Nigeria, Jan. 14 -- Ugandan journalist Ssematimba Bwegiire lost consciousness immediately after a security officer electrocuted him with a stun gun and pepper-sprayed him in the mouth. But he did not report the incident, reflecting widespread disillusionment among the media about the authorities' commitment to press freedom in elections on January 15.

Mr Bwegiire, a reporter with privately owned Radio Simba, was covering a rally by the opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, commonly known as Bobi Wine, whose events have consistently been targeted by security forces using teargas and live bullets.

"People later told me they thought I had died," Mr Bwegiire told CPJ about November's incident during a joint military-police de...