Nation Media Group’s Uganda Subsidiary Raided by Police

Media freedom is being curtailed once again; this time in the neighbouring Uganda.

Police officers Monday searched Monitor offices, claiming they were looking for the Gen. David Sejusa’s letter (Gen. Sejusa is the Coordinator of Intelligence Services). The police later shut down the newspaper’s printing press and its sister FM radio stations – KFM and Dembe FM.

In a press statement, the police said that they received intelligence information that there are people who have started scanning signatures of senior government officials “with the intention of using the said signatures on documents claiming they are officials documents from government whereas not.”

The police officers on the scene told Monitor Publications Management that the newspapers premises have been declared a scene of crime, and no operations can go on.

Mr. Tom Mshindi, the Chief Operating Officer, Nation Media Group (NMG), said the action was very surprising in a country where core discussions on freedom of expression are lively. “We could have hoped for a prior communication before this happened but we didn’t get it,” Mr. Mshindi added.

Daily Monitor is a subsidiary of Monitor Publications Ltd, which is owned by The Nation Media Group and five other individual shareholders. The Monitor is the only Ugandan newspaper that reports on news stories unhindered and conducts serious investigative reporting in the public interest. It consistently breaks stories and sets the news agenda.

[Daily Monitor]