KEEP QUIET. STATE AGENT! Canary Mugume Vs Ninye Tabz Explosive Show — and How OB Used Classified Info Leaks to Trap Journalist

KAMPALA, Uganda — What began as a routine current affairs interview on the Media Roundtable on Friday morning quickly evolved into one of Uganda’s most emotionally charged live television encounters this year, laying bare the country’s deepening divisions over journalism, state secrecy, political activism and the growing climate of fear surrounding information leaks.

For about an hour on NBS Television’s Morning Breeze Media Round Table, show host Canary Mugume and photojournalist-turned-activist Andrew Natumanya, popularly known as Ninye Tabz, sparred over a question that has dominated social media since the latter resurfaced from several days in detention: What really happened after his disappearance?

The exchange was less an interview than a contest over credibility.

Mugume pressed repeatedly on inconsistencies critics had highlighted online. Why, he asked, had Tabz been released on police bond? Why did he appear physically unharmed? Why were some claiming the activist might have been collaborating with the very people accused of abducting him?

Tabz rejected the line of questioning almost immediately.

Visibly emotional, he accused the presenter of advancing what he described as a false narrative instead of allowing him to recount his experience.

He argued that public suspicion surrounding his release should not eclipse the issues he says motivated his activism.

At one point, Tabz said that even if he were accused of working for the state, he would still advocate for the freedom of opposition figures including Eddie Mutwe, Waiswa, Dr. Kizza Besigye and Erias Lukwago, President of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), while calling for better governance, improved public services, respect for the rule of law and an end to fear among journalists.

The Phone That Everyone Wanted

Perhaps the interview’s most revealing moments came when discussion shifted away from politics and toward a mobile phone.

According to Tabz, the people who detained him appeared less interested in interrogating him than locating the device.

He said he repeatedly told his captors he did not have the phone with him when he was seized near the former National Unity Platform headquarters in Kamwokya.

“They wanted the phone more than they wanted me,” he suggested during the interview.

The remark appeared to reinforce allegations that investigators were pursuing digital evidence linked to leaked government information.

An “OB” Who Became a Trap

The interview took another dramatic turn when Tabz alleged that his arrest was made possible by someone he described only as an “OB”—a contact who had, for months, supplied him with classified information.

According to Tabz, the relationship began sometime last year when the individual allegedly started leaking sensitive documents and information.

He claimed that the same source later cooperated in orchestrating circumstances that led to his capture.

Although he offered no public evidence identifying the individual, the allegation added a new dimension to a case that has largely focused on accusations of unlawful disclosure of official information and personal data.

Authorities have charged Tabz with offences relating to allegedly obtaining and disseminating official information without authorisation. The charges reportedly stem from material shared through his social media platforms, including posts concerning senior government officials.

“Fearless Until My Last Breath”

Throughout the interview, Tabz repeatedly described himself as an activist first and foremost.

“I am leading the activism, putting myself as a fearless activist and I’m doing that to my last breath,” he declared.

The statement encapsulated the tone of the interview.

Whenever Mugume attempted to probe his political affiliations, remuneration or relationship with the National Unity Platform, Tabz redirected the discussion toward what he viewed as the broader struggle for accountability and transparency.

The Detention He Says Changed Him

Although the live programme did not explore every detail of his detention, Tabz has previously offered a far more graphic account.

In earlier interviews, he alleged that he was stripped of his clothes, photographed, blindfolded, handcuffed and threatened with the public release of compromising images if he continued publishing classified information.

He also claimed he was confined in a room smelling strongly of urine, questioned while unclothed, and threatened with DNA sampling.

Those allegations have not been independently verified.

Ugandan security agencies have consistently denied accusations of systematic politically motivated abductions, maintaining that arrests are conducted lawfully in response to criminal investigations and national security concerns.

A Clash Beyond Two Men

The confrontation between Mugume and Tabz resonated beyond the television studio because it reflected two competing visions of journalism.

Mugume approached the interview with the scepticism expected of an investigative broadcaster, pressing uncomfortable questions and testing the credibility of his guest’s account.

Tabz, meanwhile, portrayed himself not merely as a journalist but as an activist whose mission transcends traditional reporting.

Their disagreement repeatedly shifted from facts surrounding the detention to larger questions about whether journalists should remain detached observers or become participants in political struggles.

At one point, Tabz accused some journalists of allowing important stories to disappear because of fear or financial influence.

He also criticised what he perceived as attempts to minimise the suffering he says he endured while in detention.

Tabz even made Mugume uncomfortable when he mentioned broadcasting rival NTV Uganda, which he had given an interview. Mugume kept claiming he had watched the Tabz interview on social media.

A Country Watching

The interview immediately ignited debate across social media platforms.

Supporters praised Tabz for publicly recounting his ordeal and refusing to retreat from activism despite the charges he faces.

Others questioned why he was released comparatively quickly, why his dreadlocks had not been shaved during detention as seen in some previous cases, and whether key questions remained unanswered.

Those discussions are likely to continue as Tabz prepares to report back to police under the terms of his bond.

His case now sits at the intersection of Uganda’s increasingly contentious debates over digital leaks, national security, opposition politics, freedom of expression and the role journalists should play in an era where information itself has become a battleground.

Whether viewers saw Friday’s broadcast as an interrogation, a defence or an ideological confrontation, one thing was unmistakable: for nearly an hour, live television became a mirror reflecting Uganda’s sharply polarised political landscape.

The show was nearly as explosive as previous ones that involved Isaac Ssemakadde, Ofwono Opondo, and Andrew Mwenda, where there were near punches exchanged. (See Details Here, There and Over There).