State House Clarifies NMG Ban, Cites “Persistent Misreporting” of President Museveni
KAMPALA – State House has clarified that the ban on Nation Media Group (NMG) journalists is specifically from directly covering President Yoweri Museveni’s functions, attributing the decision to what it calls a consistent pattern of misreporting and negative coverage.
The clarification was issued by Mr. Kirunda Faruk, the Special Presidential Assistant on Press and Deputy Press Secretary, in a statement released yesterday evening. According to Faruk, the President’s decision is “limited in scope” and was taken following repeated distortions in the Group’s coverage of his engagements.
“The decision by the President was limited in scope and followed repeated distortions in the Group’s coverage of his engagements, always reporting negative things,” Faruk stated.
He further revealed that intelligence reports presented to the President suggest that NMG’s primary aim is to generate profits and attract large viewership in Uganda, particularly from opposition supporters.
This is not the first time NMG has faced access issues with government institutions. The statement referenced a recent incident involving Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, who was reportedly angered by an NTV broadcast featuring a village school in her constituency of Bukedea district. The report was perceived as an embarrassment, leading to the ejection of NTV and Daily Monitor journalists from Parliament.
Faruk Responds to Public Outcry
Following his initial announcement, Mr. Faruk took to social media to address the ensuing public debate. He thanked responders but stood firm on the State House position, stating, “My position remains the same: that H.E @KagutaMuseveni excused himself as a person from being covered by NMG and it is his right to decide like that. There was unfairness to him.”
He pushed back against critics raising audit-related questions, directing them to the Auditor General’s office and emphasizing that “audit work is not done at functions.” He added that the public can still attend government functions to witness the work being done.
A Path to Resolution?
Despite the current standoff, Faruk indicated that the door for dialogue remains open. He stated that since NMG has indicated that covering the President is important to them, “at the right time their issues can be brought on the roundtable and discussed the way it has been with other media stations such as @nbstv.”
In a subsequent post aimed at setting the record straight, Faruk emphasized that President Museveni stopped NMG from covering him “as an individual” and not from operating in Uganda or covering other government institutions. He cited a specific instance of alleged misreporting during a Wealth Creation tour with MPs in Kisozi.
Defending the President’s commitment to media freedom, Faruk asserted, “President @KagutaMuseveni cannot infringe on Constitutional provisions (on free media) when he was the one who oversaw the return to Constitutionalism and rule of law, and is the most media-friendly person.”
The clarification from State House seeks to frame the ban as a personal decision by the President in response to perceived bias, rather than a blanket restriction on the media house’s operations. The development highlights the ongoing tensions between the government and sections of the press as the country moves toward the 2026 general elections.
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