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Uganda have moved within two games of another ILT20 Continent Cup final, but the Cricket Cranes’ route to Saturday’s showpiece now runs through two increasingly significant East African derbies.

Uganda’s five-wicket victory over Botswana at Gahanga International Cricket Stadium Main Oval yesterday lifted them to 10 points from six matches, keeping them second behind unbeaten Kenya on 12. But with hosts Rwanda also still in contention on eight points, Uganda cannot afford to ease off with the tournament entering its decisive phase.

The Cricket Cranes meet Rwanda on Thursday morning before completing their round-robin campaign against Kenya tomorrow morning. Only the top two teams qualify for Saturday’s final.

Breathing room

The victory over Botswana gave Uganda valuable breathing room after their first defeat of the competition against Kenya. It also strengthened a campaign that began with victories over Sierra Leone, Botswana and Rwanda before the Migingo Derby loss.

Uganda’s position is further strengthened by their impressive +3.761 net run rate, which is comfortably ahead of Rwanda’s +1.233. That margin could become important if teams finish level on points.

For now, however, the Cranes will be more concerned with collecting the points needed to avoid leaving their qualification hopes to permutations.

Early strikes, late resistance

Captain Riazat Ali Shah finally won the toss yesterday and had little hesitation in sending Botswana in on a surface that offered an unpredictable challenge. Slow Left-Arm Orthodox Matthew Musinguzi justified the decision immediately, removing Monroux Kasselman with the first legal delivery.

The early wickets continued to fall, with Uganda claiming three inside the powerplay before Joseph Baguma removed Botswana’s dangerous Vinoo Balakrishnan for 36 in the 11th over.

The Zebras looked destined for a modest total until Abel Botlhe Keganne dug in. The 20-year-old produced Botswana’s most substantial innings, making 42 from 47 balls, with four fours and a six. Katlo Piet added an unbeaten 20 from 17 balls to help Botswana reach 119 for eight.

Baguma and Cosmas Kyewuta took three wickets each, giving Uganda a platform from which to chase.

Musemeza keeps rolling

Uganda’s chase was considerably faster, although not completely comfortable. Robinson Obuya struck 32 from 22 balls before Charles Musemeza continued his impressive tournament with 39 from 25 deliveries.

Musemeza’s three sixes and three fours pushed Uganda towards the target, while Gerald Olipa supplied another burst of power with 19 from eight balls. Botswana’s Piet made Uganda work for the victory, taking four wickets, but the target had already been brought within reach.

Riazat, unbeaten on 17, and Kenneth Waiswa, unbeaten on 13, then guided Uganda home at 125 for five after only 15 overs. The 30 balls remaining underlined Uganda’s batting efficiency despite the five wickets lost.

Rwanda first, Kenya next

The immediate challenge is Rwanda, who enter the fixture after beating Sierra Leone by six wickets on Wednesday. That result lifted the hosts to eight points from seven matches and kept them firmly in the qualification conversation. Uganda therefore cannot afford to treat the meeting as another routine league fixture.

After Rwanda comes the final round-robin test against Kenya, who have won all six of their matches and already occupy the top position with 12 points. The Cranes therefore face a demanding finish: a host nation fighting to stay alive in the race, followed by the tournament’s only unbeaten side.

Uganda’s 10 points give them an advantage in the table, but the final two fixtures will determine whether that advantage translates into a place in Saturday’s final.

ILT20 CONTINENT CUP – POINTS TABLE

Team M W L Pts NRR

Kenya 6 6 0 12 +3.477

Uganda 6 5 1 10 +3.761

Rwanda 7 4 3 8 +1.233

Botswana 6 1 5 2 -2.614

Sierra Leone 7 0 7 0 -5.020

Arua High Court has scheduled September 21 for the hearing of an election petition in which former Maracha County MP Denis Lee Oguzu is challenging the election of Nelson Uhuru as his successor.

The petition, which began with a pre-hearing conference at the court on Wednesday, is being heard by Justice Celia Nagawa.

By 4pm, the courtroom was packed with witnesses and residents from Maracha District who sat quietly as lawyers for the petitioner and respondents argued over the issues to be determined during the hearing.

Mr Oguzu, who served two terms in Parliament on the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) ticket, is challenging Mr Uhuru, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, and the Electoral Commission over alleged electoral violations and irregularities during the January 2026 election.

During Wednesday’s scheduling conference, Mr Renato Kania, counsel for Mr Uhuru, argued that the central issue in the petition was whether bribery allegedly committed during the election was done with his client’s knowledge, consent or approval.

He said the petition was based on two grounds-alleged bribery and donations attributed to Mr Uhuru-and asked the petitioner to restrict the case to those matters.

Mr Oguzu’s lawyer, Mr Blaise Rugamba, however, said the issues should be framed more broadly around whether the first respondent committed electoral illegal practices and irregularities during the election period.

He argued that the court should determine whether Mr Uhuru, personally or through his agents, committed any electoral offences with his knowledge, consent or approval.

The petitioner also raised an issue concerning the competence of 13 affidavits filed in support of Mr Uhuru’s answer to the petition, particularly where they allegedly introduced the issue of voter bribery.

A third issue presented to court concerned the remedies available to the parties, including whether the petitioner was entitled to the orders sought.

Mr Rugamba said the petitioner intended to cross-examine Mr Uhuru, his father Mr Severino Embatia and Mr Munduga Kennedy, the returning officer.

Counsel for Mr Uhuru said the respondent had 32 witnesses in the affidavits and expected at least 15 to be subjected to cross-examination.

Justice Nagawa directed the parties to rely on evidence already contained in their affidavits and rejected a request by the petitioner to introduce additional witnesses and video evidence.

‘All your evidence that you tend to rely on is in the affidavits and no more additions,’ Justice Nagawa said.

She also rejected a request by the petitioner to introduce a police officer as an additional witness and video evidence involving Osuta Yusuf, saying the evidence already on record was sufficient for the time-bound hearing.

‘The prayer for additional witnesses by the petitioner of a police officer and video evidence by Osuta Yusuf is rejected. What we have on record is good enough for the court to proceed with which is time bound,’ she said.

Justice Nagawa directed all witnesses named in the affidavits to be available when the hearing starts.

‘Let all the witnesses in the affidavit be around from Monday. Mr Oguzu, bring the witnesses in court and Mr Uhuru, you should also come and defend yourself. Don’t write letters of adjournment. Everything should be in on time. Let all documents come in by Friday,’ she said.

The hearing will begin on Monday, September 21, at 9am.

The petition stems from the January 2026 parliamentary election in Maracha County, in which Mr Uhuru defeated Mr Oguzu and was declared the winner. Mr Oguzu is seeking court intervention over what he alleges were electoral offences and irregularities during the election.

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.

Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, the Tooro king-designate also referred to as Nyabongo I, has appointed an interim Principal Personal Secretary (PPS) and spokesperson as he reorganises his official communication channels ahead of his planned enthronement.

In a statement dated September 15, Prince Kijanangoma appointed Fr Nyakaana Paul Busingye Akiiki as his interim PPS and spokesperson, with immediate effect.

The appointment gives Fr Busingye responsibility for handling the king-designate’s communications and serving as the official channel through which information from him will be communicated to the public.

‘I have appointed Fr. N. Nyakaana Paul Busingye Akiki as my interim Principal Personal Secretary (PPS)/Spokesperson to immediately and in each case handle all my communications and send out to him through the following contacts,’ the statement reads.

Prince Kijanangoma also announced the immediate termination of his personal official social media accounts, directing members of the public to instead use communication channels associated with his newly appointed PPS and spokesperson.

‘I hereby terminate all my personal official social media accounts with immediate effect,’ he said.

The statement lists telephone and social media contacts associated with Fr Busingye, including X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts under the name Paul Nyakaana.

Fr Busingye is a longtime friend of Prince Kijanangoma. The two grew up in Kidukuru Cell in Central Division, Fort Portal City, where the prince was born, and attended Kinyamasika Primary School and St Leo’s College Kyegobe before later studying at Makerere University.

The appointment comes amid a series of developments surrounding the Tooro succession following the death and burial of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

On Tuesday, the Tooro Kingdom Supreme Council passed a resolution endorsing Prince Kijanangoma as successor to the late King Oyo, following a decision by the Babiito royal clan succession committee.

The Babiito royal clan, under Omujwera Musuuga Charles Kamurasi, has announced September 29 as the date for the planned coronation of Prince Kijanangoma, who has been designated Nyabongo I.

The announcement came days after King Oyo was buried at the Karambi Royal Tombs on September 12 following nine days of official mourning.

On Wednesday, preparations for the planned coronation began with meetings chaired by Musuuga Kamurasi and the formation of various committees to oversee the ceremony.

Dr Richard Rwabuhinga has been retained as chairperson of the organising committee, having previously served as co-chairperson of the committee that organised King Oyo’s burial.

The latest communication changes come as succession-related developments in Tooro continue to attract public attention, including debate over the new king, the planned coronation and the future administration of the kingdom.

The immediate family of the late King Oyo, which initially opposed the move to crown a new king, has remained largely silent on the latest developments.

Uganda U20 made a winning start to the Caf U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Cecafa qualifiers, overcoming Djibouti 4-1 at Uhuru Stadium in Dar Es Salaam. The victory puts Uganda at the top of Group B after the opening round. Isima Magala gave Uganda an early lead inside five minutes but Djibouti responded through substitute Ishak Tahir in the 23rd minute. Genesis Ocen Odiya restored Hippos’ advantage on the stroke of halftime, although coach Laryea Kingston was far from satisfied with his side’s first-half display.

The coach said his players had failed to execute the plan of keeping Djibouti pinned in its own half, slowing the game in the final third and preventing the opposition from regrouping.

‘When we lose the ball, our positioning in the attacking balance wasn’t clear,’ Kingston said, pointing to poor spacing that left Uganda vulnerable to Djibouti’s counter-attacks.

Uganda returned from the break with greater purpose and stretched the Djibouti defence and opened spaces for forwards to attack.

‘Second half we were much better and we did good runs in the box and attacked the right spaces,’ Kingston said.

Captain Richard Okello extended Uganda’s lead on 60 minutes before Magala completed his brace to make it 4-1.

Djibouti struggled to mount a response thereafter, with its attacking threat largely restricted to attempts from distance that failed to trouble Uganda’s goal.

The result gives Uganda an important opening win ahead of their remaining Group B fixture against Sudan.

The Cecafa qualifiers feature three groups, with the group winners and the best second-placed team advancing to the semi-final stage. The winners from the semis will qualify for the 2027 Afcon to be held in Ghana where four teams will qualify for the Fifa U-20 World Cup next year.

Elsewhere on the opening day, Burundi defeated South Sudan 4-0 to take early control of Group C, while hosts Tanzania beat Rwanda 3-0 in Group A.

Day One results

Uganda 4-1 Djibouti

Tanzania 3-0 Rwanda

South Sudan 0-4 Burundi

Following the appearance of the management of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) before a Parliamentary oversight committee on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, to respond to issues arising from the Auditor General’s report for the audit year ended December 31, 2025, there has been considerable public discussion about the procurement of a Volkan 6×6 Major Foam Tender at Shs 5.39 billion.

The debate is welcome, as Parliamentary oversight is an important part of ensuring accountability and value for money in public expenditure. However, for the public to fully appreciate the value of the equipment, it is important that comparisons are made on the basis of the vehicle’s intended purpose, technical specifications, certification, associated services and total procurement package, rather than simply comparing headline prices of different types of fire trucks found through general internet searches.

The Major Foam Tender procured for Entebbe International Airport is not an ordinary municipal or structural firefighting truck. It is a purpose-built Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle designed to maintain the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Category 9 rescue and firefighting capability at an international airport. It incorporates specialized aviation firefighting, high-speed mobility, safety, rescue and performance systems specifically designed for responding to aircraft emergencies.

The vehicle is built on a custom 6×6 high-mobility chassis with a load rating of not less than 39 tones, while being required to accelerate from 0 to 80 kilometers per hour within 28 seconds and achieve a minimum top speed of 125 kilometers per hour.

It incorporates off-road suspension, differential locking, rear-axle steering and stringent stability and braking systems to enable rapid response on and off paved maneuvering areas. Moving a vehicle weighing approximately 39 tones at such speeds requires a high-output engine, heavy-duty automatic transmission and specialized vehicle engineering.

Its firefighting capability is equally specialized. The vehicle carries a minimum of 12,500 liters of water and 1,500 liters of foam and is fitted with a centrifugal firefighting pump capable of delivering not less than 9,000 liters per minute at 10 bars. The system also incorporates pump-and-roll capability and emergency manual Power Take-Off (PTO) engagement, allowing firefighting operations to continue while the vehicle is moving where required.

The truck further incorporates a remotely controlled roof turret capable of discharging 7,000 liters per minute with a throw of at least 90 meters, together with a remotely controlled bumper turret delivering at least 1,200 liters per minute with a throw of at least 70 meters.

It also has automatic foam proportioning, a 250-kilogram dry chemical powder system, under-truck protection nozzles and a windshield deluge system. These are not features normally found on conventional fire engines used for structural firefighting.

In addition, the vehicle incorporates aviation-specific technologies, including Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) and Driver Enhanced Vision Systems, a crash-protected composite crew cab, and seating integrated with Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). It also incorporates internationally certified steering, braking and occupant-protection systems.

These features are particularly important when firefighters are required to operate in the extremely challenging environment around a burning or damaged aircraft, where intense heat, smoke, aviation fuel, high-speed response and the possibility of secondary hazards can all be present.

The procurement cost also covers a wider package of goods and services beyond the vehicle itself. These include Factory Acceptance Testing, operator training for 30 firefighter/drivers, factory technical training for UCAA operators and maintenance personnel, technical manuals, manufacturer-authorized local after-sales support and spare-parts support over the vehicle’s design life.

The specifications of the Major Foam Tender are therefore fundamentally different from those of an ordinary fire truck. The procurement cost reflects a highly engineered, low-volume and specialized aircraft rescue and firefighting platform incorporating high-speed heavy-vehicle technology, aviation firefighting systems, multiple extinguishing agents, sophisticated electronic and safety systems, international certification, training and lifecycle support.

For this reason, the appropriate benchmark is a comparable Category 9 Major Foam Tender or ARFF vehicle of equivalent capacity and specification, rather than a conventional structural firefighting truck. A simple Google search can provide useful indicative information, but headline prices obtained in this manner cannot, on their own, provide a technically valid basis for determining whether a specialized aviation firefighting vehicle represents value for money.

The relevant technical and procurement information has since been shared with the oversight committee and is also being made available to the public to promote a better understanding of the equipment and the considerations behind its cost. It is also important to emphasize that the procurement went through a competitive process, which ultimately resulted in the selection of the lowest evaluated bidder.

Safety and security are fundamental pillars of aviation. The cost of meeting aviation safety standards can be significant because the consequences of inadequate preparedness for an aircraft accident can be catastrophic, potentially involving the loss of hundreds of lives and destruction of aircraft and other infrastructure worth millions of dollars.

It is partly for this reason that ICAO establishes stringent safety and security requirements for Member States and regularly audits their compliance through internationally recognized audit programmes. Specialized aviation safety equipment must therefore be assessed in the context of the safety risks it is designed to mitigate and the standards it is required to meet. It cannot always be meaningfully compared with equipment designed for routine firefighting in other environments.

Uganda’s continued compliance with international aviation safety standards has contributed to the country’s strong performance in ICAO assessments. In the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Approach (USOAP-CMA) conducted in Uganda in 2023, the country attained an Effective Implementation score of 72.64 percent, above the regional average of 55 percent and the global average of 69.4 percent.

Similarly, Uganda performed strongly in the ICAO Universal Security Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Approach (USAP-CMA) conducted in 2024, attaining a score of 81.6 percent, significantly above the regional average of 64.5 percent and the global average of 72.36 percent.

These results demonstrate the strength of Uganda’s aviation safety and security oversight systems and reinforce international confidence in the country’s commitment to maintaining high aviation standards. Uganda has also, to date, not been issued a Significant Safety Concern or Significant Security Concern through ICAO audit processes. This is an important indicator of the effectiveness of the systems and controls that have been put in place across the aviation sector.

Maintaining this level of performance requires continued investment in specialized equipment, infrastructure, technology, personnel and systems.

Uganda’s aviation industry is strategically important to the country, particularly as a landlocked nation whose connectivity to international markets depends significantly on a safe and efficient air transport system.

UCAA welcomes oversight and scrutiny because accountability, transparency and value for money are essential. At the same time, discussions about aviation investments are best served by complete technical information and by comparisons with equipment of equivalent purpose and specification. In aviation, the ultimate measure of safety equipment is not simply its purchase price. It is its ability to perform when lives depend on it.

For an international airport handling thousands of passengers every day, maintaining the required rescue and firefighting capability is not a luxury. It is a fundamental safety obligation.