Nation Media Group (NMG) announced a region-wide editorial leadership realignment on September 16, 2026, moving Group Editor-in-Chief Dr. Joe Ageyo to Uganda and appointing Harry Misiko as Acting Editor-in-Chief in Kenya.
Group Managing Director and CEO Geoffrey Odundo told staff the changes were effective immediately, citing a review of the group’s editorial structure and business requirements across the region.
The appointments
In Uganda, Ageyo becomes Editor-in-Chief, NMG Uganda. Washington Gikunju, previously Managing Editor, Publishing in Kenya, becomes Acting Managing Editor, NMG Uganda.
In Tanzania, James Smart, previously Managing Editor, Broadcast and New Media in Kenya, becomes Acting Managing Editor, Broadcast and New Media, at Mwananchi Communications Limited.
In Kenya, Misiko takes over newsroom leadership. Additional acting appointments include Dann Mwangi as Acting Managing Editor, Broadcast and New Media; John Kiplagat as Acting Managing Editor, Publishing; Justus Wanga as Acting Lead Editor, Weekend Edition; Michael Owuor as Acting Lead Editor, Daily Nation; Ben Kitili as Acting Lead Editor, Broadcasting; and Michael Omondi as Acting Lead Editor, Business Daily. Alex Ndegwa was named Editor, Content Hub.
Ownership context
The reshuffle follows a change in NMG’s ownership structure. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development agreed in March 2026 to sell its 54.08% stake in NMG — 92,618,177 shares, held through NPRT Holdings Africa Limited — to Taarifa Ltd, a company owned by Tanzanian businessman Rostam Aziz. The sale ended a 66-year relationship between NMG and the Aga Khan Fund, which founded the group in 1959.
Taarifa completed the acquisition on August 31, 2026. The transaction included a board change: six new directors joined, including Julie Gichuru, Juliana Rotich and Julius Kipngetich, while four directors departed. Capital markets regulators in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda exempted Taarifa from making a mandatory offer to minority shareholders. The company has said it does not plan to delist NMG from any of the four exchanges on which it trades.
NMG reported a net loss of KSh 254.4 million in 2024, following a loss of KSh 205.7 million in 2023. Revenue fell 12.5% in 2024 to KSh 6.2 billion, which the company attributed to declining print circulation and lower advertising. NMG carried out a separate staff restructuring in June 2024, prior to the ownership change.
Uganda operations
Ageyo’s appointment follows a shutdown of NMG’s Uganda operations, which include Daily Monitor, NTV Uganda, Spark TV, KFM and Dembe FM. The outlets were closed for about a month before resuming operations in July 2026.
The shutdown order came from Uganda People’s Defence Forces chief General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of President Yoweri Museveni.
Operations resumed after Aziz met Museveni at State House in Entebbe on July 17, 2026. Aziz thanked Museveni for authorizing the resumption and thanked Muhoozi for his role in the discussions that preceded it. Ageyo was part of the NMG delegation involved in the negotiations, which included meetings with Uganda Communications Commission Executive Director Nyombi Thembo.
Before the September appointment, Allan Chekwech had served as Acting General Manager, Editorial at NMG Uganda.
Tanzania appointment
Smart’s appointment places him at Mwananchi Communications Limited, a publisher Aziz co-founded in 1999. Aziz left Mwananchi in 2006 following a dispute over coverage of a presidential campaign for which he served as campaign manager. NMG later acquired Mwananchi, which publishes The Citizen, Mwananchi and Mwanaspoti.
Profiles of the appointees
Dr. Joe Ageyo — Editor-in-Chief, NMG Uganda. Ageyo holds a Bachelor of Agribusiness Management from Egerton University, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication from the University of Nairobi, an MSc in Environmental Governance from the University of Manchester, and a PhD in Communication and Media Studies from Daystar University, completed in 2025.
His doctoral thesis examined the framing of climate change across four Conference of the Parties summits in Kenyan newspapers. He joined KTN in 2000 as a general news reporter, worked at NTV Kenya from 2005 to 2012 including as Head of News Production, and has also worked at Royal Media Services and Standard Group. He was appointed NMG Editor-in-Chief in 2023. He is a Catto Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a fellow of the Climate Change Media Partnership.
Washington Gikunju — Acting Managing Editor, NMG Uganda. Gikunju holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the University of Nairobi (2002–2006). He has served as Assistant Editor for Business Daily and Managing Editor of The EastAfrican before being appointed Managing Editor, Publishing in April 2025, a role created to consolidate print and digital publishing workflows.
Harry Misiko — Acting Editor-in-Chief, Kenya. Misiko holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media with IT from Maseno University, a Master’s in Interactive Journalism from City, University of London, as a Chevening Scholar, and an Executive Master’s in Media Leadership and Innovation from The Aga Khan University, Nairobi, completed with Great Distinction in 2024. He is also an alumnus of the Alfred Friendly Fellowship at The Washington Post. He joined NMG as a correspondent and has held roles including sub-editor, news editor for Africa, and growth editor, before his 2025 promotion to Managing Editor, Content Strategy.
James Smart — Acting Managing Editor, Broadcast and New Media, Mwananchi Communications (Tanzania). Smart is a Chevening Scholar and alumnus of Cardiff University. He worked as an NTV anchor before moving into editorial management, previously serving as Managing Editor, Production and Partnerships, where he was involved in building out NMG’s podcast operations, ahead of his 2025 appointment as Managing Editor, Broadcast and New Media in Kenya.
John Kiplagat — Acting Managing Editor, Publishing (Kenya). Kiplagat previously served as Head of Production at NMG before this appointment, which places him in charge of publishing workflows for the group’s print titles and their associated websites.
Dann Mwangi — Acting Managing Editor, Broadcast and New Media (Kenya). Mwangi previously served as Lead Editor, Broadcast, prior to his appointment.
Justus Wanga — Acting Lead Editor, Weekend Edition. Wanga holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Maseno University. He has covered political and parliamentary affairs at NMG since 2011, including a posting as Kisumu Regional Editor, before his most recent role as Editor, Politics.
Michael Owuor — Acting Lead Editor, Daily Nation. Owuor previously served as Lead Editor, Weekends, prior to this appointment.
Ben Kitili — Acting Lead Editor, Broadcasting. Kitili holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Electronic Media, from Daystar University. He began his broadcast career at Mediamax Network’s K24 as a sports anchor and reporter, moving into news anchoring and current affairs editing there before a first stint at NTV from 2009. He worked at NMG as a news anchor and political reporter between 2011 and 2013, then spent eight years at Standard Group as political editor and senior news anchor before returning to NTV in 2021, where he has held news editor and managing editor roles ahead of this appointment.
Michael Omondi — Acting Lead Editor, Business Daily. Omondi previously served as Editor, Business Hub, prior to this appointment.
Alex Ndegwa — Editor, Content Hub. Ndegwa previously served as Lead Editor, Daily Nation, prior to this appointment.
Public biographical detail beyond prior NMG titles was not available for Kiplagat, Mwangi, Owuor, and Omondi at the time of this report.
Background
NMG operates across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda and is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the Uganda Securities Exchange, the Rwanda Stock Exchange and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. The company reports a digital reach of more than 62 million users and employs more than 1,000 journalists across the region.
