NMG begins phased return after UCC clearance

Daily monitor staff back in premises Kampala, Uganda | URN | Nation Media Group Uganda (NMG Uganda) has begun a phased return to operations after receiving official clearance from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to resume business following a month-long shutdown. The media house resumed operations this morning with digital publishing as engineers and technical teams prepare to assess the condition of its broadcast and printing infrastructure, which has remained inaccessible since security agencies closed its premises in June. The reopening follows a formal communication from UCC informing the company’s management that it had received instructions from President Yoweri Museveni authorising the resumption of NMG’s operations.

“I am pleased to inform you that I have received instructions from H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda clearing the reopening of your businesses,” the Daily Monitor quoted from a letter addressed to the company’s Managing Director, Susan Nsibirwa. The clearance marks the first official authorisation allowing NMG Uganda to resume operations after one of the country’s most significant media shutdowns in recent years.

Senior company officials, including Nsibirwa and General Manager Editorial Allan Chekwech, held meetings with UCC before the clearance was communicated. The company has prioritised digital publishing because it has not yet regained access to key facilities, including its Namuwongo headquarters and offices at Serena. Once access is restored, engineers will inspect studios, servers, printing presses and other critical infrastructure before full newspaper printing and broadcasting resume.

Addressing staff on Wednesday evening, Chekwech said the company would adopt a digital-first approach as it gradually restores normal operations. “Starting tomorrow, we should have our content up by 6 am. The early risers should find our website updated and content flowing.

If there are enterprising pieces being edited, then we shall have them posted in the course of the day. We have a content plan,” he told employees. The Daily Monitor’s first product will be an electronic edition available through a Shs1,500 online subscription alongside regular updates on its news website.

NTV Uganda and Spark TV are also expected to resume gradually by publishing news bulletins and selected programmes online before returning to full broad…