Media personality Sheilah Gashumba has opened up about the financial hardships faced by Ugandan television presenters, revealing that poor pay forced her to leave the industry.
Speaking during an interview on Kasuku Live, Gashumba disclosed that during her time at NTV Uganda, she was earning as little as UGX 50,000 per show—an amount she described as economically unsustainable.
“How can you be presenting and the only thing you own on the outfit is a knicker?” she questioned, highlighting how presenters are often under immense pressure to maintain appearances despite meager earnings.
Gashumba joined NTV in her early media career but left in 2019 due to what she termed as “peanut pay.” She later joined NBS TV as part of the After 5 show cast, before moving on to NRG Radio Uganda in 2021.
According to Gashumba, most TV presenters in Uganda struggle financially to the extent of borrowing clothes for their appearances on set.“TV presenters are broke. They borrow clothes. Those days, they would pay between UGX 50,000 to UGX 100,000 per show.
And when you asked for a raise, it felt like they were doing you a favor,” she said.She further explained that it was common practice for stylists or fashion brands to reclaim the clothes immediately after a show, leaving presenters with little more than their undergarments.Her remarks have reignited public debate around media compensation in Uganda, especially for young talents in entertainment and lifestyle programming.
