On Our Radar

Uganda, Germany & Czechia

3 July 2026

On Our Radar this week: the Ugandan military forces Nation Media Group off-air, German states openly concede that electoral politics is shaping public media funding decisions, and a politician’s attacks on a Czech Television journalist. 

On Our Radar this week…

PMA is highly concerned by the military-ordered shutdown of Nation Media Group (NMG) in Uganda, which forced NTV Uganda and Spark TV off-air in the early hours of Sunday morning and placed the group’s Kampala offices under what NMG has described as a “military siege”. The shutdown order to the public interest media organisation came from Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of President Yoweri Museveni, who declared in a series of social media posts that NMG and its subsidiaries, including the Daily Monitor, would only be permitted to resume operations under his direct supervision. He further asserted, “I do not believe in a free press.” NMG Managing Director Susan Nsibirwa warned of the country’s increasingly authoritarian direction and while the ICT minister has defended the blockade as a “security-led inquiry”, NMG has been given no indication of how long the shutdown will last. We are concerned about the use of “security” concerns as a legitimate pretext for placing an independent newsroom under military control. The demand that East and Central Africa’s largest independent media group must operate under the personal oversight of the armed forces’ commander does not align with any credible conception of press freedom. PMA calls on the Ugandan authorities to lift the blockade immediately and unconditionally, allow NMG’s outlets to resume operations free of any military oversight, and guarantee the safety of the group’s journalists and staff. Read more via the Daily Monitor. 

Meanwhile, PMA is watching developments in Germany, where there are concerns that decisions on public media funding are being driven by electoral politics. On 23 June, the Federal Constitutional Court heard ARD and ZDF’s complaint against the federal states’ refusal to implement the household fee (Rundfunkbeitrag) increase recommended by the independent KEF commission, a procedure designed precisely to keep public media financing at arm’s length from the state, and from which states may deviate only in narrow, justified circumstances. In court, Saxony-Anhalt State Minister Rainer Robra, a member of the conservative CDU, acknowledged that this refusal was driven by the upcoming state elections and the risk of strengthening the far-right AfD, which opposes public media. Robra remarked that the states could not be expected to jeopardise their own political survival, confirming that the states will not adopt a new financing treaty before 2027. In response, ZDF Director General Norbert Himmler stressed that compliance with the agreed procedure carries intrinsic democratic value, while ARD chair Florian Hager warned that the broadcasters have been left without planning certainty. PMA shares these concerns. The AfD, which is leading polls in Saxony-Anhalt by a wide margin ahead of September’s election, has pledged to cancel the media state treaties and dismantle the household fee funding mechanism altogether. However, withholding needs-based funding to avoid electoral backlash negates the very premise that the funding model is designed to establish: that financing is a matter of legal obligation, rather than political convenience. PMA urges all parties ahead of the coming elections to commit to the public media funding model, acknowledge public service media is a critical democratic cornerstone, and refrain from using public service media as a political football. Read more via ZDFheute. 

Finally, PMA stands in solidarity with Czech Television (ČT) foreign correspondent Helena Truchlá, who was subjected to repeated personal attacks, including comparisons to Nazis, by SPD leader Tomio Okamura during a recent interview. In a statement published on 28 June, ČT condemned the remarks in the strongest terms, describing them as far beyond the bounds of acceptable political conduct, and noted that Truchlá conducted the interview professionally and in line with journalistic standards, remained calm despite repeated invective, and ended the interview only when the insults escalated. We echo ČT’s expectation that respect for journalistic work is owed by all prominent public figures, and especially by Okamura who, as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, is one of the most senior constitutional officials in the Czech Republic. Verbal attacks on journalists are attacks not only on individuals but on media freedom and the public’s right to independent information. It is all the more troubling that this incident comes as Czech public media already face sustained pressure. As we set out in our previous OOR edition, PMA remains deeply disappointed by the government-approved bill to abolish the licence fee for ČT and Czech Radio, and maintains its position that the Czech government must halt this legislation and engage in genuine consultation with the broadcasters and civil society. Read more via Czech Television. 

PMA Advocacy Team