Lusaka, July 2, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ugandan authorities to immediately release veteran journalist Timothy Kalyegira, whose detention coincides with the
military’s shutdown
of east and central Africa’s largest media house.
“The detention of Timothy Kalyegira marks another troubling escalation in Uganda’s assault on independent journalism, with authorities using not only soldiers but also regulatory and criminal laws to silence the press,” said CPJ Africa Director Angela Quintal. “Ugandan authorities must immediately release Kalyegira and drop the charges against him, and ensure that all journalists in Uganda can report freely without fear of arrest, intimidation, or prosecution.”
After days of
anxiety
over the whereabouts of Kalyegira, a veteran commentator and outspoken
government critic
, he appeared before the Kira Chief Magistrate’s Court on June 29, about 14 kilometers (9 miles) east of Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
Kalyegira was
charged
with operating two digital news outlets —
Kampala Express
, between 2013 and 2026 and the Uganda Record, between 2014 and 2026 — without broadcasting licenses, according to the charge sheet, reviewed by CPJ. If found guilty, he could be jailed for up to one year under the 2013
Uganda Communications Act
.
Kalyegira denied the charges and was
remanded
to Luzira Maximum Security Prison until July 16, his lawyers, Eron Kiiza and Kato Tumusiime, told CPJ.
The journalist has written hundreds of
commentaries
for the Daily Monitor, which is part of the Nation Media Group-Uganda and which was
shut down
by a
military siege
on June 28 after a
social media
announcement by military chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also President Yoweri Museveni’s son.
“These charges against Timothy, the pretrial detention that preceded them for more than four days contrary to the 1995 Ugandan Constitution, and his subsequent remanding to Luzira Prison, all signal the Muhoozi-led Ugandan militar
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