Category: Daily Monitor

Mukono District Local Government has allocated Shs230 million to implement a community-based road maintenance programme that will pay residents to maintain rural access roads while improving transport infrastructure.

The Road Gangs Programme was launched on June 4 by the district’s Works and Engineering Department, bringing together road gang members, district leaders and technical officers ahead of implementation.

Under the programme, workers assigned to maintain one kilometre of road will earn Shs75,000, while those responsible for up to four kilometres can earn as much as Shs300,000, depending on workload.

District officials said the funds have been specifically earmarked for road maintenance wages.

Speaking on behalf of the Chief Administrative Officer, Deputy CAO Stephen Muhumuza said the initiative provides employment opportunities within local communities while supporting service delivery.

‘Maintaining road infrastructure is a key component of service delivery. Roads facilitate movement, trade and access to essential services,’ Muhumuza said.

He cautioned beneficiaries against subcontracting the work, saying the programme was designed to provide direct benefits to local residents.

District Engineer Herbert Lutwama said road gangs will be responsible for clearing drainage channels, directing runoff away from roads, slashing grass, maintaining road reserves and keeping roads passable using basic tools.

Mukono District Finance Officer Yasin Mwanga addressed concerns about delayed payments under previous phases of the programme, attributing some challenges to inactive or incorrect bank account details.

‘For the current phase, payments will continue through bank accounts, but the district is considering mobile money for future phases. Beneficiaries are advised to verify and update their bank details,’ Mwanga said.

Winnie Nakaddu, the district secretary for Works, Water, Environment, Natural Resources and Production, said the programme would be implemented under strict accountability measures.

‘We expect discipline, honesty, commitment and hard work. Funds allocated for road maintenance must be used for their intended purpose,’ she said.

District officials said the Road Gangs Programme forms part of wider efforts to improve rural accessibility, enhance road safety and create income opportunities through labour-based public works.

The initiative is expected to support routine maintenance of community roads that connect residents to markets, schools, health facilities and other essential services.

Women farmers in Budaka District have received modern beehives worth Shs34 million under a smart agriculture programme aimed at promoting climate-resilient livelihoods and diversifying household incomes.

The beehives were handed over to women’s groups in Bwikomba II Village, Mugiti Sub-county, as part of efforts to support rural communities facing declining crop yields, unpredictable weather patterns and limited income-generating opportunities.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, Mugiti Sub-county Extension Officer Geoffrey Ibere said beneficiaries had been trained in modern beekeeping practices to ensure the success of the project.

He encouraged other community members to form groups and participate in similar programmes.

Local Council I Chairperson David Kandama welcomed the initiative, saying it would help address poverty among rural households.

‘These women will be empowered financially and also encourage others to form groups in order to benefit from the programme,’ Kandama said.

He noted that while agriculture remains the main source of livelihood for most families, dependence on traditional crop farming has left many households vulnerable to climate shocks and market fluctuations.

Officials said the introduction of beekeeping offers an alternative source of income through the production and sale of honey and other bee products while complementing existing farming activities.

Mugiti Sub-county Chief Gustine Tegulle urged residents to embrace the enterprise, describing it as a viable economic activity with growing market potential.

For beneficiaries, the project provides an opportunity to diversify incomes beyond subsistence farming.

District Production Officer Timothy Kawanga said communities benefiting from the programme contribute 20 percent of project costs, while government provides the remaining 80 percent.

He said 69 projects are currently being implemented across 20 sub-counties in Budaka, including 120 crop production groups, 45 apiary projects and 10 black soldier fly enterprises.

Kawanga also announced that the district would host an agricultural show on June 11, 2026.

Bwikomba Passion Growers Association Chairperson Harriet Alugat said members contributed Shs7.4 million as part of the required co-funding.

‘We are now putting much attention on beekeeping because its profitability is better compared to other enterprises,’ Alugat said.

She acknowledged that some members initially had concerns about managing bees but said training had increased their confidence.

LC3 Chairperson Enoch Kanene urged beneficiaries to maintain transparency and accountability to ensure the sustainability of the project.

‘The biggest cause of the collapse of these groups is lack of transparency, accountability and respect among leaders. It is time to work together for the good of the project,’ Kanene said.

District Internal Security Officer Lawrence Onyango called on beneficiaries to take ownership of the initiative and ensure government investments produce tangible results.

‘The government has invested a lot of money in different projects, but sometimes little can be seen on the ground,’ Onyango said.

Officials said the project forms part of wider efforts to promote sustainable agriculture and reduce poverty through income diversification in rural communities.

President Museveni yesterday declared a new era of relentless effort, unveiling an ambitious 2026 economic agenda centred on narrowing income disparities through commercial agriculture, while bolstering the middle class and the wealthy elite. In his State of the Nation Address yesterday, a tough-talking President spoke of a term of ‘no more sleep, no more corruption, no more diversions, no more politeness for non-performers who want leadership positions for ego and personal intentions’.

The president’s remarks, according to MPs across the political spectrum, however, portrayed the government as a metaphorical three-cooking-stones, representing the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary, making pledge after pledge, constantly announcing ambitious plans or engaging in endless debates about the future, yet failing to produce concrete outcomes. The President said Uganda cannot achieve transformation if leaders fail to guide citizens into productive work.

‘Either you lead, or you stay in your home. I hear of leaders talking about allowances to reach their people and mobilise them against poverty. I get nauseous…. All non-performers must leave leadership,’ he said. ‘This is the time to talk straight to everyone. Why should a Muluka chief (a local-level administrative leader) ask for a motorcycle to do his work? Let him ride a bicycle; it is better for him and he will live longer. I’m really sick and tired of parasitism, and that’s why I said, in this kisanja no more sleep.’

The president redefined the strategic direction of the ruling NRM government and tackled a cocktail of longstanding issues, including persistent bureaucratic hurdles, unkept promises and a noticeable gap between rhetoric and implementation. He highlighted impressive growth figures and showcased thriving farmers in rural areas, outlining ambitious plans for the future. However, he largely sidestepped pressing public concerns such as rising fuel prices, poor service delivery, unaffordable healthcare, and rampant corruption. These issues were mentioned only briefly, if at all and no tangible solutions or commitments were offered.

He struck an optimistic tone, noting the country has continued to enjoy uninterrupted peace and security, the bedrock of economic transformation. He applauded security agencies led by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces for keeping peace and called on the Police and the Judiciary to ensure law and order for sustained economic development. He explained that the country has undergone unprecedented development in the 40 years he has been in power, underscoring growth in GDP to $69.3 billion by the forex exchange method from $60.4 billion in 2025. Museveni also announced that the GDP per Capita has risen to $1,278, putting Uganda in the lower-middle-income status.

While reflecting on this growth, the President also set an ambitious two-digit growth of 10 per cent that will push the size of the economy to $80 billion.

‘This financial year, the economy is projected to grow by 6.4 per cent, and the next financial year, the GDP will grow by 10 per cent, pushing the size of the economy to $80 billion. All this is before the start of the flow of our commercial oil,’ he said This growth will, in part, be driven by Uganda’s expanding export portfolio.

‘Uganda now exports manufactured goods, including pharmaceuticals, refined gold, steel, ICT products, ceramics, plastics, and dairy products, already talked about. Uganda’s exports reached $18 billion in the twelve months ending in March 2026,’ Museveni said, adding that ‘we are now set for further and faster growth and transformation.’ In the next year, Museveni said his government will prioritize investment in the four key sectors that were identified to deliver the tenfold growth strategy of the economy to Shs500 billion by 2040. These are commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services, and ICT. The government is also to focus on value addition of the raw materials like gold and the knowledge economy of automobiles, vaccines, and computers.

According to his numbers, agricultural production that undergirds the economy has grown multifold, with surpluses that now require a pan-Africanist approach of both political and economic integration to ensure markets. Milk production, for example, now stands at 5.4billion liters from 200million liters in 1986; fish at 727,000 metric tonnes, while coffee has grown to 9.3million of 60kgs bags from 2 million bags in 1986.

He committed that the government will continue to provide low-cost capital through initiatives like the Parish Development Model to boost the sector.

‘There is already Shs557 million in the Parish. It has reached 3.7 million households. We are going to put Shs100 million plus Shs15 million for the leaders per annum per parish in the rural areas and Shs300 million plus Shs15 million for the leaders per ward in the towns.’ He added: ‘With the big farmers and manufacturers, the Government has put a total of Shs1,600 billion in the Uganda Development Bank. The interest rate for that money is 12 percent per annum. The interest rate for PDM is 6 percent and is payable after two years. We are always creating other funds for the ghettos, for the musicians.’

On Infrastructure, Museveni explained that his government has tarmacked all core roads linking the landlocked country to its neighboring countries, and by extension, the markets there. However, the roads in the capital, Kampala, that remain an eyesore received no mention from the President. He, however, tasked the new ministers of Works and Transport to root out corruption that he said has undermined several projects, including the Kampala-Mityana-Mubende-Fort Portal road.

Like he pledged in the 2025 address and the one before that, he said that the metre-gauge railway is to be revamped and the standard gauge built to ease the transportation of goods and cargo. But, with pressing concerns of poor service delivery, corruption, and the ever-growing public debt, many Ugandans waited to hear a remedy to receive a passing mention.

I saw something that would be difficult to explain to most Americans. A boda was carrying another boda. If you grew up in the US like I did, you were raised inside a world engineered for convenience. When something breaks, someone with a truck, a crane, a flatbed, a specialised tool or a laminated safety protocol appears to fix it. We have entire industries built around not having to improvise.

Spend a little time in Kampala and you start to realise how quickly convenience can soften a person. For example, here are a few things many Americans would struggle with if the power went out for a week; building a fire, growing food, sitting still long enough for boredom to produce a useful idea. Meanwhile in Uganda, a power outage is not a civilisational crisis. It is more like an ordinary Tuesday. People adjust. Phones are charged where power exists. Charcoal is lit. Conversations continue.

Someone finds a way.

Yesterday I was walking through our neighbourhood when I saw the kind of logistical solution that makes Kampala endlessly fascinating. A boda had died. Its mechanical spirit had clearly departed this earth somewhere between Kabalagala and wherever its rider had hoped to end up. In the US, this would trigger a sequence involving a tow truck, flashing lights, insurance details, paperwork and a bill large enough to make you reconsider vehicle ownership.

In Kampala, the solution was simpler. Another boda arrived. A short conversation took place. Within minutes, the deceased motorcycle was carefully balanced across the back of the rescue boda like some kind of mechanical piggyback ride. Problem solved. I watched it disappear down the road, and I could not decide whether I was witnessing recklessness, brilliance or a category for which English has no adequate word. The longer I live here, the more I suspect the answer is often all three. Kampala runs on improvisation. Not the cute, decorative kind people celebrate in leadership books, but the practical kind. The kind born from imperfect systems, limited tools and immediate need. If the road is blocked, someone creates a new lane. If the truck will not start, someone finds a rope. If the motorcycle breaks, another motorcycle becomes the recovery vehicle.

There is something humbling about that. In places where convenience is guaranteed, we often confuse comfort with convinience. We assume we are capable because the systems around us rarely ask much of us. But when those systems disappear, many of us are exposed. We know how to call someone. We do not always know how to solve the problem in front of us. Uganda has made me admire a different kind of intelligence; the intelligence of adaptation. The ability to look at the resources available and make something work anyway. It is not always tidy. It is not always safe by American standards. But it is often astonishingly effective.

That boda carrying another boda was not just funny. It was a small moving parable. When the systems around you are imperfect, creativity becomes a daily survival skill. And sometimes that creativity looks like a motorcycle carrying another motorcycle through Kampala traffic. Honestly, it worked beautifully. I am now convinced that if civilisation ever collapses, the global recovery effort will begin with a Ugandan boda rider.

Four people have been charged and remanded to prison over their alleged involvement in an online sex trafficking syndicate that authorities say exploited young women and girls in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District.

The accused, identified as Vivian Kobela, Martha Lubango, Juma Oguti, and Irene Naziwa, appeared before Kira Grade One Magistrate Ivan Seguya on Friday and were charged with multiple counts of aggravated trafficking in persons involving 22 victims.

Court heard that between September 2025 and May 2026, the accused allegedly operated as part of a criminal syndicate in Mbalwa, Kira Municipality, where they recruited, transported, harboured and received victims through fraud, deception, abuse of power and exploitation of vulnerable circumstances.

According to the prosecution, the victims were subjected to sexual exploitation and harmful child labour.

Because the offences are capital in nature and can only be tried by the High Court, Magistrate Seguya did not allow the accused to enter pleas. He instead read the charges to them before remanding them to Luzira Prison until July 2, when the case will return to court for mention.

The court also issued criminal summons against two other suspects, Aminah Nalubega and Madinah Namatovu, who remain at large.

The charges stem from a police operation conducted about two weeks ago at a residence in Mbalwa following intelligence reports about suspected criminal activities.

During the night raid, police arrested at least 28 people and recovered what investigators described as extensive digital broadcasting equipment.

According to preliminary police findings, officers discovered 27 young women aged between 17 and 26 years, as well as one male, inside a heavily enclosed three-bedroom house.

Investigators suspect the premises were being used to produce commercial online adult content.

Police also recovered several exhibits, including laptops, cameras, and 10 specialised adult devices believed to have been used in the alleged operation.

If convicted, the accused could face severe penalties under Uganda’s anti-trafficking laws, with death by hanging being the maximum punishment.

Police in Mpigi District have arrested a traditional healer accused of exploiting and allegedly sexually abusing some of his female clients, following a raid on his shrine prompted by complaints from residents.

The suspect, identified as Yusufu Kaweesi, also known as Jjaja Isabirye, was arrested on Thursday during an operation at Kitavujja Cell in Ward C, Mpigi Town Council.

The raid was led by the head of operations at Mpigi Central Police Station, Bumaali Lugona, and the Mpigi Town Council supervisor of traditional healers, Nalongo Nambi Nakasujja.

Speaking during the operation, Nakasujja said authorities had received complaints about the healer’s conduct, prompting a joint operation involving police and local residents.

Kaweesi’s shrine was subsequently closed by Nakasujja in the presence of police officers and community members.

Investigators recovered several items from the premises, including a machete, a dagger, documents believed to contain details of deceased persons, a hair dryer and other items that police said would form part of ongoing investigations.

Lugona said all recovered exhibits had been secured to aid inquiries into the allegations.

A woman who claimed to have narrowly escaped abuse at the shrine told this reporter that she had sought the healer’s services in a bid to resolve a dispute with her landlord.

‘I had gone there looking for help because my landlord was putting me under pressure over rent fees. What happened there left me frightened,’ said the woman, who requested anonymity.

Kaweesi denied all allegations against him and insisted he had done nothing wrong.

‘These accusations are part of a scheme to tarnish my name and destroy my reputation,’ he said.

Nakasujja said the decision to close the shrine was intended to prevent any further alleged wrongdoing while investigations continue.

Police have appealed to members of the public to provide information that could assist detectives handling the case.

The suspect remains detained at Mpigi Central Police Station pending further investigations.

President Museveni’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday painted a rosy picture of a country transformed by four decades of NRM rule, highlighting economic growth, wealth creation, and peace. However, several critical issues currently dominating public discourse were conspicuously absent from his address. The speech delivered at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds to officially open the first session of the 12th Parliament, largely focused on agriculture, wealth creation, and economic transformation. But many Ugandans had expected the President to provide guidance on pressing national challenges.

One of the most notable omissions was the Ebola outbreak. The disease has already claimed lives and triggered public health measures across the country, including restrictions on large gatherings. The President delivered his address under strict attendance controls aimed at preventing the spread of Ebola. Yet throughout the speech, he did not mention the outbreak or outline government efforts to contain it. Beyond Ebola, stakeholders had anticipated updates on broader challenges in the health sector, including concerns surrounding medical interns, staffing shortages, and healthcare financing. These issues were not addressed. Corruption, another issue that has dominated national debate in recent weeks, also received limited attention.

Corruption

Although the President reiterated his commitment to fighting corruption, he did not directly address ongoing investigations involving former Speaker Anita Among. Critics argue that while corruption continues to cost Uganda trillions of shillings annually, the President stopped short of outlining concrete measures his government intends to implement to tackle the vice. Security matters similarly received little attention. Unlike previous State of the Nation Addresses, where the President detailed security priorities and regional stability efforts, this year’s speech mentioned security only briefly in the context of political and economic integration within Africa.

The tourism sector, which the government views as a key driver of the country’s Tenfold Growth Strategy aimed at expanding Uganda’s economy to $500 billion by 2050, was also left out. Industry players had hoped for assurances on government plans to boost tourist arrivals and strengthen the sector’s contribution to national development.

Education stakeholders were equally left unsatisfied . The sector continues to face numerous challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, teacher shortages, salary disparities, and overcrowded classrooms. Yet the President offered no detailed assessment of the sector’s status or priorities for the next five years.

The word “education” appeared only three times in the speech, with references largely linked to historical accounts and proposed legislation.

Observers also noted the absence of discussion on science, technology, and innovation, sectors that the government has consistently identified as central to economic transformation. Significant public resources have been invested in scientific research and innovation projects, but the President did not provide updates on progress or future plans.

Oil sector

Another major omission was Uganda’s oil and gas sector. The President has frequently used public addresses to update citizens on the progress of oil projects. With first oil production expected in the coming weeks and fuel prices remaining a concern, expectations were high that he would address developments in the sector. However, the President made no mention of oil production timelines, fuel prices, or the broader energy sector.

Infrastructure development also received less attention. While the President provided updates on ongoing projects, he did not announce any major new road projects or transport infrastructure initiatives. Environmental concerns also failed to feature prominently in the address. As the President spoke at Kololo, authorities were reportedly carrying out evictions of residents from wetlands in Busabala. Despite his longstanding advocacy for wetland conservation, the issue was not mentioned. Questions surrounding human rights and the rule of law also remained unaddressed.

The speech came amid continued public concern over allegations of abductions, prolonged detention of political opponents, and broader governance issues. Critics had expected the President to comment on these matters, particularly given the continued detention of Opposition figure Kizza Besigye following his arrest in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2023. Other areas that received little or no attention included natural resources management, agro-industrialisation, and unemployment.

President Yoweri Museveni on Friday broke ground for the construction of the Kidepo International Airport in Karenga District, emphasising that it will improve access to Kidepo Valley National Park, boost tourism, attract investors and create jobs for young people.

”The airport will improve access to Kidepo Valley National Park, boost tourism, attract investors, create jobs for our young people and expand markets for local products.” Said Mr Museveni.

According to him, already, more than 1,600 Ugandans are employed on the project.

Mr Museveni noted that Karamoja has come a long way from the days of insecurity, cattle rustling, and lawlessness, saying that the restoration of peace has created the conditions for the region to develop.

The works will be funded by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry from the United Arab Emirates, which the President recognized the immense opportunities that exist in Uganda and Africa.

The facility, worth Shs269 billion, includes a 3.6 kilometer runway, 7,408-square-metre passenger terminal, 74,200 meter cargo terminal.

According to Uganda Wildlife Authority, Kidepo Valley National Park is Uganda’s most remote and least explored national park, yet it is widely regarded as one of Africa’s most breathtaking wilderness areas.

Located in the semi-arid valleys of Karamoja, the park borders South Sudan to the northwest and Kenya just 5km to the east, sitting approximately 700km from Kampala.

It has a variety of big game, unique landscapes, and rich birdlife. It is home to over 77 mammal species and 476 bird species.

Dear Diary,

A friend, let us call her Zara, has been dating someone for three weeks. Nice guy. Shows up. Texts back. By all available data, completely normal. Maybe even good. Naturally, this is utterly destroying her. Zara is in the group chat daily, not to share good news, but to build a federal case. ‘He was very calm when I cancelled on him. Is that normal?’ ‘He has not posted a story in four days. What is he hiding?’ ‘He said he had a good childhood. Do we believe that?’ She is practically begging for a red flag. Last week she sent me a TikTok titled ’10 signs you are dating a covert narcissist.’ She had circled three of them. The man’s unspeakable crimes? He sometimes takes an hour to reply to a text. He does not share his deepest feelings unprompted. He is, on occasion, in a mood.

I watched the video. Then the next one. Then six more. And what I discovered is: I am also a narcissist. Actually, we all are. The algorithm has diagnosed us. Every single one of us. If you have spent time on the internet, you have been assigned a disorder, a trauma response, an attachment style, and at least one toxic trait. You are either the narcissist, or you are healing from one. There is no third option. The TikTok algorithm does not allow you to just be a regular person who forgets their keys sometimes.

And the flags. The flags are a psychological hazard at this point. Bad communication one time? Red flag. Being emotionally unavailable on a Tuesday afternoon? Red flag. Having a complicated relationship with his mother? Red flag. Posting too much on Instagram? Red flag. Not posting? Highly suspicious. Texting back too fast? Desperate. Texting back too slow? Avoidant. Being in a good mood is ‘masking,’ and being in a bad mood is ’emotional immaturity.’ There is quite literally no correct way to be a human being anymore. We have successfully pathologised existing. Now, I am not saying real red flags do not exist. If he raises his hand at you, that is not him ‘having a bad day.’ We are not confused about those. Run.

But somewhere between actual abuse and ‘he took three hours to reply,’ we lost the plot. Completely. Here is what is actually happening; psychology discovered the internet, repackaged itself in a ring light, and now hunts us down when we are at our most vulnerable. Usually at 2am, right when the algorithm predicts we are the prime demographic for ‘signs he does not actually love you’ content. This stuff is not designed to help us build healthy relationships. It is designed to keep us watching. Anxiety keeps you scrolling. Certainty does not. A woman who has her life figured out closes the app. A woman who is actively spiralling hits play on the next 16 videos. So the content just keeps expanding the definitions.

It keeps making ordinary human messiness look like severe psychological damage. It keeps producing Zaras. Women who walk into a perfectly good situation and spend months trying to find the catch. Women who are not falling in love, they are conducting forensic investigation. Women who have been so thoroughly convinced that everyone is broken that they cannot recognise a functioning person when he shows up. And the truly unhinged part? We do it to ourselves too. We are diagnosing our triggers, our patterns, our wounds. We are trapped in therapy, buried in journals, drowning in meditation apps, and unpacking ourselves into microscopic pieces. And somewhere in all that unpacking, we forgot to just live.

So here is where I leave you. Not with a checklist, or a worksheet for your ‘healing era.’ Just a question: Before you opened the app, before the group chat weighed in, before the podcast that felt like it was personally attacking your life choices… what did your gut say? We have not lost our instincts. We have just buried them under five gigabytes of content and called it self-awareness.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Uganda’s latest masterclass in fiscal gymnastics, where the budget is on a diet but only certain people are allowed to lose weight. In a dazzling display of governmental genius that would make circus contortionists weep with envy, Uganda’s leadership has once again proven that when it comes to cutting costs, nothing is too sacred except, of course, the ever-expanding waistline of the political class.

While medical interns are being told to work for the love of humanity and perhaps a complimentary plate of posho if the hospital kitchen feels generous, the noble art of creating more ministerial positions, bloating Parliament, and generously adjusting allowances continues with the urgency of a man late for his own wedding.

These are people who have survived years of medical school, exams that read like ancient spells, and hospital shifts that make military training look like a wellness retreat. After all that, just when they finally reach the finish line, the system looks at them and says: congratulations but your payment is experience.

Apparently, producing more doctors is now a budgeting emergency, we may soon declare education itself as a luxury item.

In the same Kampala, cabinet expansion talks continue like a landlord discovering vertical construction. Ministers, ministers of state, assistant ministers, deputy assistants of ministers.

Each one comes with fuel, convoy, office, allowances, furniture, and at least one mandatory benchmarking trip to a country that has already solved the problem we are travelling to study. Parliament, of course, is fully operational in its natural habitat: the national allowance distribution centre. Constituencies keep multiplying like software updates and committees appear like side quests.

Every session introduces a new form of facilitation allowance yet when someone mentions paying interns, the national budget suddenly behaves like it has seen a ghost.

A medical intern at Mulago is on hour 30 of a shift, surviving on tea, adrenaline, and sheer spiritual resilience.

He has delivered babies, handled emergencies, and made life-or-death decisions without sleeping. At the exact same time, somewhere in a heavily air-conditioned office, a newly appointed official is approving fuel for a convoy that will attend a meeting about improving efficiency. Both are serving the country, no doubt !

And that is Uganda’s real talent: selective austerity. We tighten belts where it hurts least, but the pattern is simple: those who hold scalpels and chalks are always told to understand, while those who hold microphones and budgets are told to increase allocation. Uganda, once again, remains undefeated in the art of financial illusion.