KAMPALA, March 19 (Watchdog Uganda) The Observer, a prominent Ugandan newspaper known for its analytical reporting, is up for sale, news outlet Bbeg Media reported on Wednesday.
Pius Muteekani Katunzi, managing director of The Observer, told Bbeg Media the paper was in talks with several potential buyers, including Ugandans and Kenyans, though no deal had been finalized due to unresolved issues.
“We’ve been speaking with a couple of people… but nobody has been settled on yet because there are matters to sort out,” Katunzi said.
He said the ideal buyer would maintain the newspaper’s editorial independence and character but conceded financial pressures were driving the sale. “We’d love it to stay as it is, but honestly, we need the money,” he added.
Negotiations have hit snags over ownership structure, with some buyers seeking full control while most shareholders want to retain a minority stake, Katunzi said. This mirrors a past deal in the early 2000s when Daily Monitor shareholders sold a majority stake to Kenya’s Nation Media Group but kept a small share.
Sources familiar with the matter estimate The Observer could be sold for at least 1 billion Ugandan shillings ($270,000), with much of the sum aimed at settling debts. The valuation reflects the paper’s brand strength rather than its tangible assets, they said, with any remaining funds to be split among shareholders.
One prospective buyer is Steven Magomu, a former journalist now in business and a key figure in Uganda’s ruling National Resistance Movement in Bugisu. Sources said Magomu had reached a tentative agreement with The Observer, but Katunzi described him as just one of many candidates.
Magomu, who was The Observer’s Mbale correspondent in 2011 and now runs an import and manufacturing firm, could not be reached for comment. People close to him said talks were progressing well, with several points already agreed.
The Observer has struggled financially for the past five years, hit by a weak economy that has cut ad revenues and a sharp drop in print sales. The rise of social media platforms like X, Instagram, and TikTok has also drawn younger readers away.
Launched in March 2004 by ex-Daily Monitor journalists, The Observer was founded by Kevin Ogen Aliro, who died in 2005, alongside James Tumusiime, who left in 2020; Katunzi; Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, now a politician; Hassan Badru Zziwa; Carolyne Nakazibwe; Elizabeth Kameo, who exited in 2006; Linda Nabusaayi, who left in 2007; Fideri Kirungi; Sarah Namulondo, deceased; and Abbey Mukiibi.
Once a leader in current affairs analysis, the paper sold 18,000 to 20,000 copies weekly at its height. Industry sources say it now moves fewer than 4,000 copies a week.
(Original Report by Edris Kiggundu of Bbeg Media)
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