Addressing journalists at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi on Monday, FDC Deputy President Margaret Wokuri Madanda accused the military of occupying Nation Media Group premises without a court order or following due legal process.
The affected media outlets include NTV Uganda, Spark TV, Daily Monitor, The EastAfrican, KFM, Dembe FM, Ennyanda and Nation Courier.
“As we speak now, the Army is still occupying their premises without any court order and no legal procedures were followed,” Madanda said.
She described the closure as “a military coup against the free press” and alleged that it had been carried out with the approval of President Yoweri Museveni.
Madanda argued that no official explanation had been issued by the Uganda Police Force, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) or the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), which she said had remained spectators despite being the communications sector regulator.
The FDC said the closure was part of what it described as a broader pattern of intimidation against critics of the government, citing alleged abductions, torture, illegal detentions and harassment of opposition members.
“The closure of NMG outlets is the latest in a sustained pattern of abductions, torture, illegal detentions and targeted harassment of government critics and opposition members carried out primarily by the Army,” Madanda said.
The opposition party accused the government of disregarding constitutional safeguards by allegedly acting without judicial authorization.
“No court order has been produced. No due legal process has been followed,” she added.
The party further claimed that the latest developments reflected what it described as growing authoritarianism after nearly four decades of President Museveni’s rule.
Madanda said the events reinforced the FDC’s long-held position that democratic institutions had steadily been weakened.
She cited Article 3 of Uganda’s Constitution, which places a duty on citizens to defend the constitutional order against attempts to overthrow it, arguing that recent actions against the media and political opponents should concern all Ugandans.
“These actions of shutting down media houses, abducting lawyers, torturing activists, threatening judges and declaring themselves above the law constitute exactly the kind of conduct that Article 3 was written to resist,” she said.
The FDC called on Ugandans to defend constitutionalism and democratic governance through lawful means.
The government had not immediately responded to the allegations by press time. The UPDF, Uganda Police Force and Uganda Communications Commission had also not issued official statements responding to the FDC’s claims.