In August, Gen Salim Saleh, who heads the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) initiative, came out guns blazing. Not literally, but metaphorically.
Wielding word-guns, he reportedly banned artists and promoters from his home and wrote to the Presidential Advisor on Creatives, Eddy Kenzo, to manage the situation.
Gen Saleh stated that their constant, uncoordinated visits were disrupting his official duties and programmes in northern Uganda.
The core of that ‘low intensity conflict’, as Gen Saleh would deem it militarily, revolves around a government financial package, reportedly promised during the Covid-19 pandemic to support the struggling creative industry.
Artistes claim they were assured of these funds, but officials have been evasive about the details, leading many to directly seek out Gen Saleh, who was the facilitator of the funds.
Gen Saleh and his supporters have criticised a faction of promoters for a ‘culture of entitlement’ and for allegedly misusing previously provided support funds for personal gain.
However, a number of creatives, namely comedians and poets, say money was strong-armed by musicians.
Comedians added that they were not joking and poets refused to compare that money to a Shakespearean summer’s day.
Beyond the recriminations and counter-accusations, Uganda’s creative economy has not stood still, as far as comedy, poetry performances and book publishing are concerned.
This year has fecundated arguably the greatest number of cultural goods, as it were.
The written word has enjoyed a king’s ransom of net gains in terms of books published.
It seems that books have been published and launched all year long. Some good, some not so good, but all very noteworthy.
Books, publishing
Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva’s 2025 book titled Feeling: A Poetry Anthology Celebrating Iconic Ugandan Women reminded the literary industry about the better angels of its nature, so to speak.
Ms Nsengiyunva edited this anthology, which includes contributions from various Ugandan poets. It was published in March 2025 and officially launched in July 2025 in Kampala.
The anthology fittingly honours and celebrates more than 60 Ugandan women who have made path-breaking strides in various fields, such as medicine, education, and the arts.
Veteran poet Mark Gordon Mugasha’s book, Day Dreamer, a spoken word poetry collection, was published in 2024 and launched in 2025, exploring themes of mental health, personal struggles, and societal expectations.
Not to miss out on the action, Lus The Poet, launched Lus The Poet’s Preamble this year to the rather dubious distinction of Lus being former Ugandan president Idi Amin’s grandnephew.
The Dove and The Muse, a debut poetry collection by Ugandan writer Constance Prima Nabude, focuses on themes of love and longing. It was launched in September 2025 in Kampala.
This book launch was attended by none other than presidential hopeful and Budadiri West County legislator Nandala Mafabi. He made it ‘rain’ by dishing out wads of cash to the author.
Ms Nabude also had another book launch in Mbale a month ago and is planning a countrywide book tour.
Justice Jotham Tumwesigye, a retired Ugandan Supreme Court judge and former Inspector General of Government, published a memoir titled My Life Through Changing Times.
The book, which was launched in late 2025, chronicles his extensive career and personal journey.
Then there was Mulamuzi, A Patriarch’s Legacy: A Century of Service and Love, a memoir by Mr Hussein Ssengendo, fondly known as Mulamuzi, which means magistrate.
Dakta Ojul, the pen name for Ojul Odora Onesimus, a retired Ugandan ophthalmic clinical officer and author, set his words down into cold print.
His life story is documented in his autobiography, My Life: Dakta Okom-The Tree Stump, which details his journey from poverty in northern Uganda to becoming a respected medical professional.
Rise of AI
‘AI remains a controversial topic right from institutions of learning, through workplaces, to creative writing endeavours. Like anything, my favourite example being water, AI is both useful and dangerous if not wielded conscientiously. Water is life, but water can mean death if overconsumed, inhaled as in drowning,’ says Joanitah Atuhaire, an expert on AI regulation.
‘Similarly, AI is a wonderful tool that catalyses human efficiency in creative endeavours. We have to remember, although, that at the heart of creativity lies the unique, individual soul of expression which no machine can mimic. We risk losing our individual expressiveness to artificial intelligence, the more we rely on it to produce our content,’ she adds.
Further elaborating how, ‘Lately, we have been bombarded by an onslaught of AI generative text on social media, and it can usually be identified by its robotic monotonic prose, devoid of the fancy and whimsy of an unrestricted mind. There will be no detours or anecdotes or even jokes, innuendos from personal experience and the like (well, unless you programme them into the prompt, hence engineering, and if so, why not do the writing yourself?). I know authors who have previously churned out half-baked work because they have received book deals and now shudder to imagine how many more unreadable copies they will produce with the aid of trainable machines.’
‘To conclude, my current position is that AI is wonderful in moderation, and a good rule of thumb is to write organically and authentically, then run your text through the LLM of choice to polish grammar and the like (oh, how I miss the comically human occasional typos!),’ she posits.
Uganda must laugh
This year saw the unofficial coronation of Dr Hilary Okello as king of Ugandan comedy.
He has headlined shows like ‘Uganda Must Laugh 1 and 2’ at the National Theatre. He performs internationally in countries like Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa.
With respect to the wider comedy industry, a few years ago, roast comedy had yet to make its mark in Uganda, with most comedians sticking to familiar routines and safe jokes.
The idea of publicly teasing a guest, or turning them into a laughing stock before a crowd, was untested territory.
Today it is the hottest ticket in town, shaking up a comedy industry that had started to feel predictable.
Roast comedy, for the uninitiated, is a form of insult comedy that originated from American humour.
A guest, often a public figure, is put in the hot seat and playfully teased with jokes at their expense, balanced with occasional praise or tribute.
Roasters, who are usually friends, colleagues, and well-wishers, take turns landing punches while the guest is expected to take it all in good faith, making the event both chaotic and entertaining.
‘Earlier this year, Uganda’s comedy scene got its first major taste of a roast when Anne Kansiime staged her much-anticipated Comedy Grill. Hosted by Richard Tuwangye and Deedan Muyira, the show brought together a stellar lineup of celebrity roasters, including GNL Zamba, Gaetano Kagwa, Nana Kagga, Salvado, Prim Asiimwe, Mad Rat and Chiko, Skylanta and Miria Matembe. Behind the scenes was a writing team headed by comedian Timothy J Nyanzi that included Daniel Omara, Dr Hilary Okello, Napoleone Ehmah and Don Andre, who helped shape and refine the material,’ says stand-up comedian Timothy Nyanzi.
‘With the opening of the Laughing Marabou Stork, Ntinda in March, Uganda finally had its first-ever fully operational comedy club, offering multiple shows every week. What set the shows apart, however, was the unexpected twist at the end of each show: a mini roast during the curtain call where comedians took playful jabs at one another. The audience could not get enough, staying until the very last one landed. Before long, other comedy nights began adopting the same feature, and the success sparked the idea of introducing full-scale roast show formats to the club schedule.’
In July, Timothy hosted the first Roast Battle, featuring two fierce matchups: Slyva Two versus Leo Kyefuga, with Kyefuga taking the win, and Emmanuel Ekeesit versus Okello Okello in a showdown so intense it ended in a stalemate. The show sold out.
It was followed by the Roast of Daniel Omara in October, with Timothy serving as Roastmaster, and once again, audiences turned up in big numbers.
The panel for that edition included rapper Play01, comedians Emmanuel Ekeesit and Napoleone Ehmah.
One standout jab of the night- Timothy’s- ‘Play01 is doing so badly as a rapper, his music is no longer on Spotify. It’s on Crucify.’
The most recent roast, held in November, seems to have cemented the phenomenon as a major attraction.
Laughing Marabou Stork partnered with the Grab A Coffee podcast to roast its hosts, famed journalists Raymond Mujuni and Simon Kasyate.
The panel of Roasters included Timothy J Nyanzi, Dr Hilary Okello, Cotilda Inapo and Emmanuel Ekeesit, while Daniel Omara served as Roastmaster.
The jokes were flowing so freely that at one point, Daniel Omara reckoned: ‘A huge chunk of the Kitezi pile was Simon Kasyate’s rubbish Tweets,’ leaving the audience in stitches.
Once again, the show sold out, leading to some suggesting that the event should be held more frequently than just once a month.
The November roast was a vivid reminder of just how far the format has come.
At a time when comedians are competing for attention against TikTok skits and streaming platforms, roast comedy has breathed new life into Uganda’s live shows, giving performers a stage to push boundaries and audiences a reason to show up and cheer.