Category: Daily Monitor

The Wednesday morning news that at least 46 people had been confirmed dead and several others injured following a four-car crash on the Kampala-Gulu Highway left the nation in mourning. The crash at Asili Farm in Kitaleeba Village in Kiryandongo District, according to police’s preliminary report, involved two buses of different transport companies, a lorry truck and a Toyota Surf.

But the tragic accident is a stinging indictment of our failure to enforce basic road safety. The head-on collision between two buses is not an ‘accident’, but rather a predictable result of negligence and unchecked recklessness. For too long, Uganda has quietly accepted a horrific level of road carnage. Year after year, the numbers climb, from 4,534 fatalities in 2022 to more than 5,100 in 2024. The victims are not statistics; they are parents, children, and productive citizens lost to a preventable epidemic.

According to the Uganda Police Force’s most recent annual crime report, a total of 25,107 road traffic crashes were recorded in 2024, reflecting a 6.4 percent increase from 2023. The Wednesday crash, the Force’s initial reports say, was caused by two bus drivers attempting careless overtaking manoeuvres simultaneously. This is not new. Police data confirms that careless overtaking and speeding account for nearly half of all crashes. Our roads are narrow, often poorly marked, and frequently used by heavy-goods vehicles, fast buses, and vulnerable pedestrians.

It is our appeal that we move beyond the cycle of tragedy, momentary outrage, and swift forgetfulness. The President’s pledge of Shs5 million assistance to the bereaved families is appreciated, but the most important assistance the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government can offer is the guarantee of safety on public roads.

To do this, police must enforce the traffic laws, regardless of who is occupying the car or who it belongs to. We suffer from a culture of impunity where a section of road users, especially the ‘connected’ and those driving government cars, flout traffic laws because they are seen as untouchable. All violators of the law should face severe penalties.

The government should ensure all cars are roadworthy. The government must immediately re-establish and enforce a mandatory, rigorous vehicle inspection system to pull cars in dangerous mechanical condition off the roads. Also, transport companies must be held directly responsible for the conduct of their drivers. Any operator whose vehicles are involved in fatal crashes due to reckless driving should face sanctions, including the permanent suspension of their license.

Until the government demonstrates a strong commitment to transforming road discipline, the bodies will continue to pile up. This week’s tragedy should be the final wake-up call.

When 45-year-old Myleen Kyomuhendo lost her ability to walk after a road crash in 2007, her world fell apart.

Confined to a wheelchair in her late teens, the former basketball player thought her dreams were over.

‘I cried for two years,’ she recalled, telling Monitor that: ‘But after that, I knew I had to start all over again with my life the way I was. I sought knowledge so that I can impact society.’

Today, Kyomuhendo leads the She-Cranes on Wheels, Uganda’s wheelchair basketball team, which recently won a silver medal at the East Africa Games in Nairobi.

Yet, despite her success, she says life for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Uganda remains a struggle marked by stigma, inaccessibility, and neglect.

Speaking at the second Disability Inclusion Summit convened by TAHI Uganda, Kyomuhendo described her recent visit to Mulago Hospital, where she was forced to relieve herself outside because no accessible toilets were available.

‘The building where I had to get my treatment was two floors with all having small doors which couldn’t support me and my wheelchair,’ she said in Kampala on Friday.

She added: ‘I felt so bad because I couldn’t hold my bladder since it was greatly affected.’

She urged government agencies to prioritize inclusivity when constructing public buildings and designing health facilities.

‘Policies are there, but some things can’t wait,’ she said, citing poor access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) information for people with disabilities.

‘When we reviewed the implementation of HIV programmes, it was clear that nothing was shared with PWDs. This leaves a gap since it will continue spreading among them,’ she said.

Kyomuhendo also highlighted stigma in government hospitals. ‘They ask who got them pregnant rather than focusing on their being human too,’ she noted.

At the summit, Robert Mukwangu, Executive Director of the Uganda National Association of the Deaf (UNAD), urged the government to provide free mobility devices for PWDs. ‘Why would wheelchairs be heavily taxed by the Uganda Revenue Authority? Those with legs didn’t pay for them, why are those with disabilities paying for them?’ he asked.

Dr Irene Mwenyango, assistant commissioner for adolescents at the Ministry of Health, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving access and inclusion. ‘The health ministry aims at ensuring that PWDs receive quality healthcare services, including SRHR, without facing barriers or stigma,’ she said.

Charles Tumwesigye, team leader at TAHI Uganda, said stigma and weak implementation of laws continue to marginalize PWDs. ‘The laws crafted do not favour PWDs since they only remain on paper,’ he said.

As Uganda pushes for universal health coverage, voices like Kyomuhendo’s are a reminder that accessibility remains far from universal.

One of the highlights of this year’s Benedicto Kiwanuka Memorial Lecture, held on September 19, was the spirited defence of the Judiciary by Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny-Dollo. Justice Owiny-Dollo spent most of the 16 minutes of his response to the keynote address delivered by Mr Francis Gimara, a former president of the Uganda Law Society (ULS), trying to allay fears that the Judiciary under him has been found lacking in courage in the face of pressure from the Executive.

‘One could have talked of courage if it were true that out there is someone, for instance, the Executive, the Head of State, the Minister of Justice, the Attorney General was always breathing on my neck from behind and say, ‘you must write judgment in this case to the right nor to the left.’ Then maybe one would have said I had the courage to defy the President, to defy the Attorney General, to defy the Minister of Justice,’ he argued. Mr Gimara, in a presentation titled, ‘Upholding justice with courage: Advancing the Benedicto Kiwanuka legacy,’ pointed to what he described as ‘a growing recent concern that the courts are losing’ their bravery.

What was the crux of the matter?

Under Justice Owiny-Dollo, Mr Gimara seemed to say, the Judiciary has lost the kind of bravery and judicial independence that was exhibited by the late Benedicto Kiwanuka in September 1972 when he issued a writ of habeas corpus and ordered the release of Daniel Stewart. The Englishman had been found in possession of printed materials that were critical of the Amin regime’s human rights records. Kiwanuka famously ruled thus: ‘The military forces of this country have no powers of arrest of any kind whatsoever.’

It is believed that this act of courage in the face of Amin’s tyrannical rule triggered his abduction and subsequent murder. Kiwanuka was abducted from the High Court premises on September 21, 1972. His remains were never recovered.

Bail difficulties

The latest Benedicto Kiwanuka memorial came at a time when bail has become increasingly hard to come by, with politicians like Dr Kizza Besigye and a number of National Unity Platform (NUP) members caught in the crosshairs. Mr Dan Wandera Ogalo, a constitutional lawyer who has practised law for more than four decades, says this is the first time in the history of the Judiciary that the courts have made it so difficult for suspects to access bail.

‘The practice used to be that you would make an application and the judge would make a ruling there and then. They never used to adjourn for two days to study the application. So this is a new development,’ he said. Mr Asuman Basalirwa, a lawyer who is also the president of the Opposition Justice Forum (Jeema) party, says some of the reasons being advanced as grounds for denial of bail are quite laughable.

‘Bail is in some cases being denied on speculation that you will interfere with witnesses. How can you say that one will interfere with witnesses that they do not know? The suspects do not have influence in society. How then possible is it that they will interfere with witnesses?’ he asks.

What exactly has changed?

Mr Ogalo says the courts seem to have adopted a fundamentally different approach. Previously, he says, the biggest consideration was whether the suspect was a flight risk. He hastens to add that even in such cases, the inclination was to make the conditions stringent, not to deny bail. Mr Basalirwa weighs in, noting that some of the conditions that the courts set for bail are, in some cases, not commensurate with the crime.

‘Look at, for example the financial aspect of bail these days. It’s so prohibitive that even if you are granted bail, you may end up still detained because you cannot afford the money. If somebody is being charged with the embezzlement of Shs5 billion, it is understandable when you make the requirement a little bit high, but why ask for Shs10 million for somebody who has been arrested for wearing a red beret?’ Mr Basalirwa wonders.

In October 2023, the Court of Appeal nullified the criminal trial of Mr Paul Wanyoto and Mr Patrick Mugisha because of blatant violations and infringements on their non-derogable rights and freedoms from torture, cruel, and inhumane and other human rights and freedoms guaranteed under Articles 23, 24, 42 and 44 of the Constitution. The panel of judges led by Justice Fredrick Egonda Ntende set a precedence that the court has to terminate proceedings once suspects prove that they have been the victims of torture. This precedence, however, seems to have been ignored by the courts so far.

The Judiciary’s new approach that Mr Ogalo talks about comes at a time when the institution has for several years now been under pressure from President Museveni to stop granting bail to persons accused of capital offences. Those calls were precipitated by the December 2009 disappearance of the former Mayuge District Chairman, Mr Baker Ikoba Tigawalana, a day after the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court judgment that had absolved him of the murder in January 2003 of a political opponent, Fred Nnume Musiitwa.

During the 16th annual judges conference in 2014, Mr Museveni gave the Judiciary a tongue lashing for claiming that bail is a ‘right’ yet the Constitution says it ‘may be granted.’ On June 14, 2018, Mr Museveni directed the Judiciary and the police to stop releasing murder suspects on bail and bond, respectively, saying issuance of the same to murders suspects was ‘unacceptable’.

‘There are two things I am not going to accept anymore; police bond and bail. I don’t want to hear about them again. Somebody suspected of killing our people and you give them police bond? No way, this is not acceptable,’ Mr Museveni said.

How did the Judiciary respond?

The Judiciary under former Chief Justice Bart Katureebe pushed back. On June 15, 2018, the institution issued a statement indicating that it would not bow to the President’s whims. ‘It’s very simple, the issue of bail is governed by the Constitution and the law. Until the law is amended, bail will be granted or denied in accordance with the Constitution and the law,’ Justice Katureebe said in the press statement, adding that courts presume that all the accused persons, including those facing murder charges, are innocent until proven guilty.

Mr Museveni’s pitch against the issuance of bail took a new dimension following the January 2021 killing of Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga, near his home in Matugga. Abiriga and his brother, Saidi Buga, were shot by two people who were riding on a motorcycle. ‘I have been very soft on these institutions (Judiciary and the police) who are always stepping on us,’ he said.

If the Judiciary’s response in June of 2018 was a display of bravery akin to what Benedicto Kiwanuka mustered in September 1972, the status quo in here and now couldn’t have been more different. Well, at least according to Mr Gimara. In his keynote address, he stated that there are serious questions as to whether the country and justice systems are living up to the late Kiwanuka’s legacy of justice and courage as the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to a fair hearing, the right to access to information, freedom from torture and conscientious freedoms, including freedom of expression ‘continue to be tested by political manoeuvrings and recent events.’

He pointed out that the lack of spine ‘has been especially evident’ particularly ‘regarding the granting of bail to individuals tried before military courts.’

What is the Judiciary’s defence? Mr James Ereemye Jumire Mawanda, its chief publicist, says other considerations also come into play. Justice, he opined, is not only for the accused. ‘We have,’ he added, ‘victims of crime, we have society and communities. Our judicial officers have taken a judicial oath to administer justice to all and the ‘all’ means and includes the accused, the victims, the communities and the society as a whole. That is why a judicial officer will grant or reject the (bail) application.’

Elsewhere, Justice Owiny-Dollo accuses sections of the legal fraternity of misreading the law on bail, insisting that it is not a right. ‘I get amazed that people still make statements as if there’s no jurisprudence on issues of constitutional right to bail. The Constitution says an accused person who seeks bail has the right to apply for bail. That’s the wording of Article 23. Then the Constitution gives the judicial officer before whom someone seeks to be admitted to bail the discretion to determine whether or not to admit such a person to bail. That cannot be called a right,’ he argued.

He added that the same standard applies to the issue of mandatory bail where an accused person has spent the statutory period on remand. Mr Basalirwa concurs with him, but hastens to add that the courts are not approaching the bail applications judiciously. Why would the courts not handle them judiciously? It is difficult to say why, but the biggest fear is that the Judiciary has finally bowed down to pressure from the Executive. That fear is perhaps best captured in one of Mr Gimara’s comments.

‘The concern raised is whether the courts are pandering to the Executive in this matter, and in many political cases,’ he said in his keynote address. While Justice Owiny-Dollo did not agree, Mr Ogalo and Mr Basalirwa are inclined to agree with Mr Gimara. ‘They (Judiciary) has not stood its ground. It is really just a caving in to the President’s continued fight against the grant of bail,’ Mr Basalirwa concludes.

Uganda’s Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Persis Namuganza, has called on the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to conduct free and fair elections, warning against favoritism and bias as political tensions rise ahead of the 2026 general polls.

Namuganza, who serves in veteran President Museveni’s government, said the commission chaired by Justice Simon Byabakama must ensure equal treatment of all candidates to avoid disputes similar to those seen during the ruling NRM primaries.

‘We want a free and fair election, and this is what all candidates and Ugandans want to see happen next year,’ she said.

The minister, seeking a third term as Bukono County MP, is contesting as an independent after losing in the NRM primaries.

She accused the party’s electoral body led by Dr Tanga Odoi of presiding over irregularities that cost her the flag.

Namuganza also urged the Electoral Commission to guarantee equal security protection for all candidates during campaigns and on polling day.

‘The Commission should provide security for all candidates regardless of their political affiliation because we are all contestants,’ she said.

After her nomination on Thursday, the minister cautioned district returning officers against tampering with election results.

‘We want to see candidates who have truly won declared as winners with accurate vote tallies. For instance, I should know exactly how many votes I have received,’ she added.

The race for Bukono County has shaped into a tight contest between Namuganza and NRM flag bearer Emmanuel Maganda, who accused the minister of rigging the 2021 elections.

‘If she lost the NRM primaries, she should have accepted defeat and served the country elsewhere, not come back as an independent,’ Maganda emphasized.

Across Namutumba District, 30 candidates were cleared to contest for parliamentary seats on the first day of nominations.

The Woman MP race has also attracted attention, with incumbent Mariam Naigaga (NRM) facing a challenge from Betty Nakisita Mpongo, who alleged she was cheated in the primaries.

‘She cheated me in the NRM primaries, but I’m ready to defeat her again in the upcoming elections,’ Nakisita said.

In Busiki Constituency, incumbent Paul Akamba will face Joel Waiswa Azalwa, who vowed to unseat him despite losing a court battle over the NRM ticket.

Meanwhile, in Busiki North, former MP Willion Isiko Mpongo declared his bid to return to Parliament after a decade out, saying he is ‘ready to represent the people again.’

Ugandans will vote the next parliament in general elections to be held January 15, 2026.

Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) have launched a five-year Disability Manifesto (2026-2031) demanding inclusive reforms in education, health, and employment, ahead of Uganda’s 2026 general elections.

The manifesto, unveiled by the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) on October 24, outlines policy priorities the community wants addressed by the next government.

NUDIPU executive director Esther Kyozira said the proposals seek to transform access and equity for the more than 12 percent of Ugandans living with disabilities.

‘The government should provide school fees waivers for children with disabilities and targeted education grants to reduce caregiver financial burdens,’ she said.

Kyozira said the government must ensure reasonable accommodation and assistance throughout the education process, including during examinations.

‘Government should offer specialized learning support by introducing technology training programs tailored for learners with visual impairments, provide assistive devices like hearing aids or software, and regularly build the capacity of teachers in inclusive education,’ she said.

The manifesto calls for the creation of a National Child Disability Assistance Programme to help parents and caregivers meet medical and education costs for children with disabilities.

In health, PWDs urged the government to revitalize orthopedic workshops and finance local production of assistive devices such as prosthetics and wheelchairs. They also want health workers trained in disability-inclusive care in collaboration with organizations representing PWDs.

PWD Member of Parliament Alex Ndeezi said the government must guarantee universal access to healthcare and remove tax barriers on mobility equipment.

‘The government must ensure the free provision of assistive devices such as wheelchairs, white canes, adaptive shoes, and hearing aids,’ he said.

Ndeezi also called for deliberate efforts to sensitize the Electoral Commission and political party officials on disability inclusion ahead of the 2026 elections.

‘The government should, in consultation with NUDIPU, strengthen collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities before constituting structures for their representation,’ he added.

Kyozira said the manifesto serves as a strategic advocacy and accountability tool to advance inclusion and dignity.

‘It provides a roadmap toward an inclusive Uganda where persons with disabilities are accorded equal opportunities to participate and contribute to national development,’ she said.

Apollo Mukasa, executive director of the Uganda National Action on Physical Disability (UNAPD), urged the government to expedite judicial reforms.

‘The government of Uganda through the Judiciary and the Ministry of Gender should operationalize the Judicature Rules for handling cases of Persons with Disabilities,’ he said.

The recent death of Raila Odinga on October 15 plunged Kenya and the region into mourning for a giant of its politics. Across the region, eulogies fittingly crowned him the best president Kenya never had, a testament to his decades-long struggle for democracy and his immense political influence. Yet, his death also invited a sobering, continent-wide reflection on the unique political phenomenon he embodied: the powerful Opposition leader whose legacy is ultimately defined by the office they never held.

Raila’s legacy was shaped, greatly, by his role as a perpetual challenger. His enduring popularity was likely preserved by never facing the incumbency’s constraints. Had he governed, he would have confronted the same systemic governance challenges that often diminished the legacies of other leaders, most of whose inadequacies he personally highlighted. His political influence and appeal, stemming from a public that never saw his presidency, were rooted in his ability to criticise the governments in power, free from the practical burdens of leadership. Because it is easier to heckle than to play the piano.

This is not unique to Raila, but rather the central dilemma facing many African democracies. Often, politicians wield immense moral and political authority from the Opposition benches. They self-anoint as voices of the voiceless, uncompromising critics of corruption, inefficiency, and authoritarian overreach. Their supporters, justifiably frustrated with the status quo, project onto them all the solutions the incumbent has failed to provide. They are, in the public imagination, the perfect alternatives to the imperfect regimes.

However, the leap from critic-in-chief to chief executive is a gorge that many fail to cross. The role of an Opposition leader is to identify problems; the role of a president is to solve them, often with limited resources, within fractured political systems, and against a backdrop of impossibly high expectations. The very systems Opposition leaders critique – democratic backsliding, authoritarianism, human rights abuse, political repression, corruption, injustice, patronage, bloated bureaucracies, and powerful international financial institutions – do not vanish upon swearing-in. They become the new leaders’ in-tray.

Once in power, the elegant symphony of criticism must give way to the difficult, often frictional, practice of governance. The politician who promised to eradicate corruption now must manage party loyalists who demand reward for their years in the struggle. The leader who railed against national debt must now negotiate with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank under conditions they once denounced. The champion of the marginalised must make brutal budgetary choices that inevitably leave some constituencies and foot-soldiers feeling betrayed. The piano keys are stubborn, and the sheet music is written in the ink of complex reality.

This is not to say that Opposition leaders are unqualified or that their ideals are disingenuous. No! In any case, almost every great leader has once been in Opposition. It is to argue that the skills required to be a successful Opposition figure are fundamentally different from those required to be an effective head of State. The former thrives on ideological purity and powerful rhetoric, the latter demands compromise, pragmatism, and the management of often-ugly trade-offs. The populist appeal that mobilises millions on the campaign trail can quickly sour when difficult, unpopular reforms are necessary.

Therefore, while Africa rightly mourns the passing of its great what-if figures and yearns for replacements, it must also advance its political analysis. The true measure of a leader should not solely be their power as a critic, but a sober assessment of their potential for pragmatic and effective governance.

Bear it that the most popular politician is not always the most capable governor, and the crown of Opposition often appears more golden than the thorny crown of incumbency. Raila’s monumental legacy is secure, but it is a reminder that in the theatre of politics, the most beloved performer is sometimes the one who never had to conduct the entire orchestra.

There is a unique, almost universal, magic to the secondary school experience. It is a formative liminal space, a four-year crucible where innocence is gradually replaced by reality. It is a time of first loves and first heartbreaks, of navigating the exhilarating peaks of academic and social triumphs and the devastating valleys of failure, often for the first time without the immediate safety net of childhood.

This period is so profoundly etched into our psyches that few look back upon it without a deep, complex sense of nostalgia.

In The Lion’s Revival: Ntare School (1991-1996), Bishop Sheldon Mwesigwa masterfully captures this essence, but he does far more than evoke sentimental memories. He delivers a compelling, rigorously detailed case study on transformative leadership, using the pivotal restoration of a national icon as his canvas.

The book is set against a backdrop of national recovery. Emerging from the political and economic turmoil that had crippled Uganda in the 1970s and 1980s, Ntare School, like the nation itself, was a lion limping.

Mwesigwa’s focus on the 1991-1996 period is, therefore, strategic; it zooms in on the precise moment when diagnosis turned into decisive action. The book is meticulously structured into two complementary parts, mirroring the very harmony the author identifies as crucial for institutional success.

The turnaround

The first section reads with the urgency and insight of a strategic playbook for educational and organisational turnarounds. It opens with the arrival of a new head teacher, Mr Nathan Kamuhanda, an outsider from Kings College Budo, who immediately faced entrenched resistance as the first non-old boy to lead the school.

Mwesigwa, writing with the clarity of a historian and the empathy of a church leader, astutely identifies a universal and often overlooked truth; even in the most dysfunctional systems, there exists a hidden economy of benefits, and those who profit from the status quo are its most formidable guardians.

The formation of the now-legendary “trio”, Head teacher Mr Kamuhanda, Deputy Mr Mwika from St. Mary’s College Kisubi, and the author himself, Mr Mwesigwa, from rural Kibubura Secondary School, marks the ignition of the revival. The book brilliantly outlines their multi-pronged strategy, which serves as the core thesis for any successful institution:

A culture of discipline

Mwesigwa argues that discipline is not a burden to be borne solely by students. It is a shared value that must be embraced by teaching staff, non-teaching staff, and administration alike. He posits that only when these three parts of the school organism work in synchronised harmony can you expect to harvest the fruits of excellence.

Inclusive governance

Perhaps the most innovative takeaway is the deliberate involvement of the student prefect body not as mere enforcers of rules, but as partners in the planning and execution of decisions.

Aa cycle of competition

The trio’s introduction of a rewards system for academic performance was a masterstroke. This “small innovation acted as a leaven for the whole school,” creating a visible, aspirational benchmark for success. It shifted the school culture from one of passive acceptance to active striving, demonstrating that recognition is a powerful catalyst for widespread improvement.

The human legacy

If the first part provides the strategic map, the second part proves the treasure was real. This section is composed of powerful, first-person testimonies from the students who lived through this period of renewal.

Today, these individuals are leaders in law, medicine, business, and public service. Their narratives, from both privileged and impoverished backgrounds, speak with one powerful, unified voice, celebrating the transformative impact of their teachers and the school environment.

This collection is far more than a tribute; it is the living, breathing validation of the strategies outlined in Part One. It offers incontrovertible proof of the book’s central argument that a student’s background is not their destiny.

When placed in an enabling environment, one built on discipline, high expectations, and genuine encouragement, potential is unlocked, and excellence is democratised. The diverse successes of these alumni are the ultimate metric by which the revival’s success must be measured.

‘The Lion’s Revival’ transcends the category of a simple school history. It is an essential text for a wide audience: a must-read for school administrators and policymakers seeking a practical, proven blueprint for institutional transformation; an inspiring chronicle for alumni of any institution who understand the fragility of legacy; and a motivational tool for current students who can see in these testimonies that their own struggles are the forging grounds of future leaders.

Bishop Sheldon Mwesigwa deserves profound praise for his dual role as both a key architect of this revival and its diligent historian. In committing this story to paper, he performs a vital service.

He reminds us that our individual and collective stories matter, and that in sharing them, we deny future generations the excuse of ignorance.

The continued success of Ntare School, an institution that has shaped figures of global stature such as Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame, stands as a beacon of hope for Ugandan education.

‘The Lion’s Revival’ is the indispensable and brilliantly told story of how that beacon was relit.

Deputy Inspector General of Government Dr. Patricia Achan Okiria has urged graduates to uphold integrity and resist corruption in their professional careers.

Speaking at the university’s 10th graduation ceremony on Friday, where 542 students received their degrees (319 females and 223 males), Dr. Okiria emphasised the importance of values like service, creativity, responsibility, and teamwork.

“As the Chancellor rightly charged you to be ready to face issues like corruption and community responsibility, he believed that passing exams was not the only thing, but that it is an assurance of the best script of values, service, creativity, responsibility, integrity, and professional teamwork,” she said.

Dr. Okiria encouraged graduates to be “pilgrims of integrity” and “pilgrims of social responsibility,” leveraging their skills and knowledge to drive innovation and solutions for Uganda.

“Be the generation that elevates the national conversation about transaction into transformation,” she added.

Msgr Charles Kasibante, who led the mass, urged graduates to avoid corruption in their workplaces.

The Chancellor of University of Kisubi, Br. Casio Aizire, also stressed the need for graduates to serve with excellence and maintain integrity.

“Let the UNIK script be a beacon of hope, showing that quality and ethical service can and must triumph over the corrosion force of corruption that drains our national resources and destroys the quality of public life,” he said.

“We commission you today to be anti-corruption agents by virtue of your professionalism, you must reject the cynical notion that success requires compromise,” Br. Aizire added.

Vice Chancellor Br. Dr. Deogratias Mugema highlighted the university’s innovations, including a solar-powered tricycle and an eco-bike, part of its e-mobility initiatives.

The university has also applied for patents to protect its innovations, Dr. Mugema said.

Among the graduates honored was the late Consolate Apio, a victim of the October 22 car crash on the Kampala-Gulu highway, who received a posthumous Master of Science in Clinical and Psychological Counselling.

When Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, managing director of M-Pesa Africa, walks onto the stage at the 2025 Fintechs Annual Gathering at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, he starts with a smile and a memory.

‘The last time I was here was almost 18 years ago,’ he says. ‘There was no expressway, no new airport. This was the only big hotel in town.’

He still Googles ‘what to do in Kampala,’ he jokes, finding the same suggestions, Jinja mostly, and laughs at how little has changed.

Young Africans and money

But his tone soon turns global. Lopokoiyit tells a story about his 17-year-old son in South Africa who once called him with a stock tip.

When Donald Trump’s trade threats sent US tech stocks tumbling, the teenager urged him to buy Nvidia shares at $94. Lopokoiyit did, and now they are worth about $182.

The anecdote draws laughter, but his message lands firmly.

‘My son has run my finance account since he was 13,’ he says. ‘Last year he made $25,000, and he is still in high school.’

Young Africans, he argues, are engaging with money in ways their parents never imagined.

‘For them, money isn’t just for sending, it’s for investing. That’s what we must harness.’

By 2050, Lopokoiyit notes, Africa will have 2.6 billion people, 65 percent under 25.

‘That is the largest youth population in the world, with the skill sets to power the globe,’ he says.

Japan’s median age is past 60, and China’s population is shrinking. ‘The best place to be in the world today is Africa.’

Yet, he cautions, ‘technology is a double-edged sword.’ Artificial intelligence could empower the continent, or quietly erase it.

‘If we are not careful, the story of Africa will be rewritten by people in Silicon Valley who’ve never been here,’ he warns. He cites the Cambridge Analytica’s 2018 scandal, when data from millions of Facebook users was used to manipulate elections.

‘If one company could do that, then imagine what is possible now,’ he says. ‘This is a new kind of colonialism; control of the individual.’

Lopokoiyit shifts to the global fintech landscape; cloud computing, APIs, crypto, and AI are blurring the lines between banks and telecoms, citing Nubank in Brazil and Revolut in UK, digital banks each worth more than $70b.

‘They are not just apps, they are buying banking licenses and even telecoms,’ he says. ‘The line between banks and telecoms is disappearing.’

For African fintechs, survival means thinking beyond peer-to-peer transfers to savings, credit, investments, and cross-border payments.

M-Pesa, he says, already handles 220 million transactions daily, five times PayPal’s volume.

Still, global markets value PayPal at about $90 billion, while M-Pesa’s valuation remains far lower.

‘If we were American, our valuation would be ten times higher,’ he says, a frustration and a challenge to Africa to value its own innovation.

Emergency of crypto

Africa already sees $150b in annual crypto activity. Stablecoins moved $18b last year, with Kenya alone drawing $3.3b, more than official remittances.

But Lopokoiyit sounds a warning: ‘Every mobile-money account in Africa is already a stablecoin. For every shilling in M-Pesa, there’s one in a bank. We built this 18 years ago.’

Dollar-based digital currencies, he says, risk eroding sovereignty. ‘If we dollarize our markets, our currencies will weaken, taxes will vanish, and we will enrich companies like Tether and Circle in the US.’

He points to the UAE, which channels all transactions through its own national stablecoin. ‘Africa must do the same, or we will lose control of our money.’

The SME factor

‘Seven out of ten jobs in Africa come from SMEs,’ he reminds the audience.

‘Governments can’t create jobs at that scale; it’s farmers, traders, and boda-boda riders who drive nearly half of GDP.’

Thus, he says, there is need to drive momentum for the section of society that drives job creation.

At M-Pesa, he says, the solution has started with separating personal and business wallets.

‘Now we can build products around them; credit, savings, and insurance, tailored for small businesses,’ he says.

He urges fintechs to read political manifestos, because ‘they often spell out problems worth solving’.

He cites Kenya’s fertilizer subsidy programme, which built on Safaricom technology, enrolled 6.3 million farmers, distributed $400m directly, boosted maize yields by 40 percent, and helped keep inflation under 4 percent.

‘It even stabilized the shilling,’ he adds.

Safaricom has also digitized 18,000 hospitals and health-claims systems, cutting fraud and unlocking valuable health data.

‘What am I doing digitizing hospitals?’ he asks with a grin. ‘It’s data, and data drives opportunity.’

Throughout his presentation, Lopokoiyit balances gravity with humor. He teases regulators who demand local data centres but use Gmail, and jokes about fintechs chasing ‘ridiculous valuations.’

‘The fintech community must build on our platform,’ he says. ‘M-Pesa will open its APIs, agent networks, and compliance systems, [but] I can’t do it all, so build for your customers. We will compete, yes, but the platform will be open.’

His verdict on Kampala

By the time he steps down, Lopokoiyit has painted a future both hopeful and urgent. Africa, he insists, is the world’s next growth engine, but only if it claims its digital sovereignty.

The continent must guard against AI-driven recolonisation, resist quiet dollarisation, and empower SMEs with the tools to thrive.

It must work with governments, embrace innovation, and put young Africans at the center.

‘We have the resources, the culture, and the people,’ he says. ‘The best place to be in the world today is Africa. And the big tech companies know it. If they are not here now, they won’t be big tech in 20 years.’

In Kampala, he’s not just giving a fintech keynote; he is sketching a blueprint for Africa’s digital destiny.

‘The continent is no longer waiting to be told its story; it is already writing it,’ he notes.

It was in Morocco that Uganda’s young footballers first saw what was possible. Earlier in April at their second appearance at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, the youngsters made history by becoming the first Ugandan team to qualify for a Fifa tournament.

But that was not only the achievement that left an impression, the way Morocco was shaping the future of its football also wowed the youngsters and their coach Brian Ssenyondo.

That lesson has now become a powerful source of inspiration after Morocco’s U-20 team claimed a historic Fifa U-20 World Cup title in Chile on Sunday night.

Morocco overcame six-time champions Argentina 2-0 in the final. That achievement has come at a moment when the Uganda Cubs who have flown to Dubai to intensify their preparations as they plan to spring some surprises at the 2025 Fifa U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

That image of Morocco becoming the third African nation to lift the trophy is now fresh and firmly etched in their minds.

‘Any coach, any player would want to play in the finals,’ Ssenyondo said.

‘We have to give ourselves the best chance by playing well and winning every game. Who knows where we can reach if we win every game?’

The inspiration runs deeper than Morocco’s fairytale. Uganda qualified for the U-17 World Cup in the country now celebrated for producing champions.

Ssenyondo witnessed firsthand Morocco’s meticulous approach to youth football with a system built on long-term planning and a clear vision for development.

‘I think they deserve it,’ he said of Morocco’s U-20 win. ‘We were there, we saw what they were doing. I believe we can borrow a leaf and I believe we are doing it here also.’

Morocco topped Group C after historic victories over Spain and Brazil before brushing aside South Korea, USA and France in the knockout rounds.

Their triumph, powered by players like Yassir Zabiri, who scored twice in the final and Golden Ball winner Othmane Maamma, proves that African nations can reach the very top when talent meets structure, a model Uganda should emulate.

‘We are headed for better days with the younger age groups because it is the foundation that builds strong walls,’ Ssenyondo said.

Now, the Cubs prepare to face Canada, Chile and France in Group K from November 5-11 with their ambition clear that they want to compete fiercely and possibly stage a surprise like Morocco.

2025 Fifa U-17 World Cup

Host country: Qatar

Dates: November 3-27

Uganda Cubs schedule;

November 5: Canada vs. Uganda

November 8: Uganda vs. Chile

November 11: Uganda vs. France