Museveni gave me powers to shut any media house, Muhoozi declares as NTV, Daily Monitor go dark

"I have the power in Uganda to shut down ANY media house I want to. I have had this power since 2017. This power was given to me by my great father President Kaguta Museveni. NTV and Daily Monitor are learning about it today," Muhoozi wrote on X.

The declaration came alongside an overnight security operation at Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda's offices in Namuwongo, Kampala, which forced NTV Uganda and Spark TV off air in the early hours of Sunday morning. Daily Monitor, also an NMG publication, was similarly affected.

The general went further, announcing that all critical coverage of Uganda's leadership would henceforth require clearance from his office.

"From now on ALL bad stories about Uganda have to be cleared by my office. In Uganda, I DO NOT believe in a free press! The press should be guided by cadres of the revolution," he added.

The crackdown is believed to have been triggered by a series of hard-hitting news reports and television features focusing on Uganda's political and security establishment. Muhoozi has since ordered that the affected stations will not reopen without his personal approval.

NMG Uganda owns a portfolio of outlets that includes NTV Uganda, Star TV, Daily Monitor, The East African and Dembe FM, among others.

Sunday's action drew immediate comparisons to a similar raid in May 2013, when armed police stormed Daily Monitor's offices following the publication of a letter purportedly authored by then-Coordinator of Intelligence Services General David Sejusa, alleging a plan to position Muhoozi as his father's successor. The scheme later became widely known as the "Muhoozi Project."

Authorities at the time sealed the newspaper's premises and suspended operations at KFM and Dembe FM, citing criminal investigations into the leaked correspondence. Media rights organisations condemned the raid as a direct attack on press freedom.