Muhoozi Orders Shutdown of NTV Uganda, Daily Monitor as Soldiers Surround Nation Media Offices
Uganda’s media freedom has come under renewed international scrutiny after the country’s military shut down the operations of Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda, forcing several of the country’s leading independent media outlets off air.
The dramatic operation unfolded in the early hours of Sunday, June 28, after Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba announced that NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor would be shut down with immediate effect.
“NTV and Monitor are being shut down from today,” Gen. Muhoozi wrote on his official social media account.
Hours before issuing the directive, Muhoozi—who is also the son of President Yoweri Museveni—had warned that the two media houses would require President Museveni’s approval before they could continue operating.
According to reports by the Daily Monitor, heavily armed security personnel arrived shortly after midnight and surrounded Nation Media Group’s headquarters in Namuwongo, Kampala, as well as the Kampala Serena Hotel. Soldiers reportedly sealed off the premises, preventing journalists and staff from entering or leaving the building.
The overnight security operation crippled television broadcasts, leaving viewers of NTV Uganda and its sister station Spark TV staring at blank screens displaying the message, “Video unavailable.”
NTV Uganda later confirmed that its broadcasts went off air at around 5 a.m. local time, sharing photographs showing armed soldiers stationed outside its offices while announcing that its operations had been disrupted.
The military deployment also affected the publication of the Daily Monitor, Uganda’s leading independent newspaper, with staff reportedly confined inside the premises as security officers maintained a heavy presence.
Nation Media Group, East Africa’s largest independent media company headquartered in Kenya, owns several major media brands in Uganda, including NTV Uganda, Spark TV, Daily Monitor, 93.3 KFM, 90.4 Dembe FM, The EastAfrican, Ennyanda newspaper and Nation Courier.
The closure triggered swift condemnation from opposition leader Bobi Wine, who accused Gen. Muhoozi of using military power to silence independent journalism.
“Muhoozi, acting with his father’s full approval, has moved to silence Uganda’s remaining independent voices by shutting down NTV Uganda, Daily Monitor, Dembe FM and Spark TV,” Bobi Wine said.
He described the operation as further evidence of what he called growing authoritarianism in Uganda.
“This is the harsh reality we now face—a country under open military rule, where fear replaces law and force replaces accountability,” he added.
The shutdown follows a series of controversial social media posts by Gen. Muhoozi in recent days, in which he announced that the affected media organisations would be barred from covering President Museveni for an extended period.
The incident is expected to intensify concerns among press freedom organisations and human rights groups, who have repeatedly raised alarms over increasing pressure on independent media in Uganda ahead of the country’s next electoral cycle.
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