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By Aggrey Baba
Kasambya County Member of Parliament and Secretary General of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), Hon. David Kabanda, has dismissed claims that he was suspended from NBS TV’s Barometer talk show.
Speaking with defiance, Kabanda insists that he left on his own terms and will not be held hostage by the station’s top management.
In a strongly worded statement, Kabanda accused NBS TV of suppressing free speech while claiming to champion it. “I have my constitutional right to express my views, and I will not let NBS pretend to allow free speech while decorating how it is exercised,” he said.
According to Kabanda, his departure was not a dismissal but a voluntary decision. He pointed to a public notice issued by Next Media CEO, Dr. Kin Kariisa, on March 18, just days after the controversial Kawempe North by-election, to which he on the same day responded with a tweet, reading, “kababakube! Sijja kudda,” as confirmation that he was never fired.
That election saw multiple journalists, including some from NBS, subjected to violence at the hands of security operatives.
Unlike others who have no alternative platforms, the PLU secretary General has many media platforms to speak from. He is a man of many options, regularly appearing on Bukedde TV, CBS FM, NBS Terefayina, and many other big media platforms.
Kabanda’s supporters have this Thursday, afternoon, taken to social media to reinforce his stance, emphasizing that their PLU SG does not need NBS to reach his audience. As General Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s second-in-command at PLU, they argue that Kabanda enjoys widespread access to the media and public engagements across Uganda.
This standoff with NBS is not the first time the media house has been at loggerheads with key political figures. Not long ago, the station clashed with National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, leading to a widespread boycott of Next Media by his footsoldiers.
Despite the controversy, Kabanda remains unmoved, declaring that he will continue to express his views freely, whether on NBS or elsewhere. “No one can silence me. I speak for the people, and I will always have a platform,” he affirmed.
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