The detention of a Ugandan journalist over a story alleging corruption in the recruitment of Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) has triggered a press freedom dispute, with the Independent Online Journalists Association of Uganda (INDOJA-U) demanding his release or production in court.
Daily Express journalist Remmy Asiteza has been detained at the Central Police Station (CPS) in Kampala following a story concerning alleged corruption in the recruitment of RDCs in the Office of the President.
INDOJA-U President Andrew Irumba has now appealed directly to Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda and the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, Al Haji Yunusu Kakande, whom he identifies as the alleged complainants, to intervene in the matter.
Irumba says he has been trying to reach the two officials since Friday, when he received news of Asiteza’s arrest, but his calls have not been answered.
“I have been trying to reach out to you since Friday when I got the bad news, but you have too busy to pick my calls, that’s ok,” Irumba said in a statement addressed to Babalanda and Kakande.
He urged the officials to sit down with the media fraternity and resolve the dispute through dialogue before the matter escalates into a legal battle.
“But I request that let’s compare notes and see how to resolve amicably,” he said.
‘He must reveal the source’
At the heart of the dispute is an allegation by INDOJA-U that Asiteza is being required to reveal the source of information behind his story as a condition for his release.
Irumba said the alleged complainants were not primarily challenging the truth or falsity of the journalist’s report.
“The two alleged complainants are not arguing that it’s not true or it’s true. No,” he said.
Instead, he alleged that the condition imposed on Asiteza was that he disclose his source.
“The condition they have put on him since Friday, if he wants to be released is that; HE MUST REVEAL THE SOURCE!” Irumba said.
For the journalists’ association, that demand strikes at one of the central principles of journalism—the protection of confidential sources.
“To reveal your source means going against the ethics of journalism,” Irumba said, arguing that journalists have protections against demands to disclose confidential sources.
He further questioned why officials in the Office of the President would allegedly demand that a journalist breach professional protections when the same office is expected to uphold the rule of law.
“If you’re working in the office of the president, and it’s the vanguard of Rule of Law… we expect you to help the president to implement the rule of law,” he said.
Irumba described officials working in the presidency as “the Apostle (Omutume) of rule of law”, arguing that the office should lead by example in respecting laws governing journalists and citizens.
“But now when you use your office to arm twist the very laws you’re helping in signing from your office, then…..” he said, leaving the sentence unfinished.
Complaint allegedly made by phone
Irumba also raised questions about the formal basis of the complaint against Asiteza.
According to information he said he had received, the alleged complainants had not formally submitted written complaints but had instead communicated with ASP Mpamizo Aggrey, who is reportedly handling the case.
“The alleged complainants, according to sources, have not [formally] written their complaints, but just communicating on phone to Afande Mpamizo Aggrey, who is handling the file,” Irumba said.
He did not provide documentary evidence to substantiate the claim, and the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s arrest and the alleged instructions from the two officials remain subject to verification.
RDC recruitment claims
The controversy centres on allegations surrounding the recruitment of RDCs in the Office of the President.
Irumba argues that such allegations should not automatically be treated as criminal simply because they concern powerful government officials, particularly where the subject matter involves possible corruption in public recruitment.
He pointed to a previous operation involving people accused of defrauding members of the public by claiming they could secure RDC positions through connections in the Office of the President.
Irumba referred to a television report by NTV Uganda showing Babalanda participating in a night operation targeting alleged fraudsters who reportedly demanded money from unsuspecting members of the public while claiming they could secure RDC jobs.
The minister, according to Irumba, was captured in the report warning Ugandans to be vigilant against people making such promises.
“That operation, I’m told (I have no evidence on this), a staff of the presidency office was also arrested for connivance,” Irumba said, carefully stressing that he had no evidence to confirm the claim.
He also invoked President Yoweri Museveni’s own previous complaints about theft involving people around his office and home.
“President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni himself complained of thieving stealing from his office and home, himself!” Irumba said.
“So there’s nothing new about these things,” he added.
Irumba asks for dialogue
Rather than prolonging Asiteza’s detention, Irumba wants the concerned parties to meet and establish the facts behind the disputed story.
His appeal is directed personally at Babalanda and Kakande, whom he describes as powerful figures within the presidency.
“I request that let’s compare notes and see how to resolve amicably,” he said.
However, Irumba warned that if dialogue fails, the journalist should be taken before court so that the media fraternity can begin the process of securing his bail.
“When that fails, let him be produced today in court so we can start on another process of securing his bail,” he said.
He also said he had instructed his team on the ground to encourage Asiteza not to surrender his source.
“Otherwise, demanding to reveal sources is illegal, and I spoke to him through my team on ground not to kowtow to that poohoo,” Irumba said.
The statement has placed the case at the intersection of press freedom, police investigations and the government’s responsibility to investigate allegations of corruption.
A test for source protection
The dispute has also reopened questions about the protection of journalistic sources in Uganda, particularly when reporters investigate alleged wrongdoing within government institutions.
For journalists, confidential sources can be crucial in exposing corruption because informants may only agree to provide sensitive information on the understanding that their identities will remain protected.
Irumba argues that forcing Asiteza to identify his source could have consequences beyond the immediate case, potentially discouraging whistleblowers from sharing information with journalists in future.
At the same time, authorities have a legitimate interest in establishing whether published allegations are accurate and whether any offences have been committed.
The key issue, according to INDOJA-U, is that those questions should be addressed through lawful investigative and judicial processes rather than by allegedly making disclosure of a confidential source a condition for release.
The association has therefore called for dialogue between the Office of the President and the media fraternity.
Irumba’s message to Babalanda and Kakande was ultimately a request for engagement.
“Let’s talk…” he said.
The allegations made by INDOJA-U regarding the circumstances of Asiteza’s arrest, the alleged demand for his source and the manner in which the complaint was lodged have not been independently verified.
Relatedly, Minister Babalanda has previously spoken out on speculation regarding the new RDCs list for 2026-2031 Here.
You can see the previously updated list of over 650 RDCs, deputy RDCs and assistant RDCs Here.
