COVID-19 lockdown: curfew-affected radio, TV programmes to return on air

Apr 03, 2020

This was after security cleared journalists who work beyond 7:00pm when the curfew starts, the senior presidential press secretary, Don Wanyama, has revealed.

HEALTH  VIRUS  MEDIA

KAMPALA - Evening and early morning radio and television programmes that had been suspended by various media houses following the announcement of a 14-day curfew will get back on air.

This was after security cleared journalists who work beyond 7:00pm when the curfew starts, the senior presidential press secretary, Don Wanyama, has revealed.

Following President Yoweri Museveni's recent announcement of a countrywide curfew, which took effect on April 1, there has been an interruption of media operations, especially radio and television programmes.

A number of evening and early morning radio and television programmes had as a result been suspended. The curfew that starts at 7:00pm and ends at 6:30am, would only allow security personnel on duty to move at night.

Presenters of evening and early morning programmes would not be allowed to move beyond 7:00pm and before 6:30am. As a result, several radio and television stations had resorted to playing music as fillers for these shows, some of which were informative and educative to the public. Others would air pre-recorded programmes instead of airing them live.

However, government has since lifted the total blockade, and it has allowed such night shows to go on during the curfew. The show hosts and their producers will now be given special access cards that will allow them to move past curfew hours, revealed Wanyama.


"Media colleagues, the Uganda Media Centre (UMC) is to develop special access cards for media houses, to be used by critical staff that have to work past curfew hours. The security ministry has okayed this. You will get in touch with UMC for this," Wanyama tweeted today.       

 

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