M7's fury Govt shuts down radio stations as political rivalries boil over

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On Saturday, September 12, a panel consisting of two veteran journalists, Siraje Lubwama and Ahmed Katerega Musaazi, and political activist Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi reported at Simba FM, a Kampala-based Luganda station for their weekly talk show.

Peter Kibazo, the host of the mid-morning Gasimbagane Nebanamawulire (face the press) show introduced the day’s topic of discussion: the two-day riots in Kampala that started on September 10 after the Buganda Kingdom Premier Eng. J.B Walusimbi was stopped from crossing River Sezibwa Bridge, about 50 kilometres from Kampala, to Kayunga district to attend the kingdom’s youth day celebrations.

About 40 minutes into the show, Kibazo told his audience, “because of what is going on, we cannot continue with the show.”
The station started playing music. “The station manager called the studio and asked me to end it,” Kibazo told ET.

Probably by the time he began the show, Godfrey Mutabaazi, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Council (state regulatory authority), was about four kilometers away at the Uganda Media Centre announcing Kibazo’s suspension from any broadcasting work, unbeknown to the host.
The suspension meant that the journalist was banned from hosting his popular Kibaazo on Friday talk show on WBS TV as well. Simba FM is owned by businessman Aga Ssekalala.

The previous evening Kibazo had been advised by the station not to host Eng. Allan Waliggo, the head of clan leaders in Buganda on another talk show.
Kibazo was lucky the panicky station had allowed him to host the Saturday morning show for at least 40 minutes. KFM’s weekly one hour talk show, Hot Seat, wasn’t aired on Friday, September 11, due to the fear that the station might be switched off.

KFM is owned by Monitor Publications Limited (MPL), a subsidiary of Nation Media Group.

Hot Seat features journalists James Tumusiime (The Observer managing editor), Francis Onapito Ekomoloit (former press secretary of President Museveni) and Chris Obore (Monitor journalist) among others.

ET was informed that Monitor managing editor Daniel Kalinaki and new managing director Gitahi Githinji had earlier agreed that the show should go on and asked panelists to restrain themselves from criticizing Museveni.

But Monitor political editor Charles Mwanguhya who hosts the show informed his guests that it could not take place and, like Simba, the station started playing music. Some of the panelists remained stranded in the studio discussing what had transpired.

ET understands that the show didn’t take place because station manager Peter Kaba overruled the ME and MD. In protest, Kalinaki refused to host the Saturday mid-morning talk show Hard Talk. Kalinaki was opposed to the station censoring itself.

Such was the effect of a three-day crackdown on the media in Uganda. The real sign of a dark cloud ahead came through the closure of Central Broadcasting Services (CBS) at around 4pm on September 10.

Armed men stormed the CBS’s transmission room in Bunga, about six kilometers from Kampala, and carried away a link to the transmitter. The radio’s two channels (88.8 and 89.2) suddenly went off air. The closure of Uganda’s biggest radio station meant that no radio station was safe. Owned majorly by the powerful Buganda Kingdom whose leader is Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi, the closure was an indication of how far Museveni was willing to go to scuttle any resistance to his rule.

CBS had become an irritant to the administration and has been discussed by Museveni and his men several times.
CBS broadcasts in Luganda and is listened to by an estimated five million people in Kampala and the surrounding areas. Other Luganda FM stations opportunistically seized the opportunity to shine.

They became the source of news for Ugandans yearning for updates on )the riots. Probably the more the media reported about the riots the more they gained momentum because they made disgruntled people aware of each other’s disgruntlement and their collective strength.
It did not last long. Three other Luganda radio stations ‑ Suubi FM, Radio Saptiensa and Akaboozi Ku Bbiri ‑ were also switched off for alleged incitement a day after CBS’s closure.

Suubi is run by Ahmed Bogere Masembe who worked with CBS initially; Saptiensa by the Catholic Church; and Akaboozi Ku Bbiri by businesswoman Maria Kiwanuka and husband Mohan Kiwanuka.

Suubi is a new FM station which has been forced by market forces to be critical and independent. Akaboozi Ku Bbiri, sister station to Radio One, is a professionally-run station without known political affiliation. It is owned by a prosperous business family. Catholic–owned  Saptiensa is independent as it does not depend on handouts from the state.

Managers of at least two of these stations, Akaboozi ku Bbiri and CBS, have been in endless meetings with the Broadcasting Council over their critical talk shows that discuss mainly governance issues and democracy.

Local and inter)national free expression groups condemned the crackdown and urged Museveni to respect media freedom. (see letter opposite page)
“We strongly condemn these actions that undermine the independence of journalism, freedom of expression and free flow of information to the public which is critical at this material time. The Broadcasting Council and security agencies should desist from exercising their mandate arbitrarily, excessively and selectively as well as acting outside the constitutional framework and the broadcasting regulations,” said Article 29 Coalition comprising Ugandan jourmalism and media freedom organisations.