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Lake Opeta Wetland System is under growing pressure from farming, grazing, tree cutting and other human activities, with a new study warning that nearly a quarter of its intact wetland cover has been lost over the past three decades.

The study found that intact wetland cover declined from 93.2 percent in 1996 to 70.3 percent this year, representing a net loss of about 655.2 square kilometres.

Researchers warn that the scale of degradation is no longer isolated to a few locations but has become a landscape-wide problem, threatening biodiversity, water quality and the livelihoods of communities that depend on the wetland.

Lake Opeta stretches across Nakapiripirit, Nabilatuk, Bulambuli, Katakwi, Kumi and Bukedea districts in northern and eastern Uganda

The wetland covers approximately 68,912 hectares and is recognised as a Ramsar Site and an important bird area. It supports surrounding communities through fishing, water provision, grazing, agriculture and other ecosystem services.

Mr Bernard Sentamu, the lead researcher of the study titled ‘Enhancing Sustainable Community Based-Management and Climate Resilience in the Lake Opeta Wetland System’, said human activities were rapidly altering the wetland landscape.

‘In terms of degradation, where we have farmlands, both commercial and small scale, about 29.7 percent of the wetlands in these districts are degraded, mostly in Bukedea (64.2 percent), Kumi (54.1 percent), and low levels of degradation in Nakapiripirit and Katakwi districts,’ he said.

The assessment found that small-scale farming has become the dominant form of land-cover change.

Small-scale farmland increased from about 50.2 square kilometres in 1996 to 803.2 square kilometres this year, while the overall share of degraded wetland reached 29.7 percent.

By this year, grasslands accounted for 42.8 percent of the wetland cover, small-scale farmland (28 percent) and papyrus and floating vegetation (25.1 percent).

Open water accounted for 1.9 percent, while commercial farmland made up 1.2 percent.

The study found that farmland was concentrated largely in Bukedea, Kumi and Katakwi.Mr Sentamu said the largest losses of intact wetland cover were recorded in Bukedea, Kumi and Katakwi.

‘By 2026, degraded wetlands covered 850.8 square kilometres or 29.7 percent of the total wetland area, while intact wetlands covered 2,017.1 square kilometres or 70.3 percent. These trends showed that degradation is no longer isolated, but a landscape-scale process largely driven by land conversion,’ he said.

The environmental changes are also being felt by communities living around the lake.

Mr Sentamu said researchers combined biodiversity assessments, water-quality sampling and satellite imagery to establish the condition and changes in the wetland system.

‘In Nabilatuk District, we looked at the current state of this woodland ecosystem. We had biodiversity experts who were looking at the fauna and the flora. We also looked at the quality of the water in the sampled water systems, and also used the satellite images to look at the changes in these woodland ecosystems,’ he said.

‘About 80 percent of the respondents perceived this lake as degraded, citing concerns about water quality and quantity, and the availability of fish and other aquatic resources,’ he added.

The study found that between 1996 and 2026, intact wetland cover declined by about 22 percentage points, from about 93 percent to 70.3 percent.

Farming, grazing drive degradation

Researchers identified several pressures on the wetland, including expansion of agriculture, grazing, burning, over-harvesting of resources and limited awareness about conservation.

Grazing was reported as the leading pressure at 17.1 percent, followed by cultivation at 14.3 percent, limited awareness at 10.4 percent, burning at 9.9 percent and over-harvesting at 8.9 percent.

Mr Simon Okello, a senior environment officer and a wetland coordinator at Katakwi District Local Government, said four sub-counties were increasingly depending on the lake following crop failures associated with climate change.

‘They do the fishing, which is excessive now. Cattle are now staying in the wetland and by virtue of staying in the lake, they poop there, they drink water, they poo in the wetland, year in, year out,’ he said.

Mr Okello said the district was also witnessing the emergence of invasive vegetation and declining water levels.

‘We are realising really invasive species of the vegetation that used not to be there. We found that the water level has drained out from the wetland,’ he said.

He called for increased funding for district environment departments to enable them to implement recommendations arising from the study.

‘One district, by its annual budget, with the allocation that’s given to Natural Resources Department, you find a sector can have Shs4 million in a year. What can you do significant with these recommendations that the research has highlighted?’ Mr Okello wondered.

Climate shocks worsens problem

The study identified drought as the most commonly reported climate shock at 29.8 percent, followed by floods at 25.9 percent, extreme heat at 20.7 percent and strong winds at 15.6 percent.

Ms Florence Bako, a senior environment officer and acting Nakapiripirit District Natural Resources Officer, said drought was severely affecting communities.

‘Of course, the most is the drought. Drought is really affecting us so much. We also have floods. During rainy seasons, the place is really flooded because we have degraded our environment,’ she said.

Ms Bako called for continuous community sensitisation, enforcement of local by-laws and dialogue with communities on how to manage natural resources sustainably.

Mr Christopher Musiime, the programmes director at the Africa Centre for Energy and Mineral Policy (ACEMP), said the findings should serve as a wake-up call for stakeholders in the six districts.

‘And we feel the time is now to call different stakeholders to act in restoration, conservation and in protecting some aspects of this wetland,’ he said.

Mr Pax Sakari, the Executive Director of RICE West Nile, the lead partner in the project, said the report would have little value if its recommendations were not implemented.

‘Needless to say that a report of this kind, which will be left in cells, serves no purpose, serves no goal. The launch is the easy part, but the dialogue is where the real work begins,’ he said.

Mr Sakari also called on the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to consider the recommendations when making permits, licensing and enforcement decisions.

Mr Emmanuel Busobozi, Nema’s principal environmental officer-in-charge of water and wetlands, said the study could provide lessons for other regions.

‘Nema is working together with ACEMP and all other civil societies to make sure wetlands are sustainably used. Lake Opeta was gazetted by government and is internationally recognised, so it is very important and needs to be preserved,’ he said.

The study recommends greater community participation in conservation, restoration of degraded areas, stronger local governance and measures to improve climate resilience.

It also calls for viable alternative livelihoods so that communities are not forced to depend heavily on wetland resources for their survival.

Researchers want women and youth to have a greater role in conservation, noting that women are major users of wetland resources in several districts but their participation in restoration activities remains lower than that of men.

The report also proposes an inter-district Lake Opeta Wetland Management coordination framework to bring the six districts together in managing the ecosystem.

Other recommendations include stronger wetland boundary demarcation and zoning, harmonisation of local by-laws and integration of wetland management into district development plans.

Lake Opeta Wetland System is under growing pressure from farming, grazing, tree cutting and other human activities, with a new study warning that nearly a quarter of its intact wetland cover has been lost over the past three decades.

The study found that intact wetland cover declined from 93.2 percent in 1996 to 70.3 percent this year, representing a net loss of about 655.2 square kilometres.

Researchers warn that the scale of degradation is no longer isolated to a few locations but has become a landscape-wide problem, threatening biodiversity, water quality and the livelihoods of communities that depend on the wetland.

Lake Opeta stretches across Nakapiripirit, Nabilatuk, Bulambuli, Katakwi, Kumi and Bukedea districts in northern and eastern Uganda.

The wetland covers approximately 68,912 hectares and is recognised as a Ramsar Site and an important bird area. It supports surrounding communities through fishing, water provision, grazing, agriculture and other ecosystem services.

Mr Bernard Sentamu, the lead researcher of the study titled ‘Enhancing Sustainable Community Based-Management and Climate Resilience in the Lake Opeta Wetland System’, said human activities were rapidly altering the wetland landscape.

‘In terms of degradation, where we have farmlands, both commercial and small scale, about 29.7 percent of the wetlands in these districts are degraded, mostly in Bukedea (64.2 percent), Kumi (54.1 percent), and low levels of degradation in Nakapiripirit and Katakwi districts,’ he said.

The assessment found that small-scale farming has become the dominant form of land-cover change.

Small-scale farmland increased from about 50.2 square kilometres in 1996 to 803.2 square kilometres this year, while the overall share of degraded wetland reached 29.7 percent.

By this year, grasslands accounted for 42.8 percent of the wetland cover, small-scale farmland (28 percent) and papyrus and floating vegetation (25.1 percent).

Open water accounted for 1.9 percent, while commercial farmland made up 1.2 percent.

The study found that farmland was concentrated largely in Bukedea, Kumi and Katakwi.

Mr Sentamu said the largest losses of intact wetland cover were recorded in Bukedea, Kumi and Katakwi.

‘By 2026, degraded wetlands covered 850.8 square kilometres or 29.7 percent of the total wetland area, while intact wetlands covered 2,017.1 square kilometres or 70.3 percent. These trends showed that degradation is no longer isolated, but a landscape-scale process largely driven by land conversion,’ he said.

The environmental changes are also being felt by communities living around the lake.

Mr Sentamu said researchers combined biodiversity assessments, water-quality sampling and satellite imagery to establish the condition and changes in the wetland system.

‘In Nabilatuk District, we looked at the current state of this woodland ecosystem. We had biodiversity experts who were looking at the fauna and the flora. We also looked at the quality of the water in the sampled water systems, and also used the satellite images to look at the changes in these woodland ecosystems,’ he said.

‘About 80 percent of the respondents perceived this lake as degraded, citing concerns about water quality and quantity, and the availability of fish and other aquatic resources,’ he added.

The study found that between 1996 and 2026, intact wetland cover declined by about 22 percentage points, from about 93 percent to 70.3 percent.

Farming, grazing drive degradation

Researchers identified several pressures on the wetland, including expansion of agriculture, grazing, burning, over-harvesting of resources and limited awareness about conservation.

Grazing was reported as the leading pressure at 17.1 percent, followed by cultivation at 14.3 percent, limited awareness at 10.4 percent, burning at 9.9 percent and over-harvesting at 8.9 percent.

Mr Simon Okello, a senior environment officer and a wetland coordinator at Katakwi District Local Government, said four sub-counties were increasingly depending on the lake following crop failures associated with climate change.

‘They do the fishing, which is excessive now. Cattle are now staying in the wetland and by virtue of staying in the lake, they poop there, they drink water, they poo in the wetland, year in, year out,’ he said.

Mr Okello said the district was also witnessing the emergence of invasive vegetation and declining water levels.

‘We are realising really invasive species of the vegetation that used not to be there. We found that the water level has drained out from the wetland,’ he said.

He called for increased funding for district environment departments to enable them to implement recommendations arising from the study.

‘One district, by its annual budget, with the allocation that’s given to Natural Resources Department, you find a sector can have Shs4 million in a year. What can you do significant with these recommendations that the research has highlighted?’ Mr Okello wondered.

Climate shocks worsens problem

The study identified drought as the most commonly reported climate shock at 29.8 percent, followed by floods at 25.9 percent, extreme heat at 20.7 percent and strong winds at 15.6 percent.

Ms Florence Bako, a senior environment officer and acting Nakapiripirit District Natural Resources Officer, said drought was severely affecting communities.

‘Of course, the most is the drought. Drought is really affecting us so much. We also have floods. During rainy seasons, the place is really flooded because we have degraded our environment,’ she said.

Ms Bako called for continuous community sensitisation, enforcement of local by-laws and dialogue with communities on how to manage natural resources sustainably.

Mr Christopher Musiime, the programmes director at the Africa Centre for Energy and Mineral Policy (ACEMP), said the findings should serve as a wake-up call for stakeholders in the six districts.

‘And we feel the time is now to call different stakeholders to act in restoration, conservation and in protecting some aspects of this wetland,’ he said.

Mr Pax Sakari, the Executive Director of RICE West Nile, the lead partner in the project, said the report would have little value if its recommendations were not implemented.

‘Needless to say that a report of this kind, which will be left in cells, serves no purpose, serves no goal. The launch is the easy part, but the dialogue is where the real work begins,’ he said.

Mr Sakari also called on the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to consider the recommendations when making permits, licensing and enforcement decisions.

Mr Emmanuel Busobozi, Nema’s principal environmental officer-in-charge of water and wetlands, said the study could provide lessons for other regions.

‘Nema is working together with ACEMP and all other civil societies to make sure wetlands are sustainably used. Lake Opeta was gazetted by government and is internationally recognised, so it is very important and needs to be preserved,’ he said.

The study recommends greater community participation in conservation, restoration of degraded areas, stronger local governance and measures to improve climate resilience.

It also calls for viable alternative livelihoods so that communities are not forced to depend heavily on wetland resources for their survival.

Researchers want women and youth to have a greater role in conservation, noting that women are major users of wetland resources in several districts but their participation in restoration activities remains lower than that of men.

The report also proposes an inter-district Lake Opeta Wetland Management coordination framework to bring the six districts together in managing the ecosystem.

Other recommendations include stronger wetland boundary demarcation and zoning, harmonisation of local by-laws and integration of wetland management into district development plans.

At a glance

Six districts: Nakapiripirit, Nabilatuk, Bulambuli, Katakwi, Kumi and Bukedea share the wetland.

68,912 hectares: Approximate area covered by the Lake Opeta Wetland System.

93.2% -70.3%: Share of intact wetland cover declined from 93.2 percent in 1996 to 70.3 percent in 2026.

655.2 sq km lost

Estimated loss of intact wetland cover over the assessment period.

29.7% : Share of the wetland system classified as degraded

Deputy Chief Justice Moses Kazibwe Kawumi has urged Ugandans, particularly justice institutions, to uphold the principles of justice, judicial independence and the rule of law for which the country’s first Ugandan Chief Justice, Benedicto Kiwanuka, paid the ultimate price.

Justice Kawumi said remembering the late Chief Justice should go beyond an annual commemoration, urging the Judiciary and other institutions to ensure that his values continue to guide the administration of justice.

‘As we commemorate Justice Benedicto Kiwanuka, we remember a Chief Justice who stood firmly for justice and the rule of law, even at enormous personal cost,’ Justice Kawumi said on Tuesday during a press conference ahead of this year’s memorial lecture slated for Wednesday.

‘The greatest tribute we can pay him is not simply to remember his name once a year. It is to ensure that the values he represented continue to shape our institutions and the administration of justice,’ he added.

Justice Kiwanuka, Uganda’s first black Chief Justice, served from June 27, 1971 until his abduction from his chambers at the High Court on September 21, 1972, by President Idi Amin’s soldiers.

He was never seen alive again.

Justice Kawumi said Kiwanuka’s legacy should be reflected in an independent Judiciary, respect for lawful court decisions, protection of fundamental rights and a commitment to equal access to justice.

‘His legacy must live in an independent Judiciary, in respect for the rule of law, in the protection of rights and, above all, in our commitment to justice for every person,’ he said.

He said justice for all should not remain an abstract principle but must be experienced by court users in their everyday interaction with the justice system.

Justice Kawumi said this means ensuring that people can obtain accurate information, understand court processes, receive fair treatment and have their cases handled within a reasonable time.

One of the cases that cemented his reputation for judicial independence involved British businessman Daniel Stewart, who had been detained without trial.

Justice Kiwanuka granted a writ of habeas corpus despite opposition from the government, affirming the courts’ duty to protect individual liberty and underscoring the principle that the Executive could not dictate to the Judiciary.

Justice Kawumi said the lessons from Kiwanuka’s life remain relevant to Uganda today.

‘In practical terms, this requires us to preserve the independence of the Judiciary and respect lawful court decisions; administer justice impartially and without fear or favour; protect fundamental rights and freedoms; treat every court user with dignity and respect; reduce delays and make justice services easier to understand and access; and demonstrate integrity and courage in the exercise of public responsibility,’ he said.

National legacy

Justice Kawumi said the Kiwanuka story should not be viewed as belonging exclusively to judges and lawyers but as an important part of Uganda’s national history.

‘The principles he defended protect every citizen and sustain confidence in public institutions,’ he said.

He said the commemoration was particularly important for younger generations because it provides an opportunity to learn about Uganda’s judicial history and understand the sacrifices made in defence of constitutional values.

The annual commemoration is associated with September 21, the anniversary of Justice Kiwanuka’s abduction.

However, this year’s Benedicto Kiwanuka Memorial Lecture will be held on September 16 under the theme: ‘Justice for All: Carrying Forward Justice Ben Kiwanuka’s Vision.’

Juliet Anena doesn’t crave any media attention. It evidently appears that the limelight isn’t her thing. Though, she can’t avoid it considering she is the brainchild of the ever-growing Pearl of Africa (POA) Golf Series.

For the first time since its inception in 2025, PoA is taking a big leap this week. On Monday, POA with its partners welcomed a big foreign legion of about 21 players who will compete at the second leg of the Series at Entebbe Club this week.

Bigger than before

After all her work, PoA got this leg included as part of the Sunshine Development Tour (SDT) and the Big Easy Tour, which are feeder circuits to the big Southern Africa’s Sunshine Tour.

‘Up to now, the majority of our events have been in South Africa,’ Lucas Kyle, who is the Satellite Tours Manager for the Southern Africa PGA Tour or SDT.

‘I think it is a great opportunity. I am excited for this event. Uganda has a lot to offer, in terms of golf courses, players,’ Anena said in a recent interview.

Anena admires the work put in elsewhere globally to make professional golfers tick and when a mixed field tees-off for the 54-hole competition this morning, a bag of satisfaction will have found settled in her heart.

‘We want to use elite golf to sell Uganda, but we also want to use the various opportunities in Uganda to support the development of golf in the best ways we can. We want a win-win for the sport and the Pearl of Africa,’ she added.

Anena’s team and partners have put up a kitty of $20,000 (Shs79m) which has attracted a litany of players from the SDT circuit. The blend with local professionals is set to create a stellar stage for competition at the par-71 course.

Rugumayo’s run

In Entebbe, local pros warmed up with the MTN Pro Tee Series last week which was won by Ronald Rugumayo. He has won the last five tournaments involving pros including the 21st Uganda Professionals Open at Kitante about a fortnight ago.

Last Friday, Rugumayo sealed a seven-shot victory with a best aggregate total of -16 after 72 holes but he is still hungry. ‘It all goes back to the mindset, once the tournament is done, it’s done. You think ahead,’ he said.

‘You just have to start afresh,’ Rugumayo added. Rugumayo has competed on the Big Easy Tour and he knows the task ahead is huge if he is to make it six in six.

The Ugandan field also includes Rodell Gaita, Abraham Ainamani, in-form Grace Kasango who will aim to keep his cards tidy over three days, Hussein Bagalana, David Kamulindwa who must overcome a mental block since losing his mother about two months ago.

Familiar winners

Big Easy’s top players like South African top quartet of Ruan de Smidt, Ruben Van Der Berg, Dillon Germshuys and Ruan Groenewald are entered while past SDT East Africa leg winners like US-based Ugandan Willy Deus Kitata, record six-time Uganda Pros Open champion Dismas Indiza and his Kenyan compatriots like Daniel Nduva and Greg Snow are in the fray.

The foreign legion also has Jastas ‘Pastor’ Madoya who won the 2019 Entebbe Open and 2021 Uganda Pros Open on the same Entebbe course.

Meanwhile, Malawian Paul Chidale, top irons hitter Tanzanian Nuru Mollel, Nigerians Godwin Okoko and Sunday Olapade, who attempted to win the Pros Open at Kitante two weeks ago, are entered.

A bunch of professional ladies are also included such as eSwatini’s Nobuhle Dlamini, South Africans Ellandri van Heerden and Chante van Zyl, Nigerian Cynthia Maurice and Ugandan pair of Flavia Namakula and Evah Magala all have eyes on the kitty.

African Test. Ugandan professionals face their biggest Pearl of Africa Golf Series examination yet when a strong foreign contingent joins the local field at Entebbe Club today, with the event gaining Sunshine Development Tour and Big Easy Tour status for the first time.

THE TALKING POINT

Bigger Stage. The second PoA edition has moved beyond a purely local professional contest, bringing together players from Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, eSwatini and the United States on a recognised 54-hole platform. For Uganda’s pros, the three-day event offers a rare opportunity to measure themselves against players competing on Southern Africa’s feeder circuits.

The two guns allegedly recovered from a Nairobi City apartment where Dr Kizza Besigye and his aide Obeid Lutale were arrested had been planted there as part of an ‘intelligence operation’, a star prosecution witness has told the High Court.

Andrew Wilson, alias Orlando, made the revelation yesterday during cross-examination by the defence in the ongoing treason trial against Dr Besigye, Lutale and UPDF officer Capt Denis Oola.

The witness, a former military officer, agreed with defence lawyer Kizito Faroq Kamulegeya that the guns and what was described as old fake currency were already inside the Riverside Apartments room before Lutale arrived.

‘You testified that the Riverside Apartment was pre-arranged for you,’ Mr Kamulegeya asked.

‘Yes, my lord,’ Mr Wilson replied.

Counsel Kamulegeya then asked the witness to confirm that the items were already in the room before the arrival of Lutale.

‘Yes,’ Mr Wilson answered.

The witness said the two pistols had been placed on a counter near the entrance of the room.

Mr Wilson, who has spent close to a month on the witness stand, said he became apprehensive after seeing the firearms and decided to unload them because he considered his safety more important.

‘I didn’t want loaded guns in my room. I unloaded them for safety purposes,’ he told the court presided over by Justice Emmanuel Baguma.

The defence, however, questioned why Mr Wilson, who claimed to have received military training in several countries, would touch firearms whose presence in the room he did not understand.

‘With the military training you acquired from America, Nigeria, South Africa, the Middle East…, was it wise for you to touch the gun with your fingers?’ Mr Kamulegeya asked.

Mr Wilson maintained that he was acting out of concern for his safety.

He also acknowledged that his fingerprints could have remained on the firearms and that he did not have a Kenyan firearms licence.

‘I considered safety first,’ he said.

Counsel then put it to the witness that the guns had been deliberately planted to implicate his client, Lutale.

‘It looks like it was to implicate A2 (Hajj Lutale),’ Mr Wilson responded.

The cross-examination further raised questions about how the alleged firearms recovery was handled after the arrests.

Mr Wilson told the court that after police arrested him, he was not interrogated and that the apartment was not cordoned off as a crime scene as it’s normally done in criminal matters.

He further said he and an associate identified only as Zac later returned to the apartment and spent the night there.

Counsel suggested that the sequence of events-including the alleged planting of the guns and fake currency, the escape after police stormed the premises, and the subsequent return to the apartment to enjoy their night-pointed to a stage-managed operation.

But Mr Wilson, in response, said, ‘It was an intelligence operation.’

Earlier in his evidence-in-chief, Mr Wilson told the court that he waited for Dr Besigye and Mr Lutale at Riverside Apartments on November 16, 2024, where he secretly recorded their conversation about allegedly overthrowing the Ugandan government by force of arms.

Further in the cross-examination yesterday, Wilson told the court that he had travelled to Kenya by road from Uganda, starting his journey in Entebbe where he had a meeting before being driven to the Kenyan border.

He didn’t tell the court which place in Entebbe he started his journey.

At the border, he said, he changed vehicles and was driven in a Kenyan car to Riverside Apartments in Nairobi.

Mr Wilson said he did not know the identities of the people who transported him and that he left Uganda on November 15, arriving in Nairobi the following day.

Dr Besigye and Lutale had travelled to Nairobi to attend the launch of a book by former Kenyan Justice Minister Martha Karua, where he was the chief guest.

He and Mr Lutale were subsequently arrested and returned to Uganda, where they were initially charged before the General Court Martial with unlawful possession of firearms and live ammunition.

The prosecution alleged that on November 16, 2024, the two were found at Riverside Apartments in possession of two pistols and eight rounds of pistol ammunition.

The firearms were described as weapons ordinarily reserved for the Defence Forces.

Under the charge of unlawful possession of firearms c/s 4 (1) and (2) of the Firearms Act, Cap 320, it was the prosecution’s case that Dr Besigye and Lutale, on November 16, 2024, while at Riverside Apartments in Nairobi, Kenya, were in unlawful possession of a Pistol model 27 KAL No. 765, and Pistol HB 1014 1953, which are ordinarily the monopoly of the Defence Forces.

Under the charge of being in possession of live ammunition, the prosecution contended that on the very day, at the same place at Riverside Apartments, they were found in unlawful possession of 8 rounds of pistol ammunition, which are ordinarily the monopoly of the Defence Forces.

The aforementioned charges were later dropped following the Supreme Court’s January 31, 2025 landmark judgment declaring the trial of civilians by military courts unconstitutional.

The judgment arose from former Nakawa MP Michael Kabaziguruka’s case and led to the transfer of pending cases involving civilians from the military court system to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Parliament later amended the UPDF Act to allow military trials of civilians in narrowly defined circumstances, particularly where a civilian is jointly charged with a serving soldier alleged to be the principal offender.

Treason charges

The State subsequently charged Dr Besigye, Mr Lutale and Capt Oola with treason, alleging that they participated in meetings in Uganda and abroad, including in Athens, Geneva and Nairobi, as part of a plan to overthrow the government.

The three deny the allegations.

Dr Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, has been absent from the proceedings after collapsing in the dock over a month ago while protesting against legal representation he said he had not chosen.

Government’s economic empowerment programmes in Dokolo District are coming under pressure as prolonged dry spells, erratic rainfall and hailstorms undermine agricultural production, leaving beneficiaries struggling to recover funds and sustain their livelihoods.

The challenges emerged during an oversight visit by the Ministry of Economic Monitoring on Wednesday to assess the implementation and impact of the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga and cattle restocking programmes in the district.

Farmers told the monitoring team that unpredictable weather had destroyed crops, increased the cost of livestock feeds and reduced household incomes, threatening the sustainability of government interventions whose success in the district largely depends on agriculture.

Mr Ivan Ochol, a farmer in Kyegere Parish, said he invested heavily in maize but harvested only a fraction of what he expected after inadequate rainfall.

‘I planted maize on my two acres. I bought improved seed because I wanted a good harvest. I bought eight packets at Shs25,000 each. After planting, some rain came and I hoped things would be better. However, it rained little and then sunshine came,’ he said.

Ochol noted that the poor harvest had affected many farmers, who were also struggling with low market prices.

‘We buy seeds expensively and yet buyers give us very little money, at Shs400 per kilogramme, claiming the maize was not good because of climate change,’ he said.

The effects are also being felt by beneficiaries who have diversified into livestock enterprises.

Paul Orwol Joshua, a Senior Six leaver rearing chicken to raise money for university, said rising feed prices had made poultry farming increasingly difficult.

‘Because of climate change, the price of maize bran has gone up. In order for you to feed your chicken well, you must buy it. One bag of maize is costing Shs200,000, yet initially it cost Shs100,000,’ he said.

Mr Orwol said the high cost of feed had already caused him losses.

‘For a student like me to buy a bag gets hard, yet I must feed the chicken. Because of the prices and climate change, I have been greatly affected. I have lost quite many chickens because of feeds,’ he revealed.

PDM recovery threatened

Dokolo North County MP Joseph Jones Ogwal said the weather shocks had undermined the ability of PDM beneficiaries to generate income and repay the funds.

‘This year, we have had less than 30 rainfall days from the beginning of the year. We also had hailstorms which affected some farmers. So basically, it was a double disaster, all induced by climate, and most of our farmers basically lost everything,’ he said.

Mr Ogwal, who is also a member of Parliament’s Committee on Climate Change, said government economic inclusion programmes needed to factor climate-related risks into their design.

‘PDM needs to be restructured to take care of externalities like climate change, which is normally not factored into the planning and yet it comes up to affect the outcome. So this is one area for review and also redesign of the programme,’ he explained.

He added that some cattle restocking beneficiaries had diversified into other ventures but were also being affected by the climate crisis.

Dokolo Woman MP Sarah Aguti said farmers had lost crops after the first rains failed, while government-supported coffee seedlings had also been affected by prolonged sunshine.

She called for greater investment in irrigation to reduce farmers’ dependence on increasingly unreliable rainfall.

‘This is not sustainable. It cannot even push the coffee which is given and programmes like PDM and cattle restocking. I urge the government to improve on irrigation so that our people do not only wait for rain to come,’ she said.

The Minister of State for Economic Monitoring, Ms Sandra Santa Alum, noted that the ministry was compiling challenges and recommendations emerging from its field monitoring exercises.

She said the findings would be consolidated after consultations with stakeholders and used to identify gaps affecting the programmes.

‘So, at the end of it all, that’s when we shall sit down as leaders and see the challenges that we are facing and how best we can really fill in the gaps so that these programmes realise the intended outcome,’ she said.

The Ministry of Health has attributed the rampant cases of diagnostic errors to cognitive biases among healthcare professionals, systemic gaps, limited equipment, and the infiltration of unqualified personnel.

This communication follows reports that the late Omukama (King) Oyo Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV of Tooro Kingdom had to go to Kenya to receive an accurate cancer diagnosis.

Before this, he had reportedly spent months getting misdiagnosed care in Kampala’s major private facilities, after the diagnostic efforts missed his aggressive cancer.

Dr Charles Olaro, the director general of Health Services at the ministry, while reacting to public fury over reports of rampant cases of misdiagnosis, said Ugandans should not view misdiagnosis as a problem unique to Uganda.

‘Misdiagnosis happens everywhere in the world. In the US, which we take as the high end, diagnostic errors affect an estimated 12 million adults annually,’ he said.

An accurate and timely diagnosis is essential for successful treatment, reducing the cost of medical care and curbing preventable deaths, according to researchers and health experts.

Studies on misdiagnosis are scarce in Uganda, but a 2022 study in five general hospitals in central Uganda by Simon Peter Katongole of the School of Public Health, Gudie University Project, and colleagues, found that misdiagnosis is a big problem.

About one in 10 patients (9.2 percent to be exact) in central Uganda are misdiagnosed, while around 52 percent of health workers have witnessed or committed diagnostic errors, according to the report.

This study was conducted in five general hospitals in Kiboga, Nakaseke, Gombe, Kayunga and Mityana all located in central Uganda.

Dr Olaro explained that if the history or the information provided by the patient is incorrect, then the diagnosis may also not be accurate.

Cognitive biases

He said this is rife among healthcare workers because many of them make diagnoses based on the common diseases they see in that area.

‘For instance, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the first diagnosis people (healthcare workers) made was malaria, not Covid-19.’

According to information from the University of Toronto, cognitive biases in disease diagnosis include premature closure, where medical personnel jump to conclusions before a diagnosis is fully verified.

The other aspect is anchoring bias, where medical personnel lock onto an initial piece of information and fail to adjust as new evidence emerges.

Some medics may also struggle with confirmation bias, where they actively seek evidence that supports their initial conclusion while ignoring or downplaying contradictory signs.

Dr Olaro also said the misdiagnosis can result from ‘systemic failure’, say when a doctor spends a short time on a patient.

‘The other aspect is that you can only make certain diagnoses with certain diagnostic equipment, either imaging or laboratory diagnostics. However, it could be that the doctor does not interpret the scan results correctly,’ he said.

A 2025 analysis report by Munanura Turyasiima from the Department of Standards Compliance, Accreditation and Patient Protection of the Ministry of Health, and colleagues, shed more light on the issue of misdiagnosis.

‘Despite global advancements in diagnostic technologies, Uganda’s healthcare system grapples with persistent challenges. Studies reveal that 52 percent of healthcare workers in central Uganda have witnessed or committed diagnostic errors, with misdiagnosis rates as high as 9.2 percent in inpatient settings,’ the report read in part

The research noted that these errors are exacerbated by cognitive biases, limited access to laboratories, and socioeconomic barriers that delay care-seeking.

‘The consequences are dire: patients endure prolonged suffering, unnecessary costs, and eroded trust in healthcare systems, while providers face moral distress and inefficiencies,’ the report reads further.

Quacks in health system

While announcing the commemoration of World Patient Safety Day, slated for September 17 in Naguru Hospital, Dr Racheal Beyagira of the Ministry of Health said they are struggling with the infiltration of unqualified personnel in the medical field, especially in the private sector.

Dr Beyagira, who is the Commissioner for Standards Compliance Accreditation and patient protection (SCAPP), said they are working on guidelines to address this, mainly in the private sector.

‘The Ministry of Health is coming up with guidelines for services in the private sector.

We have not had them before,’ she said.

She said the guidelines will focus on issues like licensure, registration, training, and the ethical code of conduct for health professionals.

‘The absence of these guidelines powers quack medical practitioners hence the issue of misdiagnosis among others,’ she added.

For decades, the building on Kamukuzi Hill whispered of collapsed grandeur rather than proclaiming it. Mugaba Palace, the former seat of Ankole royalty, had settled into a long slumber of decay. Its roofs sagged, its grounds surrendered to neglect, and its rooms housed not kings but squatters; some 20 families nested inside Gasyonga House alone, the heart of the estate. From a distance, the hilltop compound looked less like a royal residence and more like a casualty of forgotten time, an 11-acre question mark where history had been interrupted by weeds, smoke, and the ordinary press of survival.

Today, the interruption has ended.

What rises from Kamukuzi Hill is no mere repair job. It is a resurrection. After a phased, years-long restoration initiated by Uganda’s Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Mugaba Palace has been returned to the skyline of Mbarara, not as a sealed museum piece, but as what heritage architects call a heritage time capsule, a carefully reconstructed environment where the texture of royal life can be felt rather than merely read about. Walking its manicured grounds now, one senses the peculiar tension that defines the best restorations: the building is at once brand new and deeply old, a place where 1954 and the present occupy the same breath.

The palace in shambles

To understand what has been achieved, one must first grasp what was lost. Dr Jackline Nyiracyiza Besigye, the Commissioner for Museums, Sites and Monuments, remembers the first site inspection with sobering clarity.

‘When this place was identified, it was in shambles,’ she recalls. ‘It was dilapidated, and there were small structures within the space.’

The Gasyonga House, the compound’s most significant building, had been subdivided and domesticated by the press of ordinary life. Families cooked where queens once dressed; children slept where ambassadors may have been received. The palace had simply been colonised by the very everydayness it was built to transcend.

The restorers understood that reinstating Mugaba Palace required more than construction crews. It required an archaeology of memory. The project was divided into deliberate phases; first secure the 11-acre site, then rescue the historic buildings, and finally restore the landscape. The initial phase began in 2017 with the perimeter wall and fencing, completed between 2019 and 2020. But even this first gesture was conceived as storytelling. Rather than a blunt security barrier, the wall was designed to introduce visitors to the visual vocabulary of Ankole before they stepped through the gate; the long horn cattle motifs and agricultural symbols etched into the boundary, announcing that pastoralism and kingship still shared this hill.

The architecture of memory

The restoration team prioritised four structures that together trace the evolution of the Ankole royal establishment; the Gasyonga House, Kahaya House, Nyamashore House, and the Drum House. Of these, Gasyonga House carries the heaviest emotional and historical freight. Associated with Sir Charles Godfrey Gasyonga II, the last Omugabe who occupied the palace before the abolition of traditional kingdoms in 1967, the house was treated not as a relic to be sealed behind glass but as a life to be reimagined.

The curators conducted oral research across Ankole, seeking palace staff and elders who could recall how the rooms functioned, where the light fell in the afternoon, and what the royal couple wore when receiving visitors. Photographs were traced, memories cross-referenced, and from this patchwork of evidence, the team reconstructed an interior that breathes.

One of the most arresting details is the clothing. A ceremonial robe belonging to the former king hangs garments representing the public and ceremonial life of his queen, Omwigarire Constance Mary Ndyomwishiki. The surprise is that these are not exclusively traditional pieces. For official functions, the royal couple adopted contemporary fashion of their era, evidence of an elite cosmopolitanism that reached beyond the cattle corridors of the southwest. Seeing their clothing displayed within the rooms gives the house an unexpected intimacy; it is less a monument than a wardrobe suddenly reopened, suggesting that royalty here was not a fossil but a living, choosing presence.

Sourcing the past

If Gasyonga House captures the palace’s final royal chapter, Kahaya House reaches further back. Linked to Omugabe Edward Solomon Kahaya II. This building reflects a period when Indian trade networks had penetrated the Ugandan interior, bringing new materials, forms, and ambitions. By the 1930s, Indian influence was evident in the furniture and architectural detailing of the Ankole elite. The restoration team honoured this layer by sourcing pieces from as far away as the coastal towns of Mombasa in Kenya, hunting for beds and chairs whose silhouettes could convincingly evoke the period without resorting to anachronistic modern substitutes.

The result is a series of interiors that feel inhabited rather than staged. Kahaya House contains two throne rooms where the king once met with chiefs and subjects; shields and ceremonial objects have been positioned to recreate the charged atmosphere of these encounters. But the curators went further still, attempting to reconstruct aspects of the traditional palace that existed before colonial architectural languages took hold. The house thus becomes a blend of colonial, Indian, and indigenous Ankole influences, all visible, none pretending to be the sole truth.

This commitment to honest recreation required the team to acknowledge loss. Where original furniture and fittings had vanished beyond recovery, they did not fake authenticity. Instead, they recreated based on historical evidence, allowing visitors to understand the difference between a surviving artifact and a carefully researched approximation.

‘In heritage, when we talk about recreation, we create according to the demand,’ Dr Besigye explains. ‘Here, the demand was to imagine how this place looked in the 1940s. We are looking at the transition from the pre-colonial period into colonialism, and the objects and interiors show how that transition affected the royal household.’

The furniture becomes evidence of transition, the shift from pre-colonial to colonial life made tangible in the grain of wood and the curve of a chair back.

Reading the walls

Perhaps the most intellectually satisfying aspect of the restoration is not what has been added, but what has been revealed. In several sections, the team deliberately stripped away later plaster to expose the building’s structural autobiography. The contrast is immediate and eloquent. Older walls were constructed from mud and bricks without cement, their massive thickness speaking to an engineering logic that relied on width and weight rather than reinforced binding. Later additions incorporated cement and modern methods, lighter and thinner. Rather than conceal this evolution, the restoration spotlights it. Around the kitchen area in particular, exposed sections allow visitors to stand before the bare bones of the architecture and understand how stability was achieved before Portland cement became the region’s default.

‘The walls themselves tell us about architectural evolution,’ Dr Besigye notes. ‘The older buildings have very wide walls made of mud and bricks without cement. We opened some sections, especially around the kitchen, so visitors can see how these structures were constructed and understand how people achieved strength before the widespread use of cement.’

It is a rare museum that allows its own construction to be part of the exhibition. Here, the masonry does the talking.

The view from the hill

What stands on Kamukuzi Hill today is less a conventional palace than a conversation across time. Built in 1954, the compound bears traces of British colonial planning and Indian decorative influence, yet it remains fundamentally a statement of Ankole royal identity. The restoration does not choose one era over another. Instead, it invites the visitor to walk through layers, to move from the pre-colonial imaginary of Kahaya House to the modern-global wardrobe of Gasyonga House, all while reading the walls that make such transitions physically possible.

Uganda’s traditional kingdoms were abolished in 1967, and for decades afterward, Mugaba Palace existed in a kind of limbo, too significant to demolish, too ruined to honour. The restoration does not bring the kingdom back, history does not rewind, but it does reclaim the dignity of the site. It asserts that the material culture of Ankole royalty deserves preservation not as nostalgia, but as a living reference point.

Dr Besigye’s hope is that the palace will draw tourists to Mbarara and anchor a broader appreciation of southwestern Uganda’s heritage. Yet the deeper achievement may be subtler. By rebuilding not just walls but the sensations of royal life, the clothes, the furniture, the very thickness of the brickwork; the restoration team has created something rarer than a museum. They have created a threshold. Cross it, and for a moment, the hill belongs to another century entirely. Step back, and the modern city of Mbarara glitters below, indifferent but, perhaps, slightly more aware of what it rests upon.