Uganda journalist arrested over anti-govt comments

KAMPALA, Uganda, Aug 12, 2005 (AP) — Police arrested a Ugandan journalist on Friday who challenged President Yoweri Museveni to arrest him after the president threatened to close down local newspapers, the journalist’s lawyer said.

Andrew Mwenda, who hosts a talk show on K FM – which authorities shut down on Thursday – faces charges of sedition and was being held at Kampala’s central police station, his lawyer James Nangwala said.

Mwenda dared Museveni on Wednesday to arrest him and close K FM, after the president accused certain newspapers of jeopardizing regional security by speculating about what caused a presidential helicopter to crash on July 30, killing John Garang, Sudan’s vice president and former rebel leader, and 13 others.

The Monitor Publications’ legal and administrative adviser, Ann Muhwezi, told journalists that Mwenda was quizzed about what he said during Wednesday’s talk show.

Conrad Nkutu, the company’s managing director, told The Associated Press that managers had talked with the Uganda Broadcasting Council, which closed K FM Thursday about reopening the station next week.

During Wednesday’s national ceremony for the Ugandan victims of the July 30 crash, Museveni said he would close media houses publishing material threatening regional security. The president singled out Mwenda, who is also political editor of the Daily Monitor newspaper.