Kamwokya based Television station, NBS has made a public apology to Mr Frank Gashumba over allegations of conning people of their money, which were made through its official Facebook page in March last year.
In a statement by Ms Pamela Adong, the station’s chief marketing officer dated March 27, 2017 said that Mr Gashumba who was a pioneer panelist alongside veteran journalist Basajja Mivule on the then newly introduced political talkshow, NBS Eagle had willingly quit the show.
At the time, the station had decided to usher in Mr Simon Muyanga Lutaaya to moderate the show.
“After several successful episodes, we decided to enlist the services of Mr Simon Muyanga Lutaaya as a moderator to give viewers more value. The current (then) format hardly differentiates who the panelist and moderator are, and it is in this spirit that we realised the need for someone to direct the show as per the standards of all our shows. Mr Gashumba was not happy with the proposal and first opted out,” read part the statement by Ms Adong.
She claimed then that thereafter, Gashumba reconsidered his decision and wanted a come back to the show, but the station couldn’t allow him over claims that he had conned a number of people money.
Ms Adong, the NBS chief marketing manager said: “He then decided to reconsider the proposal, unfortunately this came through at a time when individuals claiming that they had been conned by Mr Frank Gashumba had approached NBS management team.”
She added that: “To NBS, image is critical, and to this end, we are also reviewing the image of Mr Frank Gashumba in relation to our brand over the flying allegations.”
However, Mr Muhammad Ali Kajubi, the NBS company secretary has now come out to describe the contents in Ms Pamela’s letter as inaccurate and false and that NBS TV regrets having written such statements against Mr Gashumba.
“The purpose of this press release is to retract those statements conveyed in that letter and apologise for the inconvenience and/or the embarrassment the letter caused Mr Gashumba, his family, friends and associates,” Kajubi stated.
“We also wish to assure the public that we have since discovered after our investigations that the allegations made are false,” his statement added.
While reacting to NBS’ apology, Mr Gashumba told SoftPower News that although the station’s retraction of the accusations can not redeem his lost reputation, he has accepted the apology.
“This apology you have seen today emerged out of the court processes which have been ongoing. I had demanded costs from them and the judge had sanctioned the case to kick off in first week of April this year,” Gashumba told this website.
“So, they realised that they made a mistake and that they were trading on falsehoods and that is why they have apologised to me,” Mr Gashumba told SoftPower News.
He further cautioned media houses to be careful in what they write and always verify facts before publication.
“I have accepted their apology but I caution them to be conscious of what they write. You will get shocked, the list of evidence they were going bring against me in court, are WhatsApp screen chats, and Facebook posts,” he added.