Category: Daily Monitor

Mr Richard Kadoma Basariza walks toward his compound Kabagona Village in Mugusu Sub-county Kabarole District unaided.

The visually-impaired father of six halts several steps next to a pick-up truck parked in his compound.

‘There are visitors here,’ he says, smiling from ear to ear. ‘And you are welcome. Always.’

His wife, Monica Kanyunyuzia, proudly tells us how Mr Basariza’s lack of sight has not stopped him from scaling heights.

‘He can detect danger and moves freely to his banana and coffee gardens, monitors his pigs, can cook and go about other chores,’ she says.

Mr Basariza and his wife have been married for 21 years. And just like many other couples from his village and beyond, faced several domestic problems.

We fought a lot over small matters – especially money. This is mainly because cultural norms of gender stereotype had dominated many families and women could be seen as inferior and were never involves in decision making,’ Ms Kanyunyuzi says.

Her husband – a social works and social science diploma holder – nods in agreement, face hidden behind dark sun glasses.

‘The constant fights were not helping,’ he says, proudly leading us to a pigsty in the middle of a banana and coffee plantation like he has done this several times. ‘That one recently gave birth to eight piglets,’ he says, pointing at a sow in one of the sty’s compartments. The eight-week piglets are due for sale.

Most of us are left in awe. He continues. ‘On average, we harvest 10 bunches of bananas every week. These we sell locally, which has helped us improve our financial capacity.’

Similarly, Mr Innocent Mutegeki, a resident of Bubandi village in Nyabuswa Parish and his wife Annet Kasembo have started to harvest the fruits of working together.

The couple, married for nine years now, are proud owners of a 2.5-acre piece of land – bought at Shs3.6m – on which they grow cowpeas, bananas, and Irish potatoes to supplement their

income. Besides another small business, they have also bought goats, and a domestic garden where they harvest food for home consumption.

‘This transformation would never have been possible three years back. We fought a lot and I went back to my parents’ house about three times because I could not stand the poverty we

were enduring,’ Ms Kasembo narrates. Like the Basarizas, the Mutegekis are part of a wider network of beneficiaries of the Grow Equal Project – an initiative that has since transformed their lives through mind set change.

The beginning Launched in 2024 in the three sub counties of Harugongo, Mugusu a n d H a k i b a l e i n Kabarole district, the transformative project aims at uplifting lives of the marginalized individuals by providing basic services s u c h a s E d u c a t i o n , C iv i c e d u c a ti o n a n d community mobilization.

It is championed by SOS Children’s Villages in partnership with the Austrian Development Agency, the project also fo c u s e s o n wo m e n’s emp owerment, so cial protection, and green economic opportunities t h r o u g h S H E R E S A , ACODOWE and Toci as implementing partners.

The programme operates in regions where SOS Children’s Villages has established community programming – Kabarole, Kamwenge and Wakiso districts.

The project not only supports mothers and female caregivers to build resilient micro-enterprises, but it also helps fund community savings groups (such as Village Savings and Loan Associations) to improve household income and keep vulnerable children in school.

‘Through various community training programmes, we were equipped with critical thinking and decision-making skills which have helped us to participate in income generating activities,’ Basaliza, a councillor elect representing People living with Disabilities (PWDs) at the sub-county says.

The 18-week trainings have since empowered several individuals across Mugusu Sub-county in Kabarole district.

In Katumba Village, Kiburara Parish, Hakibaale Sub-county, Kabarole District, Margaret Muntu has also benefitted from the project, while in Rwamwanja Settlement Camp, Kamwenge district refugees say the birth of Grow Equal Project has significantly impacted their livelihoods while in Uganda.

Muntu, a widow has been able to complete the construction of her moderate house she shares with twosickly minors.

‘This particular village is well known for Mairungi (khat) farming, which is mainly done by women. Every time they sold their produce, most of them would end up fighting with their spouses for the money. Domestic violence was rife,’ she says.

‘Many families were destroyed. But some of us are living better lives because we undertook transformational trainings that helped us look at life differently.’ A role model, Ms Muntu also owns several acres of land on which she grows different types of crops.

In Rwamwanja Settlement, Grow Equal Project operates in Ntenungi zone which has three villages – Ntenungi A, B and C.

Each village has 60 households, according to Ms. Saidat Namutosi, the community Empowerment and child protection officer revealed.

‘One of the core focus areas is the Green Economic Emp owerment which provides seed funding,

financial literacy, and business management training to help women transition into sustainable, environmentally friendly livelihoods,’ Ms Namutosi reveals.

Bahati Teopista,42 is a father of seven who fled from DR Congo in 2019 says bbefore the project, they hardly had what to eat, domestic violence was on the raise, girl child suffered the most while meeting medication funds seemed hard.

‘Today everything has gradually changed and can now participate in developmental activities like agriculture where we have gardens and rear pigs to boost the earnings,’ he said. The future Mr Basaliza has started lobbying for funds to start an apiary project for People

Living with Disabilities. ‘I have already started the pilot project on my farm. I am targeting about 500 individuals in the subcounty.

Hopefully, if they can embrace this, they can improve economically on the household level,’ he says. He speaks for several other beneficiaries.

Transport along the vital Gulu-Nimule Highway was paralysed for several hours on Saturday after two cargo trailers collided head-on and instantly burst into flames at Awer Trading Centre, Lamogi Sub-County, in Amuru District.

The 10am crash involved a trailer bound for Juba, South Sudan, and another heading toward Gulu from the South Sudanese border. According to eyewitnesses, one of the trailers suddenly swerved off its lane, crashing directly into the oncoming vehicle. One of the trucks was reportedly transporting a heavy cargo of steel.

The impact triggered a massive fire that consumed both vehicles. While the Police Fire Brigade managed to extinguish the inferno, the wreckage blocked the highway, causing massive traffic gridlock.

A police officer at the scene, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that no casualties had been confirmed by press time. However, the whereabouts of the drivers and any potential occupants remain unknown.

“We are still waiting for a comprehensive report from the traffic officers deployed at the scene,” said David Ongom, the Aswa West Regional Police Spokesperson when contacted by this reporter for a comment.

The Gulu-Nimule Highway serves as a critical economic artery, linking Uganda to South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and Tanzania. Despite its economic importance, the corridor is a notorious hotspot for severe traffic crashes. Authorities frequently attribute the incidents to reckless driving and driver fatigue resulting from long-distance travel.

The crash underscores ongoing concerns regarding road safety in Uganda, even amid broader statistical improvements. According to the newly released 2025 Police Annual Crime Report, the country recorded 322,441 traffic-related cases last year-marking a notable decrease from the 426,432 cases documented in 2024.

A 23-year-old scrap collector is in custody after a police sniffer dog successfully tracked him from a crime scene, leading officers to find him dancing inside his home alongside millions in stolen cash.

The incident began on Friday, May 29, 2026, at approximately 12pm, when a resident of Abocet Village, Sikuda Sub-county in Busia District, returned home to find his house burglarized. Thieves had unlawfully gained entry by digging through the back of the structure and breaking down the door. The complainant reported the theft of a mobile phone, a camera, a laptop, and a significant amount of cash, totaling millions of shillings in losses.

Upon receiving the report, Busia District Police deployed a specialized canine unit to the scene. The sniffer dog picked up a human scent at the home and trailed it for roughly 800 meters to a nearby junction. The canine then tracked a left turn for another 200 meters, leading officers directly to the residence of Mulyakyami Banuli, a local scrap collector.

When police arrived at the home, they discovered Banuli inside, dancing alone to loud music playing from a newly acquired woofer system.

Suspecting the sound system was part of the stolen property, officers immediately arrested Banuli. A subsequent search of his residence uncovered a bundle of cash amounting to Shs4.6 million concealed beneath his bed. Together with additional currency found in his pockets, police recovered a total of Shs4,889,100.

The Busia District Police confirmed that the suspect remains in custody as investigations continue. Officials praised the swift work of the canine unit, which transformed a cold trail into a definitive arrest in under an hour.

Lately, Uganda has been experiencing gruesome road accidents that are claiming many Ugandans due to what seems to be reckless behaviour by the drivers and riders on the road. Whereas the government has made good progress in constructing paved roads across the country, Ugandan drivers think it is now time to ‘fly’ on these roads.

Ironically, instead of celebrating the benefits that come with better paved roads, we are now constantly crying for our injured and dead because of avoidable road accidents.

Therefore, it is my considered opinion that the Uganda Police Force Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety declares ‘Operation Towa Ujinga’ on our roads. Aggressive driving behaviour takes many forms.

Typical aggressive driving behaviour includes speeding, driving too close to the car in front of you, not respecting traffic regulations, improper lane changing or weaving, etc. The list is long.

Most accidents on our newly built highways are a result of reckless driving. There is no other form of curbing this catastrophic behaviour other than coming down hard on those found guilty.

Aggressive driving is difficult to define because of its many different manifestations, but having a clear definition is important for police and legal action against it to succeed.

A Global Web Conference on Aggressive Driving Issues, organised in Canada in October 2000, offered the following definition: ‘Driving behaviour is aggressive if it is deliberate, likely to increase the risk of collision and is motivated by impatience, annoyance, hostility and/or an attempt to save time.’

One needs to travel to Rwanda by road and realise how Ugandan drivers are not mad after all. From Kampala to Katuna or Kagitumba, which are border points to Rwanda, our bus drivers are literally ‘flying’.

Yet, the moment they cross over into Rwandan territory, they slow down and drive humanly, largely because they know that any senseless driving in the Rwandan territory can make them land penalties that are so punitive.

Therefore, this clearly shows that we have relaxed a lot on stubborn road users, which in a way has bred impudence.

Indeed, we have seen that whenever we have increased vigilance, by traffic officers apprehending some wayward drivers, sanity prevails. The problem is that when we relax along the way.

Of course, traffic police do incredible work, especially managing traffic in the city centre, but taming highway drivers has been dismal.

Traffic police has talked and talked tough, but Ugandans (and their indiscipline that seems to have shot over the roof) continue with their bad driving habits.

They are still unashamedly driving or riding on the opposite lane, on walkways or pavements, and do not respect traffic lights.

While officiating at the 32nd NRM/A victory day anniversary celebrations in Arua in January 2018, President Museveni decried the bad driving and riding behaviour of Ugandans, which is not only putting the lives of Ugandans at risk, but also scaring away investors in Uganda.

The Uganda Police Force Annual Crime and Traffic Report 2025 indicates that traffic crashes claim an average of 15 lives daily.

Despite a 24.4 percent drop in overall traffic offences, serious and fatal crashes rose by 3.7 percent, with 4,602 fatal incidents and 13,563 serious crashes registered.

I have read and heard illogical debates about the cause of most accidents in Uganda. Very absurd when you hear those arguing that our roads are slippery and narrow.

True, we might not have six or eight-lane highways like those we see in Europe and other advanced countries, but the size we build is safe enough if we only exercise road discipline.

As a matter of urgency, traffic police must enforce speed governors in all vehicles, especially those that ply the long routes.

Second, the highway cameras that we intend to put in place to combat crime should include traffic offences, as it happens in the developed world.

These cameras should be able to relay images of those driving dangerously to the control rooms, for them to be apprehended before they cause accidents.

Feeding Uganda’s population with a nutritious diet requires moving past mere food sufficiency to ensure access to balanced, bio fortified diets.

It also means addressing systemic challenges across local agriculture such as climate-smart farming, tackling poverty and expanding nutritional education to ensure every region has access to a diverse mix of food.

This is the thinking of legislators under the Uganda Parliamentary Alliance on Food and Nutrition Security (UPA-FNS) and development partners who are set to organise the 5th Parliamentary nutrition week in Iganga from June 22 to 27.

This year’s focus is feeding school children with nutritious food under the theme ‘Nourishing the minds, empowering the future.’

Background

The chairperson of the UPA-FNS, Milton K Muvuma explained the background of advancing the agenda of nutrition in the country, saying legislators started the initiative in 2018

The non-partisan alliance of past and present Members of Parliament works closely with Non-Governmental Organisations such as Food Rights Alliance, Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (Pellum) and Food and Agriculture Organisation among others to address food insecurity and malnutrition through legislation, advocacy and budgetary oversight.

The team holds a nutrition advocacy week every year with the previous one held in Kamwenge, Western Uganda and Moroto in Karamoja sub region.

‘The aim is to achieve comprehensive food security in Uganda which relies interconnected focus areas – namely nutrition balance which transitions from monotonous foods consisting of starch to Energy giving foods such as maize, millet, cassava to body building foods such as beans, groundnuts, milk, fish to protective foods like vegetables and fruits,’ Mr Kavuma says.

‘Others are bio fortification utilising crops specifically bred to address micronutrient deficiencies, such as iron-rich beans and Vitamin A-enriched orange sweet potatoes.’

Nutrition week

The Bukooli Island County Member of Parliament, Mr Peter Okeyo said this year’s focus is on feeding school children.

‘School feeding is an investment in agriculture and the legislators have been encouraging schools to establish school gardens where school children can grow their own nutritious food ranging from vegetables and bio fortified sweet potatoes and beans,’ he noted.

He contends that Busoga used to be a food basket one time but because of sugarcane growing, food is becoming scarce. This leaves children in the region with no food to pack and take to school.

Many children, as a result, have dropped out of school. During the celebrations, the team will sensitize the Busoga community and learners to embrace school gardens.

Role of development partners

Ms Mary Apio, the Advocacy officer at Pellum noted that her team emphasises communities and schools to adopt growing of indigenous crops which are so nutritious in nature to address the issue of feeding on nutritious food.

‘Despite the well-documented benefits of school feeding in boosting enrolment, attendance, retention and learning outcomes, the reality remains that school feeding in Uganda is fragmented, underfunded and lacks strong policy backing,’ she notes.

Giving the statistical data, Ms Apio notes that shockingly, about 67 percent of children in Uganda’s Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools attend classes without the benefit of a school meal.

Out of over 8.2 million learners, only roughly 48,000 receive meals through government-supported programs, mostly reliant on donor-funded initiatives like those of the World Food Programme.

Yet evidence clearly shows that every US dollar invested in school feeding can generate up to nine dollars in economic returns that translate into healthier children, better education outcomes and a more productive future workforce.

This year’s Nutrition Week provides a vital platform to raise awareness and galvanize action. It’s a call to all of us to work together toward meeting Sustainable Development Goal two on Zero Hunger and Uganda’s national nutrition targets under the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan II.

Leaders at the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) have urged health workers to increase vigilance to reduce Ebola infections among medical personnel.

Information from UMA and the Ministry indicates that slightly more than 100 health workers have been placed under quarantine, while a few have tested positive after being identified as contacts of previous Ebola patients.

Dr Charles Olaro, the Director General of Health Services at the Ministry of Health, made the remarks while speaking during the graduation of sonographers at the Ministry headquarters on Friday evening. He urged health workers to adhere to established infection prevention measures to protect themselves.

‘Some of the people whom we have quarantined because of the current outbreak are people who did ultrasound scans on patients,’ he told the sonographers.

‘Infection prevention doesn’t only apply to the rest of the staff. Even you who are doing ultrasound scans, we emphasise infection prevention so that you protect yourself and protect your patients. When you protect yourself, you protect your family and your community,’ he added.

Dr Olaro asked the sonographers to sanitise regularly and ensure that linen used on examination beds is changed frequently to prevent the spread of infections.

He said the graduating sonographers had conducted more than 10,000 free ultrasound scans between January and May. He also appealed to district health officials to provide them with the necessary tools to carry out their work effectively.

The sonographers were largely midwives who underwent a one-year training programme supported by Enabel, the Belgian agency for international cooperation, in partnership with the Ministry of Health.

Enabel said it is supporting 20 health facilities where it has supplied ultrasound machines and trained health workers to help bridge gaps in access to care.

Mr Nicolas Oebel, Enabel’s Country Director, said sonographer training forms part of broader efforts to improve the quality of healthcare services.

‘A diagnosis may require referral the same day. Districts that nominated candidates must retain them. Many mothers also come for scans because of community outreach programmes,’ he said.

‘Today’s milestone therefore does not stand alone. It is part of a system being strengthened on multiple fronts, which is the only way to achieve lasting improvements in maternal and newborn health,’ he added.

A total of 10 sonographers from the Busoga and Rwenzori sub-regions graduated with diplomas after completing training at Ernest Cook University (ECU) in Mengo through the ECUREI Imaging Diagnostic Centre.

The newly-elected Woman Member of Parliament for Amuria District, Margaret Etilu, remains in security custody following her arrest on the eve of the recent parliamentary Speaker elections.

Etilu was apprehended by a team of detectives at the residence of the former, embattled Speaker of Parliament, Annet Anita Among.

Her detention comes amid ongoing high-profile investigations into allegations of corruption within the legislature, which have heavily embroiled Ms Among.

Mr Francis Akorikin, the MP for Kapelebyong County, confirmed to reporters that Etilu has not yet been released. He noted that parliamentary leadership has been approached to intervene.

‘We had an engagement this week with Speaker Jacob Oboth Oboth on how to secure freedom for the Amuria Woman MP. The Speaker offered assurances that he will help, but we still don’t know much about her whereabouts, her state of mind, or her health,’ Akorikin said.

The Teso parliamentary caucus is now taking matters into its own hands.

Mr Samuel Ediau (Amuria County) stated that a joint team of regional MPs and Etilu’s family members are preparing to confront security agencies. Their goal is to ascertain her current location, understand the exact circumstances surrounding her arrest, and secure her immediate release.

Ms Etilu recently won the Amuria District seat, succeeding Suzan Amero, who stepped down after serving three consecutive terms since 2011. Sources indicate that Etilu maintained close political and personal ties with the former Speaker Among, throughout her campaign and following her electoral victory.

Security agencies have yet to issue an official statement regarding the specific charges against Etilu or where she is currently being held.

What gradually started as small beef between Kitara and SC Villa in 2024 has now matured into a fully blown war that will gain another fascinating chapter on Saturday afternoon when both rivals collide in the Uganda Cup final at the Fufa Technical Center in Njeru.

Apart from the visible respect shared between Kitara coach Wasswa Bbosa and SC Villa’s Serbian tactician Zeljko Kovacevic, expect absolutely no mercy once the contest kicks off because there is clearly no love lost between the two camps.

The rivalry has steadily intensified through heated league meetings, psychological warfare and contrasting football ideologies.

Villa edged the first-round clash 1-0 at Kadiba before Kitara responded emphatically with a commanding 2-0 revenge victory at Butema – results that have reinforced belief that this final is balanced delicately on a knife-edge.

Both coaches have consistently insisted there is no favourite. ‘We are ready and focused to win the final,’ Bbosa revealed. ‘We have prepared very well. Every team that reaches the final anticipates victory.’

Kovacevic echoed similar caution. ‘We expect a difficult game but shall play with confidence. The approach will be different from the last games, we shall go for it,” the Serbian noted.

‘I expect a very difficult game but we believe we shall win. It will make me proud to win the final in my first season.’ Beyond diplomacy, however, lies a fascinating tactical chess duel.

Deserved finalists

Kovacevic has transformed Villa into arguably Uganda’s most organised and aesthetically pleasing side, blending compact defending with quick attacking combinations.

The Jogoos’ fluid movement and technical structure nearly carried them to the league title before eventual champions Vipers pulled away late in the campaign.

Bbosa, on the other hand, has built Kitara into fearless giant-killers capable of absorbing pressure before punishing opponents ruthlessly in transition.

Their grueling semifinal triumph over holders Vipers demonstrated resilience, tactical discipline and emotional maturity.

Rely

Villa will rely heavily on Frank Ssebuufu, Hassan Mubiru, Najib Yiga, Charles Lwanga and Patrick Kakande for inspiration.

Meanwhile, Kitara’s hopes could rest on the experienced shoulders of Frank Tumwesige, George Ssenkaaba, Murushid Juuko and Patrick Kaddu.

Villa captain David Owori admitted the magnitude of the occasion.

‘We are hungry for success,’ Owori said. ‘This is the only trophy at our disposal now that the league is off our hands.’

As tension builds, many neutrals will also hope center referee Dick Okello and assistants Hakim Mulindwa and Ashraf Magoola together with fourth official William Oloya officiate with valour and composure rather than controversial calls.

Villa are chasing a record-equalling tenth Uganda Cup crown while Kitara seek only their second title.

Yet beyond silverware, the coveted Caf Confederation Cup slot remains the ultimate prize driving both coaches and thousands of travelling supporters into feverish anticipation.

Not even the reported Ebola crackdown in parts of the country has managed to suppress the anxiety, excitement and emotional intensity surrounding what promises to be a fierce and potentially explosive final in Njeru.

Stanbic Uganda Cup

Saturday

Kitara vs. SC Villa, 3pm

With every announcement of a new Cabinet or reshuffle, there are questions about which ethnic group has ‘eaten’ big or what regions took bigger, better portfolios. It is called sharing the ‘national cake’, but it is fallacious.

In the latest Cabinet appointments that President Museveni announced this week, there have been reports of protests from groups that ostensibly got short-changed, for example, the Muslim community and the Bagisu of eastern Uganda.

The fallacy is that an appointment to Cabinet represents access to the national cake for the entire community of the appointed person.

This is one of the tragedies of postcolonial Africa – viewing appointments to government or holding a powerful public position as an avenue for group access to resources. It is a widely held perception, but the reality does not always square with the expectation.

Cabinet composition should reflect the country’s regions, religions and ethnic diversity, but this is far from expecting some cosmetic balancing and representation.

A minister is appointed to serve the country, not their village or district, not their region or religion.

Better, they do not have the power to channel resources or development projects exclusively to their favoured community, if they did, it would be classic corruption!

The iron sheets (mabaati) scandal is a good recent illustration of this pathology of ministers as potential conduits for resources.

Several ministers had their hands in the till of iron sheets meant for distribution to the wretched of Karamoja.

They used their ministerial powers and influence to get a share of what they were ineligible for, doing so illegally and to the detriment of the target community.

A few of the ministers did distribute the iron sheets to groups and institutions, including faith-based ones, among their co-ethnics.

Others put them to personal use, with one minister roofing a shelter for his goats! Once the scandal exploded into the open, there was a stampede to return the iron sheets to the Office of the Prime Minister.

But only one accused minister was prosecuted, convicted and is serving time in prison. Everyone else walked free.

In the broader scheme of things, there is no compelling evidence to suggest that a ministerial appointment leads to development outcomes in a district or region, nor improved wellbeing for a religious community.

Mr Amama Mbabazi, once famously a super-minister, was simultaneously the minister of Security;Attorney General and minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs. He was also a very powerful secretary general of the ruling NRM party.

Later, he became prime minister. But Kanungu, where he hailed, was never one of the most developed districts in Uganda by any measure or indicator.

Consider Bugisu, where Daily Monitor reported that citizens are unhappy with their representation in the latest Cabinet lineup.

James Wapakhabulo (bless his soul) chaired the Constituent Assembly (CA) that passed the 1995 Constitution.

In 1996, he emerged as the Number Three in Uganda’s power hierarchy as Speaker of Parliament.

Later, he was National Political Commissar, and finally minister of Foreign Affairs before he died in 2004.

Bugisu has not had someone as politically powerful as Wapa. Yet, it’s hard to argue that the sub-region thrived or had noticeable development, including physical infrastructure, between 1994 and 2004 than since then. Contemporaneous with the late Wapa, Sylvester Wanjuzi Wasieba was minister of State for Works, but Bugisu did not get tarmacked roads or improved standards of living.

In fact, in Wasieba’s backyard of Manafwa District, part of which he represented in the CA and 6th Parliament (Bubulo West), the very first inch of tarmac arrived there in 2022, more than two decades since he was a minister!

Ms Irene Muloni was Energy minister for a decade, but Bugisu, or even her district of Bulambuli, did not top the nation in rural electrification.

The notion of sharing the nation-cake through Cabinet appointments is overrated, more illusory than real. Beyond appearances of representation, there is hardly any substance.

Ms Jessica Alupo has been Vice President for five years. Mr Edward Ssekandi was Speaker of Parliament for nearly 10 years, then Vice President for a decade. Katakwi and Bukoto in Masaka are not booming with development.

They don’t have the best-performing schools in the country and are not markedly better than Bugisu, which hasn’t had a powerful Cabinet appointee in a while!

Part of the regressive politics of NRM rule over the decades is conjuring up the illusion that a minister and an MP are chief development officers to engineer socioeconomic transformation in their ancestral regions.

Since the onset of the US and Israeli war with Iran on February 8, 2026, pump prices have largely been seen through the lens of worst-case assumptions. And with good reason.

Lesser known, but not less impactful, is the rise in the price of fertiliser brought on by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Globally, there has been an 80 percent surge in the price of fertiliser, with a 50kg bag of the same surpassing the Shs200,000 mark in Uganda.

The domestic spikes are estimated at anywhere between 15 percent and 30 percent. While failure to lift the blockade that Iran has been running in the key waterway of the Hormuz strait has inflicted the damage it was expected, an equally devastating blow has come elsewhere.

This is courtesy of Russian fertiliser stocks being targeted by Ukrainian strikes in another war that marked a grim milestone of straddling four years in February. So, essentially, both wars have contrived to stop the supply of fertiliser.

Why should Ugandans care about this state of affairs?

It is easy to see why critical reactions to the consequences of fertiliser shortages have toggled between a yawn and a sneer in Uganda. Most Ugandan farms have time and again shown that they can work through the turmoil of an absence of fertiliser.

Traditionally, Ugandan farmers are known to use fertiliser rather sparingly. At last count, the average was slightly below five kilogrammes of fertiliser per hectare. This is well below the African average of slightly above 20 kilogrammes of fertiliser per hectare. The sub-Saharan Africa average stands at 17 kilogrammes of fertiliser per hectare or thereabout

Notwithstanding, armed with the knowledge that crop yields can drop off precipitously-as much as 50 percent in the first [planting] season-when nitrogen fertiliser is not applied, Ugandan farmers have started to tap into the fertiliser market.

With a disproportionate part of Uganda’s first [planting] season having panned out when the US and Israeli war with Iran was at its fiercest, an outcome of reduced crop yields is currently the sum of all fears.

The first [planting] season is usually typified by long rains between mid-February and late March. The season aligns with the March-May (MAM) rains.

Experts are bracing for a brutal impact in the wake of the dearth of fertiliser. Already, in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for the 12 months ending in April 2026, the annual inflation rate for ”Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages” stood at 2.8 percent. The specific sub-category of ‘Food Crops and Related Items” was put at 0.6 percent.

Does the second [planting] season also risk being met with crippling fertiliser shortages?

For starters, the planting season in question, which spans from mid-August to the back end of September, is marked by short rains that are indispensable to the realisation of a second crop rotation. This is before ringing in a new year. To be clear, talks over the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remain deadlocked.

This impasse carries the unnecessary risk of leaving things no better than they currently are-if anything worse. This, as experts forecast that an El Niño weather event will likely occur at the back end of 2026, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, negatively impact food production.

The last El Niño weather event brought one of the worst droughts to East Africa, gravely impacting the sub-region of Karamoja, whose planting window straddles from April to May.

Where does Uganda get the fertiliser that its farmers rely on?

The annual volume that the country imports is estimated at nearly 300,000 metric tonnes, with a value of about $55 million (Shs206.66 billion). NPK is a firm favourite, gobbling up to 34 percent of demand. Urea (24 percent), DAP (12 percent), and MOP (six percent) all hold sway with varying degrees.

As for the fertiliser itself, most of it comes from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kenya. The presence of a country from the Persian Gulf should not come as a surprise.

Anywhere between 30-35 percent of the international trade in urea and around 20-30 percent of ammonia can be traced back to the Gulf.

Elsewhere, Russia is the biggest exporter of fertiliser. But, in the here and now, it is important to note that 30 percent of the world’s fertiliser trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz. This, if it needs to be stressed, is no small beer.

Does Uganda produce fertiliser?

It does. But most of it is organic rather than synthetic. Projects like the Mpigi Organic Fertiliser Plant in Kampiringisa and the Green Hydrogen Fertiliser Company stand out. Yet the stillbirth of the multimillion-dollar Sukulu fertiliser project in Tororo District tells its own story. Not a pleasant one, I’m afraid.

A legal battle over licensing rights condemned the project to a fate that has effectively left it dead in the water.

The $620 million (Shs2.32 trillion) project counted fertiliser production as well as production of glass, steel, bricks, and cosmetics as its components.

The plant is expected to produce purely organic fertilisers on the local market with an annual target of 300,000 metric tonnes.

Is the spike in domestic prices of fertiliser singularly down to shipping bottlenecks?

No, it is not. While the Hormuz blockade has choked the supply of fertiliser, surging global energy costs have inflicted harm that has proved to be equally pernicious in its consequences. From planting to harvesting, then processing, right through to transportation, energy prices play a telling role in food production. For instance, nitrogen-based fertilisers like urea-extensively used in Uganda-count natural gas as a vital ingredient. Small wonder, the price of urea has soared by 65 percent.

The shipping bottlenecks, though, will take some beating. Kpler, which provides real-time market intelligence by putting its finger on the pulse of movement of commodities, maritime shipping, and supply chains worldwide, estimates that almost two million tonnes of fertiliser are stuck on the wrong side of the Strait of Hormuz. A staggering number by any measure.

In Uganda, it certainly has not helped matters that the government added a 2.5 percent tax on imported agrochemicals. Observers say this will further choke the supply of vital crop nutrients, exacerbating crop yields.

So, what next? What does the road ahead look like?

Obviously, it is vitally important that the traffic through the Strait of Hormuz be boosted. Lamentably, encouraging signals have been few and far between. The Trump administration’s ‘Project Freedom’ has not delivered a much-needed tonic by ending the standoff in the Gulf.

This, regrettably, will not be without consequences, with a hunger crisis expected to knock sub-regions like Karamoja and Teso sideways sooner rather than later. The drought that the sub-regions grappled with between 2020 and 2023, when an El Niño weather event reared an ugly head, was the worst experienced in 40 years. There were widespread crop failures, severe water scarcity, and acute food insecurity following the prolonged drought conditions. If lightning were to strike twice, it would be devastating. To say the least.

KEY FACTS ON HORMUZ

Location. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow stretch of water located between Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. The waterway – which is about 21 miles (33 km) at its tightest point – connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, making it a vital global shipping route.

Users. About 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes through the Strait of Hormuz. That oil comes not only from Iran, but also Gulf states such as Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In 2025, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through the waterway per day, according to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) – that’s nearly $600bn (£447bn) worth of energy trade per year. Sea traffic has been significantly reduced since the war began.

Destination for Iran’s oil. In 2022, around 82% of crude oil and other fossil fuels leaving the Strait of Hormuz were bound for Asian countries, according to EIA estimates. China alone is estimated to buy around 90% of the oil that Iran exports.