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Major media houses have announced the withdrawal of their journalists from covering the ongoing Kawempe North parliamentary by-election following a wave of violent attacks by security operatives, including the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), against members of the press and election observers and agents of the candidates.

The decision comes after multiple incidents of physical assaults, harassment, and the confiscation and destruction of cameras and other equipment belonging to journalists who were reporting from polling stations in Kawempe North on Thursday.

Several journalists, including Abubaker Lubowa, Raymond Tamale, Denis Kabugo, Francis Isano, and Hakim Wampamba, were violently arrested by security personnel and bundled into a Toyota Hiace van, commonly referred to as a “drone.” Witnesses say the journalists were beaten and their cameras damaged and seized while covering the arrest of two opposition Members of Parliament—Geoffrey Kayemba Ssolo and Hillary Kiyaga, both affiliated with the National Unity Platform (NUP).

“They put us at gunpoint and ordered us not to record anything,” said one journalist who narrowly escaped arrest.

Others reported hiding in nearby buildings, removing their press identification to avoid being singled out for violence.