By Ben Musanje
A legal battle over a televised land dispute has escalated after lawyers representing Single Mother’s Alliance Ltd and its director, Benson Miyingo, petitioned the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to revoke Salt TV’s broadcasting license and suspend two of its presenters over what they describe as repeated violations of Uganda’s broadcasting standards.
The complaint, filed by Kasiko Advocates on June 25, 2026, accuses Salt Media, presenters Charles James Ssenkubuge and Jennifer Nakangubi, commonly known as Full Figure, of broadcasting false, misleading and defamatory information during the June 17 edition of the Omusunsuzi programme under the theme Operation Fika Salaama.
The lawyers argue that the broadcast violated the Uganda Communications Act, 2013, the Minimum Broadcasting Standards and the UCC Consumer Protection Guidelines, and have asked the communications regulator to investigate the broadcaster, suspend the presenters and ultimately revoke Salt TV’s license if the allegations are established.
Background to the dispute
The dispute traces its origins to a long-running land conflict involving 95-year-old Edisa Nalubega and Jesica Nakiwala over Kibanja interests measuring approximately two acres in Kawempe.
According to documents filed by Kasiko Advocates, the two women successfully sued David Kivumbi, Mahadi Katamba and others in Civil Suit No. HCT-00-LD-CS-0176-2019. On July 28, 2023, the High Court’s Land Division ruled that the plaintiffs owned ‘Kibanja’ land interests measuring approximately two acres on land comprised in Kyadondo Block 200, Plots 216 (now 1595, 1594, 1803 and 1804) and Plot 305 at Kawempe.
The court further issued a permanent injunction restraining the defendants, their agents or anyone deriving interest from them from evicting the plaintiffs and awarded the women Shs30 million in general damages.
Kasiko Advocates say that after obtaining the judgment, Nalubega approached Single Mother’s Alliance Ltd seeking assistance to protect her land from what she described as continued encroachment by businessman Mahadi Katamba.
The organization, through its director Benson Miyingo, who operates the TikTok platform “BENSONPROUGOFFICIAL9121”, investigated the matter before publishing videos highlighting Nalubega’s plight and calling for enforcement of the court order.
The lawyers say the social media publications were intended to support an elderly widow seeking justice and to draw public attention to alleged violations of an existing court judgment.
Television broadcast sparks legal fight
The complaint alleges that Salt TV later picked up the TikTok story and discussed it on Omusunsuzi, where presenters Charles James Ssenkubuge and Jennifer Nakangubi ‘Full Figure’ allegedly made several serious allegations against Miyingo and Single Mother’s Alliance without verifying the information or seeking their side of the story.
According to the complaint, the presenters portrayed Miyingo as “a self-seeker and fraudster” who allegedly uses social media to target wealthy individuals by publishing false information before demanding money from them.
Among the statements challenged by the complainants are allegations that Miyingo had previously been convicted on three occasions, imprisoned in Luzira Prison for defaming wealthy people and habitually extorted approximately Shs5 million from his alleged victims.
Kasiko Advocates insist those allegations are false, stating that Miyingo has never been convicted of any criminal offence in Uganda.
The lawyers also accuse the presenters of claiming that Miyingo’s assistance to Edisa Nalubega was merely a scheme to generate sympathy and attract financial gain rather than a genuine effort to protect her land rights.
The complaint further says the programme alleged that Benson uses his TikTok platform as “a new tactic for fraud” by abusing wealthy individuals before demanding money from them.
Kasiko Advocates argue that none of these allegations was supported by evidence and that Salt TV failed to contact Benson or Single Mother’s Alliance before broadcasting them.
Claims over land ownership
Another central issue concerns ownership of the disputed Kibanja interests.
During the broadcast, Salt TV reportedly stated that Mahadi Katamba had lawfully purchased the disputed land from Edisa Nalubega and Jesica Nakiwala.
However, the complainants argue that this information was misleading because the High Court had already recognized the women’s Kibanja interests.
They further allege that the presenters described Nakiwala as “a thief” and accused her of tricking Nalubega into denying previous land sale agreements.
Kasiko Advocates contend that such statements were defamatory and capable of inciting violence among parties involved in the land dispute.
The lawyers further accuse the presenters of making discriminatory remarks against the elderly Nalubega by suggesting she was using her advanced age and physical condition to defraud others.
According to the complaint, these comments violated standards requiring broadcasters to respect vulnerable members of society and avoid discriminatory content.
Broadcaster accused of breaching broadcasting standards
The petition argues that Salt TV violated Section 31 and Schedule Four of the Uganda Communications Act by airing offensive, misleading and defamatory material while failing to observe fairness and impartiality.
Kasiko Advocates argue that the broadcaster ignored the requirement to present both sides of a matter of public controversy before airing allegations capable of damaging reputations.
The lawyers also accuse Salt TV of ignoring a formal complaint and demand letter seeking an apology and redress, contrary to UCC Consumer Protection Guidelines.
They further claim that the station distorted facts to favour businessman Mahadi Katamba without adequately verifying the competing claims surrounding ownership of the land.
The complaint describes the alleged misconduct as “not an isolated error but a continuous display of reckless disregard to professional journalistic ethics.”
The lawyers also reminded the regulator that UCC had previously suspended Omusunsuzi in 2025 over allegations of inappropriate content and unprofessional conduct.
They argue that the latest incident demonstrates a continued pattern of regulatory violations.
Salt Media rejects allegations
Before petitioning UCC, Kasiko Advocates served Salt Media with a demand notice dated June 17, 2026, accusing the broadcaster of publishing misleading information.
In that notice, the lawyers demanded that Salt TV produce documentary proof showing that Nalubega had sold the disputed Kibanja interests to Katamba.
Alternatively, they demanded a public apology during the same television programme together with compensation of Shs100 million for reputational damage and legal costs.
However, Salt Media, through Elgon Advocates, rejected the allegations.
In a response dated June 19, 2026, the broadcaster’s lawyers insisted that the June 17 broadcast was accurate and complied with the Minimum Broadcasting Standards.
The response stated that the station possessed a land sale agreement concerning the disputed Kibanja interests.
Attached to the response was a sale agreement dated March 17, 2025, involving Edisa Nalubega, Jesica Nakiwala, Richard Saire, Denis Ssengonzi and Mahadi Katamba.
According to the agreement, Edisa Nalubega and Jescia Nakiwala sold what is described as their remaining one-acre Kibanja interest to Richard Saire and Denis Ssengonzi, who subsequently transferred the same interest to Mahadi Katamba for Shs71 million.
The agreement indicates that Katamba paid Shs10 million upon execution, with the remaining Shs61 million to be paid after vacant possession was secured.
It also provides for withdrawal of pending court cases and caveats over the land as part of a reconciliation process.
Salt Media relied on the agreement to defend the accuracy of its broadcast, arguing that the sale occurred in March 2025, nearly two years after the High Court judgment delivered in July 2023.
The broadcaster further demanded that Single Mother’s Alliance publicly apologize within three days and pay Shs100 million in compensation for what it described as defamatory publications targeting Salt Media and Mahadi Katamba.
Elgon Advocates also warned that failure to comply would result in both civil and criminal proceedings and an application to UCC seeking termination of Single Mother’s Alliance’s communications license.
Lawyers dispute authenticity of agreement
Kasiko Advocates rejected Salt Media’s defense, arguing that the agreement relied upon by the broadcaster raised more questions than answers.
According to the lawyers, the document only referred to one acre of Kibanja interest despite the High Court recognizing two acres.
They also argue that the agreement did not demonstrate that Edisa Nalubega and Jescia Nakiwala personally received payment for the alleged sale of the two-acre Kibanja interest as had been suggested during the television broadcast.
The lawyers further contend that the agreement could not justify statements made on television that Mahadi Katamba had purchased the entire two-acre Kibanja interest recognized by court.
They also maintain that contempt proceedings are being considered against Mahadi Katamba and other persons alleged to have interfered with the land despite the existing court order.
Remedies sought
In their petition to UCC, Kasiko Advocates seek eight major remedies.
Among them are the immediate suspension of Charles James Ssenkubuge and Jennifer Nakangubi from hosting broadcasting programmes pending investigations; orders requiring Salt TV to produce evidence proving Miyingo’s alleged criminal convictions and claims of extortion; and evidence supporting assertions that Mahadi Katamba lawfully purchased the disputed two acres.
The lawyers also want UCC to initiate proceedings under Section 41 of the Uganda Communications Act to suspend or revoke Salt TV’s broadcasting licensee.
Additionally, they seek heavy regulatory sanctions against the broadcaster to deter similar conduct within the media industry.
Alternatively, the complainants want Salt TV to air a public apology during the same programme and time slot in which the disputed statements were made and compensate Single Mother’s Alliance and Benson with Shs100 million for reputational damage and legal costs.
The complaint has been copied to the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Entertainment and Media Hosts Association, Salt Media management, Pastor Aloysius Bugingo, the two presenters and businessman Katamba.
As of the filing of the complaint, UCC had not publicly announced whether it had commenced investigations into the allegations.
The dispute now places Uganda’s communications regulator at the centre of a high-profile contest involving freedom of the media, professional broadcasting standards, online journalism and competing claims over a contentious land dispute whose legal and factual questions remain contested by the parties. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
