KAMPALA. The management of Nation Media Group Uganda (NMG-U) has asked government to uphold the constitution and respect freedom of the press and freedom.
This comes a day after Journalists from NMG-U were blocked from covering proceedings of Parliament .This was done willy-nilly and weaselly, through mealy-mouthed references to obscure investigations by “security” — often a blanket reference designed to both intimidate and deflect accountability.
NMG-U is Uganda’s biggest independent media house, which runs Daily Monitor, NTV, The East African newspaper, Ennyanda newspaper, Spark TV, KFM and Dembe FM radio stations.
In a statement on Wednesday ,NMG-U managing director ,Ms Susan Nsibirwa said they were deeply concerned about government’s latest crackdown on the independent media outlet ,revealing that the action by Parliament followed a months-long blockage of their journalists from covering the President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni Kaguta .
“There has been no formal communication to explain the reasons behind the blockade .We have not been informed of any contraventions that we are or our journalists might have committed and have therefore been denied the right of reply or due process,” Ms Nsibirwa said in a one -page statement.
“These rights are not favours .They are enshrined in the 1995 Constitution of Uganda that was enacted 30 years ago this month and are at the heart of the rule of law , and good manners , upon which free and democratic societies are built ,” she adds
Ms Nsibirwa further pointed out that both the Presidency and Parliament are public institutions funded by taxpayers and accountable to the citizens.
“Denying coverage and access to independent media violates the letter and spirit of the constitution of Uganda which guarantees freedom of the press, media and expression,”
It also denied the citizens the right to know what their elected leaders are doing in their name, undermining accountability, transparency, and good governance.,”
Despite the blockage from the Presidency since March 2025, Ms Nsibirwa ,said NMG outlets have remained committed to their cardinal role of serving the public through journalism that informs ,educates and entertains . “We have therefore not stopped covering the President” she emphasised
The managing director said NMG journalists have been a target of repression and violence as shown, most recently, during the chaotic Kawempe North by-election in March where the Army went on rampage, beating and maiming journalists mostly those from NMG.
“The latest decision by Parliament therefore compounds what seems to be a growing cancer of intolerance and media freedom, which we condemn in the strongest terms possible,” Ms Nsibirwa said
Despite the blockade, Nsibirwa said NMG will not abdicate its responsibility to do bold and thoughtful journalism, and hold those in power accountable.
“We shall continue to defend the media freedoms and the bill of rights guaranteed by our Constitution and underpin our constitutional order
“Lastly, we implore the Presidency and Parliament to heed to the constitution of Uganda which provides for the right to access information, which is vital for our journalists to do their work. We should always remember that democracy dies in darkness,”
The Tuesday NMG blockade has reignited debate over the independence of the Ugandan Parliament’s communication department and the treatment of journalists covering legislative affairs. During plenary on Tuesday. The acting Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi demanded an official explanation, urging the Speaker to protect the independence of the press.
“Mr Speaker, the House must take action to ensure media independence and press freedom are not suffocated,” Kivumbi stated.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, in response, distanced Parliament’s top leadership from the decision and pledged to follow up on the matter.
“First, the Speaker and Deputy are not involved in the accreditation process of the media. But we shall take interest in the matter, though I’m more interested in understanding the regulation under which they are accredited,” Tayebwa said.
He added, “On the withdrawal of NTV accreditation, it comes as news to me, and I will follow up.”
Adding his voice, Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, himself a former journalist with NMG , called for a ministerial explanation, suggesting that the move could be part of a wider effort to silence critical media.
“I worked at Monitor before I came here. NTV can’t cover the President — I don’t know if that’s not deliberate to strangle Nation Media. Can we get an explanation from the Minister on what crimes Nation Media has committed, if any?” Ssemujju asked.
In past seven months NMG journalists have been barred from covering events where President Museveni is the chief guest. NMG management says neither State House nor government has come out officially to explain this ban. Despite all these, NMG outlets have continued to cover Museveni by running footage and press statements generated by State House Press Unit . President Museveni has repeatedly described particularly Daily Monitor as a “bad paper” pushing for interests of foreigners who don’t wish his government well –an allegation the paper management has squarely dismissed saying they are simply playing their civic duty of informing Ugandans on important matters and holding those in authority accountable . Political observers warn that the exclusion of NMG-U , one of Uganda’s leading media outlets , could set a troubling precedent for press freedom and transparency ahead the country gears towards the January General Election .This is not the first time NMG is at a collision course with the State . In 2013 , government closed Daily Monitor and its sister radio stations (KFM and Dembe FM on the pretext of searching for a letter written by General David Sejusa, the Coordinator of Intelligence Services. Sejusa, commonly known as Tinyefuza, alleged a plan by President Yoweri Museveni political and military officers opposed to his maneuvers to fast-track his son, Brigadier Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to the presidency. The letter, written on April 29,2013 was first published by Daily Monitor on May 7,2013. The media outlets were reopened 10 days later NMG executives from Nairobi met President Museveni .Seven years earlier in 2007, government had also closed NTV over what the then information minister Ali Kivejinja termed as “simple administrative matter”
In October 2002, government also closed Daily Monitor (then The Monitor) for a week over a story that an Army helicopter had crashed in northern Uganda while fighting Joseph Kony’s Lords Resistance Army rebel group.