Veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda has revealed details of Wednesday’s closed-door meeting between the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and the owners of National Media Group (NMG), saying the discussions centred on what government considers years of biased coverage by the media house.
According to Mwenda, Gen Muhoozi presented an analysis indicating that 97% of the media house’s major stories on the government over the past five years were negative.
Mwenda said the CDF tabled a detailed report which, according to the government, demonstrated a pattern of biased, inaccurate and unbalanced reporting by Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda.
“We had done a simulation of the top 100 cover stories Monitor and NTV had done each on government. Ninety-seven percent had been negative over the last 100 major stories, while on the opposition they were 100% positive or sympathetic,” Mwenda said, describing the presentation made during the meeting.
According to Mwenda, Gen Muhoozi argued that the findings reflected activism rather than journalism.
“Gen Muhoozi’s argument is that this is not journalism; this is activism. We don’t have a newspaper, we have a party mouthpiece, an opposition mouthpiece,” Mwenda said.
Mwenda added that the CDF told the meeting that the government expects journalism that is truthful, accurate, fair and balanced, and that gives audiences a complete picture when reporting on both the government and the opposition.
He further said the meeting reviewed what government described as specific examples of biased and malicious reporting, after which the National Media Group owners reportedly committed to pursuing a more patriotic, balanced and objective editorial approach.
The meeting was held at the Special Forces Command (SFC) Headquarters in Entebbe as part of efforts to resolve issues that may have led to the closure of NMG Uganda’s media outlets.
Representing National Media Group were owner Aziz Rostam, his son Aziz Saam, and Georgia Mutagaywa, Chief of Staff at Taarifa Limited, the company overseeing the group’s operations in Uganda. Also in attendance were Acting Defence Public Information Director Col. Chris Magezi and journalist Andrew Mwenda.
