KAMPALA, UGANDA | UG DIPLOMAT REPORTER
The reopening of Nation Media Group’s Uganda operations is imminent following an agreement on the terms and conditions needed to end the shutdown, sources familiar with the negotiations have told UG Diplomat.
Fresh indications of a breakthrough emerged after an NMG delegation led by Group Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Odundo held a meeting with Uganda Communications Commission Executive Director George William Nyombi Thembo.
“A team from Nation Media Group, led by the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Geoffrey Odundo, paid a courtesy visit to say hello,” Nyombi Thembo said in a brief statement.
Although the UCC Executive Director described the engagement as a courtesy visit and did not disclose the substance of the discussions, its timing has fuelled expectations that NTV Uganda, Daily Monitor and other affected NMG platforms could resume operations soon.
UCC is Uganda’s communications regulator and exercises oversight over television and radio broadcasters, making the meeting a significant development in efforts to restore the media group’s full operations.
Sources said the major outstanding issues had been resolved and that the parties had agreed on the conditions under which NMG would return to normal operations. However, neither the government nor Nation Media Group had formally announced a reopening date by publication time.
The UCC engagement follows a series of high-level meetings involving the government and NMG’s leadership.
President Yoweri Museveni recently met Rostam Azizi, Chairman of the Taifa Group of Companies, at State House Entebbe. While Museveni did not disclose the agenda, the meeting came amid sustained negotiations over the future of NMG’s Ugandan outlets.
Earlier, Azizi and other NMG representatives met Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba at the Special Forces Command headquarters in Entebbe to discuss the continued shutdown of NTV Uganda and Daily Monitor.
Gen. Kainerugaba had previously indicated that President Museveni would make the final decision on whether the affected outlets could resume operations.
The shutdown began on June 28, 2026, when military personnel were deployed at NMG’s Kampala premises, disrupting the operations of Daily Monitor, NTV Uganda and other television, radio, print and digital platforms belonging to the group.
NMG Uganda subsequently confirmed that negotiations were taking place with government and military authorities to secure the reopening of the affected outlets.
The latest meeting between Odundo and the UCC Executive Director now appears to mark another critical step towards resolving the standoff.
Sources maintain that the reopening is no longer a question of whether, but when, with a formal announcement expected once the agreed terms and administrative arrangements are completed.
