Uganda’s military chief ordered the closure of one of the country’s largest media organisations on Sunday, saying he had the authority to shut down any media outlet and warning that all news organisations would “follow the rules”.
Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of President Yoweri Museveni and Uganda’s top military commander since 2024, announced the move after soldiers were deployed outside the Kampala offices of the Daily Monitor, one of the country’s leading newspapers.
The Daily Monitor is part of the Nairobi-based Nation Media Group, one of East Africa’s largest independent media companies.
“I have the power in Uganda to shut down ANY media house I want to,” Kainerugaba wrote on X, his preferred social media platform. “I have had this power since 2017. This power was given to me by my great father.”
He added: “From now on ALL media in Uganda will follow the rules!”
Kainerugaba said his directive also applied to NTV Uganda, a television broadcaster owned by Nation Media Group.
The National Association of Broadcasters said at least six publishing and broadcasting outlets under Nation Media Group had been closed.
“We are deeply concerned about this action and its impact on the media ecosystem,” the association said in a statement.
Kainerugaba’s latest directive comes more than a month after Museveni was sworn in for a seventh consecutive term as president. In recent days, the army chief has issued a series of directives and orders that are typically the preserve of the head of state, reinforcing perceptions that he has become the country’s de facto ruler.
Kainerugaba has repeatedly said he expects to succeed his father as president, a prospect many observers see as increasingly plausible as the 81-year-old Museveni relies heavily on his son’s military authority.
Earlier this month, Kainerugaba was accused of retaliating against prominent lawyer Erias Lukwago, who had sought to hold him accountable over his alleged role in the detention of opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
Besigye was seized in Nairobi in 2024 and has since been detained in Uganda on treason charges that he says are politically motivated. Lukwago was later taken from his home and charged with an offence related to the concealment of treason.
Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, has not indicated when he plans to retire. He faces no significant challengers within the ruling National Resistance Movement party, leading many analysts to believe the military will play a decisive role in determining his successor.
Supporters of Kainerugaba describe him as a disciplined military officer who avoids lavish displays of wealth. They say he is strongly opposed to official corruption and would deal with it harshly if he became president.
He attended military schools in the United States and Britain before taking command of Uganda’s presidential guard unit, which has since grown into an elite special forces formation. Alongside his military role, he founded the Patriotic League of Uganda, a political activist group whose members and supporters include the speaker of parliament and several government ministers.
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