Morrison Rwakakamba
I have seen a letter from Uganda Communications Commission suspending programs hosted by Radio Boona FM Moderator Mr Namanya Kakyene. Kakyene is accused of overriding broadcasting standards.
The decision by @UCC_Official has further polarized opinion and heated-up political discourse in Rukungiri district with supporters of Kakyene sounding voices of foul play and bias while supporters of UCC’s actions are jubilating.
Sadly, some politicians directly and through their agents are rubbing-in and adding fire to gasoline (okwendegyeza Omuriro) with hope to benefit from the tension.
Whereas it’s vital to respect broadcasting laws and standards, there is also a need to protect the sanctity of freedom of speech and freedom of opinion. It’s a delicate balancing act and I hope UCC has the bandwidth, stamina and stomach lining to productively get on top of it.
For instance did Kakyene say anything that could not be challenged while using the same platform? Did Kakyene use the platform to defame and demean people / parties who would not defend themselves through the same platform? As a moderator did he favour one side of opinion against other sides or give more time to those whose opinion he favors? Did he utter falsehoods that can’t be debunked with truth? Did he knowingly broadcast falsehoods to mislead the public?
All these and perhaps more should be examined — and one significant way is for UCC to have called Kakyene to defend himself before reaching the suspension decision. That is what the principle of fair hearing demands.
The other way of resolving this could be through mediation— especially so because Kakyene is mostly a public affairs moderator and with the heated political season there is a heightened atmosphere to easily take Kakyene approach out of context to facilitate a certain political agenda — and equally there is also an atmosphere of manipulating Kakyene’s approach to drive negative sentiments in the population.
This makes Kakyene and Radio Boona FM victims of heightened political environment. And perhaps UCC should have studied this before reaching a suspension conclusion.
Lastly, a mediation team involving stakeholders outside active politics e.g retired and senior journalists, religious leaders, business leaders and farmers can be engaged to help resolve some of these community issues.
UCC can tap into the foregoing stakeholder atlas. For now, I think UCC is using a hammer on Kakyene and Radio Boona Fm. This can change and be an opportunity to create a moderate and inclusive tone as we head into deep end of election season.
The author is a farmer based in Rukungiri district
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