SECTOR 1 have been struck by the courts, they are still being used…. District attorneys have retained the offences.” Section 9 (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (2002) still makes it a criminal offence to publish and disseminate news or materials “that promote terrorism”, without precisely defining “terrorism”. Anyone convicted of this and other offences under the Act can be sentenced to death. Other laws affecting free expression and media freedom are as follows: • • • • Press and Journalist Act of 2000 – This compels journalists to register with the statutory Media Council. Section 27 (3) states that “no person shall practise journalism unless they are in possession of a valid practicing certificate”. The certificate may be suspended for up to six months if a journalist is ‘guilty’ of “professional misconduct”. The minister responsible for information appoints the Council. Regulation of the Interception of Communications Act of 2010 – This limits journalists’ ability to gather information as it threatens the confidentiality of journalists’ sources. Similarly, the Computer Misuse Act, Electronic Transactions Act, Electronic Signatures Act all allow the authorities to seize electronic communication and thus could compromise journalists’ sources. Electronic Media Act of 1996 – Establishes the Broadcasting Council to regulate broadcasters. The minister responsible for information appoints the Council. The Council has now been merged with the Uganda Communications Commission, which was established under the Uganda Communications Act of 1997 to regulate post and telecommunications. However, the law governing this merged regulator - the Uganda Communications Regulatory Authority Bill – has still to be enacted. In terms of the Bill, the minister will continue to appoint the board of the merged regulator. The Bill also empowers the minister to issue policy directives that the regulator will have to follow. Uganda Broadcasting Corporation Act of 2005 – Again, the minister appoints the board of the state broadcaster, the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC). “We need to distinguish between the right of free expression and the exercise of this right. A lot of the laws we have include provisions that are unconstitutional. These are not invoked (but remain on the statute books). For example, many journalists have interviewed people who have been declared as terrorists, but they (the journalists) haven’t been arrested because the authorities know these (provisions of the law) are unconstitutional. If the government chose to follow the law, we would be in much bigger trouble than we are in now.” 16 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER UGANDA 2012