“I’m a Journalist, Not Your Tourism Minister”: CNN Correspondent Larry Madowo Clashes With Ugandan CEO Over Who Brands Africa

By Tendai Keith Guvamombe

The digital landscape erupted this week as a sharp exchange between CNN International correspondent Larry Madowo and Ugandan business leader Jackie Akapwera ignited a fierce debate over who carries the burden of branding Africa. The spark? A post by Madowo highlighting CNN’s coverage of Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda’s pioneering wildlife vet, while simultaneously questioning why such positive profiles struggle to garner the same viral traction as reports on political brutality.

The tension reached a boiling point when Akapwera, CEO of Jada Coffee, challenged Madowo on his personal contribution to promoting Ugandan wildlife.

Madowo’s retort—“I’m a journalist, not your tourism minister”—reverberated across X, drawing a hard line between the professional duty to document reality and the civic expectation to market a nation.

The discourse quickly evolved into a microcosm of the “Africa Rising” vs. “Western Media Bias” debate.

One group of observers took a pragmatic stance, arguing that the onus of national branding lies with the state, not international networks. “He’s doing us a favor to air those positive stories,” one user noted, urging Ugandans to task their local media and tourism boards rather than expecting a foreign correspondent to act as a PR agent.

However, the conversation took a sharp turn toward internal accountability. Critics pointed to Terp Media, an entity linked to the Ugandan First Family, noting that substantial taxpayer funds had previously been allocated to market Uganda on platforms like CNN.

This shifted the spotlight from Madowo’s editorial choices to the efficiency of government-funded “Brand Uganda” initiatives. If billions are spent on official promos, why should an independent journalist be expected to do the same for free?

Finally, the exchange highlighted a systemic vulnerability: the lack of a Pan-African media powerhouse. As one user lamented, without a continent-wide equivalent to the BBC or Al Jazeera, Africa remains at the mercy of external editorial agendas.

This aligns with the AU’s Agenda 2063, which calls for Africa to tell its own story.
The “Madowo-Akapwera” spat proves that while international journalists provide a mirror, the continent must own the lens.

Until Africa invests in its own global media infrastructure, the tug-of-war between “reporting the news” and “promoting the brand” will continue to play out on the world stage.