The biggest independent media group in Uganda claims it is under “military siege” after the army chief, who is President Yoweri Museveni’s son, ordered the closure of TV stations, newspapers, and radio stations.
The Daily Monitor newspaper said that armed soldiers were stationed outside its headquarters in Kampala and that NTV and Spark TV had been taken off the air.
The sites are part of the Nation Media Group, which is one of East Africa’s most significant media firms.
It is unknown what prompted the raid, but Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba said, X: “I DO NOT believe in a free press!” The revolution’s cadres should guide the press.
Opposition and human rights groups accuse Gen Kainerugaba of playing a key role in his father’s severely repressive government.
Supporters of the president and his family claim that they have ensured Uganda’s stability and strengthened the economy throughout their tenure.
President Museveni, 81, is a former guerrilla commander who seized power almost 40 years ago.
He won a record seventh term in disputed elections in January, sparking widespread concern that he is preparing his son to succeed him someday.
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 reopen without my permission.”
“From now on ALL media in Uganda will follow the rules!” the general added.
The Daily Monitor reported on X that the daily and its sister publications were ordered to close “in a crackdown during the wee hours of Sunday.”
It did not provide reasons for the crackdown but did report the story on its website.
Staff stated that “no one was allowed to enter or leave the compound,” and viewers of NTV Uganda and Spark TV were faced with blank screens with the message “video unavailable.”
The Daily Monitor was also 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 was forced off air in 2007 following accusations by the government that its news
