NTV Uganda and Spark TV were taken off air early Sunday morning following an overnight security operation at Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda premises in Namuwongo and Kampala Serena Hotel.
By 6:00am local time, viewers attempting to access the two television stations were met with blank screens displaying the message: “Video unavailable.”
The Daily Monitor has since confirmed the development, reporting that both stations had gone off air after security personnel were deployed at the media house shortly after midnight.
Staff at the premises reported that no one was being allowed to enter or leave the compound, while roads leading to the NMG offices had been blocked and power to parts of the facility switched off.
The disruption also appeared to affect NMG’s radio stations, with listeners reporting that 93.3 KFM and 90.4 Dembe FM were off air and inaccessible on their frequencies.
The developments came hours after Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba posted on X that NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor would be shut down.
“NTV and Monitor are being shut down from today!” Gen Muhoozi wrote shortly after 1:00am.
In a subsequent post, he added: “Both NTV and Monitor will not re-open without my permission.”
He also claimed that President Museveni had approved the move, posting: “Mzee has approved my plan to close both NTV and Monitor. We are moving immediately!”
As of Sunday morning, 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 security operation or announcing any legal action against the broadcaster.
Nation Media Group Uganda, one of the country’s largest media organisations, owns NTV Uganda, Spark TV, the Daily Monitor, KFM, Dembe FM and other media platforms.
The latest operation recalls the May 2013 closure of the Daily Monitor and Dembe FM by security agencies.
The media outlets remained closed for more than a week before being allowed to resume operations.
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