The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) issued a statement from Geneva on Tuesday that was polite, dignified, and retrospective. It spoke of six decades of editorial independence, of a free press built from a Kiswahili-language weekly purchased in 1959, of 30 brands and 62 million digital users, and a legacy of democratic contribution….
Richard Olwenyi, a senior reporter with Next Media, has fulfilled one of his lifetime dreams after Makerere University awarded him a Master of Arts in Journalism and Communication. Olwenyi started his masters degree journey more than five years ago but it was interupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking to Bbeg Media, Olwenyi said pursuing a master’s…
Daniel Kalinaki, the General Manager, Editorial at Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda, is set to leave his position, bringing to a close one of the most visible editorial careers at the Daily Monitor. Multiple sources at the Namuwongo-based news organisation told Bbeg Media that Kalinaki has already informed some people of his decision to step…
President Museveni has pledged Shs5 billion to organised content creators, urging young Ugandans to play a central role in the country’s push to eradicate poverty. Museveni, accompanied by the First Lady, Janet Kataaha Museveni, hosted the second edition of Jazz with Jajja at his Kisozi farm in Gomba. The event brought together content creators, journalists,…
The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has urged the media to commit to balanced and accurate reporting on standards and metrology, saying misinformation is fuelling public misunderstanding and non-compliance. Speaking at the launch of the Standards and Metrology Media Initiative at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala, the body’s deputy executive director, Patricia Bageine…
Nation Media Group (NMG) has stopped publishing Sunday Monitor in Uganda, marking the end of the journey of one of the most favourite news editions for many of its readers. The edition was rich in news features, opinion columnists, and political analysis. Today’s edition was the last; the media conglomerate announced on its social media…
African media leaders have called for greater transparency, accountability and ownership in the age of artificial intelligence as the fourth edition of the Africa Media Festival 2026 concluded in Nairobi. The call comes amid what participants described as a generational shift reshaping both media and politics across the continent. Younger, digitally native audiences are consuming…
More than 12 hours after Julius Kitone, a reporter at Next Media, perished in a road accident, the company has yet to announce his demise on any of its platforms. We have been told that some people in the editorial department where Kitone worked are not happy about the delay. Kitone was one of the…
Nation Media Group (NMG) is considering scrapping the Sunday edition of Monitor Publications Limited as part of its restructuring process, sources at Namuwongo have told Bbeg Media. It is not clear when the decision will be effected, but reliable sources said “by April Sunday Monitor could be no more.” We have been told that during a…
Josephine Namakumbi, a news anchor and reporter, has been let go by Next Media as part of the company’s restructuring programme, multiple sources have told Bbeg Media. Namakumbi joined Next Media in 2019 as a news anchor and reporter is so far the biggest name in the editorial department to lose her job. She has…
Next Media has suspended Adam Kungu, the host of The Barometer talk show, following a heated show between two guests on February 2, which the Naguru-based media organisation said breached minimum broadcasting standards set by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). In a letter dated February 4, 2026, which Bbeg Media has seen, Dalton Kaweesa, Head…
There is rising tension and anxiety among staff at Next Media Services in Naguru following an internal memo that signalled a restructuring of departments and potential job losses. The memo dated January 10, 2025, the multi-media company said it was embarking on a second phase of reallignment which “will extend to the rest of our…
Government has ordered the immediate closure of the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME), a respected media training institution in Africa, citing unspecified intelligence reports that its activities “threaten national security.” In a notice dated January 9, 2026, the NGO Bureau suspended ACME’s operating permit under Section 42(d) of the NGO Act Cap 109. The…
Isaac Daniel Katende, popularly known as Kasuku, managed to extract one million shillings from President Museveni after a session he and others had with him at State House Nakesero. Dubbed “Jazz with Jajja,” the interaction involved several digital content creators and social media influencers with Museveni. It was organised by Natasha Karugire Museveni, the president’s…
MC Kats, a popular entertainment presenter and event host and a mainstay on Uganda’s local TV scene, is set to leave NBS Television, Bbeg Media has learnt. Sources at the Naguru-based broadcaster say Kats, who has been hosting the evening entertainment show After 5, has told management that he will exit the station at the…
Brian Mulondo, one of Uganda’s most recognisable radio voices, has left KFM after eight years, marking the end of an era for one of the country’s most influential radio brands. Mulondo’s exit was confirmed through a tribute by Joseph Beyanga, his former boss at FM, who described him as “probably the most consequential signing of…
Daniel Kalinaki, the General Manager, Editorial, of Nation Media Group in Uganda, is in a spot of bother after his PR firm was linked to a Shs 22 billion deal undertaken by the Ministry of Works and Transport, which has attracted public scrutiny. Zulu Media Limited, one of the entities in a joint venture that…
Nine months after we reported that The Observer newspaper, one of Uganda’s most reputable news organisations, is up for sale, it is yet to find a suitable buyer. Sources told us that several people and entities had expressed interest, but many pulled out for unclear reasons. Others, sources said, had backed out because of the…
After months of speculation, Meddie Nsereko will not be returning to CBS FM, three highly placed sources have told Bbeg Media. Meddie Nsereko has been off air for more than two months. We reported last month that he had applied for sick leave because his eyes had a defect that he wanted to treat in…
Uganda’s digital news sector is expanding at a remarkable pace, but it remains fragile, unevenly regulated, and can be easily manipulated, a new report by the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) warns. The State of Uganda’s Media Landscape 2024–2025 report, which focuses on digital news and elections, says the country now has more than…
Next Media has announced a nationwide call for organisations to join its expanding Creative Media Skilling and Work Transition programme, a move that some analysts believe will help the company strengthen its influence in the face of competition from several digital content creators. The plan has a sweetener: Next Media will fund partner organisations that…
Stanbic Bank Uganda, in collaboration with the Uganda Bankers Association (UBA), on Monday convened a targeted engagement with online media personalities, digital editors, content creators, and social media influencers to strengthen national fraud-awareness efforts at a time when many Ugandans increasingly rely on online news. Opening the session, Candy Wekesa Okoboi, Stanbic Bank’s head of…
Paul Lwanga, a long-time lieutenant of Next Media CEO Kin Kariisa, may be on his way out of the company, according to multiple sources. Having risen through the ranks from Human Resources Officer to Chief People Officer, to Chief Operations Officer, and then to General Manager of Hillcom (a Next Media subsidiary), insiders have told…
Uganda’s media landscape has turned into a real battleground lately. As the Nation Media Group (NMG) clashes with the government, Next Media, one of the biggest broadcasters around, has been pulled into the mess too. But the Naguru-based media conglomerate has kept a safe distance. The trouble started earlier this year. Since March 2025, reporters…
In December 2015, when President Museveni held a rally in Soroti Municipality, he announced that Tirinya Health Centre IV would be converted into a general hospital. He also said that Kamuda Health Centre III would be upgraded to Health Centre IV by 2020. Yesterday at a rally in Soroti city, Museveni said, “We are upgrading…
The dismissal of Betsy Mugamba, the former chief operations officer of Sanyu FM in 2020 was lawful and justified, the Industrial Court has ruled. This bring to an end a five-year legal battle that arose from the 2020 staff strike over Covid-19 pay cuts. Justice Anthony Wabwire Musana, delivering judgment, said the radio station followed…
Veteran CBS presenter Meddie Nsereko is currently in the United Kingdom for sick leave, sources within the Mengo-based radio station have told us. There had been reports that the veteran radio presenter was under suspension, but this has now been disputed. “He applied for sick leave because his eyes have a defect which he wants…
Parliament has blocked access to reporters from Daily Monitor and NTV, multiple sources at the two institutions have confirmed to us. The two organisations are part of the Nation Media Group, one of the biggest multi-media organisations in East Africa. Chris Obore, the Director of Communications, said he had been informed that it was a…
Panic has gripped workers at the Naguru-based Next Media following reports that the company could slash the number of staff by the end of December. More than 20 people from various departments could be affected, four people with knowledge about the ongoing meetings by top management told Bbeg Media. The decision to lay off some…
Stella Nandawula Ssendagire, a prominent news anchor at BBS TV, and her husband Charles Ssendagire, the Head of Broadcast (current affairs) at Next Media, have reportedly left Uganda for the United States in pursuit of “kyeyo” (odd jobs). Sources in the US told Bbeg Media that the couple arrived in the States last month and…
If you came of age in the early 2000s in Uganda, one tabloid stood out like the fiery chilli it claimed to be: The Red Pepper. If you wanted the juiciest scoops on celebrities, politicians, and everyday personalities, Red Pepper was your go-to source. It had been christened Kamulali in the local dialect, a direct translation…
For those with a long memory, 2012 was the year that brought Dean Lubowa Saava, a fiery journalist, to national prominence. It all started in Luzira, a suburb of Kampala, when an eviction, overseen by George Agaba, the then-director of planning at the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), turned deadly. One person lost their life…
Next Media has opened an internal investigation into allegations that some of its editors, reporters, and video journalists have been benefiting “financially” from news sources and subjects. Impeccable sources told Bbeg Media that the probe is headed by Sauba Luwaga, the head of internal audit. Luwaga is one of Kin Kariisa’s most trusted lieutenants at…
“We are THE KAMPALA JOURNAL. “The Truth Command Centre. It starts here.” That’s the tagline of The Kampala Journal’s official X account, which has 45,442 followers. It’s boisterous. It’s emphatic. But one problem with it, it is not accurate. In a country where many people eat and drink politics, few accounts on X stir as…
In the four years Don Wanyama has been at the helm of the Vision Group, the multi-media company has made losses in three of them. Wanyama, President Museveni’s former press secretary, took over the reins from Robert Kabushenga in April 2021. After one year, Vision Group reported that turnover of Shs111.4 billion and a profit…
The CEO of Next Media, Kin Kariisa, has resigned as a member of the organising committee for the CHAN 2024 and AFCON 2027 tournament set to be held in Uganda. In a letter dated July 1, 2025, addressed to the chairperson of the committee, Kariisa cited personal reasons for his decision, effective immediately. Kariisa expressed…
It’s Deep! That was the Sqoop tagline, a popular pull-out which Daily Monitor has scrapped from its physical edition. Sources at the Namuwongo-based newspaper told Bbeg Media that the pull-out, which used to come out in the paper’s Friday edition, will now be only accessed online and only for subscription members. “We were shocked by…
In a recent meeting with the editorial staff of Next Media, Col Edith Nakalema, the head of the State House Investors Protection Unit, had one major question: Why do some of you hate the NRM government? The question set off a chain of dramatic and animated reactions highlighting the complex relationship between the state and…
Journalists from NBS TV, NTV and Daily Monitor have been told to stay away from the NRM electoral commission offices tomorrow when President Museveni, collects nomination forms formalizing his bid for a seventh term as president and NRM chairman in the 2026 elections. Sources told us that management of the news organisations had been informed…
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), an umbrella body comprising broadcasters in Uganda yesterday issued a powerful statement condemning a directive from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) that ordered Kenyan television and radio stations to stop live coverage of ongoing demonstrations. “We respectfully urge the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) and the government of…
On Saturday, July 26, 2025, multimedia journalist Kungu Al-Mahadi Adam will graduate with a Master of Science in Mass Communication from Kampala International University’s (KIU) Western Campus in Ishaka, Bushenyi district. The ceremony, coinciding with KIU’s 25th anniversary, will celebrate thousands of graduands in a milestone event for the university. Kungu, a 33-year-old journalist known…
Timothy Kalyegira, a renowned social and political critic, replied to a post on X yesterday by saying he was “hiding in the basement.” Why? Hours earlier, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), had written that he was ready to pay Shs 10 million to anybody who could deliver Kalyegira to him. Kalyegira…
President Museveni has repeatedly declined to meet with senior executives from NBS TV and Nation Media to address the ongoing standoff caused by security agencies barring their journalists from covering state events,Bbeg Media has been told. Impeccable sources told us that for weeks, Kin Kariisa, CEO of Next Media Services, and other senior executives from…
Bbeg Media has confirmed that journalists from NBS TV, Daily Monitor, and NTV will not be allowed to access the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds for President Museveni’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) today. According to the list of accredited journalists seen by Bbeg Media, representatives from these three media organizations were notably absent. The organizations…
The Daily Monitor has apologized to the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, for publishing an article in which Isaac Ssemakadde, the Uganda Law Society president, allegedly defamed the minister. The article, which has since been deleted from Monitor’s platforms, was titled: “Ssemakadde accuses Kiryowa in Museveni letter, demands ouster.” It was published on February 2, 2025….
Kin Kariisa, the chief executive officer of Next Media, has been placed on the marketing committee of Uganda’s AFCON 2027 planning team. Kariisa confirmed in an interview with Bbeg Media that he had been placed on the committee chaired by Rogers Byamukama, FUFA’s head of marketing. “Our role will be to look for corporate sponsors…
The box containing some of the ashes of the late Shaka Ssali was displayed in Alexandria, Virginia, where the former towering broadcaster was cremated in a private ceremony. Against the wishes of some of his folks in Kabale, Uganda, Ssali was cremated yesterday. His reasons for choosing cremation over a traditional burial are still unknown….
The BBC is reviewing the contracts of Alan Kasujja and Paul Bakibinga ahead of a fresh round of cut-offs, impeccable sources in London and Kampala have told Bbeg Media. Insider sources have told us that Kasujja and Bakibinga, two of Uganda’s biggest media exports to the UK, were recently notified of the reviews, which could…
Dalton Kaweesa, who was sacked as chief news manager of Next Media in January, is back at the Naguru-based station, but in a smaller capacity. Impeccable sources informed us that Kaweesa is now the Head of Current Affairs, a role that places him three positions lower than his previous one. He was sacked after it…
Flavia Tumusiime, who started as a presenter on the Teens Club show on WBS TV, has been appointed Head of Broadcast at Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda. Impeccable sources told Bbeg Media that Tumusiime was appointed by the board last month, beating several senior and seasoned managers who had applied for the position. She replaces…
