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The Monitor (Kampala)
October 3, 2003
Posted to the web October 3, 2003
Kakaire Ayub Kirunda
Mbale
There's no fresh rebel scare in Busia, the District Police Commander, Anne Tusiime has said.
She was reacting to a radio broadcast, on October 1, which claimed that rebels had dropped more ominous letters in the border town.
She urged the FM stations to cross check their information before airing it.
"I think some of these media houses have decided to make fun out of this [rebel scare] issue. We would expect these radio stations to cross check their information before airing it we have no problem with any information as long as it is factual," she said in a telephone interview.
There was a rebel scare in Busia early last month. Tusiime says however, there hasn't been any rebel threat since that time.
She dismissed reports that police has deployed more men. She said the security measures instituted, following the rebel scare in September, were still in force.
"If such misreporting continues, this will disrupt people's lives and economic activity in the border town," she said. However, as news of the said rebel scare continued to be aired on Capital FM, freelance journalist Emmanuel Sanya said business was normal in town.
When contacted, the President of the National Institute of Journalists of Uganda [NIJU], Ms Lindah Wamboka Nabusayi, said it was unfortunate that some journalists were recycling old stories - to get a quick buck.
"I am going to contact the concerned radio station to establish what happened exactly," she said.
Government closed Soroti based Kyoga Veritas FM radio on June 22 for allegedly broadcasting alarmist information about LRA rebel attacks. The radio was reopened on August 30 and warned not to broadcast any news item about security without its being sanctioned by the Soroti RDC.
