Radio broadcasting in Uganda began on 25 December 1954 when Radio Uganda transmitted its first programme from studios on Nile Avenue, Kampala — a Christmas Day service followed by a message from the colonial Governor. Seventy years later, there are over 300 licensed FM stations serving a nation of 48 million.
The journey from state monopoly to media liberalisation in 1993 — when Capital FM became the country's first private radio station — is one of the great untold stories of Ugandan democracy.
"Radio is the most democratic medium in Africa," says media historian Prof. Monica Chibita of Makerere University. "It speaks in local languages. It reaches the poorest homestead. And it gives voice to the voiceless."
This feature is part of Mega FM's ongoing "Sound of Uganda" documentary series.
