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Uganda’s 2022 updated climate plan is bold in both ambition and cost. It commits to cutting emissions 24.7 percent below business-as-usual by 2030, up from 22 percent in 2016, with adaptation as the first line of defence. The plan carries a $28.1b (Shs97.1 trillion) price tag to 2030. Government pledges about 15 percent ($4.1b (Shs14.2 trillion)), leaving the rest to external finance, technology, and capacity support. By 2030, Uganda wants electricity access for three in four citizens, up from 24 percent to 28 percent in 2020. Achieving this requires not just Karuma’s generation but distribution expansion, rural connections, and affordable tariffs to avoid stranded megawatts.

What are the key planks of the plan?

Transmission is central: high-voltage lines are set to expand from 2,354km in 2019 to 6,300km by 2030. Per-capita use should rise nearly sixfold, from 100 to 578 kilowatt hours. The logic is that access without consumption is hollow. Connections must power households, businesses, and factories at levels that drive growth.

Agriculture is another priority. Irrigated land is expected to grow from 19,776 to 152,622 hectares by 2030. With farming still Uganda’s largest employer, irrigation is critical for buffering rainfall shocks and boosting rural incomes.

Forests serve as a climate and livelihood safety net. Uganda pledges to restore 2.5 million hectares of degraded land under the Bonn Challenge, alongside new planted forests and agroforestry. These absorb emissions while providing timber, fuel, and other products sustainably-where mitigation and adaptation overlap.

The plan also emphasises awareness and governance. By 2030, at least 11 million people should understand climate change, and half of local governments should have action plans. The message is that technology alone cannot deliver resilience; institutions and communities must plan, budget, and enforce.

The most striking feature, however, is reliance on land use. Agriculture, forestry, and other land use are expected to deliver 82.7 percent of reductions by 2030, compared with transport (7.6), energy (6.4), waste (3.0), and industry (0.4).

Forests and farms are Uganda’s cheapest levers-while renewables and transport electrification are capital-intensive, protecting peatlands or scaling agroforestry can deliver quicker, lower-cost gains. The gamble is fragile. Land-use gains face enforcement gaps, community resistance, and global carbon-price swings. If deforestation outpaces restoration or farmers cannot afford sustainable practices, Uganda could miss its targets even with new dams and grids.

In effect, the plan is only as strong as the governance of forests and fields-sectors long underfunded and weakly managed. This explains why land-use measures are paired with infrastructure and awareness. Irrigation, electrification, and climate literacy aim to reduce the social and economic pressures that drive deforestation. Without reliable power, resilient farming, and alternative incomes, forests will remain Uganda’s fall-back fuel and frontier.

What promises on the same are being made in party manifestos ahead of the 2026 polls?

The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, under whose watch the climate plan was updated in 2022, in its manifesto ahead of the 2026 General Election, has consequently promised to ‘invest in more energy transmission infrastructure.’ It has vowed to ‘rehabilitate and refurbish our existing energy transmission and distribution infrastructure to improve grid reliability.’ It also plans to ‘construct more electricity generation plants, including Buyende Nuclear Power Plant (8,600MW), Kiba Hydropower Plant (400MW), a solar power plant (500MW), and wind energy systems (70MW).’

In priority 10 of its manifesto, the leading Opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP), makes the grand promise to ‘ensure sustainable management of natural resources and climate resilience.’ Using government statistics that indicate that ‘annual economic losses due to climate change could range between $3.2b (Shs11 trillion) and $5.9b (Shs20.4 trillion) between 2025 and 2050,’ NUP has proffered seven solutions. They include strengthening international climate finance partnerships; adopting a climate-responsive budgeting framework; establishing a dedicated National Adaptation Fund; and commissioning long-term climate-fiscal analysis.

Other solutions are accelerating early warning and early action systems; promoting green jobs and climate-smart enterprises; and scaling up nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration. The commitments of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), another Opposition party, include promoting ‘responsible sourcing of forest products through certification and labelling.’ It is also keen on encouraging ‘economic diversification to reduce dependence on a single industry or sector, making communities more resilient to natural disasters’ as well as promoting ‘sustainable land use practices, including agro-forestry and conservation agriculture’ to mention but two.

Will Uganda’s climate goals be hard work as many fear?

Unfortunately, yes. And two baselines show why. The first is electricity. Access stood at 51.5 percent in 2023, according to World Bank data. To reach 75 percent by 2030, Uganda must climb another 23.5 points. It is a steep rise, but not impossible-especially after the 600MW Karuma hydropower plant came online in September 2024, pushing installed capacity past 2,000MW.

The catch is that capacity alone does not deliver connections. Karuma’s testing phase exposed this when a nationwide blackout in June 2024 highlighted weaknesses in grid stability and maintenance. To move the numbers, generation must be matched with reliable transmission, expanded distribution, and tariffs that households can afford.

Distribution remains a problem. Former distributer Umeme’s filings long showed efficiency gaps: in 2000, only 50 of every 100 units received from transmission were converted into cash. By the time it handed over to Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited in March 2025, that had improved to about 80 units.

‘If you compare between 2020 and this year, the network is carrying over 70 percent more power than five years ago, around the Covid-19 period. Now, we are pouring all that power into the system which requires investments,’ said Mr Selestino Babungi, former Umeme chief executive officer and managing director.

‘The network requires it to be invested in and expanded to carry the load that is being driven by economic development, being driven by the number of connections we are making through various government programmes. The challenge we are experiencing now is that we are loading the network with more volume power without opening the arteries to carry that power,’ he added.

The second baseline is irrigation. Uganda’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) puts it at 19,776 hectares, though broader estimates suggest about 77,000 hectares in 2022-still under 2.0 percent of potential. Reaching 152,622 hectares by 2030 will require sustained investment in water storage, distribution, and farmer support to ensure irrigation translates into yields and incomes.

Forests are the third pressure point. Uganda’s updated NDC shows protected forest cover shrinking from 8.0 to 6.0 percent of land area, with even sharper losses outside reserves. Restoring 2.5 million hectares is therefore both urgent and uphill and without clearer land rights, stronger enforcement, and alternative livelihoods, the target risks slipping out of reach. The direction of travel is right-more power, more irrigation, more trees-but the gap between paper targets and field realities remains wide.

How important is finance architecture?

To deliver the paper targets, Uganda needs financial machinery that channels capital into projects-connections, irrigation, and forest recovery-at scale. That is the role of the new climate-finance architecture. The first piece is institutional muscle. A Climate Finance Unit (CFU) was set up in the Ministry of Finance in 2023 with UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) support. Its mandate is to mobilise and track climate finance and, crucially, weave climate priorities into the national budget-giving projects a seat at the fiscal table rather than being treated as add-ons.

The second is transparency. Uganda is rolling out Climate Change Budget Tagging (CCBT), a system that tracks climate spending across public accounts. It makes it harder for funds to disappear into general expenditure and lets government and donors see if allocations reach power lines, water systems, and forest programmes.

The third is standards. With the EU’s Support Programme to Enhance Access and Retention of Climate Finance in Uganda backing, Uganda launched a National Green Taxonomy and a National Climate Finance Strategy (2025-2030). The taxonomy defines what counts as ‘green,’ reducing disputes between lenders and ministries, while the strategy outlines how to draw in private capital and improve reporting. For banks and pensions, it provides a rulebook for compliant loans and investments; for the government, it ensures comparability across projects. The fourth is markets. In 2025, the government issued Climate Change Mechanisms Regulations, providing a legal base for Article 6 and voluntary carbon projects. This gives developers and verifiers the certainty to build forest-restoration or cookstove projects that generate revenue from credits. With GGGI’s support, Uganda is also working on fee frameworks and fiscal design.

Taken together, these reforms form the backbone of a modern climate-finance system: definitions (taxonomy), a plan (National Climate Finance Strategy [NCFS]), a treasury-side engine (CFU), budget tagging (CCBT), and market regulations (carbon). If they work, they reduce friction for lenders, help local banks originate compliant green projects, and give Uganda credibility with global funds.

More importantly, they connect directly to delivery challenges. Budget tagging and taxonomy alignment can ensure Karuma’s megawatts are matched with financed grid expansion and last-mile connections. The CFU and NCFS can structure blended finance that pairs public risk buffers with private irrigation investment. And carbon-market rules can create revenue streams that make forest restoration bankable, while budget tagging ensures those revenues are reinvested locally.

In short, if Uganda’s climate-finance architecture functions, it becomes the system that can turn power plants into connections, canals into irrigated fields, and restoration pledges into living forests.

What is the trickiest macro variable?

It isn’t rainfall; it’s oil. Government timelines have slipped from ‘first oil in 2025’ to 2026, even as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) secures financing from African lenders. Uganda expects to earn $1.5 billion (Shs5.1 trillion) to $2 billion (Shs6.9 trillion) annually once production begins, though revenues will depend on global prices and contract terms.

The National Treasury hopes to use oil money to cut budget stress and build infrastructure, but the revenues also risk raising emissions and undermining trust in its climate pledges, which rely more on forests and land than on cutting oil use. That is why investors, think-tanks, and development partners are watching closely. The question is whether a share of oil inflows will be ring-fenced for adaptation, electrification, and resilience-or absorbed into recurrent spending.

Petroleum Authority of Uganda data suggests priorities include the Standard Gauge Railway, highways, health and education investments. These are strategic but do not automatically advance climate goals.

Uganda’s Petroleum Fund, created under the Public Finance Management Act, is meant to prevent rapid drawdown and promote long-term stability. How prudently it is used will matter as much as the inflows themselves. Equally critical are the social and environmental risks along the Eacop corridor, where livelihoods, land rights, and biodiversity face scrutiny from local communities and international campaigners. Poor management could undercut Uganda’s ability to access concessional climate finance, regardless of oil revenue. Handled well, oil could provide the fiscal cushion to underwrite a green transition. Mishandled, it risks reinforcing the ‘oil versus climate’ narrative and weakening Uganda’s case for global capital to support its 2030 targets.

Can the numbers add up?

The financing math sets the strategy. Uganda’s climate bill is $28.1 billion (Shs97.1 trillion) by 2030, according to its updated NDC, with only about 15 percent expected from domestic sources. That leaves an external gap of roughly $24 billion (Shs82.9 trillion)-too large for any single instrument or funder.

Closing it requires a stacked capital approach: concessional anchors to absorb early risk, guarantees to unlock local banks and pensions, and market instruments like green or sustainability-linked bonds once cash flows are proven.

The new NCFS and taxonomy matter only if they channel projects into that stack. In effect, the taxonomy must serve as a credit manufacturing standard for lenders, not just a policy paper. Fiscal consolidation also reshapes the sequence. Plans to cut domestic borrowing in 2026/2027 by the National Treasury are aimed at easing crowding-out and lower yields-good for macro stability-but could leave the State with less room for equity-style co-financing. A couple of energy economists reached out for this article note that public funds need to move from being owners to acting as risk buffers: first-loss capital, guarantees, viability-gap grants, and results-based subsidies that catalyse private investment, with the budget serving more as a risk warehouse than a chequebook.

Execution risk lies in sequencing, not just money. The commissioning of Karuma hydropower supports the headline access target, but generation alone does not create livelihoods. Without distribution build-out, loss reduction, tariff clarity, and last-mile investment-the ‘unsexy middle’-connections lag, cash flows disappoint, and lenders-re-price risk upward.

Can you size up the payoff?

Clean cooking is tougher than it looks-but it offers the biggest social payoff. Cutting biomass use from 88 percent to 40 percent by 2030 is less an engineering problem than a demand-side finance and logistics problem: getting affordable stoves and fuels into homes at the moment people need them.

That means making costs bite-sized and predictable. Using results-based finance that pays on verified adoption and sustained use; pairing it with PAYGo (pay-as-you-go) so households buy energy the way they already buy electricity or mobile data-small top-ups via mobile money, using only what they can afford at a time. Add local manufacturing to bring prices down and shorten supply chains so restocking fuel or parts is easy.

Carbon revenue can be the catalyst, but only if contracts share value with consumers and last-mile distributors and if monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) is solid. Without that, projects look good in pilots and then stall when the subsidies fade. Scaling itself requires embedding the taxonomy inside financial institutions. For banks, that means adjusting credit policies, loan templates, and management information systems so climate screens are built in at origination.

For pensions and insurers, it means explicit allowances for taxonomy-aligned infrastructure debt and equity within prudent limits. Supervisors such as the central bank and Insurance Regulator must oversee risks and volumes system-wide.

Pair this with climate-tagged budget data and outcome reporting, and investors won’t need thousands of projects but a handful of bankable deals with hard numbers-capital expenditure, revenue model, risk mitigants, and timetables-as the World Bank has noted. Carbon markets add another lever. Their regulations have just been released. If structured properly, Article 6 can turn verified mitigation into hard-currency inflows and credit enhancement. But order matters.

What needs to be done?

Uganda needs to first build monitoring and verification systems, then set a transparent revenue-sharing system with communities, and keep transactions on-budget and visible. Three clean pilots-a forest-restoration project with benefit-sharing, a distributed solar aggregation, and a municipal waste-to-energy scheme-could then prove credibility before scaling.

Oil adds both risk and opportunity. Modelling by Rystad Energy and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) shows government earnings could average $1.9 billion (Shs6.5 trillion) a year under a slow transition, or $1.0 billion (Shs3.4 trillion) under a moderate one. The hedge does not offer better forecasts but stronger rules. Ring-fencing a share of oil inflows for grids, clean cooking, and resilience-and codifying it in Public Finance Management Act regulations-would flip oil from ‘versus climate’ to ‘backstopping climate.’ ‘The Petroleum Fund should be treated as risk capital to guarantee climate deals, not a rainy-day drawer for recurrent spending,’ NRGI’s July 2025 energy research notes.

So, what next?

With capital scarce, Uganda is looked at as one that should prioritise a first wave of projects already close to bankable: distributed solar with last-mile grid extensions, irrigation and water-storage clusters tied to committed off-takers, and forest landscape restoration under the 2025 carbon rules with verified credits and community benefit-sharing.

These combine cash-flow potential with strong mitigation and adaptation impact. Governance can be the multiplier. A dedicated Climate Transactions Project Management Office could shepherd deals from concept to close-issuing standard term sheets, pooling procurements, building shared data rooms, and publishing a weekly traffic-light dashboard for Cabinet and the Finance Ministry. Quarterly scorecards tracking dollars mobilised, megawatts connected, households adopting clean fuels, hectares restored, and losses reduced would give markets visibility. And markets price what they can see.

Uganda has already put its climate ambitions on the table: a 24.7 percent cut in emissions, millions more on the grid, forests restored, and irrigation expanded. The numbers are bold, the architecture is taking shape, and the oil windfall could provide the fiscal cushion. Yet the real test is not how much money arrives, but how credibly it is used. If petroleum revenues are ring-fenced, if banks and pensions internalise green rules, and if carbon markets deliver real projects, Uganda could prove that a resource-rich African economy can grow and decarbonise at once. If not, the pledge risks becoming another statistic-grand on paper, fragile in practice.

In the corporate world, many people primarily introduce themselves by their job title and the company they work for. Traditionally, branding focused on companies; logos, colours and slogans that distinguish one business from another.

However, in today’s hyper-competitive workplace, personal branding is equally essential. Every employee, regardless of position, should see themselves as a brand. Your personal brand is the unique value proposition you bring to the table.

Gone are the days when promotions and opportunities relied solely on tenure or qualifications. Today, visibility, credibility and influence matter just as much. Employers, clients and colleagues make decisions based not only on what you know but also on how you are perceived. So, what value do you add beyond your job title?

Consider LinkedIn, the modern marketplace of talent and ideas. Professionals with strong personal brands stand out, attract opportunities and build influence across industries. They don’t wait for recognition, they create it. Those without a brand risk blending into the noise, regardless of their competence.

Many brilliant employees remain invisible because they believe that hard work alone will speak for them. But competence without visibility is like a well-kept secret. If decision makers don’t know who you are, your chances of promotion or recognition diminish. Worse, someone less competent but more visible may seize opportunities meant for you.

Your personal brand is about clarity, consistency and authenticity. It’s essential to demonstrate competence and thought leadership in your field. Are people recognising you as a go-to person on a particular subject?

Can you confidently share insights that influence industry conversations? Developing this requires strong communication skills, especially public speaking, which can significantly enhance your personal brand. Branding without visibility is like winking in the dark, only you know what is happening.

Corporate workers must intentionally leverage platforms, networks and professional spaces to showcase their value. Present at conferences, publish opinion pieces, mentor juniors and engage actively on social media.

In an era of restructuring, downsizing and rapid technological change, personal branding acts as career insurance. A strong brand ensures your value is recognised beyond your current role or employer. If you need to transition careers, your network and reputation serve as a safety net.

Building a personal brand isn’t a quick fix; it takes years of consistent effort and deliberate positioning.

Like commercial brands that stand out after years of awareness campaigns, your personal brand requires ongoing investment. This ensures others experience your brand positively and have a compelling story to tell about you.

To strengthen your brand, speak up in meetings, write blogs or contribute articles that showcase your insights. Be mindful of your online presence, curate your social media profiles to reflect professionalism. Ensure your LinkedIn profile, posts and interactions align with your personal brand.

Most corporate employees already have a personal brand; the question is whether you are managing it intentionally or leaving it to chance. In today’s workplace, branding is no longer optional, it is a career imperative. A strong personal brand amplifies your voice, opens doors and prevents your competence from being overlooked.

While companies may own logos and taglines, your professional brand is the story you tell and the legacy you leave. Invest in it deliberately. In the marketplace of ideas, your personal brand is your power.

Nearly 100 Ugandan cyclists have been flagged off for the Jubilee Live Free Race due Sunday in Nairobi.

The annual event, powered by Grand Nairobi Bike Race (GNBR), will attract over 3500 cyclists from over 20 nationalities competing in distances ranging from 45km to 75km.

This year’s edition is dedicated to improving children’s physical mobility and overall wellness and Jubilee Holdings chief distribution officer Linda Byaruhanga said the company has dedicated Shs560m to buy prosthetic limbs for amputee children at Katalemwa Cheshire Home in Wakiso.

‘Sport has a unique power to bring people together, inspire action, and shape healthier habits. As our cyclists fly the national flag, we wish them the very best,’ said Byaruhanga during the flagoff at Sanyuka Gardens, Lubiri, Mengo Friday afternoon.

‘We are thrilled to have a team representing Uganda at the Jubilee Live Free Race for the third consecutive year. Our team consistently secures podium finishes, and we are optimistic that this year will be no different. Beyond competition, this is a fantastic opportunity to come together through sport, to engage with communities, and to make financial planning both accessible and relatable for everyone.’

Jordan Ssekanwagi was the first to win the 75km main race, followed by Paul Lomuria in 2023, followed by 2024 Olympian Charles Kagimu last year, where Aziz Ssempijja bagged gold in the Black Mamba category.

‘You all know Kagimu has been at the World Cycling Championship in Rwanda last week. He has been competing with greats like Remco Evenepoel [the Paris 2024 Olympic champion] and I know he is going to ride for gold,’ said Lance Ismael Ssebayiga, director Moonlight Events, who also commended Jubilee for the consistent support to Ugandan cycling.

Another Shs107m will be shared among the cyclists as prize money for the top performers in each of the categories: Main Race (75km), Team Race (75km), Black Mamba (45km), Para Cyclists (45km), Family Fun Ride (1km), and Kiddie Race (1km).

Uganda Cycling Association president Sam ‘Mahaba’ Muwonge also praised Jubilee’s dedication to cycling and requested that an event of such magnitude be organised in Uganda.

CATEGORIES

Main Race (75km)

Team Race (75km)

Black Mamba (45km)

Para Cyclists (45km)

Family Fun Ride (15km)

Kiddie Race (1km)

When: Sunday October 5

Where: Nairobi

Ugandans to Watch: Charles Kagimu, Aziz Ssempijja, Shamal Nakabuye

Prize money: Shs107m

Cause: children’s physical mobility

Ugandan food exporters are struggling to compete in global markets due to the country’s landlocked status, with entrepreneurs citing high transportation costs and logistics delays as major barriers to international trade. Mr Elie Nsabimana, the chief executive officer (CEO) and founder of MIECA Uganda Limited, says while demand for Ugandan organic foods such as matooke, cassava, and sweet potatoes is growing in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, the cost of getting those goods out of the country is undermining profits and slowing scale-up.

‘We are exporting over 100 containers of food every year, but we cannot satisfy the market because transport from Uganda to the port of Mombasa is very expensive,’ Mr Nsabimana tells Monitor during a visit to MIECA’s new 20-acre food processing facility in Buwama, Mpigi District. Mr Nsabimana, whose company employs more than 500 workers and sells over 70 value-added food products globally, says Uganda’s inland location increases the final price of goods.

This makes them less competitive compared to products from West African countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon that have direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. ‘Our competitors in West Africa are close to the sea. They move goods directly from the factory to the ship. For us in Uganda, we must first go through Kenya, via Mombasa to access the Ocean. That journey eats into our margins,’ he says.

Road transport

Uganda depends on road transport through Kenya to access the Port of Mombasa, which is its primary gateway for international trade. According to data from the Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA), this route adds between 25 percent and 40 percent to the logistics cost of an export container, depending on the weight, perishability, and mode of transport.

MIECA, which stands for Mugisha Import and Export Company, started operations in 2018 with a focus on adding value to traditional Ugandan foods. Its flagship product is matooke (green bananas), which the company dehydrates, grinds, or vacuum-seals for long shelf-life export. Mr Nsabimana claims that Uganda’s matooke is in high demand abroad because it is still organic and chemical-free.

‘Our land is virgin. We don’t use chemical fertilisers, so when our matooke reaches the international market, people love it. But the problem is not demand; it is getting the goods there affordably and consistently,’ he added. The company exports to Canada (with stores in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Montreal), the United States, France, Belgium, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. However, despite this global presence, Mr Nsabimana says MIECA remains constrained by limited access to affordable shipping, high fuel costs, delays at the border, and lack of access to financing. Mr Nsabimana warns that the lack of investment in export infrastructure is limiting Uganda’s competitiveness in agro-processing.

The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, has expressed concern over the appointment of Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury.

In a statement issued on October 3, Archbishop Kaziimba was particularly concerned about appointing a person who has reportedly supported behaviours that contradict the biblical doctrines.

Biblical doctrines of marriage define it as a permanent, lifelong, heterosexual, and monogamous covenant between one man and one woman, initiated by God.

“I am writing to share the sad news that the Rt Rev Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been appointed as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Our sadness about this appointment is her support and advocacy for unbiblical positions on sexuality and same-sex marriage that reveal her departure from the historic Anglican positions that uphold the authority of Scripture for faith and life,” he states.

He added, “As a founding member of Gafcon, the Church of Uganda considers this appointment to further deepen the tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion that began in 2003 with the TEC consecration as Bishop of a divorced father of two living in a same-sex relationship. The tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion has now reached the highest level of the Communion. There appears to be no repentance. Make no mistake.”

He described the contentious decision as a grievous decision at the highest levels of the Church of England to separate itself from the vast majority of the global Anglican Communion.

He extended his prayers to those in the Church of England who are disillusioned by the appointment and hand of fellowship to them through Gafcon and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans.

“As we declared in our 2023 Gafcon statement from Kigali, we no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as having global authority and the office is certainly no longer an ‘Instrument of Communion,’ he added.

‘With this appointment, the Archbishop of Canterbury is reduced simply to the Primate of All England,” he said.

He assured Christians in the Church of Uganda that, through Gafcon and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans, they are part of a worldwide communion of Anglicans who continue to proclaim the historic and Biblical faith of Anglicanism – faithfulness to Christ and submission to the authority of Scripture.

He explained that the future of Gospel-centred mission in the Anglican tradition is bright, noting that: ‘The fields are ripe for harvest; we pray for labourers to go into the harvest.’

As we declared at our 2018 Gafcon meeting in Jerusalem, ‘We will proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations.’

Uganda’s Anti- Homosexuality Act criminalises homosexuality and same-sex marriages.

Mullally was appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury on October 3, becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England in 1400 years’ history.

She is expected to be installed next year in March.

World Egg Day was established in Vienna, Austria, in 1996, when it was decided to celebrate the power of the egg on the second Friday of October each year.

Since then, egg fans the world over have come up with new creative ways to honour this incredible nutrient powerhouse, and the day of celebration has grown from strength to strength, year in and year out.

The event is a global one that highlights the versatility and nutritional benefits of eggs. This year’s theme is the mighty egg; packed with natural nutrition, celebrates the powerful role eggs play in nourishing people across the globe. Thanks to the Poultry Association of Uganda, this year’s event will be held next week from Thursday 9- to 11 at Old Kampala Senior Secondary School. This educative occasion brings together poultry farmers and industry experts for a greatly rewarding weekend of learning and networking.

You will discover innovative and hitherto unknown rearing techniques and innovations as well as poultry related exhibits. Take advantage of this expo to link up with other members of the poultry community thus gaining new knowledge and insight.

Eggs have become a staple in kitchens worldwide, transcending cultural and geographical sectors and boundaries. Be it a sublime delicate French quiche to a hearty and robust Café Javas breakfast, eggs form a central role in untold culinary ventures.

To wit, in Uganda, the Rolex has become a household favourite and the country’s most famous egg dish while at the same time being an affordable picker upper for even the budget conscious student or the common man.

This universal appeal of eggs is a testament to their versatility and the joy that they bring to our tables, not forgetting our palates. Nothing stimulates the seasoned (if you will pardon the pun) cook’s imagination or the nutritionists enthusiasm than a good fresh egg. Unbeknownst to many a layman, eggs have the unique property of containing all the balanced nutrients from which a complete organism develops.

Eggs are responsible for transforming cake doughs by providing a structural framework for leaven, can thicken custards and make them smooth, not to mention tenderizing timbales and produce fine-grained ice creams. No mention of eggs would be complete without speaking of how they bind gravies and mayonnaise, clarify or enrich soups, glaze rolls, and insulate pie doughs against becoming soggy.

Eggs create magnificent and wondrous meringues and soufflés, and last but not least, make ideal luncheons and unexpected fare. Inasmuch as fresh eggs do all those things better than old eggs, and because there is no comparison in taste between the two, it is a false economy to use inexpensive eggs; make it a point to always buy the very best and fresh quality you can find.

A good pointer is to buy from a place which has a high turnover of dairy products. It doesn’t matter if their yolks are light or dark or if their shells are light or white or brown——so long as their shells are not shiny. While the definitive test remains that of tasting for good flavor, the failsafe method of determining the freshness is by placing them in a bowl of cold water. Simple; those that float are a must to avoid and should be immediately discarded.

Strange as it may seem after stressing the purchase of fresh eggs, there is one caveat to be observed. Do not use eggs that are fresher than three days old for hard cooked eggs or for beating and baking. Funnily enough, if you do so, hard cooked eggs will turn greenish and become problematic to peel and believe it or not, cakes may fail to rise properly because the eggs will not beat to the optimum required volume.

At all cost, never, never use a doubtful egg with any odor or discoloration, in particular an egg that is cracked: you are courting the danger of salmonella developing. Ideally speaking, eggs ought to be bought and measured by weight, alas tradition is against this sensible approach.For purposes of the Ugandan kitchen, since eggs are not graded unlike in more advanced countries, the larger the egg the more preferred and a guestimate would assume that egg to weigh in at 56.699 grams or 2 ounces. Don’t expect the same texture or flavor from eggs or other fowl. The storage of eggs is not difficult providing you follow a few simple rules.

Whether from your backyard chicken coop or market, eggs must not be washed until ready for use, as they are covered with a soluble film which protects the porous shell against bacterial contamination. The best place for storage is the refrigerator. As for egg whites, when stored in the fridge, make sure that they are tightly covered and they are good for four days and then best used for recipes where they are specified.

To store unbroken egg yolks, we recommend storing them covered with water which is then drained off prior to being used.

In conclusion, should you ever have any doubts which eggs in the fridge are fresh or hard boiled, we pull out of our hat an old conjurers trick; a quick test is to twirl them on their pointed ends, and voila and behold, the boiled eggs will spin like a top while the others simply topple over wily-nilly!

Uganda finds itself in a tight corner as it doesn’t have an Inspector General of Government (IGG).

Likewise, the country will soon find itself without a substantive Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should Justice Jane Frances Abodo, who was recently appointed the Principal Judge, take the judicial oath before the President.

Recently, the office of the ombudsman fell vacant after the contracts of Ms Beti Kamya expired alongside those of her two deputies, Patricia Achan Okiria and Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe.

This means the government institution constitutionally mandated with fighting corruption is toothless, as it cannot sanction new corruption charges against suspected corrupt government officials.

The expiry of the four-year contracts of Ms Kamya and her two deputies did not come as an accident. This was known, but no action was taken. Article 223(7) of the Constitution says the IGG and Deputy IGG shall hold office for a term of four years, but shall be eligible for reappointment only once.

The powers that be should have either renewed the contracts of the trio, as they are eligible for another four-year term, or appointed new office bearers if their stint in the first term was not satisfactory.

Having a leadership gap in the office of the ombudsman has grave implications. It means corrupt government officials can freely move around, and yet we lose about Shs10 trillion annually to corruption schemes.

This is huge money that which, if put to proper use, can make a great difference, say in infrastructure development, an increase in salary for civil servants, among others. The IGG’s mandate is to eliminate corruption, promote and foster the rule of law and principles of natural justice in public offices, and enforce the Leadership Code of Conduct.

On the other hand, the office of the DPP could soon become vacant after the President recently appointed Justice Abodo as the new Principal Judge.

Justice Abodo has since been vetted by Parliament, and she is expected to be sworn in any time. Once she is sworn in, it means the office of the DPP will also be vacant.

For now, the DPP can sanction certain big corruption charges from the office of the IGG and have the suspects arraigned before courts.

However, this is dependent on how long Justice Abodo stays in that office. Given the high corruption rates and the amounts of money taxpayers lose to corruption, we appeal to the appointing authority to fill the positions if we are to fight the vice.

Admittedly, like other questions I ask in this column, this too is rather rhetorical, but it is neither academic nor redundant; it is fundamentally a practical question at play in Uganda’s current political landscape.

Let me say upfront that it is impossible to have political parties that consistently uphold the ethos and ideals of democracy while operating in a system that, at its core, is autocratic, undemocratic, and, in many respects, antidemocratic.

Nearly every political party in Uganda that is of some consequence and relevance suffers from a severe internal crisis of democratic credibility. Unsurprisingly, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) ranks the worst!

The topmost position of party chairman and presidential candidate is not contested; instead, it is ‘ring-fenced’ for the incumbent – Mr Yoweri Museveni, who has never faced a credible challenge for the leadership of the party. Ditto the position of party vice chairman.

The last time there was a possibility of a credible challenge with the then NRM Secretary General, Mr John Patrick Amama Mbabazi, seeking to unseat Mr Museveni, the former was swiftly hounded out of the party.

For long, at least since Uganda officially returned to multiparty politics in 2006, never mind that it has been more in name, internal party elections in the NRM have consistently been chaotic and conducted in ways that are anything but democratic.

Across the political divide, on the Opposition side of the political ledger, matters are not any different, certainly not qualitatively better than the ruling party.

In the two oldest political parties, the Democratic Party )DP) and Uganda People’s Congress UPC), the respective party presidents, Mr Norbert Mao and Mr Jimmy Akena, face serious allegations of being in office illegally or at a minimum illegitimately. As for the Forum for Democratic Change, FDC, well, much has gone horribly wrong; there is really no FDC to talk about.

The latest credibility crisis is with the party presently holding fort as the largest Opposition party, at least going by numbers in parliament and having the leading Opposition presidential candidate – that is, the National Unity Platform (NUP) of Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine. For a while, allegations swirled in the shadows; now they are wildly in the open, presenting utterly damaging optics for a party positioned to bring change. To put it mildly, there is a mockery of democracy in how NUP leadership positions are determined, and especially in the latest high-stakes iteration of selecting party candidates for elections.

The opacity characterising naming parliamentary flagbearers has done little favour to the party’s moral standing and credibility. Not unlike the ruling NRM, many on the losing side of NUP’s internal processes have come out with a bitter taste, vowing to run independently in the general elections.

But unlike NRM, which purports to conduct universal suffrage polls in the primaries, despite the questionable credibility of the processes and outcome, NUP does not even pretend to follow a transparent and democratic process in choosing party flagbearers.

This should deeply worry all Ugandans keen on a truly democratic political culture, but we shouldn’t at any rate, be surprised because the overarching system cultivated and entrenched by the NRM and Mr Museveni for decades is fundamentally undemocratic.

To expect Opposition parties to behave angelically in a corrupted and morally corroded political system is either to display naivete or demonstrate crass dishonesty. If we were candid and fully realistic, we would not waste resources, energies, and emotions on political party activities, including party primaries, precisely because we do not have a multiparty system to write home about.

Mr Museveni, as a person, and the ruling group more generally, has never believed in pluralism and party politics, the reason activities of political parties were expressly banned from the outset in 1986.

After two decades of explicitly outlawing political parties and effectively ruling under a defacto one-party state, albeit disguised as a ‘Movement’ system, the supposed official return to party politics in 2006 was more in form than substance, just as the preceding system of ‘no-party’ democracy was essentially in name.

In any political system, the ruling party or group, or whatever one may call it, often sets the pace, template, and modus operandi that is likely replicated among those on the other side of the political divide.

This is not to excuse Opposition parties for not behaving differently and showing the moral high ground; it is to say that Opposition party behaviour often reflects the political system in place.

Today, NUP is less a vehicle for ‘removing the dictator’. Rather, it is a vessel for obtaining a seat in Parliament or Local Government in areas where it is possible to win using the ‘protest vote’ slogan and beating the state machinery, plus overcoming an election management body that is neither independent nor credible.

Spending unusually lengthy hours inside churches to pray has been blamed on the rising poverty burden among the youth across the Acoli sub-region.

On Friday, while gathering for the 2025 Annual Prayer Breakfast organised by Favour of God Ministries in Gulu City, religious leaders said that the poverty puzzle among the youth cannot be solved unless the youth begin to practice their faith with actions.

Rev. Samuel Francis Opiyo, the Gulu University (Church of Uganda) Chaplain, said that young people are too lazy to work and have now resorted to spending unnecessarily long hours in church praying to God.

‘Many of our youth are very lazy, and all the time they are in church praying, praying, and praying. It’s good to pray, but there is time for everything. There is time for prayer and there is time for work. What will God bless if you are not doing anything?’ Rev. Opiyo told the congregation.

He implored religious and political leaders to encourage the youth to focus on work and live by the examples of Jesus’ apostles, who lived by their works.

‘It is a huge problem that we need to address because our prisons are full of young people, energetic men, who should be doing something to fight poverty. Gender-based violence is too much in Northern Uganda; people are killing each other because of poverty, yet the solutions lie with us here,’ he added.

Because the youth are stuck in poverty, Bishop James Ochan, the head of born-again churches of Northern Uganda, said, they have resorted to prostitution, while the males have become drug addicts and robbers on the streets of urban centres across the region.

‘If your stomach is empty, it doesn’t matter how many prayers you say. You need to survive, and that has driven our young people to the streets, robbing and killing others. Young girls are in the streets. If you walk in the streets of Gulu City, you will find young people selling themselves.’ Bishop Ochan said.

According to Bishop Ochan, the problem is exacerbated by a lack of practical Christians to guide those going astray.

‘We are not having practical Christians. What are we doing as leaders in this region? Poverty is something manageable only if we can join hands as the body of Christ and encourage our people to work. We need to reevaluate our priorities and help the young people,’ the prelate said.

However, according to Bishop Godfrey Loum, the Northern Uganda Diocese bishop, the division among the political, civil and religious has exacerbated the poverty problem in the region.

‘Bluntly, the church thinks the political leadership is corrupt and incompetent, but the political leadership thinks the church does not have the moral authority. How can we talk to God’s people if I don’t have that? The people are on their way. But we in leadership, can’t we hold ourselves accountable?’ Bishop Loum wondered.

Brothers and sisters, we are gathered here as leaders of people and communities that are still rising from the ruins of war. It is very difficult for people who are in survival mode to differentiate what is right and what is wrong, and it is our role to guide and direct them, he added.

Dear President Museveni, as you conclude the presidential campaigns in Lango Sub-region this week, I wish to bring to your attention the case of the NRM enthusiast many Lango NRM people refer to as the ‘Luttamaguzi of Lango’, who was martyred and has never been recognised by the NRM and the government.

John Carlo Ogwal, aka Ogwal ‘Cadre’ was the first Resistance Council (RCIII) chairman of Chawente Sub-county in the then Apac District. He took his work and love for NRM so seriously that people nicknamed him ‘Cadre’ in reference to the political mobilisers in the District Administrators’ (now RDC) office.

In 1987, there was festering rebellion in parts of Lango led by elements who used to say they wanted to bring Obote back.

On March 30 1987, Ogwal Cadre, who also dealt in cattle trade, called a meeting at Apwori Trading Centre in Chawente, to mobilise locals against letting their children join the rebellion. As he was doing that, the same rebels, ironically led by a notorious fellow, descended on his home and found he wasn’t around. They arrested his wife and forced her to take them to where he was addressing the group.

Ogwal Cadre was arrested and tortured, with the rebels taunting him, ‘lwong Museveni bin lari’ (call Museveni to save you!) He had enough courage to tell them in Leb-Lango ‘Let me die if it brings peace’. The rebels walked him a few kilometres away to Apyelamot on Aduku-Aboko-Chawente Road. They stopped at a spot where he met his death.

Among those watching was Basil Okello Onach, then a student and now the immediate former Kwania District chairman, whose home was and is still near the scene of the event.

Ogwal was just 40 years old. Ogwal Cadre’s home is in Adakingo Village in Atongtidi Sub-county in Kwania District. Ogwal is survived by his wife and children. After his gruesome killing, all his children dropped out of school.

I understand that until last year when the late Brig Charles Oluka sent an officer to document the family, not a single government or NRM official has ever visited the family.

It would be befitting, Mr President, if this NRM cadre is given a posthumous honour in whatever form, either by erecting a monument in his memory, a national medal or both, or indeed whatever honour you may deem befitting.