An American media watchdog group is urging Ugandan authorities to allow a privately owned radio station in the country to resume broadcasts.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said Endigyito FM was forced off the air last week when officials revoked the station's license and confiscated its broadcasting equipment.
An employee at the station said the move came a day after the station aired an interview with opposition presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi. Uganda is scheduled to hold presidential elections on February 18.
"It is absolutely vital that Ugandan citizens can get information from a range of sources, particularly ahead of elections," the CPJ's Africa Program Coordinator Sue Valentine said in a statement released Thursday.
The CPJ has documented several cases of Ugandan journalists being harassed this month. Police on January 8 released two newspaper editors they had held for 24 hours without allowing them contact with the outside world, according to news reports.
