Two Schools of Thought Clash as Kasujja Seeks Grace Period to Fix Conservative State Media
A fascinating ideological debate is unfolding within Uganda’s communications landscape, pitting the ruthlessness of the corporate world against the taxpayer-subsidized reality of state media.
At the center of the storm is Mr. Kasujja, a seasoned mass media practitioner who has worked everywhere from local outlets to the BBC, and now finds himself at the state-funded Uganda Media Centre—an institution critics say is insulated from market punishment because the taxpayer provides a permanent lifeline. His counterpart is Mr. Kyamutetera, a corporate communications veteran who has spent years learning that the market punishes any failure to protect a brand.
According to Hon. Norbert Mao, who shared his observations on the ongoing contest, Kyamutetera has already passed a harsh initial verdict on Kasujja’s output, comparing it to “billboard sloganeering.”
“Kyamutetera says why serve icing only. Where is the cake?” Mao wrote, recalling an era when news bulletins followed a clear structure: a greeting, headlines, a deliberate pause, then the news in detail.
Kasujja, however, is asking for patience. He wants a chance to turn around an organisation whose culture is deeply conservative—built, in Mao’s words, “in the image of a party hack like OO!” Kasujja’s plea is simple: do not judge him yet. He insists that Kyamutetera has spoken too soon without seeing their blueprint.
Mao, who notes that his own conversations with Kasujja have centered on Uganda’s national image and standing, is offering the BBC alumnus the benefit of the doubt—for now.
“Let the debate continue. I’ll be back because in my field, failure to communicate clearly can cost you an election,” Mao warned.
As the Kyamutetera school of corporate rigour contends with the Kasujja school of mass media adaptation, the question remains: can a state-funded communicator, shielded from direct market forces, truly bake a cake when the system has long been satisfied with icing?
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