Paul Mwiru, the former Jinja East Member of Parliament on the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) ticket who later crossed to the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) and is currently with the National Unity platform (NUP), has reportedly grabbed Busoga Radio One from the Kyabazinga of Busoga and Paul Waiswa Mugoya, who were originally shareholders and rightful owners of the radio station.
Busoga Radio One, a prominent media outlet in the region that was opened with the aim of empowering listeners with knowledge of the Kingdom and to effectively participate in socio-economic development projects for the region, has been grabbed by politicians.
Mwiru, who was initially brought on board by Mugoya at the request of the Kyabazinga to find a suitable person to run the radio station on behalf of the Kingdom and was allocated 10% shares of the radio station, has skillfully made himself comfortable as the sole owner by grabbing the radio.
Originally the radio was left to be run by Mwiru while the Kyabazinga was busy with kingdom affairs. Mugoya, on the other hand, was busy with his Airtel and rice business investments in Tanzania, leaving Mwiru to consolidate the plan to grab.
The grabbing was discovered when the Kyabazinga and Mugoya proposed to take stock of their investments in the radio so that they could convert them into shares in 2021. Mwiru to date has been dodging the proposed meetings.
According to sources, Mwiru, who originally owned another company called BIT Technology Ltd. alongside Robert Kawanzi Ngobi, Timothy Ssewanyana, and John Kalwanyi, held a meeting on April 2, 2024, where they resolved to rename BIT Technology Ltd. to Busoga 90.6 FM Ltd. using the same location and frequency of Kyabazinga 90.6 FM radio.
According to documents seen by this publication, Mwiru shamelessly applied to the Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB) and has his BIT Technology Ltd. renamed Busoga 90.6 FM Ltd. on April 19, 2024, eliminating the Kyabazinga and Paul Mugoya from the radio and its management.
Following the grabbing and incorporation of BIT Uganda Technology Ltd. into Busoga One Radio 90.6FM, Mwiru went ahead and changed the URA portal TIN login details.
“Without consent from Kyabazinga and other shareholders, URA on September 13, 2024, changed URA portal login credentials,” the source added.
What shocked the Kyabazinga is that no call was made by URA to any of the contact persons before this change.
The source went on to say that Mwiru, after grabbing the radio station, is using it for political reasons where only political shows are run and hosting only NUP politicians who are laying their political ambitions for 2026. Even government programs are sometimes frustrated, including but not limited to the Electoral Commission.
“The station no longer broadcasts or hosts anything to do with the Kyabazinga and Busoga developmental programs; for instance, during the Kyabazinga’s 10th coronation on September 13, 2024, the radio team was almost denied the funding to broadcast the live shows; the team left for Buyende at around 10:00 AM due to the reluctance of Mwiru to authorize the resources for the broadcast, and neither can the Kyabazinga appoint anyone to work at the station because Mwiru has full control since he grabbed it,” the source noted.
While Kyabazinga William Gabula Nadiope IV was celebrating his 10th coronation anniversary on Friday, September 13, 2024, in Buyende district, Mwiru dodged the function instead he gave him a “Birthday Present” of locking him out of his radio and URA TIN account by changing the login credentials.
This move has sparked outrage among the local communities, Kyabazinga’s subjects, and local community leaders, who view it as a blatant violation of the law and an attack on the Kingdom and Kyabazinga.
“This is not just about a radio station; it’s about the integrity and respect of our kingdom and its king and our media landscape. We will not stand by and allow this to happen,” a kingdom official said.
The takeover has drawn widespread condemnation from various subjects of the Kingdom and stakeholders who are calling for an immediate investigation into the matter.
Critics argue that such actions undermine the reason for setting up Busoga One Radio 90.6 FM and the principles of the Busoga, who respect their Kyabazinga as their father and head of Busoga.
Local stakeholders have been urged to intervene and restore rightful ownership of the station. Efforts to reach the kingdom katukiro were fruitless, as he was reported to be in Dubai for the kingdom activities.