Coverage of Pop Star Spurs Closure Threat for Uganda TV Stations
- Security agencies say coverage of Bobi Wine meant to incite
- Regulator asked broadcasters to suspend some programs
Bobi Wine is led to Luzira prison in Kampala in April.
Photographer: Nicvholas Bamulanzeki/AFP via Getty Images
Uganda threatened to shut down some local broadcasters for “alarmist reporting” on a pop star who has emerged as the main challenge to President Yoweri Museveni’s three-decade rule.
Security agencies complained that some live coverage of the April 29 arrest of Robert Kyagulanyi, known by the stage name Bobi Wine, was biased and aimed at inciting the public against the government. Some of the six television stations that were investigated were asked to “show cause” why their licenses shouldn’t be revoked, the Uganda Communications Commission said in a report on its website. The regulator cautioned or asked broadcasters to suspend some programs.