State House has confirmed that President Yoweri Museveni personally directed the exclusion of journalists from the Nation Media Group (NMG) from covering his public events, citing repeated cases of “misreporting.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, State House Deputy Spokesperson Farouk Kirunda said the President’s decision was not a blanket ban on the company’s operations in Uganda, but a response to what he described as persistent inaccuracies in NMG’s reporting on the Head of State.
“To set the record straight, His Excellency stopped NMG journalists from covering him as an individual after persistent instances of misreporting,” Kirunda said on his official X (formerly Twitter) account. “One such instance was at Kisozi when he hosted Members of Parliament on a Wealth Creation tour.”
Kirunda emphasized that NMG remains free to cover other government institutions and continues to receive press releases from the Presidential Press Unit (PPU). He defended the President’s record on press freedom, describing Museveni as “the most media-friendly person” and arguing that he could not infringe on constitutional rights he helped restore.
The clarification came hours after Susan Nsibirwa, the Managing Director of Nation Media Group Uganda, issued a strongly worded statement condemning an escalating “blockade” against the company’s journalists.
Nsibirwa said NMG reporters have been blocked from covering the President since March 2025, and that the restrictions had now spread to Parliament, where journalists were denied access on Tuesday, October 28.
“There has been no formal communication to explain the reasons behind this blockade,” Nsibirwa said. “We have not been informed of any contraventions by our journalists, and have therefore been denied the right of reply or due process.”
She argued that both the Presidency and Parliament are public institutions funded by taxpayers, and that excluding journalists from coverage violates the spirit and letter of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of the press and the right to information.
“Denying coverage and access to independent media undermines accountability, transparency, and good governance,” Nsibirwa said. “We shall not abdicate our responsibility to do bold and thoughtful journalism.”
The standoff has now reached the floor of Parliament. Lawmakers have summoned the Minister for Presidency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, to explain the rationale behind the ban. Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa also said he would reach out to Ms. Nsibiwa personally to help resolve the matter.
The dispute underscores growing tensions between the Ugandan government and sections of the independent media over access and editorial independence. NMG, which owns the Daily Monitor, NTV Uganda, and KFM, has long positioned itself as a key voice for accountability and democratic governance.
As the debate continues, media rights advocates say the outcome will signal how far press freedom can be exercised in Uganda’s evolving political landscape.
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