Category: Daily Monitor

Busoga Kingdom and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the Kyabazinga Initiative and expand child-focused development programmes across the sub-region.

The partnership will focus on challenges affecting children, including child marriage, school dropout among girls, and the protection and promotion of children’s rights and welfare.

Speaking during the signing ceremony in Jinja on Friday, Unicef Uganda Representative Robin Nandy said the partnership demonstrates a shared commitment to improving the lives of more than 2.2 million children living in Busoga.

‘This MOU is a reaffirmation of Unicef’s commitment to ensuring that every child in Busoga survives, thrives, learns and is protected. Together with Busoga Kingdom, we can reach communities more effectively and create lasting change for children,’ Mr Nandy said.

He said sustainable development requires close collaboration with communities and cultural leaders, who can influence attitudes and behaviour at the grassroots.

‘When cultural institutions take the lead in championing children’s rights, communities listen. That is why we are investing in this partnership to ensure every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential,’ he said.

As part of the partnership, Unicef donated a Land Cruiser, five motorcycles, laptops, amplifiers and other equipment to support community mobilisation, training and monitoring activities across Busoga.

Busoga Kingdom’s Second Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Ahmed Noor Osman, described the agreement as a commitment to safeguarding the future of children in the region.

‘This is more than a signed document. It is a promise to every child in Busoga that their voices will be heard, their dreams protected and their future nurtured through collective action,’ Mr Osman said.

The Kyabazinga of Busoga, William Wilberforce Kadhumbula Gabula Nadiope IV, welcomed the partnership, saying the Kingdom would continue working with development partners to improve children’s welfare.

‘Busoga needs more partners and investors who are willing to walk with us as we build a healthier, more educated and prosperous generation. Together, we can transform the lives of our children,’ the Kyabazinga said.

Speaking under the theme, ‘Men Are the Pillars of Our Homes and Communities,’ the Kyabazinga called on fathers and community leaders to take greater responsibility for protecting children and supporting their education.

‘Every child deserves the opportunity to remain in school until at least the age of 18. We must work together to end child marriage, protect our girls and raise responsible leaders for tomorrow,’ he said.

The Kyabazinga said the involvement of cultural institutions, community leaders and development partners would help ensure the initiative reaches communities across Busoga.

‘If we unite behind this cause, we will build stronger families, stronger communities and a brighter future for every child in Busoga,’ he said.

Police have made a major breakthrough in the investigation into the violent murder of Sports Club Villa captain David Owori, recovering his stolen iPhone 14 Pro Max and arresting two key suspects linked to a notorious stolen mobile phone syndicate in Kampala.

Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke confirmed in a statement on Saturday evening, August 8, 2026, that tracking the deceased’s stolen smartphone led homicide detectives directly to the suspects.

“Following the murder of Owor David, a captain of Villa Football Club, we would like to update you on the progress of the investigation. It has been established that the deceased was robbed of an iPhone 14 Pro Max. The tracking of the stolen phone has led officers to two suspects: Munyaneza Bashir alias ‘Jemo’, a suspected dealer in stolen mobile phones, and his associate Magoba Samuel,” Rusoke stated.

During the operation, security personnel recovered four bags containing scores of suspected stolen electronic devices. The haul included 80 iPhones, 40 Samsung phones, eight Redmi phones, two Tecno phones, two Infinix phones, two Vivo phones, three feature phones, four motherboards, three iPads, and several SIM cards from MTN, Safaricom, Airtel, and Lyca networks.

“Other items recovered include ladies’ bags with identification documents, phone covers, and hard drives. Investigations are ongoing to establish the full network and link the exhibits to reported cases,” Rusoke added.

Hours before the official police update, former police Assistant Inspector General and current SC Villa spokesperson Asan Kasingye took to social media to commend the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) for its swift action.

“We at SC Villa are happy to hear that the CID has done incredible work in the investigation of the murder of our captain, the late David Owori. So far, the phone of our captain that was robbed from him has been recovered and leaders of six gangs arrested in the area,” Kasingye expressed, adding that the club retains full confidence in the investigators as they hunt down the remaining assailants to determine the primary motive.

The 28-year-old utility player passed away on Wednesday morning, August 5, 2026, at Case Clinic in Kampala, succumbing to severe injuries inflicted during a brutal ambush outside his residence in Makindye the previous evening.

According to Kasingye, Owori was targeted around 8:00 PM as he approached his home. He was initially rushed to the hospital while still conscious by his close friend and former teammate, Nicholas Kabonge, before his condition deteriorated rapidly.

Owori’s tragic death has plunged Ugandan football into mourning and re-ignited public outrage over rising urban criminality across the capital, where street gangs frequently target citizens and public figures.

Born in1998, Owori was a crucial asset for both club and country. The versatile midfielder and defender launched his senior career at Vipers SC in 2016, enjoyed European spells with Spain’s Vélez CF and Sweden’s Utsiktens BK, and returned to Villa in 2023. He played a pivotal role in guiding the Jogoos to their historic 17th Uganda Premier League title in 2024, securing a contract extension through 2027. His final competitive appearance was on August 1, when he captained Villa against Maroons FC in the FUFA Super 8 quarterfinals.

Women in Nakapiripirit District are facing increasing pressure to have more children as they compete for recognition and support within polygamous marriages, community leaders and gender advocates have said.

In some communities, a woman’s status in the home is closely associated with the number of children she bears, forcing some women to continue having children even when they would prefer to stop.

The pressure is particularly strong in polygamous households, where some women believe having more children than their co-wives could earn them greater attention, resources and support from their husbands.

Dr Jennifer Ayopo of Tokora Health Centre IV said widespread polygamy was contributing to large families and low uptake of family planning in the area.

She said some men have more than two wives, with some having five or six, creating competition among co-wives to have more children.

“Women compete for their husbands by producing more children. I have interacted with mothers and, when you ask them which pregnancy they are carrying, some tell you it is their 10th pregnancy,” Dr Ayopo said.

She made the remarks on Friday at Tokora Primary School in Nakapiripirit District during a school health outreach organised by ActionAid International with funding from the European Union.

The programme seeks to address harmful practices including domestic violence, female genital mutilation, early marriage, defilement, rape and forced marriage, while promoting the rights of adolescent girls in the Karamoja sub-region.

Dr Ayopo said some women avoid family planning because they fear their co-wives will continue having children with their husbands, leaving them at a disadvantage.

She also said opposition from husbands discourages some women from using contraceptives.

“Women fear to embrace family planning because their husbands are tough. When a husband gets information that his wife has started family planning, it can result in domestic violence and, in some cases, families breaking up,” she said.

The situation is compounded by poverty and the challenges of raising large families, she said.

“Most of the children are not in school. These children need books, food and other necessities, yet many parents cannot afford to provide them,” Dr Ayopo said.

She said some families struggle to provide basic school requirements, including sanitary pads for girls, contributing to school dropout.

According to Dr Ayopo, children who leave school are more vulnerable to early marriage and teenage pregnancy.

“Children are being made mothers at a young age. We need to fight school dropout and early marriages, and this fight must start at household level,” she said.

She called for greater community awareness about family planning and the challenges associated with large families and polygamous marriages.

“Parents with fewer children find it easier to educate and provide for them. We need to educate our people about the dangers of having many children and many wives,” she said.

Dr Ayopo also urged men to support their spouses in making informed decisions about family planning and called for interventions to address poverty, school dropout, early marriage and teenage pregnancy.

Ms Juliet Napeyok, a resident of Lemusui Sub-county and mother of 11 children, said some women fear being neglected, divorced or replaced if they do not have enough children.

She said such fears can push women to continue childbearing despite the economic and health challenges involved.

Napeyok said couples should jointly decide on the number of children they want rather than allowing competition among co-wives or cultural expectations to determine family size.

“We call for increased community sensitisation to challenge beliefs that equate a woman’s value with the number of children she bears,” she said.

She added that improving women’s education, economic opportunities and access to healthcare could help reduce pressure on women to have large families.

Health experts warn that repeated pregnancies without adequate spacing can increase health risks for mothers and babies and say women should have access to quality family planning services and information to make informed reproductive health decisions.

Police data cited during the outreach show that Uganda recorded 12,361 reported domestic violence cases in 2025, down from 14,073 in 2024. Police identified disputes over family property, failure to provide for families, drug and alcohol abuse and infidelity among the leading causes.

The Moroto police region, which covers parts of Karamoja, recorded 454 domestic violence cases in 2025.

Nurse Angella Clementina of Nakapiripirit Health Centre III said more women are now attending antenatal care services following interventions by ActionAid International.

However, she said teenage mothers continue to face challenges including early marriage, teenage pregnancy and school dropout.

Clementina said some parents in Karamoja still marry off their daughters in exchange for cows, limiting the girls’ opportunities to continue their education.

“Parents should allow their children to continue with their education. A cow cannot improve a child’s future, but it can take away the opportunity for a girl to achieve her dreams,” she said.

Ms Lydia Lunyolo Teddy, deputy head teacher of Tokora Primary School, said some girls are left without adequate parental support to remain in school.

She said some parents prioritise receiving bride price from their daughters’ marriages instead of supporting their education.

With support from the European Union, the school has introduced a re-entry programme encouraging teenage mothers and other school dropouts to return to class.

“We encourage girls who have become pregnant and given birth to return to school. We also encourage boys who dropped out to come back and continue with their education,” Lunyolo said.

She said three teenage mothers have so far returned to school through the programme.

Ugandans eager to establish what has occasioned the delay in completion of the 23.7km Busega-Mpigi Expressway will have to wait for an undefined period after the Works and Transport line committee in Parliament was blocked from probing the matter.

The four-lane dual-carriage project, which was anticipated to slash traffic transition time from two hours to about 40 minutes upon completion, attracted the attention of lawmakers on the Physical Infrastructure Committee. This was after it emerged that the project had stalled for years, failing to beat the original deadline.

The committee chaired by the Mbarara City South legislator Mwine Mpaka has been probing the goings-on in the project since last month. It was, however, blocked from unearthing the exact causes of delays, as well as other factors that escalated the original project cost from Shs547.54 billion to Shs1.308 trillion.

‘According to the Auditor General’s report, we discovered that 28 roads had been delayed, and 13 roads had been condoned by the contractors. We are trying to establish what the root causes are, and we have sampled a few, specifically Mpigi, to determine what the actual challenges are on these roads,’ Mr Mpaka said.

‘Unfortunately, we were advised to consult the Speaker because we know other agencies are similarly investigating, and the Speaker requested that we withdraw from the investigation regarding the roads because Security [agencies] is already investigating and concentrating on other issues,’ he added.

An unmitigated disaster?

A deep dive into key documents about the road project put before the committee shows that the project cost ballooned by 139.1 percent to Shs1.308 trillion.

Preliminary analysis that the committee has done shows that the Shs1.308 trillion cost of the 23.7km stretch was occasioned by inflation, scope expansion and alignment changes periodically done since the works commenced. Price escalation is also allegedly blamed on late approval of affected changes.

Provisional scrutiny on the project contract details done by the House committee condensed the entire causal process of cost variation to a minimum of six major stages.

Specifically, the sticky issues were found to be in project design weakness, scope expansion and premature procurement processes. All these contributed to pushing the project cost to Shs1.308 trillion following years of alterations on project scope.

Legislators on the parliamentary committee also discovered that a series of decision failures and control bypasses removed competition, shifted the risks that emerged in the process and piled them on the government.

A litany of mistakes

A specific zoom into the design weaknesses shows that the initial design was delivered with major omissions and deficiencies. For instance, the initial design had incomplete interchanges, no toll facilities, no link roads and carried an unsafe Mpigi terminus, among others.

The same documents sourced by the House committee show that despite these glaring gaps, the design was accepted.

Months later, the scope was expanded. In so doing, financing restructuring saw several alterations made. For instance, the Kibuye-Busega stretch was slashed off, and four new interchanges were added.

In this, the utility works expanded, the scope increased, but the funding was not aligned at the time. Consequently, this triggered a premature procurement process.

Works procurement, for one, was initiated before a revised project design was completed and approved.

In his submissions made to the committee a fortnight ago, the Minister for Works and Transport, Mr Fred Byabakama, termed the anomaly as a treasonous act, not least because hitting the pause button on the project will hit the taxpayer where it hurts most.

‘This is another form of treason. How can you commit government without the right of way? For instance, the Busega-Mpigi Expressway, some of them [Ministry of Works officials involved in the matter] will tell you there is no problem there. If at all you give them a chance, they will tell you that there is no problem, but in actual sense there is a problem,’ Minister Byabakama said.

In a further displeasing revelation, the Works Minister said the project cost, if implemented in the current form, will siphon a minimum of Shs2 trillion from the National Treasury.

‘A project which was supposed to cost Shs547 billion, because of a change in alignment, it goes to Shs1.3 trillion, and eventually that money is not more than Shs700 billion, which [means that the entire project cost] will go to Shs2 trillion if the road is to be finished,’ Minister Byamukama said.

‘It is quite surprising, but we don’t feel shy to tell you because you are our supervisors and you are the ones who give us money [approve the ministry’s budget],’ he added.

202 pending questions

Days before the investigations were halted, the committee had scheduled to interface with at least 10 parties.

The said parties are said to have been directly and indirectly involved in the processes that led to escalation of the project cost from Shs547 billion to Shs1.3 trillion.

The committee had assembled a total of 202 questions through which the exact triggers of the escalation would be unearthed.

The lined-up of the parties include the Ministry of Finance top officials, the defunct Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra)’s top brass and former board, and Unra legal department.

Others are: project managers, the African Development Bank, the design consultant, supervision consultants and the quantity surveyors. Also in the ‘firing line’ were officials from the Office of the Solicitor General who were involved in the project and the procurement and disposal unit.

‘So as per now, our rules of engagement are to withdraw from that investigation. But the reason as to why we think there are so many people involved and we have 202 questions which we believe should have been answered to guide us in who exactly is culpable,’ Mr Mpaka told the Weekend Monitor.

He added: ‘The committee of physical infrastructure will not be producing a report regarding the Mpigi Expressway unless our terms of reference change or unless the House decides that we should also investigate, but as of now, the Speaker advised us to withdraw.’

About the project

The Busega-Mpigi Expressway commenced in May 2020, but has run into several speed bumps. These include land acquisition disputes, funding constraints as well as scope alterations.

An expansionist drive that consequently led to inclusion of bridges, toll plaza, and interchanges has not helped matters. In early November 2023, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas, together with the then Executive Director of the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra), Ms Allen Kagina, made on-site inspections to check on actual progress of the construction works on the project.

Minutes after the inspection, Mr Tayebwa expressed his displeasure over the stalled works and promised to jointly work with other concerned entities to have the matter expeditiously resolved in order to accelerate construction works.

In fact, the government delegation that visited the site pledged that it would take another 48 months to deliver the Busega-Mpigi expressway. Works on the said project, however, continued to stall.

Late last year, another pound 217 million (approximately Shs909 billion) was paid by the African Development Bank to facilitate completion works of the same project. In effect, the government, through the senior communications officer at the Ministry of Works and Transport, disclosed that the new project had jumped to Shs1.3 trillion.

China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and the China Railway 19th Bureau Group Company Limited, contractors on the project, say it will be handed over for utilisation in 2030.

A recent fight between the Anglican Church of Uganda and its breakaway faction, the Reformed Church of Uganda, has taken a new twist, with the former warning the latter to desist from misleading the members of the public by using its songs, vestments and other liturgical relics.

The Reformed Anglican Church is set to launch its new West Acholi Diocese headquarters in Lamogi Sub-county, Amuru District, this weekend (July 5).

The launch, to be presided over by Rev Prof Jonathan Kyangasha, the Archbishop of the Reformed Anglican Church Province of Uganda, will take place at Lwalakwar village, Lacor parish, Lamogi sub-county, Kilak South, Amuru District.

According to Rev Patrick Lumumba, the Reformed Anglican Church’s coordinator for the Acholi region, the Reformed Anglican Church has already planted churches in West Acholi in Gulu City, Gulu, Amuru, and Omoro districts.

‘Reformed Anglican Church is an evangelical, apostolic and sacramental church and doctrinally anchored on the Holy Scriptures and Creeds. Just within one month, the Reformed Anglican Church of West Acholi has planted 11 Congregational Churches,’ Rev Lumumba said in a statement.

However, last week, the Diocese of Northern Uganda distanced itself from the developments associated with the Reformed Anglican Church following complaints that some of the new church’s vicars and officials were doing mobilisation in disguise of the diocese. In a statement, the Diocese of Northern Uganda denounced and distanced itself from the new group.

‘The diocese has become aware of the presence and operations of the Reformed Anglican Church in parts of Northern Uganda.

The Church of Uganda does not have any relationship with this group and does not share any mission programmes of the Church of Uganda,’ Rev Samuel Kidega, Diocesan Secretary for the Diocese of Northern Uganda, stated.

‘We wish to inform all Christians, religious leaders, government authorities, development partners, and the general public that the Diocese of Northern Uganda is not affiliated with, connected to, or represented by the Reformed Anglican Church and its activities within Northern Uganda.’

‘Any ministries, fundraising activities, church planting initiatives, ordinations, appointments, etc., conducted by the Reformed Anglican Church should not be interpreted as having the endorsement, approval, or participation of the Diocese of Northern Uganda,’ he noted.

‘Members of the public, local communities, development partners, and church congregations should exercise due diligence when engaging with organisations or individuals claiming affiliation with the Church of Uganda.’

Last week, the Province of the Church of Uganda expressed concerns over the alleged continued use of its liturgical assets and hymns by the Reformed Anglican Church across the country.

Accusing the new church of confusing its faithful across the country, the Church of Uganda said the illegal activities of the Reformed Anglican Church were spreading confusion instead of sowing the seeds of unity among Ugandans.

In a statement issued on June 25, Rev Canon William Ongeng, the Church of Uganda Provincial Secretary, cautioned the Reformed Anglican Church against unauthorised use of the Church of Uganda’s identity and vestments.

‘We are particularly concerned by the unauthorised use of vestments resembling those worn by clergy and bishops of the Church of Uganda, as well as the adoption of Anglican worship traditions and hymns to create an impression of legitimacy,’ Rev Ongeng stated.

According to Rev Ongeng, the Church of Uganda has noted with concern the activities of the Reformed Anglican Church, which have been using Church of Uganda hymns, Anglican liturgical practices, and clerical and episcopal vestments in a manner that is misleading the public into believing that they are part of the Church of Uganda.

‘The wearing of clerical collars, cassocks, episcopal shirts, pectoral crosses, mitres, croziers, and other ecclesiastical insignia by persons who are neither licensed nor recognised by the Church of Uganda constitutes a serious misrepresentation,’ he added.

Inflexible

Meanwhile, the Reformed Anglican Church has remained uncompromising over whether to yield to pressure by the Church of Uganda to refrain from using its hymns, vestments and other worship regalia while conducting prayers and other ceremonies.

According to the Reformed Anglican Church, the Church of Uganda does not possess ownership rights for the vestments, rites and hymns it uses currently.

‘No single Anglican province can claim exclusive ownership of the Anglican faith, its liturgy, episcopal vestments, clerical collars, cassocks, mitres, croziers, or the historic traditions shared by the wider Anglican Communion, unless protected by specific intellectual property rights,’ it said.

According to Rev Canon Kisakye Zac Kalimi, the Provincial Secretary, Worldwide Anglican Church in Uganda, the Anglican tradition, including liturgy, hymns, episcopal vestments, and ecclesiastical traditions, did not originate with the Church of Uganda, and they have been part of the worldwide Anglican heritage for centuries, even before the establishment of the Church of Uganda.

In a statement, Can Kisakye said the vast majority of Anglican hymns were composed by Christians from different countries and generations over several centuries and that they belong to the universal Christian heritage.

‘Where a particular hymn has been copyrighted by its composer or publisher, such copyright should naturally be respected. Furthermore, clerical collars, cassocks, pectoral crosses, episcopal shirts, and similar vestments are not unique to the Church of Uganda. They are widely used by Anglican churches across the world,’ he said.

But Rev Ongweng, in the statement, warned that continued use of the Church of Uganda’s identity, vestments, hymns, traditions, and liturgical practices, hymns, liturgical relics by the Reformed Anglican Church could result in litigation.

‘Any claims or representations suggesting otherwise are false and intended to mislead the public. Should this misrepresentation continue, legal action will be taken to safeguard the integrity of the Anglican doctrine and worship,’ he noted.

However, Can Kisakye said their collective efforts should focus on helping the poor, protecting children and vulnerable persons, promoting justice, and strengthening Christian families instead of allowing differences in church administration to divide the church.

‘We appeal to all Anglican bodies and Christian denominations to pursue dialogue, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence instead of public hostility. The Church of Christ is strengthened not through division but through love, truth, and faithful witness,’ Can Kisakye stated.

In the 1870s, the Church Missionary Society introduced Anglican Christianity into Uganda under the Province of East Africa. It, however, took approximately 90 years (until the early 1960s when the Province of the Church of Uganda was inaugurated) to become autonomous from the Province of East Africa.

Background

The Reformed Anglican Church in Uganda is a breakaway faction from the mainstream Church of Uganda. The schism emerged following a 2019 leadership dispute in the Kumi Diocese over the election of Rev Charles Oode Okunya. The situation escalated in 2022 when Rev Okunya was consecrated as bishop of the group’s Upper Nile Diocese. This led to disputes over churches, congregations, and property, resulting in takeovers and tense standoffs.

Senior church leaders, including Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba, were also blocked from accessing disputed church premises in the Kumi Diocese until Rtd Bishop John Charles Odurkami was deployed in the diocese to consolidate and unite the Anglican faithful in the diocese. However, when he went to Kumi in early 2019, the situation was not only fierce and rough but also an environment filled with rebellion and rejection.

Without digging trenches along the hilltops and valleys, followed by heavy mulching, pineapple cultivation on the rugged terrain of Maziba Sub-county in Kabale District would be virtually impossible.

For decades, the sub-county has been renowned for its thriving pineapple production. The enterprise’s success even prompted the government to construct a pineapple wine processing plant worth approximately Shs400 million in the area to promote value addition and local employment.

Mr George Akankwasa, 45, the chairperson of the Maziba Pineapple Growers Association and a resident of Kitamba ‘B’ Village, Nyanja Parish, notes that pineapples have become the primary cash crop for nearly 1,000 farmers in the area.

‘Without better farming practices such as digging trenches and proper mulching to control soil erosion and heavy runoff during the rainy season, you cannot sustain a pineapple garden here. Most plots are situated on steep, sloping hilltops and valleys. Farmers in this area have mastered these techniques, which is why we have succeeded,’ Mr Akankwasa explains.

Mr Akankwasa started growing pineapples in 2000 on less than an acre of land. Today, he manages about 10 acres scattered across Nyanja Parish.

‘I harvest about 10,000 pineapples per month, with average farm-gate prices ranging between Shs300 and Shs500 depending on size. I chose pineapple farming because, under good management-which requires organic manure from goats, cows, poultry, and pigs-it yields a monthly harvest throughout the year,’ he adds.

Because the crop is labor-intensive, Mr Akankwasa employs around 40 casual workers weekly to manage mulching, weeding, manure application, and desilting trenches. His team also handles harvesting and carries ripe pineapples from the hilltops to the main road, where they are loaded onto trucks bound for market centers in Kisoro, Kabale, and Rubare.

‘On average, I pay Shs7,000 per day to each casual worker, which has helped me maintain a reliable workforce across my scattered farms,’ Mr Akankwasa says.

Despite his success, he faces ongoing hurdles, including pineapple theft, difficult terrain, crop pests and diseases, poor road networks, price fluctuations, and rising fuel costs. Nonetheless, the proceeds from his farm have enabled him to acquire more land, pay school fees for his children, build a permanent home, and provide local employment.

‘My future dream is to purchase land to rear cattle and goats so I can produce my own organic manure. I would also love to venture into processing, but I fear heavy taxes and the bureaucratic burden of obtaining Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) certification,’ Mr Akankwasa says.

The enterprise offers a critical lifeline to local laborers. Mr Denis Byaruhanga, a casual worker in the area, says the booming industry keeps him employed.

‘If it were not for the pineapple enterprise, I would be unemployed. My main job is carrying pineapples from the steep hilltops down to the main road. I earn about Shs14,000 a day, which adds up to a reasonable monthly income to feed my family,’ Mr Byaruhanga notes.

Local vendors in Kabale Town also credit the sub-county’s farms with sustaining their livelihoods. Mr Nicholas Kamasi, who has vended pineapples alongside Mr Wilber Tumuheki for seven years, describes his daily routine.

‘I ride my bicycle from Kabale Town to buy pineapples from farmers in Nyanja Parish and resell them in town. I sell about 100 pineapples a day, buying each at Shs500 and selling between Shs800 and Shs1,000 depending on the size. Though tiring, it leaves me with a profit,’ Mr Kamasi says, adding that bad roads and high market dues remain their primary challenges.

From a civic perspective, the Maziba Sub-county LCIII Chairperson, Mr Onesmus Mutungye, highlights the environmental benefits of the trade, noting that pineapple canopy and root structures act as effective ground cover.

‘There is visible economic development in Nyanja and Birambo parishes because of pineapple growing. If farmers growing coffee and bananas in other parts of the sub-county adopt trenching and mulching, environmental disasters in our region will be greatly minimized,’ Mr Mutungye says.

He observes that some residents are already uprooting eucalyptus plantations to plant pineapples due to higher profitability, leaving few idle youths in the participating parishes. However, Mr Mutungye urges the government to fully operationalize and support the local wine factory.

‘The government should invest in value-addition technologies to support farming in this area. Boosting the Maziba pineapple wine factory would provide a reliable market and insulate our farmers against price volatility,’ Mr Mutungye states.

For Ugandan creative duo Nsimbi, the move from music to film was less of a departure and more of a natural evolution.

Made up of rapper GNL Zamba and Miriam Tamar, Nsimbi has spent years blending Lugaflow hip-hop, spoken word, indigenous African instruments and global sounds, while building creative bridges between Uganda and audiences beyond its borders.

Their latest project, Infinity, pushes that vision further onto the big screen. The film brings together music, film, fashion, poetry, dance and cultural storytelling in a visually rich musical production rooted in Uganda.

At the heart of the story is a young boy whose journey forces him to confront selfishness and rediscover his connection to community, nature and the universe.

Guided by a wise shaman and his younger sister, he embarks on a transformative journey of healing and self-discovery.

But beyond its fictional narrative, Infinity tells a bigger story – one about Uganda’s creative possibilities and the power of local talent to tell distinctly Ugandan stories for a global audience.

The film was produced entirely with a Ugandan creative team. Matege Rogers directed, while Gashumba handled cinematography. Fashion designer Abaas Kaijuka created the wardrobe, with Nabagala Lilian overseeing choreography and Gats Bulega handling photography. Sound and set design were contributed by Andrew Ahuura “Quad A” and ABM.

The film was written and executive produced by Ernest “GNL Zamba” and Miriam Nsimbi.

That collaborative approach is central to Infinity. Uganda’s landscapes, cultural traditions, fashion and music are not merely used as background decoration – they form part of the film’s visual and emotional language.

‘From the natural scenery to the styling and movement, the production deliberately places Ugandan creativity at the centre of the story, offering audiences a glimpse of the country through the eyes of its own artists,’ the duo noted.

The film’s journey has already extended well beyond Uganda. It has screened at the American Center Kampala, German Cultural Centre and Alliance Française. Internationally, it has traveled to the Mariposa Museum on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, Micheaux Film Festival in Los Angeles, People’s Film Festival in Harlem, New York, Las Vegas International Black Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Gasparilla International Film Festival in Miami, San Diego Kids International Film Festival, Albuquerque Film and Music Experience, and Richmond Film Festival.

Its growing international footprint has positioned Ugandan storytelling within conversations happening on global cultural and film platforms.

The film is also set to return to local audiences after receiving a nomination at the UCC Uganda Film Festival. It is scheduled to screen on August 26 at Century Cinemax, Arena Mall, in the 7pm-9pm slot.

For Nsimbi, however, the ambition behind Infinity goes beyond making a film. The duo sees cinema as another vehicle through which Uganda can market its culture, tourism and creative industries – allowing international audiences to experience the country not simply through traditional tourism campaigns, but through music, fashion, landscapes, characters and stories.

That approach reflects Nsimbi’s broader creative philosophy. For years, the duo has used music as a meeting point between Ugandan identity and global culture. Infinity expands that conversation by bringing several creative disciplines into one project.

‘We love film, music and fashion, and Infinity gave us the opportunity to bring all of those worlds together,’ GNL Zamba said.

In an industry where Ugandan creatives are increasingly looking beyond individual songs, performances and traditional artistic formats, Infinity offers a glimpse of what can happen when talent is packaged into a larger creative property.

We are back outside, omo! You know there is this famous narrative that Ugandans, oba Africans, do not read. It is repeated so often that even some of us who spend our lives writing almost started believing it. During our little forced holiday, I honestly thought people would simply move on. I mean, Ugandans have no time. Them Ugandans only read headlines before sprinting to the comment section to educate the author about a story they have not actually finished. But banange, I underestimated you people.

The messages started coming in almost immediately. Friends called in checking on us, strangers sent DMs wondering when the paper would return. Some even confessed that Friday mornings no longer felt complete because The Timeline had disappeared. I will not exaggerate and say the whole country stopped functioning; we still have rent to pay but it was genuinely humbling to discover that this little corner of the newspaper had quietly become part of some people’s weekly routine. So, thank you. Thank you for reminding us that good writing still has a place in Uganda. And since gratitude is important, allow me to also thank the government for generously forcing us to touch some grass.

People realised birds actually sing in the morning, a few even remembered they had children. And somewhere in the middle of all this, Big Eye dropped a tweet that somehow became part of the conversation leading to our return. Only in Uganda can a musician accidentally find himself in media history without releasing a new song, star boss waffe! Watching Ugandans react to Daily Monitor’s closure was perhaps the greatest social experiment this country has produced since somebody convinced us that pineapple belongs on pizza. Everybody became a loyal Daily Monitor reader, even people who normally only encounter the newspaper when someone screenshots a headline into a WhatsApp group started mourning like shareholders.

You could almost hear violins playing in the background. People described the closure as the collapse of balanced journalism while their own browsing history consisted mostly of TikTok dances, football banter and conspiracy theories explaining why rain only falls on weekdays. Publicly, everyone spoke about solidarity and the importance of independent media. Privately, you could almost imagine analytics dashboards being refreshed every 30 seconds to see whether the extra traffic had arrived. Facebook groups that normally spend entire afternoons arguing about fuel prices suddenly transformed into support meetings discussing democracy, press freedom and constitutional values.

Ugandan content truly has range, I do not know why Netflix has not set base yet because we can move from debating whether Rolex should contain cabbage to defending media freedom in under five minutes. Naturally, where there are Ugandans, there will be memes. We process national events the same way our grandparents processed grief with stories. Then, just as everyone had accepted their new reality and began writing lengthy think pieces about the future of journalism, came the announcement that the paper was returning. My favourite groups were those who had not visited the website in months but instantly became ambassadors for quality journalism, we appreciate naye tusaba ku ka subscription.

Of course, because this is Uganda, peace never lasts for long. The celebrations barely settled before the complaints resumed. The website was apparently too slow. The layout had changed. Headlines were too long. Headlines were too short. Somebody even managed to complain about the font before reading a single story. That is when I remembered that complaining is probably our strongest renewable resource. We mourn loudly, celebrate loudly, then immediately return to complaining because consistency matters. However, beneath all the jokes, this episode reminded us of something important. Ugandans actually read. Maybe not every paragraph. Maybe sometimes we stop halfway because someone tagged us in another argument.

Maybe we skim headlines before confidently becoming constitutional lawyers in the comments. But we read. We care. We argue. We laugh. We build communities around stories. And for me as me, the messages asking when The Timeline would return meant more than you probably realise. They reminded me that words still matter, humour still matters, and that every Friday there are people somewhere waiting for a story that helps them laugh at the beautiful madness called Uganda. So yes, tukomyewo. The keyboards are warm again, the satire has returned, and if this country continues producing stories at its current rate which, let us be honest it will, we shall all continue meeting here every Friday. Just do us one favour this time, after reading the headline, kindly continue to paragraph two.

Africa is facing one of the world’s great energy windfalls. The continent holds roughly 125 billion barrels of confirmed oil reserves and more than 620 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, implying vast additional deposits still waiting to be discovered. At the same time, some 600 million Africans have no electricity at home, and this figure has not fallen since the Covid-19 pandemic. On current trends, it will still exceed half a billion in 2030.

The problem is not geological, but political. Every barrel of oil shipped from an African port to a European or Chinese terminal is a barrel not converted into kilowatts for an African household.

Every long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) contract signed with a foreign utility commits gas that could be powering an African hospital, school, or factory. The choice between exporting hydrocarbons and using them to electrify the continent is highly consequential yet almost never debated openly. That needs to change.

The case for energy exports is clear enough. The continent depends heavily on imported food, medicines, capital equipment, and manufactured goods that it does not yet produce at scale. For many producer countries, oil and gas exports are the only reliable source of foreign exchange. But the case for domestic use is equally compelling.

Nigeria holds enough natural gas to achieve 100 percent electrification within its borders, and gas-to-power projects across the continent have long demonstrated technical viability.

The International Energy Agency estimates that achieving universal electricity access in Africa would require annual investments of $15b for 10 years, and though only $2.5b is currently being committed each year, domestically deployed hydrocarbons could help bridge the gap.

In theory, these two options are economically equivalent. A government could export oil, invest the proceeds well, and use the returns to finance power infrastructure. In reality, neither condition has been met.

One major distortion is corruption. Rather than being invested in electrification, hydrocarbon revenues in most African producer states are regularly captured. Nigeria has generated more than $600 billion in oil revenues since the 1960s while also recording one of the world’s highest rates of extreme poverty.

Domestic energy subsidies are a second distortion. In many African producer states, consumers pay far less for fuel and electricity than the actual cost. Angola has the world’s fourth-cheapest retail gasoline. Nigeria’s domestic gas prices have historically been held so low that building a gas-fired power plant is commercially pointless. Recent geopolitical shocks are a third factor.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine severed some 80 billion cubic meters of annual gas supplies to Europe, and this year’s Middle East war tightened LNG markets further. Suddenly, European governments were in Algiers, Dakar, and Maputo pleading for more supply. Algeria became the European Union’s second-largest pipeline gas supplier in 2023.

A reckoning is coming, though. Africa’s total population will reach 2.5b by 2050, and domestic energy demand is rising fast enough that Africa is projected to shift from a net energy exporter to a net importer by the early 2030s. Something will have to give.

The question is whether it happens through deliberate reform-institutions that constrain rent-capture, energy prices that reflect domestic opportunity costs, and revenues channelled toward electrification-or through the kind of instability that has historically plagued the continent’s natural-resource sector.

Fish farming has the potential to provide farmers with good returns, but success depends on more than stocking a pond with fingerlings and waiting for harvest time. Water quality, feeding, genetics, stocking levels and market planning all determine whether a farmer makes money or suffers losses. According to Jessy Lugya, an Aquaculture Research Officer at the National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro) based at Ngetta ZARDI, many farmers pay attention to buying fish seed but ignore the environment in which the fish will grow. ‘Fish use dissolved oxygen, but you cannot measure it with your eyes. If you do not know the quality of your water, then you are not in business,’ Lugya says.

The invisible factor

Unlike livestock that farmers can easily observe, fish live in an environment where problems may remain hidden until losses begin. Water quality affects how well fish feed, grow and survive. Farmers should pay close attention to dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH and salinity. Dissolved oxygen is particularly critical because fish depend on oxygen in water to survive. Low oxygen levels often occur in the early morning hours when oxygen levels are lowest. ‘If you find fish looking up and gasping, it is an indication that there is no oxygen. It normally happens in the morning hours,’ Lugya says. When oxygen levels fall, farmers should respond quickly by improving water exchange and replacing some of the pond water with fresh water where possible. Proper pond preparation and avoiding overcrowding also help maintain good water conditions.

Overstocking reduces profits

One of the biggest mistakes farmers make is trying to maximise production by putting too many fish in a pond. Although stocking more fish appears to promise higher earnings, overcrowding creates competition for oxygen and feed. It also increases waste accumulation, slows growth and makes fish more vulnerable to disease. Mr Lugya says profitability does not come from having the highest number of fish in a pond but from producing healthy fish efficiently. ‘Farmers need to stock according to the size of the pond, availability of water and their ability to manage the fish,’ he says.

Managing feed costs

Feeding is one of the most expensive parts of fish production. Poor feeding practices can quickly turn a promising project into a loss-making venture. Farmers who overfeed waste money while also damaging water quality because uneaten feed decomposes and reduces oxygen levels. The amount of feed should depend on the age, size and number of fish in the pond. Farmers should also observe feeding behaviour because fish that stop eating may be showing signs of poor water quality or disease. For tilapia farmers, Mr Lugya advises harvesting at the right time. ‘Tilapia should be sold at around nine months. Keeping fish longer increases feeding costs and may reduce profitability,’ he says.

Quality fingerlings

The journey to a profitable harvest begins with the quality of fingerlings stocked in the pond. Mr Lugya says farmers should source fish seed from trusted hatcheries because good genetics produce faster-growing fish and better final sizes.