Uganda media shutdown - Update

 

Journalists fear harsher clampdown in Uganda after army chief's shutdown of media

The most prominent media in Uganda are still unable to operate after the army chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, also the son of President Museveni and his potential successor, ordered a military shutdown on Sunday of the largest group's headquarters in Kampala. The move is generating strong criticisms.

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Melissa Chemam

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The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) condemned in a statement a "naked act of aggression and attack on media freedom", and called for the "immediate reopening of these media houses".

It added that journalists and media workers should be allowed "to continue their work without any form of harassment and intimidation."

FAJ President Omar Faruk Osman said that "the deployment of soldiers to storm and shut down Uganda's leading independent media houses is one of the clearest manifestations of authoritarian rule and the deepening culture of impunity that now silences the few remaining foundations of democratic governance in the country."

A veteran journalist from the channel told AFP on condition of anonymity on Sunday: "We were shut down by the army—both the studios and the NTV offices. He added: "No one is allowed in or out. Those who were working last night were ordered to leave by the army."

Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda, which owns NTV Uganda and Spark TV, said it remained under military siege throughout Sunday, "with several armed personnel deployed at its headquarters in Namuwongo and broadcast centres at the Kampala Serena International Conference Centre."

Both channels are still off air on Monday, disrupting the country's largest independent media house's work.

Late on Sunday, veteran journalist and Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) leader Andrew Mwenda said an agreement had been reached with the army chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to reopen NTV Uganda and the nation's largest independent English-language daily newspaper.

But on Monday, NMG said they hadn't received any official communication.

Kainerugaba "has over the past months become very influential on almost everything in the country," a freelance journalist told me. "He makes orders on social media, which lead to arrests of people. To him, it displays pure abuse of power."

Attacks on journalism

NMG is the largest independent media house in East and Central Africa with operations in print, broadcast and digital media which attract, serving the largest audiences across East Africa.

In Uganda, NMG also owns the Daily Monitor, The East African, 93.3 KFM, 90.4 Dembe FM, Ennyanda newspaper and the Nation Courier, among other media platforms and investments.

The Daily Monitor reported on Sunday that military personnel had been deployed at NMG's premises in the capital, Kampala, and that staff were being prevented from leaving or entering the premises.

NTV Uganda and other NMG TV and radio broadcasters in the country were all down as of Sunday early morning, from 5am.

Uganda's military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also President Yoweri Museveni's son, announced on Sunday that he had ordered the closure of two leading media outlets, declaring that he did "not believe in a free press".

Kainerugaba wrote on his X social media account that the Daily Monitor - Uganda's largest independent daily newspaper - and NTV Uganda, one of the country's largest private broadcasters, would "not reopen without my permission".

"In Uganda, I do not believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution," Kainerugaba stated in a series of threatening posts on the platform.

He added: "The closure of NTV and Monitor is just the beginning. We are going to arrest many more."

The government of Museveni already shut down the Daily Monitor for 10 days in 2013 over reports regarding his succession.

Kainerugaba has been mentioned as a likely successor to his ageing father, especially after January's elections.

Museveni has ruled the country since 1986. His son is known for his controversial social media posts, which included threats to "behead" the opposition leader Bobi Wine.

Condamnations

'It is a true sign of state capture', a reader of the Monitor wrote on social media.

Lwanga Majja Achillis, a lawyer and campaigner, wrote: "Civic responsibility means respecting institutions, the rule of law and press freedom. Shutting down media houses bse of criticism only proves that our greatest obstacle to progress is often ourselves, not our past."

Regional and international media bodies condemned the developments and called for restraint.

The East African Press Councils (EAPC) urged governments across the region to de-escalate hostilities with the media, saying the shutdown of NMG operations in Uganda reflected "growing pressure on independent journalism."

"This violates constitutional, regional and global human rights State obligations, including denial of right to access information and endangering the lives of journalists," read the EAPC statement signed by its Chairperson David Omwoyo, who is also the Media Council of Kenya CEO.

The East Africa Journalists Federation (EAJF) also condemned the crackdown saying: "We wish to remind Gen Muhoozi that terrorising the media is no solution to challenges the country is facing and fast-fading public trust in President Museveni's regime.”

International bodies Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also strongly condemned the shutdown.

CPJ wrote on X the group called "on the Ugandan authorities to immediately restore broadcasts, end the security operation at Nation Media Group, publicly reaffirm respect for press freedom, and ensure that journalists can carry out their work without interference or fear of reprisal."

Media shutdown in Uganda

 

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni's son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, is the head of the military, and this Sunday, he ordered the shutdown of newspapers, TV station and radio outlets, including NTV and the Monitor.  

Uganda's leading independent media group said it was under "military siege" on Sunday. This comes amid a widespread crackdown on free speech, accelerated by the army chief.

"NTV and Moniter (sic) are being shut down from today!" Kainerugaba wrote on social media platform X, referring to NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor, both part of the Nation Media Group.

"In Uganda, I DO NOT believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution," he added.

He also threatened to close more media outlets: "The closure of NTV and Monitor is just the beginning. We are going to arrest many more," he added on X.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba

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Ugandan journalists are appalled and afraid...

Other outlets, including Dembe FM, Spark TV, KFM, and The East African, are also affected.

One told me an hour ago: "It seems that he is the one running the show. He has over the past months, become very influential on almost every thing in the country. He makes orders on social media and orders arrests of people."

To him, it displays pure abuse of power.

"That man is just out of control. He has a cultic following that selfishly trying to make personal gains by boosting his ego."

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The Daily Monitor was launched in 1992 and became one of Uganda's most influential independent newspapers and has often been seen as an irritation by Museveni's government.

Kainerugaba confirmed on X that the orders had been approved by his father, Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for 40 years.

Museveni, 81, won another term in January but many see his son as positioning himself to take over.

I was expecting to go, but I wasn't able to get the press accreditation, which is now over $1000, and most of my colleagues were expelled anyway after a couple of days.

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For more on the situation in Uganda since the general "elections" in January, my podcast episode from earlier this year: Lack of democracy and military grip...

https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-on-africa/20260120-spotlight-on-africa-uganda-vote-and-somaliland-recognition-roil-east-africa

newsletter - end of June 2026

 

Artist Grada Kilomba on her monument for lost Rwandan lives. And the fate of DRC's coltan...

In a podcast episode, I speak to the artist on how she chose to represent a genocide. I also interviewed Global Witness on their latest report on critical minerals from the DR Congo.

Melissa Chemam

Jun 24, 2026

Artist Grada Kilomba on her monument for lost Rwandan lives. And the fate of DRC's coltan...

In a podcast episode, I speak to the artist on how she chose to represent a genocide. I also interviewed Global Witness on their latest report on critical minerals from the DR Congo.

Melissa Chemam

Jun 24, 2026

On DRC's coltan and Paris' monument for Rwandans

New podcast episode:

 

Coltan smuggled from the DRC; and a monument for the Rwanda genocide in Paris

This week, in RFI's Spotlight on Africa podcast, I look at the Great Lakes region. First, the NGO Global Witness shows us with a new report how coltan is being smuggled out of the DR Congo, amid the conflict in the east, to world companies, via Rwanda. And in the second part of this episode, we'll hear from the artist Grada Kilomba about her journey to create a unique monument for the city of Paris to commemorate the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

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This month of June, a new report from the NGO Global Witness has shown how coltan is being smuggled from the DR Congo, and sold to world companies via Rwanda, amid the devastating conflict in the eastern provinces of the DRC.

Coltan, short for columbite-tantalite, is a mineral from which the metals tantalum and niobium are extracted, both seen as critical raw materials by companies from the United States, the European Union, China and Japan.

The report shows that conflict minerals from the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are found in everyday tech products made by major world companies.

It also links the illegal trade to Rwandan companies clearly and to leading global brands including Amazon, Ericsson and Sony, sourcing minerals  from eastern DRC.

The traffic is linked to the M23 militia, accused of widespread sexual violence, summary executions and torture.

It took the British non-governmental organisation over a year of investigation through extensive documentary and field research to be able to prove the exploitation system.

Another Global Witness investigation from April 2025 had revealed that coltan linked to conflict in the eastern DRC likely entered the European Union market through international commodities trader Traxys. 

Previous reports also demonstrated the implication of companies such as Apple, from 2022.

The NGO pursued its investigation for months, then cross-referenced its findings with surveys conducted by the United Nations (UN) and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs). 

Alex Kopp, the author of the report and expert at Global Witness is our first guest.

>> Listen here: https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-on-africa/20260623-blood-minerals-and-memory-the-great-lakes-in-focus

On commemoration

The artist Grada Kilomba was invited to create a unique monument for the city of Paris to commemorate the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

The monument consists of two black brass steles bearing an engraved tribute to the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children massacred between April and July 1994.

It was unveiled in the heart of Paris on 2 June 2026, in the presence of the two countries' Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Paul Kagame.

Kilomba is herself a Portuguese artist with African roots, from Sao Tomé and Angola.

She was raised in Portugal, and has worked in Germany, Brazil, England and beyond, mostly reflecting through performances and installations on the history of African and black people in general, across centuries and continents, including on the slave trade. 

She was chosen through a very selective process to design this monument, the first of its kind in France. And she decided to go to Rwanda to meet some survivors and start her own research to complete the project, titled ‘The Archive’.  

Her creative process led her to reflect on France and Europe's responsibility in the tragic events.

Grada Kilomba is the second guest of this episode.

 

>> Listen here: https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-on-africa/20260623-blood-minerals-and-memory-the-great-lakes-in-focus

Marche contre le racisme et l'extrême droite - Paris, 21 juin 2026

 

Barbès, 2pm 

With the mayor of Saint-Denis and Assa Traoré

Marche contre le racisme et l'extrême droite

 

Fighting for the freedom of the press

 

Hello there...

If anyone still  reads this space, know that I have been a little silent as I faced a pretty terrible time. 

It's not easy to remain a journalist in such a context: no means, no support, attacks from billionaires...

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So, I'm in Paris this week, and there is an important strike.

2026 has so far been a dark year for journalism and media workers in France. 

Restructuring plans are multiplying in newspapers, magazines, television, and radio: nearly 600 job cuts have already been announced, and more layoffs are on the horizon. 

That, plus political pressure on public broadcasters to only flag the power's ideas, actions and plans, to discourage investigation, and to insight divisions.

In every media company, many of us are being asked to do more with less, often at the expense of the quality and reliability of information. 

Most media are faced with a growing number of job cuts. Then, there is the threat of AI to certain jobs, but also to the way we work, as tools have already replaced translation, and some editors pressure us to write pitches via Chat GPT, Perplexity or Claude, instead of thinking for ourselves...

We think none of this is no longer bearable. 

Meanwhile, media concentration is accelerating and threatening democracy. 

Without genuine engagement, information risks falling into the hands of billionaires only, many of whom pursue an ultra-capitalistic and reactionary political agenda. Vincent Bolloré is a prime example, but he's not alone!

This pressure affects even public media, like France Television, us at RFI, and Agence France-Presse (AFP), a press company also in danger.

So tomorrow, Thursday 18 June, we'll be starting a march on at 11 a.m., at Place de la Bourse in Paris, at the foot of the AFP building.

Notre consoeur Alice Froussard: Journaliste expulsée d'Irsaël

 

Refus d’entrée en Israël pour Alice Froussard : la SDJ et l’Association des correspondants de RFI condamnent une atteinte inadmissible à la liberté de la presse

La correspondante de Radio France Internationale en Palestine et en Israël, Alice Froussard, s’est vue refuser l'entrée sur le sol israélien à l’aéroport Ben Gourion alors qu’elle retournait à Ramallah avec toutes les autorisations nécessaires. 

Elle a été placée de force par la police israélienne dans un avion pour Paris.

La Société des journalistes de RFI s’en indigne et condamne avec la plus grande fermeté cette atteinte brutale à la liberté de la presse.

La SDJ de RFI apporte son soutien à notre consœur qui, avec rigueur et courage, raconte la vie des Palestiniens depuis six ans. Tous ses reportages n’ont été que le reflet de faits, de témoignages, de récits rapportés avec la plus grande précision. Jamais, comme l'affirme Amichai Chikli, le ministre des Affaires de la Diaspora, Alice Froussard n’a été proche du Hamas.

Nous appelons le gouvernement israélien à revenir sur cette décision particulièrement préoccupante pour la liberté des journalistes à exercer leur métier en Israël et en Palestine. Cela doit alerter l’ensemble des rédactions françaises et internationales.

Enfin nous réclamons à nouveau et avec force un accès indépendant à la bande de Gaza pour les journalistes internationaux alors que d’après l’ONU plus de 240 journalistes palestiniens y ont été tués par l’armée israélienne depuis les attaques terroristes du 7 octobre 2023.

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English version

Israel's entry ban on Alice Froussard: RFI Journalists' Society (SDJ) and Correspondents' Association condemn an unacceptable attack on press freedom

Alice Froussard, Radio France Internationale's correspondent in Palestine and Israel, was denied entry into Israel at Ben Gurion Airport while returning to Ramallah, despite holding all the necessary authorisations.

She was forcibly placed on a flight to Paris by the Israeli police.

The RFI Journalists' Society (SDJ) strongly condemns this blatant attack on press freedom and expresses its outrage at the treatment of our colleague.

The SDJ stands in solidarity with Alice Froussard, who has spent the past six years reporting with rigour and courage on the lives of Palestinians. Her reporting has consistently reflected facts, testimonies and accounts conveyed with the utmost accuracy. Contrary to the allegations made by Amichai Chikli, Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Alice Froussard has never been associated with Hamas.

We call on the Israeli government to reverse this deeply concerning decision, which undermines journalists' ability to carry out their work freely in Israel and Palestine. This development should serve as a warning to newsrooms across France and the international media community.

Finally, we once again call, in the strongest possible terms, for independent access to the Gaza Strip for international journalists. According to the United Nations, more than 240 Palestinian journalists have been killed there by the Israeli army since the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023.

Artist Grada Kilomba on representing a genocide...

 

Paris now has a monument commemorating the Rwandan genocide of 1994. 

It was designed by Grada Kilomba, a Portuguese artist with African roots (from Sao Tomé and Angola). 

Here is what she had to say about her creative process, her journey to Rwanda to meet survivors and about France and Europe's responsibilities...

Coltan from DRC is smuggled to global companies via Rwanda

 

Global Witness shows evidence that coltan from DRC is smuggled to global companies via Rwanda

Looted minerals from mines in Rubaya in DRC, especially coltan, are smuggled to Rwanda then sold to the world's tech giants, according to a brand new report from Global Witness. Eastern Congo produces 15 percent of the world’s tantalum, a key ingredient for electronic products found in smartphones, laptops and cars.

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Melissa Chemam
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Reuters

Conflict minerals from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are likely to be found in everyday tech products made by Sony, Microsoft, Amazon, LG, Vodafone, and others, a new Global Witness investigation reveals.

Global Witness (GW) is an investigative, campaigning organisation that challenges the power of climate-wrecking companies, and stands with the people fighting back.

According to the author of the report, Alex Kopp, policy and advocacy advisor at Global Witness, the investigation reveals that "most of Rwanda’s major coltan exporters purchase smuggled conflict coltan from war zones in the DRC. Behind our everyday technologies lies a supply chain riddled with violence, exploitation, and human suffering."

"The Rubaya mines have become a main revenue source for M23’s brutal warfare in DRC," the report states. "Seizing vast areas of territory, the armed group backed by Rwanda’s military has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians, abducting and torturing with impunity."

"It's been a continuation of the report from a year ago, which was really the start of this investigation and where we've found evidence that one exporter has sourced coltan, connected to the conflict in DRC and exported from Rwanda," Kopp told me. 

"We've been able to connect that exported coltan to the DRC, and it is connected to the conflict in the East," he added.

He adds that a huge volume of coltan is being smuggled from the DRC to Rwanda, and that it seems clear that other exporters use coltan connected to the conflict.

And at least five of these seven companies buy conflict coltan from DRC, selling it on through middlemen to smelters in China and Kazakhstan.

"Through this continued research, we could find further evidence and show that five of the seven largest exporters from Rwanda during the period we look at, um, have sourced conflict, coltan from DRC."

A previous GW investigation already revealed that coltan linked to conflict in the eastern DRC likely entered the European Union market through international commodities trader Traxys, over a year ago.

Smuggled mineral in major supply chains

The report demonstrates that global brands such as Sony, Microsoft, Amazon, LG Display, Ericsson, Toyota, Nvidia, and Vodafone are sourcing coltan from supply chains contaminated by smuggled mineral exports.

This implies that industry standards and programmes designed to ensure responsible mineral sourcing, such as ITSCI and the Responsible Minerals Initiative, have largely failed to detect conflict coltan.

It took the British non-governmental organisation over a year of investigation through extensive documentary and field research to be able to prove the exploitation system.

The research involved the analysis of trade data and interviews with more than 70 stakeholders from local communities, actors in the private sector and civil society, and academic research.

This includes interviews with coltan traffickers, showing how these Rwandan exporters are buying conflict coltan from the DRC and reselling it to smelters in China or Kazakhstan through intermediaries.

The NGO then cross-referenced its findings with surveys conducted by the United Nations (UN) and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The looted minerals originate from Rubaya in the DRC’s North Kivu province, where 15 percent of the world’s coltan is mined and produced.

These mines have been occupied for two years by the M23, the military group supported by Rwanda, which derives its main source of income from them to fuel the fighting.

The Rwandan-backed armed group has been illegally controlling the mines since 2024. It has committed serious human rights abuses, including sexual violence and killings, as well as the recruitment of children for forced labor.

The investigation also establishes the complicity of Rwandan officials at a time when smuggling has reached unprecedented levels.

Rwanda is still refusing to comment.

Failed due diligence

The investigation also highlights the failure of the due diligence systems in place to insure the clean trade of natural resources.

The traceability system known as ITSCI, used by many international companies via the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), to prevent conflict minerals from entering their supply chains, is actually being used to "launder a large portion of smuggled coltan."

The companies that produce phones, computers, and cars have failed or refused to clean up their supply chains. This "only fuels instability and prolongs the suffering of communities,' GW's report states.

"We've contacted authorities from the government of Rwanda, but we haven't received any reply," Kopp told me. "And officially, Kigali is still denying that smuggled minerals are getting to Rwanda".

Some of the companies accused of smuggling conflict coltan, like Sony and Toyota, told Global Witness that their goal is now to source conflict-free minerals and referred to the due diligence checks it conducts on its suppliers.

Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft, Vodafone, and LG Display have not replied to Global Witness so far.

"We recommend that companies stop buying coltan from Rwanda until M23 has withdrawn troops from the ruby mines, unless companies really have very thoroughly scrutinised coltan before exporting, or by directly checking the origin and grading of the coltan," Kopp insists.

"And I think, at least as important, is also the action that the international community takes," he concludes. "Governments should make any official development assistance conditional on Rwanda stopping its support to M23 and sanction commanders of M23, senior Rwandan officials who were responsible for abuses, as well as companies profiteering from conflict resources."

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> Listen to Alex in my podcast from here: https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-on-africa/20260623-blood-minerals-and-memory-the-great-lakes-in-focus

> Read more about GW's previous report here: DRC conflict coltan entering EU via Rwandan smuggling routes, report finds

> Listen also to my podcast episode, Spotlight on Africa: the race for Africa's critical minerals