Media practitioners are pushing for a review of the law on access to information.

The call was reiterated during a virtual meeting last week, organised by Rwanda Journalists for Sustainable Development (RJSD) and other partners to analyse the implementation of the current information law.

The meeting brought together by various stakeholders including the Office of the Ombudsman, Rwanda Media Commission (RMC), Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency RURA), Transparency International Rwanda, non-governmental organization, researchers and journalists.

Journalists said that there are still obstacles in accessing the information suggesting that the information law needs to be updated.

Emmanuel Mugisha, the Executive Secretary of the RMC believes that people who also violate the right to information should be punished.

“While there are no sanctions against the ones who violate the information law, we believe that there should be sanctions that are probably not criminal, but maybe the courts will be fining people who deliberately kill this law,” he said.

The call was also echoed by Cecile Mugeni, an official from the ombudsman’s office said that the journalists’ concerns should be reviewed.

 “It is true that this law on access to information needs to be updated, although it is not yet time to update it, we have included additional provisions that provide for penalties for people who misrepresent information,” she said.

Celestin Ntawirema, the spokesman of Rwanda Journalists for Sustainable Development (RJSD) said: “The law, which came into force in 2013, has clear provisions, but more needs to be done to build a sustainable media sector. In brief, we urge our legislators to revise the law on access to information.”