charged for abusing the person of the president.
Okoyo however, advised media houses to have in house policies that do not allow biased statements to be doctored by journalists, panelists or radio talk show hosts adding that authoring seditious sentiments is a criminal offense.
“This is a warning to all media houses, whether print or broadcast, take precautions against having talk shows were seditious sentiments are sent against the government. Media houses should have the guidelines that bar such comments,” says Mr Okoyo.
Payira, whom Acholi Times interviewed at the police, refuted the allegations that they abused the president.
“We were expressing our opinions on the commissioning of the road before it’s fully completion, we didn’t in anyway abuse the president or authored anything seditious,” says Mr Payira.
Mr Sam Lawino, a coordinator of the Human Right Network for Journalist (HRNJ) Northern Region said the arrests were infringing on the rights to freedom of expression and demanded that the Police put up a fair treatment for the duo.
Mr Payira and Okot were however released on Police bond on Thursday.
In August 2010, a court ruling delivered by the court registrar Asaph Ntegye Ruhinda nullified sedition law as unconstitutional under sections namely, 39 and 40 of the Penal Code, Cap 120 which define and establish the law on sedition.
Prior to its nullification, the law deemed any utterances or covert sentiments against the government, judiciary and the president as unlawful and the party involved is liable to sentencing.
