UBC: A case of a news organisation turning into news itself

Ms Kabakumba Masiko, who was the political supervisor of UBC as Minister of Information in May, oversaw sweeping changes at UBC, sacking the board and causing the then board chairman Chris Katuramu to be briefly detained. The entire top management was also fired and new leadership installed.

On May 20, police deployed at the UBC headquarters on Nile Avenue and ordered Managing Director Edward Musinguzi Mugasa and top managers to leave without ceremony. The job was handed over to Mr Paul Kihika while Dickens Kagarura took over as Corporation Secretary after the substantive secretary one Emoru was sent on forced leave over the matters in which the board gave him express instructions to implement.

In appointing Mr Kihika, Ms Kabakumba was acting on express instructions from President Museveni who had received a dossier outlining gross abuses at UBC.

Details of dossier
The dossier, a copy of which this newspaper has obtained alongside other documents, was, according to sources, sent to the President through Brig. Proscovia Nalweyiso. The whistleblower pointed to alleged theft of Shs13b meant to compensate UBC staff that was being evicted from the Corporation land at Nakasero to give way to construction of a hotel by the AYA brothers.

It alleged that Mr Katuramu, former MD Edgar Tabaro and former vice president Gilbert Bukenya pocketed the money. While Tabaro resigned shortly after, the dossier says Prof. Bukenya cleared the release of the money from Finance justifying it as express Cabinet directive and it was received by Mr Katuramu.

“The two did not compensate anybody and instead evicted the occupants and went ahead to demolish the houses rendering hundreds of people homeless.” Bukenya, according to the dossier, took Shs4b from the compensation kitty.

However, there is so far no evidence that Finance ever paid out any money for compensation of the few government workers that were housed in quarters at Nakasero to execute work at the then Uganda Television.
Prof. Bukenya could not be reached for comment but a person, familiar with the dossier and the goings-on at UBC over the last five years, told this newspaper that dragging Prof. Bukenya’s name into the dossier could have been part of the broader witch-hunt against him.

“There was no compensation money released,” the source said, “how do you compensate government workers who had already been paid retirement benefits?”
Another source also equally familiar with the matter said of Prof. Bukenya’s name: “I think the writer wanted to take advantage of the poor relations between the President and Bukenya at the time to try and make their dossier credible and stoke the President’s anger.”

The UK firm Well Trade Service (WTS) was paid to transfer the studio equipment from Nakasero to the current location at Nile Avenue at a cost of Shs6.159b. State House cleared payment of some $1.7 million as advance payment to the UK company.

Critics and victims of the dossier say the payments were duly cleared by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA). The dossier also alleged theft of UBC transmitters by Mr Katuramu, sale of archives valued at over $20 million, illegal connection of private media stations to UBC satellite uplink and purchase of a junk outside broadcasting van for UBC at an allegedly inflated cost.

President responds to dossier
Acting on the dossier, President Museveni ordered swift action. The dossier recommended a commission of inquiry into the corporation, suspension of management and appointment of a new one, as well as sacking of the board. It also called for another investigation by the IGG.

But two recommendations are raising eyebrows, recommendation (e) stated; “placement of Movement cadres at UBC key positions is very crucial at this time if NRM wants to consolidate itself. This is the time to mobilise for the Movement at the earliest, if we want to avoid much (sic) huddles in 2016 Presidential elections.”

Recommendation (f) states; “Therefore, we passionately recommend that Mr Paul Kihika, a Movement cadre (a senior government officer in the Civil Service of Uganda) be made Managing Director, UBC,” further noting in bold that “he has all the required qualifications and experience as stipulated by the UBC Act. He will win back UBC to the Movement and employ other Movement cadres to control the affairs of UBC.”

The two recommendations were effected in May. But in a petition to the President dated October 11, 2011, Mr Musinguzi Mugasa, who is asking for his old job back effectively, accuses Kihika of authoring what he calls the dubious dossier to facilitate his “fraudulent take-over of the UBC top job” by tarnishing other people’s names.
In effect, Kihika is accused of writing a dossier and turning around to recommend himself for the job he had always craved in recommendation (f).

In his petition to the President, Musinguzi says the allegations Kihika (the dossier) made had no merit because they are not backed by evidence. Information separately obtained by this newspaper shows that Mr Kihika twice applied unsuccessfully for the job of MD.

A score sheet for the recruiting firm Profiles International hired by UBC to interview for the MD disqualified Kihika after he apparently failed the aptitude test. Another recruiting agency UNISIS also did not shortlist him. According to the score sheet, 11 individuals passed the aptitude test and were recommended for further interviews; six did not pass and were therefore not shortlisted while one was described as a “No Show” because he did not turn up for the interviews.

Mr Kihika did not answer calls to his two known mobile phones and attempts to get him through his office were futile by the time we went to press. But various sources pointed to him as the source of the dossier. The claim could, however, not be independently verified as dossiers normally do not carry names of their authors.

So how did Kihika eventually get the job?
Sources point to a deep rooted power struggle in the corporation. It can be an easy cash-cow they say as Mr Musinguzi pointed out in his petition to the President, he said in 2007 he inherited a limping organisation that was making less than a billion shillings a year but within a year it had made Shs7.6b and was projected to make Shs9.6b in the financial year 2010-2011. Much of the money was made off the lucrative World Cup finals rights the corporation secured for the July 2010 tournament in South Africa.

But with a network the size of UBC and physical assets it already owns, the national broadcaster is the envy for any media manager and a sweet pie for politicians, especially those seeking to win over rural conservative sections of the population hardly reached by the FM radio phenomenon.

As part of its transformation, UBC has also seen rapid expansion of its coverage and aggressive drive into the FM band from the Short Wave and Medium Wave frequencies to compete better with liberalised FM radio market.
But beyond the money is the political patronage and associated favours it can buy. To back his initial unsuccessful bid for the top job at UBC, Mr Kihika called to his cadreship and strong support for the Movement party. For referees, he put Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, former Local Government junior minister Hope Mwesigye and Uganda Communications Commission boss Eng. Godfrey Mutabazi.

Kihika had previously worked as manager for a radio station in Kanungu owned by Mr Mbabazi. Sources say the recruitment of new staff under Mr Kihika might need to be watched as suspicion lingers that several people have been employed outside the normal public service procedure.

Why the sackings?
Suspicion is also high over the sackings and unilateral interdictions since the new management took over the national broadcaster. It is no surprise therefore that even Musinguzi, in seeking to win his old job back (for which he had a five-year contract) is also appealing to credentials as a cadre.

“I am a trained cadre and member of the former UPM party and currently chairman of the NRM-O at Kazinga zone, Kiwatule, Nakawa Division.” And from his Masters’ Degree in Public Administration and management, a Bachelor of Laws and other qualifications Musinguzi quotes a certificate in basic military training from the National Leadership Institute, Kyankwanzi. From all the issues underlying, the UBC, a news organisation, has turned into news itself.

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