“I am not going to sit in this newsroom with that spy,” shouted Goretti Kyeswa, a senior news producer at NBS TV as she paced within the newsroom furiously.
It was late 2017.
Seated a few metres away in the cubicle that housed Nile Post was Andrew Natumanya commonly known as “Tabz”, the target of Kyeswa’s fury.
He was fiddling with his camera as he exchanged some banter with a few people. If he heard Kyeswa’s protestations, he did not seem bothered or show it.
Weeks before, there had been quiet murmurs as Tabz was introduced to the team as a photographer intern. Now the murmurs had turned into loud disapprovals.
Introducing Tabz to the newsroom, Paul Lwanga, the then Chief People Officer had praised him as one of the “best photographers in Uganda.”
Those who have worked with Lwanga will tell you he has a penchant for exaggerations. He can cause a storm in a tea cup.
Whether this lavish praise of Tabz was genuine or hot air, what we know is that Tabz’s entry into NBS was not like any other. There, clearly, was an invisible force or hand behind his joining of NBS.
Joining NBS TV
It is not clear how Tabz came to Next Media.
In an extensive interview with Bbeg Media, Tabz said he was recommended to Kin Kariisa by Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine.
“Bobi Wine told me Kin was his good friend and he would talk to him. That is how [Kin] agreed to hire me,” he said.
“That is how I joined NBS.”
But multiple sources at Naguru said Tabz joined NBS after Gen Kale Kayihura’s direct intervention.
“Kayihura came with him and they both went to see Kin [Kariisa]. I don’t know what they discussed but, in the end, Tabz had a job,” says a current staff of Next Media.
As Tabz’s direct supervisor at NBS (he was put under Nile Post), I heard the Kayihura story.
I had also heard from other NBS journalists that he was a spy, disguised as a photographer, and that he had harassed journalists covering Dr Kizza Besigye in the field.
Some of the reporters who spoke strongly against working with Tabz were: Joseph Sabiiti, Zahara Namuli, and Jordan Mubangizi, a security reporter.
Sabiiti had claimed that Tabz was a security operative who had harassed reporters in the field.
Namuli threatened that she would stop coming to work if Tabz continued lurking in the newsroom.
Mubangizi, a cantankerous fellow, almost went physical with Tabz. Like two teenage boys fighting for the attention of a girl, they often seized up each other.
One time when the situation appeared to be getting out of hand, I had a candid talk with Tabz.
“Why does Jordan hate you?” I asked. “Because he thinks I am encroaching on his territory,” he replied.
“Which territory?” I shot back. “Jordan is a police informer so because he knows I have worked with Kayihura he thinks I am a spy too,” he said without batting an eyelid.
Indeed, there had long been rumours about Mubangizi’s connections with security.
Tabz worked with Kayihura as his official photographer between 2015 and 2017.
Tabz told Bbeg Media that Kayihura recruited him from campus after he took a good photo of the former IGP while interacting with students.
“One of Kayihura’s aides contacted me and told me the general wanted to know if I could be his photographer. I was a student and I thought this was a good opportunity,” he said.
He says he left Kayihura and joined Bobi Wine because the former IGP was not paying him well.
He told us he was connected to Bobi Wine by a People Power mobiliser who studied with him at campus.
A special person
There are freelance reporters and other staff at NBS TV who have worked for five years or more and can’t easily access the newsroom and other areas. They have no security logins and other company accessories like IDs, flak jackets. For interns, they are NEVER given such goodies.
Tabz got all these and more a couple of hours after being introduced as an “intern”. This quickly marked him out as a special person and increased suspicion among some reporters that he was on a unique assignment.
Remember he joined NBS at the time of the age-limit campaign where media coverage came under deep scrutiny from the state actors.
Therefore, the fact that he could access very critical areas of an organisation like NBS, known for its strictness, heightened fears among some reporters and staffers that they were under watch.
One time when Tabz had gone to the field for an assignment, a reporter claimed that he had seen him with a gun, in his camera bag.
Tabz usually left a big bag on the table in the Nile Post cubicle. So here was the reporter rummaging through Tabz’s bag. When I asked him what he was doing checking someone’s bag without their knowledge, he said: “Edris this guy has a gun.” Did the reporter find the gun? No.
The Exit
Tabz’s exit was vociferous. Reporters had already been unsettled by the suspicion that he was a spy and many had threatened to down their tools if Tabz stayed. A revolt was in the works.
Paul Lwanga called an urgent meeting of senior newsroom managers (which I attended) where he listened to their concerns
Kyeswa, as usual, shot first: “Paul, some of us are old, we have families and children. What if this guy does something that puts our lives in danger. I will not work with that guy.”
At first Lwanga defended Tabz’s deployment. In the meeting he conceded that Tabz had been recommended by a “senior” person therefore he was “special.”
But when the resistance increased, Lwanga gave in and said he will first talk to Kariisa.
Whatever Lwanga and Kariisa discussed, it was agreed that Tabz should go, leading to wild cheers and celebrations in the newsroom.
As an intern, Tabz was unassuming and hardly said a word to other people. As his immediate supervisor, I rarely interacted with him since he was always “in the field.”
Recently, Tabz opened a war of words with some NBS employees accusing the company of some indiscretions. The war has now drawn in Kariisa who in a post today literally asked Tabz to cease fire.
But what are the truths, half-truths and lies in this Tabz vs NBS exchange?
TRUTHS, HALF-TRUTHS AND LIES
Was Tabz a spy?
That you can’t really tell. It is true he was closely associated with Kayihura who tormented the opposition. Naturally such a person would be called a spy. He denies doing any espionage work but of course no one would expect him to admit it. The jury is still out on this one.
Was Tabz a full-time employee or intern?
Officially he was an intern but a unique one at that. He had the benefits of staff employees. He also signed a contract, which interns don’t do.
How long did Tabz work at NBS?
Four weeks maximum. He stopped physically coming at NBS TV after staff threatened to revolt. However, he continued sending video footage and photographs for at least four months after his exit.
Was he paid?
He claims he was given only Shs 250,000. We are not privy to the terms of his contract so we can’t tell how much he is demanding or whether he is demanding anything at all.
Is there sexual harassment at NBS TV?
Yes, there is. It is the worst kept secret. Like other big organizations that employ many staff, incidences of sexual harassment are so common at NBS. In fact management was forced to create an email address (speakout@nextmedia.ug) to address this. Managers and male senior staffers usually take advantage of female interns and freelance staff angling for permanent contracts.
Does NBS TV remit NSSF contributions on time?
No. Many staff, current and former will testify that their NSSF benefits have not been paid for many years. Some have even threatened to take legal action. Management has always said it is working to rectify this.
Did NBS have a tally centre in 2021?
Yes NBS TV did have a tally centre in 2016 and 2021. But this is a story for another day.
