Journalists from three of Uganda’s leading media outlets, NBS Television, NTV, and the Daily Monitor, have been excluded from covering President Yoweri Museveni’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds today.
A list of accredited journalists that we have reviewed does not feature any reporters from the three major media houses, despite their prior submission of names to Parliament’s Directorate of Communication. Those names were forwarded to security for clearance, but the final vetting reportedly eliminated the trio from the list.
The final accreditation list comprises 54 journalists with just two online platforms granted access, the other being Chimpreports. The Uganda Media Centre will be represented by seven journalists, while the Government Citizen Interaction Centre has secured three slots.
Tayari TV, a media house linked to Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, has two of its journalists accredited to cover the high-profile event.
Insiders suggest that strained relations between security agencies and some of these media houses contributed to their exclusion. One source cited Daily Monitor’s symbolic front-page blackout after last year’s address, a gesture that hinted at the lack of fresh content in the President’s speech as a move that may have ruffled feathers in government circles.
A senior NTV journalist, who preferred to remain unnamed, also pointed to the fallout from the Kawempe North by-election. During that period, some journalists were allegedly manhandled by security operatives—a flashpoint that has continued to sour relations.
This is not the first time the trio has faced access restrictions. They were previously barred from covering the launch of Bunyoro University, an event officiated by President Museveni shortly after the Kawempe incident.
 at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds today.){kind=link}