File image of General Muhoozi
Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Muhoozi Kainerugaba has forced the shutdown of NTV Uganda, Spark TV, and Daily Monitor.
In a series of posts on X on Sunday, June 28, General Muhoozi declared that the media houses would cease operations immediately.
“NTV and Monitor are being shut down from today,” General Muhoozi posted.
The shutdown of the media outlets came hours after he announced that President Yoweri Museveni had given him the green light to crack down on the stations owned by the Nation Media Group (NMG).
“Mzee has approved my plan to close both NTV and Monitor. We are moving immediately!,” Muhoozi wrote on X.
Heavily armed Ugandan army personnel were deployed shortly after midnight, sealing off NMG’s offices in Namuwongo and the Kampala Serena Hotel, and preventing staff from entering or leaving the premises.
In another post, General Muhoozi declared that his office would take control over media coverage in the country.
“From now on, all bad stories about Uganda have to be cleared by my office! In Uganda, I do not believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution,” he added.
NTV Uganda later confirmed the blackout, saying its broadcasts had gone dark by around 5 am local time on Sunday.
The move follows recent threats from General Muhoozi and a ban restricting these outlets from covering President Museveni.
This is not an isolated incident for NMG in Uganda; the media house faced similar state-enforced closures in both 2007 and 2013.
NMG, which is headquartered in Kenya, owns several media platforms in Uganda, including 20-year-old NTV Uganda, Star TV, Daily Monitor, The East African, and Dembe FM, among others.
Meanwhile, Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has crotozed the move and accused Muhoozi of using state power, with the backing of President Museveni, to silence independent journalism.
“Muhoozi, acting with his father’s full approval, has moved to silence Uganda’s remaining independent voices by shutting down NTV Uganda, Daily Monitor, Dembe FM and Spark TV,” Bobi Wine said.
