Category: Daily Monitor

Parliament has ordered the arrest of Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) Chairperson, Ms Mariam Wangadya, after she repeatedly failed to appear before the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) to answer accountability queries.

The directives follow financial discrepancies highlighted in the Auditor General’s report for the financial year ended December 31, 2025.

In a letter dated August 10, seen by the Daily Monitor, COSASE Chairperson Mr Muwada Nkunyingi directed the commander of the Parliament Police Division to arrest Ms Wangadya and produce her before the committee on Tuesday at 9:00 AM.

According to Mr Nkunyingi, Ms Wangadya snubbed two consecutive committee summons without providing a satisfactory explanation.

‘During the meeting, it was ruled that arrest orders do issue, to have Ms Wangadya Mariam arrested and produced before the Committee on Tuesday, 11th August 2026, at 9:00 AM,’ Mr Nkunyingi wrote, invoking Rules 218(d)(i) and (e) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.

He called on Parliament Police to execute the order to enable the committee to fulfill its constitutional mandate under Articles 90 and 163 of the Constitution. The Daily Monitor understands that Parliamentary Police have received the directive and are preparing to execute the arrest.

Wangadya declines to comment

When contacted on Monday evening regarding the impending arrest, Ms Wangadya maintained a tight lip.

‘I don’t have a comment on that,’ she said.

The arrest order was issued after committee members unanimously resolved to compel her appearance when UHRC officials arrived at Parliament without her.

The delegation was led by the commission’s Acting Secretary and Accounting Officer, Mr Kamadi Byonabye, who presented a letter from Ms Wangadya explaining her absence. In the letter, she stated that she would instead present the national human rights status report before Parliament’s Human Rights Committee.

‘I will present the status report on human rights in the country before the relevant Committee-the Human Rights Committee of Parliament-on a date and time to be scheduled by the Committee,’ her letter read in part.

‘She cannot choose where to appear’

Rejecting her explanation, Mr Nkunyingi stated that Ms Wangadya’s attempt to select which committee to appear before undermines parliamentary oversight and accountability processes.

‘First of all, it’s not proper for anyone being summoned by the committee to decide how and where she will appear. All Auditor General’s reports about the Uganda Human Rights Commission come before the COSASE Committee, and it’s not proper for the leader of the vote to say that they will not appear,’ Mr Nkunyingi emphasized.

He stressed that COSASE holds the sole constitutional mandate to scrutinize accountability issues arising from Auditor General reports concerning statutory bodies like the UHRC.

Ms Wangadya, however, countered that she had already addressed some of the queries before Parliament’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee.

‘Why doesn’t this committee interact with its counterpart? I explained all these things, and to date, we are waiting for their report… as I said on my arrest, I will not comment,’ she added, referring the newspaper to her earlier correspondence with the committee.

Dispute over deputy chairperson

In her submission to COSASE, Ms Wangadya also dismissed questions regarding the status of a Deputy Chairperson at the commission, arguing that the position is legally non-existent.

‘The position of ‘Deputy Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission’ does not exist. I am, therefore, unable to ‘clarify the status’ of an officer who does not exist,’ she wrote, adding that creating such a role would require a constitutional amendment.

Widening inquiry

While COSASE’s primary focus remains on the Auditor General’s financial audit, its probe has broadened to cover general governance, operational concerns, and the commission’s handling of human rights complaints.

The ongoing standoff adds to the turbulence surrounding the commission’s leadership. On July 6, Ms Wangadya reportedly submitted a notice of resignation to President Yoweri Museveni, the appointing authority. However, the Attorney General later advised Parliament that she remains the substantive UHRC Chairperson.

COSASE is scheduled to resume proceedings today at 9:00 AM, where Ms Wangadya is expected to be produced under police custody.

As generative artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates globally, so does the cost of powering it. Surge in computational demands-driven largely by high-end Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and massive server farms-has created a financial hurdle that threatens to derail innovation, particularly across Africa and the Global South.

However, Edwin Nguthiru, founder of Nairobi-based Aphorion Labs, believes the global tech industry is solving the wrong problem. Rather than pouring billions into heavy processing power, Nguthiru is challenging the fundamental assumptions behind modern AI development.

“Running standard AI models currently requires enormous computational resources,” Nguthiru explains. “We are building solutions that challenge this paradigm. Our systems do not require massive processing power. Instead, we rely on very lightweight requirements-a philosophy that forms the foundation of our mission.”

Storage as the source of intelligence

Nguthiru’s breakthrough stems from a simple, radical question: What if intelligence came from how data is stored rather than how heavily it is computed?

Traditional databases store raw information in rigid rows and columns, retrieving data only through exact keyword matches. Modern AI systems use heavy computation to analyze relationships between data points after retrieval.

Nguthiru turned to neuroscience to flip this equation, developing HeatherDB-arguably the world’s first natively intelligent database. Inspired by how the human brain organizes, connects, and recalls information, HeatherDB stores the intelligence itself within the storage layer.

“Traditional systems store data first and compute intelligence later,” says Nguthiru. “HeatherDB stores the intelligence-the connections and organization of information-much like the human brain does. Because storage is inexpensive and easy to scale compared to processing power, our AI models are dramatically cheaper to run.”

To demonstrate the power of this architecture, Nguthiru ran production-grade AI workloads on a $5 server paired with a Raspberry Pi at the GITEX Kenya North Star platform. By proving that advanced AI can operate on low-cost edge hardware, Aphorion Labs is breaking down barriers for grassroots communities and budget-constrained startups.

Rewriting the narrative on African IP

For decades, African tech ecosystems have often been cast as consumers of Western and Eastern technology rather than producers of foundational intellectual property. Nguthiru is determined to dismantle that narrative.

Building HeatherDB was far from easy. Starting with a neuroscience video and an obscure 1980s academic paper, Nguthiru spent months bootstrapping the research, spending roughly $300 of his own money to build prototypes that could learn and adapt in real-world environments.

Beyond financial constraints, his primary obstacle was perception.

“There is often skepticism and an underlying assumption that Africa cannot produce foundational AI systems,” Nguthiru notes. “People see us primarily as consumers rather than creators. However, Africa is increasingly becoming a source of original intellectual property and scientific discovery. Our resource limitations actually forced us to think differently and innovate from first principles.”

Interpretable, inexpensive, and open

HeatherDB is currently in its pilot phase, with design partners integrating the system into enterprise workloads. Unlike standard “black box” AI models that are difficult to alter once trained, HeatherDB’s architecture is fully interpretable and adjustable, allowing developers to inspect decisions, reduce algorithmic bias, and update information continuously.

Looking forward, Nguthiru plans to open-source core components of the technology to democratize AI access globally, while monetizing through enterprise licensing, support, and model ingestion services.

For tech developers and entrepreneurs across the continent, Nguthiru’s journey offers a clear lesson in perspective: constraints can become catalysts for genuine breakthroughs.

“We genuinely enjoy errors and failures during development because solving them unlocks new possibilities,” Nguthiru says. “My message to innovators is simple: challenge the norms and assumptions. The future of AI cannot depend entirely on expensive, centralized infrastructure.”

The Ministry of Health is hopeful that five regional incinerators, currently under the final phase of construction, will offer a lasting solution to challenges related to the poor disposal of tonnes of toxic and infectious medical waste being generated by public health facilities across the country.

The regional incinerators are being constructed in Gulu, Lira, Fort Portal, Mbarara and Masaka to tackle the massive medical waste problem.

According to figures from the health ministry, a regional referral hospital generates about 1,000kg of toxic and infectious waste each day. This translates into approximately 330,000kg of medical waste being generated by a regional referral hospital annually.

According to the Ministry of Health data, 16 percent of medical waste in Uganda is hazardous. Of this, 20 percent is infectious, 1 percent pharmaceutical, 1 percent sharp materials, and another 1 percent is cytotoxic and radioactive waste.

Ms Susan Namukose, a Public Health Specialist at the Ministry of Health, said annually government health facilities across the country generate up to 70 million kilograms of medical waste.

Ms Namukose, however, noted that the challenge has been the proper disposal of such toxic and infectious materials to prevent them from ending up in landfills and water bodies.

An assessment conducted in 2021 in 1,484 health facilities indicated that each health facility can generate up to 45kg of medical waste each day.

According to Ms Namukose, some of the waste ends up in open fields and water bodies.

“Such waste is toxic and it can lead to infections. So there is a need to dispose of it properly,” she added.

Ms Namukose noted that part of the challenges related to poor medical waste management and disposal are access to standard incinerators, lack of training in healthcare waste management, donor aid cuts and outdated guidelines.

Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the Senior Communication Officer at the Ministry of Health, said once the facilities become functional, health facilities across the country will be able to tackle the problem of waste management properly.

“The Ministry of Health is working to ensure proper medical waste management across the country. The Gulu Regional Incinerator covers the entire Acholi Sub-region, and it will be ready November,” Mr Ainebyoona said.

The construction of the Shs2.5 billion hi-tech incinerator in Oding Village, Unyama Sub-county in Gulu District, kicked off in 2022. The construction was delayed due to a funding gap, procurement challenges and land ownership disputes. It has capacity of incinerating 250kg of medical waste within an hour.

In August 2023, the government kicked off the installation of key equipment and machines such as the waste pre-treatment system, flue gas treatment system, combustor, pollution controller and automatic control machine.

“The delayed functionality of the facility is largely due to the installation of the power grid and the generators, which are currently under procurement. They [generators] are coming from abroad because the procurement is being handled by the Global Fund, which is funding part of the incinerator project,” Mr Ainebyoona explained.

Recently, the management of Gulu Regional Referral Hospital in Gulu City and that of Anaka General Hospital in Nwoya District, revealed that the facilities were struggling to safely dispose of non-biodegradable medical waste being generated at the facilities.

The public facilities, among the largest in the country, also generate domestic waste.

However, the incinerator constructed at the hospital cannot handle such a large amount of waste. To make matters worse, private health facilities within the city also use the same incinerator to destroy medical waste.

The World Health Organisation warns that poor management of waste can cause serious disease to healthcare personnel, waste workers, patients, the general public, and may severely pollute the environment and water bodies.

Government wants the Uganda National Oil Company to find new ways to fund itself as the country inches closer to first oil, with the Ministry of Finance pressing the company to cut reliance on budget support.

Finance Minister Henry Musasizi, flanked by State Ministers Amos Lugoloobi and Cissy Mulondo, tasked the UNOC Board during a performance review to explore innovative and sustainable financing options. The directive comes at a time when capital demands across the oil and gas value chain are rising and the Treasury is under pressure to prioritize spending in health, education and infrastructure.

Musasizi commended UNOC for keeping the country’s petroleum supply stable despite global geopolitical tensions and conflicts in major oil-producing regions. He said the fact that fuel has remained available at relatively stable prices shows the value of having a national oil company actively involved in the market.

But he also questioned why consumers continue to pay very different prices depending on where they buy fuel. Citing pump prices in Kabale, Masaka, Mbarara and Kampala, the minister asked UNOC to explain the wide variations and propose measures to narrow the gap.

‘Stability is good, but equity matters too,’ Musasizi said. ‘A Ugandan in Kabale should not feel penalized compared to one in Kampala simply because of logistics.’

UNOC officials told the meeting that upstream projects are advancing steadily. By the end of June 2026, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline had reached 89.4 percent completion. The Kingfisher Development Area was at 79.36 percent, while Tilenga stood at 74.2 percent.

With first oil expected soon, the company said it faces about US$72 million in cash-call obligations to meet its share of joint venture costs. Those obligations, UNOC noted, will increase as field development accelerates.

On the downstream side, UNOC reported strong growth from its role as sole importer. Volumes increased by 39 percent year on year, and the company is now supplying 36 Oil Marketing Companies across the country. That expansion has translated into better revenues. Gross margins rose from Shs387 billion to Shs540 billion in the 2025/2026 financial year.

The company is leveraging a US$2 billion financing facility with Vitol Bahrain to support imports. To date, US$150 million has been drawn down under the facility. UNOC also said it had transferred Shs536 billion to the Ministry of Finance from its operations, underlining its contribution to public coffers.

Beyond trading, UNOC is building infrastructure meant to cut import costs and improve storage. The flagship projects include a 320-million-litre Kampala Storage Terminal, a 110-million-litre terminal in Mombasa to secure product before it enters Uganda, and plans for a 60,000-barrel-per-day refinery.

At Kabalega Industrial Park in Hoima, Phase One infrastructure works are progressing after Shs37.96 billion was secured. Government sees the park as the hub for refinery, storage and other midstream investments.

To reduce dependence on the budget, UNOC has proposed a sustainable self-financing model. Officials said the sole-importation business alone generates about US$3 million every month in administrative charges, money that can be reinvested into operations and infrastructure.

However, the company cautioned that government’s continued commitment to capitalize UNOC remains critical. Without that equity support, it said, the company will struggle to meet its obligations in joint ventures and to deliver large projects on time.

The engagement underscores a broader government strategy to position UNOC as a commercially viable entity capable of delivering value from Uganda’s petroleum resources. With first oil on the horizon, the focus is shifting from project development to how Uganda will manage revenues, ensure energy security, and use the sector to drive industrialization.

For now, the message from the Finance Ministry is clear. UNOC must innovate on financing, improve efficiency in distribution, and prepare to operate with less direct budget support, while still delivering on national energy goals.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has never hidden his goal of making the East African Community a unified polity. Yet after trying and failing for the last two decades, the veteran leader is returning the agenda back on the table, seeking to influence peers in partner states to accommodate a political confederation, instead.

It is part of his to-do items as chair of the East African Community heads of state summit, the topmost decision-making organ of the eight-member bloc. Museveni took over the mantle from Kenya’s William Ruto earlier in April and seeks a united political front, as well as integrating Somalia into the Customs Union, and resolving security crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo as priority items.

Just before travelling to Dar es Salaam, this week for a two-day, August 5-6, working visit, he renewed his call for an EAC political confederation, proposing a shared military and space programme among regional states.

“On the side of defence, strategic defence, you must have political integration where possible. Not everything is possible, but where the people are the same, like those of East Africa, they are the same people,” said Museveni.

He pushed for a unified military command and single defence structure, including a joint regional navy, to protect landlocked states and fend off external interventions.

“If we have the East African Federation, we shall be able to have a navy which can defend us in the ocean, and we will be able to have a space programme,” said Museveni.

Museveni has fronted these ideas before, only to be met with subtle hurdles. Some countries in the bloc were not ready to cede ground. Others were at war with themselves. Over the years, the Ugandan leader seems to have learnt that a political federation will not be overnight. That experience may be handy now, given he is the oldest leader in power today in the bloc.

His latest agenda signals adaptability, asking members to agree on some areas while keeping their sovereignty in the meantime.

Which is why he is fronting a confederation instead of an immediate political federation, allowing flexibility and function as a gradual steppingstone that builds a regional trust and legal alignment.

“President Museveni is the champion of the regional integration on the continent and so we expect that we should do more in terms of integration and hopeful that consultations for the political federation will be completed by one or two other countries so that we can start the confederation,” Rebecca Kadaga, Uganda’s Minister for EAC Affairs, told The EastAfrican. She is also the chair of the EAC Council of Ministers.

“This is one of the major things that President Museveni would like to see during his one-year term as chairman of the EAC.”

Critics argue that the EAC political federation is an unrealistic and premature goal plagued by national nationalism, institutional failures, and a severe lack of public awareness or civic participation. In fact, they argue the EAC has struggled to attain simpler goals, such as a customs union and common market, as seen in never-ending non-tariff barriers to movement of people and goods.

Critics say that governments merely pay “lip service” to integration treaties, failing to enforce protocols or harmonise divergent legal, bureaucratic, and colonial legacies such as Anglophone vs Francophone administrative systems. There are also inherent suspicions between leaders of partner states in the bloc, delaying the political will needed to implement decisions.

“Political Federation/Confederation is a big no,” said Dr Kizito Sabala, a lecturer at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies (IDIS), University of Nairobi.

“Ceding sovereignty is the greatest challenge. Political federation cannot succeed with partner states ceding some level of sovereignty.”

The EAC set itself four main pillars including attaining a political federation, the fourth pillar. Others include the Customs Union (whose deadline was in 2005), Common Market protocol (2010), and the Monetary Union, whose deadline seems fluid. Countries have relatively implemented most of the tasks under the customs union and common markets, as seen in visa-free travel and common taxes on externally imported goods. Yet countries such as South Sudan have routinely imposed fees on travellers although Juba refuses to call them visa fees. South Sudan, Burundi, DRC, and Somalia have also dragged feet on cutting call roaming charges while Tanzania is only implementing the one network area arrangement.

Back on the political ambitions, a committee of experts tasked with drafting a model constitution for the EAC confederation is underway and President Museveni has instructed that the process of collecting views should be expedited.

A special committee led by former Ugandan Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki is conducting stakeholder discussions on a political confederation, before it drafts the required constitution.

The proposed EAC confederation will have its own institutions, officials, and funds.

It would deal directly with partner states rather than EAC citizens.

The confederal authority will, however, have the right to suspend or expel a member state that violates the confederal constitution.

Partner states will largely retain their national sovereignty, one official explained, providing assurance to basic fears around it.

But while the push by Museveni is strategic, Dr Sabala points out that it is likely to stall just like it has happened before.

Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda have already completed the exercise of collecting and collating public views on what political federation they want. Tanzania, South Sudan, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are yet to speak.

“I would like the people of EA to agitate more for political federation above all else,” said Kadaga in an exclusive interview with The EastAfrican.

“The political federation is the solution to all our problems. If we are a federation, we shall get rid of small budgets, taxes and so on. I would like to see a political federation as quickly as possible. I want to engage Somalia, Tanzania, South Sudan and later the DRC.”

Critics point to the fact that the EAC partner states fiercely protect their national autonomy and are unwilling to hand over critical controls, such as defence, foreign policy, and security, to a centralised regional authority.

Surveys, such as those by Afrobarometer polling this week, reveal that a large majority of citizens across the region have heard little to nothing about the proposed federation, showing a profound communication gap between regional policymakers and the public.

Background

In May 2017, the EAC Heads of State summit decided that a political confederation is the preferred model towards closer cooperation.

Justice Odoki said the confederation was “a slight change of policy” by the Community due to constitutional differences among Partner States, different levels of economic development, and mixed progress in the implementation of the Customs Union, Common Market and Monetary Union.

A confederation is not a federation. A confederation means a union of sovereign states in which the autonomy of members is recognised, while a federation implies a union of states in which the supremacy of the common government is the foundation.

The EAC took its first major step toward integration in 2005, forming a customs union that allows for free trade within the community and common tariffs on external trade.

The next milestone, a common market with free movement of goods, services and labor, launched in 2010.

The EAC’s ultimate goal is full federation of the eight member states – Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda – that would install a single central government with common foreign and security policies.

Joy has returned to Kagadi General Hospital after 17 years, with the facility finally resuming X-ray services following the commissioning of a new machine on Monday.

For nearly two decades, patients requiring radiological investigations at the hospital had to be referred to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital and Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, or pay out of pocket at private facilities.

The new machine is expected to improve diagnosis and treatment, reduce referrals and strengthen the hospital’s capacity to provide comprehensive general hospital services.

Mr Simon Peter Tumusiime, the senior hospital administrator, said the absence of an X-ray machine had been a major gap. ‘As a general hospital, this was a big gap in our healthcare system. We would receive patients who required an X-ray, but because we did not have the service, we ended up referring them to Fort Portal. The hospital has spent 17 years without this machine,’ he said.

He said the hospital had already used the new equipment to examine eight patients since installation, with results reportedly satisfactory.

Tumusiime said the lack of the service had also affected the hospital’s image and performance. ‘Now that it is here, we shall have no further excuses and shall handle patients at any time. The services are free of charge,’ he said.

The machine was delivered to the hospital in September 2025 but remained under installation and assembly, with technical guidance from Ministry of Health officials. Tumusiime said the service will be provided free of charge to all patients accessing the government facility.

Mr. Samuel Onyaiti, the Kagadi District Health Officer, warned health workers against charging patients for the X-ray service. ‘To all medical officers, endeavour not to involve yourselves in patient extortion. Whoever is convicted will be charged individually,’ he said.

Kagadi General Hospital has previously faced allegations of patient extortion, although hospital authorities have denied the allegations, citing lack of evidence against individual staff members.

Onyaiti pledged that the district would support the hospital in maintaining and repairing the equipment to ensure continuity of the service.

With X-rays now available, hospital authorities say their next priority is securing an ultrasound machine. Onyaiti said the hospital has gone about eight years without ultrasound scanning, creating another gap in diagnostic care.

The hospital is also facing staffing challenges, though authorities say there has been recent improvement. The facility has recently received two medical consultants and two additional specialists, including a surgeon and a gynaecologist. Four medical interns are also expected to join once issues surrounding their government payments are resolved.

Ms. Carlorine Nanshemeza, the Kagadi Resident District Commissioner, said the district had secured four Uganda People’s Defence Forces personnel to support security at the hospital for three months. ‘We have had cases of theft at the facility. To address the issue, we have deployed four UPDF officers to boost security at the hospital, people and their property, and medical equipment,’ she said.

She said continuation of the deployment would depend on the security situation and recommendations from hospital administrators, and cautioned health workers against involving the officers in illegal activities.

Mr. Ellygard Tumusiime, the Kagadi District LCV chairperson, called for the installation of CCTV cameras across the hospital premises. ‘These cameras will help us know who entered which office and the activities performed,’ he said.

He alleged that some health workers had previously diverted government medicines to private clinics, leaving patients without essential medicines, and said cameras could strengthen accountability.

Hospital authorities say service delivery has improved slightly compared with the previous situation. Some structures have undergone minor renovations, while complaints of patient extortion have reduced following increased monitoring by district leaders.

Security and information notices displaying patients’ rights and the free nature of government health services have also been placed around the hospital. Telephone contacts for the hospital administration, RDC, LCV chairperson and DISO have been displayed on walls and doors to allow patients to report suspected cases of extortion and other misconduct.

Mr. James Luyimbazi, the Chief Administrative Officer, cautioned health workers to observe professional ethics. ‘Medical professionals should stick to professional ethics and avoid the temptation of charging patients in a government institution intended to provide services at no cost,’ he said.

However, the issue of staff identification tags remains unresolved, with patients still facing difficulty identifying health workers attending to them.

Kagadi General Hospital has been serving the area since 1968, long before Kagadi District was established in 2016.

I have a local dog at home. His name is Gabby. I named him after an Arsenal’s football club player called “Gabriel”, nicknamed “Big Gabby”, a tough defender for Arsenal football club in England.

Gabby is approximately one year and seven months old. He is highly energetic and exhibits playful behaviour, often running and disrupting objects within the home. I acquired Gabby at an early age, prior to weaning. I like Gabby so much. I always make sure he is fed. This made him like me and generally responsive to my commands.

Recently, however, Gabby developed a habit of escaping whenever the compound gate is left open. In response, I constructed a cage to confine him during the day and set him free at night. This new development caused noticeable distress. When confined, Gabby barked frequently and actively sought opportunities to escape. Each morning, returning him to the cage became more difficult.

One morning, I woke up as usual to put Gabby in his cage, but to my surprise, my attempt to confine Gabby was met with unexpected aggression. Whenever I tried to catch him, he barked, growled, and tried to bite me. I was disappointed by his behaviour. I tried commanding him as usual to come to me and sit down, but he ran away. I followed him, and he charged toward me. In reaction, I threw sandals at him and used a chair defensively. My actions annoyed Gabby and made him even more rebellious.

In an effort to calm the situation, I sought an alternative approach. I left to the kitchen and retrieved some leftover food. Upon seeing the food, Gabby’s behaviour changed-he started wagging his tail and approached me calmly. I placed the food inside the cage and called him to follow me. Gabby followed me but refused to enter the cage. Gabby lingered around the cage for a moment and then went inside to eat. I immediately shut the door behind him.

After the incident with Gabby, I opened my phone and started viewing statuses on WhatsApp. I came across a post from one of my mentors, a judicial officer in Arua City. It read: “Today, I saw two prisoners leaving court premises in jubilation upon being released… The feeling of being free!”

Then I immediately flashed back to what had happened with my dog, Gabby’s behaviour made me reflect on the concept of liberty. The drive for freedom appears to be inherent, observed in both animals and human beings. Everyone wants and loves to be free. Just imagine how an animal was barking at me and fighting to protect its liberty. What would a human being do to be free?

Personal liberty is a fundamental right that is inherent in every human being by virtue of their humanity. No one loves to be restrained arbitrarily or kept where he has no freedom of choice.

In the Ugandan context, the right to personal liberty is a fundamental pillar of the nation’s constitutional democracy. Article 23 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda explicitly guarantees this right. The Constitution of Uganda stipulates that deprivation of personal liberty is permissible only under tightly defined legal parameters-such as executing a lawful court sentence or the arrest of a suspect based on reasonable criminal suspicion.

Despite these constitutional safeguards, reports of unlawful detention persist in contemporary Uganda. For example, security forces routinely keep people past the legal 48-hour limit without charging them in court, State unidentified armed operatives target Opposition figures and activists, holding them outside formal legal channels. There is a hunger for liberty.

The right to personal liberty must not be abused nor be derogated arbitrarily or subjected to unjustified limitation. They must be respected and preserved in accordance with the constitutional provisions.

You will never understand the importance of personal liberty or hear the cry of another person yearning for his/her liberty until yours is taken.

Over a month ago, a renowned senior driver, Mr Masisi Adubango, lost control of his vehicle and it overturned on Ayila Bridge in Nebbi District, killing him on the spot.

He is not an isolated case. Several drivers narrate harrowing tales of risking their lives to cross bridges that are in a dangerous state in Nebbi. One such driver is Mr Sam Olegmungu, who told the Daily Monitor on Monday that when it rains, most of the roads become slippery and impassable.

For several years, communities across Nebbi have relied on bridges under district roads to connect farmers to markets, children to schools and patients to health facilities.

Yet currently, the majority of the bridges have become death traps, with residents accusing authorities of neglect as worsening infrastructure continues to disrupt livelihoods and threaten lives.

Upon reaching the bridges that are narrow and with broken edges, drivers first let the passengers alight before crossing the bridge with a reduced load.

“Crossing these bridges is a matter of life and death. You have to be extra careful because if you make any mistake, you will find yourself in the river. These bridges like Ayila and Acodho have been in a dilapidated state for a long time and have not been repaired,” Mr Olegmungu said.

He said because of the bad spots, they spend more hours on the road and this is frustrating, and yet the government collects revenue from business communities.

“Patients referred from lower health facilities to either Angal or Nebbi Hospital do not reach in time because more time is spent dodging potholes on the road. That is why some die on the way or just after reaching,” Mr Olegmungu said.

The traders, boda boda riders and farmers said the poor state of bridges has increased transport costs, reduced business opportunities, and exposed road users to accidents, especially during the rainy season when rivers swell and wash away temporary crossings.

A regular traveller on the Nebbi road, Ms Night Akumu, said: “The road users aren’t losing their lives because of reckless riding and driving, but because the roads and bridges that are in bad condition.”

Ms Akumu added that some of the roads are so narrow that drivers struggle to balance their vehicles on the road when overtaking.

Dire situation

The situation has also affected small businesses that depend on the movement of goods between villages and trading centres. Shop owners decry delays in deliveries, while transport operators spend more money taking longer alternative routes.

Mr Joseph Ocen, a farmer in Parombo, said: “The buyers do not want to come to our village to buy goods. Those who come hit us with damages created by bad roads and bridges. So, we end up selling our produce cheaply.”

A snapshot tour of Nyaravur-Angal Town Council, Parombo, Akworo and Erussi sub-counties showed that most rural bridges that were constructed more than 30 years ago are now in ruins, have collapsed or lack guardrails.

According to the traders, during every rainy season, Ayila, Paceng and Akuru bridges on route to Parombo, and the Nebbi-Goli, Panyimur, and Urusi in Nebbi District, become impassable.

Mr Marks Okello, the Deputy Managing Director of Rock Global Oil Limited, said due to the bad state of Nyaravur-Parombo, they spend huge amounts on vehicle repairs every time.

“The bad roads also delay delivery of the goods, especially during rainy seasons when the trucks get stuck,” he said.

“The company has 28 trucks and each truck loaded with fuel pays revenue of Shs14 million and when the truck gets stuck on the muddy roads, the company makes losses,” Okello said.

### Authorities respond

The Nebbi District Engineer, Mr Jean Hendrew Okecha, acknowledged that the three bridges on the Angal-Arua-Parombo line were too narrow and were not built to handle heavy traffic, which has resulted in accidents and loss of lives.

He said three of the bridges on that road require about Shs3.5 billion to be fixed, which he said can be achieved when they are prioritised in the budget.

Mr Okecha added that through about 95 percent of the roads are fairly passable, the district remains with challenges of narrow and dilapidated bridges, which slow down business because trucks spend a lot of time on the roads.

“We have four bridges across the district which need urgent attention, but the district cannot do much because of funding inadequacies,” Mr Okecha said.

He said the district has 380km motorable roads and approximately 100km community access roads, adding that the meagre road funds of only Shs1.1 billion under Uganda Road Funds (URF) is stifling their efforts to undertake meaningful rehabilitation work.

The Nebbi District Chairperson, Mr George Ubelgiu, acknowledged that the bridges on Nyaravur-Angal-Parombo roads are narrow and dilapidated, with cracks on the beams and walls.

He said most of the bridges were not meant for trucks but they risk it because there are no alternative routes to reach the markets.

“The district is incapacitated to construct bridges since resources being received are limited. And the Shs1.1 billion is for road maintenance, not including the component of bridge construction,” Mr Ubelgiu said.

He added that out of 09 bridges which are earmarked for construction, each will cost the government Shs1.8 billion.

Local leaders say replacing bridges are essential for socio-economic growth, enabling access to markets, healthcare, education and other critical services.

A story titled ‘Pregnant PWD Women struggle to access safe maternity care,’ which was published in the Daily Monitor yesterday, highlights the plight of people with disabilities (PWDs).

The story narrates the ordeal of expectant PWD mothers who face difficulties in accessing services at health facilities in eastern Uganda.

A key cause of their predicament is the fact that many health workers do not know how to read and communicate in sign language.

This leads to delays in attending to the expectant mothers, endangering their lives and those of their unborn babies.

The expectant mothers also complain that some health workers are rude and treat them inhumanely.

Unfortunately, the problems faced by the expectant PWD mothers in eastern Uganda are also faced by other PWDs across the country.

Many health workers do not know sign language, impeding their ability to properly diagnose and treat PWDs.

Furthermore, PWDs find it hard to access toilets in health facilities nationwide. Most toilets in health facilities are not PWD-friendly. Some of them do not have ramps to enable easy accessibility by PWDs.

Many require the user to squat in order to use them, yet some PWDs are unable to do so because of their impairments.

While some health facilities have flush toilets that can be used while seated, some of them do not have handrails to enable easier use by PWDs.

The problems experienced by PWDs in health facilities also exist in other places, like public buildings that house government offices, schools, and commercial buildings, among others.

Many public buildings do not have ramps and lifts, making it difficult for PWDs to access them. PWDs also find it hard to use toilets in these buildings.

Few civil servants know sign language, making it difficult for them to render assistance to PWDs who approach them for help in their offices.

To remedy the problems faced by PWDs, we call upon the authorities to teach health workers and other civil servants sign language to enable them to effectively communicate with PWDs.

All public buildings must have ramps, and if storeyed, lifts to enable easy access by PWDs.

These public buildings and health facilities must have toilets that can easily be used by PWDs.

Furthermore, we must all treat PWDs with kindness and respect. They are human beings just like the rest of us. When they go to health facilities or visit offices, they should not be discriminated against, insulted, or belittled.

Uganda’s tax regime is constantly evolving. Each year, as the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) works to meet its revenue targets, the Government introduces new taxes or adjusts existing ones to finance the national budget. The financial year 2026/27, which began on July 1, 2026, is no exception.

Among the notable changes this financial year is a significant increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) registration threshold.

Parliament approved an increase in the VAT registration threshold from Shs150 million to Shs300 million starting July 1, 2026.

The move, projected to generate Shs349 billion, is expected to ease compliance for small businesses and improve tax administration efficiency.

This change comes against the backdrop of a growing resource envelope of Shs84.39 trillion for FY2026/27, up from Shs81.61 trillion in the previous year, with domestic revenues expected to contribute Shs45.96 trillion.

BD Life explores what this rise in the VAT threshold means and its effects on enterprises and Uganda’s economy.

Ms Juliet Najjinda Mutabaazi, PwC associate director for indirect taxes, says that Value Added Tax (VAT) in Uganda has undergone significant evolution since its introduction on July 1 1996, when it replaced the earlier sales tax system.

‘The previous regime was a single-stage sales tax imposed at the manufacturing or import level. VAT introduced a broad-based, multi-stage consumption tax applied along the entire supply chain, with the key feature of allowing input VAT recovery,’ she explains.

The transition to VAT was driven by the need to modernise the tax system, broaden the tax base and support increasing government expenditure in line with economic growth. At inception, VAT was set at 17 percent, later raised to 18 percent, where it has remained stable. Over time, VAT has expanded to cover imported and digital services, aligning Uganda’s system with global trends.

Digitally, VAT administration has transformed from manual filing to electronic submissions via URA’s e-tax portal, and now to integration with the electronic fiscal reporting and invoicing system named Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution(EFRIS), giving URA real-time visibility of invoices and reducing fraud risks.

Parliament approved an increase in the annual VAT registration threshold from Shs150 million to Shs300 million, a measure expected to generate Shs349 billion in additional revenue.

The change is part of the FY2026/27 budget, which has a total resource envelope of Shs84.39 trillion and targets Shs45.96 trillion in domestic revenue.

Najjinda explains that the threshold rise stems from the fact that most VAT-registered taxpayers are small businesses contributing minimally to government revenue.

‘Many of these businesses file nil returns regularly, bearing compliance costs while adding to URA’s workload,’ she notes. URA reported that by June 2024, Uganda had 36,417 VAT-registered taxpayers, 90 percent of whom were very small businesses contributing only about 3 percent of VAT revenue.

Raising the threshold is expected to allow URA to concentrate enforcement resources on larger taxpayers, maximise revenue collection, and free smaller businesses from VAT compliance costs and obligations.

Mr John Walugembe, executive director of the Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (FSME), notes that the Value Added Tax (VAT), traditionally based on commercial transactions, has undergone several changes.

‘Initially, the threshold was set at Shs15 million, but this changed in 2016, and now the government is considering raising it further. For businesses, this presents both opportunities and challenges,’ he says.

Small and Medium Enterprises with turnover below Shs300 million may deregister from VAT, which can cut costs and remove monthly filing obligations, but they lose the ability to claim input VAT.

Businesses should weigh cash flow benefits of staying registered against penalties for non-filing, deregistration approval requirements, and the tax effects of losing VAT recovery.

Deregistration does not remove invoicing/documentation rules; businesses still need proper records, including EFRIS-generated receipts or invoices.

One of the biggest hurdles, Walugembe explains, is compliance. ‘Many micro and small enterprises face difficulties navigating the tax system because only a small proportion of taxpayers generate significant revenue. As a result, these businesses tend to overlook compliance, which can lead to financial strain,’ he adds.

Walugembe believes the proposed changes could provide relief in this new financial year.

‘There has been a push for the government to raise the threshold for micro businesses that have been struggling,’ he notes, emphasizing that formal registration could help enterprises access bigger contracts often reserved for registered companies.

This, he says, is a wake-up call for small businesses to register formally. Formalisation is crucial for growth and competitiveness. Enterprises that cross the threshold stand to benefit from VAT registration, not only in compliance but also in positioning themselves for broader market opportunities.

‘I urge businesses that have surpassed the threshold to consider formal registration. This move will assist in compliance and open doors to bigger opportunities. For those already integrated into the system, it is essential to ensure compliance and prepare for any changes in the upcoming financial year,’ Walugembe advises.

While taxation reforms may seem daunting, they also present a chance for small businesses to grow, formalise, and compete in Uganda’s evolving economy.

Implications of VAT registration for businesses

Ms Najjinda explains that VAT registration allows businesses to reclaim VAT paid on business-related expenses and equipment when filing monthly returns, providing immediate cash flow relief where companies have VAT to declare.

However, registration also requires filing monthly VAT returns, even in months without sales. Failure to file exposes businesses to penalties, the higher of the tax payable or Shs200,000 per month.

‘Being VAT registered implies that the businesses have to file monthly VAT returns even in the months where they do not make any sales, as failure to file the monthly VAT returns exposes such businesses to non-filing penalties. The applicable penalties are the higher of the tax payable or Shs200,000 per month that returns remain unfiled,’ Ms Najjinda explains.

Businesses below the Shs300 million threshold may deregister from VAT starting 1 July 2026 by filing an online application through the URA portal.

Approval depends on URA’s review of historical records to confirm eligibility.

The de-registration from VAT does not take away the requirement for the businesses to issue electronic receipts using the EFRIS system. This is because, under the Income Tax Act, taxpayers are required to support all expenses incurred with either an EFRIS invoice or receipt. A non-VAT registered business continues to be able to generate electronic receipts/ e-receipts off the EFRIS platform.

‘Non-registered businesses cannot reclaim VAT on purchases, though VAT paid remains an allowable cost when computing corporation tax. Deregistration does not remove the requirement to issue electronic receipts under the Income Tax Act, as all expenses must be supported by EFRIS invoices or receipts,’ she notes.

Influence on operations, pricing, and competitiveness

Najjinda further notes that VAT registration carries obligations: filing monthly returns, maintaining detailed records, and issuing EFRIS-compliant invoices. These impact businesses in several ways. Operationally, it requires charging VAT on taxable supplies, filing monthly returns, maintaining detailed records, and issuing EFRIS-compliant invoices. This she says increases administrative costs, demands stronger accounting systems, and raises exposure to audits and penalties.

On cashflows, businesses must remit VAT by the 15th of the following month, regardless of whether invoices have been paid. This creates challenges for firms with slow receivables or thin margins.

Competitively, she notes that consumer-facing businesses are more price-sensitive since VAT is passed on to final consumers who cannot reclaim it.

Ms Najjinda says: ‘Business-to-business taxpayers face less pressure, as they can offset VAT charged against VAT paid on purchases. Some businesses have obtained permission to account for VAT under the cash accounting framework, easing this burden.’

The cash accounting framework records revenue and expenses only when cash is received or paid, prioritising simplicity for small operations over a real-time view of financial health.