“The need for a public information service was realized by the colonial administration in Uganda when the Department of Information was established in 1952. […] The Department’s responsibilities included the collection of information and its dissemination through the local press. The Department also dispatched news bulletins and feature materials on Uganda to the overseas press.

According to the Committee of Enquiry into the organisation, Policy and Operation of the Government’s Information Services:

‘The functions of the Government information services should be to help interpret and explain the policy and actions of the Government to the people of Uganda; to assist the Government to keep closely in touch with the reactions (which may include misapprehension) of the of the public opinion and to encourage and assist the people of Uganda to take an increasing interest in the responsibility for the economic, cultural and political development of their country [Uganda Protectorate, 1958:]’

To fulfill these functions, the Department of Information was divided into several sections […].”

The photographs in this album were previously part of the collections of the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. When UBC moved offices, parts of their collection were ‘adopted’ by passers by. The pictures shared here are currently in the private collection of a source who wishes to remain anonymous.

“The Uganda Broadcasting Service was established as a separate government deparment responsible for all broadcasting in the country. It was placed under a Minister of Information and Broadcasting whose portfolio enabled him to take an overall view of the country’s affairs, problems, and government policy as a whole […]”

“Quotes” taken from the article Mass Media as Agencies of Socialization in Uganda by Jacob Matovu, published in Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 20, No.3, Culture, Communication, and Development in Africa (Mar., 1990), pp342-361