A society in which journalists cannot report freely, citizens cannot access information held by public institutions, and individuals cannot speak without fear is not a functioning democracy. Freedom of expression, the right to access information, and press freedom are not separate causes. They are connected rights, each dependent on the health of the others. Defending and promoting these rights is one of ACME’s core programme commitments.
Freedom of expression and the law
The legal environment for expression and information in Uganda is a persistent concern. Laws that are vaguely worded, broadly interpreted, or selectively enforced can discourage journalism, online speech, and public debate, even without a single prosecution. ACME monitors these developments closely and engages with them directly.
ACME has participated in legal challenges to laws that threaten free expression. This includes involvement in the challenge to the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act of 2022, which critics argue has been used to silence legitimate criticism and online speech. A coalition of civil society organisations and lawyers filed a petition before the Constitutional Court questioning the law’s constitutionality, and ACME has been part of that effort.
ACME has also challenged administrative overreach in media regulation, including attempts to impose accreditation requirements on journalists ahead of elections, a measure widely seen as an attempt to restrict independent reporting on the electoral process.
Access to information
Citizens have a right to information held by public bodies. Where this right is poorly understood, inconsistently applied, or actively obstructed, both journalism and public life suffer. ACME advocates for stronger access to information practice, supports journalists in exercising these rights in their work, and engages with institutions responsible for making public information available.
The Uganda Media Sector Working Group
This work is rarely done alone. Progress on these issues requires coordinated action across the sector. ACME brings its research, its institutional relationships, and its standing in the media community to partnerships and coalitions that are stronger for being collective.
ACME’s most significant contribution to this collective effort has been its role in forming the Uganda Media Sector Working Group (UMSWG). Launched in 2021, the UMSWG brings together media organisations, professional associations, civil society bodies, and regulatory institutions to advance dialogue and reform across Uganda’s media sector. Its aim is a media industry that is more professional, more accountable, and more trusted, and a public that is better informed.
The UMSWG addressed a longstanding problem: Uganda’s media organisations had historically struggled to act together, making it difficult to engage government and regulators with a common position on issues affecting the press. ACME helped bring the working group into existence alongside the Uganda Editors’ Guild, the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda, Media Focus on Africa, and other media and civil society organisations. The UMSWG has since become the main platform for coordinated engagement on press freedom and media rights in Uganda.
Research in the service of advocacy
Effective advocacy requires evidence. ACME brings its research directly to bear on this work, using findings to inform and strengthen the case for legal and regulatory reform. Reports such as Vulnerable Media, Struggling Democracy, which examined Uganda’s media legal framework between 2019 and 2024, are designed as much to support advocacy as to contribute to knowledge. ACME has also documented free speech abuses against journalists and media organisations systematically, building a factual record that strengthens the hand of those working to defend press freedom.
A regional perspective
ACME’s work on freedom of expression extends beyond Uganda. The conditions in which journalists work and citizens access information across East Africa are shaped by shared trends in law, regulation, technology, and politics. ACME participates in regional research and advocacy that reflects this wider view, contributing evidence and argument to the cause of press freedom across the region.
