Freedom of Speech In Uganda...POMB

Imagine you're walking down the street with a couple of your friends. It's lunchtime and you're headed from the office to your favorite cafe. As you walk along, the conversation turns to the latest governmental disappointments...party politics, scandals, inaction and other common issues. If you're in New York, London, Stockholm, or Paris this conversation may happily continue as part of the freedoms of speech inherent in these societies. If you're in Kampala; however, you could be stopped by the police for engaging in a demonstration without prior permission as outlined in the Public Order Management Bill (POMB) passed last week by Uganda's parliament.

The objective of the bill is to provide for the regulation of public meetings. The intent is to safeguard "public order without compromising the principles of democracy, freedom of association and freedom of speech". It does this by managing public order and outlining procedures that should be followed for public meetings.

The scope of the bill includes public gatherings of three or more people that discuss "principles, policy, actions or failure of any government, political party, or political organization." It excludes "a meeting of members of any registered organisation...convened in accordance with the constitution of the organisation and held exclusively for a lawful purpose of that organisation"; or a "political party or organisation, convened in accordance with the constitution of the party or organisation, and held exclusively to discuss the affairs of the party or organisation." It also excludes, funerals, weddings, sports events, and parties.

If your meeting is in scope then you have to fill out a series of forms that are submitted to the police no less than 3 days in advance of the meeting, seeking permission to gather. They can grant permission, and if so they'll show up (with guns!) to provide protection. They can also refuse permission or have you reschedule your meeting. If you don't like the decision then there is a process for redress, but failure to comply, as mentioned, could mean jail time.

All meetings must start after 6:00 am and end by 6:00 pm, and if you want to use any kind of voice amplification, you have to have prior permission from the police. If your meeting goes sideways and starts to disrupt the peace (as determined by the police in attendance) they can stop the meeting. If you, the organizer, don't comply, then you can be fined up to a million shillings ($375 US) or 3 months jail time.

So...you can read the entire text of the bill provided through the link above if you want, but those were just some of the highlights I found interesting as I skimmed through it.

The bill has generated a lot of debate, particularly among Civil Society Organizations and Human Rights Organizations. Here are a few quotes.

New Vision: "The Bill...has been widely criticized by both human rights activists and political organizations saying it infringes on human rights and it’s a replica of the already existing laws."

Voice of America:  "Those opposing the bill say it violates the rights of Ugandans to freely associate, a right guaranteed by the constitution." 

Human Rights Watch: "The government should not respond to criticism by imposing overly restrictive laws. Instead the bill should be amended to protect the right to assemble and express one’s self freely." Livingstone Sewanyana, head of Foundation for Human Rights Initiative.

Amnesty International: "The Bill imposes wide ranging restrictions on public meetings and gives the police unprecedented powers to prohibit and disperse public gatherings of a political nature. This Bill represents a serious blow to open political debate in a country where publicly criticizing the government is already fraught with risk,' said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s deputy Africa director."

There are, I suppose, three gaping loopholes in this bill. The first is that it applies only to public spaces. If my house holds 10,000 people, I could invite them all over for a meeting about the government and since this is my private space, I wouldn't need permission. 

The second loophole is that public space is defined as the physical world. So I can stand up a Facebook page or launch a Twitter campaign criticizing the government and there's nothing within this bill that would make that illegal. With so few Ugandans on the Internet and even less on Facebook, it's not going to be much of a debate though...a better plan is to use radio. I could broadcast a lively political debate over the airwaves with no prior permission required. 

The third loophole is the topic of the meeting. I could, for example, hold a massive animal rights demonstration (Meat Is Murder!) and as long as I say nothing about the government, I wouldn't need prior permission.

It's that third loophole that makes me wonder whether this is about public safety or about suppressing political debate in advance of the 2016 elections. But, I'm an outsider...I could be wrong. I'll leave it up to you to decide for yourself.