Category: Daily Monitor

A former principal assistant secretary at the Ministry of Lands’ Zonal Office in Lira District has been remanded over allegations of fraud linked to the sale of Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) land, the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala ruled on Friday.

Francis Ateng, 49, appeared before Chief Magistrate Rachel Nakyazze and was remanded to Luzira Prison until November 7, 2025, when he will return for sentencing.

Ateng faces 11 charges related to land fraud, including abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, forgery, uttering false documents, and conspiracy to commit a felony.

The alleged offences concern URC land in FRV 2020 Folio 13, Plots 42-50 Mukwano Road in Lira City, and are said to have occurred between January 2018 and 2020.

He was jointly charged with businessman Joseph Ocen, who initially impersonated URC Managing Director Charles Kateba but later became a state witness following a plea bargain. Ocen had earlier admitted to impersonation.

Court heard that on January 17, 2018, Ocen falsely represented himself as Mr Kateba and signed an application for a special certificate of title and statutory declaration for the Mukwano Road land at the Lands Ministry Zonal Office in Lira.

Ateng denied conspiring with Ocen, but evidence presented by eight prosecution witnesses convinced the court of his involvement in facilitating the issuance of the certificate and in the allocation and separation of the URC land.

Documents, including Ocen’s National Identity, email, and TIN number, were used to complete the application.

Robert Okello, a subordinate of Ateng, allegedly uploaded the falsified title documents onto the Uganda National Land Information System.

Handwriting experts and URC officials, including Managing Director Kateba and Secretary Grace Okot, testified that the documents were forged.

‘I find prosecution has discharged its burden. I find Ateng Francis guilty on counts of abuse of office; fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title; multiple counts of forgery; uttering a false document; and conspiracy to commit a felony. You have a right of appeal on conviction,’ Chief Magistrate Nakyazze ruled.

There are people who travel far and wide to attend motor racing rallies. Some pay high prices to go watch football matches live. Others ride into the sunset with camping gear strapped on their motorcycles.

And then there are those among us who are drawn to fine food. Fine food is their thrill the same way yours is football or rafting. They gravitate to fine dining the same way a motoring enthusiast gravitates towards a great Italian super car.

While we all love food (obviously), these are the chosen ones. True gastronomes. They were born with a gifted palate. They are able to isolate hints of all the ingredient in a dish.

Some people can run fast, some can sing, epicures can taste a rare species of red apple or aged oak in their single malt whisky. True epicures part with hundreds of thousands of shillings to attend fancy culinary experiences in high-end venues in Kampala just to cool off and feel alive again.

For an outsider, this might come off as snooty and snobbish because you fail to understand why they pay as much as your rent for a mere meal and few glasses of premium whisky. But that is failing to remember that we all have our thrills on which we would spend copious amounts of money if we had it. And theirs is fine dining.

When you have been to a few of these exclusive parties like I have in recent times, you realise that they really aren’t just paying for the food and drinks. They are paying for the experience, the same way football fans pay for a stadium ticket instead of watching the match on TV.

They pay to not just enjoy the food but also to meet like-minded people. They like to watch as their fellow gastronomes leak their fingers from the same brisket that they are just about to dig in. They feel right at home with the strangers they find here because they know how the other person feels.

They share the same thrill and their love is mutual. Which makes conversation so unlaboured and natural at these events.

This is exactly how I felt when I attended The Smoke Out at Mediterraneo Restaurant in Kololo recently. The Smoke Out, as the name suggests, is a culinary experience where patrons enjoy all tribes of smoked meats. The meat is smoked over special types of wood for hours before they are slow-cooked on low indirect heat for even more hours to give the meat a smoky, spicy flavour.

As is often the case, the chef was on hand at the end of the buffet table to answer any questions about his food, be it about the juicy brisket, the oversised South African farmer’s sausages, or the pulled pork.

‘This brisket was smoked for seven hours and finished in the oven as well. Sometimes they are smoked longer. Depends how big the pieces are. But I did not want it to get too, the flavour to get too strong. It can be too smoky,’ Chef Ian, a stoic, middle aged expat explained to curious diners, hanging on his every word.

From the chicken to the beef ribs to the barbeque, everything came with a smoky flavour. But it wasn’t just the meat. There were other non-meat dishes like what the chef called the world’s best macaroni and cheese, mini burgers and roasted corn.

‘That corn, we actually take it in the skin and leave it in water for an hour. And then we just roast it on the fire, still in its skin, until it turns black. After it’s gone black, you peel it and the corn is cooked. You actually get more flavor when you roast it in the husk. It keeps the natural flavor,’ he added.

Upon picking their food, the next part of the experience was to pair it with The Singleton whisky. This single malt scotch is one of those that are known for its mellow, smooth flavor and true gastronome swear that pairing it with smoky flavored meat makes the meat tastier.

Their palates are so well tuned that they will enjoy the spices in the meat better when paired with a non-spicy whisky like The Singleton. You won’t because your palate is just too regular. They will pick hints of caramel or cayenne peppers when all you taste an indescribable sourness.

The crowd at the The Smoke Out was a good mix of expats, young, well-to-do Ugandans and girls whose legs went on and on. The dresses were mostly short and round, accentuating their most attractive aspects.

And the music, some mixes just have the ability to bring people down to the moment, away from their worries and their smartphones. But then again, it’s a party where people part with real bucks to get in.

All stops have to be pulled with reckless abandon. It was one of those parties where the spirit of dance was strong. Or maybe there was something The Singleton cocktails.

Uganda’s political landscape is shaped not only by ideas and manifestos, but by the architecture of power itself. Over the years, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has fused with the State in ways that tilt the democratic playing field, giving the party an upper hand that goes far beyond the advantages of incumbency.

This fusion is not incidental. It is structural, deliberate and deeply embedded. From the conduct of security operatives to the posture of Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), the boundaries between public service and partisan loyalty have blurred. Neutrality of such offices, once a cornerstone of democratic governance, is now negotiable.

Security agencies, with or without tacit approval of their commanders, routinely act in ways that favour NRM candidates-whether through selective enforcement, intimidation of Opposition rallies or quiet gatekeeping of public venues. Civil servants, too, often find themselves navigating a system where career advancement is subtly tethered to political alignment. These dynamics distort the principle of equal access and compromise the integrity of electoral competition.

Beyond these institutional entanglements lies the sheer weight of incumbency. The NRM’s long tenure has allowed it to build expansive networks across Uganda-from the Local Council at the village, or cell level, to national agencies. These networks are not just political; they are logistical, financial and symbolic. They enable rapid mobilisation, resource deployment and narrative control in ways that Opposition parties struggle to match.

Recently, Daily Monitor published a story titled ‘Inside ANT’s dream of service leadership’, reporting that the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) had unveiled its 2026 presidential manifesto, ‘A Change You Can Trust’. Led by Maj Gen (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu, ANT offers a vision rooted in service leadership, integrity and institutional reform. The party’s emphasis on strengthening land rights, investing in reliable energy and reforming the public sector speaks to the aspirations of many Ugandans weary of transactional politics.

But ANT’s challenge is not merely to present good ideas; it is to navigate a terrain where visibility, access and protection are often contingent on proximity to power. The party must build not just a message, but a machinery. It must cultivate grassroots networks, train agents who can withstand intimidation and invest in civic education that demystifies the fusion of party and State.

Uganda’s democratic transition will not be achieved through manifestos alone. It requires a reckoning with the politicisation of State institutions and the normalisation of partisan enforcement. Until the State and the ruling party-not the NRM government-are disentangled, no political opposition, however principled, can compete on equal footing.

As voters, analysts and citizens, we must demand more than promises; the nation must demand structural reform and independence of institutions. And as parties like ANT step forward with bold visions, they must also prepare for the long haul: resisting co-option, building trust and confronting the quiet machinery that has kept power insulated from real and fair competition.

Uganda deserves a democracy where service leadership is not a dream, but a standard. The journey there will be hard, but it must begin with truth.

In 2009, Patrick Idringi alias Salvador chanced upon a Stand Up Uganda auditions advert at Theatre La Bonita. He registered and luckily made it to the top 20, who underwent training for two weeks.

Pablo Kimuli emerged as a winner and Salvador as the first runner-up. It is this very audition that set Salvador on the career path as a comedian. Fifteen years down the road, he is celebrating with a big show tonight dubbed Africa Laughs at Kingdom Kampala.

Do you remember your very first comedy show? How many people turned up? How much money did you make?

My very first comedy show was organised by myself and Daniel Omara. It was at Club Rouge and it sold out. At that time, money wasn’t even part of the things we really cared about. We just wanted to be on stage and perform. I don’t even know how much was made that day. All we wanted was drinks at Rouge.

Comedy shows of 15 years ago and comedy today. What key things stand out?

Comedy shows 15 years ago were pure because we were not motivated by money. Today, without money, the motivation is not there. There are a few comedy shows that are purely motivated by passion like the Laughing Maraboustock – a platform for upcoming comedians who just want to perform and entertain their audiences.

In your view, what makes a good comedian?

A good comedian is one who knows how to read his audience. No matter how prepared you are, how many scripts you rehearse, if you don’t read the audience, even your best jokes will land flat. We are seeing 11 comedians from different parts of Africa, two Ugandan music legends and Janzi band all advertised to perform. Why did you choose these specific comedians as your supporting acts?

These are comedians I have worked with over the past few years and I know they will totally define this 15 year celebration. I don’t want to leave anything to chance so from the first to last performer, I want everyone to be in awe.

We see artistes dominating comedy shows and here we are seeing Chameleon and Juliana as performers. Won’t this affect what you want to achieve?

It’s very hard to change a culture that has already been imprinted in people. Music and comedy go hand in hand today, and this being a celebration, I chose two of the legends I respect the most. I don’t even remember the last time I saw Juliana Kanyomozi on stage, but I believe her touch is what my show needs, for Jose chameleon I think it’s self-explanatory.

In 2020, The Uganda Comedians Association (TUCA) was formed with you on the committee yet in May this year, you came out and said comedians are responsible for the industry’s decline because they are disunited. Does this mean you guys failed as an association?

I think you misquoted me. I said when we allowed music to influence how we run our shows, that culture became hard to change. I’m glad the new generation of comedians is actively bringing order to the industry..

You are celebrating 15-years in comedy and it is also seven years of Africa laughs. Is this going to be a double celebration?

Africa Laughs 7 show had taken a break since 2022, and I had to bring it back. My friends in comedy really wanted to be a part of this celebration. I could have done a one-man show, but I figured it would have made more sense if I made it more of a celebration with my colleagues, which falls under Africa Laughs among the shows I do.

How did Rajiv Ruparelia and Cedric Babu impact your comedy career?

These two particular gentlemen (may their souls rest in peace) believed in me when I didn’t even know how far I would go with this. Rajiv was my biggest supporter.

He never hesitated to come through whenever I called him. Cedric was the one who made me valuable in terms of how I viewed myself. There is a lot I can say about these two gentlemen.

Was this choice of venue connected to Rajiv in any way?

Yes, when I pitched to him the idea of starting a weekly show in 2019, he was very open to it. In fact, he even waived the fees for my first show and he told me, ‘let’s see how it goes’.

He didn’t want me to make a loss on my first show. So in his memory, I decided to do one of my biggest shows at the same venue. When I reached out to his sister, Sheena, the meeting did not even last five minutes and the venue was offered, courtesy of the Ruparelia family.

Speaking about the weekly shows (Just Comedy), why did you put a stop to them?

I had plans of coming back to Kingdom Kampala for the Just Comedy show. The management contacted me to bring it back. Unfortunately, it is designated as Parliament [Parliament rents office space on the building] and I had to get clearance every week I did a show. The bureaucracy involved in getting clearance got on my nerves. We shall see if we can resume it after this show.

In one of the interviews, you said employers feared hiring your wife. Is that true?

Most of the people I would recommend her to are my friends, however much I know her potential, I don’t think she’d fully hit it because of the way they would treat her. This is the honest truth. And also if anything went wrong, I would be burning those bridges, so we decided to open up a company, Salphine Productions, together and it’s a decision that we are both proud of.

Fifteen years in comedy. What are you most grateful for?

I am grateful to God for the ability to harness this talent to make a living and sustain my family. I am indebted to the people who have supported me along the way.

What next for Salvador?

Well, I will keep going. I will always bring joy to people. Watch out for better things to come because I have a lot in store.

Kampala International University (KIU) will graduate about 2,500 students during its 32nd graduation ceremony on Saturday at the KIU Western Campus in Ishaka-Bushenyi District.

Vice Chancellor Professor Muhammed Ngoma told reporters on Friday that this will be the second major graduation hosted at the Western Campus, highlighting the university’s commitment to ‘bring celebrations of academic excellence closer to our regional communities.’

President Museveni is expected to grace the ceremony.

‘As we celebrate our 32nd graduation ceremony and 25 years of existence, we are glad that, as a university of science and technology, we have played a key role as a major driver of the country’s social and economic transformation,’ Prof Ngoma said.

He said KIU’s founding philosophy of community engagement has guided its efforts to develop practical solutions to local challenges.

‘Our research is not kept on shelves. We disseminate it and hold annual research conferences where we invite stakeholders, including policy makers, to take up some findings and contribute to policy formulation,’ he noted.

Prof Ngoma added that the university operates an innovation and technology hub, where collaboration with community members has produced several market-approved products.

He called on the government to support private institutions with innovation funds, providing technical assistance, networking opportunities, and financial backing to develop and commercialize new technologies.

KIU has also deepened international collaborations. In partnership with Utrecht University in the Netherlands and Junior Achievement Uganda (JAU), the university will host an international summer school from October 31 to November 9, 2025 at both KIU campuses in Uganda.

‘We shall host thirteen students and four professors from the Netherlands,’ Prof Ngoma said. The summer school will be held under the theme, ‘Bridging continents; African-European Youths Collaborating for a Diverse and Digital Future.’

He said the initiative aims to strengthen cross-continental learning and innovation, preparing graduates to address contemporary challenges in technology, business, and community development.

I have been reading a book titled Hybrid, authored by Noel Kingsbury. It is about the history and science of plant breeding. It is in this book that I have come across a statement that, in my view, deserves reflecting upon by all of us who spend time daily finding food for ourselves and for our loved ones.

Kingsbury says: ‘Most of us are alive not just because of historically recent advances in medical science and an awareness of basic hygiene but also because of advances in agriculture: improved plant nutrition, crop protection, and plant breeding. Our access to food is so much more secure than that of our ancestors, our choices are incomparably wider, and our food is safer than ever before.”

Much of this security and choice are down to plant breeding. With the varied diet we have today, it is difficult to imagine what it must have been like for our ancestors; their diet was often not just poor but incredibly monotonous.’

Our ancestors did not, for example, see grafted mangoes or oranges. They did not know about the qualities of hybrid seeds and the advantages of planting them. Today we have cloned crop seedlings. We have crops that take much shorter to bear fruit.

If anybody wants to earn money quickly from Robusta coffee farming, the best decision would be planting cloned seedlings from a registered coffee nursery. Harvesting normally takes place within less than two years after planting, with good agronomic practices. Many crops are bred to be much better tasting, drought tolerant, disease resistant, more nutritive, and higher yielding.

Agriculturists tend to refer to the formation and development of new individual plants as plant propagation. It perpetuates plants as individual units and ensures that the cultivated crops are under man’s control and that they are not lost to him by reverting to less desirable forms.

Through selection and propagation of only particular varieties with desirable characteristics scientists have built up a wide range of crop plants of great economic and nutritional importance from naturally and traditionally exiting species but of different characteristics.

We therefore have to go for farming practices that meet our desires. We have a much bigger population to feed, yet the land on which to grow the required amount of food is not elastic. We are also working against odds like climate change and stubborn pests, among other challenges.

Wednesday 15, the sun rose and set like it was a normal day. Of course, it could have been a normal day but it was 10 years since October 15, 2015.

Stories have been told of how the plan was hatched, apparently, by an artiste, currently an MP in the Opposition, came up with a plan to sing a song praising the president to light up his 2016 campaigns.

However, the artiste lacked influence thus, only his idea was picked but he wasn’t chosen to headline the project, neither was he included on the project in the end. Artistes were mobilised, those who had influence, some refused to join even when the project seemed lucrative, but at the end, 12 were chosen.

King Saha, Rema Namakula, Radio and Weasel, Jose Chameleone, Iryn Namubiru, Julianna Kanyomozi, Haruna Mubiru, Judith Babirye, Mun*G and Bebe Cool were those selected.

The song

It is said the project was pitched at Shs400m. The 12 were the hottest voices in town in all genres Uganda music has curved out, from hip hop to Ugandan soukous, what we usually call band music.

Only a few names, including Winnie Nwagi, Sheebah, Irene Ntale, Eddy Kenzo and Bobi Wine were missing. When Tubonga Nawe was released, with the video shot at Namboole stadium, with the 12 artistes singing and dancing alongside Annet Nandujja’s troupe, the song was a masterpiece, an earworm, yet for many reasons, it did not sound right.

Ugandans started talking, some felt heavily betrayed by the artistes they loved dearly, while others chose to defend them to the depths. And right there, the artistes had weaponised a fan base, it was confusing. In 2015, where going viral wasn’t a statement used often, the Tubonga Nawe situation was viral.

Elites and those who don’t identify as such were all talking, those in support of their stars cited examples, including Will I Am and John Legend’s Yes We Can, a song directly influenced by a Barack Obama speech from one of his 2008 speeches.

The song was a strong tool for Obama’s campaign, which saw him become the first black president of the United States of America. But there was a slight difference, neither Will I Am nor John Legend were paid by Obama’s team to record the song. And neither was Young Jeezy for My President, which had also been released early on.

Thus, the comparison which tried to put Tubonga Nawe with Yes We Can in the same basket didn’t make a lot of sense, especially considering the fact that artistes like Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye West, John Legend had even contributed to Obama’s campaign through donations.

By the end of the campaigns, President Museveni was declared winner, it was all over. In his speech, he said it was time to work, but for the local music industry, it was just the beginning of a major shake up. For politics, it was the end of the old and a new era was forming, right before our eyes.

The artistes started rallying Ugandans to put politics behind them and move on with life. In fact, Bebe Cool and Chameleone, among others made a TV appearance to explain their reason for being part of the Tubonga Nawe project and the show was a major discussion online.

That show was proof that something had shifted, Chameleone, was in the NTV studios, in his grace; there to answer Douglas Lwanga’s questions about the song and his decision to take part in the project.

This was Chameleone’s first live TV interview in more than 10 years, the man had between the years become so big that if you needed him for an interview, you had to go to his home or his desired place but he wasn’t going to come to you, regardless of who you were. But here he was, defending his reasons for dancing and singing for a man in a song shot in an empty Namboole.

Meanwhile, talk of Ugandans boycotting the 12 artistes started taking shape. Dr Kizza Besigye, who had been president Museveni’s biggest rival for four elections, including the one in 2016, was under house arrest, only a few people could access him. One of those who accessed him was Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine.

He played his guitar for him and sang a song; he would later upload the video onto his social media pages to much appreciation and acclaim.

The song he sang in the video was Situka; the song had been around, as a soundtrack to a film of the same name, where Bobi Wine stars as a local young man who decides to take on the leadership of his community after seeing so much injustice.

Initially, the song didn’t hit, but in the wake of half the industry appearing on Tubonga Nawe, Bobi Wine curved himself as the people’s champion. He was not only admired but people were willing to put on anything Bobi Wine related.

He had the years prior positioned himself as a common man’s champion, a voice for the downtrodden with songs such as Ghetto, Tungambire Ku Jennifer, and Time Bomb among others, staying out of Tubonga Nawe even when it was a lucrative deal.

But Bobi Wine had buggages too; for more than a decade, he alongside Chameleone and Bebe Cool had ring-fenced the industry, keeping themselves on top of the chain either intentionally or otherwise. They became a cult and a yardstick of the industry. Leone Island, Fire Base and Gagamel Entertainment became taste makers and a blueprint of the industry.

When they fought, aspiring artistes found themselves choosing sides, it was almost impossible to stay neutral if you indeed wanted mainstream success.

That divide went straight into the fan base, thus, they became the artistes to popularise music concert battles. At first, it was people organising shows on the same day but then it was upped to shows in the same space and almost the same stage. The fan base was divided alongside artistes, it was either or, not both, something that at least Bobi Wine and Bebe Cool carefully commercialised for years by either doing songs attacking each other or staging shows on the same day.

Even when Bobi Wine didn’t appear on the Tubonga Nawe project and was sought after as a people’s artiste, there’s a fan base that didn’t appreciate his message.

By the beginning of 2017, the industry was majorly undergoing a rebirth, Tubonga Nawe had changed the tides, most of the artistes on the song had chosen to shelve music because they thought Ugandans would boycott them. Bebe Cool decided to churn out a song almost every month until he landed that Kabulengane.

Iryn Namubiru, Julianna Kanyomozi, Haruna Mubiru, Judith Babirye either withheld music or went into active politics and business.

Unfortunately, both Julianna and Iryn’s space would be claimed by Winnie Nwagi and Sheebah; the two would go on to dominate the industry for years. With Sheebah steadily managing to shift the industry from a vocal first approach, which had been a yardstick for artistes before her.

Sheebah’s rise led to the rise of artistes such as Vinka, Spice Diana, Nina Roz to the current crops such as Pinky, Ava Peace, and Jowy Landa who are prominent for hit singles.

On the other side of the spectrum, Bobi Wine rode the people’s love solely on the legacy and music he had recorded prior, then in April 2017, the MP for Kyadondo East Constituency, Apollo Kantinti was kicked out of Parliament and fresh election was organised.

Bobi Wine contested as an Independent candidate. That election in September 2017 was of national interest. Today, Bobi Wine leads probably the Opposition political party. In his opposition, words such as robbadob style or calling his main opponent, President Museveni, Oyo Chali.. is common.

Even the political commentary spectrum has changed, there’s commentary on TVs and radios but actual commentary takes place on social media spaces such as TikTok where presidential advisors don’t engage in conversation but insult everything and everyone.

What could the political spectrum have looked like if the song didn’t propel Bobi Wine in one way or another? Would Dr Hilderman, Geoffrey Lutaaya, or Mathias Walukagga be politicians or active singers today? So where did we start from? Yes, last week was Wednesday, 15 October.

Unfortunately on Friday night of the same date in 2015, it wasn’t only Tubonga Nawe that rewrote the music timeline, along the showers of River Nile, at Nile Discovery Resort in Njeru, a new festival was born, rewriting the meaning of a music festival in Africa, Nyege Nyege, but that’s a story for another day.

Key

Could Bobi Wine’s ascendency have been different had he been on Tubonga Nawe Maybe yes, maybe no.

But we could use King Saha as a specimen.

Because King Saha was on that song, only to switch sides, he has since released countless political songs he calls revolutionary, yet the other side always reacts by replying his verse on Tubonga Nawe whenever they can. Sometimes it’s all they play.

In this compelling memoir, the author, Jeff B. Kagonyera, takes readers on a journey that begins with comfort and security, only to be abruptly interrupted by tragedy.

Born into a stable and respected polygamous family in Rukungiri, the early years of the author’s life were marked by dignity, community respect, and the warmth of family. However, the sudden death of his father in 1956 when he was just six shattered this idyllic world, thrusting him into a reality of responsibility, deprivation, and uncertainty.

What makes this memoir remarkable is not only the recounting of hardship, but the way in which the author transforms grief into motivation. A pivotal moment in the author’s life came one morning in 1960, when his elder brother, George Mondo Kagonyera, returned from studying in Nairobi.

The sight of Mondo-neatly dressed, calm, confident, and with smooth, light-brown feet encased in blue sandals-struck the young author profoundly. Seeing the contrast with his own rough, barefooted life, he realized the transformative power of education.

That moment sparked a determination within him to pursue schooling, setting him on a path that would shape the rest of his life. The memoir vividly recounts the author’s perseverance: offering his labor to neighbors, working under the sun, and saving every coin to enroll in school.

The author’s reflections on kindness, generosity, and the obligations we hold toward others add a moral and spiritual dimension that elevates the work beyond personal narrative.

What resonates most is the hopeful message threaded throughout: no matter the circumstances, determination, faith, and the support of good people can create a path forward. The author’s honesty, humility, and gratitude for those who helped him along the way make this memoir not only inspiring, but deeply human.

The foreword by Prof Mondo Kagonyera underscores what the memoir vividly demonstrates: this journey of resilience extends far beyond personal triumph.

The author’s professional career, spanning roles at Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) and later private business, exemplifies the same integrity, diligence, and perseverance that shaped his youth. Beyond career achievements, he emerges as a man of deep compassion, loyalty, and generosity, extending support to family and community alike.

What makes Thorns in My Footsteps so compelling is its universal resonance. It is a story of resilience, yes, but also of hope, moral courage, and the transformative power of determination.

The memoir shows readers that no matter how thorny the path, obstacles are not meant to stop us-they are meant to strengthen us for the journey ahead. It is a narrative both personal and instructive, demonstrating that where one starts does not determine where one ends.

Thorns in My Footsteps is not only Jeff Byarugaba Kagonyera’s story; it is a beacon for all who dare to believe that determination and resilience can shape destiny.

Readers will close this book with a renewed belief in the possibility of triumph, even in the most challenging of circumstances. Even the simplest moments; a helping hand, or an act of kindness-can set in motion a journey that changes a life forever.

Thorns in My Footsteps, a 200-page memoir published by Gomes Book House, shows that the thorns in your footsteps need not stop you; each step, no matter how painful, can lead to growth, purpose, and a life well-lived.

Conservationists at the Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) are troubled by the invasion of a rare plant species threatening the survival of the natural plant cover and animals in the park. The wild plant, sicklebush (dichrostachys cinerea), first noticed in 2014, has defied high-end containment measures like mechanical uproots and is highly resistant to fire.

Philemon Tumwebaze, the ecological monitoring and research officer at the park, says the deadly plant-locally known as Kalemanjonjo-has, since invasion, eaten up 40 percent of the 1,978 square kilometres that make up the park. With the park covered by savannah, a combination of the invasive plant and changing rainfall patterns has left it looking like a bushland. Wild crops have thrived, and this has created a picture that’s not soft on the eye.

‘These conditions have given opportunities to sicklebush to flourish. This invasive species is dangerous in a way that it grows and occupies areas that were formerly grazing areas for wild animals. As it grows, it forms a canopy and suppresses the native grass and fire can’t burn it,’ Tumwebaze says. He adds: ‘So far, over 40 percent (79,120 hectares) of the entire park has been invaded.’

What is the scale of the problem?

In 2014, authorities were concerned enough to commission a study after the sicklebush reared its ugly head and took out crops that wild animals in the park-both herbivores and carnivores-thrive off. ‘With this challenge threatening the ecosystem, as of 2014, we started studies of how it can be managed using both biological, mechanical and manual means. Between 2018 and 2019, a big area of about 4,000 hectares of the park that had been invaded by sicklebush was opened up using bulldozers. It looked beautiful at the beginning, but the regrowth became worse and the area worked on again covered up,’ Tumwebaze says. He adds: ‘A biological method of using climbers and insects to feed on them wasn’t successful.’

The vast bulk of tour guides at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) attached to the park say at first, locals near the park advised against the use of highly mechanised tools such as bulldozers to wipe out the plant. We understand that their advice was ignored.

Has a manual approach managed to bear any fruits?

It has in fact been surprisingly effective. After a series of failed attempts, management deployed locally sourced personnel from within the community to manually uproot the plant. The gamble paid off. ‘Later, manual removal of cutting sicklebush, uprooting and burning plus seeding or planting native grass species in a worked area has proved to manage the invasives by 80 percent to 85 percent,’ Tumwebaze says.

He adds: ‘From last financial year to date, we have been able to clear 761.5 hectares manually out of the total area invaded using registered community groups. To achieve 85 percent success, you work in one area in three phases. The first phase is for cutting, uprooting and burning; the second phase, done after six months, involves the removal of the regrown and plant native growth.’ There is also a third phase that involves removing any regrowth and further replanting the grass. After, the monitoring begins. Tumwebaze says whereas ‘this approach is labour intensive and costly, it so far the only ecologically friendly intervention’ that the park conservationists are counting on to tackle the deadly plant species.

What costs are we looking at here?

Tumwebaze says management spends a minimum of Shs6m to clear each hectare colonised by the sicklebush. That is for the first phase. The cost for the second and third phases is, he discloses, Shs2m per hectare. ‘The Shs4m per hectare includes six percent withholding tax, equipment, food and accommodation for the workers. To work on a hectare, you need 25 people, who do the work in 10 days. We pay Shs16,000 per person per day, including everything,’ Tumwebaze says.

Specifically, how has the plant impacted animals in the park?

It has pushed them out of the park because it is thorny and cannot be consumed by herbivores. It also does not provide shelter to animals. Lawrence Kajura, a senior tour guide and ranger, says the plant has ‘colonised much of the grazing land for herbivores, hence resulting in animal migration into communities due to limited grazing space inside the park.’

Tumwebaze describes the plant as ‘dangerous.’ The park, he adds, ‘is a place that has lions, kobs, water bats that are supposed to live together. Where you have kobs is where you will have lions. And as the area is covered with invasive species, kobs have to move and as they move close to the communities, lions follow them and then, at the end of the day, lions come out of the park and they start causing human conflicts. That’s why we have interventions like electric fences to make sure our relationship with the park is harmonised.’

How are locals selected to manually uproot the invasive plant?

Eric Enyel, the Chief Warden of the park, says management employs local labourers drawn from communities surrounding the park to uproot the sicklebush.

These locals apply to take up the job through open bidding processes announced by UWA through the park offices in Kasese District. Successful applicants are then deployed to uproot the sicklebush by clearing up a hectare at a time.

In addition to the financial payment the labourers are given in the process, UWA management also permits the labourers to convert the uprooted wild plant into charcoal. In the process, this saves the pressure on the natural forest cover around the park.

What challenges are being faced?

Besides the invasive plant, UWA management at the park keeps grappling with poaching and the human-wildlife conflict. For the latter, animals such as elephants, lions, leopards, hippopotamuses, among others, often cross from the park to the community. They then eat and destroy people’s crops. Some people and livestock have also been killed.

The park is also affected by the population pressures occasioned by local persons surrounding the park. ‘There are 11 fishing villages inside the park. There is increased demand for resources, including wild meat, access roads and firewood, among others, making conservation difficult,’ Kajura says. The animals in the park are often affected by disease outbreaks, which are in some cases fatal to the animal population. Speaking to the interventions, Enyel discloses that part of the solutions in electric fences, but this has not come on the cheap.

‘To fence 11km alone, we use Shs645m,’ Enyel says, adding: ‘There are other areas we are trying to close.’

The electric fencing material is imported from countries like South Africa and Kenya. The materials are bulky and, therefore, costly to transport to various areas of the park before being erected. Previously, the electric fence was hinged on wooden poles, but these would rot. Metallic poles would also rust and pose a danger to the soil. Consequently, management resorted to using plastic material mixed with sand to give off a solid substance that has proved more reliable. To contain poachers, Kajura says there is ‘need for funding to procure more drones to enable us to surveil a wider area.’

How important is tourism to the park?

Enyel shares that ‘in the Financial Year [FY] 2024/2025, we received 128,608 visitors compared to the FY2023/2024 where we received a total of 90,851 visitors.’

As a result, ‘a total of Shs8.8b was collected as actual revenue from Queen Elizabeth Park in the FY2024/2025 against Shs7.8b the previous year. This is an annual increment of Shs1b, which translates to 11.8 percent.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s second largest national park, spanning 1,978 square kilometres.

Lawrence Kajura, a senior tour guide and ranger, says it ‘is also connected to Rwenzori Mountains National Park, which covers an area of 996 square kilometres; wildlife reserves such as Kyambura, which covers an areaof 157 square kilometres; and Kigezi wildlife reserve, which covers an area of 330 square kilometres, bringing the total to 3,461 square kilometres.’

He further says the park, then called Kazinga National Park, was gazetted in 1952, but was changed to Queen Elizabeth National Park in 1954 after the visiting of the Queen of England. He adds that the park is quite unique in that it’s easily accessible from all points using both Kampala, Mubende, Fort portal road and Kampala, Masaka, Mbarara road. The park is also home to ”climbing lions, houses 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species and has an underground forest in Kyambura where we do chimpanzee tracking.”

Kajura details that the park also has ’50 explosion craters, giving a great impression and scenic beauty and Nyamusingiri bat cave where you will see various species of staying around such as bats, leopards, snakes such as pythons and cobras, among others.’

Uganda bagged a total of 15 medals, five of which gold, at the Africa Zone III Boxing Championship which ended Friday night in Nairobi.

Nine Ugandans were in the final on Friday at Kasarani Gymnasium in Nairobi with five winning gold, while the four losers settled for silver.

Heavyweight Aziz Ringo, the grandson of former president Idi Amin, was among the heroes. Fatuma Nabikolo and ?Emily Nakalema were the heroines. Kasim Murungi edged Kenyan Phoba Kumbo Mwinyi while Farahat ?Manirola sealed the day with 4:1 victory over Ndjibu of DR Congo.

?Uganda would have bagged more gold had DR Congo not stood in the way. Middleweight Alfred Ojok lost the final to Kinda Wetu; welterweight ?Edward Mukwaya lost to Kabengela Ntumba while bantamweight ?Samuel Ochen lost to Kolongo Bakora, all of DR Congo’s.

Brenda Muduwa surrendered the women’s light flyweight final to Kenya’s Veronica Mbithe.

Six Ugandans, including 2023 African silver medallist ?Erina Namutebi, settled for bronze after losing at the semifinals, while Kato Kazibwe was the only Ugandan who never stepped on the podium.

This is arguably Uganda’s biggest medal haul at a boxing event, never mind the magnitude of the competition. It could also be a timely morale booster for the Bombers ahead of the Islamic Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next month.

GOLD

1. Fatuma Nabikolo

2. ?Emily Nakalema

3. ?Aziz Ringo

4. ?Kasim Murungi

5. Farahat ?Manirola

SILVER

6. ?Brenda Muduwa

7. Alfred Ojok

8. ?Edward Mukwaya

9. ?Samuel Ochen

BRONZE

10. ?Erina Namutebi

11. Livingstone? Matovu

12. ? Alex Kanaabi

13. ? Emmanuel Tabule

14. ? Angel Katushabe

15. Jimmy ?Adriko

16. ?Kato Kazibwe, no medal