Category: Daily Monitor

Farmers across the country have been advised to use agro inputs such as pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers, among others, to improve soil fertility, manage pests and achieve maximum yield.

However, some of these agrochemicals farmers are using in their farms are hazardous to human health and the environment.

As such, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries recently banned the use of nine agricultural agro chemical inputs since they pose human health and environmental hazards. This was revealed during the second annual Crop Life Symposium held in Kampala.

Background

While these synthetic inputs significantly increase harvests, they also raise critical concerns regarding food safety, ecosystem health and human toxicity.

Many smallholder farmers particularly in the western and central regions report that using fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides has effectively doubled their yields and profit margins for cash crops like maize, tomatoes, Irish potatoes, and beans.

Agricultural companies, often working with the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) and the Ministry of Agriculture are transitioning away from generalised fertilisers to crop-specific blends to maximize nutrient absorption and prevent soil degradation.

The experts believe some of the challenges which must be checked include Food Safety and Health Hazards because the excessive or improper use of agrochemicals leads to elevated chemical residues in food products like vegetables and milk.

Studies have raised alarms over highly hazardous pesticides some of which are banned globally finding their way to local markets.

Counterfeits and misapplication can be a problem because a lack of regulatory oversight in village markets means farmers frequently purchase counterfeit products or use chemicals without observing safe pre-harvest intervals

It is because of these challenges which led the Ministry of agriculture to ban 9 agro chemicals in the market and imposed restrictions on nine other agrochemicals for farmers to use on specific crops.

Insights by Crop life experts

The Chief Executive Officer Crop Life Africa Middle East, Ms Stella Simiyu, explained that Crop protection which emphasises the use of quality seed and advanced technologies such as Biotechnology is key for farmers to achieve better yields.

She contends that it is impossible to achieve food security, trade and sustainable goals unless regulatory systems are put in place to enable effective agri input innovations for farmer uptake.

She called upon African countries including Uganda to adopt fit for purpose emerging agricultural technologies, apply science and risk based assessments for agricultural products and link regulation to farmer access.

Banned and Restricted Chemicals

The Commissioner Crop Inspection and Certification Ministry of Agriculture Dr Paul Mwambu, explained that Crop Life raised concern for the ministry to review 18 agro chemicals about the risks of their ingredients which the ministry experts did using scientific laboratory tests.

This regulatory review was triggered by emerging international scientific evidence and trade concerns relating to potential risks posed by certain active ingredients to human health, environmental safety, food systems and compliance with international residue standards on agricultural commodities

Therefore, following technical review by the Agricultural Chemicals Control Technical Committee and final consideration by the Agricultural Chemicals Review Committee, the government reached a decision of phasing out nine active ingredients.

These include Alpha-cypermethrin and Chlorothalonil which are pollutants of water and may end up destroying aquatic life and they are toxic to beneficial insects such as bees.

Others are Atrazine, Butachlor and Carbofuran which are toxic to underground water and the environment.

The former causes reduced male fertility, coma and circulatory collapse as well as gastric bleeding while the latter irritates the skin and eyes and causes toxicity to fauna and flora.

Dichlorvos is acutely toxic to environment while Dimethoate causes reproductive disorder and is toxic to pollinators Meanwhile Diuron and Propanil cause Kidney failure, spleen and liver damage.

The nine active ingredients which the committee placed under restricted use for specific crops include Ametryn which is restricted for sugarcane and pineapple weeding while Carbendazim is restricted for use on cashew nuts only.

Chlorpyrifos is restricted only for use on ants in anthills and Fipronil is restricted in controlling termites in building sites.

Imidacloprid is restricted to seed companies for seed treatment and Indoxacarb is restricted for use on tomatoes to control tuta absoluta and diamondback moth insects.

There is no alternative at the moment for Mancozeb and yet it is critical for fugal management of several fungal diseases in fruits, vegetables and crops such as potatoes and tomatoes among others.

The ministry is retaining it for the next five years as alternatives are being sought.

Profenofos has been restricted for the control of fall armyworm and Thiamethoxam is restricted for use on coffee to control black coffee twig borer and in Maize to control fall army worm.

Dr Mwambu notes that the banned agro chemicals have other alternatives and that the decisions made are part of the government’s obligation to ensure that only safe, effective and internationally acceptable agricultural chemical products remain in circulation and use by farmers.

Lango sub-region is grappling with high cases of crime threatening the security of residents, with authorities linking most incidents to alcoholism, drug abuse and violence at night discos.

Lango sub-region consists of nine districts and a city: Alebtong, Amolatar, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Kwania, Lira, Otuke, Oyam Districts and Lira City. The trend is spreading across all of them.

The Police Annual Crime Report of 2025 puts Lango sub-region, or North Kyoga Policing Region, at number 4 among the top 10 policing regions with the highest crime rates out of 32 regions in Uganda. North Kyoga registered 12,728 criminal cases reported to police in 2025.

The trend has continued into 2026, with cases of murder by mob action, murder, theft, assault, rape and defilement among the common cases being registered. Authorities say most of these crimes are committed either under the influence of alcohol or during night discos, which have become common at trading centres.

The most recent cases include a fight over girls between students of Apac Seed Secondary School and the community at a disco on April 3, 2026, Easter Sunday, at Agweng Trading Centre in Apac Subcounty, which left seven students injured.

On May 3, 2026, Kenneth Odon, 16, a student of Kangai Secondary School in Dokolo District, was stabbed to death at a disco in Arwotcek Parish, Arwotcek Subcounty, Amolatar District during a fight over girls.

In Lira City, a 20-year-old woman was gang raped on May 2, 2026 by a group of over ten men who were already intoxicated with alcohol. The victim, a resident of Amuca, was returning from a hangout at Grand Paradise Hotel in Amuca along the Lira-Kamdini Highway.

In April, police in Lira City East Division arrested 100 suspected criminals at several drinking joints on the outskirts of the city.

The high influx of illicit alcohol in the local market has made crude alcohol accessible to low-income earners including youth, resulting in abuse and high consumption. Authorities say this is increasing school dropout, family breakups and poverty.

Bonny Okello Alele, the Assistant Resident City Commissioner for Lira City, said alcoholism is becoming a security threat. ‘Some of you would see security as thugs, Malaya mentioned them but alcoholism is now one of the big threats in our city. This alcohol of Shs 1000 per bottle is a danger to this society already,’ he said.

Okello added that some dangerous alcohols are being sold in open markets and the youth are the highest consumers. ‘Some of us do day operations, we arrested about 27 around VH Public School by 9am they were drunk and dead. You just pick them like the grasshoppers,’ he said.

Alex Ogota, the LC3 chairperson of Ibuje Subcounty in Apac District, said thieves are taking advantage of sound pollution from night discos to steal. ‘We have bars at the trading centres where they play loud music at night. The thieves stay here and deep in the night they go to people’s homes where they steal cattle, chickens, goats and break into the houses,’ he said.

Pastor Thomas Opio Okene, the senior pastor at Amuli Baptist Church in Kwania District, asked local authorities to regulate night discos and alcoholism since it is compromising security.

‘The government has under looked these issues of alcoholism and night disco for a very long time but it’s now costing us. Many lives have lost, properties destroyed, families broken because of these issues. People are no longer drinking responsibly. More sensitization is needed so that this vice is reduced,’ he said.

However, North Kyoga Region Police Spokesperson Patrick Jimmy Okema said the cases are isolated and do not represent a general security threat.

‘Those are isolated cases that we cannot term it as a very big issue in terms of security but all the things that the different stakeholders should look into, the religious leaders, the media, the CSOs should come in and join hands to deal with such,’ he said.

In 2012, George William Kiyega, a Kampala-based construction engineer, walked into dfcu Bank and borrowed Shs318 million, secured against land he owned in Bunamwaya, Wakiso District. He repaid the loan.

By his account, that should have been the end of it. Thirteen years later, Mr Kiyega sat before a panel of five Supreme Court justices on April 16, 2025, without a lawyer, representing himself and his company, Wills International Engineers and Contractors Limited, in a case that has become one of Uganda’s most closely watched commercial disputes. On the other side of the courtroom was dfcu Bank, represented by senior counsel Timothy Masembe Kanyerezi and the law firm MMAKS Advocates.

The case has wound through every tier of Uganda’s court system. It has produced a split Court of Appeal judgment that found the bank’s conduct illegal and fraudulent, a contempt enforcement battle in the High Court, and a damages award that, if left intact, would run into the billions of shillings. Dfcu denies wrongdoing and has appealed to the Court of Appeal judgment on seven grounds, and maintains it acted within its legal rights throughout. The Supreme Court has reserved judgment. Five justices; Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, Percy Night Tuhaise, Mike Chibita, Monica Kalyegira Mugenyi, and Muzamiru Kibeedi Mutangula, will have the final word.

What is the dispute all about?

The facts established across more than a decade of proceedings are not, at their core, disputed in their broad outline. What is fiercely contested is their legal meaning. Between 2012 and 2014, Mr Kiyega and his company obtained a series of credit facilities from dfcu, including a Shs200 million medium-term loan and a Shs220 million contract finance facility, both secured against land on Block 265 Plot 7346 at Bunamwaya. A separate piece of land; Plot 7347, was left with the bank for safe custody in connection with an earlier loan that had since been repaid.

According to court records, mortgage charges in respect of the medium-term loan and a performance bond facility were registered on Plot 7347, the safe custody title, rather than on Plot 7346, the intended security. The bank has consistently described at least one of these registrations as an inadvertent error, partly caused by the Commissioner of Land Registration, and says corrective steps were taken. The Court of Appeal majority, however, found that the pattern of encumbrances, including entries recorded on the same day, at the same time, yet bearing different signatures, went beyond administrative error.

Court records show that a Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) official testified in court that a stamp duty certificate produced during proceedings, purportedly showing that dfcu had paid Shs1.1 million in stamp duty on behalf of Mr Kiyega, was not a document issued by the taxman. The Court of Appeal’s majority took that evidence seriously. Dfcu has not publicly addressed the specifics of that testimony, and its legal submissions focus principally on procedural grounds, arguing, among other things, that fraud was never formally pleaded in the original plaint and, therefore, could not lawfully be found by any court.

The dissenting Court of Appeal justice, Ms Elizabeth Musoke, agreed that fraud had not been pleaded and that no finding of fraud should, therefore, have been made. It is one of dfcu’s stronger grounds before the Supreme Court. The bank is also contesting the scale of the damages. The Court of Appeal awarded Shs120 million in general damages, six times the High Court’s original award, plus Shs80 million for each illegal mortgage for each year it remained on the property, a figure the bank’s lawyers describe as exorbitant and accumulating.

What issues are up for consideration?

On the question of Mr Kiyega’s cross-appeal, his argument that damages should run from when the alleged wrongs occurred rather than from the date of the Court of Appeal judgment, dfcu says its position is supported by statute and by Supreme Court precedent. Section 26(2) of the Civil Procedure Act and established case law indicate that where damages must be assessed by a court, interest runs from the date of judgment, not from the date of the underlying act. Mr Kiyega’s cross-appeal on this point is likely to face difficulty.

The Court of Appeal found the bank’s conduct illegal and fraudulent, a finding dfcu contests and which the Supreme Court is now being asked to review. It came after a High Court order in September 2023 had directed dfcu to clear the encumbrances from Plot 7347 within two weeks. Court records indicate the process of clearing the title was still ongoing as late as that same month. The Wills International case is one of 623 such disputes currently before Uganda’s courts, and the numbers behind that figure have alarmed the country’s most senior financial and judicial leaders. The Wills International case is, statistically and structurally, entirely typical. On April 9, 2026, Bank of Uganda Governor Dr Michael Atingi-Ego stood before a judicial colloquium at Serena Hotel, Kigo, and described the scale of the problem in terms that left little room for ambiguity.

‘Currently, about 623 unresolved banking cases are locking up an estimated Shs7 trillion,’ he said. Dr Atingi-Ego added: ‘For the economy, this is dead capital. Every shilling locked in a disputed loan is a shilling that cannot be reinvested into the productive sectors of the economy.’ Chief Justice Dr Flavian Zeija, who took office in January 2026, was equally direct. Within the High Court Commercial Division alone, he said, the monetary value of pending cases stood at approximately Shs3.5 trillion as of February 2026. ‘Alternative dispute resolution, ADR, is no longer optional,’ he told the colloquium, adding, ‘It is a national policy imperative.’

The colloquium, the second of its kind, convened jointly by the Judiciary, the Central Bank, and the Judicial Training Institute, produced a concrete resolution: special mediation centres to be established as the first point of call for banking disputes before they reach the court system. A Judiciary-wide Mediation Settlement Fortnight followed in May 2026. What are the industry’s own lawyers saying? Separate from the Wills International proceedings, two senior lawyers at ENS Africa Uganda, one of the country’s leading corporate law firms- Mr Phillip

The challenges range from changed climatic conditions, newly arrived pests and parasites, and fast changing soil health conditions among others.

Farmers require more guidance about what pesticides and acaricides to use.

They need advice about what fertilizers to use and the best soil sustenance practices to keep the gardens well nourished.

In an opinion piece of the organization’s magazine, dated May 26 2026, Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) referred to the Agro -input dealers and agricultural extension service providers as ‘important frontlineadvisors’ supporting more resilient, climate-smart farming systems.

He wrote, ‘For decades they have primarily been viewed as suppliers of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and farm machinery. But as climate pressures intensify, fertilizer prices rise, and global supply chains become increasingly unstable, agriculture itself is undergoing a profound transformation.’

In a situation where farmers have to heavily depend on the use of agro-chemicals there is a bigger need for them to receive proper guidance on how to apply them to avoid poisoning food crops.

We don’t want the agrochemicals to destroy biodiversity and the environment. Our farmers need advice on where to purchase resilient and fast growing seeds, given the current climatic challenges.

They should be drought tolerant and disease resistant. It is a reality that our farmers are already facing erratic rainfall, water scarcity, and declining soil fertility.

This means that agricultural services extension workers at every sub-county should be more equipped and supported to meet the farmers in their villages and on their farms to provide the needed education and training.

The farmers need to apply farming practices that naturally support good soil health and withstanding climate shocks.

There ought to be measures that strictly ensure that the Farmers’ Shops are manned by people that are well trained to give the necessary guidance on agrochemicals’ application.

We have to be alive to what Dr. Himanshu Pathak has said about the unstable prices of fertilizers.

‘Across many parts of the world, geopolitical instability is now directly affecting agriculture. Global fertilizer markets have become increasingly volatile, driven by conflicts and supply chain disruptions, which are contributing to rising production costs and growing uncertainty for farming communities.’

On May 30, Ugandans woke up to a screaming headline by Al Jazeera where it was alleged that 263 people had died of Ebola in both DRC and Uganda.

Of course, Al Jazeera depicted lazy journalism while reporting this epidemic or they chose to go sensational for reasons best known to themselves.

The story was just generic and lacked basic details. Both Uganda and DRC have their own figures as far as Ebola is concerned.

And this is public information, and I can’t comprehend why the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) chose to sum up together with DRC as if Uganda is not a sovereign State to be judged by its own statistics.

For the record, Uganda has registered one fatality case out of the nine infections so far identified.

These are being medically managed, and some have been discharged after testing negative.

The Ministry of Health remains vigilant and has increased its level of vigilance, especially across the districts that border the DRC.

Together with partners like the CDC and World Health Organisation (WHO), the government is in control and without a doubt will control this disease.

This is not the first time Uganda has tamed Ebola within its territories. In fact, this epidemic is the 9th since Ebola began threatening Ugandans. And all these have been controlled with very limited fatalities.

Entebbe Virus Research Institute has the best virology lab in the region. In 2000, Uganda registered the first case of Ebola in Lacor Hospital in Gulu City.

Since then, several other variants of Ebola have struck, but our medical experts have always contained the situation.

The Entebbe Virus Research Institute has been equipped and is now a centre of excellence in viral diseases.

The Ministry of Health and scientists have indeed cultivated global-leading expertise in managing and controlling Ebola.

Having faced multiple outbreaks of different viral strains (including Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo), Uganda has honed its rapid response, contact tracing, and treatment protocols to become a globally recognised model for disease containment.

Uganda contains Ebola outbreaks through a tried-and-true strategy centered around rapid detection, aggressive contact tracing, community mobilisation, and decentralised mobile laboratories.

This highly effective model is executed by the Ministry of Health alongside partners like WHO and UNICEF.

Uganda’s success in taming these outbreaks relies on mobile laboratories in affected districts so samples do not have to be sent to the central Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) in Entebbe, dramatically cutting wait times for results.

A robust health system allows for quick turnaround times-often returning diagnostic results within 24 hours of testing at border or localised clinics.

Therefore, those making these out of proportion statement should come to Uganda to learn from our expertise.

This does not mean that we are not taking precautions as a country. We have set up standard operating procedures, especially where people gather in numbers. Schools and markets are operating normally.

Spreading unverified rumours and sensationalised data, which directly undermines public health efforts, causes widespread panic, disrupts the economy, encourages the use of dangerous unproven treatments, and severely damages the reputation of a country.

Uganda’s open policy in managing our affairs is being abused. As a country, we do not find it wise to hide information when we are faced with an outbreak. Indeed, when the rest of the world was still shy to talk about HIV/Aids in the 1980s, President Museveni came out boldly to tell the world about the strange disease then.

He championed a highly visible, grassroots, and top-down national awareness campaign that shattered taboos.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health is effectively managing the Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease outbreak.

The government rapidly activated national and subnational response structures, earning widespread commendation for its swift containment, contact tracing, and isolation protocols.

The Ministry of Health has appealed to Ugandan scientists to find local solutions to the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is the ability of infectious agents to resist drugs meant to kill them. About 30,000 annual deaths in Uganda are linked to AMR, according to government scientists.

Dr Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, made the appeal on Friday while launching the National Integrated Interoperable Digital Data Capture and Sharing Platform. The AI-enabled platform is meant to enhance detection and monitoring of AMR to inform decisions and improve effectiveness of interventions.

‘We are looking at a platform that brings all the information on AMR from all areas, being governed by one health. By one health, we refer to AMR in humans, animals like agriculture, in wildlife and in environment,’ she said.

‘So, we are trying to get all this information and be able to be stored in one place at the Ministry of Health so that whoever is looking for information regarding AMR can easily access this. In future, we are going to have the dashboards that will be able to have all landscape of AMR in the country under one health,’ she added.

Dr Atwine appealed to scientists to develop medicines or formulations that can replace drugs that are no longer working. She also urged the public to stop taking antibiotics without prescription. ‘We are encouraging the scientists in the country, the academia, to study more, for example, we have a lot of herbal medicines in this country, but they haven’t been fully harnessed to get the molecules in there that can actually turn into therapeutics and used to treat,’ she said.

The lead developer of the launched platform is Josephine Nabukenya, a professor of Health Informatics and Information Systems at Makerere University’s School of Computing and Informatics Technology.

‘The challenge currently is, there is a lot of data on AMR in animals, humans, wildlife and environment. Each of those sectors, picks their own data. And yet, when it comes to AMR, it is a challenge that cuts across, so the different sectors need to support each other,’ she observed.

Prof Nabukenya said antibiotics used in animals are similar to those used in humans, making a coordinated approach critical.

‘When you’re treating an animal, you use the same antibiotic that will treat a human. And the same would be spread in water and environment,’ she said.

‘So it is only important that all these sectors under what we refer to as the one Health approach come together and solve their data challenges as one group,’ she added.

The highly contested Mukono District LC5 chairperson election dispute has entered a decisive legal phase after the petitioner, Mr Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga, successfully traced and formally served his rival, Mr Francis Lukooya Mukoome, with an election petition.

The petition, filed at the Mukono High Court under the Local Government Act and the Electoral Commission Act, challenges the controversial declaration of Mr Lukooya as the winner of the 2026 district chairperson race.

According to court documents seen by this publication, Mr Muyanja accuses both Mr Lukooya and the Electoral Commission (EC) of orchestrating gross irregularities during the final declaration of results. The formal notice of presentation now requires the respondents to file their defense within 10 days of service, failing which the court will proceed to hear the case in their absence.

The successful service of the petition marks a critical turning point in a political dispute that has gripped the nation, following dramatic scenes at the Mukono District Tally Centre on January 22, 2026.

The controversy stems from an unprecedented, U-turn by the Mukono District Returning Officer, Ms Emily Amongin. Earlier on the election night, Ms Amongin had officially announced Mr Muyanja as the winner of the seat after he polled 51,686 votes against Mr Lukooya’s 50,254 votes.

However, widespread confusion engulfed the tally centre shortly after the announcement. Supporters of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) vehemently rejected the outcomes, insisting that their flagbearer, Mr Lukooya, had won the hotly contested race.

Eyewitness accounts detailed in the court documents indicate that Mr Muyanja’s attempts to access the returning officer’s desk to obtain his official Declaration of Results (DR) form were blocked by heavily armed security personnel.

In contrast, the Mukono District NRM Chairperson, Mr Haruna Ssemakula, reportedly gained access to the returning officer’s inner office, where he held a closed-door meeting with electoral officials lasting nearly two hours.

Following the private meeting, the returning officer reportedly left the tally centre premises for about an hour. Upon her return, and without offering a detailed explanation to the waiting candidates and agents, she overturned the initial results and declared Mr Lukooya the duly elected chairperson.

The revised and final results released by the EC showed Mr Lukooya securing victory with 52,523 votes, while Mr Muyanja’s tally was adjusted to 52,105 votes. An independent candidate in the race, Mr Lauben Ssenyonjo, trailed with ,3095 votes.

Mukono District has long been a volatile battleground in Ugandan local politics, often characterized by fierce rivalries between internal NRM factions and opposition coalitions. The dramatic reversal of results in January sparked widespread public outcry, with election observers raising red flags over the transparency of the tallying process and the heavy deployment of security forces.

With the petition now formally served, all eyes shift to the High Court in Mukono. Legal experts note that the case will heavily rely on the scrutiny of the original DR forms and accountability for the hours of disruption at the tally centre.

The Electoral Commission and Mr Lukooya are expected to submit their responses next week before the court fixes a date for the hearing.

Lawyers representing veteran opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye and his co-accused, Hajj Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya, have petitioned the High Court demanding immediate, unrestricted prison access and specialized facilities to prepare their defence ahead of their treason trial slated for next week.

In a June 5 letter addressed to the Deputy Registrar of the High Court Criminal Division, the defence team revealed that directives previously issued by trial judge Justice Emmanuel Baguma to facilitate lawyer-client consultations have not yet been implemented. This, they argue, severely jeopardizes their ability to prepare for the high-stakes hearing scheduled to commence on June 11, 2026.

The letter, signed by Lukwago and Co. Advocates, notes that during court proceedings on June 1, Justice Baguma directed the court registry to formally write to Luzira Government Prison. The directive aimed to grant the legal team access to their clients on weekends and public holidays, alongside ensuring prison authorities provided the necessary consultation facilities.

However, the defence maintains they have been left in the dark.

“To date, we have not received any notification that such a letter has been written to or that permission was granted by the prison authorities,” the lawyers stated.

The gravity of the situation was laid bare on June 4, when defence lawyer Bayern Turinawe was allegedly blocked from entering Luzira Prison with a laptop and flash drives during a scheduled visit.

“This experience confirms that either the letter has not been written or that permission has not been granted, yet the trial Judge fixed the case for hearing on 11th June 2026,” the defence team added, emphasizing the looming deadline.

To ensure a fair trial and preserve advocate-client privilege, Besigye’s legal team is demanding a secure, private interview room free from the presence of state intelligence officers. The room must be large enough to accommodate between 15 and 20 lawyers and legal assistants.

Furthermore, the lawyers are seeking: unrestricted entry to Luzira Prison from 8am to 6pm; clearance to bring in electronic equipment, including laptops, mobile phones, flash drives, headphones, mini speakers, a projector, and a whiteboard; access to a stable and secure internet connection within the facility; inclusion of an independent information technology expert and a forensic examiner chosen by the defence and permission to bring in bulky case files, legal texts, notebooks, and packed food for the legal team during marathon consultation sessions.

“We believe that the above request is reasonable considering the gravity and peculiarities of the case,” the letter reads, hinting that more requests could follow.

This legal skirmish comes just days after the High Court dealt a blow to the accused. Justice Baguma recently dismissed an application by Besigye and Lutale seeking a referral to the Constitutional Court to interpret whether they were being denied adequate time and facilities to prepare. The judge ruled that no substantial constitutional question had been raised and maintained the June 11 trial date.

Dr Besigye, Hajj Lutale, and UPDF officer Denis Oola face treason charges over allegations that they coordinated meetings within Uganda and abroad between 2023 and 2024 with the intent to overthrow the government. The accused vehemently deny the charges, labeling them politically motivated.

On Monday, Tenge Tenge was proof nobody needed law school. By Friday, he needed somebody from law school. 2026 has honestly been a confusing year for career guidance in Uganda. One minute we are telling children to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, and serious people.

The next minute someone on the internet is confidently declaring that the new blueprint for success is none other than Tenge Tenge. It all started when Ben Mwine looked at Uganda’s education system, corporate ladder, and general life structure and decided we had all been thinking too small.

According to him, ‘Tenge Tenge is now earning CEO money and you are still insisting on LDC?’ He added a reminder that ‘the cheese has been moving for a while,’ which is the kind of statement that sounds wise until you sit down and try to explain it to your landlord.

To be fair, the point about the digital economy stood.

Today, a teenager with a smartphone, WiFi, and charisma can build an audience bigger than some traditional media empires. For a moment, Ugandans reconsidered everything, with some even jokingly debating whether to replace school fees with ring lights. But just as quickly, reality fact-checked the excitement.

The Tenge Tenge narrative flipped: from being held up as the future CEO of the internet age to suddenly needing legal help over management disputes. In true Ugandan fashion, the same voice that once questioned law school was now calling for lawyers. Within days, the country had done a full emotional U-turn completing a complete career guidance loop without ever leaving the couch.

For those just joining the story, Tenge Tenge is one of Uganda’s most recognizable young content creators. Barely a teenager, he built a massive online audience through skits, challenges, and pure internet charm. His content travelled far beyond Uganda, earning him brand deals, collaborations, international trips, and millions of views.

Soon, things exploded publicly between his father, his manager, and surrounding stakeholders. At the center of all this chaos was one uncomfortable question: if this boy was ‘earning CEO money,’ why did the story still feel like a family trying to figure out school fees? Bruno K stepped in like Uganda’s unofficial crisis manager, me as me I think Bruno K should get a new name because this particular name was his music stage name, and like we all know, lately mans does more yapping than music.

Blending the roles of lawyer, therapist, journalist, and concerned uncle who refuses to let drama end without resolution. Using highly emotional TikTok Lives, he brought together Tenge Tenge, his father, and the manager in front of thousands of viewers who treated the situation like live entertainment and national therapy at once.

The sessions quickly turned chaotic arguments, tears, and real-time donations flowed as viewers contributed for school fees and even gifted a phone to keep content creation going. In true Ugandan fashion, a mediation meeting became part fundraiser, part reality show, and part public courtroom.

For a brief moment, it felt like everything might collapse completely into internet chaos. But then, just as quickly, reconciliation happened. Agreements were made as apologies were exchanged. The family and management team agreed to work together again while seeking proper legal clarity around earnings, ownership, and structure. Thank you Bruno K , you should have been the man behind the Kony talks!

The government has unveiled an ambitious legislative agenda for the 2026/27 financial year, proposing 38 Bills, policy frameworks, reports and statutory instruments for consideration by Parliament, six more than were presented during the previous financial year.

President Museveni announced the legislative programme while delivering the State of the Nation Address at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds yesterday, saying the proposed measures are intended to strengthen governance, improve service delivery and provide the legal framework necessary for the country’s continued development.

‘I now present to Parliament the legislative agenda for the next financial year. There are many, and the ministers responsible will table these Bills to Parliament,’ Mr Museveni said. The legislative package combines new Bills and measures carried forward from the outgoing financial year, covering sectors ranging from education and agriculture to health, transport, finance and internal security.

Among the key Bills expected to come before Parliament are the Building Substances Bill, 2025, the Small Arms and Light Weapons Control Bill, 2023, amendments to the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, and the Education (Pre-Primary, Primary and Post-Primary) Act, 2008. The government also plans to table the Curriculum, Assessment and Admissions Bill as part of broader reforms in the education sector.

In agriculture, ministers will present the Food and Agriculture Regulatory Authority Bill, 2026, and the Animal Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed at strengthening regulation and disease control within the sector. The legislative programme further includes amendments to the Local Government Act and the Uganda Tourism Act as government seeks to improve service delivery and support economic growth. The health sector is expected to undergo significant legal reforms through proposed amendments to the Pharmacy and Drugs Act, the Nurses and Midwives Act, and the Allied Health Professionals Act. Other notable proposals include the National Legal Examinations Centre Bill, 2026, the Information and Communication Bill, 2023, the Workers’ Compensation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Uganda Railways Bill, 2026.

Government also intends to table the Real Estate Bill, 2025, which seeks to regulate the fast-growing property sector. A substantial portion of the legislative agenda is dedicated to public finance management and accountability. Among the documents and bills to be presented are the Annual Macroeconomic and Fiscal Performance Report for the 2025/26 financial year, the Annual Budget Performance Report, the Annual Report on the Petroleum Fund, and the National Budget Framework Paper covering the period 2027/28 to 2031/32.

Other key documents include the Semi-Annual Budget Performance Report for FY2026/27, the Half-Year Macroeconomic and Fiscal Performance Report, ministerial policy statements for the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and related statutory votes, as well as the Draft Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for FY2027/28. Government will also table a report on multi-year commitments, a Treasury Memorandum detailing implementation of parliamentary recommendations arising from the Auditor General’s report, a statement on tax expenditures, a government asset divestment plan, and a report on public debt, loans, grants and guarantees.

Despite the expansive legislative programme, questions remain about Parliament’s ability to process such a large volume of business within a single financial year. The concern stems from the performance of the outgoing legislative calendar, in which government tabled 32 bills, reports and policy proposals, but fewer than half of the proposed laws were ultimately enacted.

The new legislative programme comes at a time when Parliament faces growing demands to balance scrutiny of major policy reforms with routine budget approvals and oversight responsibilities.