NMG-U's first female boss: Who is Susan Nsibirwa

When Ms Susan Nsibirwa first sauntered into the headquarters of Monitor Publications Ltd (MPL) 31 years ago, she was a free-spirited youth prospecting a fruitful journalism career.

That head office of the start-up media house was located at a rented premises on Dewinton Road in central Kampala. 

There, enterprising founders led by Mr Wafula Oguttu took budding writers under their wings and allowed them to test their passion and brilliance and fly skywards in the trade of the pen.  

Ms Nsibirwa was one of them, authoring a leisure article titled “A peep into the fickle world of beauty”, published on page 14 of the maiden edition of then The Monitor newspaper dated July 31, 1992 (See cut-out).

Many things have since changed. Ms Nsibirwa, like many peers, left to pursue other academic and career interests. MPL built and moved to its own headquarters on 8th Street, Industrial Area in Namuwongo, outside the city centre. 

Then in 2000, the Nairobi-headquartered Nation Media Group (NMG) came knocking, and bought majority stakes in MPL, making it a Uganda subsidiary of the largest media conglomerate in eastern and central Africa.

Monitor began publishing its incisive journalism when Opposition political parties were officially in abeyance, prompting ideologues of the Movement system in-charge of the state affairs to christen it an “Opposition” newspaper.

Renamed Daily Monitor during a relaunch in 2005, the publication found itself at a crossroads with the government, which shut it down twice - in 2002, and again in 2013 - for publishing stories it deemed unacceptable. 

The newspaper’s maturation has scars of many battles - many legal, some commercial such as when the government deprived it of advertising in its early years and others political.

Technological advances and disruptions by social media have fanned media industry-wide headwinds, prompting MPL, in line with its parent company’s relaunched “digital transformation” policy, to start a paywall for Daily Monitor online edition in October. 

As such, when Ms Nsibirwa returns to MPL on January 2, 2024, this time not the rookie journalist of 1992, but a multi-skilled professional, she will be taking over as managing director from outgoing Tony Glencross, who has been chief executive for eight years, and head a team and multimedia entity in testing industry times.

“New challenges are always exciting; so, let’s do this,” she told this publication hours after Nation Media Group (NMG) chief executive officer Stephen Gitagama announced the leadership changes in an internal email to staff yesterday.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Susan Nsibirwa as managing director - MPL with effect from 2nd January, 2024. [She]…will be responsible for leading MPL, The East African and Africa Broadcasting (U) Limited, the company that operates NTV Uganda and Spark TV, to deliver their long-term strategy, business plans and annual performance targets to maximise value to shareholders,” the group CEO noted. 

In an institutional reorganisation, MPL board and managing director roles have been restructured to hold direct responsibilities for all of the group’s outlets and businesses in the country, among them, a courier service, television and FM radio stations and this publication, as well as its weekly vernacular Ennyanda sports title.

All these have been rehatted under Nation Media Group-Uganda (NMG-U) flag, meaning the day-to-day overseer of the company’s operations has more frontlines for opportunities and millstones than the founders envisaged three decades ago.

The task ahead, to Ms Nsibirwa, is pleasant and manageable. 

“I was there at the beginning [of MPL]; so, it is amazing how I am back. The very first [news]paper I had an article [published in]! It is good to be back. I am excited. I am honoured that the [MPL] Board has considered me for this position and I just look forward to the journey ahead,” she said in an interview yesterday. 

She had from April 2022 been a non-executive member of the same Board that tapped her to superintend the company as its chief executive, citing her 25 years’ experience as a journalist, communicator and marketer during which she successfully led high flying teams across industries.

Ms Nsibirwa’s job, according to MPL Board chairperson, Prof Samuel Sejjaaka, is cut out: Implement the digital strategy and grow new lines of business income using that strategy. 

“We call it our Digital North Star. We also expect her to bring her immense experience in journalism and marketing to ensure our ship continues sailing smoothly,” Prof Sejjaaka added.

During the commemoration of MPL’s 30th anniversary in August, last year, Ms Nsibirwa underlined her support for an impactful and bold journalism.

“Monitor should continue … calling a spade a spade because it makes things happen. Every authority needs someone who checks their excesses and holds them to account. There is a price to pay for it, but it should continue,” she said then. She placed journalists and their welfare at the centre of the bold journalism agenda.

“We need to see how we can create a sustainable business model that allows us to take better care of our journalists because for people who put themselves on the frontline to keep us informed on a daily basis, I really would like to see them taken better care of,” she said.

About Susan Nsibirwa

Ms Susan Nsibirwa is a marketing and communications professional with more than 25 years of experience, 15 of which have been in senior executive roles where she successfully led corporate, marketing and communications teams across industries. She is adept at implementing strategies and corporates social responsibility programmes and crisis management plans.

Ms Nsibirwa holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, and a first degree in Mass Communication from Makerere University.

She, among others, is currently the chairperson of the Board of Directors of the African Center for Media Excellence (ACME), a not-for-profit media development organisation.