Uganda’s media landscape was thrown into turmoil early Sunday morning as NTV Uganda, Spark TV, and the Daily Monitor were forced offline following an overnight security crackdown directed by Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Viewers tuning into NTV Uganda and its sister station Spark TV around 5:00 a.m. local time were met with blank screens displaying a "Video unavailable" message, while GOTV users saw notices of "technical difficulties." The abrupt shutdown occurred after heavily armed security personnel surrounded the Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda headquarters in Namuwongo, Kampala, as well as their transmission infrastructure at the Serena Hotel shortly after midnight.
"Mzee has approved my plan to close both NTV and Monitor. We are moving immediately!" Gen. Muhoozi posted at 1:07 a.m.
He doubled down on his stance against independent journalism in subsequent posts, stating: "In Uganda, I DO NOT believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution." He added that neither outlet would be permitted to reopen without his explicit permission.
