Category: Daily Monitor

The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has sanctioned Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Clive Nsiima’s criminal case file in which he is accused of assaulting a female attendant at a petrol station shop in Kyanja, a Kampala City suburb.

Police sources privy to the case confirmed to the Monitor that the suspect’s file was sanctioned and they were to produce him in court on Friday, but the documents were submitted late.

‘We couldn’t make it in time on Friday. Hopefully, he will be produced in court on Monday,’ a source said.

Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesman Patrick Onyango could either confirm or deny the sanctioning of the preferred charges, but he said they have reached the tail end of their tasks.

ASP Nsiima was seen in a viral video slapping a female shop attendant after she demanded that he pay for the items he and a female friend had picked in on October 7.

The viral video prompted the police to arrest and detain him last week. The spokesman of police, Mr Kituuma Rusoke condemned Nsiima’s action, and he said police were conducting an investigation.

Ms Pellan Atuhumurize, the victim, told the Daily Monitor last week that ASP Nsiima and a woman ordered a pack of condoms and two cans of beers, but they attempted to drive off without paying the bills, prompting her to prevent them from leaving, which angered them, leading to the attack captured on the shop’s CCTV camera.

‘A lady alighted from the car and walked to the counter. She asked me to pack her condoms, which I did. She told me that the money was in the car, so I should follow her and pick it,’ Ms Atuhumurize said.

‘When we reached the car, a gentleman inside the car told me to bring him two cans of Tusker Lite. I went back and brought them.’ Ms Atuhumurize said after handing over the items, the man attempted to drive off.

‘I grabbed his collar to prevent him from driving off without paying the bill. Then he stopped the car and got out. He followed me to the shop. He then started abusing me and other people who were in the shop, the man then slapped me twice,’ Ms Atuhumurize said.

A private security guard attached to Tayari Security, attempted to stop the attack but the police officer continued with his aggression.

The former Police Chief Political Commissar, Mr Asan Kasingye, said on his social media platform that the guard works for Tayari Security, a private security firm he heads.

‘I was the first person to be informed. The security guard you see in the video belongs to @TayarisSecurity. There is even more to this story. I am happy it will be investigated thoroughly. Let the police involve us at the company. For example, a pistol was drawn,’ said Mr Kasingye, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police.

Vivo Energy Uganda, which owns the petrol station, condemned the attack.

‘We strongly condemn any form of violence or misconduct towards our staff or customers. We are in close contact with the attendant to ensure she receives the support she needs, and we are working with the Uganda Police to ensure the perpetrator is held accountable for his actions,’ a statement by Vivo Energy Uganda reads in part.

Other incidents in the country

Last year, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Julius Ahimbisibwe was suspected of shooting his ex-wife and injured her. Months later, SSP Ahimbisibwe was found dead in his home on suspicion that he had taken his life.

In February 2024, the Officer-in-charge of Alebtong District, ASP Moses Acaye, is alleged to have shot dead a civilian he accused of killing his relative in a mob action incident in Adjumani District.

ASP Acaye is still on the run. Another incident happened in December 2024, when a police officer, Constable Charles Bahati, shot dead a truck driver Julius Ssemwaka at Nakasero in Kampala City. Constable Bahati is still on the run.

Uganda Cycling Association president Sam ‘Mahaba’ Muwonge spent the last week of September watching the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali and could not stop imagining such a marvel happening in Kampala.

‘What’s happening in Ugandan cycling is encouraging. Being in the World Championship when we didn’t qualify is special,’ said an excited Muwonge as 100 Ugandan cyclists were flagged off for the Jubilee Live Free Race in Nairobi last weekend.

‘Mrs Byaruhanga said this is the third time Jubilee Insurance is sponsoring a Ugandan team for the Nairobi race. It’s a great job they are doing. But I request that instead of Nairobi, let’s have this race in Kampala. Like Kigali gazetted all the roads for the world event, we can have it in Kampala as well,’ Muwonge said.

Of course this is a multi-sectoral, multi-departmental decision to make if such an important event is to happen here.

Feasibility

But how feasible is it? Are the sponsors willing?

‘We are in talks with Jubilee, our main sponsors, to have particular events here in Uganda. And very soon we shall come out with the plans. Hopefully, very soon we shall announce the event to be organised here,’ said Lance Ismael Ssebayiga, director Moonlight Events, who are the Ugandan coordinators of the race.

But the sponsor thinks the journey is still long.

‘This is the second year in a row we are hearing this suggestion and we’re in talks with Moonlight and the cycling association,’ Jubilee marketing and communications manager Camilla Mindru told Daily Monitor.

‘But we needed to build capacity and have a solid ground to start this conversation. We need more organised clubs like Masaka Cycling Club, which has strong structures: a president, a funding source, a medical team and a technical team, etc.’

She said that would give Uganda more chances to win the race once it’s hosted here.

Meanwhile, Mindru added that even as more people enter the Nairobi race every year, the event happens successfully.

‘That means there’s a certain standard they have set and a skillset we need to tap into if we are to organise an equally successful race here,’ Mindru said.

Nairobi conquest

The 2025 Jubilee Nairobi Race last Sunday attracted thousands of cyclists from 20 nationalities. Uganda’s Jordan ‘Schleck’ Ssekanwagi raced to gold in the 75km main race in 1 hour, 30 minutes and 39 seconds, while 2024 Olympian Charles Kagimu came second, just a second later to take silver. Kenya’s John Muchiri came third in 1:33:50.

The duo are slowly writing a story of Uganda’s growing dominance of the race. Ssekanwagi won the inaugural edition in 2019, while Kagimu was the champion last year.

Ethiopia’s Merhamit Hadush won the women’s 75km race in 1:38:25, Uganda’s Maria Aleper took silver in 1:48:55 as Kenya’s Jamila Abdula got bronze in 1:47:28.

Willy Kato and Dominik Mugonda got gold and silver respectively in the Black Mamba category, while defending champion Aziz Ssempijja settled for bronze.

Muwonge wonders how much Ugandans can achieve if they are the hosts.

Under the leadership of Mercy Kainobwisho, Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) has transitioned from a routine paperwork office into a driver of business formalisation and transparency.

Through digitisation, automation, and public outreach, URSB is redefining how Ugandans register and protect their businesses.

Kainobwisho explains how technology, partnerships, and mindset change are transforming URSB into a model of efficiency and empowerment.

What excites you most about URSB’s evolving role in the business landscape?

Our mandate has grown tremendously, but what excites me most is the transformation it brings to people’s lives.

Registration is more than paperwork; it’s empowerment. When a business registers, it gains a legal identity, credibility, and access to growth opportunities. We are protecting identities, building legacies, and strengthening trust in the economy.

There is a perception that registration is slow and bureaucratic. How are you changing this?

We have dismantled bureaucracy through digitisation and automation. All our records are now digital, and businesses can register and track their progress online without relying on middlemen.

Every transaction is traceable, and nothing goes missing. We have also introduced customer feedback platforms, internal audits, and zero tolerance for corruption. What used to take weeks now takes minutes.

What has been the hardest part of this transformation?

Changing mindsets, both within and among clients. Some staff saw physical files as power, while others preferred manual processes that benefited intermediaries. We had to shift that culture.

We invested in training, technology, and welfare so that staff could embrace automation. Once they understood that digitisation was about efficiency and service, not replacing people, the transition became unstoppable.

How are you bringing registration closer to entrepreneurs?

We have taken it to the people through mobile registration clinics and door-to-door outreach in markets, universities, and innovation hubs. We simplify the process.

When people realise registration can be done instantly and at a low cost, they gain confidence in formalisation. That is how trust is built, through accessibility and reliability.

URSB works closely with other agencies. How do these partnerships add value to businesses?

Partnerships are at the heart of our work. Our current headquarters was built in collaboration with Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and Capital Markets Authority.

We have integrated systems with NIRA and other agencies to make registration and licensing seamless. We also collaborate regionally and globally, which helps us to break silos and make Uganda’s business ecosystem more predictable.

Technology seems central to your reforms.

Yes, a massive one. Anyone can now register a business or trademark online, from anywhere in the world. We have introduced mobile money and Visa payments, electronic certificates, and instant verification. Soon, we will launch a mobile app to make registration even easier.

Our goal is to make formalisation as simple as opening a social-media account.

Small businesses are the backbone of the economy. What specific support are you offering them?

We work with UIA and the Ministry of Trade to provide incubation, mentorship, and advisory services. We are helping small enterprises to formalise in 47 municipalities, and through our Security Interest in Movable Property, small businesses are using assets like equipment or produce as collateral to get credit.

We also offer business rescue and after-care services to help struggling SMEs recover.

Beyond numbers, how do you measure URSB’s real impact?

Impact goes beyond statistics. When a woman in Masaka registers her business or a young innovator protects an idea and turns it into a thriving enterprise, that is success. We track progress through customer satisfaction, turnaround time, and trust.

Many businesses still operate informally. Why does formalisation matter?

It’s the foundation of business security and growth. It costs as little as Shs100,000 to register a business name, yet many invest millions without securing ownership. By the time they register, the name is often taken.

Formalisation protects your brand, gives access to finance, and allows you to participate in policymaking. It’s no longer optional; it’s essential for survival and competitiveness.

What key reforms should entrepreneurs expect next?

We are rolling out a fully transactional e-licensing portal, a national one-stop centre for business registration and licensing, and a Regulatory Impact Analysis framework to simplify compliance.

We are also setting up a business acceleration and innovation hub for startups. We have reduced registration from 30 days to two hours, and we are now working toward instant registration.

Where do you see URSB in the next few years?

We are moving from being a registry to becoming a catalyst for transformation. By 2030, we aim to be Africa’s leading business registry, a benchmark for innovation, integrity, and service excellence.

We will keep leveraging technology and partnerships to sustain these gains. URSB isn’t just registering companies; we are helping to build Uganda’s economic future.

When I watched that video of the police officer harassing a supermarket attendant at a fuel station in Kyanja, I immediately wished I had not watched it. And yet I went on to watch it five more times. It was depressing, annoying, outrageous, but also scary. It reminded me of the sad reality of how unsafe we can be in what seems like a very safe space.

Perhaps we should have sections in our public entities for common people and then for the rest who occasionally lose their marbles and forget to regulate their emotions.

For instance, a smaller pothole filled lane on the road for us ordinary people and then another lane for the VIPS and Nsiimas of this world because imagine interfacing with that man on a narrow road, he would probably Fuga you off the road with or without street cameras. Anyway me as me, I was scared.

These days, I tiptoe in most public places because you just never know when the gods will go crazy.

The only comfort is that in all of this, God still reigns supreme, and he is able and willing to protect us from the realities of life. I was never really beaten as a child, not because my parents were permissive, but because I was and still am quite the coward of the country. I followed the rules to the dot just to avoid the rod.

So I cannot imagine now as a grown human, being smacked! Eh! These are some of the things that scared me about that video. So now, as ‘people of down’ in Kampala, we have to watch out for Sino trucks, cement mixers, floods, lying politicians, and Nsiima and his 30k.

I heard people blame the security guard and the other people who walked in and did nothing or said nothing to help. Of course, that is the wrong response, and yet if we are being honest, many of us would be those people.

They were too scared to speak up, which is what, unfortunately, many of us are. Too scared to stand up for our rights and the rights of others. Why, well, because most times than not, the price of boldness and heroism is too high compared to the rewards.

Or is it because we are not yet angry enough, or we think we have too much to lose? We all know that the scene that played out in that supermarket in Kyanja will not be the last of its kind. It is just going to be a different cast and props, but the same script.

In prehistoric times, man had to go out hunting, prepared to deal with wild animals that might come at him from any direction, hoping to make a fresh dinner of him.

Eons later, we now must leave our homes armed emotionally, mentally, and for some people, physically, just in case we meet things that are out to get us. I think this might be part of the big, bad world that our mamas warned us about.

And yet even with all this, aren’t you grateful for technology and the things it helps to expose? It might look like postmortem justice, but it still is a plus, and I am pretty sure knowing that they could be caught on camera and exposed for their nasty actions could keep other wild ones at bay if only for a while at least until the full moon.

So, get that camera for your business and home, and whatever other premises you lord over, if you can afford it. It is no longer a luxury or for the banking hall alone. You just never know when it could come in handy.

If you cannot afford them right now, visit the toy section in the supermarket, get a strange-looking toy, and then invite your tallest friends to pose as a camera installation team. Have them install the toys in various vantage points where they can clearly be seen.

Let everyone on the premises know that these are state-of-the-art ‘cameras’ from outside countries that can capture even the sound of heartbeats.

Thinking they are being watched will keep some people acting sane. Please note, make sure to replace the toys with real cameras as soon as you can, before something serious happens or before one sly person discovers your folly.

As Uganda heads toward the 2026 General Election, voters in Tororo District and the wider Sebei Sub-region have outlined a list of priorities they want the next president to address to improve service delivery and livelihoods.

In the 2021 elections, President Museveni garnered 86,248 votes (58.38 percent) in Tororo District, defeating his closest challenger, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, of the National Unity Platform (NUP), who received 54,556 votes.

However, many voters now say their expectations from the government remain unmet and want concrete action before the next polls. At the top of Tororo’s demands is the operationalisation of the proposed three new districts and a city, which were carved out of the old Tororo District but have yet to become functional.

Tororo Municipality MP Yeri Apollo Ofwono said residents believe implementing these administrative units would improve service delivery and reduce governance bottlenecks.

Health services under strain

Health service delivery also dominates the list of voter concerns. Mr James Onyango, the district councillor for Nagongera Sub-county, urged the government to upgrade existing health centre IVs-Mukuju, Nagongera, and Mulanda-to hospital level and elevate Tororo General Hospital to a regional referral hospital.

‘Our district hospital is overstretched. Upgrading these facilities would ease congestion and reduce the distance patients travel to access care,’ Mr Onyango said.

He added that a regional referral hospital in Tororo would serve neighbouring districts, including Busia, Namisindwa, Manafwa, Butaleja, and parts of western Kenya.

War victims’ compensation

In Lyolwa Sub-county, local leaders are demanding compensation for victims of the Alice Lakwena insurgency, which devastated parts of eastern Uganda in the late 1980s. Mr Benjamin Oketcho, the chairperson of Lyolwa, said the community has waited in vain since presenting a compensation memo to President Museveni in 2015.

‘Many lives and properties were lost during the Lakwena war. Just like the government has compensated victims elsewhere, our people also deserve justice and recovery support,’ he said.

Infrastructure development remains a sore point for many locals. Ms Miria Okumu, the district councillor for Paya and Sere sub-counties, urged government to tarmac the Tororo-Nagongera-Busolwe road, which she said has appeared in annual budgets for years without progress.

Former journalist and now LC5 aspirant Paul Gonza called for the establishment of regional nursery seed beds for coffee and cocoa, saying these crops have been identified as new cash crops for Bukedi Sub-region to replace cotton.

Leaders are also demanding revival of the Oriental Industrial and Business Park project along the Tororo-Jinja highway, which has stalled since its groundbreaking in 2024.

Mr Lukas Okamar, the chairperson of Kayoro Sub-county, said the park was expected to host 10 factories and create more than 1,000 jobs.

‘It was supposed to be built by a consortium of Chinese investors, but nothing has happened since the groundbreaking,’ he said.

In addition, residents of Malaba Town Council are calling for the long-awaited construction of the Tororo Inland Port, while others want government to revive the Osukuru Phosphate Fertiliser Factory to make affordable fertiliser accessible to farmers.

Sebei’s demands

In the neighbouring Sebei Sub-region, voters are equally frustrated by the state of roads. Key roads in poor condition include Siron-Tumboboi-Ngangta, Kapsoyoy-Mariny, Kuryondet-Sanzara, Kapchesombe-Kwoti, and Kaserem-Kawowo, among others.

Locals say the poor road network has inflated transport costs, keeping farmers in poverty despite fertile soils. Rev Martin Chelangat of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church said farmers face additional challenges such as fake agro-inputs, lack of storage facilities, and limited markets for their produce.

‘Many farmers incur heavy losses after harvest because of poor storage and lack of value addition. Pests and fake seeds have also worsened the situation,’ Rev Chelangat said.

Mr Osman Sayekwo, the eastern youth coordinator for the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), said farmers are often cheated by middlemen due to the absence of local markets.

‘A bunch of matooke that costs Shs15,000 in town is sold for only Shs5,000 to middlemen in the villages. Farmers are being exploited,’ he said.

Mr Mark Cherop, a project officer with KACSOA, said the government should construct storage facilities at parish or sub-county level and support value addition to stabilise farm incomes.

Mr Fred Kiprop Sikuku, a senior agricultural engineer in Kapchorwa, said education, markets, and infrastructure must all be improved if poverty is to be reduced sustainably.

In Kween District, more than five sub-counties-including Ngenge, Chepsikunya, Giriki, Binyiny, Benet, and Sundet-still lack government-aided secondary schools. Mr Caleb Noah Cherotich, a resident of Kween County, also called for more classroom desks to improve learning environments.

Top demands

Operationalise three new districts and a city.

Upgrade Health Centre IVs to hospitals, Tororo District Hospital to regional referral.

Tarmac key roads; revive Oriental Industrial Park and Tororo Inland Port.

Establish coffee/cocoa seedbeds, build storage and value-add centres.

Supply desks, expand secondary schools in underserved sub-counties.

Compensate Lakwena war victims, address FGM cases.

Expand electricity connections.

A September 2025 report by the World Bank has revealed that the country’s tax system, despite its comprehensive design, continues to struggle with low revenue yield, significantly lagging behind the sub-Saharan Africa average and the government’s own medium-term targets.

The report shows that with a tax revenue-to-GDP ratio of only 13.9 percent in the Financial Year (FY)2025/2026, Uganda remains below the critical 15 percent threshold deemed essential for accelerated growth and sustainable development.

‘This persistent challenge is exacerbated by a personal income tax (PIT) system that has not been reviewed in over a decade, resulting in bracket creep,’ it indicates.

Compounding matters is the fact that a significant informal sector largely remains outside the tax net.

Furthermore, within the formal sector, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) frequently under-report or evade taxes, and large firms capable of making additional new investments, as well as start-up small firms, are exempt from the corporate income tax (CIT), which undermines revenue collection.

The report suggests that to enhance both revenue generation and tax equity, this year’s edition of the Uganda Economic Update focuses on reforms and strategic interventions that provide policy options to redesign the PIT structure, strengthen HNWI taxation, and re-evaluate CIT exemption policies.

It adds that the policy reforms should be intended to broaden the tax base, reduce tax expenditures and improve progressivity and equity of the tax system. If implemented, it predicts, tax revenues could improve by 0.5 percent of GDP.

The report further states that the proposed reforms are consistent with the annual target of the government’s own strategy on domestic revenue mobilisation and the national tax policy.

These emphasise the need to reduce tax expenditures annually and also grow the tax-to-GDP ratio to Vision 2040 targets.

To address this, it is recommended that the government adopt a targeted policy option that enhances the progressivity of the PIT system, increases revenue, and provides relief to low-income earners.

The recommended reform would increase the exemption threshold to Shs4.02m up from Shs2.82m per annum, maintain existing tax rates for most taxpayers, and introduce a new marginal rate of 35 percent up from the current 30 percent for a chargeable income exceeding Shs5.82m.

As a result, low-income earners would remain unaffected, while only the relatively higher income individuals would see an increased tax burden.

The reform is expected to generate Shs149b (0.1 percent of GDP) in additional annual tax revenue.

The impact on individuals’ income would be modest for most, with increases ranging from Shs15,000 for those earning up to Shs1m per month to Shs444,917 for those earning at least Shs9.5m per month.

Overall, the reform is designed to update Uganda’s PIT structure to avoid bracket creep, improve equity and ensure a fairer distribution of the tax burden, while providing relief for low-income earners and strengthening the country’s fiscal position.

Mr Saadia Refaagat an economist with the World Bank says the under-reporting and evasion of taxes by HNWIs represent a significant leakage in Uganda’s tax system.

A multi-pronged approach is essential to effectively bring this segment into the tax net. This is in line with the FY2025/2026 budget, which aspires to close loopholes that cause revenue leakage.

Few subjects have aroused suspicion, bitterness, and disgust over the last 20 years in Uganda’s politics as the question of ‘moles’. Moles, loosely defined, are senior members of Opposition parties whom the National Resistance Movement (NRM) state recruits and maintains in their parties to inform the State on Opposition plans and activities.

In the intelligence services, deploying moles in rival services is a standard operating procedure and even essential in how intelligence is gathered. In a multiparty democracy, it’s not necessary to have moles, at least in the clock-and-dagger sense of intelligence services. The State as the superstructure of the nation-state is expected to be neutral, serving all citizens and all sides in the political contestation. The police, intelligence services, Judiciary, and Electoral Commission, are examples of institutions of the State.

They exist to guarantee the safety and continuity of Uganda as an entity and are expected to serve whichever government is in power, as well as Opposition political parties. In the NRM state, as well as authoritarian states of the Soviet kind, all political power and the allocation of resources and contracts are fused with the ruling party. In the NRM state, all real power has been centred at State House or its related offshoots. That’s to say, the President’s Office and that office alone, is the major centre of power.

Even the national assembly that, on paper, is a second branch of State and has the primary role of allocating budgets, is in reality an extension of the President’s Office and subject to its directives. Over the past 39 or so years, the NRM has gone through the motions of democracy, but its actions show that it finds democracy in the Western liberal sense a great inconvenience and limit on its power. Lest we forget, President Museveni’s formative political years were forged in the sphere of Maoist China and the Marxist liberation groups in Mozambique and Tanzania.

This Uganda, that is, effectively, a one-party state, is the environment in which Opposition parties, the media, civil society, and the general population must live in.

Regardless of how they feel about the government of the day or the political system, human beings must live. They must feed their families, pay bills, and seek business opportunities. In a situation where all opportunity is tied to the President’s Office, those outside the NRM state or opposed to it find their way around it by making tactical choices.

During the 2011 election campaign, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Kizza Besigye took to urging his supporters to take whatever money, T-shirts, or other handouts from the NRM they could but still vote for FDC. These resources were, after all, he would remind crowds at his rallies, Ugandans’ and so getting them was not a favour but a right. In this, Dr Besigye was acknowledging the situation: In a totalitarian or authoritarian system, where the ruling party or politburo is one and the same as the state, critics and opponents of the system are forced to exist under its hand.

So, if, for example, the State decides to hold up a dispatch of copies of Daily Monitor on their way to Gulu or Mbarara, this newspaper that has long been an irritant to the NRM state will seek information from sympathisers inside the President’s Office on how to retrieve the copies. Several times in the last 20 years, Daily Monitor and its sister brand, Monitor FM/KFM, have been shut down by the government for simply doing their job of reporting the news and holding the government to account.

Complex manoeuvres and behind-the-scenes discussions and engagements have had to be made, often including, discreetly, with some actors in the NRM state, in order for the shutdown to be lifted.

Direction the country is taking

This has never prevented Daily Monitor from persisting with the critical and questioning tone it started with in 1992. What is often forgotten by many is that inside the NRM state are thousands of senior or influential players who are as unhappy about the direction the country is taking as are the Opposition parties and independent media.

These NRM and President’s Office insiders have been a reliable and important source of information and tip-offs in some of the biggest and most influential front-page news stories Daily Monitor has published over the past three decades. Thus, the fact of moles cuts both ways. The NRM state will have its moles and informers in media newsrooms, but these same newsrooms also have their sources and moles inside the NRM system.

That’s why I, for one, I am hesitant to dismiss all Opposition politicians who either have been labelled moles or who have eventually crossed over to the ruling NRM.

All this question of moles would have been unnecessary had Uganda, since 1986, been a liberal democracy. Any true Ugandan at heart who has read or heard about the unapologetic corruption and waste of public resources by the NRM government and its leaders is bound to feel revolted or alarmed.

This holds much truer for older Ugandans who experienced the 1960s and 1970s where, their imperfections and excesses notwithstanding, had a basic respect for the formal Ugandan state.

So, who is a mole?

Opposition politicians recruited by NRM, often reluctantly and under duress, or people inside the NRM state who tip off the Opposition and media on the excesses of State House? In my view, the Opposition moles became so because they were preyed upon by the NRM state. Their financial stresses, ill health, private sexual indiscretions, and other vulnerabilities were manipulated and that’s how people known to be principled in their beliefs cross over to NRM.

Deep inside, I think after they realise their hopeless situation, they become even more bitter with the NRM state than they were at the height of their days in the Democratic Party (DP), FDC, Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), or National Unity Platform (NUP). The Biblical story in the Book of Genesis of Joseph and Moses in Egypt is instructive. Even after rising to high office as a result of his gift for interpreting dreams, Joseph knew at heart that he was a Hebrew, formerly a slave, and his innermost allegiance remained with his enslaved Hebrew people.

The incident in the Book of Exodus where Moses killed an Egyptian whom he came upon mistreating a Hebrew slave makes my point about Ugandan moles.

The general public had been traumatised by photos of Bobi Wine’s bodyguard and NUP activist Eddie Mutwe with bold and sweat on his face, or the many arrests and instances of rough justice meted out to Besigye.

Inside the NRM state, President’s Office, CMI, UPDF, ISO, and State House are human beings with feelings, pride, revulsion at injustice, and ethnic affiliations.

How do these blatant injustices make them feel? The former FDC, DP, and NUP members who are now NRM members are human beings too. They have memories and maintain friendships with former Opposition colleagues in their days of activism.

If I were to say who should be more worried about moles, the NRM state or the political Opposition, the NRM state has much more reason to worry.

The real moles are those in the NRM state, be it CMI, State House, the NRM Secretariat, or ISO, who leak information to the Opposition or the media.

They do this out of conviction and a sense of justice, since obviously the media and Opposition don’t have the resources with which to entice them.

There are many Josephs and Moses’ in the NRM state.

Series between JKL Lady Dolphins and UCU Canons have never been straight forward. Regardless of what shape the Lady Canons are in, it’s always a battle until the end.

And this year’s semifinal series have been nothing short of drama. From the Lady Canons taking Game One to the defending champions winning the next two and closing in on the finals.

Friday night produced yet another classic encounter as Nicholas Natuhereza’s charges forced a decisive Game Five with a comprehensive 65-50 win at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium.

With their backs against the wall, UCU had no choice but to step up. Their defence on the night limited Brenda Ekone, who had scored 33 points in Games Two and Three.

Shutting her down made all the difference, with the speedy guard only managing two points on the night.

Hope Akello was the only Lady Dolphin to reach double figures as the experience struggled to close the series against a much younger and inexperienced UCU side.

Matrina Anyango led the university side with a double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds on the night.

Shillah Lamunu also continued to impress for UCU, scoring 10 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists.

Sylivia Nakituuka, the other UCU player to score in double figures, had 11 points while Zoe Atek came off the bench to record nine points.

Akello’s team-high 15 points were not enough for the defending champions to guarantee themselves a spot in the finals.

With the series tied at 2-2, the two sides will be separated in a mouthwatering decider on Wednesday.

The winner of the series will face JT Lady Jaguars, who defeated Magic Stormers 57-43 in Game Three to take the series 3-0 and qualify for their first ever finals series.

Led by former champions like Sarah Ageno, Shakirah Nanvubya, Maimuna Nabbosa and Aziidah Nabayunga, the Lady Jaguars will fancy their chances against whichever team progresses from the other series.

National Basketball League Playoffs

Semifinal series

Friday result

UCU 65-50 JKL

Series tied 2-2

Striking local government workers in Uganda have called off their industrial action for three months, a move aimed at giving government dialogue a chance to resolve salary disparities and other grievances, the union said.

The decision was announced following a tense leadership meeting of the Uganda Local Government Workers Union (ULGWU) on Friday, according to the union’s General Secretary, Hassan Lwabayi.

‘On October 10, 2025, relevant organs of the union virtually consulted with the striking workers about the development of the Speaker’s appeal to call off the strike. Much as it was contentious; nevertheless, we agreed to stay the Industrial action for a period of 3 months with effect from Midnight Monday October 13, 2025 to give dialogue a chance,’ Lwabayi said.

The suspension follows a petition submitted on October 8 to Parliament Speaker Anita Among, urging her intervention to address salary enhancement and disparities among local government staff.

The union demanded ‘equal pay for equal work without discrimination.’

Speaker Among responded by calling on the striking workers, including teachers who have been on strike over similar issues, to resume work.

She promised swift parliamentary action on their grievances and directed relevant committees to engage with government to find solutions.

Local government workers, whose salaries fall under the unconditional grant wage category, argue that despite the government allocating Shs8.5 trillion for the 2025/2026 wage bill, their salaries have not been adjusted to reflect their contributions.

The strike, which began on October 1, lasted nearly two weeks and disrupted key public services. Implementation of the Parish Development Model, health and education service delivery, and facilitation of land transactions at city and local government levels were among the operations affected.

I recently witnessed an experiment. A circle was drawn around an ant on a piece of paper. The ant suddenly became disoriented, unable to cross the line. It was as if the ant was trapped. However, this was merely how it appeared. But the ant didn’t know. It moved in circles, seemingly contained by what it considered to be a physical barrier.

As a result, it was stuck in a perceived “prison” of ink. The ink acted as a visual and sensory barrier. The ant may have perceived the line as a strange, wet obstacle and thus avoided crossing it, leading it to believe it was trapped. Similarly, the social or political circles we find ourselves in tend to leave us feeling trapped. We can’t seem to go beyond those circles because they outline our misperceived values, which determine how far we can go in terms of thought or action. Accordingly, we must behave in a social or political context and not outside of it.

That’s why the WhatsApp group you belong to, or friends you associate with and family which raised you, serve as your glass ceiling. Oppose them and you’ll be isolated by them. However, there’s something excruciatingly liberating in the act of opposing such constructs, along with the consequences of such opposition.

In the last few months, I have confronted my circles and found that some family and friends alike were threatened by my actions. That’s why our relationships broke down, almost immediately.

One friend even tried the old gaslighting trick of blaming the responses to my newfound sense of self on me. ‘If everyone is disagreeing with you, maybe you’re the problem,’ he said. True. But then again, I cannot be a problem by asserting myself beyond norms and values that reflect a herd and not a personal instinct to be free. Clearly, one of my mental jailors was afraid of my reaching my potential beyond psychological barriers. Barriers I no longer recognise.

In the experiment involving the ant, the circle was redrawn several times until it was so small that it was touching the ant. That’s when the ant decided to ‘escape’. In similar vein, I have never felt freer in my life. Sure, the resulting isolation broke me initially. But one must be broken to be strong in the broken places. The cracks in our beings (from being broken) allow the light in, illuminating our sense of self and how we perceive our environs.

When you realise that it’s your circles that limit you, questions arise within you to imbue you with a self-liberating consciousness. Thereupon, your counterfeit associations will slowly be replaced by those who value your personal authenticity. Your new-found beliefs will then help you entertain your own opinions, social and political, with a healthy measure of doubt.

It’s this doubt that makes us see the unwisdom of viewing one another as political adversaries, forswearing association with each other. Instead, we begin seeing ourselves as human beings with a God-given uniqueness to go our own way, when necessary. This leads us to voting our consciences, not our prejudices or factions. I agree. We have been conditioned by family, friends and society to march according to the sound of their drums and not our own. Thereby disenfranchising ourselves by denying ourselves a voice.

Given to groupthink, we hand over our rights, at a personal and official level. According to American professor Noam Chomsky, your rights correspond with your wealth. And poverty is essentially a mindset. It cannot be changed by seminars or systems; liberation comes from within you and is inextricably tied to Uganda’s liberation.