In a drastic escalation of state pressure on independent journalism, Uganda’s army chief has ordered the immediate shutdown of several leading media outlets, marking one of the most severe crackdowns on press freedom in the country’s recent history. The move, announced late Tuesday, targets prominent broadcasters and newspapers, citing national security concerns but raising global alarm over the erosion of democratic institutions.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who also serves as the son of President Yoweri Museveni, issued the directive under the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Act, claiming the outlets were broadcasting “unpatriotic content” and “inciting public unrest.” Among the shuttered entities are Nation Media Group’s NTV Uganda, the Daily Monitor newspaper, and the privately owned Radio One. The closures have left newsrooms empty and journalists in limbo, with some staff arrested for attempting to livestream the events.
This is not an isolated incident but the latest chapter in a relentless assault on media freedom that has accelerated since Museveni’s contested re-election in 2021. Uganda has slipped in international press freedom indexes, now ranking 131st out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 World Press Freedom Index. The government has previously blocked social media platforms, detained reporters without charges, and passed the repressive Computer Misuse Act, which criminalises “offensive” online speech.
What makes this move particularly sinister is the military’s direct involvement. By invoking defence legislation to silence civilians, the army has blurred the line between national security and authoritarian control. General Kainerugaba, a controversial figure known for his bellicose tweets and ambition to succeed his father, has effectively turned information into a battlefield. In his statement, he warned that any outlet “spreading falsehoods or promoting foreign interests will face immediate action.”
The timing is telling. Uganda is preparing for the Non-Aligned Movement summit in 2025, and the government is desperate to control its international image. Yet this crackdown achieves the opposite: it signals a regime so fragile it cannot tolerate dissent even in the court of public opinion. The closures come just days after investigative journalists exposed a multibillion-shilling corruption scandal in the Ministry of Defence, implicating senior officers. Coincidence? Hardly.
From a tech perspective, this is a stark reminder that digitisation does not automatically lead to democratisation. As countries like Uganda invest in digital infrastructure, from undersea cables to mobile money, the same tools that empower citizens also enable governments to monitor and muzzle them. The Uganda Communications Commission now has the technical capability to shut down networks with a single keystroke, and it has used it. The army’s order demonstrates how authoritarian control is evolving: it is no longer about jamming radio frequencies but about manipulating the entire information ecosystem.
However, there is a silver lining. Ugandans are increasingly tech-savvy, with one of the highest mobile penetration rates in Africa. VPN usage has spiked by 300% since the 2021 election, and encrypted messaging apps like Signal are becoming the new public square. The diaspora, too, is organising through digital platforms, amplifying voices that the regime cannot physically silence. But these are workarounds, not solutions. True digital sovereignty requires legal protections, not technological hacks.
The international response has been swift. The United Nations, the European Union, and the United States have condemned the closures, with the US State Department calling them “a direct assault on the fundamental right to free expression.” Uganda’s economy, heavily reliant on foreign aid and tourism, could face sanctions. Yet President Museveni, in power since 1986, has weathered similar storms before. He knows that the world’s attention span is short, and that global outrage rarely translates into lasting consequences.
For now, the lights are off at NTV’s Kamwokya headquarters. But the journalists are not silent. They are running the newsroom from WhatsApp groups and Twitter spaces, using the very digital tools the army cannot fully control. The question is whether this resilience can evolve into a sustainable model for press freedom. If history is any guide, the battle for truth in Uganda will be fought not on the streets but on phone screens and encrypted channels. And that battle is far from over.
