Lawyers challenging the "draconian" media laws want court to
temporarily restrain the state from arresting and prosecuting local
journalists, writes Solomon Muyita in The Monitor.

The prayer came yesterday at the Constitutional Court in Kampala before  deputy Court registrar, Gladys Nakibuule Kisekka.

The registrar had just pushed the hearing of the journalists'
petition challenging the draconian laws to February 18 for lack of
judges' quorum.

"It's quite unfortunate we cannot explain the whereabouts of some of
the judges, so we cannot proceed today for lack of quorum," Ms Kisekka
said.

But lawyers; James Nangwala, representing Mr Andrew Mwenda, The
Monitor Publication's former Political Editor and Mr Kenneth Kakuru,
who appeared for the East African Media Institute, demanded that the
court in the meantime issue restraining orders against the state.

"The very provisions we are challenging here are continuously being
used by the state to arrest and prosecute journalists. The court should
issue an interim order until this petition is disposed of,"  Mr Kakuru
said.

Mr Mwenda, now the managing editor of The Independent, a bi-monthly
political magazine, said, "We are being terrorised by the state."

Click here to read the full report, posted on The Monitor's website.