Category: Daily Monitor

Every October, companies in Uganda and other parts of the world celebrate Customer Service; a time dedicated to recognise and appreciate the frontliners who make customer satisfaction possible every day.

These individuals include; tellers, receptionists, call center agents, field officers, and among other employees who represent the company. They are the first point of contact, the human connection that turns ordinary transactions into memorable experiences.

Frontliners work hard to make every customer experience a positive one. Their smiles, patience, and willingness to help make all the difference. In a world where many services are becoming digital, human connection still matters most- a genuine smile, a listening ear, or a reassuring tone leaves the most lasting impression.

Every ‘good morning,’ every carefully handled complaint, and every extra effort to solve a customer’s problem contributes to the trust that keeps clients coming back.

Exceptional customer service is not just about being polite, it helps businesses grow. When customers feel valued and respected, they become loyal advocates.

Studies show that satisfied customers are more likely to recommend a company to others, while poor service drives them straight to competitors. Therefore, recognising and empowering frontliners is not merely an act of kindness; it is an investment in a company’s reputation, growth and long-term success.

However, customer service excellence is not the responsibility of frontliners alone. Everyone in an organization has a part to play. From the cleaner who keeps the office neat, to the IT technician who ensures systems work well, managers who support their teams and finance officer who processes payments on time- each one helps create a good experience for customers.

This month serves as a reminder that great service is a team effort. When staff members feel supported and appreciated, they are more motivated to serve customers better.

As we continue to celebrate Customer Service, let us take time to honor our frontliners for their hard work and dedication. Their efforts build trust, strengthen customer relationships, and drive success for every organisation or company.

In the end, good service is not just about what we do; it’s about how we make people feel. When we serve with excellence, we don’t just win customers: We earn trust, loyalty and lasting relationships. Happy Customer Service Month!

Target

Customer Service Week is a great opportunity to celebrate the vital role customer service plays in our businesses and communities. Taking place annually in the first week of October, it shines a spotlight on the hard work, dedication and impact of customer service professionals.

Throughout the week, organisations come together to recognise achievements, share best practice and inspire teams to continue raising the standard of service excellence. Whether you’re a frontline advisor or a senior leader, National Customer Service Week is your chance to champion great service and the people who deliver.

The National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate, Mr Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, has pledged to withdraw all soldiers currently deployed on Lake Albert and other water bodies across Uganda if elected President.

The presidential hopeful made the pledge during his campaign rally at Kigorobya Trading Centre in Hoima District on Wednesday, accusing the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Fisheries Protection Unit of harassing and torturing fishermen under the guise of enforcing fishing regulations.

‘Our people continue to die on our lakes across the country. When I become President, my first executive order will be to remove all the soldiers from the lakes. Those who have been tortured will be compensated,’ he said.

Mr Kyagulanyi argued that the continued military deployment on Uganda’s lakes, initially justified as a conservation measure, has instead resulted in widespread abuse and economic hardship for fishing communities. He added that many Ugandans have lost their lives on the lakes without accountability.

Lake Albert, which borders Hoima, Buliisa, and other districts in the Bunyoro Sub-region, has long been a flashpoint for tension between fishermen and security forces. Fishermen have often accused soldiers of wrongfully confiscating their nets and boats under the guise that they are using illegal gear, leaving them impoverished. In 2017, President Museveni deployed soldiers under the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) to curb illegal fishing on Uganda’s major lakes.

However, numerous reports from local communities allege that the FPU has since deviated from its mission, engaging in extortion, brutality, and illegal seizures. The FPU denies any wrongdoing.

During the same rally, Mr Kyagulanyi also promised to establish a public university in the Bunyoro Sub-region, saying the government has neglected the region’s education needs for decades.

‘For nearly 40 years, the government has ignored the establishment of a public university in Bunyoro. Once we are in power, we shall build one here. This will make education accessible to our students and create jobs for our people,’ he said.

President Museveni has repeatedly made similar pledges. The government is reportedly in advanced stages of constructing Bunyoro Public University, to be located at Bulera Core Primary Teachers College in Hoima, with the UPDF Engineering Brigade expected to undertake the project.

Jobs, education, industrial growth

Mr Kyagulanyi emphasised that his administration would prioritise job creation, free education, and industrial development, arguing that current government efforts focus too narrowly on road construction.

‘We intend to create jobs across all sectors, not just through roads and agriculture. We shall set up factories and industries that will employ our people,’ he said. He added that despite Bunyoro’s wealth in natural resources, its people have not benefited due to corruption and poor governance.

While concluding his third day of campaigns in the Bunyoro Sub-region, covering Kibaale, Kagadi, Kakumiro, Kikuube, Hoima District, and Hoima City, Mr Kyagulanyi criticised the government for what he termed neglect of the oil-rich region.

‘This region has oil, yet the people of Bunyoro have not benefited from it. Once elected, we shall ensure that this wealth transforms the lives of our people,’ he said during a rally in Kikuube District.

He pledged that under his administration, Bunyoro would receive 30 percent of the oil proceeds, compared to the current one percent share allocated by the government.

He also promised to provide meals for all learners in public schools to boost academic performance and reduce dropout rates.

Mr Jackson Magambo Mulindambura, the district councillor for Kiganja Sub-county, highlighted the persistent challenges faced by communities along Lake Albert, which borders Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He said although the lake connects Uganda to the DRC, there is no proper market infrastructure to facilitate cross-border trade, calling on the next President (2026 to 2031) to prioritise infrastructure and connectivity to boost local commerce.

My ‘corporate’ friends, especially those in the management consulting space, will not buy me drinks after this piece but I think I should clue you guys in, a bit.

I founded and used to run a relatively big healthcare company, by Ugandan standards, and I have listened to endless ‘pitches’ from ‘management consultants’.

Half the time, my team and I needed copious amounts of coffee to keep awake through laboured lectures from individuals whose real world understanding of business did not go beyond the excel spreadsheets before them.

All this to say that there is a whole different world out there that a lot of you might not be a part of but it powers a lot of the organisations you rely on for your everyday needs. It is a world that corporations world over run to for ‘strategic advice’ to ‘retool’, ‘build intentionality’, shake their staff from ‘bureaucratic slumber’, impart in them ‘end-state visions’, learn to be ‘lean and efficient’ and ‘maximise returns’.

They get into these ‘thought showers’ where ideas are bounced around and the best, like cream, ‘gravitate to the top’. These showers can take on different techniques, to wit; ‘nominal group technique’, ‘stepladder’, Delphi technique etc. Space constraints won’t allow me break down each but if you’ve read this far, I trust your curiosity to allow you delve deeper, scratch that; ‘take a deep-dive’ into the underbelly of organisational speak.

In case you are wondering why these ‘thought showers are not called just what they are, it is because ‘brainstorm sessions’ is for the great unwashed.

Consultancy is an esoteric space with a more refined lexicon.

The more pompous, the better.

This tribe commands hefty management fees to sell you largely dry, recycled reports with a sprinkling of seemingly avant-garde ideas peppered with a language of psychic liberation.

Basically, warm bull dung with an accent. It didn’t surprise me to read in mid-October that in Australia, Deloitte was asked to pay back part of their $440,000 fees to the Albanese government for handing them a report largely written with generative artificial intelligence.

One Senator accused the global management consultancy firm of ‘having a human intelligence problem’. Sometimes I feel that half of consultants’ deliverables are rooted in the language.

High sounding gobbledygook that bamboozles the recipient but tells them precious little. The other half is in part great graphics confidently delivered and then an occasional good idea or two.

But how did the corporate world learn how to speak like this?

When did high sounding nonsense become the lingua franca of corporations up and down the globe? The answer might partly lie in early 1980s California and a telephone company called Pacific Bell.

Facing deregulation-and the uncertainties that comes with it-in an industry they had run as a virtual monopoly, they turned to an organisational consultant named Charles Krone.

Borrowing from the ideas of 20th Century Russian philosopher and spiritual teacher, George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, Krone went on to design a multi-million dollar programme for Pacific Bell’s staff that was meant to ‘transform the way people thought, talked and behaved’.

The rest as they say is history. The world of ‘scientific management’ embraced this language and now you will hear it echoing across the hallways of corporate entities, within an earshot of our tiny cubicles to which we are confined for most of our days in the hunt for the almighty buck.

Like the hand signs that high-school friend groups make to identify with each other, mastering this speak is what announces your arrival to this rarefied group of important corporate men and women. Friendly advice; remember to occasionally step out of it and actually live. It is not a real world.

At least six candidates, including the current Speaker of Parliament and her deputy, have sailed through unopposed to secure their seats in the 12th Parliament.

The Electoral Commission (EC) spokesperson, Mr Julius Mucunguzi, said the unopposed candidates, who include Speaker Anita Among and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, are now by law duly elected MPs, effective January 15, 2026 polling date.

‘Section 31 of the Parliamentary Elections Act states that if a candidate is unopposed by the time of the close of nomination, the returning officer declares them the duly elected MP of that electoral area, effective the polling date, and this case is January 15, 2026,’ he said. The other unopposed candidates are Lillian Paparu Obiale (Arua District Woman); Emmanuel Banya (Koboko County); Jeniva Arinaitwe (Rubirizi District Woman); Ruth Mushabe Rujoki (Kiruhura District Woman).

But the circumstances under which the six legislators were declared unopposed differ, as the two-day nomination exercise came to a close yesterday. Bukedea District In Bukedea District, a number of Opposition aspirants who had shown interest in tussling it out with Ms Among were reportedly denied access to the precincts of Bukedea District Electoral Commission (EC) nomination centre. The first attempts to block the aspirants against Ms Among came last month when Ms Zipporah Akol, accused of having close ties with Ms Among, sued three aspirants on allegation that they are not registered voters nor residents of Bukedea.

Ms Norma Suzan Otai of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Mercy Marion Alupo of National Unity Platform (NUP), and Hellen Akol Odeke, an NRM-leaning Independent candidate were sued at the High Court in Kampala. This prompted NUP to front Ms Florence Asio to contest at the eleventh hour. But the final test came when the nomination kicked off with internet connectivity being disrupted and several aspirants failing to be nominated on the first day. Day two yesterday saw heightened security, with security personnel being deployed right from the heart of the town to the district headquarters, where the nomination exercise was being conducted.

Mr Emmy Lokira, the District Police Commander (DPC), said he was under express instructions to keep journalists out of the nomination venue.

‘If you want to access the venue, kindly get instructions from the EC [Electoral Commission] officers,’ he said. The DPC, who kept pacing up and down at the main gate to the Bukedea District headquarters, warned that the best the journalists could do was to keep off some 300 kilometres away from the district headquarters.

Mr Lokira declined to say where he got the orders to bar journalists, curtly saying there was no need to ask questions, and talk to whoever was allowed to get nominated.

Ms Norma Suzan Otai, of FDC, yesterday said she arrived at the district headquarters, but was denied access to the nomination venue.

‘After being told yesterday (Wednesday) that the network had become problematic, we were told to come back today. But to our surprise, we found a fortress of police guarding the place and waving away any Opposition aspirant and journalists,’ she said. Ms Otai said what happened in Bukedea District should worry every Ugandan as it kills the essence of multiparty democracy in the country.

She said with the theatrics that EC has engaged in, the Opposition has reason to get worried ahead of next year’s General Election.

‘I came set to have myself nominated, but from what I have gone through, there is little hope that justice will be served to us,” Ms Otai said. Bukedea District was the only one across the Teso sub-region where journalists were barred from accessing the EC precincts designated for nomination of the parliamentary candidates. Mr Nathan Eyagu, one of the bloggers who arrived at the venue as early as 8am, said their attempts to access the EC nomination centre were blocked by security personnel guarding the entrance to the district headquarters.

“It’s not safe, you can also take over. We are tired, but stay safe,” Mr Eyagu said as he exited the entrance. Mr Charles Okello, a National Unity Party (NUP) party member, who had camped at the gate since morning, said they were also asked to stay some 300 kilometres away. Mr Okello said whatever was happening at the EC nomination centre would never be known because even journalists had not been allowed into the nomination centre.

Mr Benson Ekwe, the executive director Public Affairs Centre (PAC), said whatever was happening in Bukedea was not good for democracy and would remain a dark stain on the history of free, fair, and transparent electoral engagement in Uganda. ‘It is like a football league, when you bar other teams from contesting, then it becomes a fix,” he said.

Mr Ekwe noted that Katakwi District, where the vice president comes from, has witnessed free political contestation, and questioned what makes Bukedea so special that journalists and other opposition candidates are being denied access to be nominated. On Wednesday, the EC nominated Ms Among of NRM for the Bukedea District Woman MP seat. Also nominated was incumbent Kachumbala County MP Patrick Isiagi Opolot (NRM); and Rose Akol Okulu, Beckham Okwere, and Johns Bosco Ikoja, all for Bukedea County parliamentary seat.

They then trooped to attend a mega public rally at the Bukedea sports arena in Bukedea Town Council, while others waited anxiously in vain for the Internet connectivity to be restored. Ms Among joined Parliament in 2011 as an Independent, but FDC-leaning. She later joined the NRM, and returned unopposed in 2021 and was elected as the Deputy Speaker of Parliament. She later became Speaker in 2022 after the death of Speaker Jacob Oulanyah on March 20, 2022.

EC responds

Mr Julius Mucunguzi, the EC spokesperson, told this publication yesterday that both the journalists and aspirants who were barred should have filed a formal complaint to the EC to have their issues addressed. He said the electoral laws say if there is any matter which any voter has regarding electoral process, or conduct at the EC nomination centre or EC tally centre, one can go to court and file a case with evidence.

Mr Mucunguzi said he couldn’t address a complaint whose specifics he doesn’t know about and whose formal petitions he has not seen. He said even the journalists’ complaints can be addressed through formal complaints. Mr Mucunguzi said the claims about what has happened is inconsequential because the EC has not received any complaint.

Ruhinda North

In Mitooma District, the Returning Officer, Mr Colleb Nahamya, declared Mr Tayebwa duly elected MP for Ruhinda North after his competitor, Mr Osbert Kato, who picked nomination forms on the Opposition NUP party ticket, failed to turn up. By press time, Mr Kato was unreachable to explain why he failed to turn up, but the excited Tayebwa, via his official X-platform, commended the voters for entrusting him once more.

‘Thank you, Ruhinda North, for sending me unopposed to represent you in Parliament in 2026-31. It is a challenge I appreciate. I will deliver,’ he posted. Mr Tayebwa, who has been in Parliament for two terms, is not new to being unopposed. The deputy Speaker, who has been the Ruhinda North legislator since 2016, was also unopposed for the NRM flag during the July internal polls. In 2016, he joined Parliament on NRM ticket and went unopposed as the pioneer MP of Ruhinda North constituency, which had been carved out of Ruhinda County.

In 2021, Mr Tayebwa came up against four other candidates, including Moses Twimukye, Yoram Atuhamize of Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), Nelson Nuwahereza of the FDC, and Nathan Kapere Burgess. Mr Nahamya said the nomination process was successful in the district, as all candidates who expressed interest were duly nominated, except Mr Kato in Ruhinda North constituency.

‘He came at around 3pm, but did not have a national identity card, proof of payment of Shs3m, and did not have 10 supporters on his nomination papers,’ Mr Nahamya said. Mr Nahamya said they asked Mr Kato to use the remaining time before the closure of the exercise but he failed. ‘He went out and started making calls as we waited for him, but at exactly 5 pm, he came and told us he had failed. We were left with only Mr Tayebwa as the duly nominated candidate,’ he said.

Unopposed candidates

1. Anita Among (Bukedea District Woman).

2. Thomas Tayebwa (Ruhinda North).

3. Lillian Paparu Obiale (Arua District Woman).

4. Emmanuel Banya (Koboko County).

5. Jeniva Arinaitwe (Rubirizi District Woman).

6. Ruth Mushabe Rujoki (Kiruhura District Woman).

Dear Diary,

Today, I want to talk about something that has been plaguing womankind since the dawn of time, but has recently reached pandemic levels; short men with the confidence of LeBron James. And before the pitchforks come out, I don’t body shame.

I really don’t. I have a backside flatter than a 75-inch Samsung Flat Screen and I still dare to wear leggings in public. Who am I to judge anyone’s physical mis-proportions? But what I will judge is the audacity. The unearned, unexplained, absolutely bewildering audacity.

Last Thursday, I had one of those days. You know the ones, where your soul is leaving, your patience is drained, and your tired is tayad! I perched at the bar, legs crossed for balance and sanity, ready to sip my whiskey in peace and ponder about why my laundry multiplies faster than my savings.

I wasn’t being picky about company, until Mr. Booster Seat. He was perched at the other end of the bar, legs dangling like a child waiting for his Happy Meal, nursing a tall Nile Special that looked like a skyscraper in his hands. And this man, this tornado of misplaced confidence, looked at me like I’d been specifically marinated for him.

‘What beer can they give you?’ He offered, with the flourish of someone who definitely rehearsed that line in the mirror. ‘Black Label. Four shots. Neat,’ I replied, hoping the whiskey order would communicate the universal signal for Go Away! But no.

‘Madam, no one is buying you that!’

‘You are wrong. I am,’ I quipped.

You would think that would be the end of it. A polite closing of the conversational door. But hell knows no fury like a short man whose beer has been rejected by a whiskey-drinking girl. He shot off his barstool, and I mean literally launched himself, to stand and lecture me about why I should not assume he could not afford my drink.

It took every ounce of my willpower not to pick him up and place him on the bar counter so we could have this argument eye to eye. Here is what really gets me, this man’s confidence did not come from nowhere.

Somewhere, somehow, a kind-hearted woman looked at him and said, ‘You may be short, but it is sort of cute.’ She meant well. She was probably having her own moment of looks are not everything, let me give love a chance. She nurtured him. She suffered for it.

And then she launched him onto the rest of us.

Because now, every time we politely decline, every time we say ‘no thank you,’ every time we choose our whiskey over his beer, we get the speech.

‘You don’t know what you’re missing. Clearly you’ve never been with a real man.’ Sir, the only thing I’m missing out on is a quiet evening and my four shots of Black Label.

Short Kings, and yes, I’m talking to the ones we ditch our six-inch heels for so we don’t look like giraffes holding hands with a garden gnome: you already have so many shortcomings. Don’t add attitude to the cocktail.

Every time you see a 5’2′ man strutting around like a Greek god, chest puffed out, head tilted back as if he’s surveying his kingdom, just know; there’s a beautiful woman somewhere who accidentally created that monster and is now in therapy. She will never make that mistake again.

But the damage is done.

He is out here. Confident. Unshakeable. Delusional.

Next Thursday, I am drinking at home.

Zainah Nandede is the patron of Busamaga Red Stars, a community football club based in Busamaga Village, Mbale City. The club competes in the lower division of Uganda’s regional league and has become a beacon of hope for young people in the area. Busamaga Red Stars was born out of necessity and community vision. In a small village where unemployment and idleness had trapped several youths, football became more than a pastime.

It became a lifeline, according to Emmanuel Mudebo, the chief executive officer of the club.

‘The team was formed through the joint effort of parents, community members, and the youth. We believed that using sports would help curb some of the criminality by keeping the young men busy. Through the club, we discovered that we had real talent in the village,’ he reveals.

In the beginning, the club was an informal group of boys who played barefoot football on dusty open fields. They had no structure, funding, and vision. They only shared a love for the beautiful game. That changed, though, when Nandede became part of their story.

‘Nandede grew up playing football with some of us. Many of us learned the game alongside her. She had the same abilities and passion that we had,’ Mudebo adds.

Nandede’s resilience, humility, and unmatched talent quickly stood out. When the club later decided to formalise its operations and join the regional league, the community and players unanimously chose Nandede to be their patron – an extraordinary decision in a sport still dominated by men. ‘With the exposure she got through the schools she attended, she came back and showed us how best we could organise and form a team that would make an impact. She used her social network to bring in support, and since she was part of the founding idea, we felt it was only right to have her as our leader,’ Mudebo explains.

Turning vision into reality

When she assumed the patron role, Nandede saw more than just a football club – she saw a platform to inspire, empower, and transform, and immediately set out to help the team get officially registered and encouraged the players to adopt a more professional approach. ‘Whenever I returned to the village, I would train with them. But as you know, with village football, we only had one ball. If one of us kicked the ball and it went far, we had to wait for several minutes for someone to bring it back. So, I reached out to my friends in football to secure equipment, uniforms, and basic funding. I carried with me whenever I returned home,’ she says.

The club finally registered in the Eastern Regional League, a milestone that signalled a new chapter in Busamaga’s football journey. The young players now train regularly, play in organised matches, and have proper kits and balls. These are small but significant wins for a rural community team. ‘In the fourth division, these home games have always been expensive for us. However, Nandede has been stepping in financially to ensure that the team is transported and that the players have lunch,’ Mudebo says.

Abdrahman Nambale, a player, praises Nanded’s leadership style. ‘Even when she had only Shs1,000 on her, she would share it with us. Her rapid growth in football has made us proud as a team,’ he says. Aside from providing balls, lunch, and bibs, Nandede also started an initiative that has seen some members of the community take up leadership and coaching courses. One of the community members, a long-time football player, returned to school and attained a coaching certificate.

Star on the rise

Still, the journey has not been without challenges. Being a young woman, she has learned to lead the male-dominated team with actions, and not words. While her leadership off the pitch has been inspiring, Nandede’s prowess on the field is equally remarkable.

A forward for the Crested Cranes, Uganda’s senior women’s national team, she recently signed a two-year contract with Simba Queens, one of the top football clubs in Tanzania. Before that, the striker played for Kampala Queens Football Club, where she helped her side win two national league titles, including the most recent season.

Nandede’s story did not begin under bright stadium lights, though. It started in the dusty fields of Busamaga, with no kits, no scholarships, and no role models.

‘I started playing football when I was five years old. I was also an active player of volleyball and netball, and an athlete. At the time, girls in my community were not expected to play football, which was considered a preserve for boys,’ she says.

Nandede’s coach, Jovan Magino, noticed her exceptional speed and technique and encouraged her to train with the boys. Like many female footballers, her rise was met with skepticism and resistance, even from her mother. ‘She thought I might get carried away with sports and lose focus on my studies. At that time, most schools in Mbale District did not offer sports bursaries, especially at the primary level. For my secondary education, my mother enrolled me in a single-sex school in Mityana District, hoping that I would stop playing. However, I joined the school’s netball team,’ Nandede explains.

Fate intervened when Nkoma Secondary School, in Mbale District, introduced girls’ football. Nandede’s talent was undeniable – and it earned her a sports bursary. Her mother, seeing the benefits, gradually began to embrace her daughter’s dream. ‘She realised that some of her financial responsibilities would be reduced. My sister also got a sports bursary for playing netball. That made our mother very happy. In the 2017 UMEA Games, my performance caught the attention of the founder of Amus College School, who offered me a full scholarship until she completed her A-Level education,’ she says.

From that moment, her journey accelerated. She joined She Kataka Football Club, later moving to Kampala Queens Football Club, before eventually being signed with Simba Queens in Tanzania. Her national debut came in 2019 with the Uganda U-17 team, the Teen Cranes. ‘Coach Magino and Coach Ayub Khalifah Kiyingi encouraged me during that time. When I made the final squad, I was excited. When I left the camp, I had something to talk about back home,’ Nandede enthuses.

Her breakthrough into the Crested Cranes senior team came in 2022, while she was still with Kampala Queens. George Lutalo, the head coach, summoned her for the CECAFA Women’s Championship, hosted at the FUFA Technical Centre in Njeru, Buikwe District – a tournament Uganda went on to win after beating Burundi 2-1 in the final.

Since then, Nandede has established herself as one of the Crested Cranes’ most reliable players. Last year, head coach Sheryl Botes appointed her as an assistant captain of the national side.

Giving back to her community

Football has given Nandede more than fame; it has given her purpose. She has used her success to uplift her family and community. With her earnings, she built a house for her mother in Masajja, Makindye Division. From her proceeds, she has also supported her siblings’ education and started businesses. But her ambitions go beyond personal success. Nandede hopes to establish a structured girls’ football academy in her home district – a place where girls can develop their skills without fear, stigma, or lack of opportunity.

She wants to ensure that the next generation of girls does not have to fight the same battles she did, especially with earning acceptance from their parents and guardians. Nandede is a living example of what happens when talent meets opportunity, and when leadership is driven by vision rather than gender. As Busamaga Red Stars continues its campaign in the regional league, the young players draw strength from her guidance. And if her journey so far is any indication, the story of this Mbale-born star is far from over.

Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda, Dr Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, has called on Ugandans to uphold peace, justice, and unity as the nation approaches the 2026 general elections.

Speaking on Friday during the 26th graduation ceremony at Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono, Dr. Kaziimba, who also serves as the university’s Chancellor, urged graduates to become ambassadors of peace in both word and action.

‘The true peace goes beyond the absence of conflict; it is the active presence of justice, respect, and love for one another,’ he said, addressing 568 graduates, including 320 men and 248 women, who received master’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and diplomas across various disciplines.

Dr Kaziimba highlighted the upcoming election season as a critical moment for reflection and civic responsibility.

‘This moment calls for reflection, prayer, and a renewed commitment to peace. The future of our nation depends not only on who leads but on how we, as citizens, choose to live together in peace,’ he said.

He encouraged graduates to let their words heal rather than wound and their actions unite rather than divide.

‘In our conversations, in churches and in our communities, let us embody peace,’ he added.

Prof Aaron Mushengyezi, vice chancellor of UCU, urged graduates to be problem solvers, not spectators, and to lead with wisdom, integrity, and compassion.

‘You have received a complete education and been formed in character, grounded in your faith and equipped with the knowledge and skills you need to serve. Your faith should continue to be the guiding light in your choices in a world that often challenges your core values,’ he said.

Prof Alfred Olwa called on graduates to embrace lifelong learning and moral leadership. ‘In a world marked by moral compromise, corruption, and indifference, may you shine as examples of integrity, compassion, and servant leadership whenever God places you,’ he said.

The chief guest, Dr Felix Theonugraha, president of Western Theological Seminary, encouraged graduates to embrace the opportunities of a rapidly connected and technologically advanced world while being mindful of its challenges.

Edrine Sebalu is an entrepreneur dealing in electricals in Nakasero Kiyembe lane. Coming from a strong business background, with nearly every family member engaged in entrepreneurship, in 2019, after completing his A-Level, Sebalu chose to join his father at the garments shop.

However, seeking to earn beyond his daily allowance, Sebalu introduced gomesi linens and event chiffons to his father’s shop, supplying nearby arcades and earning a notable profit. Around this time, one of his cousins in Dubai sent him a consignment of used phones.

Sebalu recalls. ‘While managing my father’s business, I ventured into phone sales, connected with renowned suppliers, and quickly discovered it was even more profitable.’

When universities reopened for the new academic year, his father sent him back to school. During his second semester, the Covid-19 pandemic forced students to return home. While at home, Sebalu watched his cousin, an engineer, begin securing projects and even start his own company.

‘My father was constantly on my case. I felt the pressure of not doing anything, especially as he kept reminding me that I was a man and needed to step up,’ he says.

Navigating the phone business

Near the end of the lockdown, his cousin sent another shipment of Japanese phones and planned to start a phone shop, inviting Sebalu to manage it. These initially operated online through Jiji, Facebook Ads, and Instagram, successfully attracting clients.

After two months of testing the waters, they opened a shop, bringing in another relative to work with Sebalu. As business grew, they expanded into vending and wholesaling button phones across Kampala’s suburbs, but challenges soon emerged.

‘As we vended the phones with my relative, I tracked sales and stock, but week by week, both inventory and money decreased,’ Sebalu recalls. ‘Even after reconciling daily accounts, discrepancies persisted. Losses kept rising, and whatever was missing, we had to cover together.’ The experience was frustrating, as his efforts were not yielding any profit.

Before quitting, an idea struck Sebalu. He approached a friend, an experienced player in the phone business, about opening a new shop and asked if he could supply phones to him on credit. With his friend’s approval, Sebalu arranged for another person to stand in for him at his cousin’s shop and also hired an auditor, ensuring he left the business on a clean slate.

‘All my life, the one person I wanted to impress was my father. When I was cleared, I spoke to him about starting my own business, believing it would make him proud and that he might even offer me a loan as support. Instead, he was bitter, upset that I had worked for my cousin briefly and had even failed to focus on my studies,’ recounts Sebalu.

Although this did not deter him, by the end of 2021 Sebalu secured a subrented space for Shs700,000, set up a counter, and invested Shs1m through Alibaba to purchase phone covers to accompany the phones he had obtained on credit. Since he did not want to take his cousin’s clients, Sebalu had to start afresh.

The business gradually gained momentum, with many customers buying multiple items at once, especially in December, when the phones were more affordable. Being the sole supplier of Japanese phone covers gave him a sense of pride and brought in significant profits.

The following year, Sebalu returned to university for his examinations but was inconsistent at work. The person he had left in charge was also preparing to return to school, and upon his return, Sebalu discovered that several phones were missing.

‘I was upset, but as usual, I let it pass and focused on my business,’ he recalls.

Additionally, in the phone business, there are always unscrupulous clients, and Sebalu experienced this firsthand. One early morning, a client contacted him through Jiji to deliver three iPhone Xs, each valued at Shs1.8m.

Sebalu went to Namungona for the delivery, but to his shock, the client arrived with two large men who attacked, and beat him up, stealing the three phones along with cash and two others he had on hand.

‘By then, I was worth Shs9m, but the money had to cover multiple expenses. I returned to the hostel and gradually repaid the debts, while also covering rent and my tuition. It was a challenging and demotivating period, with immense pressure.’

He adds, ‘I even had to sell some of my own stock to meet obligations. I resumed the business, but after just two months, the second lockdown was imposed.’

During this period, Sebalu decided to retrieve his phones from the shop and market them online. He acquired a bike to make deliveries himself. Even then, on one occasion, a client he arranged to meet at Ham shopping grounds ran off without making payment.

While the business was challenging, Sebalu faced multiple obstacles, including covering losses caused by employees to avoid legal issues, dealing with fellow entrepreneurs who took items without paying, and managing clients who returned damaged goods for cash.

To make ends meet, he even sold clothes every morning until 8pm before resuming phone sales.

‘All the money I had been making from the phone business was just disappearing, and my progress had come to a standstill. I felt like I had reached a dead end, so I decided to quit the business,’ Sebalu recalls.

Later, a relative asked him to get a loan of Shs5m from the bank and she failed to repay it. What truly broke Sebalu, however, was being robbed while visiting his father. Under immense depression, he decided to stay home for a while.

Sebalu’s recovery phase

When one of his brothers opened an electrical shop, he asked Sebalu if they could work together. Overwhelmed by depression, Sebalu first sold off his phone just to have peace on the journey. Here, he learnt the value of patience. Using the money he earned as salary, along with some from the phones he had left at his former shop, he rejoined the phone business.

He kept his phones at iconnect store and sold them gradually while working, marking the beginning of his comeback.

‘It is a business I have loved ever since I was a child,’ Sebalu says.

He called back his friend to help at the shop and also opened a gaming centre in Wandegeya, equipped with five PlayStation screens, four consoles, furniture, and cameras. However, the venture did not perform as expected and operated at a deficit, prompting him to eventually give up and redirect his focus.

Building Les electricals

With savings of Shs30m, Sebalu opened Les Electricals in 2024, initially stocking only a few high-demand items he knew would sell quickly. Attracting clients was not easy at first, but he leveraged Jiji for marketing and compiled a contact list of engineers, sharing product prices and availability through broadcasts to generate interest.

Although walk-in clients are limited due to the shop’s location, Sebalu plans to secure a more visible space to increase exposure, as roughly 70 percent of his sales currently rely on online channels.

Sebalu says he is proud of how far the business has grown. He has managed to purchase a piece of land in Matugga, resumed his studies, and is now close to completing his degree. Physically and mentally, he feels well and at peace.

As market trends continue to evolve, he makes it a point to introduce something new every time he restocks his inventory. One of the major challenges Sebalu faces is clients taking items on credit and delaying payments, often remaining unresponsive, which affects cash flow. Despite this, his business continues to flourish.

To stay ahead of the competition, he has focused on a strategy he calls ‘maximising sales,’ with the goal of selling to clients who will return. He keeps his prices competitive, acknowledges the influence of established companies such as CHINT, and is constantly looking for ways to improve his marketing efforts.

Sebalu says that thriving in business requires discipline and consistency, particularly in turning up and managing day-to-day operations. He has no plans of closing Les Electricals and aims to grow it to the scale of established firms.

This year, he plans to implement consistent marketing campaigns on TikTok to expand his reach and further boost his clientele.

Before graduating, he plans to develop a database to efficiently manage and control his business, avoiding the challenges he faced in the phone trade. Additionally, he intends to import customised goods from China to diversify his offerings.

On a broader scope, Sebalu envisions becoming an investment banker while owning his own company or bringing a foreign company to operate locally.

As advice to young people, he urges them to pursue their passions and focus on careers or businesses they truly love.

Future plans

To stay ahead of the competition, he has focused on a strategy he calls ‘maximising sales,’ with the goal of selling to clients who will return.

He keeps his prices competitive, acknowledges the influence of established companies such as CHINT, and is constantly looking for ways to improve his marketing efforts.

Mr Sebeet Kawawa and Mr Juvenile Zubeir Omia, survivors of a road crash that claimed 46 lives in Kiryandongo District, yesterday shared harrowing tales after enduring traumatic episodes that left them emotionally drained.

The Kiryandongo road accident, which occurred on Tuesday night, October 21, at Kitaleeba Village near Asili Farm on the Kampala-Gulu Highway, involved four vehicles. More than 60 other people were also severely injured.

To Mr Kawawa, who survived with injuries, Tuesday was just like any other normal day. Having accomplished his tasks in Kampala, he prepared to leave for Yumbe later in the day. After sharing light moments with friends, he bid them farewell and dashed to the bus terminal, where he had booked the Nile Star Bus.

At around 7:45pm, they set off for a journey of about 600 kilometres from Kampala to Yumbe, aboard the Nile Star Bus, oblivious of what lay ahead. From his narrative, all was well, and the environment seemed calm as some travellers took a nap. Others were glued to their phones as cool music played in the background.

But at around midnight, as the bus approached Kiryandongo, everything turned around for the worse.

‘I still cannot figure out how I survived the nasty accident that took us by surprise. The passengers I shared a seat with all died. We were three on the seat and I was the only survivor,’ Mr Kawawa said. He added that the incident involved four vehicles: two buses, a truck, and a smaller vehicle.

Mr Kawawa attributed the cause of the crash to recklessness. The accident occurred after the driver of the bus travelling from Kampala to Gulu attempted to overtake a lorry.

At the same time, the Planet Company bus coming from the opposite direction, was overtaking a Toyota Surf, and both buses collided head-on during the overtaking process.

Mr Kawawa, who seemed to be waking up from a dream at the time of the accident, said he was rescued from under the wreckage of the bus after he sustained injuries. But while there, he heard people calling for help.

‘My condition is not all that bad. A referral was made for me to travel from Kiryandongo Hospital to Yumbe Regional Referral Hospital, where I am currently receiving treatment. I survived by the mercy of God,’ he added.

Mr Omia, a Member of Parliament aspirant for Aringa East constituency, said there was recklessness among the drivers.

‘The bus picked me up from my home in Bombo, and we left Kampala at 8pm, but the accident happened between Kigumba and Kiryandongo. It is a miracle that I survived because the two colleagues I travelled with all died. There was no way that I could help them,’ he said.

Mr Omia sustained a deep cut on the head and injury on the leg.

‘I got first aid from Kiryandongo Hospital, and they also checked my pressure and oxygen circulation, so the medical officers told me that I was out of danger,’ he added.

Trying to beat the deadline for nominations, since he had been booked for Wednesday, with this condition, Mr Omia proceeded to Yumbe for nomination.

With a bandage on his head to protect the skull, Mr Omia arrived at the nomination centre and was welcomed by his supporters, who had not been informed about his condition. He was nominated to contest as an Independent, and the doctors recommended a head scan.

The economic planners are thinking big, with focus on government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which seeks to grow the economy from $61b to $500b by 2040 by doubling gross domestic product (GDP) every five years.

The blueprint rests on one foundation: agro-industrialisation, transforming what Uganda grows into what the world consumes.

This ambition took centre stage at the 16th National Competitiveness Forum in Kampala yesterday.

Ms Dianah Nannono, the Ministry of Finance head of private sector development, said the forum is key for shaping Uganda’s competitiveness and ‘allows us to agree on interventions that enhance private sector growth and feed into the national budget process’.

Uganda is now implementing the Second National Strategy for Private Sector Development, which focuses on macro, industry-specific, and firm-level competitiveness.

Building on last year’s focus on innovation, this year’s discussions emphasised agro-industrialisation as the ‘fastest route’ to structural transformation.

‘Agro-manufacturing accounts for 65 percent of Uganda’s manufacturing value added, and food products alone contribute over half of that,’ Ms Nannono said. ‘We must deepen regional markets and explore new ones.’

Across Africa, the middle class, 313 million strong, is projected to hit 1.1 billion by 2060, with urbanisation driving a sevenfold increase in demand for processed foods by 2040.

Uganda already exports 58 percent of its goods within Africa, including over half of its animal feeds, and Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Ramathan Ggoobi, in a speech read for him, said: ‘With AfCFTA, the regional market is ours to lose’.

This, he said, would be obtained through boosting exports’ share of GDP from 12 percent to 50 percent, increasing manufactured exports to half of merchandise trade, expanding high-tech goods, and growing agro-industrial exports from $4b to $20b annually.

Uganda’s biggest opportunities and weaknesses lie in the animal feed sector. In 2023, the country exported 3,144 tonnes worth $1m but imported 136,878 tonnes valued at $52m.

‘This is a classic case for import substitution,’ said Nannono. ‘We must invest in local packaging, raw material production, and quality control.’

Government agrees that transformation will depend on private enterprise.

‘The private sector remains the primary mobilizer of land, labour, capital, and technology,’ Ggoobi said. ‘We must work hand in hand to make Uganda an economic frontier.’

He added that agro-processing is already the fastest-growing manufacturing segment, expanding at 19 percent annually, and could become the backbone of Uganda’s industrial revolution.

Thus, Uganda’s future, speakers agreed, lies in value addition, not raw exports, and with Africa’s demand for processed food and animal protein soaring, Uganda is positioning itself as the region’s factory floor for food.

‘Regional markets offer an unparalleled opportunity to transform our food and feed sectors into engines of job creation and export-led growth,’ Ggoobi said. ‘If we position ourselves right, Uganda will be the beating heart of Africa’s agro-industry.’