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Uganda’s first female Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, is once again at the center of public debate after ordering the police to summon Galaxy TV journalist David Mwesigwa, following his pointed questions to President Yoweri Museveni about the state of the country’s health facilities.
During Museveni’s nomination at the Electoral Commission offices in Lweza, Mwesigwa raised serious concerns about overcrowding, poor maternal care, and faulty medical equipment at Mukono Hospital, Kayunga Hospital, and Namuganga Health Center III. He told the President that mothers were giving birth on the floor, oxygen plants at Kayunga Hospital had not worked for more than a year, and that Namuganga Health Center III had only four doctors who did not work on weekends.
President Museveni directed Prime Minister Nabbanja to investigate. Days later, she toured the hospitals. At Mukono Hospital, Nabbanja admitted that patient numbers had overwhelmed the facility, noting that expectant mothers filled both wards and corridors.
Yet, instead of amplifying the journalist’s findings, Nabbanja shifted the narrative when she visited Kayunga Hospital, where she dismissed Mwesigwa’s report on the faulty oxygen plant as “false.” In a dramatic turn, she instructed police to summon the journalist and demanded he retract his statement and apologize to the President.
“He deceived the President by claiming the oxygen plant is not working. I want the commissioner of police here to ensure the man is summoned to make a statement retracting his claims. He must make a statement and apologize to the President,” Nabbanja declared.
Her remarks sparked fears of an escalating crackdown on journalists in Uganda. Reports quickly circulated that Mwesigwa had been arrested, though he later released a video statement saying he was in hiding.
“The Prime Minister ordered my arrest and investigation. However, I am not yet arrested. I am still in hiding,” Mwesigwa confirmed.
The move has raised serious questions about press freedom and government accountability in Uganda. Critics argue that Nabbanja’s actions illustrate the growing risks journalists face when they hold leaders to account — even when those concerns are acknowledged by government officials themselves.
As Uganda’s first female Prime Minister, Nabbanja has often been hailed as a trailblazer. However, her handling of Mwesigwa’s exposé has cast a shadow on her legacy, with rights defenders warning that her directives represent a chilling message to the media: telling the truth about public service failures may come at a personal cost.
Whether or not Mwesigwa will face formal charges remains uncertain, but his ordeal underscores the fragile state of press freedom in Uganda.
