Beat Memo: Uganda
By Gina Bramucci Posted Oct 1 2003
Context
• Located on the shores of Lake Victoria in eastern Africa, Uganda borders Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uganda's population is about 24.7 million. English, the official language, is widely spoken, but tribal lan-guages are more common farther away from the capital, Kampala.
Culture and Health
• There are more than 40 cultural groups divided along linguistic lines. Baganda is the largest ethnic group.
• The average life expectancy is 44.7 years, according to the United Nations. For a time in the mid-1990s, poverty conditions and the HIV/AIDS pandemic dropped the life expec-tancy for men to 37 years. Today, it is estimated that six percent of the adult population has HIV/AIDS. The number is likely higher in regions affected by conflict. Tuberculosis and malaria are also health threats, and in 2000 there was an outbreak of the Ebola virus.
Politics
• Uganda received its independence from Britain in 1962. It then went through a series of brutal dictatorships in the 1970s and early 1980s, including that of Idi Amin from 1971 to 1979, which preceded a period of economic collapse and persecution.
• Tangible improvements have been made under the leadership of the first democratically elected president, Yoweri Museveni. He has initiated universal primary education, ac-tively worked toward solving the AIDS crisis and encouraged women to take leadership roles in government. Museveni's image was tarnished, however, by allegations of ballot rigging and violence at polls during the disputed 2001 national election. His current term ends in 2006.
• There are two insurgency movements, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), in the north, and the Allied Democratic Front (ADF), now essentially inactive, in the west. Since the late 1980s, the LRA has been fighting the government and claiming a utopian society as its goal. Civilians, however, have become rebel targets and have suffered the worst of LRA violence. Since the spring of 2002, when Museveni launched an aggressive cam-paign to erase the LRA, around 70 percent of the population in three northern districts has been displaced and more than 8,000 children have been abducted by rebels.
Economy
• With the return of foreign investment in the late 1980s, Uganda began an economic recovery that, while ongoing, has been slowed by recent political instability and regional conflicts.
• Despite the country's fertile land, much of the northern region does not have sufficient access to food due to conflict. Uganda receives aid packages from Western donors to help combat this problem.
• Gold and oil, coveted resources found in parts of the continent, have drawn Uganda into regional conflicts, including Congo's civil war. Although the Ugandan army pulled out of Congo in May, it has been widely criticized for its role in the exploitation of resources there.
Media
• Museveni launched The New Vision newspaper in 1986, and it remains government-owned.
• In 1992, six journalists started The Monitor, Uganda's first and only independent news-paper. In 2002, The Monitor was shut down for 10 days because of an article about a military operation. Cracking down on media has increased since the launch of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
• Radio is the strongest medium with 15 major stations and 5 million radios. There are also about 25,000 Internet users. Before going to Uganda, journalists may want to read The New Vision, The Monitor and The East African online.
• Due to the fact that the foreign press is seen as having greater legitimacy and audience, international journalists are more likely than local reporters to gain access to government officials and get sources to speak openly. However, it is quite difficult for journalists to access public or official records.
Useful Tips
• Visa, passport and a yellow fever vaccination certificate are required for entry into the country. Vaccinations against Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Meningococcal and Typhoid are also recommended.
• All flights into Uganda land at Entebbe International Airport, just a short drive from the capital, Kampala.
• In the city, taxis (agree on price before the trip) and small minibuses (flat rate) are read-ily available. The boda boda (border border) transportation system, where drivers will take passengers on the back of their motorcycles or bicycles for a cheap fee, is common.
• Foreign journalists should register with the Ministry of Information in Uganda to get a press accreditation card, which is renewable each year.
• Journalists planning to move to Uganda should go through the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kampala to obtain a residency permit. They should then seek a work permit from the Ministry of Trade and Industry or the Ministry of Jus-tice if they wish to seek employment.