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.
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| 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...
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