Uganda's CDF Muhoozi Kainerugaba has forced the shutdown of NTV Uganda, Spark TV and Daily Monitor, vowing a crackdown on the free press over "bad stories."
Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has forced the shutdown of NTV Uganda, Spark TV and Daily Monitor, vowing a crackdown on the free press.
Stations Go Off Air Overnight
NTV Uganda and Spark TV reportedly went off air in the wee hours of Sunday morning after an overnight security crackdown at the Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda offices in Namuwongo, Kampala.
Muhoozi's Warnings on X
The shutdown came after General Muhoozi, President Yoweri Museveni's son, shared a series of alarming posts on X, vowing a crackdown on the stations.
"Mzee has approved my plan to close both NTV and Monitor. We are moving immediately!" he wrote.
The crackdown is believed to have been prompted by "bad stories" targeting the nation's top leadership, following a series of hard-hitting news reports and television features focusing on Uganda's political and security establishment.
"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.
The CDF, known for his provocative online presence, has ordered that the stations will not re-open without his approval.
NMG Uganda owns the 20-year-old NTV Uganda, Star TV, Daily Monitor, The East African, and Dembe FM, among others.
Echoes of the 2013 Raid
A similar dramatic raid was witnessed in Uganda in May 2013, when armed police officers raided Daily Monitor's offices after the publication of a letter claimed to be authored by Gen. David Sejusa, then Coordinator of Intelligence Services, alleging a plan to prepare Muhoozi as his father's successor. It later became widely known as the "Muhoozi Project."
As the government strongly rejected the allegations, police sealed the newspaper's premises and suspended KFM and Dembe FM operations, with officials arguing the operation formed part of criminal investigations into the leaked intelligence correspondence. Media rights organisations condemned the raid as an attack on press freedom.