Who is Charles Odongtho? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, radio career, UBC, NBS Frontline, relationship with Linda, early life and education of a Ugandan senior Journalist, media personality and lawyer by profession.
Charles Odongtho is a Ugandan senior Journalist, media personality and lawyer by profession.
He is the current spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister.
Charles also hosts ‘Behind the Headlines’ a current affair and political talk show programme every Wednesday at 10 pm on Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC).
Odongtho is the founder and former talk show host of NBS Frontline, a popular political talk show that airs every Thursday at 10 pm on NBS television.
Early Life
Charles Odongtho was born on December 12th, 1974 at Lacor Hospital in Gulu.
He is the third child in a family of eight children.
His father was a soldier. Following a regime shift, his father and his small family were forced to evacuate and go into exile when he was only five years old.
His brief period of exile had a profound impact on how he saw the world. He had a close relationship with his father at first, but he also quickly grew close to his mother.
Education Background
Charles Odongtho started his education at Parombo Primary School, Nebbi, West Nile.
He then joined Angal Secondary School; a Catholic school established by the Verona Sisters.
Following Senior Four, Odongtho threw himself into the business world. Due to his diligence in his trade, he became a millionaire at the age of 17 and made the decision not to return to school.
His parents were not pleased about this, and they got into multiple verbal arguments with him. Following those two years in business, he took their advice and returned to school.
After a brief enrollment at Arua Academy, he moved to Alliance High School in Kampala, where he sat for his exams for the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education.
Odongtho enlisted in the army for a short while after receiving his A-Levels, but his mother became so upset about it that she came for him after just two weeks.
In 2000, he applied for a diploma program in journalism at Uganda Management Institute (UMI) and graduated in 2001.
He travelled to the Netherlands in 2003 to get a diploma in International Broadcast Training, where he studied broadcast, web, and newspaper reporting.
He enrolled at Makerere University to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication. He finished in 2007 and received his second-class higher degree in 2008.
In 2012, he enrolled for a bachelor’s degree in law at Makerere University.
Education background summary
| Years | Institution | Status /Award |
| Parombo Primary School | PLE | |
| Angal Secondary School | UCE | |
| Alliance High School | UACE | |
| 2001 | Uganda Management Institute (UMI) | Diploma in Journalism |
| 2003 | Netherlands | Diploma in International Broadcast Training |
| 2008 | Makerere University | Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication |
| 2016 | Makerere University | Bachelor’s degree in Law |
Marriage / Relationship
Charles Odongtho wedded his wife Linda Bernadette Kyarikora at St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Parish in Ntinda on 30th November 2019.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Charles Odongtho began working with The New Vision newspaper in 2001 as an intern in the New Vision newsroom and worked there for a full year.
After getting his diploma in International Broadcast Training, he was invited by Radio Paidha to serve as manager from June 2003 to August 2004.
He worked as the first news editor of Vision Voice radio after graduating. Then he was promoted to features editor. He then worked for “Vision Parliament” doing political programming.
He stayed employed with Vision Group until 2010 when he departed to complete a 1.5-month training program in Ethiopia.
He received a call that same year about a position at Panos as the Commissioning Editor for Rural Radio Debate. Panos is a research organization that also publishes books.
The famous political show, ‘Front Line’ which featured permanent panellists including Ofwono Opondo, Miria Matembe, and DP president Nobert Mao was founded and hosted by Charles Odongtho.
Following his departure from NBS TV in March 2020, he was immediately hired to host the show in July 2020.
Charles Odongtho is currently the host of the talk show program “Behind the Headlines” which airs on UBC Television.
He also joined the Government and obtained a position as the Spokesperson of the Directorate of Citizenship and Migration Control in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In July 2023, Charles was appointed as the new advisor and the Head of Communications (Publicist) at the Office of the Prime Minister. He replaced Julius Mucunguzi who went ahead to join the Organization of Educational Cooperation.
Work experience background summary
| Years | Institution | Position |
| 2001 – 2010 | Vision Group | Intern, News editor, Features editor, Political programmer |
| 2003 – 2004 | Radio Paidha | Manager |
| 2011 | Uganda Radio Network | Commissioning Editor |
| 2010 | Panos | Commissioning Editor for Rural Radio Debate |
| NTV Uganda | NewsNight host | |
| KFM | Friday Panel of Journalists | |
| 2016 – 2020 | NBS TV | Front Line Show host |
| 2020 – Present | UBC TV | Behind the Headlines Show host |
| 2023 – Present | Government | Spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister |
Other Career Achievements
In late 2011, he was invited again to join the Uganda Radio Network in the capacity of a commissioning editor.
He was leading the National Perspective Program at his new job. Development, reproductive health, infrastructure development, and social life issues were the main topics of this program.
He presented the “NewsNight” program on NTV Uganda and participated in the Friday panel of Journalists on KFM.
Achievements and Awards
For the past ten years, Charles Odongtho has been a familiar face and voice on Uganda’s top radio and television programs.
He was the only journalist from over sixty from Uganda selected to cover the US presidential elections in 2008 when then-President Barack Obama was running for office while working for The New Vision.
Controversies
It was alleged that Charles Odongtho was fired from NBS TV and replaced by Njala due to underperformance and insubordination reasons.
He had also been invited to appear before the station’s Disciplinary Committee to address questions regarding his alleged use of tribal jargon, absenteeism (AOL), and disobedience of institutional authority, among other things.
