Ugandan radio stations KFM and Dembe FM are off air after police raided the offices of the Daily Monitor newspaper in Kampala.
Reports say staff have been denied entry into the media house, though no official communications have been issued on the raid.
The police are said to have surrounded the media house at around midday, cordoning off employees from gaining entry or leaving the building.
Daily Monitor managing director Alex Assimwe said the situation was “surprising and unfortunate”.
“We are seeing police men wielding guns but no one is giving us a communication on what is happening.” Assimwe said. “But we are trying to make sure the situation normalises as early as possible.”
Two of the company’s radio frequencies have been switched off as detectives continue to search the offices. Assimwe said: “KFM and DembeFM have been switched off but I am informed that as soon as the search is over it will be back on air.”
Nation Media Group (NMG), which owns the newspaper, chief operating officer Tom Mshindi said the action was very surprising in a country where discussions on freedom of expression are lively.
“We could have hoped for a prior communication before this happened but we didn’t get it,” Mshindi said.
Security sources say the state is cracking the whip over the media’s reporting of the frenzy surrounding President Museveni’s son Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s prospects for succeeding as president.
General David Sejusa had asked for an investigation to be launched, saying there was a key plot to kill key figures who were opposed to the president’s son taking over the leadership of the country.
The raid comes barely a week after the police raided Sejusa’s offices.
Unconfirmed reports also indicate that the Red Pepper Newspaper, one of the leading tabloid newspapers in Uganda, is also currently under police siege.
