media 1 April 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Kalinaki Urges Daily Monitor to Shift from Survival to Shaping Uganda's Future
Former Daily Monitor editor Daniel Kalinaki reflects on the newspaper's turbulent history and calls for it to move beyond mere survival amid political repression, instead fostering debates on future possibilities and a new social contract for Uganda. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/columnists/daniel-kalinaki/from-moshi-to-namuwongo-and-back-what-should-the-monitor-do--5410744
Daniel Kalinaki, reflecting on his time as editor of the Daily Monitor, recalls pinning a column by founding editor Charles Onyango-Obbo to his desk. Written in 2007 amid rising election violence, court raids, and media shutdowns—including the Monitor’s own closure in 2002—Obbo’s advice was straightforward: survive to outlast President Museveni’s regime, banking on constitutional age limits to force change.
Kalinaki prioritized keeping the lights on during his tenure, but a shutdown occurred shortly after he left, triggered by a story on an alleged plot against intelligence officials. With ongoing political tensions, including 2021 election violence and the scrapping of age limits, he argues the Monitor must now evolve.
No longer able to rely on ‘waiting on biology,’ the paper should platform discussions on derisking political transitions, much like the missed opportunity of the 1979 Moshi Conference. Mainstream media must counter social media’s chaos by recreating a ‘missing middle’ in politics—tempering extremism, promoting evidence-based policy, and amplifying diverse, calmer voices.
Over the past decade, political decay has turned public life into a ‘clock-watching race to the bottom.’ Kalinaki envisions the Monitor curating conversations about the Uganda people want, shifting from survival to thriving.
Source: Daily Monitor