By KT Reporter
The Bishop of West Ankole Diocese, Rt Rev Johnson Twinomujuni, and political actors have asked media personnel to avoid distorting information, particularly during election periods. Delivering his keynote speech at the Regional Dialogue on Wednesday in Mbarara City, organized by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy under the theme “Let’s Talk Peace,” Bishop Twinomujuni said the media should reflect truth, not create confusion.
“I have a challenge with the media personnel, what you capture information, whatever data, it occurs in actuality, what you capture is totally true in reality, so where there is distortion, it happens in the interpretation of the information.” He added that through distorted information, the media has confused and “messed up the society completely.”
Primus Bahiigi Atukwase, Country Director of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, emphasized that the dialogue was organized to find mechanisms ensuring the 2026 General Elections become the most peaceful in Uganda’s history. “This is not just an aspiration-it is a necessity for our democracy and for the future of our nation, so I want to commend the efforts of all stakeholders, especially our security agencies, for the work done so far. We have witnessed unprecedented peaceful campaigns, and our prayer is that this trend continues to the very end.”
Atukwase highlighted global challenges, noting that between 2012 and 2025, Africa experienced an alarming wave of coups, signaling strains in governance and stability. “While multiparty politics has grown-from 42% support in 2002 to 77% in 2024 there remains a troubling perception that political competition breeds violence. This violence often begins within party primaries and spills into national elections. If we do not act, these patterns will undermine not only our elections but the very fabric of our society.”
He stressed that elections should foster national cohesion and the selection of leaders who will transform the country. “Vote buying-especially in regions like Western Uganda where votes are most expensive-fuels corruption and violence. It erodes trust and turns democracy into a marketplace.”
Mbarara City Council Speaker, Bonny Tashobya, commended organizers for involving youth and media, who are easily persuaded to report violence. “We have seen what the youth have done in most countries, you have seen what is happening in our neighbors in Tanzania and what happened in Kenya, and even what happened in Kampala of recent so having them involved in this is paramount.”
He added that including all political parties and media in dialogues would help create the peace needed during elections. “There has been an issue that some political parties, have been left out, they always complain that when it comes to electoral processes, but special, they are always left behind. Now is the time that we are here to dialogue and see what we can have as Uganda, have better leaders, have a transformed economy, and have peace.”
Political analyst Francis Happy Muhindo warned against the risks of community journalism and social media reporting. “Everyone is a journalist as of now, WhatsApp, and other social media handles are the avenues of information, my concern goes to the journalists, both print and electronic media, you can spark or control situations, I would pray that as we go towards the days of elections we try to have or to focus on conflict sensitive reporting everything small we report is what people follow especially when it is radio, please don’t kill our country.”
Faridah Nangonzi, Mbarara City South Councilor Candidate for People’s Front for Freedom, urged putting Uganda first over party interests. “It hurts us, when our brothers in uniform kidnap our people some of them, we don’t know where they are up to now, it becomes hard for us to talk peace, that peace starts with me and you, can we kindly change the culture of misbehaving while we are in uniform? Colors of our Political Parties are not the colors of our blood, when I am in blue, my blood is not blue, my blood is red like yours.”
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