By Paul Rasmussen
Published September 28, 2012
Alan Kasujja of Uganda has joined the presenting team on BBC World Service’s Newsday radio programme. Kasujja previously hosted Capital Radio’s Big Breakfast in Kampala and presented The Fourth Estate debate programme and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? on Ugandan television.
Kasujja will line up alongside Bola Mosuro, Julian Keane, Paul Bakibinga, Lawrence Pollard and Nuala McGovern in London, and Lerato Mbele in Johannesburg.
“I’m excited to be joining the BBC World Service and the superb new team on the Newsday programme,” says Kasujja. “I’m looking forward to working for one of the world’s most trusted news providers and connecting with audiences in Africa and around the world.”
His first assignment will be in Kampala, working on Newsday’s coverage with Paul Bakibinga of the 50th anniversary of Ugandan independence on the October 9, 2012. He will then head to London to join the Newsday team and will begin broadcasting in November 2012.
The Editor of Newsday, Simon Peeks, says: “I’m delighted that Alan has agreed to join the presenting team on Newsday; it’s very exciting. He’s a presenter with style, warmth and intelligence. He has a large and loyal following in Uganda and I look forward to him building new relationships with our millions of listeners across Africa and the rest of the world.”
Newsday is part of a range of new programming launched by the BBC this year for Africa. BBC Focus On Africa was also launched in July, providing the first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences. It is broadcast on BBC World News and via partner stations. In August, the BBC announced the launch of its first-ever TV news and current-affairs programme in Kiswahili, Dira ya Dunia (World Compass).
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Recent figures show that the BBC has a combined weekly audience on all platforms in Africa of 81.4 million in 2012 – up from 78.1 million in 2011, making the BBC the largest international broadcaster on the continent. Newsday now has more than 60 partner stations across Africa (including new partners in Zambia and Cameroon) in addition to being broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations in the United States and partners elsewhere.
Newsday launched on BBC World Service Radio on 23rd July in the week that London hosted the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games. It is an ambitious and innovative five-and-a-half hour show every weekday, bringing together the audiences of The World Today and Network Africa. Newsday regularly takes to the road in Africa, broadcasting the big stories as they unfold.
Kasujja has been part of Uganda’s media industry since his late teens, when he joined The New Vision as a freelance writer and photographer. He read law at Makerere University and speaks (or has a good understanding of) many East African languages.
He started his radio career at Sanyu FM in the 1990s, worked at Capital FM, Nairobi between 2007 and 2009, then returned home to present The Big Breakfast on 91.3 Capital, Kampala. He hosted Uganda’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and hosted The Fourth Estate, a highly influential political talk show in Uganda.
BBC Africa Editor, Solomon Mugera, says: “With Newsday we are presenting the biggest global radio breakfast show. In a world that’s becoming increasingly interconnected, the desire for trusted and relevant news has never been greater. Newsday gives our listeners a powerful start to the day with the latest news, sports, business and entertainment.”
