SECTOR 1 the NIJU can be issued with a practicing certificate, it can be concluded that one cannot practice journalism in Uganda without fulfilling these requirements.5 Journalists are required to register with the statutory Media Council and to renew their “practicing certificate” every year. Article 33 (b) of the Act states that the Council’s Disciplinary Committee can suspend a journalist’s practicing certificate for up to six months if the journalist concerned is found guilty of “professional misconduct”. However, the Media Council has not enforced these provisions of the law since it first issued licenses to journalists. “The Media Council hasn’t stopped anyone without a degree from practising.” NGO panellists said journalists covering their events did not always have the qualifications specified in the law. Media workers on the panel explained that, as a matter of principle, you should not need to hold academic qualifications to practice journalism, as the right to free expression is universal. Good journalists do not always hold academic qualifications, but may be highly experienced. “Yes, it is true that media houses employ journalists who, by law, would not be allowed to practice. But the risk is if that individual is involved in a court case, one of the issues the lawyers of the other party will seek to establish is whether by law the person who wrote the story is a bona fide journalist. The media house could lose a case on this basis.” Therefore, as long as the Press and Journalist Act is in place, the profession is restricted by law. Meanwhile, foreign journalists wishing to work in the country first have to be accredited with the Statutory Media Council. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 5 20 1.9 (2010: 1.5; 2007: 1.3) The Press and Journalism Act in Section 15 (3) provides that the National Institute of Journalists Union of Uganda General Assembly may set conditions for admission of associate members. It is possible that the General Assembly can set conditions lower than what is in the law. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER UGANDA 2012