The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | KRC radio in Fort Portal was on Saturday night switched off under unclear circumstances after presidential candidate Joseph Kabuleta had started speaking.
According to a source who preferred anonymity, Kabuleta had been offered free airtime on KRC from 8:30pm to 10:30pm to enable him to speak to the people of Tooro sub-region.
The source adds that the same program was being linked to Voice of Tooro – VOT FM but about one hour into it, KRC was switched off for about 30 minutes.
“Electricity was on and we had a standby generator. We did not have any technical problem but the listeners informed us that both stations were off. We waited until it was switched on again,” says the source.
However, Kabuleta was able to continue with the program for his online audience which was able to follow his message through a Facebook live stream.
Kabuleta condemned the action and called it a sign of cowardice by the regime which he says is terrified of having his message of financial liberation reach the electorate.
Moments later, the radio was back on air and Kabuleta was allowed to extend his interview to 11:00 pm.
Kabuleta said that the wealth creation and prosperity programmes the government puts in place are merely hoodwinking the masses into believing the government has a plan to help them.
Kabuleta also condemned the government for subjecting the farmers to low prices and yet their produce fetches many times more on the international market, he emphasized this point by citing the tea that the people in Tooro region farm for extremely low prices and yet it fetches a handsome price at the Mombasa auction markets.
Kabuleta blamed the plight of the farmers on the deliberate failing of cooperatives by the government which he says was orchestrated to keep the populace poor and dependent on government.
He cited Kenya where the agriculture sector contributes 20% of the government revenue compared to Uganda where the sector only contributes 1% to state coffers.
He asserts that this is because they lack cooperatives and has prevented farmers from moving beyond subsistence agriculture.
Kabuleta also castigated the government for failing to market the nation’s tourism potential which would have turned a city like Fort Portal into a bustling metropolis.
He stated that Rwanda has managed to attract nearly as many tourists to its tourism attractions because of effective marketing strategies despite having far less natural attractions than Uganda.
Last month, FDC presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat while in the Teso sub-region said that his plans to have talk-shows on radio stations were frustrated. He noted that radio stations that include Etop, Delta and Kyoga Veritas where he had booked for talk shows declined to host him.
The NUP presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi also wrote an official complaint to the Electoral commission citing blocking of access to radio stations among the many violations by the state.
On Wednesday, VOT FM was also switched off for hosting Sylvia Rwabwogo, a candidate in the Fort Portal Tourism City parliamentary race and incumbent Kabarole district Woman Member of Parliament.
Rwabwogo was accused of being Covid-19 positive, something that she refuted. She however said it was a planned move aimed at stopping her from presenting the issues of Kabarole and Fort Portal residents to President Kaguta Museveni who was campaigning in Tooro that day.
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