Uganda’s media landscape has been plunged into an unprecedented crisis following a coordinated military raid on the Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda headquarters in Namuwongo. Heavily armed security forces surrounded the premises in the early hours of Sunday, June 28, 2026, forcing a sweeping shutdown of the country’s most prominent independent news outlets, including NTV Uganda, Spark TV, the Daily Monitor, and sister radio stations 93.3 KFM and 90.4 Dembe FM.
The operation, which commenced shortly after midnight, resulted in a total media blackout. By 5:00 a.m., television screens across the nation were blank, displaying “video unavailable” alerts, while the production of Monday’s print editions was brought to a dead stop. Staff on duty during the overnight shift were reportedly confined to the buildings as soldiers barricaded all entry and exit points.
The aggressive clampdown follows a series of inflammatory posts on X (formerly Twitter) by Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba. The army chief, who is the son of President Yoweri Museveni, openly claimed ownership of the blackout, declaring: “Mzee has approved my plan to close both NTV and Monitor. We are moving immediately!”
General Kainerugaba explicitly rejected the principles of press freedom, stating, “In Uganda, I DO NOT believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution.” He further asserted that all future news regarding Uganda’s political and security establishment would require clearance by his office before publication.
The sudden military overreach has triggered widespread regional alarm. Opposition leader Bobi Wine condemned the siege as an act of “growing authoritarianism,” while the Committee to Protect Journalists warned that the use of state security to enforce publicly announced threats against media houses marks a “deeply troubling escalation.”
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