Category: Daily Monitor

Once upon a time, Tornado Bee ruled Ugandan cricket with intimidating certainty. Then came the drift years – seasons of rebuilding, near misses and searching for the right blend to return to the top. Now, after nearly a decade away from league glory, the Bees are buzzing loudly again.

Their commanding 78-run victory over a stubborn and star-studded Jinja Association of Cricket Clubs (JACC) side at Jinja SS Oval on Sunday officially confirmed Tornado Bee as 2026 Cricket Uganda (CU) Men’s 50-Over Gold Division champions, delivering the club’s fifth major league title and first since 2016.

The triumph capped a season built on depth, planning and collective responsibility rather than dependence on one superstar. Tornado Bees won six of their seven matches to become mathematically uncatchable at the top of the standings on 12 points, staying ahead of closest challengers GM Sugar, who finished on 10 points despite a superior net run rate.

New formula

Club captain Jeremy Kibukamusoke believes the title was the product of a carefully constructed long-term plan rather than a sudden surge. ‘We did well because we trained a lot,’ Kibukamusoke told Daily Monitor.

‘As management, we identified the key areas that needed improvement. Supporting the younger stars coming through and giving them responsibility was important. Players like Anas Baig, Hamid Munigwa and Ismail Munir really stepped up.’

The skipper also pointed to the value of experience within the dressing room.

‘Having experienced Roger Mukasa, Jonathan Ssebanja and Cricket Cranes paceman Cosmas Kyewuta was very important. Mukasa stabilised the batting, Ssebanja contributed as an all-rounder and Kyewuta led the bowling unit very well.’

The experienced core of Akhbar Baig, Sohib Eshan, Nicholas Kebba and John Mpande also helped maintain standards throughout the campaign.

‘Even Dr David Musoke had to get dirty and fit because everyone wanted this title badly,’ Kibukamusoke added with a touch of humour.

Jinja statement

Sunday’s title-clinching performance carried all the hallmarks of champions under pressure. After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, Tornado Bee responded with controlled aggression to pile up 296 in 47.5 overs against a dangerous JACC bowling attack.

Veteran Mukasa rolled back the years with a magnificent 83 off 64 balls while Anas Baig blasted a rapid 66 off only 46 deliveries to shift momentum decisively toward the visitors.

Jonathan Ssebanja added a valuable 43 during the middle overs as Tornado Bees continued to punish loose bowling despite resistance from Aloysius Odoi (2/54) and Ivan Baidhu (3/32).

Experience counts

JACC attempted a response through skipper Kenneth Waiswa (63), Johnathan Nyiiro (45) and the unbeaten Aloysius Odoi (47 not out), but the required rate and disciplined Tornado Bee bowling gradually strangled the chase.

Mukasa (0/35 in 10) and Ssebanja (2/41 in 10) ensured the pressure never eased as JACC closed on 218/5 from their 50 overs. The result underlined Tornado Bees’ superiority across the season. Their blend of battle-tested veterans and fearless younger players repeatedly delivered under pressure.

‘We agreed to constantly share ideas on the field and remain united,’ Kibukamusoke explained.

‘We also kept engaging the club owner (William Kibukamusoke) about targets and accountability. Everybody understood the mission.’

Youth rewarded

Perhaps most importantly, the title-winning campaign appears to have strengthened Uganda cricket’s next generation. Kibukamusoke believes the emergence of players such as Hamid and Munir into emerging national team conversations is proof the club’s long-term structure is working.

‘We are happy the plan worked and that we now have breakthrough players pushing toward the national team. We hope Hamid and Munir come into the frame soon,’ he said.

‘Sulieman has also been a key ingredient because of his style of play and his hunger for success.

‘We have been working on the right formula for the last three years and it has finally paid off.’

Others Impress

Elsewhere over the weekend, Kutchi Tigers continued their strong finish to the season with a composed five-wicket victory over Mukono Warriors in Entebbe. Cyrus Kakuru anchored the chase superbly with an unbeaten 77 after Dhansh Jesani and Vekariya Kush Mahesh had each claimed four wickets to restrict Mukono Warriors to 167. In the Silver Division, SKLPS defeated Avengers by four wickets, though Avengers had already secured promotion before the fixture.

Meanwhile, Ismaili Community CC were officially confirmed as Silver Division champions and earned historic promotion to the Gold Division for the first time.

But the weekend and weeks to come, the club Tornado Bee will be in every cricket conversation after the old kings of Ugandan cricket reclaimed their throne after literally 10 years in the wilderness.

CU MEN’S 50-OVER LEAGUE

Results – Gold Division

Tornado Bee 296/10 | JACC 218/5

Tornado Bee won by 78 runs

Mukono Warriors 167/10 Kutchi Tigers 168/5

Kutchi Tigers won by 5 wickets

Results – Silver Division

Avengers 163/10 | SKLPS 164/6

SKLPS won by 4 wickets

THE TALKING POINT

Title Blend. Tornado Bees’ fifth league title was not built around individual brilliance alone but around balance. While Roger Mukasa, Jonathan Ssebanja and Kyewuta Cosmas supplied experience, the emergence of younger players like Anas Baig, Hamid Munigwa and Ismail Munir gave the side renewed energy. Their ability to merge proven leaders with fearless youth ultimately separated them from rivals such as GM Sugar and JACC in a tightly contested Gold Division season.

As the world’s best footballers compete for the Fifa World Cup across North America, another contest unfolds away from the spotlight.

It is a battle measured not in goals or points, but in sponsorship deals, shirt sales and global exposure. The rivalry between Nike and Adidas has become one of modern football’s defining commercial duels, with the World Cup serving as its ultimate stage.

Every tackle, celebration and trophy lift doubles as global advertising. In modern football, the shirt is no longer just identity, it is inventory.

The birth of a rivalry

The roots of the contest stretch back more than 70 years.

Adidas, founded in Germany in 1949 by Adolf Dassler, established its authority early in international football. Its defining breakthrough came when it supplied the boots worn by West Germany during their 1954 World Cup triumph, embedding the brand into football folklore. Over time, Adidas became structurally tied to Fifa competitions, later supplying the official World Cup match ball from 1970 onwards.

Nike’s entry came much later.

Founded in 1964, the American company initially built its reputation in athletics and basketball before turning aggressively toward football in the 1990s. Its breakthrough moment came with high-profile national team partnerships, most notably Brazil, signalling a shift in the sport’s commercial balance.

From that point, football moved from a single-brand ecosystem to a duopoly.

How the balance of power shifted

The World Cup provides the clearest measure of that shift.

At the 2010 tournament in South Africa, Adidas supplied 12 of the 32 teams, compared to Nike’s nine and Puma’s seven. In 2014 in Brazil, Nike edged ahead for the first time with 10 teams, while Adidas followed closely with nine. By 2018 in Russia, Adidas regained control with 12 teams compared to Nike’s 10.

The expanded 2026 World Cup has slightly tilted the balance back toward Adidas, which outfits 14 of the 48 participating nations. Nike supplies 12, while Puma provides 11. Together, the three brands account for more than 70% of all teams at the tournament.

Nike’s star power

Yet numbers alone do not define influence.

Nike arrives in North America with some of the most commercially powerful national teams in world football, including Brazil, France, England and Portugal. Its strategy has long been built on global visibility, aligning itself with elite federations and high-profile stars to maximise broadcast impact.

The result is a brand that thrives in high-pressure, high-audience moments, particularly in the knockout stages where global viewership peaks.

Nike’s football identity has also been shaped by its willingness to challenge Adidas’ traditional strongholds.

Adidas counters with heritage, structural influence and deep institutional roots in the tournament itself.

Argentina, Germany, Spain and Mexico headline its World Cup portfolio, giving the brand a mix of historical champions and host-nation visibility. But its influence goes beyond team sponsorship.

Adidas remains one of Fifa’s longest-standing commercial partners and has supplied the official match ball for every World Cup since 1970.

That presence reinforces its identity within the tournament’s DNA. As Fifa president Gianni Infantino once noted in describing the organisation’s long-term commercial partners, they are ‘fundamental to the success of football’s global competitions.’

Historically, Adidas-backed nations have also enjoyed consistent World Cup success, with four tournament winners since 2006 wearing the three stripes.

Puma, on the other hand, operates in a different space. Its focus has been strongest across Africa and selected European and South American nations, including Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Switzerland and Uruguay. Rather than competing on scale, Puma has built its identity around emerging football markets and emotionally charged underdog narratives.

Why the kit war matters

The financial impact of success is immediate. When Argentina won the World Cup in 2022, Adidas experienced a sharp spike in global shirt demand. Similarly, France’s 2018 triumph delivered a major uplift for Nike across retail markets worldwide.

While exact contract figures are rarely made public, industry reporting and leaked federation agreements still point to the scale of the business in clear terms.

Top-tier national team kit deals are widely estimated to range from around $10 million to more than $50 million per year. France’s Nike agreement has been reported at roughly $50M per year, placing it among the most valuable international kit deals in the world.

At the other end of the spectrum, smaller federations operate on a far leaner scale, often receiving around $2m to $10m annually, and in some cases only kit supply support plus limited financial backing.

By the time the final whistle is blown in North America, a nation will lift football’s greatest prize. But in boardrooms, another verdict will quietly be drawn: which brand truly owned the tournament.

WORLD CUP BY KIT SUPPLIER

Adidas: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Scotland, Germany, Japan, Algeria, Colombia, Spain, South Africa, Belgium, Mexico, Argentina, Curaçao.

Nike: Canada, Turkey, Australia, South Korea, Croatia, Norway, England, United States, Netherlands, Brazil, France, Uruguay.

Puma: Switzerland, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Egypt, Senegal, Austria, Paraguay, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Portugal.

Other suppliers: Ecuador (Marathon), Cape Verde (Capelli Sport), Haiti (Saeta), DR Congo (Umbro), Panama (Reebok), Iran (Jako), Jordan (Kelme), Uzbekistan (Saber), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Kelme).

Did you know?

Adidas has supplied the official Fifa World Cup match ball at every tournament since 1970, making it one of the longest-running commercial partnerships in global sport.

A bank, a parent company, and a number with 12 figures in it, is the outline of Uganda’s biggest live transfer-pricing fight.

Stanbic Bank and its holding company are contesting a Shs117.8b assessment, filed by KAA in June 2025 in the Tax Appeals Tribunal.

The dispute is, at bottom, an argument about a franchise fee, specifically, whether parts of it were really payment for genuine support, or whether the parent was charging Uganda twice for things it should have absorbed itself, or things it had already billed elsewhere.

Stanbic says the arrangements reflect legitimate cost-sharing. URA disagrees. It would be easy to read that as a peculiarly Ugandan argument. It isn’t.

It is the local branch of a fight the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been trying to settle since intragroup service charges first became a recognisable category of dispute.

What makes this particular moment unusual is timing: the global rulebook on exactly this question is being rewritten right now, in Paris, while Kampala’s tribunal is mid-argument on the very issues the rewrite addresses.

Old rules, new invoice

On June 1, 2026, the OECD opened a public consultation on Transfer Pricing Guidelines, the chapter governing intragroup services, with comments due by July 22, and a follow-up discussion at the OECD’s Paris conference centre in November.

OECD says the draft seeks to ‘update and modernise existing provisions,’ not to rewrite the underlying principles.

The plan is to do most of the reframing in four shifts.

First: it’s not enough to show the service happened. You now have to show that, before you spent the money, there was a good reason to think it would help.

Before, you just needed to show, but now you need to show why you paid for a service in the first place.

Second: the way you split a shared cost between different parts of a company has to actually match who benefits, not just be a rough guess.

Splitting it equally used to be fine. Now you need to split it based on who actually benefited more.

Third: when one activity does two different jobs, you can’t lump them all together anymore; you have to separate the parts.

Fourth: it’s not about looking good on paper anymore, it’s about proving you actually thought it through at the time.

Before, you mainly needed to just justify the pricing, but now, you need real proof for the pricing before spending.

The suggestions are a shift that has already generated debate.

In a Transfer Pricing Insight, Ann Barnshaw Kengaaju, a senior transfer pricing advisor at BDO East Africa, notes that the benefit test ‘is evolving into a business case assessment.’

In practice, she argues, this moves the burden of proof away from tax departments constructing justifications after the fact, and onto businesses themselves, who generate the relevant evidence months or years earlier, simply by requesting and approving services in the normal course of operations.

The wider implication, in her assessment, is that OECD’s revisions place far more weight on whether a service can be shown to have genuine commercial substance, rather than on whether the supporting paperwork looks technically correct.

‘Audits and disputes going forward, she suggests, ‘will turn less on how polished a transfer pricing file is and more on whether a multinational or local group can actually demonstrate why a service was needed, who it benefited, and what value it was expected to deliver.’

No opt-out clause

Most jurisdictions get to watch this process from a comfortable distance and decide later whether to adopt whatever the OECD finally agrees. Uganda doesn’t have that luxury, structurally.

The Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Regulations reference OECD guidelines ‘as updated from time to time.’

Whatever eventually emerges from this consultation becomes law automatically, with no statutory instrument and no implementation lag.

The discussion-draft window closing on July 22 is, for taxpayers, the only point at which the rule can still be shaped before it simply applies.

URA, for its part, has been building the institutional muscle to use rules like these. Its use of cross-border information exchange, which enables it to interrogate intercompany arrangements, grew from two requests in 2012 to more than 170 between 2014 and 2022, recovering upward of Shs259.9b in that period.

‘Transfer pricing is a sensitive area globally,’ John Musinguzi, URA’s Commissioner General, has previously said.

The Tax Appeals Tribunal has, fortunately, already established the basic posture it needs to take.

In the Total E and P Uganda case in 2021, the ruling placed the burden squarely on the taxpayer to prove that a service actually delivered economic benefit, rather than on URA to disprove it.

OECD’s new benefit test simply formalises, globally, a standard URA that was already applying.

Different neighbourhoods, different speeds

Kenya is some distance ahead of Uganda on procedure, if not necessarily on outcome.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) issued dedicated intragroup-services guidelines in 2021, moved to a full OECD-aligned three-tier documentation framework in 2023, and, critically, got advance pricing agreements into its Finance Act 2025.

Tanzania and Rwanda sit somewhere in the middle of the regional pack; South Sudan and DRC are still building the basics.

There is no East African Community-wide transfer-pricing framework tying any of this together, which means a bank or telecom running shared services out of a regional hub is, in effect, negotiating five separate versions of the same argument.

Across the wider continent, the constraint is the infrastructure.

The African Tax Administration Forum and OECD ran joint capacity-building workshops reaching over 10 tax officials in more than a dozen African countries between 2025 and 2026, with the recurring complaint being a shortage of reliable local comparables.

That scarcity cuts an odd, double-edged way under the new rules. A test built around documented business rationale rather than benchmarking arithmetic is, in principle, easier to apply where comparable-company data is thin.

It is also a test that rewards groups with disciplined internal paperwork and punishes those without it.

Show your working

None of this means management fees are wrong. Things like a dedicated team running IT systems, treasury management, and/or risk analysis across different countries are ideal.

But the new rules want to change how you prove. Before, you could basically say, ‘look, this is the normal market price, here’s a study showing other companies charge similar amounts,’ and that would get you through an audit.

However, under the new rules, you will need everyday proof that the service was planned, delivered, and made at the time. The rules will also require the head office sending the bill to have better record-keeping.

Greetings to you, fellow Ugandans.

This letter is in relation to the reported comments made by His Excellency the President of Uganda on May 1, 2026, and earlier, regarding the social work courses in Uganda. First, we would like to recognize the president’s concern and interest in the development of our country. Secondly, we empathize with the President because of the pressure we think he goes through as a leader of a country with a youth unemployment rate of 17.9 per cent and working age unemployment rate at 12.2 per cent (UBOS 2025). Thirdly, we empathize with the President because we have a situation where you have a popular course whose contribution to the country’s economic development is unclear.

Empathizing with the President, however, does not necessarily mean that we totally agree with his views on the relevance and value of social work in Uganda. First, social work is a global profession whose relevance is well known.

Indeed, it is because of this that the colonial government introduced it to Uganda (Twikirize et al. 2019). Secondly, there is no supporting evidence to prove that the majority of the unemployed youth and persons in Uganda studied to be social workers. Although the government of Uganda employs very few social workers, the majority of social work graduates find employment in the Civil Society Organisations that have dominated the country’s social sector.

Thirdly, social work is an applied social science, and thus has immediate application value towards resolving many social problems and conditions that affect our country, e.g., violence, child abuse, social economic empowerment, food security, community mobilization. Social Work is different from History, Literature, etc., therefore, should not be confused with them. These disciplines are concerned with different issues from social work’s concerns.

Fellow Ugandans, the President is not the first person to question the relevance and value of social work. Jordan (2007) records similar scepticism about social work in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. However, we must approach the discussions and analysis of the value and relevance of social work in two ways.

First, viewing human life as full of cyclic life vulnerabilities, risks, and shocks. It is with such a recognition that the government of Uganda in 2015 developed a progressive social protection policy and has a social development agenda within its National Development Plan IV of 2024/26-2029/2030. These are progressive plans because of their vision, mission statements and guiding principles. They centre on principles of universalism and inclusiveness, with the aspiration to protect every Ugandan from life cycle risks, vulnerabilities, and shocks that may arise from one’s age, gender, ability, employment, income, etc.

These life cycle risks, vulnerabilities, and shocks are addressed through social security services (i.e., social assistance and social insurance), social care, and social support services.

Social workers majorly deliver the social care and support services, and social work professionals offer complementary roles in the broader social services as well. It is the social workers who work with children in conflict with the law, youths and adults suffering from addictions, children at risk of being trafficked, child labour, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, children in need of alternative care, people with disabilities, etc. It is only through the social care and social support services that the vulnerable, poor, and disadvantaged people and communities are empowered, mobilized, and galvanized to participate in the country’s development processes and programs.

The President’s comments about the uselessness of social work arose from his concern over the mismatch between academic training and the economic needs of the country. Concerns about the economic development of the country are commendable. However, the President seems to focus on the material economy (production of goods) of the country while ignoring the interpersonal economy, which some scholars sometimes refer to as the social care economy, relational economy or emotional economy.

The interpersonal/emotional economy is an economy of relationships and feelings (Jordan 2007) as well as social capital, communal capital, and collective social assets. Unlike the material economy that produces tangible goods, the emotional/interpersonal economy produces intangible, but real, goods and services. The goods include love, friendship, support, empathy, solidarity, feelings, companionship, morale, morality, healing, communality, harmony, happiness, recognition, regard, trust, etc.

In an economy, there should be production, exchange, and consumption of the produced goods. In the interpersonal/emotional economy, the primary producers of these goods are social workers and para-social workers. This is because social work is a relationship-based profession. The consumers of these goods are those experiencing life cycle risks, vulnerabilities, and shocks that the social protection policy aims at protecting.

Fellow Ugandans, the interpersonal/emotional economy has intrinsic value and instrumental value for the material economy (Gui and Sugden 2005). About the instrumental value, we have a concept of emotional labour, that is, labour that engages in production (Gui 2000). The concept of emotional labour focuses on the emotional state of labour.

Take an example of domestic violence. A person is not able to effectively participate in the production of material goods when he/she is a victim of domestic violence. Neither can a family engage in material production when there is family conflict. The instrumental value is not only in relation to production but also to consumption. For example, people tend to pay for material goods based on the emotions they are experiencing (Gui and Sugden, 2005). Therefore, we also have emotional consumers.

The country needs to start the processes of economization of the interpersonal/emotional economy (social care sector). This involves marketization, price setting, and market design and maintenance of the social care sector (Bandelj 2026). Indeed, we have countries within the region that have started on the processes of economization of the care work. Thus, if we consider the interpersonal/emotional economy (i.e., the social goods stated above) and their economization, then as a country, we need to also appreciate the value and relevance of social work in the national economy. This is very urgent since the kinship relations that partly provide the social care and support goods and services are on a decline, as the social protection policy (2015) notes.

In conclusion, we should take the President’s comments about the relevance of the social work profession in Uganda as an opportunity to have honest discussions and conversations about Uganda’s social sector. This conversation and these discussions should specifically focus on how the growth of the interpersonal/emotional economy contributes to the overall national development strategy. Furthermore, the conversations should be on how to strengthen the social sector to better support Ugandans going through life cycle risks, shocks, and vulnerabilities, and how this contributes to human improvement to grab economic opportunities.

Discussions and conversations should be on how to increase the funding/investment in the interpersonal/emoticon economy, thereby increasing access to social protection services, especially the social care and social support services. In addition, we can explore ways of making a social protection law, similar to one enacted by Kenya in 2025, so that social protection becomes a right to all Ugandans who experience life cycle risks, shocks and vulnerabilities. We should also make a law that regulates the social workers and para-social workers who are the major providers of social care and social support services.

Of late, there is a great appreciation of what public relations professionals bring to the table. This is because organisations continue to face a critical need to communicate strategically with their stakeholders. Gone are the days when the profession was just about media relations and blasting out press statements.

Today, it is about mapping who your stakeholders are and aligning your strategic communication to mirror exactly what the organisation seeks to convey. Publics or audiences are both internal and external, thus, success depends on knowing when to communicate, how to communicate, which channels to use, and what tone to strike.

We spend hours mapping out audiences and perfecting the message, but we often invest very little in actual relationships. We fall into the trap of thinking people will just do what we ask because it is part of their job. In doing so, we neglect the human element. Investing in relationships facilitates genuine dialogue with policymakers, journalists, and industry leaders. It builds a deeper understanding of their concerns and expectations, which ultimately helps guide our actions toward creating long-term value for everyone involved.

Imagine a key editor with over 25 years of experience who is celebrating a 15th wedding anniversary. Think about what you could get them.

Years ago, they might have helped feature a client on a segment that truly transformed a business. A cake for the anniversary celebration, a dinner voucher for the couple, and a few pastries for their children will go an incredibly long way. Or consider a sports journalist celebrating a 30th birthday who invites you to a gathering on a Saturday evening.

It would be incredibly easy to stay home and rest from the week’s fatigue, but you show up anyway because the media are your friends.

These are simple, intentional niceties that keep a relationship vibrant. On a day gone bad, PR nightmare (crisis) when you do not have standard options left in solitaire (the red or black jocker) , you can pull out an ace. Call it the relational card. No one is an island, and the power of investing time in people cannot be overstated. A simple call, a brief message, a birthday breakfast, or small pleasantries keep a bond alive.

They help us appreciate the true craft of public relations while making us better individuals in our professions. Audiences vary from role to role, and these specific ideas mentioned earlier are not a rigid checklist to follow to the letter.

Instead, knowing who your stakeholders are allows you to tailor your gestures to suit their unique personalities. When all is said and done, everything in professional world and day to day life is driven by people. They play the central role in all we do, hence, being courteous is always the winning card.

Joining Rotary on December 11, 2022, was, for me, more than just becoming a member of a club; it was becoming part of a global movement dedicated to service, friendship, and personal growth. Whether you are a business professional, entrepreneur, community leader, or someone simply looking to make a difference, Rotary offers countless opportunities to enrich your life while helping others. In a world where many seek meaningful ways to give back, build relationships, and develop leadership skills, Rotary stands apart. With over 1.4 million members across 200+ countries, it unites diverse professionals and community leaders around a single goal: creating lasting, positive change. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a professional, or simply someone who wants to make a difference, Rotary offers a pathway to enrich your life while serving others.

A chance to serve your community

The heart of Rotary is local action. Clubs identify pressing needs-education, healthcare, clean water, youth development, or poverty alleviation, and organise projects to address them. Members roll up their sleeves and see tangible results.

Recently, my club, the Rotary Club of Kyanja-Metro, distributed 6,600 menstrual cups to vulnerable girls and women. This was service on a scale none of us could have achieved alone. The satisfaction of knowing your time and skills directly improve lives is one of Rotary’s greatest rewards.

Building lifelong friendships

Rotary is often called a family of friends united by purpose. Through weekly meetings, service projects, and social events, members forge genuine connections that go far beyond networking.

Unlike professional groups focused solely on business, Rotary friendships are rooted in shared values and service. Many of my Rotary friends have become closer than family, people I trust with my joys and struggles without fear of judgment. For newcomers to a community, Rotary offers an instant, welcoming network.

Professional networking and career growth

Rotary clubs host professionals from every industry, business, healthcare, education, government, and more. Weekly meetings feature speakers who share insights, creating rich opportunities for learning and collaboration.

These interactions often lead to mentorship, partnerships, and career advancement. You’re not just exchanging business cards; you’re building relationships with trusted leaders who share your commitment to ethical service.

Leadership development

Rotary is a leadership incubator. Members can serve on committees, lead projects, manage club operations, or hold positions at district and international levels. The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) provides formal training to sharpen skills. Through these experiences, members improve communication, strategic planning, teamwork, and decision-making, abilities that translate directly into professional success and personal growth.

A global network with local impact

Rotary’s international reach is one of its most distinctive features. Traveling Rotarians can attend meetings anywhere in the world, building cross-cultural friendships and understanding.

This global network also enables large-scale humanitarian work-from disease prevention and maternal health to peace-building and environmental protection. Members contribute to causes that extend far beyond their hometowns, making a difference on a global stage.

Living by strong ethical values

Rotary is built on integrity, fairness, respect, and service. The famous Four-Way Test asks members to evaluate their words and actions:

Is it the truth?

Is it fair to all concerned?

Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

These principles foster trust and accountability. Members appreciate being part of a community that strives to do what is right, not just what is easy.

Personal growth and fulfilment

Rotary opens doors to new ideas, cultures, and experiences. Members build confidence, discover hidden talents, and develop fresh perspectives. Take Viola, a new member of my club. Last Saturday, I took her to a cleanup exercise at Kulambiro Trading Centre. She was shocked to see how filthy some places were, she had never experienced anything like it. Afterward, she could not stop talking about it. She had found purpose in contributing to something bigger than herself. That is the transformative power of Rotary.

Making a lasting difference

Someone once said, “Good intentions never win.” They were right. Intention alone is not enough without action. Rotary provides the structure, resources, and collective strength to turn good intentions into real results.

Through collective effort, members achieve far more than they could individually, improving schools, supporting healthcare, promoting peace, or providing clean water. Every Rotarian brings unique skills that strengthen the organisation’s impact. The benefits flow both ways. Those who receive help gain better lives; those who serve gain fulfillment, friendships, and personal growth. Rotary truly demonstrates the power of service above self.

In his first letter to all security agencies dated October 23, 2018, titled: ‘Guidelines on managing rioters, terrorists, criminals and looters and methods of arresting and handling suspects,’ Mr Museveni forbade the personnel from taking the law in their hands.

‘The fundamental starting point is the NRA principle of being an army of the people, the masses (the farmers, the factory workers, the patriotic public servants and the Ugandans that are struggling to get a foothold in the emerging money economy) but also serving well the law-abiding foreigners that visit our country.

Each of these is like our father, mother, sister, brother, son, daughter or grandchild if they are Ugandans. If they are not Ugandans, then they are our honoured guests – amafura.

These must never be beaten, pushed or be barked at for any reason,’ Mr Museveni wrote.

Mr Museveni issued five guidelines and directed the security personnel on how they should handle suspects.

But eight years down the road, incidents that led Mr Museveni to issue guidelines on arrest are never obeyed. In Mr Museveni’s guidelines, security personnel should identify themselves to be known by the public as law enforcement officers.

‘The arresting officers should always identify themselves so that the public knows that they are legal operators…,’ Mr Museveni wrote.

Mr Museveni discouraged the use of Special Forces Command (SFC), Military Police and Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) [now Defence Intelligence and Security] soldiers in the handling of police work.

‘The involvement of the SFC, Military Police and CMI in handling law and order issues has been caused by the kawukumi (bean weevils) that had invaded the police. Otherwise, they should not have been involved and they were never involved,’ Mr Museveni said.

Mr Museveni also banned beating of suspects during arrests and that the vice should stop once the individual has been restrained.

On December 23, 2023, ahead of the Christmas festivities, Museveni again issued guidelines on arrests in which he condemned illegal arrests and detention beyond 48 hours.

He said in the event that such arrests happen, the public, especially the leaders, should document how the victims were arrested and not taken to court, then take the facts to the responsible authorities for action.

One telling image from the U-17 men’s national team training ahead of last month’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco had former goalkeeper Yasin Mugabi sharing notes from former creative midfielders Steven Bengo and Ibrahim Saddam Juma.

The latter two were Ghanaian coach Kingston Laryea’s assistants for the campaign that culminated into qualification for the 2026 Fifa U-17 Men’s World Cup while Mugabi was the team’s goalkeeping coach.

On seeing the image, you immediately remembered the three were celebrated talents in their own rights in their day. The Cubs could probably not have better guides around them and the trio which was later on in the tournament joined by Vincent ‘Titi Kamara’ Tumusiime could not have chosen a better path than continuing to serve in football.

The fourth pillar of Fufa’s Technical Master Plan emphasizes that everyone who has played the game has a role to play after football. That is a change from the narratives that involved accusing Fufa of neglecting the plight of those that gave their youthful years to the game.

Robust systems

Fufa might only have launched their seven year strategic roadmap in 2023 but their track record actually shows a federation that has been keen on giving former players and referees a chance to serve the game that created them.

The onus is now on ex-players and referees to build capacities that will force Fufa into creating robust systems that can absorb more football alumni.

‘It is intentional for us to bring in former players,’ Fufa president Moses Magogo said during a dinner held at Sheraton Kampala Hotel to celebrate the Cub’s qualification to the World Cup in Qatar for a second successive time.

‘We want to involve them by giving them an opportunity to enjoy and work for the game that made them who they are,’ Magogo added before rolling off a list of names of former players now serving the federation and its national teams in various capacities.

‘I am glad that we have given former players an opportunity to grow. For this team, we intended to get the fresh ones who have just finished (their careers) to work with these players.

‘We brought in coach Kingston from Ghana so they can learn from him because he has been there,’ Magogo continued as he praised the coaching team for ‘the football we are playing’ and further adding that ‘the team is entertaining, deliberate, and confident, takes decisions, and dictates games.’

Juma, Bengo, Mugabi, and Tumusime are the poster boys of the moment but are part of a 15-man list currently serving Fufa as national team coaches. The current Fufa administration has always relied on ex-players and referees to run affairs with another 15 like Moses Basena and Majidah Nantanda having served as national team coaches in the past.

Growing list

Magogo, who also played football for Kinyara and Mutundwe Lions en route to picking up interest in administration, mentioned Jerome Katende who serves as chief scout, Brian Umony who serves as the Technical Master Plan manager, Paul Mukatabala – the national teams officer, Patrick Ntege – the international football competitions manager, Edward Kalungi – the estate management officer, Humphrey Mandu, and Edgar Watson – Fufa’s chief executive officer and former captain of the Uganda Cranes. Mandu is among seven ex-players serving on the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) local organizing committee (LOC) as subcommittee members.

Bengo and 17 other ex-players serve as Fufa technical officers with roles such as choosing players of the match during Fufa competitions.

Seven other ex-players are serving as Fufa scouts while Watson leads a secretariat that can boast of 12 former players and ex-Fifa referee Mashood Ssali, who is also part of an eight-member team working as referee instructors.

Speaking ex-referees, Ronnie Kalema is one of eight Fufa executive committee members that were actively involved in the game.

Mujib Kasule and Nantanda are in an exclusive group of four that includes former goalkeepers Sadiq Wassa and Ibrahim Mugisha serving as Caf instructors.

Jean Sseninde, currently serving as interim executive director at Cecafa, is also part of a group of six ex-players and referees serving as general coordinators during matches.

Some other ex-referees led by Ali Tomusange, who officiated at the 2002 World Cup serve as fitness instructors while Yusuf Awuye and Margaret Kebba Kubingi also serve as Caf /Fifa commissioners.

The Fufa president has also directly supported up to 43 ex-players to enroll for coaching courses while former Cranes captain Andy Mwesigwa is among six ex-players serving on Fufa’s committees.

‘Football does not end when the boots come off or when the final whistle blows,’ Fufa’s Corporate Affairs director Ahmed Hussein, noted.

‘We are talking about former players and referees who retired, had careers cut short by injury, or chose to give back through coaching, administration, education, and practical on-field sessions for the next generation of referees.’

‘Through the Fufa ecosystem, we have deliberately opened doors for these legends to transition into administration, coaching, education, scouting, and technical roles. Many have taken the initiative to up-skill through Fufa, Caf, Fifa, and the Football Administration and Management (Famaco) education courses. Some have sponsored themselves, others are fully supported by Fufa, while others have benefited from cost-sharing programmes.

The Fufa president has also been a key pillar in supporting former players by fully covering course fees for a large number of them to acquire or upgrade their coaching credentials across all Fufa and Caf levels,’ added Hussein, who has also played a part in helping former players with managing their communication responsibilities.

Former players and referees serving Fufa

National team coaches: Fred Muhumuza (assistant, Uganda Cranes), Geoffrey Massa (team manager, Uganda Cranes), Steven Bengo, Ibrahim Saddam Juma (assistants, U-17 Cubs), Patrick Senfuka (U-17), Yasin Mugabi (goalkeeping, U-17), Vincent Tumusiime (safeguarding), Simeone Masaba (assistant, U-20 Hippos), Noah Kasule Babadi (fitness trainer, U-20), Cissy Nakiguba (national women’s teams, kits manager), Billy Stephen Kigundu (goalkeeping), Rica Byaruhanga (coach, Sand Cranes), Geoffrey Akabway (assistant, Sand Cranes), Lawrence Kizito, Noah Veron Ddamba

Formerly on national teams: Moses Basena, Sam Ssimbwa, Matia Lule, Abdullah Mubiru (assistants, Cranes), Morley Byekwaso (Cranes – Chan 2024, U-20 – Afcon 2021), Fred Kajoba (RIP – Cranes, goalkeeping), Jackson Mayanja (U-20 – Afcon 2022), Sadiq Wassa (Chan 2021 – goalkeeping), Majidah Nantanda, Faridah Bulega (Crested Cranes), Oliver Mbekeka (U-20 women), Wasswa Bbosa (U-23 men – assistant), Christine Wanyana (U-20 women), Hadijah Namuyanja (Teen Cranes – coordinator)

Technical officers: Ayub Kisalita, Steven Bengo, Dan Wagaluka, Habib Kavuma, Tony Odur, Vincent Kayizzi, Yusuf Kinene, Lawrence Kizito, Hamisi Diego Kizza, Baker Lukooya, Yasser Mugerwa, Moses Musoke, Nathan Mutenza, Godfrey Ssentongo, Robert Tumusiime, Benjamin Jamhuri, Noah Veron Ddamba, Denis Kizito

Scouts: Patrick Senfuka, Mubarak Tenywa, Samuel Okodo, Joseph Emitu, Hamza Olema, Francis Omara, Phiona Wajambuka

Secretariat: Edgar Watson (CEO), Patrick Ntege, Paul Mukatabala, Humphrey Mandu, Jackson Nyiima, Edward Kalungi, Brian Umony, Hassan Wasswa Mawanda, Tony Mawejje, Baker Lukooya, Jerome Katende, Joan Namusisi, Mashood Ssali

Fufa excom and delegates: Moses Magogo, Ronnie Kalema, Dan Obote, Mike Letti, Paul Ssali, Fred Tamale, Abraham Maraka, Richard Ochom, Justine Nambafu

Coach instructors: Mujib Kasule, Majidah Nantanda, Ibrahim Mugisha, Sadiq Wassa

General coordinators: Ajab Waiswa, Sewaya Miiti, Festus Kirumira, Benjamin Jamhuri, Dennis Batte, Jean Sseninde

Referee instructors: Fred Wanyama, Mashood Ssali, Brian Miiro, Catherine Adipo, Davis Katabira, Rosebell Rwamuyamba, Amin Bbosa, Ali Waiswa, Ali Tomusange

Fitness instructor: Ali Kalyango, Sam Kayondo, Rehemah Kizito Nsubuga, Mohammed Shaban Ndawula

Caf / Fifa Commissioners: Yusuf Awuye, Margaret Kebba Kubingi

Fufa committees: William Nkemba, Abraham Maraka, Andy Mwesigwa, Hakim Magumba, Noah Kasule Babadi, Robert Donnel

Afcon 2027 subcommittees: Andy Mwesigwa, Ali Asabila, Fred Tamale, Patrick Ntege, Richard Ochom, Dan Obote, Humphrey Mandu

Supported by Fufa president for Caf courses: Anthony Bongole, Hassan Mubiru, Noah Kasule Babadi, Godfrey Mugisha, Veron Ddamba, Yasser Mugerwa, Sam Mulondo, Stephen Billy Kigundu, Fred Habineza, Ayub Balyejusa, Paul Mucureezi, Richard Malinga (Caf C), Simeon Masaba, Patrick Senfuka, Steven Bengo, Hassan Wasswa Mawanda, Tony Mawejje, Vincent Tumusiime, Sulaiman Ssebunza, Baker Lukooya, Andy Lule (Caf B), Lawrence Kizito, Fred Tamale, Hakim Magumba (Famaco), Jerome Katende, Brian Umony (administration), Phillip Ssozi, Alex Isabirye

Recently, the government enacted legislation aimed at strengthening control over foreign nationals and entities in order to protect national interests and reinforce state authority. Such measures have reignited debate about sovereignty because they can influence investment flows, diplomatic relations, and international cooperation.

Therefore, concerns arise over who stands to lose when a state adopts stricter measures to assert its sovereignty. Does Uganda possess a sufficiently strong ideological and institutional capacity to command respect for its sovereignty or its sovereignty is largely a legal and political rhetoric?

Uganda’s sovereignty therefore warrants closer examination. One key measure of sovereignty is fiscal independence. A sovereign state should be able to raise sufficient revenue and allocate resources according to national priorities.

In FY2026/27, projected domestic revenue of Shs45.9 trillion will finance only part of the Shs84.4 trillion national budget, leaving a substantial financing gap to borrowing. The reliance on borrowing and external project financing reduces fiscal flexibility and constrains independent decision-making.

Uganda’s tax-to GDP ratio stands at about 13.9 percent, below the 15percent benchmark limiting funding for key services such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Trade and economic sovereignty are also limited by Uganda’s integration into the global economy. In 2023, the World Bank temporary suspended new financing to Uganda, highlighting the country’s vulnerability to decisions made by external actors. Such developments demonstrate how dependence on international financial institutions can influence domestic policy choices.

Uganda’s productive capacity remains relatively weak compared to major global economic players. The country’s economy is small when measured against multinational corporations whose revenues exceed Uganda’s entire gross domestic product. This imbalance illustrates the unequal economic environment in which developing countries operate.

Furthermore, Uganda relies heavily on foreign companies to manage critical digital infrastructure and data systems in institutions. This dependence raises concerns about data sovereignty and national control over strategic information. Uganda’s experience with foreign sanctions further exposes the limits of its sovereign autonomy.

In recent years, several Ugandan officials, including security officers, judicial actors, and political leaders, have been sanctioned by foreign governments over allegations relating to human rights abuses, corruption, and governance concerns. More recently, sanctions were imposed on former senior government officials linked to the Karamoja iron sheets scandal.

These actions demonstrate the ability of foreign powers to influence Uganda’s political and governance environment. Human capital is another pillar of sovereignty. According to 2024 Census, a large share of Uganda’s labour force remains low-skilled, limiting productivity and competitiveness.

In contrast, countries such as Singapore have strengthened sovereignty through sustained investment in education, innovation, and skills development. Similarly, China’s large skilled workforce have enhanced its economic resilience and self-sufficiency.

Food security and technological self-reliance are equally important. Uganda ranked 77th out of 113 countries in the 2022 Global Food Security Index, scoring below the global average.

Dependence on rainfall and subsistence agriculture leaves many communities vulnerable to climate shocks.

Regions such as Karamoja, West Nile, and parts of eastern Uganda continue to experience periodic food shortages, underscoring the challenge of achieving food self-sufficiency.

Uganda’s sovereignty is constrained by reliance on aid and borrowing. In FY2026/27 budget, financing of Shs13.2 trillion is through borrowing and Shs11.27 trillion from external support. Public debt is $35 billion (Shs126.2 trillion), about 53 percent of GDP and nearly twice the national budget, highlighting significant fiscal vulnerability. Ultimately, sovereignty is not measured by laws, declarations, or political speeches alone.

It is reflected in a country’s ability to mobilise domestic resources, sustain economic growth, strengthen productive capacity, ensure food and technological security, and build effective institutions.

True sovereignty is not merely proclaimed; it is earned. Nations that command respect are not necessarily those that make the loudest claims about sovereignty, but those that possess it in practice.

A new Shs500 million sickle cell clinic and training centre has been commissioned at Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital (KRRH), boosting access to specialised treatment for thousands of patients across six districts in central Uganda.

The facility, named the Shifa Sickle Cell Clinic and Training Centre, was funded by the Islamic Centre for Education and Research (ICFER) and will serve patients from Kayunga, Luweero, Buvuma, Nakasongola, Buikwe and Mukono districts.

Speaking during the commissioning on Tuesday, the Muslim titular head in Uganda, Prince Kassim Nakibinge, praised ICFER for supporting healthcare services and urged Ugandans to embrace sickle cell screening and testing.

He also called on the government to increase funding to the health sector and reconsider its decision regarding medical interns.

“The government should revisit its recent decision not to pay intern doctors because this is going to constrain efforts in the health sector,” Prince Nakibinge said.

He argued that Uganda’s doctor-to-patient ratio remains a major challenge and warned that failure to adequately support health workers could undermine service delivery.

Responding to concerns about persistent blood shortages for sickle cell patients, Prince Nakibinge appealed to ICFER and its partners from the United Arab Emirates to support the construction of a blood bank at KRRH to ensure a steady supply for health facilities across the six beneficiary districts.

Dr Sophia Nakitto, a paediatrician at KRRH, said delayed diagnosis of sickle cell disease often leads to severe complications, including kidney failure.

She said the hospital has intensified screening and testing programmes at lower health facilities across the region to improve early detection.

“Currently, we have 2,734 sickle cell warriors under our care receiving treatment,” Dr Nakitto said.

ICFER Chief Executive Officer Yusuf Jjemba said the organisation decided to establish the facility after witnessing the challenges health workers faced while providing services at the hospital.

“Sickle cell disease affects families in many ways and contributes to irregular school attendance among children living with the condition,” he said.

The Director General of Health Services, Dr Charles Olaro, described sickle cell disease as one of Uganda’s most significant inherited health conditions.

“Sickle cell remains one of Uganda’s most significant inherited health conditions, with thousands of children born with the disease every year and many families facing challenges in accessing timely diagnosis, treatment, counselling and long-term care,” Dr Olaro said.

He said the Ministry of Health has expanded newborn and infant screening programmes, strengthened laboratory diagnostic capacity, increased access to essential medicines and integrated sickle cell services into lower-level health facilities.

According to Dr Olaro, the dedicated clinic and children’s ward will provide a more conducive environment for specialised treatment, patient monitoring and long-term support.

Kayunga District Chairperson Andrew Muwonge used the occasion to renew calls for the installation of a CT scan machine at KRRH, saying patients continue to be referred unnecessarily to Mulago National Referral Hospital for specialised imaging services.

“If by December government has not bought a CT scan for this hospital, I will organise a marathon so that people can raise funds for it,” Mr Muwonge said.

The event was attended by health officials, religious leaders, parents of sickle cell patients and survivors living with the disease.