Over 1000 Salt TV subscribers on Gotv have told Multichoice to refund their money if they switch off the Christian based channel.

In a letter dated 24th November, 2022, Multichoice Uganda General Manager Hassan Saleh, on behalf of Multichoice Africa Holdings CEO, Fhulufhelo Badugela wrote to Salt TV Managing Director Pastor Aloysious Bujjingo informing him that they will discontinue carriage of Salt TV, on GOtv after 5 January 2023.

In his letter, Mr. Hassan said, “The Channel’s low performance has remained consistent for an extended period of time. Regrettably, due to the ongoing performance failure and the very limited DTT capacity we will discontinue carriage of the Channel, on GOtv after 5 January 2023. Please note that carriage on DStv will continue uninterrupted: however, the channel performance will continue uninterrupted; continue to be monitored.”

“The letter constitutes notice in accordance with clause 5 of the Agreement. Given that carriage of the Channel on DStv will continue, all terms and conditions of the Agreement shall continue to full force and effect. we reserve all right, in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement,” Mr. Hassan added.

A message was sent to every GOtv subscriber informing them that Salt TV will be off GOtv come 5 January, 2023.

This has angered thousands of viewers who religiously follow the channel.

For the record, when salt TV was going to be placed on GOtv and DStv, believers from House of Prayer Ministries International (HPMI), the church that birthed Salt Media, ran a countrywide drive where believers from different parts of the country bought decoders from Multichoice.

Over 5000 decoders were bought in the drive during the promotion with people yearning to follow their favourite programmes especially the famous daily Lunch Hour programmes, Sunday service, Emisingi bible study programme that airs everyday from 8:00-9:00 and the deeply investigative news telecasts.

“There are so many channels currently on GOtv that have no viewership target and even viewers, but salt TV has all that. We are wondering which criteria Mr. Hassan used to come to a conclusion that Salt TV should be off.,” an insider told theGrapevine

The insider added, “Salt is the only brand that advertises all it’s programmes and campaigns without using any other media house and people positively respond from across the whole country. in 2022 alone, we organised crusades in Fort Portal, Mbarara, Masaka, Mbale, Jinja and Kololo airstrip, and these have all been attended by thousands of believers.

“If they claim Salt TV has no viewers, how did we manage to get all those believers to these different grounds in their thousands without any drives, posters or billboards? How did all those people know about these crusades and even attend them in large numbers?”

“We suspect some wrong elements are using some Multichoice bosses to destroy it’s integrity and fight misguided wars which will damage the reputation of the company,” this angry insider said.

“But let us use common sense, how can you say that a TV Station like Salt has viewers on GOtv but has no viewers on the platform of their core market, GOtv? It really beats our understanding,” the insider further told theGrapevine.

“I remember when Pastor told us that Salt TV is going on GOtv, we mobilized neigbours, friends and relatives to buy GOtv decoder. I mobilized over 20 people and they each bought decoders. And these people are still using these decoders and follow Salt TV religiously, how do you them tell me that you are switching it off?” Viola Nabisubi from Bwaise told our reporter.

According to IPSOS, Salt TV is the number one religious television in this category. Among the secular TV stations category, Salt TV is among the top six TV stations.

Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, one of the chief coordinators of Muhoozi army asked if Bujjingo is being witch hunted by elements who hate Muhoozi.

“Our friend & Pastor Bujjingo to be removed off GOtvUganda for supporting Gen @mkainerugaba but why? @MultiChoiceGRP & @DStvUganda let’s be Fair!!!” Balaam Tweeted

Pastor Bujjingo is the official pastor who prays at all Gen Muhoozi’s functions.

With pressure mounting from viewers, On December 22, 2022, Mr. Innocent Mugume, the Dstv Technical Sales Team Leader asked Multichoice management to make further research and new consideration before taking any action (removing Salt TV from GOtv).

“I hereby report about the complaints I have got from several customers concerning the rumours going around about Salt Tv Media being scrapped off. I have personally received a number of calls and messages from over 200 faithful pay-tv viewers that pay monthly and annual subscription because of Salt tv on both Gotv and Dstv platforms. My suggestion is that management should make further research and new consideration before taking any action,” Mr. Mugume pleaded with his bosses.

By Sandra Mukisa

The Administrators of the Estate of Sir Edward Walugembe Muteesa II, the former King of Buganda have hired President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni lawyers to battle city businessman Dr. Muhammad Buwule Kasasa at the Supreme Court over the juicy Mutungo land.

theGrapevine has exclusively learnt that Kabaka Mutebi’s siblings led by Prince David Kintu Wasajja, Princess Dorothy Nassolo, Princess Sarah Kagere, on behalf of their family have instructed K&K Advocates, a law firm owned by President Museveni’s son-in-law Edwin Karugire and the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka to proceed with the appeal after losing at the Court of Appeal.

Last month, three justices of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Christopher Gashirabaki, Justice Elizabeth Musoke, who has since been promoted to the Supreme Court and Justice Eva Luswata dismissed the appeal from the royals and declared Kasasa as the owner of the said land.

The contested land is measuring 640 acres situated at Mutungo, Luzira hill in Nakawa Division Kampala district on Kyadondo Block 237 plot 39, 29, 48, 56, 67, 59, 69, 81, 82, 88, 111, 112, 114, 115, 142, 148, 150, 335, 97, 70, 138, 131, 154, 155, 178, 179, 388 and 410.

Buganda royals claim that Kasasa grabbed their father’s land when he was exiled by former president Milton Obote in 1966 Buganda crisis.

However, Kasasa has evidence that he bought the land legally from the bank after it was mortgaged by the registered owners then Lake View properties limited who bought the land from Muteesa himself during his broke days in exile in UK.

theGrapevine has also established that Kasasa, through his lawyers of SK Kiiza & Company Advocates has protested the royal’s move to hire Museveni’s lawyers to present them at the Supreme Court citing conflict of interest.

The lawyers claim that K&K Advocates cannot represent the petitioners when Attorney General Kiwanuka, a senior patner in the law firm, is a party in the appeal.

The Attorney General was sued jointly with Kasasa and lawyers insist that his law firm cannot represent the other party.

“We are of the strong view that as much as a party is at liberty to choose a lawyer, K&K Advocates is not a suitable law firm to represent parties who are at the same time suing the government through the Attorney General. Definitely, Kiryowa Kiwanuka the Attorney General would be conflicted in this matter,” Kasasa’s lawyers protested.

Kiwanuka was not reached for a comment because he was not picking our calls by press time.

By Sengooba Alirabaki

Artisanal and Small Scale miners in the districts of Busia and Namayingo have appealed to president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni over unfair policies put in place  to regulate mining operations in the country.

The miners through their umbrella body the Uganda Artisanal and Small Scale Miners of Eastern Uganda led by their chairperson Stephen Engidoh Paade claim that the unfair policies and laws are aimed at pushing them out of business to favour the wealthy and big investors in the sector who are basically foreigners.

He  cited policies that ban them from using mercury and the fine of Shs120m as penalty against those found using it.

They are also against the requirement of depositing Shs380m before they start the said business. Paade said that the mining industry employs more than 30,000 people in Busia alone amid challenges of environmental destruction.

He said that while it is true that mercury affects people, there is a need for the authorities to move gradually because the blanket ban on mercury use will be counterproductive.

“Let us sensitise the people on the dangers before doing anything to eliminate it or bring an alternative and also show them what the government intends to do to protect their livelihoods and the environment,” he said.

Paade warned that the blanket ban on mercury use would lead to smuggling it into the country which is against the country’s development. He pleaded to government to provide a solution as an alternative to the use of mercury.

Josephine Aguttu, a leader at Tiira Small Scale Mining Association in Busia District lamented over the gaps in the online system used to apply for license saying it gives speculators a chance to acquire mining licenses on their land leading to disputes.

“It is unfortunate that we had a prospecting exploration that was expiring but upon checking on the cadastral map, it showed that someone else had been given a license on my land where I was earning a living. So the person with a mining license expects me to vacate my land because I am not allowed to mine without permission,” she said.

Aguttu questioned how the person with the mineral right can harmoniously extract without destabilizing the original occupant of the land.

She explained that gold is a commodity that has a ready market but the challenge the miners are facing is how it is valued, since the miners are not in a position to determine the purity of their gold.

“At the Ministry of Energy, there are people working in the laboratories where we take our small gold for testing the purity as we pay taxes to government, but why can’t the government bring such people at regional level so that we can take samples and determine out gold to avoid being cheated at the market” she said.

Stephen Baraza, a miner in Namayingo complained that the Shs120m  fine is an abuse and was made out of a misconception that gold mining is a profitable venture whereas it is not.

“When you look around, people are poor and setting a fine of Shs120m for use of mercury yet there is no alternative means you are going to imprison very many people from the community” said Baraza said.

The miners made the complaints at a meeting held in Busia at the weekend to lay strategies on how to voice out their discontent against the regulations.

Joshua Rukundo, a senior Project officer at Solidaridad, a regional advocacy body said in a separate interview that mining as a source of livelihood is very essential to the society where it is happening and also to the modern civilization.

To ensure sustainable mining, Mr Rukundo said there is need to consider how to carry out the activity without causing the adverse effects to the environment as well as protecting the rights of women and children but with the community in the lead.

He appealed for stakeholder engagements to ensure that the award of mining licenses is done with the rights of land owners and occupants protected to avoid disputes.

“We have to get stakeholders on table to understand that you have a right to mine as per the license but the community has a right to live as per their right to own the land. There has to be a clear way by which a licensed entity agrees legally with land owners to relinquish land and hand it over to the mining activities without being cheated.

Rukundo appealed to authorities to gradually reduce the use of mercury in the gold mines rather than imposing a blanket ban which may not be effective.

“This ban on mercury affects the miners directly and their livelihoods. If the case is that we cannot abolish mercury in one night, efforts should be taken to help the miners to gradually reduce the use of mercury as we explore viable alternatives,” he said.

He added the current alternatives to use are out of the financial ability that the artisanal miners are operating with, like setting up a plant which is expensive for them.

“By implementing the ban, it is going to increase the number of people in prison because of using mercury. Someone looking at Shs100,000 a day and you want them to pay a fine of Shs120m and or three years in prison is not worth it” he said.

Early this year, Parliament passed the Mining and Minerals Act which President Museveni signed in October and it recognizes artisanal miners who are required to pay about Shs380m  for a license.

By Sengooba Alirabaki