By Frank Kamuntu
The Managing Director of Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), Winston Agaba has admitted before Parliament that the entity is yet to pay former presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye the over UGX 80 million awarded by the High Court. This compensation follows UBC’s refusal to run Besigye’s political advertisements during the 2016 general elections.
At the time, Besigye was contesting as the opposition Forum for Democratic Change – FDC presidential candidate, against President Museveni and former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, but again he lost to Museveni, receiving only 34 percent of the vote to Museveni’s 62 percent.
Agaba made this admission while appearing before the Committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE). UBC officials were responding to queries raised in the December 2023 Auditor General’s report.
The exchange between Medard Sseggona the Chairperson of COSASE, also the Busiro East Constituency MP, and Agaba is detailed below.
Medard Sseggona: Did you pay Besigye his money as directed by the court?
Winston Agaba: That money is directed in the debt.
Sseggona: Did you pay him or not?
Agaba: We didn’t pay him.
Sseggona: How did the debt arise?
Agaba: From the historical data that I found, Besigye paid for some adverts through a third party. Management at that time was directed not to run the adverts, and that is how the debt arose.
Sseggona: Who directed management?
Agaba: I didn’t find the directive on file, but the adverts didn’t run.
Sseggona: You said management was directed.
Agaba: Purportedly.
Sseggona: Who purportedly directed this?
Agaba: I think it was the Minister of Information.
Sseggona: Are you a national broadcaster for the entire country?
Agaba: Yes, we are.
Sseggona: Were the adverts criminal?
Agaba: I wasn’t privy to the adverts, but going forward, we host everyone.
Sseggona: The point I am making is that you decided to politicize the national broadcaster. This affected revenue generation and audience because a one-sided broadcast loses viewers and, subsequently, advertisers.
The Besigye-UBC Case
In February 2018, Justice Margret Oguli-Oumo, the High Court Judge ruled against UBC for refusing to broadcast Dr. Besigye’s campaign advertisements during the 2016 elections despite receiving UGX 21 million. The court imposed a fine of UGX 80 million, with a 30% interest, and covering the lawsuit costs.
Besigye had accused UBC and its former Managing Director, Edward Musinguzi, of failing to fulfill their contractual obligations to run his campaign ads ahead of the 2011 general elections. UBC argued that Besigye had been refunded his UGX 21 million and the adverts weren’t run because UBC’s editorial team was not available to approve the content.
Besigye acknowledged the refund but sought court condemnation of UBC for breach of contract and discriminatory treatment. He argued that the NRM candidate received 90% of the airplay on UBC, while the other six presidential candidates shared the remaining 10%.
The court ruled in favor of Besigye, with Justice Oguli asserting that all presidential candidates have equal rights to media coverage. She ruled that UBC’s refusal to air Besigye’s adverts was a violation of his rights and ordered UBC to respect the rights of all presidential candidates in the future.
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