By KT Reporter
Paul Mwiru, the Managing Director of Busoga One Radio, says they have resolved to sue the Jinja Resident City Commissioner (RCC), Richard Gulume, for blocking their end-of-year music festival. The festival, codenamed “Endigito Mudido, Tunga Ntunge,”, was scheduled for Sunday, December 7th, 2025, at the Jinja City Agricultural Showgrounds.
Gulume issued a letter cancelling the event, citing fears that it would be used as a campaign platform for opposition politicians. Mwiru, the National Unity Platform (NUP) chairperson for Busoga West and party candidate for Jinja South East, petitioned the Internal Affairs Minister, Kahinda Otafiire, expressing dissatisfaction with Gulume’s decision.
In a December 5th, 2025 letter, Otafiire instructed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to allow the festival to proceed, noting that although the cancellation was premised on political concerns, it was unavoidable for political statements to emerge during a political season.
“The reason to stop this event is that this is a political season. I want to guide that the event should be allowed to take place. In this political period, political statements are not banned, and we must be seen to allow political space,” reads the letter in part.
However, Gulume disregarded Otafiire’s directive and deployed police officers to disperse the radio’s setup teams at the venue. Some vendors and revelers, unaware of the cancellation, flocked to the venue on Sunday morning, prompting police to disperse them with beatings and teargas.
Mwiru says they applied for police clearance on August 19th, 2025, which was received the next day. He adds that the IGP cleared the event on Aug 27th, advising them to liaise with the Kiira Regional Police Commander (RPC) and other local authorities.
He says the RPC notified them of the clearance and directed them to work with the Jinja Central Division Police Commander (DPC). The DPC later linked them to crime intelligence officers, who inspected the venue and recommended the necessary security manpower.
According to Mwiru, they informed Gulume about the event a month later, and he consented to their arrangements. But on December 3rd, 2025, Gulume invited them for a final meeting with the city security committee, questioning whether NUP presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi would attend. They denied knowledge of such plans, saying Kyagulanyi was engaged in nationwide campaigns.
Mwiru says Gulume then ordered them to remove King Saha, Kabaako, and Eezy D from the list of performers, arguing that the trio are opposition artists whose messages might push political narratives. He adds that Gulume later summoned them on Dec 4th, 2025, informing them that the event had been cancelled because security teams would not be able to stop the banned artists from accessing the venue.
Mwiru notes that this communication came after all 38 artists, seven DJs, the stage owner, sound team, fireworks crew, and others had already been fully paid. Citing Article 26, which guarantees Ugandans the right to engage in lawful income-generating activities, Mwiru says they have resolved to sue Gulume and the Attorney General for causing financial loss.
He says the event involved activations across Busoga Sub–region, outdoor advertising, venue hire, tax remittances, and other costs amounting to about 400 million shillings. Their lawyers are currently assessing damages before filing the lawsuit.Mwiru further argues that Busoga One Radio has been repeatedly targeted by Gulume, citing a May 2025 petition in which the RCC asked the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to cancel the station’s licence for hosting Kyagulanyi, whom he accused of undermining government programmes like Emyoga and the Parish Development Model.
Following the complaint, UCC suspended the station’s morning show presenters, John Odwori and Innocent Anyole, for six months, accusing them of bias while hosting Kyagulanyi. Mwiru says they applied for renewal of their operational licence three months ago and paid the required fees, but UCC has yet to respond.
He accuses Gulume of authoring fake intelligence reports aimed at crippling him financially because of his affiliation with NUP, prompting Busoga One Radio to petition the court. Mwiru argued that, “Gulume uses fake intelligence reports and UCC to suppress me, but this might not end with me alone, but rather spread to other people. So, we have resolved to sue him individually as a means of taming his impunity, targeting to suppress the economic rights of individuals attached to the opposition.” Meanwhile, Gulume insists the decision was made by the city security committee and declined to give further details.
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