New Vision and Daily Monitor on a news stand. Kampala, Uganda | URN | The closure of the Daily Monitor has not delivered the expected boost for competing newspapers. Instead, it has exposed the deeper challenges facing Uganda’s print media industry, with many loyal readers abandoning newspapers altogether rather than switching to alternative titles.
The Daily Monitor and other Nation Media Group Uganda outlets have remained off the market since June 2026 after security forces sealed the company’s premises in Namuwongo and Kampala Serena Hotel. However, the newspaper’s prolonged absence has left a gap that competitors have struggled to fill. Across the country, newspaper vendors say many former Daily Monitor readers have either stopped buying newspapers or turned to radio, social media and online platforms for news.
In Kampala, newspaper distributor Kizza Joseph, who serves Mawanda Road, Mulago and Kamwokya, says most of his customers are offices and households with established reading preferences. He says he has reduced his New Vision orders from about 20 copies to 15 because demand has fallen since the closure. “Most of my orders go to offices and homes.
Some people used to read Monitor only, and those have not switched. A few people request New Vision on Tuesday and Thursday, mainly for tenders,” he said. In Nansana, newspaper distributor Dora Namukose says the closure has affected sales of other publications as well, with vendors increasingly returning unsold copies of New Vision and Bukedde.
Reader Paul Ssenyonjo says he now only scans headlines at newspaper stands, adding that he preferred the Daily Monitor because of its independent reporting, writing style and distinctive headlines. In Masaka City, newspaper vendor Francis Mukalazi says the closure has reduced sales, with several customers refusing to replace Daily Monitor with another newspaper. He says many clients who previously subscribed to both Daily Monitor and Bukedde have suspended their orders, including for the Luganda newspaper, even though it was not affected by the closure.
Another regular reader, Richard Lukyamuzi, says he now relies on social media and personal sources for news. He says the only other newspaper he occasionally buys is The Observer, but because it is not published daily, he has largely shifted to social media to keep up with current affairs.
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