Ankole Journalists Divided Over Museveni’s 1m Cash Handout After Endorsing His Sole Candidature Ahead Of 2026

Chaos has erupted among a group of journalists from Ankole Western Uganda under their purported Ankole Journalists Association after endorsing President Yoweri Museveni’s sole candidacy for the 2026 elections. This was after receiving significant financial incentives, each journalist received 1 million shillings, a 100 million pledge, and a van to facilitate their campaign coverage.

This endorsement which took place after the press conference held at the big man’s country home Rwakitura Kiruhura on Friday has raised concerns about the independence of the press in Uganda.

Fatwez TV, an online media run by Twesigye Farook confirmed that selected journalists were very excited to receive 1million but majority were not from Ankole. This was confirmed by Grace Arinda, a radio West presenter who said that the majority such as mukiga tv are TikTokers but not journalists.

Led by Acting Chairperson Anita Matsika a Radio Sales Person the list is said to have been selected by Major Kiconco Tabaro, who has been accused of being discriminatory in his selection process according to the current discussions on their WhatsApp group.

Some journalists, like Collins from the Daily Monitor and Ambrose Muhumuza from NBS, felt that the president was misled in his dealings with the association adding the majority are not even journalists.

Wasswa Ali, a veteran journalist, defended the association’s actions, stating that they should be allowed to enjoy the “token of appreciation” from the president. He said that upon receiving the money, the majority went to the bars to have a good time according to the shared voice notes.

However, others have expressed concerns that the financial incentives will compromise their ability to report objectively on opposition parties.

In some discussions, Eli Hakiza, a reporter at TV West, revealed that some journalists shared their incentives with their editors and planned to highlight government programs for accountability purposes in 2026.

He also added that some are strategizing to politically position themselves in their constituency adding that some people like Dickson are not journalists but they were scheming to meet the president as evidenced by the screenshots this publication has seen.

Abraham Muganzi, a radio reporter, stated that the NRM party is still in control of Uganda, and other parties lack ideological orientation. However, Perez Rumanzi a veteran journalist rubbished his claims adding that he doesn’t have any moral authority to rubbish opposition.

At the event, John Turinawe a presenter at Crooze FM complained to the president the financial and other challenges they face. He said that they are committed to serving the regime through highlighting programs achievements

The incident has sparked debate about the role of journalists in Uganda’s political landscape and the potential consequences of accepting financial incentives from political leaders.

Some journalists have urged the president to find an alternative person to organize journalists, someone who understands the media but is not attached to any media house, to ensure that journalists can benefit from government programs while maintaining their professionalism.

President Museveni who started his PDM tours last year has been dishing out hundreds of millions to journalists in every region. During his Mbale region tour, he gifted a SACCO of prostitutes Shs100m, and another 100m to journalists. He offered the same to Busoga journalists whom he called paupers during his Busoga PDM tour.

The president had earlier given the same Shs100m to Sebei journalists, another Shs100m to those from Teso, Shs100m to those from Lango during his PDM tours to the same regions.

The bottom line of all this is that atleast the president has acknowledged that Ugandan journalists work under difficult conditions and receive little or no pay at all while their bosses’ swim in cash from advertisers. The journalists would push for the betterment of the profession to urge government for better policies.

It remains a matter of time whether the journalists who have received cash from the big man will remain balanced in their coverage as the country gets into the tough electioneering period from May 2025 to February 2026.