RockCity Radio 98.4FM will hit the airwaves this Wednesday, creating excitement in the usually sleepy town of Tororo in eastern Uganda.
Tororo Broadcasting Network Limited Board chairman Geresom Okecho-Ochwo confirmed in an interview that what excited listeners in the town are hearing on their radios, tests, ahead of a delayed launch, now set for March 2023.
“Tororo Broadcasting Network trading as ROCKCITY Radio hit the airwaves as 98.4 FM on Wednesday 18/01/2023 at exactly 06:50 pm Uganda time. Surely this is a giant leap that all should welcome with great pride,” said Okecho-Ochwo, who is also head of the radio fundraising committee of the Tieng Adhola Cultural Institution (TACI).
“What you are picking on your radios is just a test. When listeners picked the signal, it was a confirmation that all was well,” he said, adding “In the testing period it’s illegal to perform any live broadcast. We can only play pre-recorded music, pre-recorded short messages and undertake station imaging until we get clearance from the Uganda Communications Commission.”
Tororo Broadcasting Network’s RockCity Radio was licensed to operate a commercial radio station in Tororo on December 1, 2022.
“Let the women ululate, let the men bring out fumbo and let the celebration begin,” said the radio’s chief marketeer Jackson Oboth soon after.
“The gallant sons and daughters of Padhola under the TACI Radio Committee, we thank you for the resilience and utmost determination that have let us achieve this milestone. Above all we thank our very own warriors Minister Oboth Oboth and TACI Chair Jadwong Geresom Okecho. You have. arrived home with a huge entelope from your hunting expedition,” Oboth said.
The radio that is set to broadcast to most parts of eastern Uganda and western Kenya, will eventually go live in March this year after three years of fundraising in the country and in the diaspora.
The latest boost came from President Yoweri Museveni, who fulfilled a government sh200million (US$ 53831.38) pledge that was needed by the Tieng Adhola Cultural Institution (TACI) to complete installations to power RockCity Radio.
A new mast, the second tallest in the region, has already been placed top of the Rock to transmit to the whole eastern Uganda and western Kenya.