Category: Daily Monitor

On Saturday at about 3pm, celebrations to launch imbalu (male circumcision) at Mutoto Cultural Ground in Mbale City were disrupted by ugly scenes.

This after a group of traditional circumcision dancers escorting candidates to face the knife tore through a VIP section.

They shortly charged towards the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Jacob Oboth-Oboth, moments after he had started reading President Museveni’s speech as guest of honour, forcing him to leave prematurely on Saturday afternoon.

The Speaker’s escorts and other security operatives on the ground faced a hard moment restraining the locals who had charged directly to the platform on which the Speaker was standing to address the thousands of revellers who had turned up for the ceremony.

Unlike the previous circumcision ceremony, which was organised by a cultural institution, this year’s was spearheaded by the district chairpersons due to wrangles among the parallel cultural heads over who is the rightful leader to preside over the ceremony.

The launch attracted several dignitaries, including the cultural leader of Lango, Dr Michael Moses Odongo Okune, and a delegation led by the High Commissioner of the Republic of Kenya to Uganda, Mr Ababu Namwamba, accompanied by leaders from Trans Nzoia, Busia and Bungoma counties.

‘The ceremony turned ugly after a group of traditional circumcision dancers escorting candidates to face the knife tore through a VIP section and charged towards the Speaker. His security rescued him,’ Mr Joshua Mafabi, a father to one of the candidates, said.

It is alleged that the candidates and dancers lost the spiritual pathway meant for Imbalu candidates going to perform a ritual known as Khuwakha Litosi (mudding) from the nearby swamp.

The Khuwakha Litosi ritual involves smearing traditional circumcision candidates with mud before the circumcision itself happens.

It’s a symbolic rite that puts imbalu candidates in fellowship with the ancestral powers.

Mbale Industrial City Division Mayor Abdallah Madoi said the platform where the Speaker stood had been erected along the traditional pathway for imbalu candidates.

‘By that time, speeches were still going on, yet it was already time for the initiates to proceed for circumcision,” he said.

Mr Emma Bwayo, the secretary of the organising committee and chairperson of Namisindwa District, attributed the situation to delays and late arrival of the chief guest.

‘The Speaker’s speech time came at a time when the candidates were supposed to be taken to the swamp for mudding, but besides that, the function was successful,’ Mr Bwayo said.

However, some locals told this Monitor Publication that the presence of government officials, who are not circumcised, angers the ancestral gods.

‘And traditionally, by around 3pm, the candidates proceed for circumcision rituals, and culturally they cannot be stopped,’ one of the locals said.

Background

In 2022, the celebrations at the same ground were also disrupted after a group of traditional circumcision dancers escorting candidates to face the knife tore through a VIP section.

The tent had been reportedly erected along a spiritual pathway meant for Imbalu candidates returning from a ritual known as Khuwakha Litosi (mudding) from the nearby swamp.

Every even year, the Bamasaba living around the slopes of Mount Elgon and parts of western Kenya observe Imbalu, a tradition passed down from their grandfathers.

The ritual signifies the initiation of boys into manhood among the Bagisu (Bamasaba), particularly those aged 16 years and above.

Records indicate that the Imbalu ceremony in Bugisu dates back to 1804, although it is believed that the practice began several years earlier.

Monitor Publication has learnt that this year’s circumcision is likely to attract over 10,000 boys. In 2024, about 6,024 boys were circumcised across the Bugisu Sub-region.

Many years ago, while we were chatting in the classroom with my desk-mate, Robert Ojok, a rattled Rev Laban Bombo (may the Lord keep him well) marched in wielding a bamboo cane. Without any introduction, a surprised Ojok received two lashes on the back. Mine followed in quick succession.

Then he turned to Ojok who by now was voting with his feet and gave him two more as he disappeared. I was cornered waiting for Reverend Bombo’s next move. By now the mathematics teacher and School Chaplain at King’s College, Budo had calmed down a bit, having let off some steam with the ferocious swing of his stick, landing painfully on our backs. He then read out our charges.

‘How do you see school property being destroyed and you just sit here as if nothing has happened? You take chairs to the field and leave them there overnight for the rain to destroy?’ It was common practice for students to pick chairs from nearby classrooms just behind Nigeria House. They would make themselves comfortable on the side of the pitch when the football game was on. After the game, the victors were elated beyond words while the losers were too crestfallen to remember the chairs. So, there was barely any effort to return the chairs to the classroom. It is only the students of the classroom who would endeavour to fetch them when they needed a seat the next day.

Rev Bombo did not wait for me to enter a plea. He started from where he stopped. Two more lashes sent me talking. My alibi which was a lie to save myself anyway, was that I was actually one of the people playing on the pitch so I could not have picked a chair from the classroom to watch myself play! (That lie aside, even God in heaven knows very well that on that day I did not pick a chair from a classroom.) This made him even angrier. ‘You mean if you find plates on the floor at home, you simply walk on them because you are not the one who put them there?’ By this time everyone in the classroom had hurriedly left for the pitch leaving me to face the fuming Rev Bombo and his bamboo cane. I joined them in a matter of seconds after receiving a few more lashes. As is the wont with students, Ojok and I were the recipients of jokes by those who had not met with Rev Bombo’s cane that day.

I remember we vowed to revenge for the gross injustice and humiliation we had suffered at the hands of Rev Bombo that morning. When the chairs were cleared and cleaned a much calmer Rev Bombo then gave a sermon about the individual and responsibility toward society. ‘Public property is your property,’ he said. ‘You lose when it is damaged…. you fall sick when you live in a dirty environment. It is your responsibility to see to it that the place is clean and orderly even if you did not make it dirty…’ When Uganda announced that every last Saturday of the month everyone would have to clean their surroundings between 7am and 10am, I remembered Rev Bombo with nostalgia.

Some people denounced the exercise because they pay taxes and the fees of municipal authorities. Others just saw it as an opportunity to disobey a government they don’t like. You don’t get a better society by simply sitting and wishing for it. Or in certain circumstances even contributing to what makes it what you don’t like, say by littering. A reasonable person has to make an effort to correct what is wrong and not simply watch as things go wrong. Order and cleanliness benefit everyone. Similarly disorder and lack of hygiene affect even those innocent ones who do not contribute to it. I have been to very clean and orderly cities, especially in Europe, yet they don’t have national cleaning days enforced by the police and army. They have achieved it by making it very costly for those who litter.

The law is enforced to the letter, with stringent punishments for those who err. One time a friend Francis Bwette (RIP) lent me a jacket when it got too cold. The pockets were full of papers and all manner of litter. He just did not toss them on the ground. He kept the litter there, to be disposed off at the next available bin. But secondly, they have made it convenient for societies to be clean. There are bins at almost every corner to dispose of rubbish. The rubbish is segregated into plastics, organic material and metals etc. They hit two birds with one stone by making the bins, spaces for adverts. Companies that need visibility contribute to the collection of refuse and benefit from it.

They also collect the refuse regularly and take it to recycling centres which makes refuse collection valuable and beneficial for business and environmental protection. In some cases, empty containers like reusable glass bottles are bought back by manufactures of beverages like beer. A refundable deposit is left at the point of sale to be utilised when the container is returned for reuse. This shows the significance of packing in reusable containers unlike the current rampant practice of relying on plastic bags and bottles.

Clean societies are those where individuals have cultivated a culture that teaches them to understand communal purpose and the role they have to play towards the prosperity of the collective. They are enabled to be clean by facilitating the process of disposal and beating in line those who take it lightly. Everyone has a responsibility to keep the society clean even when no one is watching and it should become second nature. That way everyday should be a national cleaning day without the need for official announcements and all manner of conditions.

Ms Edinansi Katungwesi, the mother of missing political activist and People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) mobiliser Sam Mugumya, has formally written to the Uganda Law Society (ULS) seeking its direct intervention to locate her son.

In an August 3 letter addressed to ULS President Isaac Ssemakadde through Vice President Anthony Asiimwe, Ms Katungwesi pleaded for help following months of fruitless searches and unanswered reports to the police.

‘My son Sam Mugumya was abducted on August 26, 2025, in Mbarara… from that day I had never seen him until recently when I saw a video and photo of him struggling to get up, which gave me hope that he is still alive,’ the letter reads in part.

‘When he disappeared, I reported the case to the police, but I have never received assistance to date. I do not know where he is, and I have never heard from him. That is why I am pleading with the Uganda Law Society to help me find him,’ she added.

Ms Katungwesi handed over the petition to Mr Asiimwe on Monday, August 3, during a visit by a ULS delegation to her home in Rukungiri District.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Asiimwe assured the family that the law society would launch formal inquiries with relevant government bodies, security agencies, and the courts to establish Mugumya’s whereabouts and legal status.

‘His mother has reached out to us to help find where Sam Mugumya is, and as ULS, we will do our best to help Mama find her son-dead or alive,’ Asiimwe said.

He further urged security forces to uphold constitutional rights: ‘We call upon whoever is responsible to respect human dignity and the rule of law, and to release Sam Mugumya. If he committed any offences, let him be produced in court because he has rights. Keeping him in this condition is unacceptable.’

A history of detention

Mr Mugumya, a former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) mobiliser, was reportedly abducted on August 26, 2025, while having breakfast at NIM Hotel in Nyamitanga, Mbarara City. Witnesses reported that armed men, believed to be state security operatives, forced him into a unmarked van (commonly known as a “drone”) and sped off.

Despite habeas corpus applications filed by his family, authorities have neither produced him in court nor formally acknowledged holding him in custody.

His disappearance occurred less than three years after his return from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he spent over eight years in detention following a 2014 arrest on allegations of plotting a rebellion. He was released in October 2022 without ever being formally tried.

Leaked video and torture allegations

Concerns over Mugumya’s safety intensified on July 31 when National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) depicting an individual resembling the missing activist.

‘Here is a leaked video of comrade Sam Mugumya, who remains missing since his abduction in August last year. The video was apparently leaked from an unknown detention facility where he is held incommunicado,’ Kyagulanyi stated.

‘He appears crippled, unable to walk without a walking frame-evidence of the torture he has suffered. Meanwhile, the regime continues to deny knowledge of his whereabouts,’ he added.

President Museveni reacts

Following the video’s release and a subsequent demand for action sent by ULS President Ssemakadde to Security Minister Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi, President Yoweri Museveni issued a statement addressing torture allegations within security ranks.

Writing in response to comments by journalist Andrew Mwenda, President Museveni denied ever authorizing the abuse of political opponents, placing the blame on rogue elements within the security forces.

‘Coming back to torture, let alone maiming, these are immoral, counter-revolutionary, not strategic, and not necessary for us as freedom fighters,’ Museveni wrote in his Monday statement. ‘In the last 56 years I have been fighting, I have never tortured, or ordered anybody to torture, an opponent.’

He warned that security personnel must abide by the law while carrying out their duties. ‘The UPDF and other security forces, in fighting impunity, should not commit their own crimes, such as torture or extra-judicial killings. Those mistakes are neither morally nor ideologically correct.’

Demands for action

Despite the President’s assurances, human rights defenders and political figures are demanding concrete results.

‘I condemn the way security operatives abduct citizens and hold them in undisclosed locations. I urge the government, through the ULS, to ensure Sam Mugumya is produced immediately,’ said Mr Mugyeni Gashom, the PFF Electoral Commissioner for Rukungiri District.

Mr Asiimwe added that the ULS will continue to push for the release or trial of all political detainees currently being held incommunicado across the country

On July 25, Ugandans from all works of life participated in the inaugural National Cleaning Day. The National Cleaning Day will be held on the last Saturday of the month. The cleaning activities conducted countrywide are scheduled to take place from 7am to 10am.

We commend the government for this initiative because cleanliness is next to godliness, and we call upon everybody to embrace it because it is for the public good. A clean environment and observing personal hygiene keeps diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery at bay.

A healthy population is able to contribute better towards the social and economic development of the nation. When citizens are constantly falling sick because of preventable sanitation-related diseases, money that should have been spent on other pressing issues is diverted, leading to stagnation of individual and community growth. Cleanliness must always be observed at a personal and community level. The government must use all communication channels to constantly sensitise the populace about the National Cleaning Day and the importance of cleanliness.

To maintain a clean environment, we call upon residents of urban areas to stop dumping garbage in drainage canals. Littering, which is rampant in urban towns and cities across the country, must also stop henceforth. Garbage must be placed in waste bins, and the authorities in urban areas must ensure that these are placed in strategic places that can easily be accessed by the public.

Those who litter should be penalised to deter others from engaging in this vice. The government must also diligently implement the law that compels operators of public transport vehicles to equip them with waste bins. Passengers on buses and taxis are key contributors to littering, throwing rubbish out of vehicles because there is nowhere to put waste in the vehicles.

Buses and taxis without waste bins should be stopped from transporting passengers. When filled up, the authorities must ensure that the garbage bins are emptied without delay, and the garbage is disposed of in a manner that does not endanger the health of the public and does not degrade the environment. The government must also ensure that cities and towns have enough garbage trucks to enable the authorities in these areas to manage waste properly. Furthermore, the authorities in urban areas must build enough public toilets and ensure that the cost of using them is affordable to stop the habit of open urination and defecation.

From the launch of the National Cleaning Day campaign to strengthen disease prevention efforts, to the Minister of Health declaring Uganda Ebola virus-free after months of surveillance and response, the month was marked by key milestones in the health sector.

National Cleaning Day launched

The government launched the National Cleaning Day Programme on July 25, a fresh initiative which has attracted praise for cleaner streets in several areas while exposing deep systemic gaps in urban garbage collection and management.

While launching the initiative in Kampala last week, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja said this would be essential in preventing common diseases and ensuring a productive population.

Around 75 percent of diseases in the country are preventable, according to statistics from the government. ‘A clean Uganda cannot be achieved by the government alone,’ Ms Nabbanja noted, adding, ‘it requires commitment of every citizen.’

The Prime Minister said: ‘Let us embrace this initiative and make responsible waste management a national culture. Together, let us build a cleaner, healthier and more productive Uganda.’

Ms Nabbanja also announced that the National Cleaning Day will be observed every last Saturday of each month, with the activity running from 7am to 10am across the country.

All movement and non-essential activities in the country, except emergencies, are stopped, and this is enforced by security (Police).

But leaders of the Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) say the government should reconsider the earmarking of Saturday because it’s their day of worship.

The leaders say the scriptures do not permit them to engage in such activities, yet they also wish to participate in the cleaning event.

‘I wish to assure you (SDA members) that the Church leadership is actively engaging the government in a spirit of mutual respect to seek an amicable solution that upholds both the national objective and our constitutional freedom of worship,’ Pr Samuel Kajoba, the president of Uganda Union Mission, SDA, said in a July 24 statement.

‘Among the proposals presented is that Seventh Day Adventist members participate in the cleaning exercise on either Friday or Sunday, as may be agreed upon by both parties,’ he added.

But the government has not yet issued any formal statement to indicate an adjustment.

The government says on cleaning days, the members of the public are encouraged to take part in the cleaning exercise and resume normal activities at 10am.

The cleaning can be done around homes, on roads (unblocking drainage channels and sweeping the roads), clearing overgrown grass, cleaning markets and places of worship, among others.

Logistically, the government seemed ill-prepared for the event as heaps of cabbage were abandoned after the exercise was concluded, with some blocking roads and disrupting traffic in many parts of Kampala.

Uganda declared Ebola-free

On July 28, Health minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi declared Uganda Ebola free. The minister explained that the declaration was made after the mandated 42 days elapsed without registering any new infection from the time of the last discharge of a Ugandan Ebola patient from hospital on June 16.

The country had for the past over three months faced several international travel bans due to the deadly virus.

Information from the Ministry of Health indicated that a total of 20 Ebola cases were registered in Uganda since the outbreak in May.

Fifteen of the cases were imported into the country from the neighbouring DRC, according to the Ministry. Of the 20 cases, there were two deaths, while 18 of the patients recovered after successful treatment.

Health experts say the 10 percent case fatality rate is an indication of advancement in quality of treatment when compared to the previous two outbreaks of the Ebola Bundibugyo strain in Uganda and DRC.

In the previous outbreaks, death rates were between 30 and 50 percent among infected people.

Field visits

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Local Government started conducting unannounced visits to public health facilities and other infrastructure sites.

These visits, which are often accompanied by altercations between the Ministry officials and the health workers and videos being shared on social media platforms by State minister of Local Government Justine Nameere, have attracted mixed reactions in the general public and among health professionals.

Members of the public on social media said the initiative will address critical gaps in the sector like staff absenteeism and corruption, especially in health facilities, which increase waiting times and affect access to care.

Drug shops licensing row

A bitter regulatory battle between the Ministry of Health and the Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC) over the legal mandate to license drug shops operated by dispensers.

The row stems from a ministry directive requiring AHPC to stop licensing drug shops, arguing that the National Drug and Health Products Authority Act, 2026, gives the National Drug Authority (NDA) exclusive powers to license premises dealing in medicines.

‘AHPC must cease and desist from licensing drug shops or premises dealing in drugs. Any allied health professional intending to operate a drug shop must first obtain approval from NDA,’ The Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Dr Diana Atwine, stated in a June 11 letter.

The ministry further warned that facilities found stocking medicines without NDA approval would be considered to be operating illegally. However, AHPC rejected the directive.

In its response by the chairperson, Prof John Charles Okiria, the council said it did not seek guidance from the ministry and insisted that its legal mandate to license dispensers’ health units remains intact.

AHPC argued that the Allied Health Professionals Act, Cap 296, and the National Drug and Health Products Authority Act 6, 2026, should not be interpreted as competing laws but as complementary legislation that assigns different responsibilities to different regulators.

‘Section 28(a) and other sections of the founding law remain operational because Parliament did not repeal them when enacting the new drug law,’ said Prof Okiria.

Masaka District is on verge of losing the opportunity to host a regional industrial hub due to failure to provide suitable piece of land for the project.

According to Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives officials, the piece of land identified at Mazigo Village in Bukakkata Sub-county where President Museveni laid a foundation stone in 2015 was found to be waterlogged and unfit for the project.

“There is no reason why Masaka should be excluded. Let leaders do their part by identifying a suitable site as we requested them then other steps will follow,”

Mr Deogratious Masagazi, the undersecretary at the Trade ministry said last week. This was while he addressed a trade symposium in Masaka City to sensitise stakeholders from the 10 districts of the sub-region about the ministry’s responsibilities and available business opportunities.

This followed complaints raised by leaders led by Mr Vincent Kasumba, the chairperson of Masaka City Development Forum, that the government has sidelined Masaka in many development projects.

‘For long, we have been wondered why this sub-region was left out on the issue of industrial parks yet the site was launched by the President? How then will we fight unemployment in the area?” Kasumba noted

Mr Andrew Musoke, a senior planner at the ministry explained that since the ministry wrote back to the district over queries about the land at Mazigo, no response has been given.

‘Shifting the blame to us [government] is unfair. We responded with clear issues that make the proposed site unfit but since then they have fallen silent. It’s the leadership that has not played its part,’ he added.

Mr Kasumba insisted that the only hurdle is lack of proper coordination, not failure to get appropriate land. ‘It’s really absurd that leaders haven’t accorded this issue maximum attention yet the area is grappling with high rates of youth unemployment. The project can be a game-changer and I believe it’s high time to resurrect it,’ he said.

In 2023, government resurrected this idea during President Museveni’s wealth creation tour in the sub-region.

Later, the then state minister for Investment, Ms Evelyn Anite, during a public rally at Masaka Liberation Square in Masaka City, said the President had instructed them to relocate the project to Sango-Bay estate land in neigbouring Kyotera District. But since then, no extra steps were taken to actualise this idea.

Save the foundation stone laid by President Museveni on June 18, 2015, the piece of land at Mazigo Village has remained idle for 11 years.

Proposed terms The grand project was initially spearheaded by Chinese investors through China African Friendship Association Uganda in partnership with Chinese Schuan Province who were expected to inject $300m with an anticipation to benefit over 40,000 locals.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Masaka District and the Chinese under the above consortium, the former was required to provide free land for the industrial park.

Mr John Kakande, the Masaka District chairperson, pledged to revisit this proposal, saying they can get another public land in the district or partner with private people with large chunks of land.

‘The industrial park is one of the key items on my agenda being one of the major opportunities for curbing rampant unemployment,’ he said during a phone interview.

In the same meeting, business operators led by Mr Edrisah Mugerwa, a manager at Kabonera Coffee Growers’ Cooperative Society asked the ministry to support them to access value addition equipment to enable them export processed goods.

Mr Masagazi urged business operators and cooperatives’ leadership to always approach the ministry so as to benefit from the wide range of services ranging from affordable capital and support to access both local and international markets, among others.

Greater Masaka previously hosted several factories and processing plants, predominantly established by the Asians. However, the old factories depreciated and eventually collapsed following the Asians’ expulsion in 1972.

The political insurgencies that followed led to the collapse of even the few that had remained. Some of these include Victoria Tea Factory (Mukungwe Sub-county), Cannery Bottling Plant (Kimaanya/Kyabakuza Division) plus a tea factory and coffee processing plants (Bukomansimbi and Kalungu districts, respectively).

The Bunyala Cultural Institution in Kayunga District has dismissed as “mere drama” a recent move by a section of Ssabanyala Maj (Rtd) Baker Kimeze’s family members to elect another cultural leader.

Last month, some offspring of the late Nathan Mpagi, the first Ssabanyala and father of the reigning Ssabanyala Baker Kimeze Byarufu II, convened a meeting in Kyerima Village, Kitimbwa sub-county, during which they elected Fred Sseruzi, Kimeze’s elder brother, as the “new Ssabanyala”.

The election marked the peak of a long-standing land dispute between Ssabanyala Kimeze and some family members, who claim he illegally sold off about 570 acres of family land in Bbaale.

Mr Kimeze has dismissed the claims. He says the land had been used by his late father for grazing but did not belong to the family.

“The land was entrusted to our father by a friend who remained with a title deed,” Ssabanyala Kimeze said during an interview in June. The land was later sold by Ms Sarah Nanyonga to a sugar cane growing company.

A fortnight ago, some of Mpagi’s family members announced they had passed a vote of no confidence against Ssabanyala Kimeze and subsequently appointed Mr Fred Sseruzi as the “new Ssabanyala”.

But Bunyala Cultural Institution spokesperson Samuel Bukenya said the alleged election had no basis in the institution’s constitution.

“They [family members] are just acting and we are treating their acts as mere drama. None of the clan leaders was involved in the alleged election of the cultural leader as the Bunyala constitution stipulates,” Mr Bukenya told journalists last week.

He added: “One is free to call himself any title or name. In the 1990s many football players used to call themselves Maradona or Pele the football legends, but they were not the ones.”

Mr Bukenya stressed that family grievances should be taken to court instead of confusing the Banyala community.

“As far as I know the Ssabanyala is still Maj Baker Kimeze Byarufu II and we are in preparations of his 16th coronation anniversary which will take place this August,” Mr Bukenya said.

However, Livingstone Miya, mobiliser for the breakaway Ssabanyala faction and former minister of lands in the Bunyala cabinet, dismissed claims that the Ssabanyala is elected by all Banyala clan heads.

“Kayunga is a multi-ethnicity area and people of all the tribes are involved in the election of the cultural leader. At an appropriate time the Ssabanyala Sseruzi would be shown to the public,” Mr Miya said.

Mr Bukenya called on Ssabanyala’s subjects to remain calm, noting that Kimeze was still on the throne.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that some of Mpagi’s family members opposed to the Ssabanyala had sought in vain to meet President Museveni.

Background of tensions The ethnic Banyala have been at loggerheads with Buganda Kingdom since Baker Kimeze took over the throne from his late father, Nathan Mpagi, in 2008.

Kimeze has undermined the authority of the Kabaka, claiming that Kayunga is not part of Buganda and that the Kabaka has no authority over his subjects in Kayunga – a claim Mengo has always dismissed.

In 2009, this dispute led to riots in Buganda after the Banyala protested Kabaka Ronald Mutebi II’s planned visit to Kayunga District, demanding he first seek permission from the Ssabanyala, which Mengo refused to do.

The Banyala constitute only 2.7 per cent of the population in Kayunga District against Baganda who stand at 32 per cent. Bunyala, also known as Bugerere or Kayunga District, is constitutionally part of Buganda and therefore under the Kabaka’s control.

In 2010, Kimeze’s mother told the Daily Monitor that she is a Muganda and related to the Kabaka.

‘My grandmother lies buried in the Kasubi tombs. Therefore, my family harbours no ill will for Buganda and Mengo. This whole mess with Mengo is unfortunate. We would want nothing more than co-operation and respectful recognition from them.’

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has warned residents against dumping garbage along roadsides and in public spaces, saying the practice is erasing gains made during the inaugural National Cleaning Day campaign.

Speaking to the media on Monday, KCCA spokesperson Daniel Nuwabine said the exercise registered significant success, with thousands of residents participating in clean-ups across the city.

“The National Cleaning Day launch was a very great success in Kampala. We had garbage evacuated from people’s homes and compounds, and it was taken to a waste management facility in Buyala,” Mr Nuwabine said.

According to him, the collected garbage was transported to the Kiteezi replacement waste management facility in Wiyala for proper disposal, helping restore cleanliness in several parts of the city.

However, Mr Nuwabine expressed concern that some residents have returned to the cleared collection points to dump fresh waste.

“As the days have gone by and as we clear the waste from the communities, we have had some individuals and homesteads bringing back garbage to the points where we had already cleared. This paints a picture as though nothing has been done, yet most of this rubbish had already been collected from the communities,” he said.

He urged households to embrace proper waste management instead of using roadsides and drainage channels as dumping grounds.

“If it is not a National Cleaning Day, you should hold onto your waste and hand it over to the garbage truck on the designated days it is scheduled to pass through your area,” he said. He added that collection is done once or twice a week depending on the programme in each area.

Mr Nuwabine also warned that indiscriminate dumping is a punishable offence. “Bringing rubbish onto our roads is not acceptable, and whoever continues doing that is orchestrating a nuisance that is punishable under the law,” he said.

KCCA Director for Health Dr Sarah Zalwango said maintaining cleanliness requires continuous cooperation between the authority and residents.

“We appeal to Local Council leaders, market vendors, landlords and community members to mobilise residents to participate in routine clean-up activities and ensure garbage is disposed of through authorised collection systems,” she said.

Dr Zalwango noted that illegal dumping not only degrades the city’s appearance but also blocks drainage channels. “It increases the risk of flooding during heavy rains and creates breeding grounds for disease-causing organisms,” she said.

“As KCCA we pledge to intensify enforcement against offenders while continuing public sensitisation campaigns aimed at changing attitudes towards waste management,” she added.

She urged residents to take personal responsibility. “We consistently urge residents to separate waste at source, use licensed garbage collectors and avoid dumping rubbish in drainage channels and along roads,” she said.

Dr Zalwango warned that offenders will face prosecution under the city’s public health and environmental laws.

About national cleaning day

The National Cleaning Day campaign was introduced by Government as part of efforts to improve sanitation, promote environmental conservation and encourage every Ugandan to take responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean.

While clubfoot deformity, remains a challenge in parts of Uganda, recent health statistics show progress in its treatment with success stories estimated at 96 percent for cases referred to the designated hospitals countrywide.

Clubfoot deformity is a birth defect in which the baby’s feet or foot turn inward. Ms Rebecca Nakiwala, the officer-in- charge of the clubfoot unit at Luweero General Hospital, says several parents and guardians who come to seek medical help for children suffering from clubfoot deformity attach the condition to societal myths including witchcraft practices.

‘We have registered several success treatment cases for children earlier affected with clubfoot deformity. Many parents still attach clubfoot deformity to societal myths, superstition and witchcraft practices. This is the biggest challenge that stands in the way as we fight to demystify and treat clubfoot deformity cases,’ she says.

Such misconceived societal beliefs, according to health experts force children born with clubfoot deformity to live life-long disabilities related complications.

Since 2019, 197 children with clubfoot deformity have been treated at Luweero General Hospital and now live healthy lives, Ms Nakiwala revealed on June 26, 2026.

Testimony

Mr Patrick Ssekyanzi, a resident of Katuugo Parish in Butuntumula Subcounty, Luweero District, is among the many parents who earlier faced challenges when he struggled with a child born with clubfoot deformity.

‘When the baby was born with both feet turned upward, I was advised to visit traditional healers to help appease the ancestral spirits that had allegedly caused the child deformity. The advice never yielded fruit. I was later advised to visit a health facility. At Luweero Hospital, my child who was then three-years old, was treated. The child’s feet got back to normal after a month’s treatment,’ he says.

Mr Rogers Ssemwanga, a resident of Sasira village in Wabinyonyi Subcounty, Nakasongola District, had to fight off society stigma because of fathering a baby who had both feet deformed.

While several people advised him to visit traditional healers, he approached a medical professional who advised that the condition could be treated.

‘When I finally got to Luweero Hospital, the medics advised that the health condition could be corrected. The child’s feet were back in their right position after a medical procedure that lasted only three weeks. The six-year old now walks normally,’ he says.

Ms Dorothy Nabukeera, a project coordinator for Advocacy and Partnerships under the Ministry of Health’s National Clubfoot Programme, says the misconceptions, myths and the stigma that sections of communities hold against children with clubfoot disease remain a big challenge.

‘We need sustained sensitisation against the societal myths in regard to clubfoot deformation. In Buganda region (central) children with clubfoot deformity are often associated with the ancestral spirits and are often abandoned. This leads to life-long deformity if not corrected at health facilities at an early age,’ she says.

The State Minister for Health in- charge of General Duties, Ms Hanifa Bangirana Kawooya, says equipping the regional hospitals backed by a dedicated staff that are willing to treat and sensitise the public against the society’s long held myths can boost the campaign against clubfoot deformity.

‘We need to educate expectant mothers about clubfoot deformities. The same sensitisation must be extended to the communities through the different awareness campaigns. We need to dismiss the wild beliefs in ancestral spirits as cause of clubfoot deformity because we already have success cases. When we bring on board the medical teams, community leaders and the general public, clubfoot deformity will be demystified,’ she said on June 26 as the country marked World Clubfoot Day at Luweero General Hospital.

Prevention

Dr Michael Mutegeki, a principal medical officer at the Ministry of Health, says the ministry is currently focusing on prevention and early identification of cases and the fortification of foods to prevent congenital abnormalities (birth) defects including spina bifida, primary limb abnormalities, among other cases.

‘When clubfoot is identified early, it can be managed at the different regional hospitals. Government is targeting recruitment of specialists at regional facilities to provide specialised care in the financial year 2026/2027,’ he said on June 26 as the country celebrated World Clubfoot Day.

The Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) has petitioned the Ministry of Education and Sports to uphold an earlier government position allowing faith-founded public schools to continue charging parents supplementary fees until the State can fully finance the cost of educating every learner.

In a July 27 letter addressed to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, the council argues that the additional charges are necessary because government capitation grants remain insufficient to meet several operational expenses in schools.

The letter, signed by Rev Canon Paul Kakooza, the director of education services at the Church of Uganda, Rev Fr Ronald Reagan Okello, the national executive secretary for education at the Uganda Episcopal Conference, and Mr Theodorous Lyazi, the education secretary of the Uganda Orthodox Church, cites resolutions reached during engagements between faith-based organisations and government.

The clerics refer to communications from the Attorney General conveying resolutions from meetings chaired by President Museveni and the Minister of Education on September 6 and December 19, 2024.

“…The foundation bodies would be allowed to charge fees in order to meet the unmet costs until the government is able to fully fund the education costs for all students,” part of the letter states.

The council has also urged diocesan education secretaries, parish priests and other church leaders to sensitise parents and communities about their shared responsibility in supporting their children’s education.

The petition comes amid growing tension following the recent arrests and interdiction of several head teachers and school administrators accused of collecting fees in government-aided schools despite the government’s Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) policies.

In Mbale Diocese, Church of Uganda leaders have directed head teachers to continue collecting what they describe as reasonable charges to meet operational costs not covered by government funding.

In a circular dated July 27, Diocesan Secretary Rev Canon Robert Wantsala acknowledged that although schools receive government grants, the funds do not adequately cater for expenses such as uniforms, school maintenance, support staff wages and emergency requirements.

He said consultations between the UJCC and State House had resolved that foundation bodies could continue charging minimal fees until the government fully finances education.

“The Uganda Joint Christian Council engagements with State House resolved that, for now, grants paid to schools being inadequate, foundation bodies may continue to charge parents minimal fees to meet operational expenses,” Rev Wantsala wrote.

He further authorised boards of governors and school management committees to continue levying reasonable charges in line with guidance contained in a September 5, 2024 communication from the Attorney General.

The directive follows a recent monitoring exercise by the Minister for Local Government, Mr Balaam Barugahara, during which several school administrators in Mbale and Bugisu areas were arrested over alleged illegal school charges.

Rev Wantsala said the arrests had created fear among school managers. “It has been noted with concern that following the Ministry of Local Government’s monitoring programme in our Diocese, many head teachers and stakeholders were arrested and interdicted largely because of collecting fees and other dues from learners,” he said.

For example, during the inspection on July 16, Mr Barugahara ordered the temporary closure of Namisindwa Secondary School over poor sanitation and allegations that it was charging each student Shs65,000 per term despite being a government-aided USE school.

The minister directed parents to stop paying what he described as illegal fees. Likewise, Rev Kakooza from the Church of Uganda, in a telephone interview last evening, told Monitor Publication that while the government provides capitation grants, they are not enough to meet the actual cost of delivering quality education, leaving schools to meet essential expenses such as staff remuneration, beyond government payroll, utilities, infrastructure maintenance, feeding programmes, chaplaincy, and counselling services.

He went on to explain that the Foundation bodies are not opposing government oversight but are calling for the implementation of the resolutions reached during the 2024 State House meeting, which recognised the existing funding gaps.

The Mbale Diocese has since maintained that parents should continue contributing towards education by paying foundation and operational fees.

Under its guidelines, primary school learners are required to pay Shs500 per term to the diocese and Shs200 to local churches, while secondary school students pay Shs1,000 to the diocese and Shs500 to lower churches.

Similar directives have since been issued by other Church of Uganda dioceses. In an August 6, 2025 letter, Namirembe Diocese instructed head teachers that learners should continue paying foundation fees, lunch fees and the cost of school uniforms, arguing that School Management Committees and Boards of Governors have the mandate to set charges for services not financed by government.