opinion: Bahati bill a curse to press freedom, prison services
Hon: DAVID Bahati, the MP who tabled the anti homosexuality Bill Bahati bill a curse to press freedom, prison services By Kikonyogo Ngatya Kivumbi A KEY prosecution witness in a rape case against Forum for Democratic Change ( FDC) leader rtd Col. Dr. Kiiza Besigye, told a high court judge in Kampala prior to the 2006 presidential elections during cross-examination, that the accused would “invite her to his home in Bombo every weekend and raped her.” It was a suspicious case from the start, with the accused citing sabotage, political intrigue to stop him from standing, and he was later acquitted. But the witness statement changed the entire course of the trial in public’s eye when it was reported in the media. The media was able to report it without fear or favour, because court proceedings, like parliamentary debates are privileged- meaning they can be reported exactly as they are spoken out. And this is the most crucial aspect of press freedom in judicial proceedings that the