By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Uganda’s leading independent media organisation, Daily Monitor newspaper has alleged that it has come under “military siege” after the army chief, Gen Kainerugaba Muhoozi ordered the closure of TV stations, newspapers and radio outlets.
The newspaper said armed soldiers were stationed outside its headquarters in the capital Kampala and its NTV and Spark TV had been taken off air.
The outlets are controlled by the Nation Media Group, one of the most influential media companies in East Africa.
It is not clear what led to the invasion but in posts on X, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba who is also son of the country’s long-time leader, Yoweri Museveni said: “I DO NOT believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution.”
Opposition and human rights groups accuse Gen Kainerugaba of being a central figure in a highly repressive regime led by his father.
Gen Kainerugaba said on X that his “great father” had given him the “power to shut down any media house I want to”.
He said that both NTV and Daily Monitor would “not re-open without my permission”.
“From now on ALL media in Uganda will follow the rules!” the Army Chief added.
The Daily Monitor said on X that the newspaper and its fellow outlets were ordered to close “in a crackdown during the wee hours of Sunday”.
It did not give reasons for the crackdown, but posted story of the crackdown on its website.
It said staff had reported that “no-one was allowed to enter or leave the compound”, while NTV Uganda and Spark TV viewers “were met with blank screens displaying the message ‘video unavailable’.”
The news story pointed out that the Daily Monitor had also been raided by police in 2013 over the publication of a letter allegedly linking senior government officials to a succession plan dubbed the ‘Muhoozi Project’, while NTV had been forced off air in 2007 following accusations by the government that its news coverage was negative.
“Over the years, Museveni has also repeatedly criticised the Daily Monitor, at one point referring to it as an ‘enemy and evil newspaper’ over its critical journalism,” the story said.
Uganda’s National Broadcasters Association said it would seek clarification from the government over the shutdown, saying it was in violation of the constitution.
President Museveni, 81, is a former rebel leader who took power about 40 years ago.
He won a record seventh term in disputed elections in January, with widespread speculation that he is grooming his son to succeed him one day.
