Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda has directed its editorial teams to immediately suspend all online publishing and broadcasting as negotiations with the government over the reopening of its media operations continue.
The directive marks a major shift in the company’s response to the ongoing shutdown, leaving its major digital platforms silent as senior management engages state officials in efforts to resolve the impasse.
Multiple sources within the company’s platforms told URN that a series of meetings has been held since Monday following the arrival of senior executives from Kenya. The executives included Group CEO Geoffrey Odindo and Group Editor-in-Chief Joe Ageyo, who travelled to Kampala to lead engagements over the crisis.
According to sources, the meetings involved selected staff on a strict “need-to-know” basis before culminating in a virtual general staff meeting on Wednesday at about 6:00 p.m.
The meeting, which lasted close to an hour, was chaired by Odindo and Ageyo and attended by NMG Uganda managing director Susan Nsibirwa, general manager editorial Allan Chekwech, editors, journalists and other staff members from NMG Uganda’s different platforms.
During the meeting, staff were informed that all online publications and broadcasts must stop immediately to avoid affecting the ongoing negotiations with the government.
“No more online publications or broadcasts for now, as we may jeopardise the ongoing state engagement,” one source quoted management as telling staff.
Management urged employees to remain calm and patient as discussions continue, assuring them that the company remains committed to independent journalism once operations resume.
“We shall stick to independent journalism once we are reopened, but at the back of our minds we have to understand the environment we are operating in,” another source quoted management as saying.
Sources also said Nsibirwa appealed to staff to remain composed and exercise restraint on social media. She reportedly advised employees to avoid comments that could influence public sentiment or harm the company’s image while negotiations are ongoing.
The latest directive comes days after security agencies shut down NMG Uganda’s operations on Sunday. Following the closure of its physical premises, the company briefly relied on its digital platforms to continue serving audiences, arguing that there had been no formal directive from the sector regulator stopping online publishing.
For several days, the Daily Monitor continued updating its website with fresh stories, with journalists covering events despite the shutdown. Reporters worked without the company’s branded equipment and identification materials.
NTV Uganda also continued producing limited content, including streaming its flagship Luganda news bulletin, Akawungeezi, on social media platforms despite the suspension of its television broadcasts.
However, that changed on Wednesday evening. Viewers who logged onto NTV’s social media pages expecting the usual 7:00 p.m. Akawungeezi bulletin found no broadcast, confirming that the suspension of online operations had taken effect following the staff meeting.
The meeting came hours after a high-level engagement in Entebbe between Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba and NMG’s majority shareholder Rostam Aziz.
According to sources familiar with the meeting, Muhoozi reportedly presented several Daily Monitor articles that he had compiled. The sources said he separated the stories into those he considered balanced and those he believed reflected bias in the newspaper’s coverage.
The sources further said Muhoozi also raised concerns about several editions of NTV Uganda’s Luganda news bulletin, Akawungeezi, arguing that some reports crossed the line from journalism into activism
Those present at the meeting said Muhoozi maintained that he had no objection to Nation Media Group’s operations, provided its reporting remained within what he viewed as the bounds of journalism rather than activism.
The meeting was reportedly conducted in two sessions. The first involved senior managers from NMG Uganda, while the second was held exclusively with the company’s majority shareholder and a smaller group of participants.
Aziz was accompanied by his son Saam Aziz and Georgia Mutagaywa, Chief of Staff at Taarifa Limited, the parent company of NMG Uganda. Journalist Andrew Mwenda also attended the closed-door meeting, having earlier indicated on his social media platforms that discussions aimed at resolving the standoff were underway.
The discussions reportedly focused on the shutdown of NMG Uganda’s operations, including NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor, as well as possible pathways towards reopening the company’s media outlets.
Although the engagement raised hopes of a possible breakthrough, management later informed staff that there was still no certainty on when the company would be allowed to resume operations.
The prolonged uncertainty has left hundreds of journalists, technical staff and other employees waiting for the outcome of the negotiations, while audiences remain without access to one of Uganda’s largest independent media organisations.
The talks have also attracted concern from some of the company’s long-standing stakeholders. Philip Wafula Oguttu, a co-founder of the Daily Monitor and one of its significant minority shareholders, questioned reports that discussions over the company’s future were taking place without the involvement of local management.
“As a founder and significant minority shareholder in the besieged Monitor newspaper, I got a bit worried when I read a while ago that our new majority shareholder, Mr Rostam Aziz, has met Gen. MK, who ordered the shutdown of NMG Uganda, without our Managing Director or any local manager,” Oguttu wrote on X.
