NTV Uganda, Spark TV, Dembe Fm, K Fm Forced Off Air After Overnight Security Deployment

NTV Uganda and Spark TV were forced off air in the early hours of Sunday after security personnel were deployed to Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda premises, following social media posts by Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba announcing that the broadcaster would be shut down.

The operation began shortly after midnight at NMG Uganda’s offices in Namuwongo and at the Serena Hotel, where part of the broadcaster’s transmission infrastructure is located.

By around 5:00 a.m., viewers tuning into NTV Uganda and Spark TV were met with blank screens displaying the message “Video Unavailable,” while GOtv users received a “Technical Difficulties” notification.

The deployment came after Gen Kainerugaba posted a series of messages on X declaring that NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor would be shut down.

“NTV and Monitor are being shut down from today!” he posted at 1:07 a.m.

In a subsequent post, he wrote, “Both NTV and Monitor will not re-open without my permission.”

Hours earlier, the CDF had also posted: “In Uganda, I DO NOT believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution.”

Staff inside the media house reported that security personnel had sealed off the premises, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

By daybreak, security officers remained deployed at the Namuwongo offices and the Serena Hotel. Nation Media Group Uganda owns NTV Uganda, Spark TV, the Daily Monitor, The EastAfrican, KFM 93.3, Dembe FM 90.4, the Ennyanda newspaper, and the Nation Courier.

Although the Daily Monitor continued publishing online, it was not immediately clear whether the deployment had affected other newsroom operations.

KFM and Dembe FM also appeared to experience service interruptions during the operation, although the cause was not immediately confirmed.

By press time, neither the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the Uganda Police Force, nor the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) had issued an official statement explaining the deployment or citing any legal order authorising the shutdown. Nation Media Group Uganda had also not released an official statement.

The shutdown followed several days of escalating attacks by Gen Kainerugaba against NMG journalists and its publications on social media.

The incident marks one of the most significant actions taken against a Ugandan media house in recent years.

It is not the first time Nation Media Group has faced such action. In May 2013, police raided the Daily Monitor, Dembe FM, and other NMG offices after the newspaper published a letter alleging the existence of the so-called “Muhoozi Project.” The premises remained closed for more than a week before operations resumed.

Earlier, in February 2007, NTV Uganda was temporarily forced off air just weeks after its launch following accusations by government officials that its news coverage was hostile.