Exclusive: Why Daily Monitor, NTV Will Remain Closed for Months

Daily Monitor offices in Namuwongo , Kampala remain closed

The Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda are unlikely to resume operations for several months as Tanzanian businessman Rostam Aziz awaits regulatory approval to complete his acquisition of a controlling stake in Nation Media Group (NMG), according to people familiar with discussions between the company’s owners and the Ugandan government.

The delay means commitments made by Aziz during talks with Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba this week cannot be implemented until he formally assumes control of the East African media company, the sources said.

At a meeting held at the Special Forces Command headquarters in Entebbe, Aziz told Kainerugaba that although he had agreed to acquire the majority stake from the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), the transaction had not yet been completed.

“Please, Sir, we don’t have control of NMG yet because the acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals by authorities in Kenya and Uganda,” Aziz told the meeting, according to two people briefed on the discussions.

The sources said Aziz assured the Ugandan authorities that his intention was to work constructively with the government.

“So whatever happened, we are sorry. We don’t seek to be antagonistic and adversarial but partners in Uganda’s development,” he said, according to the sources.

Aziz, one of Tanzania’s most influential businessmen and politicians, is a former member of parliament and senior figure in the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), having previously served as the party’s treasurer and a member of its Central Committee.

In March, his company, Taarifa Ltd, an affiliate of the Tyifa Group, agreed to acquire AKFED’s 54.08% controlling stake in Nation Media Group, comprising about 92.6 million ordinary shares.

The acquisition would make Aziz the controlling shareholder of East and Central Africa’s largest independent media company, which publishes Kenya’s Daily Nation and Uganda’s Daily Monitor, and operates NTV stations in both countries.

However, the acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and other jurisdictions where NMG is listed and operates.

Although the transaction was initially expected to close within three to four months of its announcement, the approvals remain outstanding.

According to the sources, Ugandan authorities indicated they would facilitate the remaining approvals, but acknowledged that the process could still take several months.

“This process will take some months, and that means the media house will remain closed until Aziz fully takes over,” one source familiar with the negotiations told ChimpReports.

The source said the government wants assurances made during the Entebbe meeting to be implemented only after Aziz assumes full control of the company, making completion of the acquisition central to any reopening.

Those commitments include strengthening adherence to professional journalistic standards, improving balance and objectivity in reporting, and reviewing editorial processes, the sources said.

Discussions also covered reducing what officials described as provocative opinion content and reviewing contributors, columnists and editors viewed by the government as consistently antagonistic.

People familiar with the negotiations also said one proposal under discussion is the removal or reassignment of NMG Uganda Managing Director Susan Nsibirwa.

According to the sources, government officials accused Nsibirwa of attacking government officials on social media and encouraging what they described as activist tendencies among editors and senior newsroom staff, contributing to what they regard as a deterioration in editorial standards at the Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda.

No decision has been announced by Nation Media Group regarding Nsibirwa’s future, and the company has not publicly commented on the reports.

Oguttu resists

The reported proposals have drawn opposition from Monitor co-founder and minority shareholder Wafula Oguttu, who said the company should not dismiss employees to secure the reopening of its operations.

“They want us to sack some of our managers. They want us to sack some of our editors. That’s not gonna happen,” Oguttu said on Capital FM’s The Capital Gang.

While Oguttu has publicly defended the company’s newsroom, the negotiations in Entebbe were led by controlling shareholder Rostam Aziz, his son Saam Aziz and Georgia Mutagaywa of Taarifa Ltd, underscoring that decisions on the company’s future are likely to be made by the incoming controlling owners rather than minority shareholders.

Oguttu defended the Daily Monitor’s journalism, saying its reporting had consistently been based on documentary evidence and credible sources.

“Every story that the Daily Monitor does, they have a basis for it; either a primary document or someone they are quoting. They don’t create things,” he said.

He also described the manner in which the media house was shut down as unprecedented.

“I’m not surprised about what is going on, although this time it was done in a manner that is not right. It is not even constitutional or legal,” he said.

The government has said the closure of Nation Media Group-Uganda’s operations stems from a security-led inquiry instituted by President Yoweri Museveni and involving the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, the Criminal Investigations Directorate and other security agencies.

Following the meeting, Kainerugaba said he would submit a report to President Museveni before a final decision is made on reopening the affected outlets.

Nation Media Group initially continued publishing through its websites and social media platforms after the shutdown, but online updates have since largely ceased as negotiations continue.