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 had submitted their journalists’ names to Parliament’s Directorate of Communication, which forwarded them to security for vetting. Sources told us that security officials produced the final list, excluding journalists from NBS, NTV, and Daily Monitor.
The approved list includes 54 names, featuring a journalist from Bbeg Media, one of only two online news portals accredited, alongside Chimpreports. The Uganda Media Centre has seven representatives, while the Government Citizen Interaction Centre has three.
Tayari TV, owned by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, has two journalists accredited for the event.
Sources further revealed that some security officials were displeased with Daily Monitor’s decision to publish a blank front page following last year’s State of the Nation Address, implying there was “nothing new” to report about the president’s speech.
A senior journalist at NTV, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Bbeg Media that tensions with security stem from the Kawempe North by-elections, where security personnel were implicated in assaulting journalists.
NBS, NTV reporters blocked from covering Museveni function in Bunyoro
Days after that incident, journalists from NBS, NTV, and Daily Monitor were also blocked from covering the commissioning of Bunyoro University by President Museveni.
