Yoseri Tibuhaburwa alias Museveni Kagutema is steadily destroying Uganda into an isolated island of fear and intimidation, systematically stripping citizens of their freedom of expression and constitutional right to participate in the electoral process.
Just days after his brutal regime began targeting journalists working with private media outlets, the government has made it clear that it is finalizing plans to shut down social media platforms ahead of the 2026 general elections—an election in which Ugandans are eager to vote out Museveni and his NRM establishment.
This crackdown on freedom of expression intensified earlier this year when Museveni, in an attempt to control the media narrative, offered a UGX 100 million bribe to journalists from the Busoga region, dismissing them as “poor mercenaries.”
To their credit, many of these journalists rejected the offer, reaffirming their commitment to independent reporting despite pressure from an increasingly authoritarian regime.
Realizing he could neither buy off the media nor bend it to serve his bloody political agenda, the aging dictator has resorted to widespread intimidation and harassment of journalists and media houses.
Over the past four months, more than 30 journalists have been brutally assaulted while on duty, especially when covering Museveni’s blatant human rights violations and anti-democratic practices.
Museveni routinely refers to the Fourth Estate as “rumormongers,” “terrorists,” “enemies of the state,” or “mercenaries.” He has consistently attempted to silence media outlets that uphold journalistic integrity and bravely expose his ongoing atrocities against innocent Ugandans.
He only tolerates media platforms that glorify his so-called achievements while vilifying the opposition. Such biased reporting is a betrayal of journalistic ethics, which demand objectivity, truth, and accountability above all else.
Social media users and media professionals must not lend legitimacy to tyranny. Giving Museveni and his regime a platform is a betrayal of the oppressed Ugandan people.
What Museveni fails to understand is that his regime’s end is inevitable. But Ugandans are not fools and we have already decided to move forward without him and his corrupt inner circle.