Category: Daily Monitor

A new report on the State of Human Resource, 2025, says with the easing of restrictions on recruitment, a total of 681,277 positions have been approved across government, but only 374,642 staff are in the posts, representing a net increase of 18,138 positions from 2024.

The report was released by the Ministry of Public Service in Kampala on Tuesday.

Mr Joses Yegyeza, the Commissioner of Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Public Service, said, ‘Between 2024 and 2025, the Public Service saw an overall fill rate improvement of just 1% as the creation of new structural positions outstripped actual recruitment.’

‘Nearly one out of every two approved positions in Uganda remains unfulfilled as of December 2025,” he added.

The report says while the actual employee headcount has grown by more than 32,000 since 2021, the simultaneous creation of new administrative and service structures has driven the overall fill rate down by 6 percent from 61 percent in 2021.

Workforce capacity dashboard

The report says administrative structures have retained capacity while frontline services continue facing systematic deficits.

The government agencies constitute 71 percent filled positions, Uganda Police Force 69 percent and teaching service 67 percent, whereas frontline health and higher education face severe, systematic deficits with Referral hospitals taking the largest share of deficits at 69 percent, Public Universities 66 percent and Primary Health Care with 61 percent.

Currently, the teaching service has 177, 667 filled positions, leaving a gap of 87,080 positions, Primary Healthcare 43,567 filled with a gap of 84,664, Local government 43,798 filled with a gap of 32,509, and Uganda Police Force with 48,090 filled, leaving a gap of 21,733.

Others include Uganda Prison Service with 14,896 filled with a gap of 27,828 positions, Ministries and Departments 16,206 filled with a gap of 13,559 positions, Referral hospitals with 7,930 filled with a gap of 18,829 positions, Public Universities 8,451 filled with a gap of 16,373, and government agencies with 12,037 positions with 4,860 gaps.

But Mr Dennis Ojok, a senior statistician, Ministry of Public Service, clarified that while health and Universities face the highest percentage gaps, the sheer scale of the teaching service means it holds the largest absolute number of vacancies of 87,080 in the public sector.

Gender parity

Even though the gender parity is improving, the report reveals there are deep structural barriers that still persist in leadership and security.

Mr Ojok said the overall ratio of 59 percent (222,635) are male and 41 percent (152,007) are female with the majority of women in health services (56%), and male most dominant in both the Uganda Police (77%) and Uganda Prisons (70%).

He said while sectors like Primary Health and Teaching boast high female representation at entry and operational levels, the report reveals that persistent structural barriers have continued to prevent female career progression into strategic leadership roles across the public service.

The looming exit

22 percent (over 80,000) of the total workforce (374,642) are aged 50 and above, 69 percent (over 146,000) of the staff are aged 30-49 years, and only 9 percent (over 30,000) of the workforce is aged 18-29 years.

The reports say the extremely narrow entry-level pipeline (9%) limits long-term talent replenishment, creating a looming succession crisis as the 22% exit over the next decade.

Mr Ojok says this calls for targeted recruitment to ensure there is continuity of public service.

‘The people who are coming in between 18 and 29 are few, and the people who are exiting public service are very many, and this is becoming a challenge because when people leave, there is a problem of educational memory,’ he said.

The report says 44 percent of the workforce has served for 10 years or less, and this has reflected in the recent post -pandemic hiring surges.

The report further reveals that 25 percent of all staff have been stagnant in their current appointments for over 12 years, indicating severe promotion bottlenecks.

The Public Service Standing Orders says employees are eligible for promotion after three years; however, in this case, one in four public officers has been in the same role for over 12 years.

The report adds that even the vast majority of the workforce is also sitting on lower salary scales, creating steep structural limits on career progression.

Education sector

With an approved establishment of 291,571 positions and 188,118 staff in post as of December 2025, the education sector is regarded as the undisputed engine of the state workforce, representing nearly 1 in 2 public servants.

The report indicates that the filling rate improved from 62 percent in 2024 to 65 percent in 2025, a net gain of 7,095 employees, yet the structural deficit remains massive.

At the primary level, the staffing gap has been reduced with a fill rate of 81 percent (137,849 staff in post). At the secondary level, the fill rate stands at 46%, with Public Universities at 34 percent, and tertiary institutions at 29 percent only.

The report identified secondary schools as having nearly all approved administrative leadership, but lacked the core teaching cadres required to actually deliver learning outcomes.

At Public Universities, the reports say there is a dual crisis with a severe lack of senior academics and a broken entry pipeline with no internal mechanism to groom the next generation.

The overall academic staffing stood at 31 percent with a filling rate of 12 percent for professors (133 in post), Associate professors at 19 percent (277 in post), and Senior lecturers at 29percent, Lecturers at 43 percent and Assistant lecturers at 41 percent.

Teaching Assistant filling gap stands at 12 percent with only 136 in post against the approved 1,164 positions.

Mr Tegyeza says the report also identified severe staffing inequality with specialized central institutes maintaining stability, whereas regional and rural Universities face systematic neglect.

‘Most affected are the frontline training institutions managed by local governments with the 71 percent vacancy rate (4,587 staff in post against established 16,010), directly undermining the delivery of technical and vocational skills vital for economic transformation,’ he added

Health sector

While the overall public service operates at a strained 55 percent, the Health Sector is operating at a critical 33 percent fill rate. This structure compounds pressure across the entire continuum of care.

Of the approved 154,190 positions, only 51,497 are in post, creating a gap of 102,693 missing personnel, meaning for every 3 required health workers, 2 are missing.

The staffing deficits are not uniform, with the most severe system blockages occurring at regional (25%) and Specialized (20%) levels, paralyzing the intended patient referral pathway.

The report also shows early retirement in the health sector has tripped between 2022 and 2024. In an environment with a 33% fill rate, with the remaining staff facing severe workload pressures and burnout, driving vital talent out of the system prematurely.

Other reasons for the early retirement are attributed to family matters (16%), medical/ health issues (1.4%), and age and length of service (6.6%).

The report, however, warns that while Primary Healthcare faces higher absolute numbers of those at the verge of retirement (2,537), between 2026-2030, Referral hospitals face severe structural risk with 979 staff.

Human Resource in local govt

According to the report, Local governments operate at 57 percent capacity with cities operating at 52 percent.

But despite successfully establishing leadership and community mobilization structures, the majority lack the technical engineering and planning staff required to execute infrastructure and economic development.

The report shows only 19% of district engineers, 30% of City planners, and 53% of district natural resource officers are filled to date compared to 95% of political leaders, 94% of CAOs /Town Clerks, and 99% of Community Development Officers filled respectively.

Early retirement

The report also observed a 488 percent spike in early retirement from 443 in 2021 to 2,166 in 2025.

Primary school teachers account for an overwhelming 73%, with 1,588 exiting in 2024/25 alone.

According to the report, a total of 5,725 staff exited early in 5 years, with the majority being females (40-50 age brackets at 63% and 51% respectively), while males dominated the later post to 50 exists (57% and 63%), and 73% of early retirements occurred between ages 46-55.

Mr Ojok said the main drivers for early retirement are attributed to family matters, constituting 16.08%, immediate age eligibility (6.61%, and politics (3.9%).

‘The report projects 34,340 statutory retirements by 2030, with the teaching service carrying the biggest share with 19,801 officers,’ he added.

Mr Ojok added that 9.2 percent of the total active workforce will retire, with a massive peak of 8,215 exits hitting in 2029, with 13.8% from Public Universities, 12.4% from Referral hospitals, 11.0% from teaching service, and a further 11.0% from ministries/ departments.

This figure, colliding with a pre-existing 306,635 vacancy gap, creates an imminent threat to institutional memory and basic state functionality if succession planning is ignored.

Recommendations

To address the available challenges related to human resources in the government, the report recommended that the relevant authorities prioritize recruitment strictly toward technical cadres, fast-track hiring in hospitals, schools, universities, and science institutions.

The report also calls for the ring-fencing of wage allocations to protect essential frontline staff from budget reallocations and to conduct immediate and periodic establishment rationalisation.

Operationalize sustainable pension reforms by fast-tracking the implementation of the contributory pension schemes, introducing retention incentives for critical cadres to delay early retirement, promoting phased retirement approaches, and reducing processing delays, among others.

The dramatic, high-stakes unravelling of former Speaker Anita Annet Among’s political dominance in Uganda offers a classic study in the pathology of institutional capture, patronage, and the fragile nature of personalist power.

Within a remarkably short period, a political titan-elected unopposed in Bukedea, victorious over the formidable Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga for the NRM’s second national vice chairperson position, and backed by a vast patronage network-now appears to face unprecedented resistance within the ruling establishment itself.

As a former insider within Uganda’s accountability framework, I view these developments not with personal triumph, but with deep structural anxiety.

The rapid realignment of power in Kampala raises profound questions about the integrity of our governance institutions, the selective application of anti-corruption mechanisms, and the increasingly overt militarisation of civilian political processes.

To understand the current crisis, one must recognise that Among’s trajectory fits into a recurring historical pattern within Uganda’s political architecture.

The Executive branch has historically struggled to tolerate an independent or competing centre of power within the Legislature. Over time, Parliament’s leadership has repeatedly been managed through a cycle of co-optation, exhaustion, containment, or political displacement.

Early manifestations of this dynamic emerged during the eras of James Wapakhabulo and Edward Ssekandi, where tensions periodically surfaced between the institutional autonomy of Parliament and the expanding dominance of the Executive. The pattern became more visible during the tenure of Kadaga, particularly amid disputes concerning parliamentary independence, legislative oversight, and the growing centralisation of political authority.

Among’s predicament, however, represents a more complex mutation of this cycle. Unlike some of her predecessors, she was not perceived as challenging Executive authority through parliamentary independence.

On the contrary, her leadership was widely associated with the consolidation of Executive dominance over the Legislature. Yet in Uganda’s political economy, even loyalty does not guarantee permanence. Once personal patronage networks grow sufficiently expansive, autonomous, and politically consequential, they may themselves become objects of suspicion within the broader architecture of power.

The anatomy of an Executive pivot

The speed with which the political ground appears to have shifted beneath the former Speaker illustrates the fragility of transactional political loyalty. The chronology of recent events is instructive: The zenith of influence: Among consolidated her position within the ruling establishment by defeating Kadaga for the influential office of NRM second national vice chairperson, reinforcing her standing as one of the country’s most powerful political actors.

The consolidation of Executive dominance over Parliament: Under her stewardship, Parliament increasingly attracted criticism for functioning less as an independent legislative body and more as an extension of Executive power.

The ‘tyranny of numbers’ repeatedly neutralised Opposition initiatives and facilitated the passage of controversial legislation, including the recent Protection of Sovereignty Bill. Institutional endorsement: The NRM Central Executive Committee reportedly endorsed both the former Speaker and her Deputy, Thomas Tayebwa, to retain their respective leadership positions in Parliament, reflecting apparent confidence in their continued stewardship.

The crisis of optics and elite perception: However, growing public scrutiny surrounding ostentatious displays of wealth and widening allegations of corruption appear to have altered political calculations within sections of the ruling establishment.

The controversy surrounding the acquisition of a luxury Rolls-Royce vehicle became symbolically damaging at a time of mounting public economic hardship and governance criticism.

The militarisation of political signalling: The subsequent public interventions by the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), associated with the Chief of Defence Forces, dramatically escalated the situation. Statements and social media messaging perceived as favouring specific political outcomes in the parliamentary leadership contest deepened concerns regarding military involvement in civilian political processes.

The emerging realignment: Reports of high-level consultations at State House involving senior ruling party figures and discussions regarding alternative parliamentary leadership candidates further reinforced perceptions that a coordinated political realignment was underway.

Conceptualising the crisis

To fully grasp the gravity of this moment, we must demystify the technical realities underpinning Uganda’s governance crisis. In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of two faces, simultaneously looking in opposite directions.

Uganda’s anti-corruption architecture-comprising institutions such as the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), the Leadership Code Tribunal (LCT), the Auditor General, and other accountability organs-often appears trapped in a comparable duality. When politically connected actors remain in favour, accountability institutions frequently become procedurally cautious, legally restrained, and administratively dormant. Technicalities multiply.

Processes stall.

Investigations await ‘appropriate timing’ or further reports. Yet once political protection weakens, the same institutions can suddenly transform into hyperactive instruments of enforcement.

This selective elasticity damages public confidence. The issue is not whether corruption should be investigated-it absolutely must be-but whether accountability mechanisms operate according to constitutional principle or fluctuating political convenience.

The controversy surrounding the parliamentary commissioners’ service awards exemplified this institutional dilemma.

Critics argued that substantial awards were approved under circumstances raising serious concerns regarding fiduciary responsibility and conflict-of-interest safeguards. Yet meaningful institutional intervention appeared hesitant until broader political tides began to shift. Equally troubling is the increasingly visible role of military actors within civilian political contests.

A praetorian State is one in which the military establishment ceases to function merely as an instrument of national defence and instead emerges as a decisive arbiter in civilian political transitions and governance disputes.

Uganda’s Constitution, under Article 208(2), explicitly requires the UPDF to remain non-partisan, national in character, and subordinate to civilian authority. Yet recent political developments have increasingly blurred these constitutional boundaries.

When senior military-linked actors openly participate in political signalling surrounding parliamentary leadership contests, the perception inevitably emerges that military endorsement is becoming an influential factor in civilian political outcomes. That perception alone is profoundly damaging to constitutionalism. The election of the Speaker under Article 82 of the Constitution was intended to reflect the free and independent judgment of Members of Parliament-not the visible shadow of coercive political power.

A direct appeal to the President

Your Excellency, as the appointing authority under whom many of our accountability institutions ultimately function, you must reflect carefully on how the struggle against corruption has itself been undermined by political interference and institutional domestication.

Public confidence will not be restored merely by removing one compromised political figure while leaving intact the structural injustices and institutional sabotage that flourished under the same system. While serving as deputy chairperson of the Leadership Code Tribunal, I took my oath of office seriously.

Alongside other principled members, I insisted that the Leadership Code Act be enforced without fear or favour, including in relation to the controversial parliamentary service awards and related conflict-of-interest allegations involving parliamentary leadership.

My insistence on institutional autonomy and equal application of the law generated visible resistance within sections of the political and administrative establishment.

During internal engagements, concerns were openly raised regarding my Constitutional Court petition seeking to affirm the autonomy and judicial character of the tribunal. It became increasingly clear that my defence of institutional independence would weigh heavily against the renewal of my contract.

Over time, I learned from various insider sources within the tribunal, supervising ministries, and political circles close to Parliament that powerful interests aligned to the parliamentary leadership were deeply unhappy with efforts to subject parliamentary commissioners to Leadership Code accountability. The convergence of political hostility, administrative obstruction, and the subsequent non-renewal of our mandates strongly demonstrated a coordinated effort to neutralise an assertive, independent tribunal. This is the deeper national tragedy: accountability institutions were not merely weakened by corruption; they were weakened by the deliberate erosion of their autonomy.

Mr President, if the current campaign against parliamentary corruption is to be viewed as a genuine national correction rather than a selective political purge, then institutional justice must accompany political rhetoric. The State cannot continue benefiting from the marginalisation of officers who sought to uphold the law in difficult circumstances.

Reinstating principled accountability officers who were pushed aside for defending institutional autonomy would send a powerful signal throughout the public service that integrity, constitutional fidelity, and professional courage are no longer liabilities within the Ugandan state.

If Uganda is to emerge from this constitutional nadir, the remedy must be systemic rather than factional. Universality of accountability: The current investigations into Parliament must not become instruments of selective justice or elite factional warfare. Accountability processes should comprehensively examine the 2024 and 2025 service awards controversies, allegations surrounding inflated parliamentary expenditures, the mabaati scandal, and all related questions of abuse of office-regardless of political alignment.

Demilitarisation of civilian politics: The commander-in-chief must ensure that military actors and affiliated political formations refrain from involvement in civilian legislative contests.

Constitutional governance demands a clear separation between military command structures and parliamentary politics. Restoration of institutional independence: Uganda must revisit the unresolved constitutional question concerning the autonomy of accountability bodies such as the Leadership Code Tribunal. Institutions tasked with enforcing ethical governance cannot function effectively if they remain vulnerable to political intimidation, administrative retaliation, or executive domestication.

Protection of accountability officers: Public officials who act in defence of constitutionalism and institutional integrity must not be politically isolated, professionally punished, or administratively discarded. A state that punishes integrity ultimately institutionalises corruption. The writer is a former deputy chairperson of the Leadership Code Tribunal and former minister.

Caution

If political transition is ultimately achieved through selective prosecution, institutional manipulation, and the visible intrusion of military influence into civilian governance, Uganda risks endorsing militarised authoritarianism.

True reform requires more than the fall of individuals. It requires a genuine return to constitutionalism, the restoration of institutional autonomy, equal application of the law, and the protection of those who risked their careers to defend the integrity of the republic.

West Budama Central Member of Parliament (MP) Jacob Oboth-Oboth was on Monday declared Speaker of the 12th Parliament, defeating Jinja South East MP Paul Mwiru and his Laroo-Pece Division counterpart Nobert Mao by a landslide.

The election, conducted during the first sitting of the 12th Parliament at Kololo Independence Grounds, was presided over by Chief Justice Flavian Zeija, who announced Mr Oboth-Oboth, 55, the winner with 441 votes of the 519 votes cast. Mr Mwiru came second with 60 votes, and Mr Mao managed 15 votes. Invalid or spoiled votes were three.

Mr Oboth-Oboth’s election finally draws the curtain on Ms Anita Annet Among’s four-year tenure as Speaker of the 11th Parliament, a role she assumed on March 25, 2022, following the death of Jacob Oulanyah on March 20, 2022, in Seattle, US.

Ms Among had, on May 17, opted out of the speakership race for the 12th Parliament following security operations at her residences in Nakasero, Kigo and Bukedea District, all linked to an ongoing State investigation into alleged corruption-related offences and claims of illicit enrichment.

In a statement, Ms Among, 53, said her decision not to contest was taken after ‘wide consultations and deep introspection’ and aimed to ‘preserve harmony and clarity within the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).’

Now that she is out and Mr Oboth-Oboth is in, what is next for the embattled former Speaker? Analysts say having been stripped of her ‘untouchable’ status, Ms Among’s most predictable path is to accept a quiet life, secondary deployment as a special envoy or advisor, take a radical stance of exposing State secrets to prove her financial excesses were sanctioned by the regime, or to outrightly oppose President Museveni.

Fleeing to exile has, however, been described as ‘a logistical dead-end’ due to international sanctions slapped against her. In 2024, the UK imposed sanctions on Ugandan politicians, including Ms Among, following allegations of corruption. It was the first time that the UK government used the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions regime on individuals involved in corruption in Kampala.

Subsequently, Ms Among was subjected to travel bans and asset freezes. Mr Julius Galisonga, a senior advocate and managing partner at Strand Advocates, said the recent happenings have undermined Ms Among’s credibility, moral authority and confidence that many people had in her leadership.

‘It all depends on what her grand scheme of events was; whatever it is, the short-term requires her to first be humble,’ Mr Galisonga said in an interview on Monday.

He added: ‘The recent events show that the people around her are either cowards who buckle under the slightest pressure and maybe didn’t like her that much, or were simply spies. So, let her sit back and evaluate all her relationships and then decide who to move forward with.’

Mr Galisonga said Ms Among had positioned herself as being too powerful, too connected and so close to President Museveni, the reason she probably thought she could be beyond reproach.

‘Ms Perry Aritua, the Executive Director of Women Democracy Network-Uganda Chapter, said if there are some cases that may be brought before court against her; so, she, together with her lawyers, needs to prepare her defence.

She said Ms Among needs to build bridges, especially between those who felt targeted by her alleged misuse of power, and cited youth who were imprisoned over their alleged match to Parliament. In July 2024, youth took to the streets in protest of alleged corruption scandals at Parliament, while demanding the resignation of Speaker Among and all legislators reportedly involved in corruption scandals.

Hundreds of protesters were arrested.

Civil society groups later condemned their arrest, saying the incarcerated youth were ‘playing their duty as active citizens of Uganda’ and that ‘their voices must be heard in the ongoing efforts to combat corruption’.

Ms Aritua said: ‘I hope the public does not judge all women because of how Ms Among used power. There are a number of good women out there who have served this country diligently; so, women should not be blamed for her misdeeds.’

She also said Ms Among may have cases brought against her regarding the elections in Bukedea, including alleged misuse of her power to sail through unopposed, among others.

Ms Aritua further advised Ms Among to lead her life privately, and appealed to those who have succeeded her to use their powers within the legal framework, and not to use Parliament for personal aggrandizement, calling for the need to regain the public trust in the institution.

‘It is important that different actors pick lessons in terms of how we use power so that it is used for the common good because the public is watching,’ she added.

Mr Timothy Chemonges, the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), said Ms Among’s exit is like ‘a puncture on a vehicle tyre.’ ‘It does not necessarily mean the vehicle is written off, but it can no longer move with the same speed and comfort until serious repair is done.’

‘The difficult part is she may feel she went over and above to deliver what was expected of her politically, including playing a visible role in mobilising and campaigning for the President during the last general election. From her standpoint, that may feel like a major betrayal by the very system she invested in and served aggressively,’ he added.

Governance researcher Job Kiija said the regime will most likely not destroy Ms Among economically because her schools, hospitals and money-lending entities are vital nodes for the NRM’s local political patronage.

He said President Museveni values political leverage and compliance over integrity; therefore, the State will allow her business empire to survive, which bears a similarity with how the regime handled former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga.

‘Once her independent streak became a liability, she was stripped of the speakership, but pacified with a Cabinet position to maintain her localised patronage networks in Busoga, preventing her from joining the Opposition.

‘Among will similarly be kept on a tight financial leash, sustained enough to remain a useful agent in Bukedea, but with never the ability to leverage independent State power,’ he reckons.

In the thick tropical canopy of the Zoka Central Forest Reserve, where towering trees shield wildlife and streams snake through dense vegetation, grows a rare wild coffee that conservationists believe could hold significance beyond northern Uganda.

For generations, the indigenous community living alongside the forest was aware of the wild coffee growing beneath its canopy. After years of conservation struggles and advocacy, the Excelsa coffee variety, now known as Zoka Coffee has now received a name that ties it directly to its ancestral home.

The decision to formally recognise the rare coffee variety was made by the Adjumani District Council. Environmentalists and researchers say it could elevate the global scientific importance of the forest while strengthening conservation efforts in one of Uganda’s most threatened ecological reserves.

The resolution, passed during an ordinary council meeting, followed a petition by Friends of Zoka, a local conservation organisation that has spent nearly a decade campaigning to protect the forest from destruction caused by illegal logging, charcoal burning, and agricultural encroachment.

‘Zoka Forest has sheltered this coffee for millennia. Its name now dignifies its location and the Madi community heritage. This was long overdue,’ said Angelo Izama, the board chairman of Friends of Zoka.

A forest under pressure

Located in Adjumani District in northern Uganda, the Zoka Central Forest Reserve is one of the last remaining tropical forests in the West Nile sub-region.

The reserve is home to diverse plant and animal species and has long been regarded by environmentalists as ecologically sensitive. But for years, the forest has faced increasing threats from human activity. Friends of Zoka emerged in 2016 as one of the leading voices defending the forest.

Through advocacy campaigns, community engagement, and partnerships with government institutions and cultural leaders, the organisation has sought to draw national attention to the destruction unfolding in the reserve.

The Council’s resolution turns a conservation argument into public policy. William Leslie Amanzuru, the team leader of Friends of Zoka said, ‘Naming Zoka Coffee focuses scientific attention on the forest, creates an identity that conservation can rally around, and gives local communities a direct stake in protecting what grows there.

World watching wild coffee

In 2023, Kyagalanyi Coffee Limited (KCL) purchased 5,508 kilogrammes of Excelsa coffee from 13 farmers in Luwero District at Shs4,810 per kilogramme of dried cherry. Due to the increasing demand, in 2024/25 KCL bought 5,256kgs of dried cherry at Shs7,000 per kilogramme and 3,510kgs of parchment at Shs18,000 per kilogramme. This demonstrates the feasible market interest and demand.

Globally, scientists are increasingly turning their attention to wild coffee species as climate change threatens commercial coffee production.

The global coffee industry, valued at more than $460b, largely depends on Arabica and Robusta varieties. But rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, pests, and diseases are placing these crops under growing pressure.

Researchers believe wild coffee species may contain critical genetic traits such as drought tolerance, disease resistance, and unique flavour characteristics that could help secure the future of coffee production worldwide. Conservationists say the newly named Zoka Coffee could eventually attract international botanical research and scientific classification.

The Adjumani District Council resolution directs technical departments, through the office of the chief administrative officer to engage national authorities, the National Agricultural Research Organisation, and civil society groups to formalise the naming according to national and international scientific standards.

Hope for communities

Beyond science and conservation, local leaders believe the recognition could create economic opportunities for communities surrounding the forest.

Environmental advocates argue that formal recognition may open doors for eco-tourism, geographical indication protections, sustainable coffee branding, and conservation-linked livelihoods that could benefit residents while discouraging forest destruction.

For the Madi community, whose ancestral territory includes the forest, the naming also carries cultural significance.

As the world searches for solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss, conservationists in Adjumani hope the story of a wild coffee hidden for centuries beneath the Zoka forest canopy could become a powerful reason to save one of Uganda’s disappearing forests. It is about ensuring that the forest and the communities connected to it are no longer overlooked.

The Adjumani District Agriculture Officer, Mr Charles Lagu, on Monday described the coffee as a unique indigenous variety with great potential for both conservation and commercial production if deliberate domesticated and promoted.

About Exclesa Coffee

According to the National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro), Excelsa Coffee Variety naturally grows in the wild within Zoka Central Forest Reserve and Semuliki National Park.

It says, some farmers, especially in central Uganda, have been cultivating the crop with limited scientific guidance. The ongoing research seeks to provide improved varieties and evidence-based recommendations to support farmers and expand Uganda’s coffee diversity and resilience.

It was a joyous affair at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on Monday after Mr Jacob Marksons Oboth, alias Oboth-Oboth, was declared the Speaker of the 12th Parliament.

The election offered a reprieve from weeks of turmoil that had rocked the nation after former Speaker Anita Among was placed under investigation over suspected illicit enrichment and corruption.

Ms Among, who had initially vowed to throw her hat in the ring for a second term, was reportedly unceremoniously shown the door by President Museveni during a State House meeting on May 14, shortly before the investigations began.

Mr Museveni’s son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also the Chief of Defence Forces, later endorsed Mr Oboth for the Speaker position.

This endorsement was approved by both the Central Executive Committee of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party and the parliamentary caucus, paving the way for his election to the third most powerful office in the land.

‘Honourable members, I thank you most sincerely for entrusting me today with the highest office of being your Speaker, which responsibility I receive with utmost humility and modesty,’ Mr Oboth said after being declared the winner on Monday.

He now inherits a House still struggling under the weight of corruption scandals that plagued the 11th Parliament.

The contest was conducted amid a high-profile probe into his predecessor, Ms Among, who was conspicuously absent from Monday’s sitting despite being eligible to vote. Mr Museveni ordered the investigation into her wealth after allegations first surfaced during the Parliament exhibition on social media, which accused her of nepotism, corruption, and a laundry list of misdeeds.

The 11th Parliament also faced public outrage after 20 ministers and more than 30 MPs were caught up in the Karamoja iron sheet bonanza, in which aid meant for the poorest of the poor was diverted.

The implicated officials included Ms Among, Mr Oboth, then minister for Karamoja Affairs Mary Goretti Kitutu and her Junior Agnes Nandutu.

The Speaker and Deputy Speaker’s offices also came under fire after their budgets ballooned over four years. While Ms Among basked in the limelight for her flashy lifestyle, her deputy, Thomas Tayebwa, managed to fly under the radar and quietly secured another term.

Ms Among was also accused of muzzling debate, often wielding her gavel like a hammer to silence dissent whenever things were not favourable for the sitting government. It remains to be seen how Mr Oboth will steer the ship in the next five years, but he has made a promise to calm the waters at the country’s third arm of government.

‘We are aware of what we’ve been going through. I pledge a corruption-free Parliament. Under my leadership, we shall cultivate a culture of absolute integrity and zero tolerance to corruption anchored in Museveni’s clarion call for a corruption-free Parliament in the next five years,’ Mr Oboth said shortly after being declared the winner.

He also vowed to hold the Executive’s feet to the fire, promising accountability where the 11th Parliament had largely bent to its will.

‘Accountability begins with us. In the next five years, we will hold the Executive and other government bodies accountable. We cannot hide from accountability for government resources, yet we expect it from other agencies and departments. That will not work,’ Mr Oboth said.

While previous parliaments showcased the Speaker’s unchecked power, Mr Oboth promised a different tune.

‘The Speaker’s chair is not a throne. It is a servant’s post. My role now is to come before you to ensure that the voices of over 48 million Ugandans who sent us here are heard, respected and protected. Under my leadership, the floor of Parliament will not be a theatre for hearsay or grandstanding. Our debates must be grounded in hard facts, data and sound research. We must be fair and objective to others as we play our oversight function.’

Over the last four years, the Speaker and Deputy’s budgets skyrocketed from Shs3.9b under the late Jacob Oulanyah to Shs28b and Shs21b, respectively. Mr Oboth pledged to tighten the purse strings.

‘Budgeting will no longer be an exercise in financial engineering and distortion. It will be a service-oriented, results-driven endeavour to deliver services to our people,’ he said.

On media freedom, Mr Oboth promised to roll back Ms Among’s heavy hand on critical media houses. In 2025, she had cracked the whip on independent journalism, booting Nation Media Group Uganda reporters without explanation.

‘An open Parliament… During this term, let’s appreciate that an objective and ethical media are not our enemies but the public’s eye and ear. We must maintain a transparent, decent and open Parliament. When we close our doors to the media, a negative perception is generated. If we are clean and doing a good job, why hide? I will encourage a professional and robust association with the press at all times in order to bridge the gap between the House and its people,’ he said.

Manjiya County MP John Baptist Nambeshe weighed in, warning that Parliament will only function as a truly independent arm of government if the new leadership resists Executive overreach.

‘The truth of the matter is, if you did a detailed analysis of the parliaments, each Parliament comes with its own peculiar challenges. And this particular one, of course, has come at a time when the party in power seems to be determined to fight for a culture of impunity. They should not allow to be twisted by the powers that be, which is the Executive, which is merely an arm of the government, which is independent, just like the legislature is independent,’ he said.

Otherwise, the work is cut out for the man from West Budama Central for the next five years, and the nation will be keenly observing.

A confidential dossier pieced together by covert intelligence shows that State actors put Anita Among under surveillance as early as 2021, when she was Deputy Speaker of Parliament.

The voluminous collection of documents, a copy of which Weekend Monitor has seen, discloses that ‘a reliable asset’ of one of Uganda’s intelligence agencies, covertly deployed, had Ms Among within eyeshot when, with his strength rapidly receding, it became apparent that Jacob Oulanyah would never again regain good health.

The intelligence agency’s findings, the product of an elaborate surveillance, painstakingly sketch how Ms Among used Parliament to build a war chest. The dossier delivers a sweeping rebuke of Parliament’s financial imprudence, pointing out how the legislative branch of government needed little invitation to inflate costs of its big-ticket projects.

In a May 17 statement, Ms Among made clear that she ‘pledges[s] to continue cooperating with all ongoing investigations as initiated by the relevant organs of the State to get to the root of all the allegations raised,’ Caleb Alaka, her lawyer, opted not to clarify the position when contacted on Thursday.

One of the big-ticket projects that attracts red flags in the dossier is the parliamentary chamber still under construction. Two items around the new chamber come up for mention in the dossier on account of an alleged exponential increase in costs.

Last month, chairing her penultimate plenary session in the 11th Parliament, Ms Among spoke to concerns around the big-ticket project that was started under the speakership of Rebecca Kadaga.

‘There was a change of design, and, in that change of design, because of the bomb blast, which took place here, we said we needed a bomb blast-resistant glass. So, when that change of design came in, [the Finance ministry] and [the Parliamentary] Commission agreed to pay directly to the suppliers of [the construction materials]. As we speak today, money is not paid directly to Roko [Construction Company Ltd]. The money is given to suppliers,’ Ms Among disclosed.

Inflated costs?

Aside from the attendant procurement concerns around the construction of the new parliamentary chamber, intelligence operatives were able to, per the dossier, document a steady stream of other cases where costs were likely inflated.

By the backend of 2022, with Ms Among now the substantive Speaker of the 11th Parliament, colossal amounts of money were being moved via accounts of parliamentary staff.

In November of that year, President Museveni was furnished with details of 14 suspicious accounts. He shared the granular details with the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) and the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), sanctioning a probe in the process. Investigations are still ongoing, and Ms Among has previously denied any wrongdoing.

‘The investigation confirmed that 12 private accounts of parliamentary staff with strong connections to the Speaker had on various occasions received huge sums of money and the said money would be withdrawn in lump sums immediately,’ the dossier discloses.

The dossier also shines a spotlight on how ‘between September 6, 2023, and January 29, 2024, a Parliament leader allegedly received a total of Shs2,658,250,000 for alleged travels abroad on official duty, whereas no such travels ever took place.’

The trips called into question were to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates or UAE (once); Nairobi, Kenya (thrice); Johannesburg, South Africa (once); and Kigali, Rwanda (once).

Procurement fraud?

A significant body of work in the dossier illuminates procurement and logistics fraud purportedly on the watch of Parliament’s top brass.

‘Procurement of advertising services for Parliamentary Commission from [a local radio station] for a period of two years at a cost of Shs3,135,480,000, which translates into Shs130,645,000 per month,’ the dossier reveals, ‘[A national tv] which is considered to have the highest national viewership and coverage throughout the country, receives only Shs130,000,000 per year from Parliament for advertising and promotions services compared to the locally-based […FM radio], which is owned by a Parliament official.

This may also be compared with the entire media of say, a brewery, for promoting its products across the country for a year, estimated at Shs7,000,000,000.’

The investigation also unearthed evidence from a ‘reliable source in Parliament’ that a top Parliament official ‘receives a commission of $100 (about Shs378, 300) on every ticket’ issued by a company alleged to have received a contract for air ticketing for Parliament fall ‘without any bidding process.’

The high-level document also makes a sweeping accusation about alleged ‘irregular recruitment of staff at Parliament [that] is in contravention of human resource recruitment procedures of the Government of Uganda.’

‘Relatives of leaders of Parliament and government have placed their relatives on the parliamentary payroll without following the due process of recruitment,’ the dossier states, adding: ‘According to a reliable source in Parliament, some illegally recruited staff are not reflected on the payroll for salary to avoid detection of a bloated workforce but are rather concealed in the payment for emoluments that include housing allowance, responsibility allowance, breakfast and lunch. This is done with the full knowledge of [top Parliament leaders].’

Pulling no punches

The Parliamentary Commission was spared no criticism, with the Shs1.7b that was splurged on so-called service awards after a sitting on May 6, 2022, labelled ‘a suspicious payment intended to influence the commissioners to rubber-stamp the [a top Parliament official’s] personal schemes of looting public funds.’

The secret document also discloses that a top Parliament official purportedly used illegal recruitments to not only curry favour with but also ‘to ‘capture’ other arms of government’, pointing to jobs ‘offered’ to the family and relations of big shots in the Judiciary.

The covert intelligence warns that while the overlap of procurement fraud, inflated costs and illegal recruitments is part of a wider strategy of self-aggrandisement, a senior House official’s perceived underhanded activities are not without consequences.

‘The public display of the assets of [a senior Parliament official] that include schools, hospitals, palatial homes, expensive vehicles and a lavish [life]style is insensitive to the pains of the Ugandan taxpayers and will make voluntary compliance in revenue collection very difficult.’

The portrait of the intelligence effort sketches of the said official is of a rising force that threatens to do more than just hold a powerful grip on the national discourse. The vulnerability that the official managed to create took on different forms, with, for one, ‘anti-corruption agencies other than SHACU […] unwilling to take on the leadership of Parliament due to the fear of suffering budget cuts during appropriation in Parliament.’

The official is also portrayed as an overbearing figure who centralised power and surrounded themselves with shysters, freebooters, hangers-on who were not afraid of abusing taxpayers’ money.

Search and seizure orders

Most, if not all, of the contents of the dossier are what law enforcement officers appear to be relying on to underpin their confidence as the sensational raid on Ms Among’s properties brings twists and turns each passing day. On Friday, the operations moved to the Speaker Emeritus’s palatial countryside home in Bukedea District.

Top-of-the-line cars have featured heavily in the search and seizure orders that law enforcement officers effected for the better part of this week. Among the four ultra-luxury cars that have been seized are a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the aftermath of whose purchase appears to have cracked the veneer of Ms Among’s invincibility in the office of House Speaker.

‘Following the demise of the late Rt Hon Jacob Oulanyah in March 2022, and the subsequent election of the Rt Hon Anita Annet Among as the Speaker deputised by the Rt Hon Thomas Tayebwa, as early as June 2022, the public raised concerns over procurement of two seventh generation S500 Mercedes Benzes at a cost of Shs2.8 billion from a British company (Albeity Limited) that lacked manufacturer’s authorisation, did not issue any warrant and did not provide any bid security,’ the dossier notes.

Since Ms Among’s headlong fall, Jacob Marksons Oboth, alias Oboth-Oboth, the West Budama South lawmaker, has emerged as a stronger contender to assume the speakership in the 12th Parliament. Mr Norbert Mao, the Democratic Party president, who is also the Laroo-Pece lawmaker, confirmed this week that he remains in the race and wants the top decision-making organ of the ruling party to consider his candidature.

In a May 19 letter to President Museveni, Mr Mao wrote thus: ‘In particular, I request an opportunity to meet you urgently to discuss this matter further. I also beg your indulgence in the spirit of 1986 and the NRM-DP Cooperation to allow my candidature to be considered by the NRM Central Executive Committee and the NRM Parliamentary Caucus alongside that of the other candidates who have expressed interest.’

He adds: ‘A proper ranking of the strength of each candidate by the Caucus will be a clear indication of the support each candidate enjoys and the candidate most highly rated will then be the one to face the full Parliament. I pledge to abide by the decision of the Caucus.’

The leading Opposition party, the National Unity Platform, on Friday unveiled Paul Mwiru as its candidate in the speakership race that culminates with a vote on Monday. Mr Mwiru said his candidature is ‘a response to a call for new beginnings at the Parliament of Uganda.’

He added that it is ‘a call for a more responsive, accountable, people-centred, and exemplary leadership of the national Legislature.’

In her May 17 statement, Ms Among said she will rally behind whoever the ruling NRM party endorses. ‘I pledge my total support to the candidates who will be endorsed by the President and the Party, and Implore all colleague MPs of the 12th Parliament to do the same.’

The register said 14,207. The real number was closer to 2,800. More than 11,000 organisations that had been registered, certified, and entrusted with public and donor resources had slowly disappeared without telling anyone.

There was neither a formal closure nor an exit notice to government. They simply stopped. Most, according to Stephen Okello, who runs the NGO Bureau, informed exactly one person they were leaving. ‘They only told the landlord.’

That gap between 14,207 and 2,800 is a window into a deeper problem, one that has less to do with government regulation and more with how Uganda’s NGOs are built, governed, and run in the first place.

What is an NGO actually supposed to be?

A non-governmental organisation is, at its core, a private institution built to serve a public purpose.

It has a governing board. It has members. It has rules, written down in a founding document called a constitution, about how decisions get made, how money is spent, and who is accountable to whom. That is the theory.

In practice, Okello has spent years chairing the NGO Bureau’s Complaint and Dispute Resolution Committee, sitting across the table from organisations in various stages of trouble.

Before he even opens the NGO Act, which is the national law governing NGOs, he reaches for their own constitution and starts asking questions.

What he finds, almost every time, is that ’95 percent of organisations have never read their own constitution. Management, board members, same thing. They relate to it as if for the first time.’

How does this happen? When people set up an NGO in Uganda, many hire a lawyer to draft the constitution, sign where they are told, and move on.

Others copy a constitution from another organisation, sometimes with that other organisation’s details still inside.

The paperwork gets filed. The organisation starts operating, but the constitution goes into a drawer. And the moment nobody is reading the rulebook is the moment the rules stop mattering.

The ‘My NGO’ problem

When there are no rules that anyone follows, something fills the vacuum. Usually, it’s one person.

Okello calls it the ‘my NGO’ problem. Someone founds an organisation, registers it, and then treats it as a personal project.

They decide who sits on the board, they control who gets hired, and they are the final word on every financial decision.

The board, which is supposed to provide independent oversight, ends up populated with people who owe their positions to the very person they are meant to hold accountable.

‘The very person on the board should be demanding reports from management. But because the founder pays their retainer, they end up with more bargaining power than even the board. You end up with rubber-stamping boards,’ Okello notes.

The same problem repeats at the Annual General Meeting, which is the highest decision-making body in a membership organisation.

In theory, members elect the board and hold leadership accountable. In practice, the ‘members’ are often friends and relatives of the founder, recruited because they will not ask uncomfortable questions.

‘If you see an AGM being held by three people: a husband, a wife, a daughter, a son,’ that is immediately a red flag,’ Okello cautions. Ernest Kalibala, a lawyer who advises NGOs on compliance, explains how this dysfunction becomes invisible over time.

‘You get accustomed to doing things in the way you have been doing them, and they start to look normal. Breaking a rule often enough makes the rule feel like the exception,’ he says.

Thus, he adds, by the time an ‘external investigator arrives, the organisation has been operating outside its own governance framework for so long that proper governance feels foreign’.

Why people start NGOs

So many people, including Okello, believe many NGOs in Uganda were never built to do what they claim to do.

Some founders register because they believe donor money flows freely to anyone with a certificate and a mission statement. Others are solving a personal unemployment problem wrapped in charitable language.

When reality arrives, for instance, when proposals get rejected, when the donor moves on, when money does not materialise, the organisation has nothing to fall back on.

So, it closes, slowly, without notice, and joins the 11,000 ghosts on the register.

‘An organisation that exists to serve its founder’s interests will not invest in proper board structures or financial systems, because those structures would constrain the founder. And an organisation without those structures cannot survive the inevitable shocks; a donor departing, a programme ending, a key staff member leaving,’ Okello notes.

‘The constitution in the drawer is a symptom. The motive for building the organisation in the first place is often the disease,’ he adds.

The funding crisis

The money is drying up, and fast. In 2025, the United States shut down USAID, removing an estimated $30b annually from global development financing.

In Uganda alone, 15,000 jobs were lost, a Shs600b gap in HIV/AIDS services, and food rations for 1.6 million refugees cut by more than half, official government records show.

Germany then suspended GIZ-supported programmes in October 2025, cutting another Shs22b. Globally, the OECD reported official development assistance fell 6 percent in 2024, with the UK, France, and Canada all cutting aid budgets.

This illustrates that the era of reliable, renewable donor funding, around which Uganda’s NGO sector was built, is ending. None of this should have been a surprise. In 2016, Uganda’s NGO law was amended to let organisations generate income through their own business activities, reducing dependence on grants.

After nearly 10 years, fewer than 2 percent have used that provision, according to Okello, who notes that: ‘The sector has been in a comfort zone, writing proposals, receiving funding, and yet what they are seeing before them is something real.’

Now the comfort zone is gone. And organisations that never built financial resilience are discovering, very suddenly, that they have none.

The danger of desperation

There is a risk here that goes beyond individual organisations’ closure.

When a sector becomes financially desperate, it starts making different decisions about money. Organisations that can no longer pay their staff or fund their programmes will eventually stop asking hard questions about where the next grant is coming from.

‘You are going to end up with a sector that becomes supply-driven. Whoever has the money, regardless of what the intention is, bring it,’ notes Okello, who is also a member of Uganda’s national anti-money laundering task force.

Over 98 percent of Uganda’s NGOs rely entirely on foreign donations, official documentation from the NGO Bureau shows.

Combined with a collapsing donor landscape, this creates a sector vulnerable to capture by interests that do not share its stated values.

This means a sector built to amplify the voices of the vulnerable can, under enough financial pressure, end up serving whoever signs the cheque.

The regulator is also under pressure

The NGO Bureau has changed significantly. In July 2024, the NGO Amendment Act dissolved the Bureau as an independent body and absorbed it into the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a ministry currently led by military officials.

Staff was cut from 98 to 32. Civil society groups have raised concerns that oversight could shift from development impact to political risk monitoring, concerns made more pointed by the Attorney General’s 2022 declaration that NGOs are ‘enemies of Uganda’ and a wave of pre-election suspensions in 2025-2026.

But Okello pushes back, saying, ‘If you feel compliance is being used as an excuse against you, you are safer remaining in compliance.’

Kalibala agrees from an advisory point of view. Saying: ‘The Bureau is very responsive if you take the initiative. It is quite different if they find you during a monitoring visit.’

One concrete piece of good news is that funding has been secured to move registration, permits, and renewals fully online, ending the burden of travelling to Kampala for routine services. That arrives in the next financial year.

What does survival actually look like?

Uganda’s NGO compliance level has risen from 26.8 percent in 2016 to 62.4 percent today, real, hard-won progress, official documentation from the NGO Bureau shows.

But it still means more than one in three operating NGOs are not meeting their basic legal obligations.

‘The law is not going anywhere. If anything, all indications are that it is going to be strengthened,’ Kalibala notes.

A sustainable NGO is one where people have actually read the constitution, like board members and senior staff, not just the executive director.

It is also one where the board asks questions and makes decisions independently, where a finance manual governs how money moves, and where someone tracks permits, returns, and regulatory changes before they become emergencies.

And most critically, where there has been an honest conversation about where the money will come from in five years, with an answer that does not depend entirely on one donor, one programme, or one foreign government’s shifting priorities.

Police in the Mt Moroto region are investigating the killing of one of their own in a mob attack in Nakapiripirit District on Tuesday evening.

The deceased has been identified as Richard Nokrach, 31, attached to Namalu Police Station, according to Mt Moroto police spokesperson Mike Longole.

The incident occurred at Nalait Trading Centre in Loporet Parish, Kawach sub-county, around 7:00pm. Longole said initial reports indicate that Nokrach was returning from Moru-A-Jore Game Reserve Checkpoint when he knocked an elderly man at the trading centre.

‘Relatives of the man allegedly attacked him and stabbed him multiple times in the chest, back, and neck. He died at the scene,’ Longole said.

The case was reported at Nakapiripirit Central Police Station at about 1900hrs and registered as CRB 064/2026.

After receiving the report, the District Police Commander, District CID Officer, SOCO team, and other officers visited the scene.

‘Statements have been recorded from witnesses, and the body was conveyed to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital for postmortem examination,’ Longole said.

Two male suspects have since been arrested and are being held at Nakapiripirit CPS as investigations continue.

Longole condemned mob justice and urged the public to let the law take its course.

‘We urge members of the public to allow the law to take its course and to report incidents to the nearest police station instead of taking matters into their own hands,’ he said.

For most couples, six decades of marriage would be a distant dream. For Dr Ezra Nkwasibwe, 88, and his wife, Loi Busingye Nkwasibwe, 87, their 61-year journey has been held together by an unusual glue; the fear of embarrassment. The couple, who wedded in 1965 after a seven-year courtship, say avoiding scandalous acts and resolving misunderstandings immediately have been the secrets to their enduring union. They also credit a deep reverence for God, a dread of public shame, and a conscious choice to protect their reputation as children of prominent Anglican church leaders.

A union rooted in discipline and devotion

Dr Nkwasibwe is a trained medical doctor from Makerere University. He served as a former Minister of Animal Industry and Fisheries in the UNLF government and as a former Minister of Health in the Obote II regime. He is also a former Member of Parliament for Kabale East. He is a son of the late Zabroni Rushundahire, an Anglican catechist.

Loi Busingye Nkwasibwe holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nairobi and a postgraduate diploma in education from Makerere University. She made history as one of the first female Members of Parliament during the National Resistance Council. She later became a successful businesswoman in Kabale Town. She is a daughter of the late Reverend Kezekiya Kasisiri.

The courtship that lasted seven years

Dr Nkwasibwe was in Senior Three at Nyakasura School when he first noticed Busingye, who was then a Senior Two student at Gayaza High School. He says her beauty and elegance attracted him to Busingye.

‘Beyond her physical appearance, she was well-disciplined and from a respectable family,’ Nkwasibwe says.

Busingye says she was naturally drawn to Dr Nkwasibwe, whom she describes as a humble and brilliant young man who was fluent in speaking the English language.

The secrets to a strong marriage

When asked to break down six decades of marriage into guiding principles, the couple offers several secrets.

The first secret is the fear of God, as their spiritual foundation has been reinforced by regular church attendance.

The second secret is the fear of embarrassment, as the dread of public shame has acted as a powerful deterrent against reckless behaviour. The third secret is avoiding scandalous acts altogether. Busingye adds that being children of former Anglican Church leaders scared them away from committing scandalous acts that would affect their marriage, as they always knew people were watching.

Longevity beyond politics

Dr Nkwasibwe credits his longevity and respectability to living a private life without antagonising those in power. When the Obote II government was overthrown, he decided to concentrate on operating a medical clinic in Kabale Town. He says he completely forgot about politics and never looked back.

Busingye took a similar path. After serving her term as a Member of Parliament, she chose not to seek re-election. She supported Hope Mwesigye, who won and represented Kabale District in the Constituent Assembly. She advises younger politicians to give space to others and not to cling to power.

The early life and education

Dr Nkwasibwe was born in 1938 in Ibugwe Mparo in Rukiga District. He was the third-born child of the late Zabroni Rushundahire, an Anglican catechist, and the late Yoniya Karerere. He attended Nyeikunama Church School, Nyabirerema Primary School, and Nyakatare Primary School. He later joined Kigezi High School and then Nyakasura Secondary School, where he attained his Cambridge O- Level certificate. He was admitted to Makerere University for an intermediary course before enrolling for a bachelor’s degree in medicine, which he completed in 1964.

He went on to serve as a senior casualty officer at Mulago Hospital and later as the in-charge at Arua Hospital. He won a scholarship to study a postgraduate diploma in Ophthalmology. When Idi Amin took power, he was transferred to Masaka hospital to oversee ophthalmology tasks in the western region. He retired from public service and started a private medical clinic in Kabale Town. After the fall of Amin, he was appointed Minister of Animal Industry and Fisheries. In 1980, he was elected MP for Kabale East and later appointed Minister of Health in the Obote II government until it was overthrown. Since then, he has lived a private lifestyle.

Busingye was born in 1939 in Kabale Town to the late Reverend Kezekiya Kasisiri and the late Agnes Wa-Kasheija. She studied at Hornby High School and Gayaza High School, where she attained her O-Level certificate. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from the University of Nairobi and a postgraduate diploma in teacher education from Makerere University.

She taught at Makerere College School and later at Masaka Secondary School before leaving to join her husband in a private lifestyle. In 1989, she was elected as a Member of Parliament during the National Resistance Council.

Advice for politicians

Dr Nkwasibwe says politicians must avoid corruption at all costs and should fear taking what does not belong to them. He also advises that leaders must respect the opinions of other leaders and must be tolerant of others. Busingye adds that politicians must leave political space for younger politicians. ‘If you want a peaceful retirement, you should start preparing for it the very day you take office,’ she says.

A lasting legacy of love and discipline

Today, at 88 and 87 years of age, the Nkwasibwes remain together, and their marriage is as vibrant as ever. They attend church regularly and receive visitors who seek their counsel.

Busingye says marriage is not about never fighting, but about fighting and then forgiving before the sun goes down. She adds that it is about remembering that people are watching your example and about choosing every single day to protect each other’s name.

The list, released Tuesday evening, saw Gen. Jeje Abubaker Odongo removed as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Musa Francis Ecweru dropped as State Minister for Transport and Works, Ms Hellen Adoa Abeku removed as State Minister for Fisheries, and Ms Hellen Grace Asamo removed as Minister of State for Disability Affairs.

For many in Teso, the exit of Gen. Odongo was the biggest shock.

‘There are lots of surprises in the new cabinet, but shocking to me was the decision to have Gen. Haji Jeje Abubaker Odongo not surfacing anywhere in the new cabinet list,’ said William Ebiacu, a teacher in Ogolia, Orungo County, Amuria District.

Gen. Odongo, MP for Orungo County, has been in national politics since 1986. He served as Army Commander, MP for Greater Amuria County in the Constituent Assembly, and Minister for Defence before his tenure at Foreign Affairs. As a historical NRA fighter, he is credited with weakening UPC special forces in Teso during the bush war.

Despite what Ebiacu described as ‘little in terms of development in his motherland,’ he said Odongo’s presence at the national level protected Teso’s interests.

‘I will remember him as a sober man, level-headed who never engaged in political fights with opponents,’ Ebiacu said.

‘It seems the president has decided to rest the long-serving politicians from Teso politics,’ said Grace Apiding from Obur, Greater Asamuk Sub-county.

She added that Musa Ecweru, who lost his Amuria County MP seat but remained State Minister for Transport and Works, deserved another chance.

‘He remains a great mobilizer for his NRM party, and not recognizing that was a little harsh on the side of the president,’ Apiding said.

She noted that Ecweru helped improve roads in Amuria during his tenure, and feared the gains may not be sustained.

‘While serving as minister of state for transport and works, Ecweru helped improve the state of roads in Amuria. I am afraid maintaining the roads that he opened will not be possible for the district,’ she said.

Ecweru rose to prominence in 2006 after his role in countering the LRA incursion in Teso in 2003. He lost the NRM primaries to Samuel Ediau in 2025 and opted not to run as an independent, hoping to be retained in cabinet.

In Serere, the removal of Hellen Adoa was met with a different view.

‘Hon. Hellen Adoa, who lost her seat as Woman MP for Serere to Esther Lucy Acom, extremely served the people of Serere District, but the people turned against her because of the crimes committed by the army on the lake, since she was minister of state for fisheries,’ said Alex Okello, a resident of Soroti City originally from Serere.

As a supporter, Okello said dropping Adoa from the fisheries docket could help her political future.

‘That ministry trapped our sister into being disliked. Everything that happened on the lake was blamed on her. Dropping Adoa from that ministry serves them better; she can make a comeback in 2031,’ he said.