KAMPALA - President Yoweri Museveni has appointed veteran journalist Simon Kaheru as head of the newly formed National Strategic Communications Committee (NSCC).
NSCC, which is composed of the public and private sectors, is tasked with co-ordinating and centralising all government communication to promote a more accurate and unified national image.
It was commissioned at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel on May 13, 2025, by ICT state minister Joyce Ssebugwawo on behalf of information minister Chris Baryomunsi.
“The media plays a critical role in shaping how Uganda is perceived both locally and internationally,” Ssebugwawo said before commissioning the committee by waving the national flag.
This is according to a statement by Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID)communications officer Rowland Nkahebwa.
PACEID chairperson and senior presidential advisor on special duties Odrek Rwabwogo stressed that much of the negativity in the media stems from fragmented departmental messaging and a lack of shared national purpose.
“Without a collective vision, we will continue to shoot blanks as a country,” he warned.
Marcella Karekye, the director of the Government Citizen Interaction Centre, presented a paper on the “Persistent Misreporting That Affects the Image of Uganda and Its Exports”.

Simon Kaheru