NMG Begins Phased Return After UCC Clearance

Nation Media Group Uganda (NMG Uganda) has begun a phased return to operations after receiving official clearance from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to resume business following a month-long shutdown. 

The media house resumed operations this morning with digital publishing as engineers and technical teams prepare to assess the condition of its broadcast and printing infrastructure, which has remained inaccessible since security agencies closed its premises in June. The reopening follows a formal communication from UCC informing the company’s management that it had received instructions from President Yoweri Museveni authorising the resumption of NMG’s operations.

“I am pleased to inform you that I have received instructions from H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda clearing the reopening of your businesses,” the Daily Monitor quoted from a letter addressed to the company’s Managing Director, Susan Nsibirwa. The clearance marks the first official authorisation allowing NMG Uganda to resume operations after one of the country’s most significant media shutdowns in recent years. Senior company officials, including Nsibirwa and General Manager Editorial Allan Chekwech, held meetings with UCC before the clearance was communicated.

The company has prioritised digital publishing because it has not yet regained access to key facilities, including its Namuwongo headquarters and offices at Serena. Once access is restored, engineers will inspect studios, servers, printing presses and other critical infrastructure before full newspaper printing and broadcasting resume. Addressing staff on Wednesday evening, Chekwech said the company would adopt a digital-first approach as it gradually restores normal operations.

“Starting tomorrow, we should have our content up by 6 am. The early risers should find our website updated and content flowing. If there are enterprising pieces being edited, then we shall have them posted in the course of the day. We have a content plan,” he told employees. The Daily Monitor’s first product will be an electronic edition available through a Shs1,500 online subscription alongside regular updates on its news website. 

NTV Uganda and Spark TV are also expected to resume gradually by publishing news bulletins and selected programmes online before returning to full broadcasting. For now, the company will continue operating remotely using a limited workforce based at commercial offices in Kampala that were not affected by the closure. Temporary broadcast facilities are also being prepared as engineers assess the condition of the existing studios. “When we get access to our premises, we will let you know. We don’t know the state of the equipment yet. We don’t know how the studios are and the servers,” Chekwech said. 

The shutdown, which began on June 28, halted operations at the Daily Monitor, NTV Uganda, Spark TV, KFM and Dembe FM after Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba announced that he had directed security agencies to close the company’s operations, saying he had obtained clearance from President Museveni.

The closure silenced the company’s newspapers, television and radio stations, while journalists, editors and production staff were denied access to their workplaces. Freelancers who depended on the company’s daily operations were also affected. Although the military action drew criticism from media rights organisations and civil society groups, the government’s official position was that the closure resulted from ongoing security investigations ordered by the President. Authorities, however, did not disclose the nature of the investigations or publicly announce their findings.

Throughout the shutdown, UCC maintained that the public would be informed once the investigations had been concluded. Gen. Muhoozi, meanwhile, repeatedly accused the media house of practising what he described as “activist journalism” and displaying bias against the government. Those concerns reportedly featured during discussions involving NMG’s major shareholder, Tanzanian businessman Rostam Aziz, and government officials as negotiations over reopening gathered pace.

Despite the clearance, several questions remain unanswered, including whether any conditions were attached to the reopening and whether the security investigations have formally concluded. Efforts to obtain clarification from UCC were unsuccessful by press time. Within the company, staff say preparations for reopening had continued throughout the shutdown through editorial planning and internal meetings. 

“We have been preparing. Meetings have been taking place. Soon the content will flow like before,” one staff member said. 

Employees also dismissed speculation that authorities had demanded staff changes as part of the reopening arrangements, saying no such directives had been communicated. According to Chekwech, the timeline for restoring full operations will depend on the findings of technical teams once they regain access to the company’s premises. Until then, NMG Uganda will continue serving audiences through its digital platforms while progressively restoring newspaper printing and broadcast services.