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Mengo, NMG-U editors forge closer work ties
Mr Tabu Butagira, the NMG-U Managing Editor (C), shakes hands with Mr Israel Kazibwe, the newly appointed Buganda Kingdom Information minister, during a meeting at Monitor Publications Limited offices in Namuwongo, Kampala, yesterday. Mr Kazibwe was accompanied by Mr Dennis Jjuko, a communications consultant (L) and Mr Frobisher Bwanika Mujuzi, the communications officer and head of Buganda Media Centre (R). They were received by Mr Yasin Mugerwa, the Daily Monitor News Editor, Mr Robert Madoi, the Weekend Editor, and Ms Shabibah Nakirigya, a reporter. PHOTO/STEPHEN OTAGE
What you need to know:
- Mr Tabu Butagira, the NMG-U managing editor, the Weekend Editor, Mr Robert Madoi and the News/Assignments Editor, Mr Yasiin Mugerwa, congratulated the minister on his appointment at a youthful age and the removal, by Unesco, of Kasubi Tombs from the endangered World Heritage Sites.
Buganda Kingdom and Nation Media Group-Uganda (NMG-U) editors have agreed to work together in bolstering a relationship on both sides, underlined as important and mutually beneficial.
The commitments were made during two separate meetings yesterday – one at NTV-Uganda offices at Kampala Serena Hotel and another at Monitor Publications Ltd headquarters in Namuwongo, a city suburb.
The kingdom’s new Information minister, Mr Israel Kazibwe, led a four-member team to both interfaces during which he outlined his vision and expectations alongside that of Mengo to “move together” with the media conglomerate.
“There are many media houses, but they are not believed like Monitor (newspaper). When it (information) appears there (in the newspaper), then it is believed,” he said, commending the publication for courage and risks it has taken in its coverage of the kingdom and touchy subjects.
The kingdom minister added: “We really thank you for the good work done. If we do not appreciate it, we will not be good leaders.”
The Daily Monitor newspaper and NTV-Uganda are owned by NMG-U alongside, Spark TV, KFM and Dembe FM radios, representing the largest and most influential private media house in the country.
Mr Tabu Butagira, the NMG-U managing editor, the Weekend Editor, Mr Robert Madoi and the News/Assignments Editor, Mr Yasiin Mugerwa, congratulated the minister on his appointment at a youthful age and the removal, by Unesco, of Kasubi Tombs from the endangered World Heritage Sites.
The mausoleum where former Buganda kings are interred was gutted in March 2010 and after a dozen years of closure for reconstruction, Mengo culture and tourism minister Anthony Wamala announced the site will reopen by next month.
At yesterday’s meeting, Mr Butagira underlined their commitment to maintain open channels with Mengo for candid conversations, including on polarising matters, and underlined the need for continued engagements on important cultural, national and developmental issues.
“The founding creed of the Monitor, as enunciated in the maiden editorial of the newspaper, is promotion of democracy, human rights and good governance. That’s why we do [the journalism] that we do the way we do it, despite the risks,” he said.
Mr Madoi commended Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II for his frontline role in the HIV/Aids fight and other health initiatives such as the Cancer Run.
Mr Mugerwa said through collaborations, NMG-U and Mengo have “consciously worked with the Kabaka and the people of Buganda in many aspects that have impacted lives in the kingdom and beyond”.
“We thank the Kabaka for entrusting young people with key leadership roles in the kingdom. We are hopeful that Owekibwa Israel Kazibwe is going to infuse an innovative spirit at the information docket…,” he noted.
In a rejoinder, the new minister noted that they are due to establish a website but have set up Buganda Media Centre as a one-stop centre to clear communication across all of Mengo government and the royal household.
Earlier at the meeting at Serena, Mr Julian Mwine, the head of news at NMG-U, and the guests discussed the need for open communication channel, respectful treatment of journalists assigned to cover the kingdom and attention to culturally sensitive matters.
