It’s sad 100 years later, we have only two newspapers to count
Today is World Freedom Day. This year is special as it marks 100 years since the first newspaper, Agafa e Mengo, owned by the Buganda monarchy, hit the stalls in Uganda. Munno followed in 1911 and Uganda Herald in 1912.
By Nsereko Kagwa
Today is World Freedom Day. This year is special as it marks 100 years since the first newspaper, Agafa e Mengo, owned by the Buganda monarchy, hit the stalls in Uganda. Munno followed in 1911 and Uganda Herald in 1912.
Today, New Vision and The Monitor command an international appeal. Should we call this growth. If so, what would we have said if Agafa e Mengo, Munno, Matalisi, and Uganda Herald had lived to this day? Uganda Herald and Matalisi folded in 1955 and Munno persevered for 95 years until 1989. ‘The death’ rate of newspapers in Uganda is very high. It is sad that a century later, we can cite only two national dailies, New Vision and The Monitor.
Harassment and intimidation from the protectorate government is partly to blame for the demise of some pre-independence newspapers. For example, when Indian owners of Uganda Herald announced its ‘death at a press conference on May 13, 1955, they only said, “We have folded.†No questions. No explanation. But those present saw the reason in their faces, others read it in their tone. From the late 1920s, Uganda Herald was basically a voice for Ugandans of Indian origin who were demanding equal civil rights. I was thus a voice for the voiceless and echoed the popular demands for self-determination.
When the government instituted stringent measures to contain ‘hostile’ political activities, the press was caught in the crossfire. Libel and sedition provisions in the Penal Code Act bit harder. The proprietors were overwhelmed by court fines, jail terms and lack of advertisements from government departments. On July12, 1959, Police besieged and searched Uganda Empya and Obugaga, sending workers into fear and adversely affecting copy flow. Recently, history seemed to repeat itself. One hopes it won’t happen again.
Ironically the first government newspaper, Uganda Argus was born in 1955 just as the first independent paper, Uganda Herald was breathing its last. Renamed The Voice of Uganda, Uganda Times and now New Vision, by successive regimes, the government paper was meant to counter dissenting views. Governments today must realise that an independent press is an important benchmark of democratic governance. Only then shall we have meaningful World Freedom Day celebrations.
Today is World Freedom Day. This year is special as it marks 100 years since the first newspaper, Agafa e Mengo, owned by the Buganda monarchy, hit the stalls in Uganda. Munno followed in 1911 and Uganda Herald in 1912.
Today, New Vision and The Monitor command an international appeal. Should we call this growth. If so, what would we have said if Agafa e Mengo, Munno, Matalisi, and Uganda Herald had lived to this day? Uganda Herald and Matalisi folded in 1955 and Munno persevered for 95 years until 1989. ‘The death’ rate of newspapers in Uganda is very high. It is sad that a century later, we can cite only two national dailies, New Vision and The Monitor.
Harassment and intimidation from the protectorate government is partly to blame for the demise of some pre-independence newspapers. For example, when Indian owners of Uganda Herald announced its ‘death at a press conference on May 13, 1955, they only said, “We have folded.†No questions. No explanation. But those present saw the reason in their faces, others read it in their tone. From the late 1920s, Uganda Herald was basically a voice for Ugandans of Indian origin who were demanding equal civil rights. I was thus a voice for the voiceless and echoed the popular demands for self-determination.
When the government instituted stringent measures to contain ‘hostile’ political activities, the press was caught in the crossfire. Libel and sedition provisions in the Penal Code Act bit harder. The proprietors were overwhelmed by court fines, jail terms and lack of advertisements from government departments. On July12, 1959, Police besieged and searched Uganda Empya and Obugaga, sending workers into fear and adversely affecting copy flow. Recently, history seemed to repeat itself. One hopes it won’t happen again.
Ironically the first government newspaper, Uganda Argus was born in 1955 just as the first independent paper, Uganda Herald was breathing its last. Renamed The Voice of Uganda, Uganda Times and now New Vision, by successive regimes, the government paper was meant to counter dissenting views. Governments today must realise that an independent press is an important benchmark of democratic governance. Only then shall we have meaningful World Freedom Day celebrations.