Category: Daily Monitor

It is often said that no nation can be great or rise above the quality of its educational system, and no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers. This truth underscores the urgent need to see teacher professional development not as a luxury but as the foundation of educational transformation.

Professional development is not a one-time event; it is a lifelong journey that begins with initial teacher preparation and continues until retirement. Teachers remain the most important change agents in education, and how we nurture their growth directly shapes how students learn.

As we celebrate World Teachers’ Day 2025, we reflect on the lessons learned from our journey in rethinking professional development. Early on, we noticed a troubling trend: professional development was often treated as an isolated event rather than a continuous process.

More than half of the teachers we interviewed admitted that continuous professional development (CPD) had little or no impact on their classroom practices. They described one-off workshops where they listened to trainers, collected handouts, and then returned to classrooms where nothing fundamentally changed.

Such models checked accountability boxes for trainers but rarely transformed teaching or improved student learning.

This realisation challenged us to reimagine professional development-its purpose, its design, and its sustainability. From this journey, three critical lessons have emerged: Effective professional learning is not about transferring information; it is about fostering growth. Teachers, like their students, need time and space to practice, reflect, collaborate, and apply new skills in real classrooms.

Professional development that is ongoing, context-specific, and supported by coaching or peer collaboration produces genuine improvement. Equally important is focus. The guiding question should always be: How will teacher development improve student learning? When there is a clear link between teacher growth and learner success, professional development becomes relevant and meaningful.

Programmes such as those designed by Enabel are showing promise in this direction: equipping teachers to design inclusive lessons, adopt learner-centred methodologies, use assessment to guide instruction, and integrate technology purposefully.

The goal is not simply to inform teachers but to transform them so that teaching becomes more engaging, inclusive, and impactful. Professional development must respect teachers as professionals.

It cannot be imposed top-down; it must grow from teachers’ voices, experiences, and needs. Teachers respond best when they are treated as co-creators-identifying challenges, shaping solutions, and sharing expertise.

Programs that honour teacher participation foster ownership, trust, and long-term commitment. We must also recognise professional development as an investment, not an expense. Done well, it changes how teachers teach, how students learn, and how schools succeed.

Investing in teachers is, ultimately, investing in the future of the nation. True professional development is not a requirement to be checked off-it is a pathway to lasting change. When it is continuous, collaborative, and connected to real classroom practice, it empowers teachers to refine their craft, build confidence, and keep improving.

Sustained professional development creates a cycle of continuous improvement where teaching evolves and learning flourishes.

At its best, professional development becomes self-sustaining because it fuels teachers’ intrinsic motivation. It shifts professional growth from something done to teachers into something done by and with them.

This is where transformation truly takes root. On this World Teachers’ Day, we call on all stakeholders in education to recognise that professional development is not an add-on to education; it is its cornerstone. If we want teaching to change and learning to improve, we must move beyond one-off workshops and embrace sustained, collaborative, and purpose-driven professional learning.

Teachers deserve to be empowered as learners themselves, curious, capable, and central to educational change.

Teachers need time dedicated to professional development. They need access to tools and technology to practice and innovate. Their competences must be recognised and licensed.

When teachers grow, students succeed. And when students succeed, the nation rises. Let us celebrate and invest in our teachers, not just today, but every day, because they hold the key to a brighter future for us all.

In January 2023, congregants flocked to Our Lady of Fatima Kayunga Catholic Parish in Kayunga Town, Kayunga District, for Mass. As is characteristic of many urban churches, this House of God fills every Sunday. However, during the Mass, a yet-to-be-identified female worshipper, who had entered the church with three children, excused herself. She asked her elder child, who was five at the time, to mind his siblings while she went out to ‘ease herself.’

The children – two boys and one girl – were aged between five years and three months. The church’s toilets are located about 100 meters away. The children waited patiently for their mother’s return. However, almost an hour later, as Rev Fr Emmanuel Walakira, the Parish priest, ended the Mass and gave the believers the final blessing, the mother was nowhere to be seen. As the congregants walked out of the church, the children were stranded. They attracted the attention of the believers, among them, Ruth Nakitto, a primary school teacher. A search for the missing mother proved fruitless.

It was later established that she had abandoned her children and disappeared into thin air. As the congregants pondered what to do next, Nakitto offered to look after the children until their mother resurfaced. ‘The other believers helped me to take the children to Kayunga Police Station, where a case of child abandonment was recorded. Then, I took them to my home in Kisaaba Village for the night. The Probation Office gave me official documentation that allowed me to look after the children as authorities searched for their mother,’ the teacher says.

The 46-year-old Nakitto is a teacher at Kayunga Girls Primary School. The three children are among the over 15 abandoned children that she has helped to take care of through the years. The children she picked up from the church are now aged eight, six, and three years. ‘I believe these children are a gift from God. They have no memory of their biological mother. I look forward to the day when she will surface again. One of them used to fall sick regularly, and we discovered that he was HIV positive. Today, the child takes the medication regularly,’ she says.

Charitable beginnings

Recently, the Rotary Club of Kayunga awarded Nakitto a certificate in appreciation for her work. The teacher’s desire to help the vulnerable started long before she qualified in her profession in 2002. ‘As a young learner at St Agnes Girls’ Primary School, Naggalama, I used to assist my fellow learners who were in need. I also remember getting food for the elderly, disabled cleaner of our school compound,’ Nakitto recollects with a smile.

Her charitable heart and discipline earned her many friends, among them the now deceased Rev Sr Ann Elizabeth, who was the headteacher. Nakitto comes from a family of over 20 children who were raised by a single mother, who is a tailor. ‘I am asthmatic, so the situation must have been difficult for my mother, who also faced challenges with paying school fees for all of us. Because I was sickly, the headteacher offered me a half-bursary,’ she says. Interacting with the nuns at her school inspired her to join religious life and serve God. Her dream of becoming a nun was, however, frustrated because of her constant sickness.

‘One cannot be allowed to become a nun with an asthmatic condition. However, I was blessed that St Ann paid for part of my secondary education. After I completed O-Level, the headteacher advised me to join a teacher training college,’ Nakitto recalls. In 2002, she qualified as a Grade III teacher from the now-defunct Rakai Primary Teachers College (PTC). In 2009, graduated with a Diploma in Primary Education from Kyambogo University. A teaching job took her to Kayunga, where she has since built her house and become a resident.

Last year, Nakitto, who does not have biological children and is neither married, took on two children whose mother had developed mental problems. The children are aged 13 and nine years old. ‘I still want to be a nun, although now it seems impossible. I do not have any plan to get married or have my own children because I have devoted my life to serving God and helping vulnerable children. These vulnerable ones are my children,’ she explains.

The challenges

Nakitto, who is a catechist at Our Lady of Fatima Kayunga Catholic Parish, singlehandedly fends for the children and pays their school fees on a meagre monthly salary of Shs450,000.’I was helped by well-wishers to become what I am today, so I have to help others as well. I am glad that we have never gone to bed on empty stomachs. I know God would reward me for my charity work,’ she notes.

To supplement her salary, the teacher operates a small retail shop in one of the rooms of her house. The shop sells sweets, bread, cooking oil, soap, and children’s toys. When Nakitto is not in class, she is at home operating her shop with the elder children. Additionally, she sells Bibles and rosaries at the church every Sunday to raise more income. Nakitto says she faces a challenge trying to instill discipline in the children because most of them come from a bad social background.

‘Sometimes, when I discipline them, they get depressed. Two of the children ran away. I have tried looking for them in vain. I am also financially constrained when it comes to meeting their basic needs. The child who is HIV positive needs to eat a balanced diet, but sometimes I do not have the money to provide it. But, I try my best,’ she explains.

Official stance

Damali Mirembe Manyindo, the founder and director of Sonrise Baby Home in Jinja District, says most of the babies and children she looks after are from Kayunga and the surrounding districts of Buikwe, Jinja, Mukono, and Kamuli. ‘Parents abandon children at health facilities, marketplaces, the roadside, and in public toilets, where they think they can easily be seen and taken away by Good Samaritans. Currently, our home is taking care of 34 babies,’ she says. However, Mirembe points out that many more are brought in, but the home does not have the capacity to contain them.

Dr Charles Iga, the director of production for Kayunga District, says poverty and domestic violence are the leading causes of child neglect in the area. ‘The government has put in place poverty alleviation programs such as Emyooga and the Parish Development Model (PDM), but not everyone has benefited. In some parishes in the rural areas, about a quarter of the intended beneficiaries have not received the PDM funds, so poverty is still a challenge,’ he says.

Collins Kafeero, the probation and social welfare officer for Kayunga District, says cases of child desertion are on the rise in the district. Sometimes, he receives two cases a month, brought by local leaders, the police, or the community. ‘When we receive a case of an abandoned baby, we take the baby to a home or orphanage. The child will be taken care of until it is five years old. If we fail to trace any relatives, we start the process of adoption, although we desire to reunite the children with their families,’ he says.

Kafeero blames the vice on domestic violence, fathers who neglect their responsibilities, poverty, mental disorders, and the death of parents. He also notes that some single mothers abandon their children when they find men who are willing to marry them. ‘My office is working closely with the Family and Child Protection Unit of the police to ensure that acts of child neglect are mitigated. We are also sensitising the public on the rights of children to have caregivers. If we find the relatives of abandoned children, we either counsel them and reunite them with the children, or arrest them and prosecute them,’ he explains.

Last year, a widow in Nawankonge Village, Kayonza Sub-county, abandoned her children, all of whom are below 11 years, to go and get married. She was arrested, but when she asked for forgiveness, she was reunited with the children. The community is now contributing to the children’s school fees. According to police statistics, 11 cases of child abandonment were reported to Kayunga Police Station in 2024, up from nine cases in 2023. The Uganda Police Annual Crime Report 2004 indicates that 3,663 cases of child neglect and 1,597 cases of child desertion were reported countrywide, while in 2023, 4,730 cases of child neglect and 1,918 cases of child desertion were logged.

The Manager Conservation education awareness at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Ms Vanice Mirembe has urged Ugandans to embrace the use of clean energy in order to combat the rapid environmental degradation caused by deforestation across the country.

‘Most Ugandans, about 75 percent are still using firewood, the other percentage, they are using electricity, which is very costly and a very small percentage, not more than percent, are right now using the clean energy in the form of gas, briquettes, and other methods’ she said.

Ms Mirembe made the remarks at the first Uganda Wildlife Authority clean energy exhibition, targeting schools at the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC-CA) on Friday.

‘Currently, there is a lot of pressure on our forests, on the environment, on protected areas, because most of the neighboring communities have cut down all the vegetation and trees for firewood. We are doing everything possible to ensure that the public knows about clean energy to reduce the amount of pressure mounted on the forests’ she said.

She added, ”When we start at a young age, children get to know that you can use briquettes, they’ll go back home and talk to their parents, and also grow up into great conservationists, knowing that they have to understand the need to reduce pressure on the environment’.

Ms Mirembe further said UWA is carrying out sensitization of communities around protected areas to resort to energy saving stoves and various methods that use less energy than firewood.

‘Currently, we have MOU’s with communities around protected areas, they are looking for firewood everyday but it is not sustainable, climate change is here, with all its negative impact. Some of them come looking for firewood, and the best thing is to tell them to pick the invasive species, turn them into briquettes’ she said.

Ms Mirembe noted that UWA has projects in communities around protected areas supporting them in construction of energy cooking stoves, making briquettes among other interventions which has led to a drop in the number of people depending on firewood in the protected areas.

Mr Francis Ruhinirwa, a conservation education officer at UWEC-CA said the clean energy exhibition is aimed at creating awareness about the alternative fuel possibilities in Uganda instead of using firewood.

‘Majority of our visitors here are actually school groups which use firewood as a source of energy, our estimate is that a school comprised of about 500 learners, can use up fuel of a term that is equivalent to possibly an acre of firewood. Now, if we have about 40,000 schools, that is a lot of forest degradation that we are experiencing’ he said.

Mr Ruhinirwa said the exhibition which showcased biofuels, solar energy, eco and fuel-saving stoves, electric bikes and cookers is set to become an annual event to increase awareness of alternative fuels aimed at reducing the amount of firewood that is being used especially in schools.

In the remote village of Magada, Magada Sub-county in Namutumba District, farmers are revolutionalising their agricultural practices by adopting post- harvest technologies to minimise losses and maximise profits from their produce.

The farmers under their cooperative, Magada United Rice Farmers Cooperative Society Limited, previously produced poor quality rice due to poor post-harvest handling methods. These included harvesting rice using traditional methods, as well as drying their harvested rice on the bare ground.

Now, with the acquisition of rice thresher and storage facilities, farmers say post-harvest losses have been reduced.

‘Previously, we would cut and leave the rice in the paddy field for three or four days which would destroy it. On other days, we would dry harvested rice on the ground due to lack of tarpaulins,’ Ms Tapenence Namugaya on Saturday. ‘This meant the end product contained stones which fetched a low price,’ she adds.

Ms Namugaya is one of beneficiaries of Agra Cereals project being implemented by Kilimo Trust. The project is focused on reducing post-harvesting losses, improving grain quality and increasing market access for farmers in over nine districts in the eastern region.

The three-year project, running from 2024 to 2027, targets maize, beans and rice value chains, promotes efficient post – harvesting handling through provision of threshers, shellers and solar dryers to ensure quality grain.

About 105,000 smallholder farmers in the target districts of Bugiri, Iganga, Namutumba, Bulambuli, Mbale and Kween found in the Sub-regions of Busoga, Bugisu and Sebei have been trained on post- harvest handling practices for maize, beans and rice.

Mr Samuel Kiirya, another rice farmer in Magada sub-County said under the project, they have signed agreements with traders who buy their grain at better prices compared to middlemen. Mr Moses Mushebo, the chairperson of the association says as a cooperative with over 1,000 farmers, they now have access to hermetic storage bags.

‘Hermetic bags keep pests and moisture levels low, extending the shelf life of grains,’ he says, adding that each farmer now harvests about 500 kilogrammes of rice. Formerly, Mr Mushebo said, without a rice thresher, a farmer would spend about four days to harvest a four acre rice field.

‘The rice thresher is improving our produce because immediately after harvesting the rice you thresh it and return with it to the field on same day for more harvests,’ he says.

Significant losses

In Busoba Town Council, Butaleja District, Mr Paul Wananda, who received a solar dryer on behalf of Busoba Rural Farmers Association, said drying and preserving maize had been a challenge.

‘We often made significant losses due to poor drying and storage practices. That affected our income from the grain and also food security,’ Mr Wananda said.

The solar dryer, Mr Wananda said, would prevent mold growth and also preserves the quality of the maize. Mr Stephen Ekoom, the chief executive officer of the Farmers Guide Uganda Limited, said solar dryers ensure that the grains are not exposed to direct sunlight, winds and contamination.

‘The high temperatures deter insects and the risk of spoilage from microorganisms,’ he says.

Ms Rachel Ajambo, the country team leader, Uganda Kilimo Trust sayid they have since distributed service handling technologies including solar dryers, maize threshers, maize shellers, rice threshers and beans threshers, with the main aim of increasing the quality of the grain that is traded in our local markets and also in the regional markets to prevent future cases of rejection of Ugandan produce.

‘Without these technologies, farmers dry these commodities on the bare ground and this increases the input of foreign matters, for example, stones, animal dung, and things like this, which automatically reduce the quality,’ she said, adding that they have also linked farmers to structured markets.

‘We have several buyers that have been linked to these farmers. And so far, we have seen about 14,000 metric tons traded through these market linkages,’ she says, urging farmers to get organized in groups and adopt good agricultural practices and good post-harvest handling practices to ensure that they capture regional markets, which are more profitable.

Her call was reechoed by Mr Alex Ewinyu, the technical assistant, Kilimo Trust, who said there is an improvement of quality grain trade being traded with adoption of alternative energy post -harvest processes such as drying and threshing.

‘This is the goal of the project – to ensure that farmers actually get to produce quality grain,’ he says.

As voters leaf through manifestos of the eight political parties that have fielded candidates in next year’s presidential poll, a contrast that sets apart the ruling party from others will be hard to overlook.

‘We have . invested in health infrastructure. Uganda now boasts of 78 hospitals, of which 54 are general hospitals, 16 regional referral hospitals, five national referral hospitals and three specialised hospitals,’ the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party states in its manifesto launched on Monday, adding: ‘We have 217 health centre (HC) IVs at constituency level, and 1,553 sub-counties have a health unit of HC III and above. This is contrasted against only 49 hospitals and 597 dispensaries that Uganda had in 1986.’

Not good enough, the National Unity Platform’s (NUP) manifesto screams. Health is, says the leading Opposition party, ‘a right, not a privilege.’ The party, which also launched its manifesto on Monday, says it will ‘progressively increase health spending to 15 percent of GDP to deliver quality, accessible care for all.’ NUP promises to ‘recruit 16 times the current number of doctors and triple all other health workers to match population pressures,’ adding that this is not possible on the watch of the ruling party because of its alleged wastefulness.

‘It is only in Uganda where Museveni has more cars than ambulances attached to public hospitals. Gen Museveni has over 600 vehicles at his disposal yet the total number of ambulances in public facilities is about 178,’ the NUP manifesto thundered. The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), another Opposition party, is also unstinting in its criticism of the NRM’s provision of medical care to Ugandans across nearly four decades.

‘ For a healthcare system to run efficiently, it requires a combination of well-managed resources, skilled and motivated personnel, effective management, accessible and quality services with emphasis on outcomes,’ the FDC says in its manifesto, adding: ‘To achieve these, a country requires significant financial investment deployed in an efficient and effective manner. Uganda spends approximately $57 (Shs197,000) per capita on health, which is below the WHO-recommended $86 (Shs297,000). Out-of-pocket payments account for 28 percent of the total health expenditure.’

Empirical evidence shows that widespread corruption and malpractice in the public health sector continue to undermine service delivery, depriving patients of essential care and straining limited resources. In an audit report covering the 2023/2024 financial year, the State House Health Monitoring Unit (SHMU) revealed that cases such as theft of medical equipment, drugs, and financial improprieties were uncovered in 17 health facilities countrywide. As a result of the investigations, the SHMU team recovered Shs719m.

The Unit also unearthed forgery of academic documents, neglect of duty, operation of unlicensed clinics, and criminal trespass on health facility land. The SHMU finance and audit output for the Financial Year 2023/2024 revealed massive financial irregularities in several health facilities, with Shs7b reported as unaccounted for or tied to suspicious accountabilities.

According to the report, the irregularities cut across hospitals, health centres, and district health offices (DHOs), with some cases already under investigation while others have been forwarded to the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) for forensic audits. In Tororo District, Tororo General Hospital failed to account for Shs194m, while at Nagongera Health Centre IV, Shs49m was misappropriated, of which Shs7m was recovered. Investigations into both cases are ongoing.

In Iganga District, the DHO’s office failed to account for Shs142m, while Iganga General Hospital posted the largest single irregularity with Shs1.09b unaccounted for, now under review by the OAG.

Bugono HCIV also reported unaccounted funds totalling Shs221m, with files submitted for forensic audit. The report further shows that Wakiso HCIV failed to account for Shs291m, while the DHO’s office in Kamwenge District had Shs1.1b unaccounted for. Rukunyu hospital was implicated in the loss of Shs595m; Bisozi HC IV Shs150m; Kitagwenda DHO’s office Shs493m; and Ntara HC IV Shs216m.

Still in Kitagwenda, several health centres reported missing vouchers, including Nyabani HCIII, Mahyoro HC III, Kanaro HC III, and Kicheche HC III, each amounting to Shs34m. In Manafwa District, Bubulo HC IV failed to account for Shs99m and reported missing vouchers of Shs19m. Bugobero HC IV had Shs123m unaccounted for and missing vouchers worth Shs22m.

In Jinja City, Budondo HC IV had irregularities amounting to Shs52m plus missing vouchers worth Shs25m. Bugembe HC IV failed to account for Shs109m, alongside missing vouchers of Shs143m. Mpumudde HC IV reported unaccounted funds totalling Shs122m and missing vouchers of Shs10m

‘High rates of scheduled and actual absenteeism in lower-level health facilities are forcing patients to self-refer to higher-level facilities. Additionally, installed biometric machines have either been malfunctioning or not properly utilised,’ Dr Warren Naamara, the HMU director, said. The report shows that in many facilities, the infrastructure, essential medicines and health supplies (EMHS), and staffing levels do not match the health care services offered.

‘Most facilities, despite being classified as HC III….provide health services equivalent to a HC II such as antenatal care and outpatient services. For example, Kajansi, Wakiso, and Buwambo HC IVs receive EMHS intended for lower-level facilities,’ the report reads. According to the report, officials at health facilities in Wakiso District were found to have misused non-wage primary health care (PHC) funds for personal benefit. The team also discovered cases of mismanagement for personal gain and a lack of financial accountability by most officers in-charge of facilities.

The report further shows that Dr John Mulidho, a senior medical officer (SMO) attached to Iganga Hospital, allegedly worked 46 days from July 2023 to May 2024. He was temporarily suspended from the payroll. Moreover Iganga hospital registered 45,865 patients against a set target of 19,386 for a period of six months, which was 287 percent or almost three times the expected patient numbers. This means the target setting was low or the hospital is getting patients who are not within their population jurisdiction. The Unit wants Dr Mulidho to be forwarded to the Rewards and Sanctions Committee and sanctioned in line with the Uganda Public Service Rewards and Sanctions Framework.

The SHMU also reported payroll irregularities, noting that the PHC payroll, as of June 30, 2023, had 75 excess staff, leading to the creation of fictitious cost centres. One theatre assistant at Bubulo HC IV in Manafwa, Ms Faith Haboya, could not be traced physically or on the payroll. Several staff were found to have abandoned duties. Some were arrested for neglect of duty. In Namayingo District, absenteeism remained high despite salary enhancements.

Audits showed many officers in-charge of health facilities frequently absent, with organised absenteeism through duty rotas at Buyinja HC IV. Health workers reportedly ran private clinics in nearby districts, contributing to absenteeism and mismanagement. EMHS worth billions, procured with public funds, were poorly accounted for.

In Pader District, high absenteeism, late arrivals, poor attitudes, and unsanctioned study leave were noted. Only four of 13 officers in-charge of facilities met attendance guidelines during the SHMU monitoring visits. Stock discrepancies were found at Pajule HC IV, with medicines worth Shs14m unaccounted for.

In Mukono, review of payment vouchers and bank statements at Mukono General Hospital revealed Shs265m in missing payment vouchers and Shs260m in unaccounted or insufficiently accounted funds. Dr Patrick Kitimbo, the DHO, declined to comment on the matter when contacted.

Prof Mwambutsya Ndebesa, a lecturer at Makerere University and political analyst, said Uganda is plagued by a weak accountability system, both politically and financially. He said weak accountability has become a norm and culture in the country. ‘Political corruption must first be fixed before we even talk about financial accountability,’ Prof Ndebesa argued, accusing the ruling party of electing known corrupt officials to its top organ.

Associate Professor Paddy Mugambe, the Dean of the School of Business and Management at Uganda Management Institute (UMI), said there are serious weaknesses in the internal controls across the entire health service value chain. ‘These gaps may be contributing to occurrences that are highly detrimental to the provision of health services,’ he explained. He added: ‘The challenges could also be linked to deeper issues such as the unfavourable working conditions faced by health workers, which may lead to negligence or the intentional misuse of resources at their disposal.’

Mr James Wire, a former chairperson of the Board at Busolwe General Hospital in Butaleja District, said the challenges facing health facilities are multifaceted. They include political interference, where facilities are treated as cash cows by politicians who demand money from their PHC grants.

‘There are questionable recruitment practices that have allowed unqualified individuals to take up critical positions, and poor monitoring which leaves beneficiaries at the mercy of non-compliant technocrats,’ he said.

Poor Administration

Mr Marlon Agaba, the executive director of the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU), said the biggest problem in hospitals and health centres is poor administration. ‘Health workers are not adequately supervised, and as a result, many fail to perform their duties. This is why funds are often unaccounted for,’ he explained. Mr Agaba also pointed out that medicine management is another major area of concern. ‘Problems occur throughout the entire supply chain-from procurement, issues at the National Medical Stores (NMS), distribution to districts and health centres, and finally delivery to patients,’he said.

He stressed the need to digitalise the medical supply chain up to the end user to curb these challenges. Currently, many health workers run private clinics and pharmacies, which creates conflicts of interest and opportunities for theft.

‘Medicines meant for public facilities often end up in private clinics. Government should implement a policy prohibiting public health workers from owning private clinics or pharmacies while in service.

Such a policy would help reduce absenteeism and resource mismanagement,’ he said. He added that manual record-keeping in health facilities further facilitates fraud, allowing health workers to divert medicines and refer patients to private clinics.

‘There is widespread fraud in the health sector. Some health workers take early retirement to enjoy enhanced pensions at the expense of service delivery. Others abuse study leave, continuing to receive full salaries while defrauding the government.’

The National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Mr Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, has demanded an explanation from Electoral Commission chairperson Simon Byabakama over why he was blocked from holding a campaign rally in Iganga Municipality.

Mr Kyagulanyi was scheduled to address supporters in Iganga on Friday, but was intercepted by police and the UPDF while traveling from Mayuge District, where he had earlier held a rally.

He questioned why he is being singled out, claiming his rival presidential candidates have freely campaigned in the same area.

‘I want Justice Byabakama to tell me why only I am being mistreated,’ Kyagulanyi said. ‘I am a presidential candidate like the others, and I am entitled to be treated the same.’

Mr Kyagulanyi added that ever since he arrived in Busoga sub-region, he has been barred from using tarmac roads and holding rallies in urban centers.

‘I have tested the potholes on rural roads, which has delayed us from reaching other venues on time due to long distances and poor road conditions,’ he lamented.

Mr Nasser Mudyobole, the NUP flag bearer for Iganga Municipality MP, said the actions of the police and army show that NRM’s presidential candidate, Mr Yoweri Museveni, lacks support in the region.

‘We defeated him in Busoga in 2021, and we are going to do it again,’ Mr Nassa claimed.

Ms Mercy Walukanba, NUP flag bearer for Bugweri District MP , said she wasn’t surprised by the blockade, noting that Mr Kyagulanyi had also been prevented from opening a party office in Namutumba Town Council on Thursday.

‘We are not scared. This only strengthens our resolve and shows Busoga loves its candidate,’ she said.

Mr Chris Wakalanga, NUP chairperson for Namutumba District, emphasised that Mr Kyagulanyi deserves equal treatment like any other presidential candidate.

According to Mr Kyagulanyi’s campaign schedule, he is expected to campaign in Namayingo and Bugiri today.

However, police said Mr Kyagulanyi cancelled their campaign in Iganga after failing to heed police guidelines.

“The rally in Mayuge was successfully held. On their way to Iganga, Candidate Sentamu and his group were advised to follow the agreed-upon route to Iganga Municipality and specifically to Namungale Grounds. However, they opted to take an alternative route where they encountered our cutoffs. Consequently, they decided to head to Jinja City and cancelled their campaign in Iganga.

We urge him and his team to adhere to security guidelines to ensure smooth and peaceful campaigns,” reads part of the police statement.

On Sunday, famous saxophonist and composer Kenny G performed in Uganda. It was his first time in Uganda but his second in Kenya, where he revealed he had once come for a holiday. Now, Kenny G’s music is one that has transcended generations, most of it, released between the 1970s and 1980s, it still finds ways of staying relevant in some way.

In Uganda, as long as you’re social, you have definitely interacted with his music in one way or another. Thus, even when the concert mainly attracted a relatively older audience, there were still young people in their 30s enjoying it.

But the oddly misplaced people in the audience were the Gen-Zs. See, most of these are in their teenage season and a few have hit 20. ‘So, when I heard there was an international artist, I was excited because dad said he was taking us, but who is this now? Who’s Kenny G?’ One boy wondered while talking to his sister, who wasn’t really as clueless as he was.

‘You have definitely heard one of his songs, I discovered yesterday that I knew his music all along,’ the sister responded. There were many of such young people in the audience, who probably wanted to be anywhere in the world but at the Mistil Gardens, sadly for them, their parents either want them to experience fine music or simply carry them around as accessories.

There were two daughters who kept arguing with their father seeking to know if Kenny G is as big as Rema. The poor man kept laughing telling them Rema is not known beyond Uganda.

Maybe he didn’t notice that the Rema the daughters were talking about and the Rema he was dismissing were two different people, countries and sex.

Well, it’s understandable, two Remas, one did Calm Down and the other Juice wa Mango, they are both popular in their own rights. Just like Chris Evans, one plays Captain America, the Marvel Avenger who lifts Thor’s hammer, while there’s Chris Evans Kaweesa, a Ugandan artist who tells a story of how he was hit with a hammer ten times. different people, same scenarios and same names.

The beauty however, all these young people stayed active through the night, thanks to the DJ set which started with old school and somehow progressed to a Beyonce set from her Beyonce bowl Christmas performance and then the Superbowl performance by Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, Mary J Bilge and Kendrick Lamar.

It was almost at that time that Kenny G stepped on stage. He started his set with Loving You. It’s somehow hard not knowing Loving You.ok you may not know the song but when you hear it, you will notice you have heard the song before.

The song, like many of his, are famous at Ugandan weddings, but not during the romantic moments. ‘Wait, this is the guy who does food music?’ One of the boys asked. And there you have it, Kenny G’s music is synonymous with being fed, at least in Uganda, whether it’s a house warming, birthday, anniversary or a wedding, this music is played as people are eating.

And in between, the announcer will ask someone to move a car before the music continues. His songs like Silhouette and The Moment have all been played at events while food is being served that people don’t really know which one is which. They only tell the difference when they start playing but still don’t know the titles.

So, often people would turn to each other and ask, so which one is that, the other would answer, it’s also played during meals. When it comes to concerts, Ugandans believe they have to sing along to every song to complete an experience, but this show was a challenge. Thus, most of them kept humming or making that tulululu. sound as he played.

Some were in the moment, like a gentleman who kept playing an imaginary saxophone using a Tusker Malt bottle, a sight that drew laughter from those around him. Then there was the sophistication, those who take their Johnnie Walker neat and those looking for themed cocktails. But at the end of the day, regardless of the bill of one’s sophistication, they were all humming wrong saxophone notes.

But then My Heart Will Go On, his closing song happened, this, everyone seemed to know the words, thus, a chance to put lyrics to a song that didn’t have lyrics had come. Everyone sang, and Gen-Zs somehow knew the song too.

On the side…

Kenny G was a master stroke, he was testament that once one keeps walking with a genre, time comes when they become the definition of it. Besides many saxophonists who bounce between variations of saxophones, this man has created a brand out of playing the soprano saxophone. He revealed that he moves with a 25-year-old saxophone, whether it is the same he played, that we didn’t get to know.

Besides his crowd work though, the easy approachable attitude during his performance, he was also the epitome of professionalism. He did his sound check at 4pm, that’s even when he had arrived in Uganda earlier on Sunday morning. The fact that he had performed in Nairobi the previous night didn’t affect him.

He did his sound check and stayed by the venue, especially in the VIP section trying to map the sound. Unlike most artists who choose mystery, avoiding to be seen before they hit the stage, he stayed behind until he was sure the sound was exactly as he wanted it.

That’s class.

The battle for Kawempe North MP seat is two-fold: there is a battle going on at the Court of Appeal between National Unity Platform (NUP) Elias Luyimbazi Nalukoola and National Resistance Movement (NRM) party’s Faridah Nambi, just a few months to the next election. Nalukoola defeated Nambi earlier this year in a by-election that was organised after the death of NUP’s Muhammad Sseggirinya, who had been elected in 2021.

Nalukoola’s victory, which came after security personnel battered voters both before and on the election day, was challenged in the court. The High Court cancelled Nalukoola’s victory because ‘illegal campaigns had been conducted on polling day, and more than 16,000 registered voters were disenfranchised when ballots at 14 polling stations were not tallied.’

The polling stations whose votes were never tallied, Nalukoola insisted, had been ransacked by NRM goons, but still the High Court’s Justice Bernard Namanya nullified the election, saying Nalukoola was the beneficiary. Instead of going back for another by-election, Nalukoola played hardball when he appealed, a process that’s still ongoing, with the Court of Appeal asking him to file necessary documents so that the case is heard by a panel of three justices.

‘The ruling undermined basic tenets of electoral justice. The judge chose to ignore established legal precedents and instead built the case on assumptions,’ Nalukoola said.

While they are locked in a court battle, both Nalukoola and Nambi have started campaigning ahead of the 2026 poll. Unlike other NUP members who have been waiting for the parties’ Election Management Committee (EMC) to give them a green light as NUP’s official candidates for different constituencies, Nalukoola has been under no sure pressure since no person bothered to contest against him within NUP. Umar Magala, who had put up a serious contest in the first primaries, had focused on being the Kawempe Division mayor before he eventually settled for being a councillor at City Hall. Besides the court battle, during the short period he has been in Parliament, Nalukoola has been battling with the legacy of Sseggirinya, who had a god-like status in Kawempe North.

As soon as he was voted into the House, Sseggirinya set up a medical facility that he claimed was free of charge for all constituents. It’s not clear if at all the medical facility indeed provided the health services that Sseggirinya had claimed, but it folded as soon as he was incarcerated. To make sure his constituents don’t see him as a mismatch to Ssegirinya’s legacy, Nalukoola, on setting foot in Parliament, opened up a health facility of his own called ESKEL Medical Services (EMS).

‘The High Court ruling didn’t scare me. The people legitimately elected me. Even if the fresh elections are ordered, we will return with a knockout,’ Nalukoola said, adding that delivering on the promise of the health centre was the clearest indication that NUP would deliver on its promises once it’s entrusted with power.

Another challenge that Nalukoola has to face is that as a former Democratic Party (DP) member, he was always seen with suspicion due to his loyalty to NUP or its principal, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, being questioned. To end any doubts, when Nalukoola was launching his medical centre, he ensured that Kyagulanyi was the chief guest.

‘This is what servant leadership looks like. Healthcare shouldn’t be a campaign promise but a public right. This centre shows what we can do if we are entrusted with national resources,’ Kyagulanyi said.

NRM on the back foot?

For Nambi, who is the daughter of NRM’s eternal vice chairperson Moses Kigongo, there was the usual drama in the NRM primaries. Nambi defeated her perennial arch-rival, Hanifah Karadi, but even before the votes were counted, Karadi was already complaining. She claimed that the process was tilted in favour of Nambi.

‘We need a levelled ground where everyone votes. We need to look for votes and then people decide such that if you lose, you know it’s as a result of a fair process,’ Karadi said before petitioning, in vain, the NRM’s legal committee that handled election grievances.

Despite Karadi’s grievances in which she claimed that, among others, declaration forms were fabricated, Nambi has moved on with her campaign. She, however, faces a history of NRM losing in Kawempe North since 2001 when Latif Ssengondo Ssebaggala toppled Jamad Luzinda, the father of socialite Desiree Luzinda. Ssebaggala would represent Kawempe North from 2001 to 2021 before being ousted by Sseggirinya.

In 2021, Sseggirinya won the constituency by a landslide when he garnered 41,197 votes. His closest rival, Suleiman Kidandala, who defied NUP and stood as an Independent, polled 7,512 votes. Sseggirinya’s victory soon turned into a nightmare after he spent most of the term either in prison or in hospital. Arriving in Parliament in 2021 was a dream come true for Ssegirinya, who had started his political career back in 2006, when he started making the phone calls discussing the political events of the day.

Still a student at Pimba Secondary in Kyebando, Kawempe North constituency, Sseggirinya often shredded the ruling NRM party. At first, whenever he would make a phone call, Sseggirinya would introduce himself as the ‘eddoboozi ly’e Kyebando’, loosely translated as ‘voice of Kyebando.’ Later, when his ambition grew, he started signing in and off the radio calls by describing himself as the ‘MP to be for Kawempe North.’

Sseggirinya legacy

Sseggirinya would go on to beat the odds by making it to the House before being arrested alongside fellow lawmaker Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West) in connection with the machete killings in the Greater Masaka districts. The two were granted bail on September 21, 2021, but were immediately re-arrested from the outskirts of Kigo prisons on fresh murder charges preferred against them stemming from the Lwengo District machete killings, where more than 20 people were killed. For the one-and-a-half years Sseggirinya and Ssewanyana spent on remand, rumours circulated that their imprisonment had nothing to do with the crimes they had allegedly committed but rather with their dealings with powerful people within the NRM party. Even after their release, rumours persisted that the shackles were broken after they reportedly struck a deal with President Museveni.

Then Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LoP) Mathias Mpuuga, who was at the forefront of having the MPs released, denied participating in any such deal. But by the time the two MPs were released, sources say they had been ostracised by the Kamwokya/Kavule leadership.

In fact, anybody from NUP who associated with them was seen as a pariah. The situation was made worse when both Sseggirinya and Ssewanyana were unusually mute after their release. When Sseggirinya died this year, NUP apportioned blame to the NRM regime, saying it quickened his demise through incarceration.

In the Kawempe North elections, Nambi, as the NRM candidate, will have to carry the cross of Sseggirinya’s death.

Guinness gives this hearty beef stew it’s rich, brown colour and adds a lot of flavour.

Ingredients

500ml bottle of Guinness

1½ kg boneless beef

150g bacon, diced

4 large tomatoes, finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 medium-size onions, sliced

4 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp beef masala

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

3 large carrots

2 small chicken stock cubes

2 heaped tbsp corn flour

1 tbsp Royc, 3 tbsp oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Season the beef with 1 tsp each of salt and black pepper. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy bottom saucepan and brown the beef all over on high heat, for a few minutes. Do this in batches until all the beef has been browned. Transfer to a clean plate, cover and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the same saucepan and fry the bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Fry the onions and garlic in the bacon fat over medium heat, until golden. Add the beef masala and chicken stock cubes and cook stirring for a few seconds.

Add the tomatoes, carrots and celery and cook stirring, scraping all the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan into the sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer until the tomatoes are cooked. Add the tomato paste and continue cooking for a few minutes, stirring all the time. Mix the Royco and corn flour with 4 tbsp of water, making sure there are no lumps and add this to the tomato mixture. Cook stirring for a few minutes.

Add the Guinness, stir well and simmer for a few minutes. Return the bacon and beef to the pan and give everything a good stir. Add enough water to just cover the beef. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to very low. Cover the pan and cook over low heat until the beef is tender.

Serve piping hot with your favourite staples and a fresh vegetable salad.

The Executive Director of the Uganda Media Women Association (UMWA), Ms Margaret Sentamu, has implored journalists to report sensitively on issues of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) to help eliminate the vice in Uganda.

While launching the 2025 Gender Media Awards at UMWA offices on October 3, Ms. Sentamu emphasised the media’s responsibility to report on GBV issues with fairness, objectivity, and sensitivity.

“A 2019 UMWA study revealed that 90% of GBV story sources were men, while over 90% of survivors were women and girls,” she said. “This gap demonstrates how much work remains for our media to amplify women’s voices and report on gender issues with depth, balance, and empathy.”

Ms Sentamu noted that journalists often rely on police statements and narrations from others instead of survivors, which can perpetuate judgment and hinder the fight against GBV.

“The media can play a key role in shaping public opinion and changing attitudes, deconstructing existing gender stereotypes and ending violence against women and girls,” she added.

The awards aim to motivate journalists and media houses to adopt gender-responsive journalism. Ms Joanita Sanyu Nankya, Program Officer at UMWA, stated that the awards will cover stories published between August 1, 2025, and October 15, 2025, and will recognize outstanding reporting in three thematic areas: GBV, Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, and Refugee Rights.

“The awards come at a critical time in Uganda’s media landscape,” Ms. Nankya said. “Responsible reporting can play a significant role in challenging gender stereotypes, influencing attitudes, shaping policy, and protecting rights.”

Ms Cotilda Babirekere, Project Officer Gender at UMWA, added that the awards will not only celebrate outstanding journalism but also build a movement of responsible journalism that prioritizes human dignity, equality, and justice.

Award recipients will receive certificates and trophies, and their work will serve as a standard and inspiration for journalists in Uganda and beyond.