Category: Daily Monitor

The World Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG) began two decades ago with a primary goal of strengthening Islamic companionship and reinforcing the values of Islam primarily to the youth.

With the changing dynamics of the global landscape powered by geopolitics hinged on interests, these Games are seeking to rise higher.

2025 hosts Saudi Arabia are promising the biggest ISG in history when they stage the sixth edition next month under the umbrella of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Association (ISSA).

Uganda is among the 57 nations which subscribe to the quadrennial showpiece and will compete at the November 7-21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

All year, the government through the National Council of Sports (NCS) has prioritized them on their calendar with Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) preparing a 37-athlete team for the trip to the Middle East.

The championship is a part of the global and continental events set to consume a part of the Shs3.85b in the national budget.

‘We have the World Islamic Solidarity Games to be held in Saudi Arabia among others but also, we will support with qualification among others but also will support the qualification of a number of our teams qualifying for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and Paralympic Games,’ said NCS general secretary Patrick Ogwel in a recent interview.

‘Uganda’s goal is to win medals, and represent the country as an Islamic Nation,’ UOC’s Jonathan Wangolo, who is the Riyadh team-bound administrative personnel told this paper.

Uganda, whose contingent will be led by Sadiq Nassiwu, will be among the 27 nations set to compete at this championship and the mission is a yardstick ahead of the imminent bigger championships.

The East African nation is ranked 27th on the all-time medal table with 11 medals, of which nine were won at the 2021 edition held in Konya, Turkiye three years ago.

‘These Games are a great opportunity for the athletes to test themselves with some of the best athletes in the Islamic Solidarity Countries giving them an opportunity to evaluate themselves in preparation for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games and LA 2028 Olympics,’ said Wangolo.

‘Some athletes will use these Games to earn points which give them a higher chance of qualification for the Games.’

Of the 19 disciplines on offer across four venues in Riyadh, Uganda will feature in aquatics, athletics, boxing, weightlifting, para-weightlifting and table tennis with federations determining the selection criteria.

‘The Islamic Solidarity Games organizers provided a list of sports which would take part in the Games. For some of the sports, the allocation of slots were open while others were through ranking which was provided by the International Federations (IFs),’ added Wangolo.

In Konya, Abel Chebet won silver over the 5000 metres and gold over the 10000 metres events while Kirabo Namutebi bagged silver in the women’s 50 metres freestyle event.

Uganda’s best competitor was para-swimmer Husnah Kukundakwe who pocketed six medals; two golds in the 100 metres breaststroke (SB4-SB9) and 200 metres individual medley (SM5-SM10).

Kukundakwe, who has a congenital limb impairment with no right lower arm, also bagged silver medals in the 50 metres freestyle (S4-S10), 400 metres freestyle (S6-S10) and 100 metres backstroke (S6-S10) and an additional bronze in the 100 metres freestyle (S4-S10).

Unlike Konya where only Chebet competed, Uganda Athletics (UAt) this time has more slots with some athletes set to complete their track seasons in Riyadh.

The quartet of sprinter Shida Leni, middle-distance runners Tom Dradriga, Knight Aciru and Halimah Nakaayi, an 800 metres silver medalist from 2017, competed recently at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships and they now eye medals in Riyadh.

For disciplines like weightlifting, the ISG holds a key place as athletes have a chance to score ranking points in the build-up to the LA Olympics.

ABOUT THE ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY SPORTS ASSOCIATION

The Islamic Solidarity Sports Association (ISSA) is an independent organization affiliated to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It has its headquarters in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, with a membership of 57 countries.

It aims to support all athletes and develop sport across its member countries through programs and projects, and organizes the multi-sport Islamic Solidarity Games every four years.

2025 ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY GAMES

Host city: Riyadh

Country: Saudi Arabia

Nations: 57

Events: 19 sports

Opening: Nov 7, 2025

Closing: Nov 21, 2025

UGANDA AT 2025 ISG

Athletes: 37

Total Contingent: 68

Chef de Mission: Sadiq Nassiwu

Disciplines: Aquatics, Athletics, Boxing, Para-weightlifting, Table tennis, Weightlifting

UGANDA’S MEDALS AT THE ISG

2005 Mecca: Boniface Kiprop (10000 Metres Bronze)

2017 Baku: Halimah Nakaayi (800 Metres Silver)

2021 Konya: Abel Chebet (5000 Metres Silver and 10000 Metres Gold), Kirabo Namutebi (50 Metres Freestyle Silver), Husnah Kukundakwe (100 Metres Breaststroke SB4-SB9 Gold, 200 Metres Individual Medley SM5-SM10 Gold, 50 Metres Freestyle S4-S10, 400 Metres Freestyle S6-S10 Silver, 100 Metres Backstroke S6-S10 Silver, 100 Metres Freestyle S4-S10 Bronze)

Senior Four students across the country started their national examination this week, a critical turning point for many young Ugandans in their academic pursuit and an opening for greater opportunities in life. However, reports indicate that many students have missed the exams.

At a school in Mukono, 15 students missed the exams, while another 12 students missed writing the exams in Masaka, just as many in other areas have been reported to have missed the exams. While there are cases of students dropping out of school before exams for various reasons, it is sad that even those who continue to the last point are denied writing the exams.

This is not an isolated year where students are missing exams. In every exam cycle every year, students at all levels of study, who prepare for national exams end up not writing them, even after paying fees, filling the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) forms. In many cases, they find they are not registered.

Many of these students pay registration fees, but sometimes schools do not forward the fees and registration paperwork to Uneb. This is a system failure that threatens the future of the students.

For affected students, the consequences include being forced to repeat an entire year, which means lost time, lost potential, and added financial burdens on families, demoralisation, wasted investment in terms of time, money, transport to school, and many more consequences that could lead to students dropping out of school altogether. All this points to poor communication between parents, teachers and Uneb. Uneb’s tracking systems must be robust, transparent, with clear confirmation to students that their names appear in the registered list and the government must enforce laws and regulations around exam registration and punish wrongdoing.

To assist the students; the government should ask Uneb and the affected schools to allow the students who missed papers to take remedial exams without being forced to repeat the entire year. Parents should also be involved in the education life of their children to the point of following the registration process well before the exam period. The government’s policy to allow students with unpaid balances to sit the exams must be turned into binding regulation, not just recommendation, with measurable consequences for schools that violate it.

It is not proper that in 2025, students are being locked out of their exams because of administrative problems. The government, Uneb, school administrators must all step up their work, protect students from money-hungry school administrators so that no student is made to repeat an academic year for wrongs they did not commit.

The Executive Director of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Mr James Kasigwa, has been directed to step aside to allow investigations into alleged misconduct and claims of mismanagement during his tenure over the past one and a half years.

An electrical engineer by profession, Mr Kasigwa has served as UNBS executive director from May 13, 2024. But on October 7, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Mr Francis Mwebesa, issued a letter, instructing him to take annual leave for one month starting October 15. The directive aims to prevent any influence on the ongoing investigation into claims of insubordination and other alleged irregularities.

In the letter, the minister noted that several allegations, including corruption, have been levelled against Mr Kasigwa.

‘I write with reference to the task which I recently assigned to the National Standards Council, in which I directed the Council to assess the validity, authenticity and significance of the various allegations levelled against you regarding insubordination, misconduct, impropriety, mismanagement and corruption,’ reads the letter.

‘To expedite and facilitate the council’s work, including conducting inquiries, hearings, and interviews of key witnesses and personnel with pertinent information, I hereby direct and authorise you to take your annual leave of 30 working days,’ it adds..

The letter further instructed Mr Kasigwa to hand over his responsibilities to Deputy Executive Director Standards Patricia Bageine Ejalu. She will serve as Acting Executive Director until his return. The handover will be witnessed by Mr James Kalibbala, the chairperson of the National Standards Council, both when Mr Kasigwa proceeds on leave and upon resumption of duties. Mr Mwebesa noted that the Council has already verbally interacted with Mr Kasigwa and considered his initial responses to the allegations. However, the executive director has not yet submitted a written report, which is still pending.

‘I have urged the Council to ensure their inquiry regarding the allegations against you is fully executed and that a report on their findings is submitted within two weeks from the date of this letter,’ the minister said.

‘A special meeting will be convened in my office for the Council to present the findings and recommendations, after which my decision on the matter will be communicated to you,’ the minister concluded. Mr Kasigwa has had an illustrious career spanning over two decades in multinational corporations and public and private sector roles.

He is experienced in leadership and strategic management of expert teams in science, technology, innovation and standards. When contacted for comment on the specifics of the allegations, Mr Kalibbala declined to provide details, stating he was driving and would need to follow up later.

The economy is riding a wave of resilience, bolstered by the strength of diaspora workers.

Data from Bank of Uganda indicates that in the 12 months to 2025, remittance inflows surged to $1.6b, up from $1.4b the previous year, a 14 percent increase, underscoring the growing role of migrant earnings in stabilising the country’s external position and supporting household welfare.

The central bank attributed the rise to increased inflows from Ugandans working abroad, especially in North America, the Middle East, and Europe.

Together with export receipts from gold and coffee, remittances were instrumental in shifting Uganda’s balance of payments from a $995m deficit in the 2023/24 financial year to a 1b surplus in the year ended June 2025.

To capitalize on the foreign currency supply, the Bank of Uganda stepped up foreign exchange purchases through the interbank market, increasing its international reserves to $4.3b, equivalent to 3.9 months of import cover, a strong buffer against external shocks.

The performance came despite a turbulent international landscape marked by rising protectionism, geopolitical tensions, and tightening global credit markets.

The shilling remained one of Africa’s most stable currencies, appreciating by 2.7 percent against the dollar, supported in part by sustained remittance inflows and portfolio investments.

Bank of Uganda noted that the inflows ‘comfortably met corporate demand,’ allowing the exchange rate to hold firm at Shs3,678 per dollar, compared to Shs3,777 the previous year.

The performance reflects both the confidence of Ugandans abroad in the domestic economy and the central bank’s disciplined monetary policy.

Beyond traditional money transfer channels, payment system operators recorded a 49 percent rise in transaction values, from Shs38.5 trillion to Shs57.5 trillion, driven by expanded digital infrastructure and mobile-based platforms facilitating inbound remittances and transfers.

The continued modernization of Uganda’s financial systems, including real-time gross settlement reforms and regional payment linkages under Comesa and EAC, is expected to further reduce transaction costs and improve efficiency in cross-border remittance flows.

While remittances serve as a macroeconomic stabilizer, their micro-level impact is equally powerful.

The inflows directly improve household consumption, education, and small business investment, particularly in rural and peri-urban communities.

The central bank emphasized that this financial lifeline ‘enhances Uganda’s resilience to global shocks and strengthens the financial account,’ positioning the country for stronger and more inclusive growth.

With diaspora communities expanding and digital money transfer systems deepening, Uganda’s remittance potential is expected to continue rising.

For policymakers, the challenge remains how to channel these inflows into productive investment while maintaining the balance between consumption and growth.

What do you think Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire would say about our classroom today huh? For many university students in Uganda, this question lingers unspoken each time we sit through lectures where the lecturer speaks and we simply listen.

Freire, who criticised education systems that treat learners as passive recipients of knowledge, would likely challenge the top-down relationship that still defines much of higher education here.

His ideas push us to imagine classrooms where dialogue, participation, and shared learning replace silence, rote copying, and unquestioned authority.

To begin with, most of us students know the routine: enter class, listen to the lecturer, copy notes, and leave. This style mirrors what Freire once called the ‘banking concept of education,’ where knowledge is simply deposited in students. At Makerere University, however, some lecturers are rethinking this approach, especially after recent digital education training supported by the University of Edinburgh’s MasterCard Foundation Scholars Programme. In September 2024, 12 lecturers from different universities attended training on research methodology and digital pedagogy, learning how to create more interactive learning environments.

Notably, the change is not simple. Dr Michael Gallagher from the University of Edinburgh, who facilitated the training, points out the challenges: ‘This was an intensive three days of teaching, learning and discussion. very valuable to the scholars but also to us in understanding the context of digital education in Uganda.’ Yet many students wonder how this will work in reality. In lecture halls where 200 to 400 students squeeze in, how practical is dialogue, crazy right?

Professors like Anthony Muwagga Mugagga acknowledge the difficulty but remain hopeful, encouraging a gradual shift:

Beyond that, for many of us, technology feels like the missing link. Blended learning, which combines online and in-person teaching, is being embraced by several universities. Tools like Miro boards, WhatsApp groups, and online forums are giving students a chance to engage outside crowded lecture halls. These platforms give students more confidence to share ideas, discuss freely, and connect with lecturers on a level that traditional classrooms rarely allow. In the same vein, some private universities are already branding themselves as leaders in student-centred learning, promising participatory and dynamic environments. Some institutions are redesigning assessments to focus less on rote memorisation and more on collaboration, critical thinking, and real-world problem-solving.

For students, this means being evaluated not just on how well we remember notes, but on how we apply and communicate ideas. Despite the excitement, challenges remain. Large classes make dialogue difficult, cultural norms of respecting authority discourage some students from speaking up, and financial limitations restrict access to reliable internet and digital tools-especially in rural universities. Nevertheless, change is slowly taking root. The transition is not about overthrowing the respect between students and lecturers but about reshaping it into a two-way relationship where both can learn from each other.

In light of this, this shift is more than a teaching method-it prepares students for a future that requires critical thinking, teamwork, and communication. The Ministry of Education and Sports’ Digital Agenda Strategy 2021-2025 also supports this direction, encouraging ICT integration to raise the quality of education.

Looking ahead, whether this transformation succeeds will depend on consistent institutional support, resources, and lecturers’ willingness to adapt. Ugandan universities, the relationship between lecturers and students is slowly changing. The voice of the student is beginning to matter-not just as an echo of the lecturer’s words, but as a meaningful part of the dialogue.

It has been an immense privilege, in the course of my journey in leadership and politics, to work and engage with my dear late brother, the Rt Honourable Raila Amolo Odinga, in different seasons, while playing diverse roles and under various colours.

In that time, I can say that we came to know each other very well, and forged a relationship that transcended mutual understanding and became a perennial bond that withstood the furious tempests of our dynamic politics.

As a freshman legislator, I found in the National Assembly a restless and tireless Odinga who had already made an indelible mark as a determined firebrand who never hesitated when called upon to prove his mettle.

In 1996, Odinga had done the unthinkable by resigning in his first term as member of Parliament for Lang’ata due to irreconcilable differences with the leadership of Ford Kenya.

He contested the subsequent by-election under the then unknown National Development Party, whose symbol, a tractor, would earn him the nickname Tinga Tinga or Tinga in short. It helped that Tinga happened to rhyme with Odinga, and that is what I, with countless others, called him for a long time.

Mobilised non-stop

Odinga mobilised non-stop and built the new party from scratch. By 1997, NDP had eclipsed Ford Kenya with 21 members. Following the election, Odinga executed a political strategy that confounded friend and foe, which involved finding common ground with Kanu and President Moi, then anathema and implacable foe respectively.

In Moi’s succession, Odinga had spotted a golden political opportunity he could not turn away from and, in NDP and Odinga, Moi saw not only safety in parliamentary numbers, but also a chance to build a broad national support base for his succession plan.

It was during this time that I found myself working more closely with Odinga as we tightened the nuts and bolts of the Kanu-NDP ‘cooperation’ before transitioning it into the full-blown merger that shook Kenya’s political landscape with reverberations that gave rise to Narc and swept Kanu out of power to date.

It was immediately clear that, politically speaking, Odinga and I had a number of fundamental characteristics in common. First, his energy and zeal, especially when it came to networking, mobilising and overseeing operations and the implementation of competitive political strategies.

Second, his sharp focus, total commitment and unstoppable motivation in the pursuit of what he believed in. Third, his pragmatism and impressive, yet thoroughly principled flexibility when it came to building alliances, negotiation, reviewing and even changing course.

Fourth, Odinga believed in the people as the foremost if not the sole reason for political leadership. Finally, he and I believed in the importance of strong, national parties for strengthening democracy and anchoring good governance. Together with other colleagues, we built a strong party that endures to date as a powerful institution of our democracy. Afterwards, I have taken part in building equally formidable parties and coalitions from the bottom up.

This similarity had two fundamental implications: When Odinga and I were on the same page, we were utterly unstoppable. However, whenever we found ourselves at odds, the going got really tough. It will be an understatement for me to state that, in 2002, things got a little difficult after he left Kanu and launched a turbocharged Narc.

Between 2005 and 2010, we were a formidable team. However, between 2010 and 2022, we were once more at loggerheads. I will always be grateful to Odinga because, in the last few years, we rediscovered once more the sweet spot and shared a moment of divine grace. I have benefitted immensely from Odinga’s wisdom and experience as my parliamentary colleague, team leader, Prime Minister, elder statesman and friend.

For me, working with Odinga affirmed certain important truths that, I believe, no leader should ever neglect: Respect for opponents, acknowledging our diversity and different opinions, never underestimating competitors and never losing sight of the humanity of all persons, including our adversaries.

In all the years I knew Odinga, I was privileged to witness his devotion to his family, his loyalty to his friends and comrades, his pursuit of the abundant life made up of diverse engagements, all energetically pursued: From sport, business and engineering to innovation, devolution, pan-Africanism and farming; from dancing, statecraft and African culture to social democracy.

He impressed me most with the clarity of his conviction that the Kenya we want is within reach if we are committed to do the hard work and make bold decisions; that our democratic experiment must be nurtured vigilantly and matured ambitiously; that leadership always creates space for the youth now, and that Kenya always comes first, and our ambitions are always subordinate to the greater good.

To his last day, Odinga was steadfast in the struggle to deliver the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Kenya Vision 2030, beginning at the devolved units.

I am a witness of Odinga’s fiery patriotism, which never dimmed. I know because we had many deep conversations; and we shared the perspective that economic development was the crowning glory of the struggle for freedom, democracy and justice. Odinga never lost an opportunity to reiterate the words of the National Anthem, especially the lines: ‘Justice be our shield and defender’ and, ‘Plenty be found within our borders’.

I honour my dear departed brother not only because he believed in the best of the right things for our country, but also because he never hesitated to stand up for his convictions and, many a time, pay a painful price for them. I celebrate his courage and respect his compassion.

I remember his sense of humility, humanity, honour and humour. In a time when politics often beat, broke and reduced the best and brightest into indifference, ambiguity or cowardice, Odinga stood tall, walked proudly and fought the good fight with a smile and a kitendawili.

His legacy calls on us to contemplate the real possibility of a gracious, selfless, principled and patriotic politics. It also demonstrates, beyond any doubt, that it is impossible to attempt a modern history of Kenya without devoting a number of rich chapters to the life and work of Raila Odinga.

As we bid farewell to a much beloved and towering patriot, I want to persuade all Kenyans that the best way of honouring him is by standing together in one accord, working with determination to deliver prosperity for all Kenyans within a generation.

The new Startimes Uganda Premier League season was expected to feed off the vibe crated at Cranes games during the Chan tournament co-hosted by Uganda in September.

The tournament that features only local based players had attracted big turnouts as the Cranes reached the quarterfinals.

Momentum was further built during the pre-season Fufa Super-8 tournament evidenced as the SC Villa leadership introduced the club’s sponsors to a jubilant Villa army as they clinched the title.

Matters however took a different turn when it became apparent domestic football governing body Fufa were hell bent on imposing new league reforms.

Voices of discontent soon emerged on social media and turned into a boycott as a low turn out welcomed the league opener between Kitara and KCCA.

As other clubs coiled, Vipers remained defiant and informed both the Uganda Premier League and Fufa of their intention not to play under the new format.

That was soon followed by a full blown boycott that saw Vipers refuse to turn up for the double header fixture against Kitara as KCCA and Villa played in front of a largely empty 40,000-seater Mandela National Stadium in Namboole.

That stance has earned them hero status and has since been hailed by fans including those of rival teams such as Villa, KCCA and Kitara who attract the biggest attendances in the league.

Vipers will now hope to ride on that rare show of fans’ unity on Sunday as they host Power Dynamos in the first leg of their Caf Champions League second round qualifying fixture at their St. Mary’s Sadium.

By press time, ticket for the game had run out with the club seeking clarity from continental body Caf about the possibility of having a fans park close to the stadium.

Back in March 2023, Standard Bank Group, the parent company of Stanbic Bank, unveiled an ambitious plan for East Africa: acquire a Kenyan bank by 2025 and climb into the country’s top three lenders.

Kenya was the obvious target. It is the region’s financial hub, the anchor of cross-border trade, and the pace-setter for much of East Africa’s credit and capital markets.

The spotlight quickly turned to NCBA Group, a fast-growing mid-tier bank with a market capitalisation of about Ksh124b (Shs3.41 trillion) and assets worth Ksh1.1 trillion (Shs30.25 trillion) as of mid-October 2025.

CBA sits exactly where Stanbic wants to be: too significant to ignore, yet still a realistic acquisition compared to giants like Equity Bank, with Ksh1.75 trillion (Shs48.1 trillion) in assets, and KCB Group at Ksh2 trillion (Shs55 trillion).

When reports of a potential Stanbic-NCBA buyout this week, 14, investors reacted instantly.

NCBA’s share price jumped nearly 9 percent to Ksh75.25 (Shs2,070), lifting its market value from Ksh105b (Shs2.89 trillion) to Ksh114.5b (Shs3.15 trillion) in a single day.

The stock is up 56 percent since January and 78 percent over the past year, a sign that investors believe in NCBA’s growth story and the likelihood of a deal that could create Kenya’s third-largest bank.

For Stanbic, buying NCBA would likely cost between Ksh150b and Ksh160b (Shs4.1-4.4 trillion), including a takeover premium.

But the strategic payoff would be enormous: immediate scale in Kenya, access to NCBA’s digital-first culture, and a seat at the top table of Kenya’s premier banking market. The story doesn’t end in Kenya. Uganda, where Stanbic has long dominated the banking sector, would feel the tremors too.

Uganda is tightly linked to Kenya’s financial system, and a merger at the group level would inevitably reshape competition in Kampala.

Stanbic Uganda is the sector’s anchor, with Shs10.3 trillion in assets and Shs7.1 trillion in deposits, the largest in the market. It raises money cheaply and lends cautiously, keeping non-performing loans around Shs70b.

Its 27 percent return on equity and 39 percent cost-income ratio make it both profitable and efficient. By lending only about 62 percent of its deposits, Stanbic ensures it remains well-capitalised and ready to lend even when others pull back.

By contrast, NCBA Uganda is still in high-growth mode. Its 2024 pre-tax profit rose 40 percent to Shs46b, while loans expanded by 18 percent to Shs298b.

Deposits increased by 15 percent to Shs654b, and total income grew 20 percent to Shs137b, while the non-performing loan ratio fell from 6.4 to 3.8 percent.

A Stanbic-NCBA tie-up would combine discipline with agility. Uganda’s biggest companies already trade through Kenya’s financial hub. If the group aligns treasury, forex, and cash-management systems, transactions will move faster, pricing will tighten, and clients operating across both markets will benefit from a seamless experience.

The impact would be most visible in digital banking. NCBA’s mobile lending products, such as MoKash, have built a rich data trove on small borrowers.

Combine that with Stanbic’s strong risk management and balance sheet, and the result could be quicker credit decisions, smarter scoring, and tighter fraud control, all crucial for small businesses.

The equipment and vehicle-finance segments could also heat up. NCBA leads that space in Kenya, while Stanbic dominates in Uganda. Using similar vendor networks, valuation standards, and contracts across borders could lower borrowing costs and speed up approvals.

Distribution could deepen, too. NCBA’s partnership-driven approach, combined with Stanbic’s scale and low-cost structure, would make it easier to market savings, investment, and insurance products digitally.

Shared technology and vendors would cut selling costs and improve efficiency at a time when liquidity remains tight.

Integration risks, however, cannot be ignored. Mergers often disrupt systems and delay decisions. Policies may tighten before they stabilise.

Yet, if the execution goes right, the ripple effect could redefine Uganda’s banking landscape and set a new regional standard.

The wave of consolidation is part of a wider East African trend. In Kenya, the Central Bank has pushed for fewer but sturdier banks that can absorb shocks and sustain growth.

A 2024 law raised the minimum core-capital requirement to Ksh10b (Shs275b) by 2029.

Uganda has already implemented an enhanced minimum capital requirement for tier one financial institutions of Shs150b.

Thus, for Standard Bank Group, acquiring NCBA is more than a Kenyan move.

It is a regional strategy, one that could tighten Uganda’s financial links to Nairobi and redraw East Africa’s banking map for years to come.

It is a sacred tenet of modern self-care; celebrate the milestones. Do not take the passage of time for granted, because time, after all, has a nasty habit of eroding things. I get it. But let us be honest, who feels like fussing at 60? You would rather save your breath for something more critical than blowing out candles. Your teeth cannot handle the sugar, your knees cannot handle the dancing, and your soul simply cannot handle the forced merriment anymore. Yet, here we are.

Uganda is 63. And I think we should throw the party. Not despite the creaking joints and the chronic back pain, but because of them. Look at her. She has been through the fire; civil wars, coups, the slow, grinding wear of bad governance. And she is still here, holding some semblance of a nation together, which is more than can be said for some of our once-glamorous benefactors. Just look at Libya.

So, let us not celebrate an idealised version. Let us celebrate what actually makes us tick. Uganda is that coworker who grew up with nothing, and whose survival instincts are both her greatest strength and her most profound weakness. She learns fast, adapts faster, and has a hustler’s eye for an opportunity. We see what our neighbour has; a new technology, a hairstyle, a school system, and we must have it. Whether we need it or can afford it is a question for later. We will get it first, and ask questions never. We are magpies, drawn to the glitter of the new, until the next shiny thing comes along and we abandon the last one without a second thought.

But for all our love of the new, a stubborn part of us remains rooted in the past, clinging to traditions with a ferocity that defies all logic. We will bankrupt ourselves to send a child to university, fully aware the degree is a ticket to a queue for a job that does not exist. We will drop every commitment to attend a funeral, refusing to relegate this sacred duty to a convenient weekend, unlike our pragmatic neighbours in Kenya. We will buy our meat from the same fly-blown market stall because that is where our family has always bought it. Our traditions are intact, even if our sanitation is not.

We are, to our credit, pathologically generous and tolerant. Or perhaps we are just conflict-averse. We would rather not rock the boat. So we sit, mute and still, as the taxi driver breaks every traffic rule in the book. We sit, offering a silent prayer, as the boda boda guy weaves through crazy traffic to our possible injury or death. We sit politely in church as the pastor preaches pure nonsense, then line up to congratulate him with a pat on the back and an envelope. We pour money into weddings for marriages we know are doomed, and we clap politely for politicians whose lies are so transparent they are practically a form of modernist art. Our reasoning? A shrug. ‘They are all the same.’

What we must celebrate, above all, is our breathtaking pragmatism. Our refusal to tire of trying, even when the trying is profoundly unserious. Our reasoning, of course, is that we can always move on to something else. A Ugandan will start a business if he sniffs a whiff of quick money, but should an unforeseen crisis arise; a broken generator, a new tax, a competitor, he will abandon it for the next trending thing. That is why the Rolex stand that was doing roaring business two years ago has vanished, following the supermarket and the salon that occupied the plot before it. Our landscape is full of abandoned ventures.

Sometimes, it is difficult to decide whether I am happy to be Ugandan. But that is the wrong question. The question is not about happiness; it is about identity. This is who I am. I am the one who litters, then complains the city is dirty. I jump the queue, then fume about the lack of order. I slip a bribe to a government official, then write an essay about corruption. I know what is wrong. I see it with painful clarity. I just do not, yet, have the courage to fix it. And in that, perhaps, I am the most Ugandan of all.

The Kabale Chief Magistrate, Mr Derrick Byamugisha on Wednesday sentenced a 22- year-old man to 23 months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to charges of escaping from lawful custody.

Daudi Tukamushaba is accused of committing the offence contrary to Section 96 of the Penal Code Act

Prosecution led by Ms Julie Najunju told court that Tukamushaba who is a self-employed resident of Rutabonana cell, Kahara parish, Muko Sub County in Rubanda District, escaped from custody at Kabale Police Station in Kabale District on October 10, 2025, but was later re-arrested.

The detention facility was being manned by D/CPL William Katushabe when Tukamushaba escaped.

‘The accused was arrested in Kabale town on October 10 at around 2am when he was found in possession of a panga whose purpose he could not account for at the time. After reaching Kabale police station, he scaled the behind gate and ran away before he was re-arrested. The convict deserves a deterrence sentence that will scare away other would be offenders,’ Ms Najunju said.

Upon conviction, Tukamushaba asked the court for forgiveness.

The magistrate said that although the convict did not waste court’s time in full trial, cases of criminals moving with pangas were rampant in Kabale town and therefore, he deserved a punishment that would deter other people from committing the same offence.

‘I hereby sentence the convict to 23 months imprisonment. He has a right to appeal against this sentence in case he is not comfortable with my decision,’ Mr Byamugisha ruled.