NBS TV has reportedly blacklisted rights activist, Agather Atuhaire from appearing on its talk-shows for the meantime, Bbeg Media can reveal. We were unable to establish how long the ban will last.
Multiple sources at the station told Bbeg Media that the decision was taken by senior management this year. Atuhaire was a regular guest on the TV station, particularly on the Media Round Table show that airs on Friday mornings.
Our source at Naguru told us that Atuhaire’s strained relationship with the TV station stems from her leading role in the #UgandaParliamentExhibition in March. Sources suspect that pressure to blacklist Atuhaire could have come from Parliament. However we could not independently verify this claim.
“Next Media has a lucrative contract with Parliament which it signed last year and it does not want to annoy the leadership there by giving a platform to someone who criticizes Parliament,” said the source.
Atuhaire last appeared on NBS TV last year. She is one of the brains behind the Agora Discourse, a digital public square fostering activism, public accountability, human rights and social justice. Our efforts to talk to Atuhaire were futile.
Derekford Mugimisa, Next Media’s head of Corporate Affairs, said the reports are not true.
It would not be the first time the media house is imposing bans on activists and politicians.
After the 2021 elections and after NUP president Robert Kyagulanyin wrote a scathing letter alleging that NBS TV had “aided” the rigging of the elections, management banned some selected NUP officials, viewed as radical, from appearing on its shows. The ban was however lifted.
