TAKEAWAYS

• Sheilah Gashumba claims she was the reason Urban TV eventually closed, linking it to her battles with sensational entertainment programming.
• Sheilah revisited her dispute with Scoop on Scoop, associated with Mary Luswata and later Tina Fierce.
• She says her experiences shaped her opposition to media platforms that attack or allegedly defame public figures.

Ugandan media personality, DJ and social media influencer Sheilah Gashumba has made a striking claim about her long-running battles with sensational entertainment shows, saying she was the reason Urban TV eventually closed.

Sheilah made the claim while explaining why she has never been a fan of media platforms that, in her view, deliberately provoke, embarrass or slander people for entertainment.

Sheilah specifically recalled her experience with Scoop on Scoop, the controversial celebrity gossip programme that aired on Urban TV, a Vision Group station.

The programme was previously hosted by Mary Luswata, before Christine Karungi, popularly known as Tina Fierce, took over.

According to Sheilah, her problems with the show intensified during a previous relationship when she alleged that the programme repeatedly targeted her and her then-boyfriend.

Sheilah said she decided to fight back through the legal and regulatory channels, including taking the matter to court and the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC).

“I’m the reason why such shows stopped in Uganda,” Sheilah claimed, while recounting her battle with the programme.

Sheilah went further, linking the controversy to the eventual demise of Urban TV.

“I’m the reason why Urban TV closed,” she said.

Her comments come as she reflects on what she describes as a period when celebrities had few options when entertainment programmes made damaging claims about them.

In 2020, UCC suspended Scoop on Scoop following complaints concerning the programme’s content and its compliance with broadcasting standards. The regulator said the programme had been the subject of complaints over material considered abusive, demeaning and inciting.

Sheilah said she feels for today’s celebrities who complain about being defamed, arguing that many may not appreciate what earlier public figures experienced when such programmes wielded considerable influence over their reputations.

She also questioned why media personalities would deliberately choose content designed to offend or humiliate people when they could create entertaining programming without attacking individuals.

Her remarks also come amid her recent public clash with NRG FM’s Evelyn Mic over information she says has been wrongly reported about her and her relationships including the one she is currently in with Alex Bidandi.