Uganda producers not to allow certain people to appear on their talk shows any more. Given this background, citizens’ fear to express themselves has grown. They fear losing their jobs or being labelled as “opposition” and thus looked upon as anti-government. This fear is present in all sections of society. It might be seen as paranoid but people simply do not know what could happen when they do speak freely. But they still talk - “we have not reached the level of whispering yet”. SCORES: Individual scores: 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2 Average: 2.3 1.3 There are no laws restricting freedom of expression such as excessive official secret or libel acts, or laws that unreasonably interfere with the responsibilities of the media. ANALYSIS: There are a number of laws that curtail freedom of expression and the media. The Uganda Human Rights Commission, a human rights watchdog, in its Annual Report 2000-2001 listed 20 pieces of such legislation that are unconstitutional. Among them are the Police Statute 1994, The Penal Code, The Press and Journalists Statute 1995 and The Emergency Power Act 1968 – see under 1.1. Other provisions are Section 42 of the Penal Code which allows the courts to confiscate a printing machine for one year and to ban a publication for the same period for publishing seditious material. Section 53 makes it a “misdemeanour” to “degrade, revile or expose to hatred or contempt any foreign prince, potentate, ambasAfrican Media Barometer - Uganda 2007 5