By Edrine Benesa
Gone are the days when it required complex magic for one to catch up with what was going on at State House, and what the Head of State was up to, thanks to the robust team manning press work at the Presidency. The ease with which one can keep updated on the ongoing activities of President Museveni in service of his subject is not one you would describe as comprehensible.
Back in the years, it was obviously through Radio Uganda, Star FM and later UBC that one would catch a glimpse into what the Head of State and his team in government planned for the country. With the advent of many radio and TV stations, information on this crucial part became readily accessible, but only to those who dared to pay close attention to keeping updated. This was partly because of the busy schedules and limited access to such bulky communication gadgets like radios and Televisions. The literacy levels in the country did not help in bridging the gap through newspapers as this was a medium for the elites, who had the means and access to the dailies.
With the emergence of international networks (Internet), a new era opened. There emerged an urgent need to respond to communication players. Unfortunately, this urge took longer than required to be addressed. The goodness of this new medium of communication was its convenience and easy accessibility. As smartphones became a must-have tool for nearly everybody, the preference for the transmission of messages shifted from the traditional fora to this new digital invention. As one waited to transport and announcement to a radio station or Television tens of kilometers away, one with just a click on their mobile phone would have the message sent far and wide, and instantly. This way, this new revolution couldn’t wait for every communication player.
In highly formal establishments, however, adaptation was slow. In the political realms particularly, the government to be specific, the response was even slower. This initially gave hostile forces in opposition the leeway to bully the system around, and oftentimes on mere propaganda. Without downplaying efforts made to adapt, there still remained a lot to be desired. The feeling of knowing what the President was doing at every time of the day is certainly thrilling. That’s how Ugandans needed to be updated on what their leader was planning and intervening to solve their concerns every day.
The 2021 digital political period, coupled with the appointment of a new force of individuals who appreciate the emergence of social media became defining moments. Wherever the President goes, and whatever he does, timely updates are issued through statements and through daily publications by online platforms which are easily accessible and timely.
With the appointment of ever updated Press Secretaries in Mr Walusimbi Sando and Hajji Faruk Kirunda, gone seem to be the days when one would lie on the inactivity of the President and the government since his usually busy schedules are laid before the population as things happen, on a daily basis. This was lacking in the recent past and had given birth to hard-to-tame hostilities that blossomed due to misinformation and disinformation.
As we head into the next election period however, there is still a need to recognise as a fact, that media trends are evolving every other day. Whereas social media played a cardinal role in informing the public in the last political season, video content seems to have evolved as the new king, especially through Tiktok and YouTube. It is therefore, pertinent that strategies are put in place to ensure that toxic voices are not permitted to poison public opinion as had been the case with Facebook before its ban in 2021.
The writer is a Deputy RCC for Nakawa Division in Kampala
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