On the western front, Museveni is now paying a heavy price for having aided Laurent Kabila in his military campaign to overthrow Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. A Ugandan group called the Alliance of Democratic Forces has teamed up with former Rwandan and Zairean soldiers to attack Ugandan towns near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the midst of this instability, the press has emerged as one of the strongest underpinnings of civil society in Uganda, openly expressing divergent views in a country which prohibits political parties and organized dissent. Although the 1995 constitution contains fairly liberal provisions governing freedom of expression and the press, the country has draconian statutes governing the media, some of which, such as the law on sedition, were modeled on colonial-era laws. When the state chooses to enforce these laws, journalists are arrested, detained, charged, and released after paying colossal amounts in bail.
Most newspapers resort to self-censorship.
In December, the court dismissed the UJSC's petition.