Members of the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) have called for the immediate and unconditional release of their colleague Remmy Asiteza, who was reportedly detained on the instructions of Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda.
Asiteza, a sub-editor with the online publication Daily Express, was taken into custody on Thursday.
Reports connect the arrest to a story he published about alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Resident District Commissioners (RDCs).
In a statement released on Wednesday, UJA said Asiteza was arrested on Thursday, 11 August 2026, allegedly at the behest of Minister Babalanda and her personal assistant, Juma Masuumi.
“Asiteza, who has been held in Police detention at CPS Kampala for 5 days, is said to have been arrested in a joint operation by the security operatives attached to the Defence Intelligence and Security and State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU), together with his colleague Hannington Mbabazi, who was picked from Bweyogerere-Kirinnya using a drone and detained at the SHACU office, before he could be released on Thursday night without any preferred charge against him,” UJA said.
According to the association, police records list Minister Babalanda and her personal assistant as the complainants, yet the specific charges facing Asiteza have remained unclear.
UJA added that attempts to obtain police bond for the journalist had so far failed, heightening worries about his prolonged detention.
“UJA feels that his continued detention is a violation of the 48-hour rule under Article 23(4)(b) of the 1995 Constitution that sets out a mandatory requirement for any suspect to be produced before Court not later than 48 hours from the time of an arrest. It also raises serious concerns of intimidation and interference into the independence of journalism,” the statement reads.
Besides calling for Asiteza’s urgent and unconditional release, the journalists’ body said it was consulting legal counsel to secure his freedom.
It is still unclear whether Asiteza, who has already spent more than the constitutionally required 48 hours in custody, will be freed without conditions or formally charged in court.