ENTEBBE: Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, met shareholders and senior executives of Nation Media Group (NMG) on Wednesday as discussions continued over the closure of the company’s media outlets, including NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor.
The meeting at the Special Forces Command headquarters in Entebbe was attended by Tanzanian businessman Rostam Aziz, who became the largest shareholder in Kenya-based Nation Media Group earlier this year, his son Saam Aziz, and Georgia Mutagaywa, chief of staff at Taarifa Limited, which oversees the group’s operations in Uganda.
During the deliberations, specific instances of what the government deems biased and malicious reporting were reviewed, with the NMG ownership committing to adopting a more patriotic, balanced, and objective approach to their journalism moving forward, according to a brief from the CDF’s office.
Gen. Muhoozi confirmed the meeting through his official communication channels, saying discussions with the media group’s leadership were underway, a development that has raised hopes that the outlets could soon resume operations.
The talks follow the military-enforced closure of NTV Uganda, Spark TV, the Daily Monitor and other Nation Media Group operations after Gen. Muhoozi announced that the outlets would remain shut until he personally approved their reopening. Soldiers subsequently deployed to the company’s premises in Namuwongo and its broadcast facilities, preventing staff from accessing their workplaces.
Nation Media Group has previously confirmed that negotiations with the authorities are ongoing in an effort to restore its newspaper, television and radio operations. The company has maintained that it is engaging relevant government agencies to find an amicable resolution.
The shutdown has attracted widespread criticism from local and international media freedom organisations, which argue that the closure undermines press freedom and the public’s right to access independent information. Rights groups have called on the Ugandan authorities to allow the media house to resume normal operations.
Although Wednesday’s meeting did not immediately produce a formal agreement, it marked the first direct engagement between the military leadership and Nation Media Group executives since the closure, signalling a possible path toward resolving one of Uganda’s most significant media standoffs in recent years.
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