UCC Officials meet Pastors in the central bussiness district Kampala on 12 February 2020. COURTESY PHOTO.
Top officials from Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) have on Wednesday held a meeting with several Born-again Christian leaders in which concern was raised over content on Church-owned TV stations causing ‘disharmony’ within the Christian community.
“We engaged a section of leading Pastors on broadcast programming that is likely to cause religious disharmony,” the statement from UCC reads.
UCC officials observed that “many pastors have embarked on having preaching proceedings as the dominant broadcast content and using the same to attack and insult each other.”
“This is contrary to the Computer Misuse Act, the Penal Code Act and broadcasting standards likely to attract regulatory sanctions in accordance with the Uganda Communications Act, 2013,” the statement adds.
The meeting was attended by Christian leaders including Dr Joseph Serwadda, proprietor of among others Dream TV Uganda and Impact FM, Pastor Aloysius Bujjingo of Salt Media which includes Salt TV and radio, Pastor Jackson Senyonga of Top TV and radio, and Brother Ronnie Makabai, who owns Ark TV. Others included Franklin Mondo Mugisha of Empowerment Christian Centre Church International.
This development comes days after Ms Irene Kaggwa Sewankambo was appointed to act as the executive director of Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), replacing Mr Godfrey Mutabazi, whose 10-year contract expired on February 9.
Ms Sewankambo’s appointment letter was written by ICT Minister, Ms Judith Nabakooba who told media reporters her office is yet to get President Museveni’s response on the request to renew Mr Mutabazi’s contract.
