Ugandan Military Shuts Down NTV, Spark TV, and Daily Monitor 

Uganda’s media landscape was thrown into uncertainty early Sunday morning after armed military personnel shut down the major broadcasting and print operations of Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda. The overnight raid, directed by the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, forced NTV Uganda, Spark TV, the Daily Monitor, and several radio stations to abruptly cease operations.

The Midnight Siege

The crackdown began shortly after midnight when heavily armed security personnel surrounded the NMG headquarters in Namuwongo and key transmission facilities at the Kampala Serena Hotel. Staff members working the night shift reported being confined to the premises, with officers blocking anyone from entering or leaving the compound.  

By 5:00 a.m. local time, viewers tuning into NTV Uganda and its sister station, Spark TV, were met with blank screens displaying a “video unavailable” message. The disruption quickly cascaded across NMG’s audio platforms, silencing popular radio stations 93.3 KFM and 90.4 Dembe FM, and severely paralyzing the printing operations of the Daily Monitor, one of Uganda’s leading independent newspapers.  

“No Belief in a Free Press”

The sudden military action was publicly confirmed by Gen. Muhoozi the son of President Yoweri Museveni through a series of late-night posts on X (formerly Twitter). Claiming he had received direct authorization from his father, Muhoozi declared a hardline stance against the nation’s independent media.

“In Uganda, I DO NOT believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution. From now on, ALL bad stories about Uganda have to be cleared by my office!” — Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba

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Muhoozi added that the affected media houses were officially shut down and emphasized that “both NTV and Monitor will not re-open without my permission.” Prior to the raid, he had spent several days publicly threatening to switch off the outlets over coverage he deemed overly critical of Uganda’s political and security establishment.  

The closures have sparked immediate and widespread condemnation from human rights groups and political opposition figures. Opposition leader Bobi Wine heavily criticized the siege, stating it was clear evidence of growing authoritarianism and a direct move to “silence Uganda’s remaining independent voices.”  

For many Ugandans, Sunday’s events are a stark reminder of a similar government crackdown in May 2013. During that incident, police and security forces besieged the Daily Monitor and its sister stations for over a week. That raid was triggered by the publication of a leaked intelligence letter detailing the so-called “Muhoozi Project”—an alleged covert plan to systematically groom Gen. Muhoozi to succeed his father as President.  

As of Sunday morning, neither the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, the Uganda Police Force, nor the Uganda Communications Commission have issued formal statements providing a legal basis for the shutdowns. Security forces remain heavily deployed outside the NMG offices, leaving the immediate future of the country’s largest independent media network in limbo.