NMG Uganda Cleared to Resume Operations After Museveni Authorisation
Key points:
- NMG Uganda was shut on 28 June 2026; Museveni authorised reopening about a month later.
- Chairman Joe Muganda said services would restore progressively across TV, print, radio and digital.
- Talks involved Museveni, CDF Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and NMG majority shareholder Rostam Azizi.
How the shutdown ended
Nation Media Group’s Ugandan operations are set to resume after President Yoweri Museveni authorised the reopening of platforms that were forced off air for roughly a month, Nation and Capital FM reported.
The shutdown began on 28 June 2026 following a military operation that took television and radio stations off air and restricted newspaper operations. Business Daily and The Star said high-level engagements involving Museveni, Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and NMG majority shareholder Rostam Azizi (Taifa Group, which acquired a controlling stake in NMG) paved the way for the decision.
What reopening means
NMG PLC Chairman Joe Muganda announced progressive restoration across television, print, radio and digital. Taifa Group’s Azizi publicly thanked Museveni and acknowledged Muhoozi’s role in the talks that ended the standoff.
The episode drew regional attention to press freedom in Uganda and to NMG’s dual identity as East Africa’s largest independent media house and a Kenyan-listed group with deep Kampala roots through Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda.
Resumption does not erase the shock to staff and audiences who spent a month without flagship brands. How fully newsrooms regain operational independence will be watched as closely as the formal reopening itself.
Sources: Nation.Africa, Capital FM, Business Daily, The Star (28–29 July 2026).
