By John V Sserwaniko
Until Ag TV Manager Nada Andersen came into the picture a few months ago, Mzee Tony Owana proudly lived as a leading employee of Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC). The veteran journalist had for 7 years (since 2011) served as TV Manager TV section at UBC. Nada came as part of the UBC Revamp Committee that was sent to do a specific assignment of the President which is to right the wrongs of past managements and revive UBC into the model public broadcaster it was meant to be from the very beginning. Having been assigned the same role, Nada inevitably displaced Owana from his influential position and she went as far as insisting that if he must remain part of UBC, a new role (totally having nothing to do with broadcasting) should be found for the very outspoken and well known Owana. This impending obscurity naturally rattled Mzee Owana and since that proposal began to be mooted, Owana who is arguably one of Uganda’s longest serving journalists has been speaking his mind. And in his public outbursts, clearly disputing the impact the Revamp Team has had at UBC, Owana has taken no prisoners. There is nervousness that his outspokenness, epitomized by the strongly-worded missive he published in the Observer last Wednesday, cold even ignite a staffers’ strike at UBC many of his long serving employees are nervous they are going to be laid off to give way for more prolific news reporters, presenters and talk show hosts. Only a few days ago, an audio recording showing Nada badmouthing Owana went viral and sparked raging public debate with many condemning and others siding with Nada who has since objected to the recording on grounds it was dubiously recorded and circulated by one of the UBC staffers with whom she thought she was having a frank private discussion. But who is this grey-haired Mzee Tony Owana whose predicament has ignited so much public debate both in the mainstream and social media platforms? We unmask him for you in this special report.
HIS LIFE STORY;
Having for long practiced both print and electronic journalism, Owana is easily ranked among Uganda’s most experienced and history-knowledgeable journalists. Regarding print, he edited Sunrise, a weekly newspaper famous for its insightful analysis before defecting to Red Pepper whose upcountry section he edited for a good number of years. After Namanve, Owana who for many years was a pioneer panelist of radio talk shows (like Simba FM’s Olutindo) was hired by Kin Kariisa whose NBS TV had just started political talk shows. Owana popularly moderated a show called Barometer on which he hosted big political names like Col Kizza Besigye and others. He was a leading NBS figure at the time Kayunga riots (2009) erupted and NBS got temporarily closed for its live coverage of the same. After NBS, which he left under circumstances that are unclear to us, Owana joined UBC where many felt he would forever be at home given the way the Museveni government adherents liked his programs that many dismissed as bordering on doing propaganda for the state.
MOVING ENCYCLOPEDIA;
Largely because of his ability to keep many old newspaper cuttings, many refer to him as Uganda’s moving library. Before joining UBC some 7 years ago, grey-haired Owana had worked at a number of media houses. A source of inspiration to many young journalists, he is seen as one who has seen and done it all. Sometime ago, this writer caught up with Mzee Owana for an interview at his modest office at UBC and in his jocular humorous trade mark style; Owana took us through his life story-before and after becoming a journalist.
WHAT HE TOLD US;
He says having chosen not to go very far with formal education; he began conventional journalism in the early 1980s and cut his teeth at Munansi (Citizen) which was a DP-owned paper that specialized on highly opinionated articles against the Obote II regime. But even earlier on, Owana who was to learn a lot of his journalism through apprenticeship rather than through training, had tried his hand at journalism. At Caltec Academy, which is one of the many Catholic schools he went to, Owana founded “The Caltec Mirror” which he served as chief editor. That was in early 1980s and having grown up in a DP home, he often used this school’s newsletter to pour out his anti-Obote venom. Ps Solomon Male, who physically resembles him, was Owana’s other partner in crime at Caltec Academy. The two youngsters used their newsletter to expose what they thought where the excesses of the UPC regime. This didn’t come without risk. Within no time the school, which had the likes of Shaban Bantariza, Maj Frank Banana, ISO boss Ronnie Balya and others became famous for its anti-Obote student activism. Prompted by John Tibiringirwa, one of the teachers who was pro-UPC, Obote’s Special Forces stormed the school one day and caused lots of mayhem. They only ended their ‘siege’ after negotiations with school authorities.
OWANA MEDIA LIAISONS;
Apart from Munansi, where he hardly earned any pay, Owana joined Weekend Digest which was based at Jumbo Plaza building. This was in 1986 and the paper’s founders included Wilson Wandera, Mashate and Charles Owor, a DA, who had previously served as manager of the state parastatal Foods & Beverages. Hardly two years later (in 1988), the paper was closed for “recklessly” writing a story showing that the nascent NRA government was about to be overthrown in a military coup. While at Digest, Owana met his wife who was a secretary in the same company. They live in Najjera and have three biological children together. With his babe, Owana moved on to work with “The Telecast” which preceded the founding of New Vision. Charles Banya, the brother to Ban Café owner, owned this Telecast newspaper. Owana worked with Telecast for three years after which he briefly worked with Tarehe Sita owned by the then very revolutionary NRA. Because it was monthly, Owana double-timed with Citizen Newspaper which was owned by DP- leaning activists. The editors were Joseph Kiggundu and leading DP ideologue JB Kakooza, the husband of IGG Irene Mulyagonja. In most of these places, Owana was always with his close pal Tom Mugerwa who works on the UPDF publications. The Citizen was highly opinionated and came out once a week. It had strictly 6 pages, most of which were opinions spinned by the editors to keep the new NRM/A regime under check. This meant Owana, who was paid per story, hardly had any income to write home about. He recalls some of his peers and contemporaries who worked for other media houses including Tamale Mirundi, John Kakande, Haruna Kanabi and BBC’s Henry Gombya who (Owana recalls) for many years was the only journalist who had a car in Kampala. This was at a time when even editors and media owners used to walk on foot. Some years later, Owana also worked with Daily Topic which was owned by three Museveni ministers namely Bidandi Ssali, Kivejinja and Kintu Musoke. JB Wasswa, a veteran journalist, was his editor at Topic which for a long time was the leading newspaper in Uganda. At the Topic which was based in Katwe, despite his drinking habits, Owana was easily respected by fellow reporters and editors because of the unique feature stories he used to write. He recalls drinking with Mzee Wasswa Lule who was the deputy IGG in the new NRM government. The two would drink at a bar at National Theatre and Owana seems to suggest being a drunkard can enhance a scribe’s chances to deepen his or her sources. At Topic, he also covered many stories during the CA campaigns (1993-94) and recalls one of the best shots he ever took and was published was a photo of then EC boss Stephen Akabway while at a rally in Kawempe. Those days, contestants had joint rallies and Meddie Kaggwa, who became Owana’s close friend in CA defeated all the others for the Kawempe slot.
GETTING ARRESTED;
Owana, who has many admirers, readers and followers as a prolific writer and a broadcaster in the later years, can’t recall how many stories and opinions or features he has written. However, he remembers that a couple of them have been very controversial and resulted into him being arrested. One was in 1987 when he was associated with a story that alleged that 27 NRM/A cadres had died of rabies while training at Kyankwanzi. He recalls they believed the story was credible because the source was a credible serving officer in government. He was charged for publishing false news under Section 50 of the Penal Code Act. The judge was lenient though, having failed to establish malicious intent, and sentenced him with a caution and let him go.
RATTLES SEJUSA;
The other story around the same time carried a picture of a mansion in Lungujja and claimed the house belonged to Gen David Tinyefuza who was then a very powerful NRA commander. Tinyefuza, while burning in a rage, sent four rand rovers full of soldiers to pick poor Owana. He was immediately arraigned before Tinyefuza in Lubiri barracks where he had his base. A fire-spitting Sejusa grilled Owana demanding to know who of his NRA colleagues had given him such a bad story about him. Sejusa actually demanded that Owana demonstrates good faith by writing another story the next day exposing the real owner (now one of the ex-NRA commanders in exile). Owana recalls Sejusa offered to facilitate him with all the facts to publish the story in return for his freedom. “I feared and I told him sir, if I have been in so much trouble with you yet I consider you more lenient than that commander [names withheld], how can I dare publish that one?” Owana recalls. In the end, the owner of the newspaper Charles Banya intervened and Sejusa forgave Owana. Banya had in 1981 helped Sejusa escape from Jinja road police detention along with Jim Muhwezi after being detained there for subversive activities by Obote’s UNLA men.
ANGERS MATAYO KYALIGONZA;
The other risky story Owana recalls related to then much dreaded Brig Matayo Kyaligonza. The report was that Museveni was angry and had demoted Kyaligonza. Kyaligonza used his friends in police to have the Owanas summoned at CID headquarters near parliament and charged with publication of false news. Before joining Sunrise newspaper that was based at National Theatre after which he defected to Red Pepper in early 2000s, Owana worked at Tamale Mirundi’s “The Voice” as an editor. He says because he had no appointment letter in the first place, his departure from Voice was as unceremonious as his entry. He recalls leaving Sunrise, which he used to represent on numerous radio talk shows in the late 1990s, while terribly ill suffering from TB which he battled for many years. “I had to make choices between continuing to booze and smoke and abandoning it all to save my life. I chose the latter and it was possible by God’s grace,” says Owana adding that he has miraculously not smoked or boozed again since 2004.
OWANA’S CHILDHOOD;
His mum was a teacher (a Muganda) and dad (an Iteso) was a civil servant in the colonial service. His father was at some point a district administrator and a soldier in KAR (King African Rifles) at another. He mostly grew up with his mum in Nsambya at a place which later became Nsambya Estates. Owana did his elementary education at Mugwanya Preparatory School in Kaboja and Savio Kisubi. These are staunch Catholic schools. At Savio, he was active in the drama club and did his PLE in 1975 after which he joined St. Mary’s Kisubi (Smack). After one year he was expelled for escaping to go swimming in nearby Nabinonya swamps on the shores of Lake Victoria. He then joined Namiryango College where he was also expelled for sneaking into the girls’ dormitory. This clearly shows you his notoriety started way back in life. Owana’s OBs at Smack included lawyers Oscar Kihika, Byenkya and Eng Nicolas Semujju. At Namiryango College his classmates included veteran scribe Robert Kalundi Serumaga and lawyer John Matovu. City tycoon Patrick Bitature was the other. After being expelled from Namiryango, a school that famously never tolerated stubborn kids, Owana joined Kitante Hill for his S3. He says this was easily possible because the head teacher was a family friend. His group was the first ones to do UNEB exams for S4-otherwise it was always called East African Examinations.
POLITICS AT KITANTE;
As he studied at Kitante, Owana lived at his Cousin Joy Nsubuga’s home. She was living in KCC flats in Kamwokya. Kitante, which was Owana’s first time in a day school, had many politically active kids. Many were children of UPC parents and even had pistols. This was around the 1980 elections and political debates were common at the school, often ending in physical fights between DP and UPC students in the valley near the school. Owana, who despised the UPCs for the arrogance and violence with which they acted, belonged to DP. That is how he became active as a cheer leader at DP rallies addressed by the likes of Sebaana Kizito, Hajji Ali Serunjogi, Ojok Muloozi, Nasser Sebaggala and others. In the end, politically very agitated Owana failed his exams necessitating repeating his S4. He says in holiday he used to watch films/movies at Norman Cinema (current Watoto Church), Nita Cinema (current Theatre Labonita) and others. His mum would give him money. We also asked him about his fascination with caricatured pictures of army men hanging everywhere in his office and he says: “I do that out of honor for the NRA men who saved us from the Obotes who were treating us like coach roaches but it’s also true I was fascinated by that while at Smack because I remember we used to call ourselves General so and so trying to mimic the famous Generals of the Amin era.” After Caltec Academy, where he still didn’t perform very well in his S6 exams, Owana called it quits with books but now says he wants to re-join school soon (as of 2014) “in order to acquire the relevant formal skills in what I already know how to do.” He says in his retirement he intends to establish a library to aid budding reporters’ efforts at research. “As you see I have collected a lot of material and newspaper cuttings of some of the articles that can’t easily be found anywhere,” he says as he shows us several of such newspaper cuttings including his own stories in the “Caltec Mirror” which he co-authored with Ps Solomon Male. For comments, call/text/whatsapp us on 0703164755!
