The Minister for ICT & National Guidance, Hon Justine Lumumba Kasule, has revealed that the early Sunday morning, switch off of Nation Media Group (NMG) stations including NTV Uganda, Daily Monitor and Spark TV among other sister companies, followed a directive by President Yoweri Museveni.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Lumumba revealed that the events of 28th June 2026 that led to the disruption of operations at Nation Media Group were occasioned by a Security-Led Inquiry, instituted by Museveni.
“The inquiry involves the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, the Criminal Investigations Directorate of the Uganda Police Force, other security agencies and experts” she said.
Minister Lumumba noted that the Government will inform the public once the inquiry has been concluded.
Minister Lumumba’s remarks came hours after the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Sen. Jim Risch called for a review of Washington’s security relationship with Uganda, after reports that Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba had ordered the closure of major media houses, Daily Monitor and NTV and also made remarks widely criticised by press freedom advocates.
“The U.S. needs to review its security relationship with Uganda,” he said.
Senator Risch added, “Gen. @mkainerugaba’s attacks on free speech, including shuttering major media houses this weekend, make him and the UPDF unfit partners. We should only work with those who advance regional security, not diminish it”.
Over the weekend, the first son and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, through a series of tweets ordered for the shutdown of NMG offices, which saw several armed security personnel surround the offices of Nation Media Group (NMG) at Kampala Serena Hotel and Namuwongo.
“NTV and Monitor are being shut down from today!” Gen Muhoozi posted.
In a subsequent post, he added; “Both NTV and Monitor will not re-open without my permission.”
Viewers were on Sunday morning met with blank screens reading “video unavailable,” while the fate of the Daily Monitor newspaper, also named in Gen. Muhoozi’s threats remains uncertain.
The posts marked an escalation of threats made over the preceding week, during which the CDF warned that he was awaiting his father’s permission to act against the media house, which employs hundreds of staff.
NMG Uganda owns a number of media outlets whuch include NTV Uganda, the Daily Monitor, The East African, Spark TV, 93.3 KFM, 90.4 Dembe FM, the Ennyanda newspaper and the Nation Courier.
