KAMPALA.The Uganda Communications Commission(UCC) has explained that the disconnection of Point FM in Mubende District was due to licensing compliance issues, not plans to host National Unity Platform (NUP) Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine .
The Executive Director of UCC, George William Nyombi Thembo, has dismissed claims that Point FM Radio Station was taken off air because of plans to host Bobi Wine.
Nyombi said the Commission had repeatedly written to Point FM’s management urging them to comply with licensing requirements.
“It is not true that we disconnected Point FM because of plans to host Mr Kyagulanyi,” Nyombi told this publication .
He explained that the Commission had spent nearly six months reminding the station to meet regulatory obligations.
“You can ask the management of Point FM — before disconnecting them, we had written several times. They must have a copy of the disconnection order, which contains the details of why we disconnected them. They simply failed to resolve those issues,” Nyombi said.
The UCC chief declined to disclose specific details publicly, saying it would be inappropriate because Point FM is a licensed client of the Commission.
“Point FM is our client, and we treat every licensed operator as our client. Therefore, it is not proper to discuss their disconnection in the media, but they know the reasons as our client,” he added.
Nyombi assured that the radio station would return to the air once the management addressed the compliance issues.
“Their licence will be renewed, and they will get back on air once they resolve the matters that led to their disconnection,” he said.
He also refuted allegations that the move was politically motivated or linked to hosting Bobi Wine.
“Kyagulanyi is a presidential candidate, and we have no problem with any radio station hosting him. He is not an enemy of the state. Uganda is a democratic country, and as far as UCC is concerned, we have no issue with Kyagulanyi Ssentamu being hosted on any radio station,” Nyombi emphasized.
The UCC boss encouraged all radio stations to provide equal access to all presidential candidates.
“We encourage all radio stations to host every candidate and give them equal access to the airwaves. It would be wrong to suggest that the disconnection of Point FM is related to Kyagulanyi being hosted on that radio. Besides, no station is required or forced to host any particular candidate,” he said.
Efforts to reach Point FM’s management were unsuccessful, with the station manager reportedly unreachable.
It should be noted that on Saturday, October 4, during the talk show Ensonga, the station manager, Samuel Balaba Magala, announced plans to host Bobi Wine.
These plans were reaffirmed live on October 7. Bobi Wine is scheduled to campaign in Mubende tomorrow, October 8, with Point FM 105.1 confirmed as the broadcast partner.