There are radio stations that exist because a market opportunity appeared, and there are radio stations that exist because a community decided it needed a voice. Jubilee Radio, broadcasting on 105.6 FM from Fort Portal, Uganda, is the second kind. Born from a resolution passed unanimously at the 3rd diocesan synod of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Portal in July 2011, it came on air on 12 April 2014, and has been broadcasting from Plot 6A, Mugurusi Road ever since, a few steps from the Alpine Medical Centre in the heart of one of Uganda's most scenic cities.
A Diocese's Anniversary, Turned Into a Station
The idea of establishing a diocesan radio station had been discussed for years, but it was the 50th anniversary of the Catholic faith in the Fort Portal diocese that finally made it happen. The station was conceived as a symbol of that jubilee, hence the name: a celebration of half a century of the Church's presence in this region of western Uganda, turned into a permanent institution. The radio is owned by the Catholic Diocese of Fort Portal under its Social Communications Commission, with the Banyatereza Sisters playing an active community role in its outreach.
The station's legal standing is fully established: it is registered and licensed with the Uganda Communications Commission and the Uganda Broadcasting Council, and runs as a commercial community operation, meaning it generates revenue to sustain itself while holding a community service mandate.
Fort Portal: Gateway to the Rwenzori Mountains
Fort Portal sits in the Kabarole District of western Uganda, in a region that borders the Democratic Republic of Congo and lies at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains, the glacier-capped range that locals call the "Mountains of the Moon." The surrounding landscape combines tea plantations, crater lakes, rainforest, and agricultural communities that stretch toward Kibale National Park to the south. It is visually spectacular and, for the communities that live there, the radio remains the most reliable medium for reaching people across mountain terrain where infrastructure is patchy.
Jubilee Radio serves this geography with a mission that goes beyond music: to empower communities to be self-reliant through information, education, and entertainment, nurturing the mind, heart, and spirit. The programming runs from gospel music to community affairs discussions to health programming, making it a genuinely multipurpose broadcaster for the families tuning in across the hills.
What Jubilee Radio Broadcasts
The programming structure at Jubilee Radio reflects its dual mandate as a faith-based station and a community broadcaster. The station strives to produce high-quality, value-added programming geared toward formation, education, and entertainment, explicitly positioning itself as "the voice of the voiceless." That phrase carries real weight in a region where rural communities can be isolated, and where access to national media is uneven at best.
- Gospel and Christian music, the station's spiritual core, offering uplifting content for a region with deep Catholic roots.
- Community programming, including health, agriculture, and local affairs content in local languages that connect directly to listeners' daily lives.
- News and current affairs, keeping the Kabarole District informed in a part of the country where proximity to the DRC border makes current information particularly valuable.
- International music, giving younger listeners a window to sounds from beyond the region.
Stream Jubilee Radio Free on Radio Shuffle
Tune in to Jubilee Radio on Radio Shuffle , no account, no app, no fee. Press play and you'll hear the sound of Fort Portal: gospel, community news, and the voice of a diocese that turned its 50th anniversary into a radio station and never looked back.