VETERAN JOURNALIST KASYATE JOINS OPM: Simon Kasyate Moves Back Into Government Communications After Years In Journalism, Corporate Affairs And Public Relations, Including A Senior Role At KCCA

Veteran journalist and communications specialist Simon Peter Kasyate has been appointed to a communications role in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), where he is expected to provide strategic communication support to two major government programmes, sources have said.

Kasyate will serve as a communications specialist supporting the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) and the Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP), programmes whose work involves communities in some of Uganda’s most vulnerable and displacement-affected areas.

According to sources familiar with the appointment, Kasyate will be responsible for providing communications and public relations guidance around the programmes, including helping government communicate their interventions, achievements and impact to the public and other stakeholders.

He will work alongside Benson Ongom, a former journalist with NBS Television, who is also involved in communications work for the programmes.

The appointment marks another return to public-sector communications for Kasyate, whose career has moved between journalism, broadcasting, corporate communications, public relations and strategic communications.

Kasyate is one of a generation of Ugandan journalists who transitioned from the newsroom into senior communications and public affairs positions in government, international organisations and the private sector.

His journalism career included a stint with Nation Media Group (NMG), where he worked in the group’s sister broadcast company NTV. At NTV, he served as a senior reporter, news anchor and television presenter. His career also included radio and television work, giving him experience across several platforms at a time when Ugandan journalism was increasingly becoming multimedia.

Reports on his career indicate that he began working in media more than two decades ago and was among journalists who moved between print, radio and television.

Kasyate’s journalism career was also marked by recognition. He won the CNN African Journalist of the Year award in the radio category in 2004, while he was also the overall winner of the Uganda Investigative Journalism Awards in 2008.

Communication journey

His transition from journalism into communications saw him take up increasingly senior positions.

He served as Press and Information Officer at the European Union Delegation in Uganda, a role that exposed him to diplomatic communications and international development programmes. He later worked as Corporate Affairs Manager at Eskom Uganda before joining the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL), where he served as head of corporate affairs.

Kasyate subsequently joined the Mastercard Foundation as Uganda’s Program Communications Lead in 2020, after leaving UEGCL, according to contemporary reports.

His return to government communications came in 2022 when he was appointed Head of Public and Corporate Affairs at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).

At KCCA, Kasyate was tasked with managing communication around the capital city’s activities and became one of the institution’s most visible public officials.

His KCCA experience was particularly significant because the authority operates in a politically sensitive environment, with its technical administration frequently interacting with elected city leaders, central government and the public.

As the authority’s communications official, Kasyate was regularly called upon to explain KCCA’s policies, projects and decisions, including during periods when the authority faced criticism over service delivery, roads, enforcement and governance.

His experience in handling public institutions is now expected to be useful in his new OPM assignment.

NUSAF and DRDIP operate in areas where effective communication is critical because government programmes must demonstrate their impact to beneficiaries, development partners and the wider public.

NUSAF was established as a social protection and livelihood programme targeting vulnerable communities, particularly in northern and other parts of Uganda affected by poverty and historical instability.

DRDIP, meanwhile, focuses on addressing the social and economic effects associated with refugee-hosting and displacement-affected communities.

For such programmes, communication goes beyond public relations. It involves documenting projects, explaining government interventions, highlighting beneficiaries and ensuring that development partners and communities understand how public resources are being used.

Kasyate’s background in both journalism and institutional communications places him in a position to bridge the two sides.

His newsroom experience gives him an understanding of what journalists require when covering government programmes, while his years in corporate and public-sector communications have given him experience in developing institutional messages and managing reputational issues.

His appointment also brings him back into an environment where his earlier experience with development and diplomatic institutions could prove useful.

Before his work at KCCA, Kasyate served with the European Union Delegation in Uganda, giving him exposure to development programmes and relations between government, international partners and communities.

At KCCA, his work also demonstrated his continued engagement with the media. In February 2024, for example, Kasyate participated in a meeting between KCCA and Nation Media Group, where the authority acknowledged the role of the media in raising concerns affecting Kampala residents and providing feedback from the public.

His new assignment therefore brings together several strands of his career — journalism, broadcasting, public relations, government communication and development-sector messaging.

Kasyate’s career has also been characterised by a willingness to move between journalism and communications rather than remaining exclusively in either field.

His early years in journalism established his public profile, while subsequent appointments in corporate affairs and government communications expanded his responsibilities from reporting events to shaping institutional narratives.

At OPM, his immediate challenge will be to communicate the work of NUSAF and DRDIP in a manner that captures both the policy objectives and the experiences of the communities benefiting from the programmes.

The appointment also comes at a time when government agencies and development programmes face growing pressure to demonstrate measurable impact and communicate directly with citizens.

For NUSAF and DRDIP, that means making projects and beneficiary stories visible while providing accurate information on programme objectives, funding and implementation.

Kasyate’s combination of newsroom experience and public relations expertise could therefore give the programmes a communications specialist familiar with both sides of the media equation.

His new colleague, Benson Ongom, also brings newsroom experience to the communications team, having previously worked with NBS Television.

Together, the two former journalists are expected to strengthen the communications machinery supporting the OPM programmes.

For Kasyate, the appointment represents another chapter in a career that has taken him from the newsroom to some of Uganda’s major institutions and development organisations — and back into government communication.

It also reinforces the growing trend of veteran journalists moving into strategic communications roles, where their ability to understand news, manage public information and communicate complex issues becomes an important institutional asset.

Author Profile

Stephen Kasozi Muwambi: Mr. Stephen Kasozi Muwambi is a seasoned crime investigative writer, majoring in judicial-based stories. His two decades’ experience as a senior investigative journalist has made him one of the best to reckon on in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected]