By Ivan Kimuli Kigozi
Every evening, as the clock strikes prime time, our television and radio stations light up with political talk shows. Familiar faces take center stage the same hosts, the same guests, and often, the same arguments we’ve heard for years. These programs dominate Uganda’s media space, shaping what millions hear, think, and discuss. But as we move closer to another election season, one can’t help but ask: Do these political talk shows still add value to Uganda’s future?
In theory, political talk shows are meant to inform, educate, and spark critical conversations about governance, accountability, and national development. They should challenge leaders, inspire new ideas, and give citizens a voice. But in practice, many of these programs have become echo chambers predictable, propagandist,partisan, and often sensational rather than solution-oriented.
I have come to notice that some of the most thoughtful, realistic, and balanced political conversations no longer happen in studios. They happen in taxis, on boda boda stages, in market stalls, and on street corners. Ordinary Ugandans, with no microphone or TV spotlight, discuss real issues the price of food, poor health services, unemployment, corruption, and the rising cost of living. Their conversations are raw, informed by lived experience, and surprisingly analytical.
Meanwhile, in many studios, we hear repetitive shouting matches and rehearsed political spins. The same politicians and “analysts” are invited week after week, often turning serious national issues into verbal duels for ratings and social media clips. The audience is left entertained but rarely enlightened.
It raises an uncomfortable question: Are Uganda’s media houses still using these platforms to serve the public interest, or have they turned them into commercial spectacles that profit from political drama?
During this election period, when citizens desperately need credible, well-researched discussions to guide their choices, the media’s role becomes even more critical. Yet the quality of guests, the shallowness of debate topics, and the lack of diversity in perspectives show a worrying trend one where journalism gives way to convenience and political patronage.
Our democracy deserves better. Uganda needs talk shows that go beyond party politics programs that dissect manifestos, scrutinize policies, and engage with economists, youth leaders, farmers, educators, and innovators. We need platforms that challenge both opposition and government voices equally, and that focus on what matters most: the future of the country, not the fame of the guests.
It’s time for media houses to re-evaluate their responsibility. Are they merely feeding the noise of political rivalry, or are they shaping an informed electorate that can hold leaders accountable? Because if the real, meaningful conversations are happening on boda boda stages instead of in newsrooms, then perhaps it’s the media that has lost touch with the people it claims to represent.
