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The National Peasants Party’s Presidential candidate, Mr Robert Kasibante, has pledged to cut administrative costs to raise funds for improving the quality of social services for Ugandans.

While campaigning in Lyantonde and Lwengo districts at the weekend, Mr Kasibante expressed concern over poor service delivery in districts that have wholeheartedly supported the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

He said the bloated government spending is the reason why the country is sinking into huge public debt currently standing at Shs106 trillion. ‘We couldn’t be servicing such a huge public debt if our resources were being put to good use.

This is what I have to come to fix,’ he said. Mr Desdelio Mukasa, a resident of Lwengo Town Council, challenged Mr Kasibante to explain how he could raise the budget.

‘The excuse of the current government over time has been meagre resources. How will you raise such revenue to fulfil your promises?’ he asked.

Mr Kasibante said he will reduce the number of ministers and MPs and fire all resident district commissioners. ‘Those unnecessary positions are siphoning a lot of money from the national treasury, which would address citizen’s concerns regarding services,’ he said.

Mr Kasibante pledged to ensure that essential services are enjoyed by all Ugandans.

‘During my time you will never face water scarcity as is the case today. It is disturbing to see human beings in this era sharing water sources with animals. We shall ensure that clean piped water is extended, with a priority to areas which are currently suffering,’ he said.

He added that public schools and health centres are in dire state. ‘Our children deserve a good learning environment, not under trees. I will also address other impediments of good learning like ensuring equal pay to all teachers,’ the first-time presidential candidate pledged.

He also promised to raise the monthly Special Assistance Grant for the Elderly (SAGE) from Shs25,000 to Shs200,000, praising senior citizens for their role in building the nation.

Mr Kasibante urged citizens to focus on the issues they want addressed by candidates, instead of accepting handouts that could lead them to make poor choices.

Debt

The Ministry of Finance’s quarterly debt statistical bulletin released this month in Kampala showed that public debt has over the past year grown by nine percent.

Last year, the public debt stood at $26.56b (Shs92.3 trillion). The ministry attributed this substantial growth in the public debt to increased domestic borrowing.

On October 11, Stamford Bridge hosted what should have been a celebration of nostalgia and charity: the Chelsea versus Liverpool legends match, organised to raise funds for the Chelsea Foundation’s community work.

The crowd came for the familiar faces: John Terry, Claude Makélélé, John Obi Mikel, and even Diego Costa’s trademark mischief. But the quiet story of that evening belonged to two players who, for many, symbolised more than the sport itself: Chelsea Women’s legends Gemma Davison and Katie Chapman.

When the pair came off the bench to join their male counterparts, the moment was small but significant: a gesture of inclusivity in a game long defined by its gendered walls. Yet, just two days later, that gesture was met with derision in Chelsea FC’s Facebook comments. Among the hundreds of supportive replies were two that cut deep: ‘Who left the kitchen door open?

Did these ladies play? And if yes, why?’ On the surface, it might seem trivial. The kind of online trolling that thrives in football comment sections. But dismissing such remarks as ‘banter’ is precisely how everyday sexism survives. These words echo a much older script: that a woman’s rightful space is domestic, not athletic; that the kitchen, not the pitch, defines her domain.

It is the same patriarchal logic that has long policed who gets to play, coach, or lead in sport. Chelsea’s decision to include Davison and Chapman was, undeniably, symbolic, but symbols matter. They communicate possibility. Yet symbolism without structure risks slipping into tokenism: gestures that project progress while the real architecture of inequality remains untouched.

Football institutions, like many workplaces, often rely on such performative inclusion; photo opportunities that check the ‘diversity’ box without redistributing real power. If the sport were genuinely egalitarian, women would not have to ‘break barriers’ to appear on the same turf as men. They would be there because merit, not gender, was the measure. The irony is that women’s English football has never lacked talent.

Names like Sam Kerr, Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, Alessia Russo, Mary Earps, and Guro Reiten, among others, have proven that excellence knows no gender. What persists instead is structural exclusion, where leagues, sponsorship deals, and broadcasting hierarchies still privilege men.

The ‘kitchen door’ remark is not simply misogyny in isolation. It is a symptom of masculine fragility. Critical gender scholars call it the defence of hegemonic masculinity; the idea that manhood is tied to dominance, control, and the exclusion of women from spaces of prestige. Men who mock inclusivity in football often imagine they are defending tradition. In truth, they are defending anxiety: a fear that sharing space will somehow diminish them. Patriarchy sells men a dangerous myth that equality is emasculation, that power must be hoarded, not shared.

Yet, as critical masculinities research shows, this ‘power’ is a burden too. It traps men in roles of providers, performers, and protectors, cutting them off from empathy and shared humanity. If football is ever to reflect real equality, men must see inclusion not as a threat but as liberation from rigid roles and zero-sum thinking.

A level playing field benefits everyone. To be fair, Chelsea’s gesture, however small, deserves recognition. Progress is never linear; it comes in steps, not leaps. But football must go beyond gestures. Equality cannot be reduced to cameo appearances or photo ops. It must be embedded in budgets, leadership structures, and fan culture. That means ensuring equal pay in professional leagues, increasing visibility in media coverage, and promoting educational programs that dismantle sexist fan attitudes.

When someone asks, ‘Who left the kitchen door open?’ the better question is: Why was it ever closed? Women have always belonged on the pitch: not as guests, not as exceptions, but as equals. The sooner we stop framing inclusion as intrusion, the sooner football will start resembling the humanity it claims to inspire.

As National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni concludes his campaign trail in West Nile today, residents and leaders of Adjumani District have tabled their key demands, ranging from economic empowerment to resolution to end the longstanding Apaa land conflict.

The conflict which has raged on for nearly two decades with seemingly minimal interventions to contain it, has resulted in significant violence, displacement, and loss of lives, affecting over 30,000 rural dwellers.

The Apaa land dispute revolves around a 1,000 km² fertile land area east of the Albert Nile, with 831 km² claimed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

For years, the Adjumani-Amuru boundary (Apaa) dispute has fueled tensions between the two communities (Acholi and Madi), occasionally flaring into violence, displacements and bloodshed.

Mr Dulu Lillian, a resident of milia and a farmer expects President Museveni Museveni who is seeking re-election after 40 years in power, to address the boundary issue between Adjumani and Amuru.

‘For me as a farmer, all I need is the president to pronounce himself on the issues of the border between Amuru and Adjumani because the conflict has caused the death of so many people from both Acholi and Madi. Otherwise, without finishing the Apaa conflict we are worried of even giving him votes’ she said.

Mr Ambayo Godfrey Newton, an Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) member said they expect the president to talk about reviving cooperatives and promoting cash crops that can bring income to the people of Madi Sub-region.

‘What I expect as the president visits Adjumani is that in order to eradicate poverty, we need the president to promote the growing of cash crops that can earn money for the people of Madi. We used to have cooperatives but these cooperatives are no more. Government tried the Parish Development model, but the PDM is like giving a fish to someone, instead of the fishing net. We need initiatives that are sustainable,’ he said.

According to Mr Sile Swaib, Vice Chairperson Boda Boda Association, corruption has frustrated service delivery and until it is addressed, all government development efforts are in futility.

‘We are happy about the visit of the president, we are also aware his government initiated youth loans programme but it was mismanaged due to corruption. Some of us are university graduates yet the only option we have is riding boda boda for a living. We have the PDM which has good intentions but unfortunately some of us have not benefitted. We are being sidelined from benefiting,’ he said.

Mr Ben Anyama, the Adjumani District chairperson hopes that the President will address the issue of war claims and compensation for properties lost during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency.

‘The issue that I want the president to address is the issue of the compensation of war claims. Many people in Adjumani lost their properties during the war. The president started by compensating Lango,Acholi but for us there is nothing that has been done. This is betrayal. We also need his clear position on the issues of Apaa land,’ he said.

The President’s visit comes at a time when Adjumani leaders are pushing for increased government attention to post-conflict recovery, infrastructure development and livelihood programmes.

The residents of Adjumani hope that Mr Museveni’s visit will draw attention to their plight and lead to a lasting solution to the Apaa land conflict.

The tide has finally turned in Ugandan football – and with it comes a long-overdue sigh of relief.

After weeks of tension, boycotts, and fractured relationships, the controversial league format imposed by Fufa was deservedly suspended on Saturday.

What began as a top-down decision quickly spiraled into one of the most divisive episodes in the sport’s recent history, uniting fans, clubs, and stakeholders in rare resistance.

The format’s vague structure and unfamiliar phases confused even seasoned followers of the game and, in the process, dealt a heavy blow to the very heartbeat of Ugandan football.

As the chaos clears, it’s hard to find a single individual or institution that can claim victory. Fufa’s authority has been questioned, club leadership has been strained, and fans were left feeling betrayed.

But amid the wreckage, something greater appears to have been salvaged – hope. Hope that the game still belongs to the people.

Hope that meaningful consultation will return. And hope that this painful chapter, however unnecessary, may just spark the reset Ugandan football desperately needed.

Hard lessons

From the outset, Vipers stood firm in defiance, refusing to honour the new format. They insisted they were fighting for the soul of the game, a message that found resonance across fan terraces and boardrooms alike.

While many clubs reluctantly continued, it was clear the league was headed for a crisis. The resistance crescendo on Saturday afternoon when a visibly deflated Magogo, crestfallen and reflective, admitted defeat.

‘We have listened to the clubs and other stakeholders and agreed that we revert to the old format for this season,’ said Magogo. ‘We will go back and make more reviews, further consultations and get back to it next season.’

But even that suggestion – of possibly revisiting the rejected format after testing it in a lower division – came off more like a PR gimmick than a serious commitment.

Many believe it’s an attempt to mask the bitter reality: the experimental format lacked a single clear benefit and exists nowhere else in the global football ecosystem.

‘We have also agreed that this particular format is tried and tested in a lower league competition, which Fufa will choose, such that at the end of the season, FUFA will sit and analyse its pros and cons,’ Magogo added.

Lasting dent

The backlash was always brewing. The infamous Namboole double-header, where Vipers refused to show up against Kitara, symbolized the boiling point.

Empty seats, silent terraces, and boycotting fans painted a grim picture that some believe has cost Ugandan football a generation of supporters – and possibly a few sponsors, too.

Clubs like KCCA and SC Villa, though they played under protest, were not spared either. Financial losses were quietly admitted, especially after KCCA’s matches against Kitara, SC Villa, and Lugazi.

SC Villa, under Serbian coach Zeljko Kovacevic, may be right to blame their poor start on external distractions and internal turmoil from the protest stance.

KCCA reached a new low when they reportedly hired casual labourers to fill the empty spaces left by frustrated fans at Lugogo in their clash with Lugazi. A move that further emphasized how detached the league had become from its most crucial stakeholder – the fan.

The bitter fallout also exposed deep cracks between Fufa and Vipers, reigniting old tensions between Magogo and his mentor Lawrence Mulindwa (the Venoms boss). Whether this relationship can mend remains uncertain, especially after such a public standoff.

Uncertainty looms

While Fufa maintains the ongoing first round will proceed, followed by a traditional second round to determine the season’s winner by aggregate points, the damage is evident.

The jury is out on whether this turbulent start will destabilize the entire 2025/26 season.

For now, football feels like the winner. Clubs and players, once voiceless, now feel liberated. Fans are smiling again. But the million-dollar question remains: how does Ugandan football move on in harmony from this setback?

StarTimes Uganda Premier League

Weekend results

Buhimba Saints 1-0 Kitara

KCCA 0-0 Lugazi

Mbarara City 1-1 Bul

URA 1-1 Express

Nec 2-2 Police

In Njeru Municipality, residents of Model Farm are enduring a silent assault on their health, environment and dignity. For over eight years, untreated industrial effluent has been discharged into streams and water bodies, carrying foul smells that permeate the air in early mornings and afternoons, poisoning both water and breath.

Attempts to seek redress have been met with frustration. Locals say they have written repeatedly to municipal officials and the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), yet the problem persists. Instead of enforcement, some allege that regulatory efforts yield only bribery from factory owners, and results from sample analyses collected years ago have never been shared or acted upon.

The consequences of this environmental neglect are severe. Chronic exposure to pollutants such as lead, mercury, and cadmium puts residents at risk of cancer, kidney and liver damage, neurological disease and respiratory disorders. The stench triggers stomach pain, skin and eye irritation and breathing difficulties. Streams are unsafe, alternate water costs have soared, and even animals suffer, one dog reportedly suffered chemical burns after exposure.

Fisherfolk downstream can no longer sell their catch. Once prized crops near contaminated streams are now destroyed by flooding of toxic waste. Local leadership acknowledges their impotence as powerful allies clearly shield offending factories and even municipal officials lack the muscle or will to act. It is commendable that regulators have occasionally intervened, some shutdowns, new drainage guidelines and promises to collect new water samples have emerged.

But these are too little, too late. Without enforcement, accountability and transparency, policy is empty rhetoric. This crisis in Njeru is not merely local; it signals a systemic weakness in Uganda’s industrial governance.

The tension between development and environment is often framed as a trade-off. But the truth is, there is no prosperity in a poisoned land. True growth must not come on the backs of the poor and vulnerable. The time has come for decisive action. First, Nema must publicly release results of all past and present pollution audits, and impose strict penalties on non-compliant industries. Second, municipal authorities must be empowered, not intimidated, to stop illegal discharges immediately.

Third, communities should be included meaningfully in monitoring through citizen science and independent audits, not left begging for scraps of data. Finally, national leadership must make it clear that Uganda will not sacrifice its rivers, its health, or its people for unchecked industrial expansion. Njeru’s people are sounding the alarm. Will we respond before the poison spreads further? Their struggle is our collective test. Can Uganda industrialise without destroying its lifeblood?