The Chief of Defence Forces of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday, 28 June ordered armed military personnel to raid and occupy the premises of three leading media houses, namely the Daily Monitor, Nation Television (NTV) Uganda and Spark TV in the capital, Kampala, and barred journalists and other media workers from accessing their workplaces putting television and radio stations off air. The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) condemns in the strongest terms possible, this naked act of aggression and attack on media freedom and calls for the immediate reopening of these media houses and allow journalists and media workers to continue their work without any form of harassment and intimidation.
FAJ, together with its regional affiliate, the Federation of Eastern Africa Journalists (FEAJ), considers the military operation a dangerous escalation in the systematic suppression of independent media and a deliberate attempt to prevent journalists from carrying out their professional duties. The deployment of soldiers to silence media organisations is an alarming abuse of state power that has no place in any democratic society. By shutting down Uganda’s principal independent media outlets, the authorities have denied millions of citizens access to independent and credible information and created a climate of fear designed to discourage critical journalism.
Reacting to these repressive actions, FAJ President Omar Faruk Osman said, “What is unfolding in Uganda today is a naked assault on media freedom in broad daylight. The deployment of soldiers to storm and shut down Uganda’s leading independent media houses is one of the clearest manifestations of authoritarian rule and the deepening culture of impunity that now silences the few remaining foundations of democratic governance in the country. Journalists are not criminals; newsrooms are not battlefields and the military has absolutely no role in deciding which media organisations are permitted to operate.”
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“The forced closure of Daily Monitor, NTV Uganda and Spark TV is a flagrant violation of freedom of expression, media freedom and the public’s fundamental right to receive information. We demand the immediate and unconditional reopening of these media houses, the withdrawal of all military personnel from their premises and an end to every form of intimidation, harassment and persecution of journalists. No government can suppress the truth through force. History has repeatedly demonstrated that the truth cannot be silenced at gunpoint,” declared Osman.
Media reports highlighted that broadcast transmissions from Nation Television (NTV) Uganda and Spark TV were stopped, while the Daily Monitor, KFM and Dembe FM also suspended operations as armed personnel sealed off the facilities and prevented staff entry to their offices. Reports indicated that the “shutdowns followed a series of post by Gen. Muhoozi on X shortly after midnight saying “NTV and Monitor are being shut down from today… They will not re-open without my permission. In Uganda, I DO NOT believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution.”
The Federation calls upon the Ugandan authorities to immediately and unconditionally reopen Daily Monitor, NTV Uganda and Spark TV, restore all broadcasting services, withdraw military personnel from media premises and allow journalists and media workers to resume their professional duties without intimidation or interference as the operation in its entirety is illegal. It further calls on the African Union (AU), East African Community (EAC), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and United Nations (UN) to publicly condemn this attack on media freedom and to swiftly engage the Ugandan authorities for the immediate restoration of independent media operations.
