Nation Media Group Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Odundo paid a courtesy call on Uganda Communications Commission Executive Director Nyombi Thembo on Monday
By Joseph Kiggundu
KAMPALA.Nation Media Group-Uganda (NMG-U) has Tuesday announced the resumption of its television, print, radio and digital operations.
The announcement ends a month-long shutdown that followed a government-ordered security operation against one of East Africa’s largest independent media companies.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, NMG Chairman Joe Muganda said services would resume in phases as the company completes operational arrangements.
“Nation Media Group Uganda is pleased to announce the resumption of its operations. Our services across television, print, radio and digital will be restored progressively as we complete the necessary operational arrangements,” Muganda said.
He thanked audiences, advertisers and business partners for their patience during the closure and said the company remained committed to “trusted and balanced journalism across all our platforms.”
The announcement follows weeks of negotiations between Nation Media Group’s shareholders and senior Ugandan government officials after security agencies shut down the company’s operations in late June, disrupting publication of the Daily Monitor newspaper and taking NTV Uganda, Spark TV, KFM and Dembe FM off air.
The government said the closure stemmed from a security-led inquiry instituted by President Yoweri Museveni involving the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the Criminal Investigations Directorate and other security agencies.
The shutdown followed social media posts by Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who accused the media group of biased reporting and announced the closure of its Ugandan operations.
In recent weeks, Kainerugaba held talks with incoming majority shareholder Rostam Aziz at the Special Forces Command headquarters in Entebbe, before Aziz later met President Museveni at State House.
People familiar with the discussions said the talks focused on the future editorial direction of the company, management issues and commitments to strengthen professional journalism, although neither the government nor Nation Media Group publicly disclosed the details of the negotiations.
The reopening also comes days after a delegation led by Nation Media Group Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Odundo paid a courtesy call on Uganda Communications Commission Executive Director Nyombi Thembo, a meeting that signalled improving relations between the broadcaster and the country’s communications regulator.
Photos released by the UCC showed Odundo accompanied by senior executives from the regional media group during the visit.
Nation Media Group, which operates across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, is in the process of a change in ownership after Tanzanian businessman Rostam Aziz, through Taarifa Limited, agreed to acquire the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development’s 54.08% controlling stake in the company, subject to regulatory approvals.
The company has said the transaction will not affect its public listing on the Nairobi, Uganda, Dar es Salaam and Rwanda stock exchanges.
The announcement followed a statement from Taifa Group, the majority shareholder of NMG through its subsidiary Taarifa Limited, confirming that President Museveni had authorised the reopening.
Taifa Group Chairman Rostam Aziz expressed appreciation to the President and Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba for their role in the engagements that led to the decision.
“I wish to express my sincere gratitude to His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for this important decision, and to General Muhoozi Kainerugaba for his support throughout the engagement that led to this positive outcome,” Aziz said.
He said the group remained committed to Uganda’s socio-economic development through responsible investment and partnerships.
“We fully support the Group’s commitment to fair, balanced, independent and responsible journalism that informs, educates and contributes positively to public discourse,” Aziz added.
The reopening comes after weeks of uncertainty following the June 28 shutdown of NMG Uganda operations, when security personnel surrounded the company’s Namuwongo offices and transmission facilities, taking NTV Uganda, Spark TV, Daily Monitor, KFM and Dembe FM off air.
The reopening marks the end of one of the most significant disruptions to Uganda’s media industry in recent years, with the shutdown affecting hundreds of employees and temporarily silencing some of the country’s most influential television, radio, newspaper and digital news platforms.