I don’t believe in free press, says Uganda president’s son, shuts media outlets

Uganda’s army chief said on Sunday that he did not believe in a free press and ordered an independent media group to shut its newspaper, TV station and radio outlets.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the head of Uganda’s military and President Yoweri Museveni’s son, has asserted growing control in recent months, ordering the arrests of politicians and activists.

“NTV and Moniter are being shut down from today!” Kainerugaba wrote on X, referring to Nation Media Group’s NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor — which he misspelled.

“In Uganda, I DO NOT believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution,” he added.

The Daily Monitor said on X that it was under “military siege”, with armed soldiers on guard outside its offices in the capital Kampala.

Its other outlets, including Dembe FM, Spark TV, KFM, and The East African, were also affected.

“We’ve been shut down by the military at both NTV studios and offices…No one is allowed in or out. Those who worked last night were ordered to leave by the military,” a senior NTV reporter told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Leading rights group Agora has been summoned to appear before police on Tuesday over allegations of fraud and money laundering, while lawyer Erias Lukwago, who represents opposition leader Kizza Besigye, was arrested and charged with complicity in treason.

The military raid was carried out at 1:00 am local time early Sunday, causing “electricity disconnection and disruption of operations,” NMG said in a statement.

The 52-year-old general ordered police to arrest NMG Managing Director Susan Nsibirwa “on sight”, though he retracted his order soon after, saying government spokesman Alan Kasujja had intervened and would deal with her.

Kasujja, a former BBC journalist, could not be reached for comment by AFP.

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Kainerugaba accused Nation group of a “lifetime of insults” against him, and said the shutdown had been approved by his father, who has ruled Uganda for 40 years.

Museveni, 81, won another term in January but many see his son as positioning himself to eventually take over.

– More arrests –

The Daily Monitor was launched in 1992, becoming one of Uganda’s most influential independent newspapers, often seen as an irritant by Museveni’s government.

The paper was shut down for 13 days in 2013 after reporting on an alleged plot to prepare Kainerugaba to take over from his father.

The Africa programme of the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned Sunday’s shutdown, calling the “use of state security forces to carry out publicly announced threats against independent media… a deeply troubling escalation.”

Kenyan-based rights group Vocal Africa said the raid was a “dangerous silencing of the press” that reflects a broader attack on civic space in the east African region.

“We demand the immediate withdrawal of military forces from NMG-U offices (and) the unconditional restoration of all disrupted broadcast frequencies,” Vocal Africa posted on X.

Kainerugaba insisted the outlets “will not re-open without my permission.”

“From now on ALL media in Uganda will follow the rules!” he said on X, adding that he was “going to arrest many more”.

Uganda ranks a lowly 143 out of 180 countries worldwide on the media watchdog Reporters without Borders press freedom index.

AFP