Category: Daily Monitor

Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) says civil works and transmission line construction for the Uganda-Tanzania Power Interconnection Project are expected to begin in the 2026/27 financial year, with commercial operations targeted for 2029.

The 220kV Uganda-Tanzania Interconnection Project, UETCL says, is currently in the procurement and contractor mobilization phase.

The project will link Masaka in Uganda to Mwanza in Tanzania, creating a critical regional transmission corridor, with UETCL now finalizing preparatory activities and conducting early market engagement with prospective contractors and bidders for the construction of the Masaka-Mutukula-Mwanza high-voltage transmission line.

The utility is also completing the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) to compensate Project Affected Persons (PAPs), a prerequisite before construction can commence.

The broader interconnector is expected to be commissioned between 2028 and 2029.

mobilisation

Meanwhile, the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has launched a major distribution network upgrade in Greater Masaka and surrounding areas.

The works include the installation of new transformers, replacement of obsolete poles, rehabilitation of weak sections of the network, and interventions aimed at addressing recurring power outages.

The interconnector is expected to enhance electricity trade between Uganda, Tanzania, and the wider East Africa, while improving power supply reliability and energy security in both countries.

It will support economic development along the transmission corridor, strengthen integration between the Eastern Africa Power Pool and the Southern African Power Pool, and facilitate access to regional energy resources, including hydropower from DR Congo and Ethiopia, as well as geothermal energy from Kenya.

The project is also expected to reduce system losses and lower operational costs through coordinated power exchange.

Strategic importance

UETCL Chief Executive Officer Richard Matsiko described the project as a key component of the regional power integration agenda under the East African Community (EAC).

‘This transmission corridor is strategically important as it completes a critical link in the high-voltage transmission backbone around Lake Victoria, creating a robust regional grid,’ he said, noting that the corridor passes through areas with significant generation projects under development, including the 80MW Rusumo Falls Hydropower Project, the 87MW Kakono Hydropower Project, the 35MW Nsongezi Hydropower Project and the 14MW Kikagati Hydropower Project.

Matsiko also indicated that the project will facilitate cross-border power trade, enhance energy security, reduce reserve generation requirements, optimize operating costs, and support industrialization across the region.

Technical specifications

The transmission line will be approximately 298 kilometres long and designed as a 220kV double-circuit line, with provisions for a future upgrade to 400kV.

It will utilize self-supporting lattice steel towers fitted with ACSR ‘Zebra’ conductors or their equivalent. Approximately 700 to 750 transmission towers will be erected along the route.

The project will incorporate composite insulators for improved performance in polluted environments, vibration dampers for conductor protection, and Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) technology for communication and system control.

Modern gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) technology will also be deployed at substations where appropriate.

The line will have a transfer capacity of between 300 and 400 MVA, a right-of-way width of 40 metres, while substations will be equipped with 245kV-rated equipment and designed to withstand fault levels of up to 40kA.

The project includes the expansion of the Masaka substation in Uganda and the Mwanza substation in Tanzania, together with the installation of reactive power compensation equipment to maintain voltage stability. The transmission capacity is expected to meet projected regional electricity trade requirements over the coming decade.

The project will be financed through a blended funding model combining concessional loans from multilateral development institutions, potential grants for technical assistance and environmental and social mitigation measures, and counterpart funding from the governments of Uganda and Tanzania.

Expected financiers include the World Bank as lead financier, the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank and Germany’s KfW Development Bank.

Preliminary financing discussions indicate a capital structure comprising approximately 80 to 85 percent debt financing from international financial institutions and 15 to 20 percent equity contributions from the two governments and their national utilities.

Market outlook

Regional electricity trade remains constrained by limited interconnection infrastructure despite the significant economic benefits associated with integrated power markets.

Studies indicate a strong potential for power exchange between Uganda’s hydropower-based system and Tanzania’s thermal and mixed-generation system, creating opportunities for seasonal and daily balancing of electricity supply.

The project is expected to remove a major infrastructure bottleneck in East Africa’s regional electricity market.

Faith already knows what she needs: Shs3m, a petrol supply contract, and a lender willing torecognise women’s economic potential.

Look at what she has actually built, which is three years of savings group discipline, consistent market trading, and a business plan with real numbers.

The problem is that the financial system has no mechanism to see it.

RelaThat is fixable. But fixing it requires naming, in sequence, the structural failures that produce her invisibility, and being honest about which are technical, which are political, and which are both.

The identity problem

Start with the most immediately solvable failure: 900,000 young women using mobile money through accounts registered in someone else’s name, according to Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Uganda’s latest study.

These women are not outside the financial system behaviourally. They transact regularly, with discipline and real demand. What they lack is legal identity within it, meaning the transaction history they are building accrues to someone else’s record.

Getting that identity is not technically difficult. Airtel has already built the solution.

Hope Ekudu, who leads Airtel Money’s operations in Uganda, explains that they have streamlined the ‘process so that if you get your national ID, you can come to any of our shops and actually deregister’.

‘Once you have deregistered and you now re-register in your name, all your information on Airtel Money remains there.’

Where the original account holder cannot be found, a statutory declaration suffices.

The national ID problem compounds this. Most young women in rural Uganda, where only 6.6 percent of adults have access to a formal bank account, live far from registration centres, research by FSD shows.

Justine Namata, Head of Financial Innovations at Bank of Uganda, names the institutional failure this creates.

‘We keep going to the financial service providers and saying, ‘ What are you producing that our young women are not using. And today I see that they actually don’t see the data. What they see is a male-registered account, and yet the SIM card is being used by a 17-year-old girl,’ she says.

The invisibility is built into how providers read their own numbers. One fix is the standard practice in countries with high ID coverage, where they bring registration to schools, health centres, and hospitals, where young women cannot miss going.

The National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2023-2028 already requires gender-mainstreaming and sex-disaggregated data collection.

Mobile, community-based registration is looked at as the logical next step.

The village Saccos’ crack

Many people in financial inclusion look at Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) and see something primitive to replace.

A 2019 rigorous three-country study across Uganda, Ghana, and Malawi found that VSLA access increased the number of businesses members ran by 6 percent, extended their survival by 9 percent, and raised monthly profits by 24 percent.

These groups work because they run on something the formal system cannot manufacture: trust.

But the group has a ceiling. It cannot lend Faith Shs2m. The social capital is there. The capital is not.

Peace Gakwaya, the chief executive officer of Britam Asset Managers, says, ‘one of the greatest things about VSLAs is the trust they have created within the community’.

‘What we do is look at that ecosystem, especially how to plug in, not to replace, but to enhance the existing system.’

In that sense, the VSLA is the infrastructure through which formal finance should move in.

The mechanism already exists where digital group accounts record every contribution, loan, and repayment, giving each member their own verifiable transaction history, a foundation for credit access that does not require collateral.

Rani Deshpande, a financial inclusion consultant and the study’s lead researcher, found that some respondents had already grasped this intuitively, deliberately building transaction histories in anticipation of future borrowing, without anyone explaining the logic to them.

But she points out the main problem: ‘Many women do not know about mobile money savings accounts, which can help them save and grow their money.’

Health shocks are the mechanism that destroys what they build. Half of all young women in the FinScope 2023 survey cited family illness as their biggest financial shock of the past year.

A trader who has spent two years building business capital can lose everything to a single medical emergency, and in Uganda, where only 21 percent of women have ever accessed formal credit compared to 29 percent of men, there is no safety net to absorb it.

Gakwaya connects this to the product design failure: ‘About 50 percent of medical expenses were going not to them as an individual but to their family. The ideal client persona most service providers had in the beginning may not actually resonate well with the young woman we are looking at today.’

She believes the solution is to combine health insurance with savings groups, with insurance payments collected at regular group meetings and quick, practical benefits like money for transport to the hospital, daily cash support while admitted, so people can see the value of insurance right away.

Just 6.9 percent of Ugandan adults are currently covered by credit bureaus, according to a 2023 financial inclusion tracker by FSD, meaning that most borrowing remains informal.

Without gender-tagged data from Tier IV institutions like Saccos, digital lenders, and community micro-lenders, disciplined female borrowers remain invisible to the national credit ecosystem, regardless of their behaviour.

The tax the poorest pay alone

Every solution above hits a ceiling if digital participation is unaffordable, and in Uganda, it is deliberately expensive.

The numbers from a study by Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) show the most comprehensive assessment of telecommunications taxation.

The ICT sector faces an Average Effective Tax Rate of 68 percent of pre-tax profit, against 39 percent in retail finance, according to calculations by Unwanted Witness, a digital rights organisation.

The UCC study corroborates this, describing the sector as carrying one of the heaviest cumulative tax burdens in East Africa, with excise duties alone accounting for approximately 45 percent of total tax payments by operators.

Mobile money users pay a 0.5 percent excise duty on the full value of every withdrawal, plus 15 percent value-added tax on service fees and a 10 percent withholding tax on agent commissions.

Bank customers pay tax only on ATM withdrawal fees. Uganda is the only East African country taxing withdrawals this way. Withdrawing Shs50,000 costs a mobile money user approximately Shs2,250 in combined charges.

The UCC study found that when the mobile money levy was introduced in 2018, around 70 percent of users reduced how often they transacted, with some abandoning the service entirely.

Research from Makerere’s Economic Policy Research Centre shows that a 10 percent price rise drives a 20 percent drop in mobile money usage; the tax’s introduction collapsed usage by 40 percent.

The women whose savings groups are their only financial infrastructure are not collateral damage in this calculation. They are its primary target.

Entry-level smartphones, which are the devices that unlock merchant wallets, digital group accounts, and savings lock features, are taxed on import at rates raising their price by 30 to 50 percent above base value, to between Shs330,000 and Shs460,000: out of reach for most rural households.

Uganda Bureau of Statistics data shows that the median monthly income is closer to Shs300,000, as most Ugandans work in subsistence agriculture or the informal sector.

The UCC study calculates that the total cost of owning and meaningfully using a basic smartphone over three years, including device, charging, and data, amounts to roughly 10 percent of average annual per capita income, rising to 20 to 25 percent for households in the bottom 40 percent.

The UCC’s own fiscal scenario simulations show that removing the 12 percent excise duty on internet data, or reducing VAT from 18 to 14 percent, would expand the subscriber base, increase data consumption, and ultimately generate higher government revenues over the medium term.

The November 2025 Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) report estimated that removing just the 12 per cent excise duty on internet data could bring four million more Ugandans online by 2030, create 1.79 million jobs, and generate Shs14.6 trillion in additional economic value.

South Africa removed its entry-level smartphone excise duty in 2025 and recorded a 16 percent rise in first-time smartphone buyers within months.

Ekudu does not soften this: ‘I know that it’s a deterrent for people to actually use mobile money. We’re in discussions with the regulator to reduce this cost burden. Ideally, we want a tiered charge, even lower for people doing lower transactions.’

Uganda’s own Digital Transformation Programme had its budget cut 28 percent in the 2026/27 financial year, from 1 to 0.4 percent of the national budget, leaving a Shs318b financing gap.

The UCC study argues that ICT is critical to economic transformation, yet it is not financed at a level consistent with that claim.

actually to use mobile money

At least 10 percent of young women who don’t borrow cite ‘not being allowed by family’ as their reason, according to research by FSD, against just 4 percent of the general non-borrowing population.

Phones are gatekept. SIM registrations are controlled. Savings are monitored by household members who did not earn them.

The evidence on what works is that household dialogue programmes that engage men and boys, not as obstacles but as participants in a shared economic logic, produce documented shifts in gatekeeping behaviour.

The idea is that when men understand that a woman’s financial product strengthens the household economy, access changes.

The saying, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones’ is becoming a reality for some clergy in Uganda today. Some of them have entangled themselves in political issues, so much so that throwing a stone would mean death, closure, crippling, sanctioning, censorship, or complete abolition.

The architects of this glass house phenomenon smoothly executed it like a rat numbing one’s feet, only to wake up when the skin has been nibbled off by the same rat.

A dependence and survival button was pressed at some point, making it difficult for the said clergy and any other institution to operate without the State playing godfather to enable a breakthrough of a certain ceiling, posturing pseudo-success.

This fleeting pseudo-success offered to some clergy presented itself like an entitlement to the national cake.

Little did they know that it was a carrot that would lead them to a point of no return. To maintain this sorrowful pseudo success, many deals have to be made, dirty games have to be played to keep appeasing the insurmountable appetite and interests on both sides. The dirty games played by some clergy appear to be an exchange for some entitlements and privileges.

Much akin to the saying, ‘Scratch my back and I scratch yours’. You can do whatever you want, I will turn the other way like I didn’t see. These fleeting privileges take on many forms, especially material gains. This creates a feeling of arrivalism.

The Baganda put it so well when they say, ‘You don’t speak when you are eating’. This is akin to a saying by Martin Niemöller, a prominent German pastor and anti-Nazi dissident. Niemöller’s original words focus on how the Nazis systematically targeted different groups one by one, while good citizens remained silent because they didn’t belong to the targeted group.

“First they came for the communists, then they came for the socialists, then they came for the trade unionists, then they came for the Jews, then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Biblically, this is similar to a situation when an Egyptian Pharaoh, who didn’t know Joseph, took over leadership and all the privileges of the children of Israel were revoked overnight.

The writing is so clear on the wall, the clergy can read it, but the pseudo fleeting success and privileges have muted, blinded and deafened all their senses. Similar to the saying that they have ears but can’t hear, they have eyes but can’t see and they have mouths but they can’t speak.

The redeeming thing is, God always spares remnants who have not bowed to any idols, these speak the oracles of God either with the fearless courage of John the Baptist, or with the wisdom and humility of Prophet Nathan or the child like faith of David the giant killer.

But some like Pontius Pilate have washed the truth off their hands and opted to please the masses. Deceived in their mind that by doing this they will be protecting the pseudo success and privileges that have numbed the voice of God. In such a situation, God raises prophets from other nations to declare his Word, but when judgement comes, all are washed away, a part from those who will hearken to what the spirit is saying to the clergy and the nation.

God also uses such situations to distinguish the genuine from the self-seeking false men of God. The dilemma that hovers over every clergy, no matter the religion or faith, is whether to speak up and suffer the consequences or keep silent and suffer the consequences.

Every morning at 6am, while most students across Uganda’s higher institutions of learning are still asleep, a different rhythm unfolds at Bukalasa Agricultural College (BAC).

Students are already out on the land – they water, weed, mulch and tend their thriving vegetable plots in the lush expanse they proudly call ‘Paradise Garden.’

Ms Patience Jazmine Nankinga, a final year student, quickly explains that this daily ritual is not punishment; it is preparation.

‘We are in paradise, the garden, where we are planting various crops – different types of vegetables,’ Ms Nankinga, a certificate student, explains, pointing to flourishing cabbages under her care. ‘Some students are focusing on carrots, cabbage, sukumawiki, nakatti and others.

Everyone is having a plot.’ These are some of the crops with a ready market, and they are consumed both within the government-owned institution, which has over 2,000 students, and also outside. The college, which offers both certificate and diploma courses, is located in Luweero, about 50 kilometres from Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. Another student, George William Ntulume, sheds more light by unveiling his daily routine.

‘We grow vegetables and take care of them until maturity. We come here early in the morning and in the evening to do all the management practices for these plants,’ he says.

‘We do watering, weeding, pruning and mulching, so as to have a vibrant culture of agriculture, as well getting the skills we need in future for economic and knowledge purposes,’ he adds. Mr Ntulume says each student does all the practices individually.

He says they do the garden work between 6am and 8am. ‘After that, we go and prepare (clean up), then we have breakfast within the same hour before we go for lectures at 9am. Then we come back at around 5.30pm when lectures are done. I plan to do a diploma after this, and afterwards, I will also pursue a degree,’ he says.

Ms Nankinga, on her part, appears to be more interested in becoming an entrepreneur. ‘We have enough skills to start our projects, out there,’ she says.

‘We should focus more on the practical aspect while training as students; that is what will help us. Some other institutions largely focus on theory,’ she adds.

Information from the BAC Crop Science Department indicates that students are assessed on real performance in areas such as the quality of mulching, which must be weed-free, pest-free and effective at conserving soil moisture.

BAC is one of the key partners in the Proliferation of Local Expertise in Development of Green-growth Economy (PLEDGE) project, which seeks to transform training in higher institutions of learning to support green growth, practical skills development and sustainable economic transformation.

The project is being implemented by Mountains of the Moon University, along the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), which has introduced competence-based training for institutions of higher learning.

Associate Prof Joshua Wesana, the dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Mountains of the Moon University, says the PLEDGE initiative seeks to change both student and trainer mindsets.

‘In other institutions, if you tell a student to appear on the farm at 5am to prepare cows for milking, some take it as punishment,’ Prof Wesana says.

‘That kind of attitude is what PLEDGE is here to transform.’ He adds that the project will develop national strategies, policies and guidelines for green transition-focused agriculture training, while also building capacity among lecturers and strengthening university-industry linkages through professional councils.

A living model

Mr Gelvan Kisolo Lule, the principal of BAC for the last eight years and a staff member for nearly 30 years, has witnessed the evolution first-hand.

‘I came from university with a lot of theory. When I started training students here, I had to learn practical skills from the farm workers themselves. That experience was very valuable,’ he recalls.

Mr Lule says the BAC curriculum has always been rich with hands-on skills because it was primarily established in 1920 to train farmers. But he says along the way, things started changing as more trainers recruited after university education started introducing more theory than practical skills.

‘So, by the time we reached 1980-1990, we were now coming to about 70 percent theory and 20 percent practical skills,’ he reveals.

‘We were reviewing our curriculum in 2008-2009 and had a farmer stakeholder engagement. The participants were telling us that our students have a negative attitude towards work. They want to be on the farm only to supervise. They don’t want to ‘get dirty’,’ he says.

After the curriculum review, the institution returned to the first principles.

‘So, we said, we have to make them (students) be on the farm. So that’s when we reintroduced the farm practices culture,’ Mr Lule explains.

‘Here, whether you are doing human nutrition or agribusiness, you must be early on the farm every day. You must be on the farm at 6am. By 7am, they are done and starting to prepare for lectures,’ he adds.

Mr Lule also notes that the new curriculum for secondary education is already producing more confident and engaging students who are easier to train in higher institutions of learning.

The competence-based curriculum is designed to shift education away from rote memorisation towards practical skills, critical thinking, and real-world problem-solving

Adopting BAC culture

Prof Pius Coxwell Achanga, the vice chancellor of Mountains of the Moon University, after touring BAC and interacting with learners and tutors, says the model should be adopted even in universities to produce professionals with more practical skills. ‘If you want somebody to learn, you talk to them. If you want them to memorise, you show them. And if you want them to do something, you let them do it,’ he says, adding that universities have much to learn from Bukalasa’s model.

Prof Achanga says they will have deeper collaboration with BAC, including direct staff exchanges.

The NCHE says practical skills, competences and attitudes will, in the 2027-2028 academic year, account for at least 50 percent of students’ marks nationwide, up from the current 40 percent. The plan is to reduce assessments that are largely based on written exams. Prof Mary Okwakol, the executive director of the NCHE, explains further.

‘The competence-based curriculum is an approach which is supposed to equip the students with knowledge, competences, skills and attitudes that can enable them to perform their duties more effectively than they are doing now,’ she says.

The Electoral Commission (EC) Thursday declared National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Idah Nabayiga the winner of the Kalangala District Woman Member of Parliament by-election, amidst sharp protests from the leading opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), which has rejected the outcome citing gross electoral malpractice.

According to results announced at 1:53am on June 25, 2026 by the Kalangala District Returning Officer, Mr Agaba Ronald, Nabayiga polled 12,642 votes to secure the parliamentary seat. Her closest rival, Irene Nampala of the NUP, came second with 7,474 votes, representing a victory margin of over 5,000 votes for the ruling party.

Independent candidates Sharifah Babirye, Flavia Hellen Nagawa, and Agnes Nasuuna garnered 244, 217, and 34 votes, respectively. Out of the 21,038 total ballot papers counted, 20,611 were valid, 427 were rejected, and 67 were spoilt.

“In accordance with Section 72 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, Cap. 177, I declare Idah Nabayiga, who has obtained the largest number of votes, to be the elected candidate,” Mr. Agaba announced.

The election, triggered by the death of the former lawmaker Helen Nakimuli, has been heavily overshadowed by accusations of state-engineered rigging. NUP officials immediately rejected the results, alleging that the military and other state security apparatuses took over several polling stations to tilt the vote in the NRM’s favor.

Throughout the voting process on Wednesday, June 24, and into Thursday, June 25, the opposition party utilized social media to share videos and photos purposed to show blatant ballot stuffing by security operatives and NRM mobilizers.

In a detailed statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), NUP claimed that their polling agents were violently forced away from voting centers to allow individuals to thumbprint entire booklets containing 50 ballot papers each.

“The broad daylight ballot stuffing as captured by vigilant citizens… Soldiers, goons, and even other security operatives were seen stuffing pre-ticked ballot papers in favor of the NRM candidate,” the NUP statement read in part.

The party highlighted specific discrepancies, pointing to a polling station where the NRM allegedly obtained 78 votes written in words, but recorded 125 in figures on the official forms. NUP further accused polling officials of directly indulging in altering results contrary to what was tallied on the ground.

Reacting to the development, NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, questioned the circumstances surrounding the by-election, drawing parallels to past controversial polls.

‘Looking at what the regime did in Kalangala yesterday, would anyone be wrong to assume that they killed Hon. Nakimuli to forcefully take over that District, the same way they killed Ffeffeka to take over Kayunga?’ Kyagulanyi posted on X on June 25.

Meanwhile, senior NUP leaders, including Deputy Secretary General Aisha Kabanda, Gorreth Namugga, and Habib Buwembo, revealed that the election was marred by targeted arrests. They stated that many of their supporters and polling agents remain in state detention, and efforts are currently underway to secure their release.

Conceding no defeat, the NUP candidate, Irene Nampala, maintained that she won the mandate of the islanders. She thanked the people of Kalangala for their resilience and noted that she is awaiting the party’s official declaration on the next course of legal or political action, expected tomorrow.

By press time, both the Electoral Commission and the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) had not yet responded to the video evidence and rigging allegations presented by the opposition.

However, Justice Simon Byabakama, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, criticized the Police for failing to enforce a directive he had recently issued barring vehicles without number plates from participating in election-related activities.

Justice Byabakama stated that he had instructed that all such vehicles be impounded, but was surprised that, despite his orders, the police did not comply, as many vehicles without number plates were still seen operating during the election. He reminded the police of the importance of upholding and enforcing the law.

The EC chief also appealed to the people of Kalangala to continue maintaining the peace they have enjoyed and to avoid causing violence.

Sending money across East Africa or selling goods online to a neighbour should soon cost less and take less time after regional leaders meeting in Arusha this week moved to put money and projects behind long-awaited digital trade rules.

The East African Community is pushing to tear down digital borders, convening the 2026 Digital for Development Forum in Arusha to turn years of strategy papers into actual cables, code, and payment rails for 330 million people.

The high-level Forum opened Tuesday at the EAC headquarters, bringing together central bank governors, MPs, regulators, tech entrepreneurs and donors under the theme ‘From Strategy to Implementation: Building the Digital Single Market.’

arlo Ancelotti told Brazil fans to keep their feet on the ground after Neymar made his long-awaited World Cup return and Vinicius Jr sparkled again as the five-times champions swept Scotland aside 3-0 on Wednesday to finish top of Group C.

After an underwhelming 1-1 draw with Morocco in their opener, Brazil have clicked into gear with successive wins, and Ancelotti said his side were becoming the solid, collective unit he wants for the knockout rounds.

“We’re now playing as a team, that was the aim,” Ancelotti told a press conference. “We’re not perfect, we need to improve a few things – we could be quicker when we’re in possession.

“I’m happy because the team has improved since the opening match. Being solid is very important now that we’ve reached the knockout stages.”

Brazil will face the second-placed team from Group F, with the Netherlands, Japan or Sweden possible opponents in the Round of 32.

The biggest roar in Miami came for Neymar, who played his first minutes for Brazil after almost three years out of the side. Ancelotti said the 34-year-old had earned his chance after returning to full fitness.

“He got the chance to play because he deserved it, he worked hard to recover,” Ancelotti said. “I think that in this World Cup, given his qualities, he can help the team. He played for just a few minutes, but he played well.

“Neymar doesn’t need any motivation to play, no player needs motivation to wear the Brazil shirt. He’s 34-years-old and still has the same passion as a young boy.”

Vinicius also drew praise from the Italian after he scored twice and dazzled up and down the left wing.

“Vini is in great form at the moment and the team helps him a lot,” Ancelotti said. “He can play in various positions, both on the inside and on the wing.

“It’s very rewarding to see Vinicius like this, I had no doubt he could reach this level. I wasn’t the one who discovered Vini, he’s a top-class player, one of the best in the world.”

Ancelotti said Brazil had achieved their first objective by topping the group but warned against getting carried away.

“I haven’t set a target for how far we can go,” he said. “The aim isn’t just to play well, the aim is to win. A manager is judged by victory or defeat, not by whether the team plays well or badly.”

Asked what he would tell an increasingly excited Brazilian public, Ancelotti smiled and said: “Stay calm.”

A long-running, high-stakes dispute over the multi-billion estate and lineage of the late Kadongo Kamu music legend, Paul Job Kafeero, has finally been laid to rest. DNA test results released by the Uganda Police Forensic Directorate have delivered a stunning revelation, confirming that only four out of 25 individuals claiming to be his children are his actual biological offspring.

The highly anticipated results were unveiled on Thursday afternoon at the Police Headquarters in Naguru. Tensions ran high as dozens of claimants, family members, and legal stakeholders gathered in a hushed room to hear the definitive scientific findings.

Reading the results, the Director of Forensic Services for the Uganda Police Force, Acting Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Andrew Mubiru, announced that a staggering 21 claimants had been scientifically excluded.

According to the official forensic report, only the following four individuals share a biological match with the late maestro:

Simon Peter Kafeero

Elizabeth Nagawa

Thomas Swazi Kafeero

Benedict Kafeero

“Science does not lie,” AIGP Mubiru noted during the briefing. “These forensic results provide an indisputable, legal framework to finally establish the rightful heirs to Kafeero’s name and estate.”

The massive DNA verification exercise was conducted under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. Key officials overseeing the process included the Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs, Balaam Barugahara-who funded the costly exercise-and the Director of the Government Analytical Laboratory, Kepher Kuchana Kateu.

Paul Job Kafeero, who tragically passed away in 2007 at the age of 36, remains one of the most influential and celebrated figures in the history of Ugandan music. Renowned for his deep storytelling, mastery of the acoustic guitar, and timeless hits like Walumbe Zaaya and Buladina, his music still enjoys massive airplay and generates substantial royalties.

However, because Kafeero died intestate (without a valid will), his vast musical catalog, intellectual property, and extensive land holdings became the center of bitter family feuds. Over the last two decades, the number of individuals claiming to be his children grew exponentially, stalling the distribution of his estate and sparking intense public debate. The chaos eventually prompted the family and legal administrators to turn to the government and police for intervention.

The scientific breakthrough follows a dramatic turn of events last week, when the remains of the music icon were exhumed from his resting place following a strict court order. The exhumation was necessary to obtain viable bone and tissue samples for accurate comparative testing.

Government Chief Pathologist, Dr. Moses Byaruhanga, who oversaw the sensitive procedure, defended the decision as a necessary measure to put an end to years of internal family rancour.

“This definitive test will remove all doubts and anxiety regarding the true lineage of Paul Job Kafeero’s offspring,” Dr. Byaruhanga stated prior to the testing.

Earlier, Stella Nantongo, one of Kafeero’s widely acknowledged children, expressed the emotional weight the family carried throughout the process, describing the exhumation as a painful but unavoidable step.

“This is the last thing we wanted to happen to our father’s resting place,” Nantongo said. “But if it is the only way to solve the underlying issues tearing the family apart, then it is good that it has been done.”

Joseph Luzige, the legal counsel representing the children who feared they might be wrongfully excluded, emphasized that the scientific intervention was the only way to achieve finality.

Thursday’s announcement marks the end of months of grueling anxiety and public speculation. For the 21 individuals whose claims were disproved, the results deliver a heavy emotional and legal blow, effectively cutting off any future claim to the musician’s lucrative estate. Conversely, for the four confirmed children, the results bring profound relief, allowing the true heirs to properly manage, protect, and preserve the rich legacy of one of Uganda’s greatest traditional music icons.

June is men’s mental health awareness month, a timely reminder that behind many strong faces are silent battles that often go unnoticed.

Across Uganda and around the world, men continue to face significant mental health challenges, yet many suffer in silence due to stigma, societal expectations, and limited support systems.

From an early age, boys are often taught to be strong, independent, and emotionally resilient. Phrases such as ‘man up,’ ‘boys don’t cry,’ and ‘be strong’ may seem harmless, but they can discourage emotional expression and help-seeking behaviour.

As a result, many men learn to suppress pain rather than process it. The silent struggles men face are diverse.

Depression, anxiety, substance abuse, loneliness, unresolved trauma, father wounds, financial stress, unemployment, relationship breakdowns, and the pressure to provide for families can all take a significant toll on mental well-being.

Unfortunately, these struggles are often hidden behind work, alcohol use, anger, withdrawal, or risky behaviour rather than openly discussed. One of the most concerning realities is that men are less likely than women to seek professional mental health support. Many fear being judged as weak or incapable.

Others simply do not know where to turn for help. This delay in seeking support often allows problems to escalate, affecting families, workplaces, and communities. Fatherhood presents another challenge. Many men are expected to lead and provide for their families, yet few receive guidance on emotional well-being, healthy relationships, or parenting.

Men who grew up without positive male role models may struggle with identity, self-worth, and emotional connection, creating cycles of pain that can be passed from one generation to the next.

Loneliness is also emerging as a major but overlooked issue. While social media has increased connectivity, many men lack genuine friendships where they can openly discuss their fears, disappointments, and personal challenges.

The absence of safe spaces for honest conversations can leave men feeling isolated even when surrounded by others.

Addressing men’s mental health requires practical and collective action. First, we must normalise conversations about emotional well-being.

Men should be encouraged to speak openly about stress, sadness, anxiety, and personal struggles without fear of ridicule.

Vulnerability should be seen as courage, not weakness. Second, families, faith communities, schools, workplaces, and community organisations should create safe spaces where men can connect, share experiences, and support one another.

Peer support groups, mentorship programmes, and men’s fellowships can play a critical role in reducing isolation. Third, mental health services must become more accessible and responsive to the unique needs of men.

Healthcare providers should be trained to recognise how mental health challenges may present differently in men and to engage them in ways that reduce stigma.

There is also a need for stronger public awareness campaigns and policy interventions. Governments, civil society organisations, and development partners should invest in mental health education, prevention programmes, and community-based services that specifically target men and boys.

Mental health should be treated as a public health priority, not an afterthought. Finally, men themselves must be empowered to prioritize self-care. Seeking help, building healthy relationships, exercising, maintaining spiritual well-being, and developing emotional awareness are not signs of weakness. They are essential components of a healthy and productive life.

As we mark Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, let us remember that strong men also need support. Behind every statistic is a father, son, brother, husband, friend, or colleague whose life matters.

By breaking the silence, challenging harmful stereotypes, and building supportive communities, we can create a future where men are not only expected to be strong but are also given the support they need to thrive.

The conversation about men’s mental health is not just about men-it is about stronger families, healthier communities, and a more compassionate society for all.

The May 25, 2025 election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament returned the Rt Hon Jacob Marksons Oboth and Rt Hon Thomas Tayebwa in those respective positions. With the change of leadership comes an opportunity for the leaders to implement their vision, and for the led to offer all necessary support and commitment to ensure they deliver their mandate.

This involves maintaining the good practices of old, but also offering a new paradigm to meet the needs of the universal consensus that the 12th Parliament ought to be better than the 11th.

This is not strange, it is the promise of governance and leadership – that the coming years are supposed to be better than the previous years, for that is the mark of positive change and progress.

The responsibility to mould good leaders is shared by the led too, and as Speaker Oboth Oboth said, a Speaker makes good MPs, and conversely MPs make a Speaker good.

There can only be one Speaker and one Deputy Speaker at a time as by law established, therefore; however, deserving another MP might think they are, it is best to work with and through the Speaker in order to deliver to the public expectations.

All MPs are leaders in their own right but they chose to have a leader of leaders among them. Parliament has, undeniably, had its fair share of bad press in the few days leading to the election, and this is about time we allow the Speaker the latitude to implement his vision, and the space to exercise his discretion and improve Parliament for the better.

It is important that the public is not quick to judge his methods and approach, because institutional building is a painstakingly incremental process which demands the input of everyone. With Speaker Oboth’s cool headed and open minded posture, it is undoubtedly clear that we shall get the Parliament everyone deserves.

The media and the public are called upon to play their watch dog role professionally, and everyone else needs to make their contribution to building a Parliament everyone can be proud.

With a new dispensation comes pressures exerted on the new leadership, most often with a mind on quick fixes, demanding of the leadership a kind of magic wand to instantly solve or wish away serious institutional challenges which never emerged in a short span in the first place.

It is critical that the leadership is given time to settle in, and the Speaker, in his inaugural address, already outlined his vision for Parliament, and deserves unconditional support in having it fully implemented and realised.

It is incumbent upon the institution’s stakeholders to stand out firmly in support of the new leadership, drop the partisanship, break away from negative forces that are ought to diminish and frustrate the new leadership. Instead, it is time to embrace the change at Parliament with an open heart and a mind slow to judgment, but most importantly, hands ready to offer assistance and support whenever sought.

Let discussion/dialogue be the dominant method of work away from hostile dependency, after all, democracy is mostly framed as a discussion itself.