By Our Reporter
First, let’s take you up to speed with NBS TV’s next grand plan for a whole new Frontline show.
This website can exclusively report with confidence that moving forward, the next Thursday night 10:00Pm -midnight cross-cutting, issue-based talk-show dubbed The FRONTLINE, will officially roll out the Democratic Party-leaning but very equivocal, tantalizing four-eyed, mean-looking Simon Kagwa Njala as its Headmaster, putting a permanent door ‘stapple’ against stammering Charles Odongtho. That’s sealed; no more debate about who the next host is going to be.
Our ever-reliable and alert source at the Kamwokya based fastest-growing private Television station in the history of Uganda, NBS TV, has finally chanced on info indicating why Charles Odongtho was shown exit and paved way for Njala.
For starters, although Odongtho tactfully resigned on Sunday via an email before his official send-off by the no-nonsense Disciplinary Committee, which was slated for Tuesday afternoon after arraigning him for serious grilling, this source confirmed that his termination letter had long been signed by HR but was only being delayed at Next Media Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kin Kariisa’s desk, who was still a little more lenient with his behaviours, the source told our reporter on Monday.
“You see, even for the time this guy has pushed on here it’s because our boss Kin was still very lenient with his ways, partly because he doesn’t work with him closely on a daily basis like us his workmates.
Remember the other thing is as a boss you can’t engage him every day, but we who have been with him on a daily, I can tell you that he has a lot of issues,” source said.
“First of all, he doesn’t want to be advised on his show by his own producers, secondly he underlooks his immediate bosses, the only boss he understands is Mr.Kin. That explains why he sent his resignation email straight to Mr.Kin, jumping all other leaderships, just imagine that, resigning through an email, really?!” The source wondered.
REASONS FOR HIS DISMISSAL:
This source told our reporter that all plans had been finalised to show Odongtho the exit door on Tuesday (yesterday) mainly due to underperformance and insubordination.
According to the source, Odongtho’s absenteeism, indiscipline, whereby he would clash with his immediate bosses, were permanently associated with his name.
That he would be absent and not inform the relevant departmental heads so they could find an alternative in time. “Njala would always be called in at short notice to stand in for that guy, many times Njala would come unprepared for the show which is bad. But because of what he is naturally, he would compose himself along the way and pull it off. But also, truth be told, the man stammers a lot with what to say next; haven’t you seen the ever teasy Ofwono Opondo re-phrasing his questions and then answers!? He tactfully tells him that your question would have sounded like this,” the source explained.
As if to have fix the last nail in the head, it continued thus; “The man is too docile, he has to read questions from his paper every minute; you watch Njala this Thursday and see how he flows with his random but strategic questions . So it was a blessing in disguise for him to quit on Sunday night than waiting for Tuesday,” the source divulged.
The Disciplinary Committee of the station had written to Charles Odongtho to appear before it to answer queries to do with his alleged tribal rhetoric, absenteeism (AOL), failure to obey structural authorities among others.
We have independently learnt that Odongtho’s biggest trouble was last week when he insisted on hosting last Thursday’s show against the advice of his producers.
It’s said, after Njala had successfully hosted Rtd. Maj Gen.Henry Tumukunde in the morning breeze, and after learning that the same general would be hosted by equally a competing station,NTV, with ‘dangerous’ Patrick Kamara, it would be a good move to allow Njala continue driving the debate of Tumukunde on social media platforms for that whole day, since the Frontliners, Nobert Mao, Ofwono Opondo, Salaam and Andrew Mwenda were coming to among others, discuss Tumukunde’s morning submission. They felt that it was fit that Njala, who had started the Tumukunde debate completes it that day, in order to neutralize Patrick Kamara on the other end.
However, that, to Odongtho sounded like they were favouring certain individuals at the station over him, having grown up a poor boy from the North, compared to city born Njala grown up from the green flats of DP headquarters opposite city square, where his short calls were mostly done at CPS, breakfast in Katanga Wandegeya and lunch at Shoprite clock tower,….freedom city wasn’t yet in place, Odongtho just felt small.
The other unbecoming about Odongtho is that, some key bosses within the station suspected him to be a spy for some interests which they didn’t disclose, but they were quick to add that this manifested more the day he insisted on hosting the show last week with some prepared ‘literature’ apparently from Gen.Tumukunde. which was intercepted by his bosses behind his back.
“We’ve always suspected that guy to be a spy of sorts for long, it’s not just about Tumukunde of yesterday, here you’re supposed to do your professional job as a journalist, period,” said the source.
How Odongtho Joined NBS TV From NTV
In 2015,ahead of 2016 general elections Charles Odongtho, who used to work with Ronnie Mayanja who lives in Us now approached CEO Kin Kariisa on a short business stunt that would end soon, but after the stunt, Odongtho asked Kin to allow him think of an idea that he would sale to the station to show cause why he would stay. A political talk show dubbed The Front line was born with Charles as its host and DP president Nobert Mao, Ofwono Opondo and Miria Matembe as permanent panelists. Indeed, this was Odongtho’s ‘child’, but four years later he has reportedly suffocated the child with alleged indiscipline to death.
Watch this space for more update about this story…
