Category: Daily Monitor

The highly contested Mukono District LC5 chairperson election dispute has entered a decisive legal phase after the petitioner, Mr Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga, successfully traced and formally served his rival, Mr Francis Lukooya Mukoome, with an election petition.

The petition, filed at the Mukono High Court under the Local Government Act and the Electoral Commission Act, challenges the controversial declaration of Mr Lukooya as the winner of the 2026 district chairperson race.

According to court documents seen by this publication, Mr Muyanja accuses both Mr Lukooya and the Electoral Commission (EC) of orchestrating gross irregularities during the final declaration of results. The formal notice of presentation now requires the respondents to file their defense within 10 days of service, failing which the court will proceed to hear the case in their absence.

The successful service of the petition marks a critical turning point in a political dispute that has gripped the nation, following dramatic scenes at the Mukono District Tally Centre on January 22, 2026.

The controversy stems from an unprecedented, U-turn by the Mukono District Returning Officer, Ms Emily Amongin. Earlier on the election night, Ms Amongin had officially announced Mr Muyanja as the winner of the seat after he polled 51,686 votes against Mr Lukooya’s 50,254 votes.

However, widespread confusion engulfed the tally centre shortly after the announcement. Supporters of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) vehemently rejected the outcomes, insisting that their flagbearer, Mr Lukooya, had won the hotly contested race.

Eyewitness accounts detailed in the court documents indicate that Mr Muyanja’s attempts to access the returning officer’s desk to obtain his official Declaration of Results (DR) form were blocked by heavily armed security personnel.

In contrast, the Mukono District NRM Chairperson, Mr Haruna Ssemakula, reportedly gained access to the returning officer’s inner office, where he held a closed-door meeting with electoral officials lasting nearly two hours.

Following the private meeting, the returning officer reportedly left the tally centre premises for about an hour. Upon her return, and without offering a detailed explanation to the waiting candidates and agents, she overturned the initial results and declared Mr Lukooya the duly elected chairperson.

The revised and final results released by the EC showed Mr Lukooya securing victory with 52,523 votes, while Mr Muyanja’s tally was adjusted to 52,105 votes. An independent candidate in the race, Mr Lauben Ssenyonjo, trailed with ,3095 votes.

Mukono District has long been a volatile battleground in Ugandan local politics, often characterized by fierce rivalries between internal NRM factions and opposition coalitions. The dramatic reversal of results in January sparked widespread public outcry, with election observers raising red flags over the transparency of the tallying process and the heavy deployment of security forces.

With the petition now formally served, all eyes shift to the High Court in Mukono. Legal experts note that the case will heavily rely on the scrutiny of the original DR forms and accountability for the hours of disruption at the tally centre.

The Electoral Commission and Mr Lukooya are expected to submit their responses next week before the court fixes a date for the hearing.

Lawyers representing veteran opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye and his co-accused, Hajj Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya, have petitioned the High Court demanding immediate, unrestricted prison access and specialized facilities to prepare their defence ahead of their treason trial slated for next week.

In a June 5 letter addressed to the Deputy Registrar of the High Court Criminal Division, the defence team revealed that directives previously issued by trial judge Justice Emmanuel Baguma to facilitate lawyer-client consultations have not yet been implemented. This, they argue, severely jeopardizes their ability to prepare for the high-stakes hearing scheduled to commence on June 11, 2026.

The letter, signed by Lukwago and Co. Advocates, notes that during court proceedings on June 1, Justice Baguma directed the court registry to formally write to Luzira Government Prison. The directive aimed to grant the legal team access to their clients on weekends and public holidays, alongside ensuring prison authorities provided the necessary consultation facilities.

However, the defence maintains they have been left in the dark.

“To date, we have not received any notification that such a letter has been written to or that permission was granted by the prison authorities,” the lawyers stated.

The gravity of the situation was laid bare on June 4, when defence lawyer Bayern Turinawe was allegedly blocked from entering Luzira Prison with a laptop and flash drives during a scheduled visit.

“This experience confirms that either the letter has not been written or that permission has not been granted, yet the trial Judge fixed the case for hearing on 11th June 2026,” the defence team added, emphasizing the looming deadline.

To ensure a fair trial and preserve advocate-client privilege, Besigye’s legal team is demanding a secure, private interview room free from the presence of state intelligence officers. The room must be large enough to accommodate between 15 and 20 lawyers and legal assistants.

Furthermore, the lawyers are seeking: unrestricted entry to Luzira Prison from 8am to 6pm; clearance to bring in electronic equipment, including laptops, mobile phones, flash drives, headphones, mini speakers, a projector, and a whiteboard; access to a stable and secure internet connection within the facility; inclusion of an independent information technology expert and a forensic examiner chosen by the defence and permission to bring in bulky case files, legal texts, notebooks, and packed food for the legal team during marathon consultation sessions.

“We believe that the above request is reasonable considering the gravity and peculiarities of the case,” the letter reads, hinting that more requests could follow.

This legal skirmish comes just days after the High Court dealt a blow to the accused. Justice Baguma recently dismissed an application by Besigye and Lutale seeking a referral to the Constitutional Court to interpret whether they were being denied adequate time and facilities to prepare. The judge ruled that no substantial constitutional question had been raised and maintained the June 11 trial date.

Dr Besigye, Hajj Lutale, and UPDF officer Denis Oola face treason charges over allegations that they coordinated meetings within Uganda and abroad between 2023 and 2024 with the intent to overthrow the government. The accused vehemently deny the charges, labeling them politically motivated.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has taken over 8.86 tonnes of illegal wildlife products that were confiscated at Entebbe International Airport and held by Aviation Police for more than a decade.

The inventory exercise began on May 19, 2026 under the leadership of UWA Assistant Commissioner for Law Enforcement, Ms Margaret Kasumba.

While handing over the exhibits to UWA at Aviation Police on Friday, Superintendent of Police Irene Mugoya, who represented the Commandant of Aviation Police, said the exhibits were seized between 2011 and 2025 through joint operations with UWA and other security agencies.

‘The Wildlife contraband includes ivory, both raw and worked, pangolin scales, rhino horns, hippopotamus teeth, plus skins, lion teeth, and ostrich eggshells,’ Mugoya said.

She noted that traffickers used elaborate concealment methods. ‘It is important to note that some of these items were concealed in tins labelled as shea butter in an attempt to evade detection, highlighting the sophistication of wildlife trafficking networks,’ she said.

Mugoya attributed the decline in large seizures to tighter security. ‘Due to strengthened security measures, including the deployment of the canine unit in 2018, no seizures of such magnitude have since been recorded at the airport,’ she added.

Aviation Police faced storage pressure, prompting the transfer. ‘I extend my sincere appreciation to the Executive Director, UWA, for responding positively to our request to take over these exhibits, especially in light of the limited storage space at Aviation Police, where even designated facilities had to be repurposed for storage,’ Mugoya said.

She commended ‘the joint teams from UWA and the Police who conducted the inventory exercise and confirmed that all exhibits are intact and properly accounted for.’

UWA is expected to manage the exhibits in line with wildlife laws, including destruction or use for research and education.

Ms Margaret Kasumba, Assistant Commissioner for Law Enforcement and Operations at UWA, received the items on behalf of the Executive Director. She said the handover marked the conclusion of a long inventory exercise involving exhibits seized at the airport since 2011.

‘We have received 8,857.84kg in total of confiscated wildlife products that were held at Aviation Police, Entebbe International Airport, for 14 years,’ Kasumba said.

According to her, the breakdown includes raw ivory weighing 6,421.64kg in large pieces, worked ivory at 275.53kg in smaller pieces, and in total all ivory weighed 6,697.17kg. Other items were 48 rhino horns weighing 111.75kg, 1,980.2kg of pangolin scales, and 14 hippo teeth weighing 12.6kg.

She listed additional worked products: tortoise shells, warthog teeth, ostrich eggshells, waterbuck skulls, zebra and buffalo bones, assorted wild animal bones, crocodile skins made into belts, bags and sandals, crocodile teeth, assorted canine teeth, and pangolin claws.

‘The total amount of all wildlife products handed over to UWA by Aviation Police is 8,857.84kg of everything handed over today,’ she noted.

Kasumba thanked Aviation Police for safeguarding the exhibits since 2011. ‘We started impounding at the airport and suspects being brought to this police station in 2011. To date, what has been confiscated is what I’ve just read,’ she said. ‘We thank Aviation Police specifically because whatever has been kept here for 14 years, from 2011 to date, has been recovered intact.’

UWA verified the consignment using a digital wildlife products management system that stores photos, sizes and features of each exhibit. Kasumba said three inventories were conducted before the final handover. ‘We took a lot of time here doing this because we wanted to be sure that whatever was kept here is actually there, so that we continue working together well. Our inventory system was able to indicate that whatever we kept here has been recovered,’ she said. ‘We continue to work together as a team of security personnel in Uganda to conserve our wildlife for generations,’ she added.

On disposal, Kasumba said the law is clear. ‘Once we receive updates from police and courts on the status of these cases, we’ll know how to manage custody and determine the next steps.’

She explained that under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Appendix I species seized from illegal trade must be destroyed.

‘Destruction is the only option for contraband obtained through illegal trade, and that decision is made at a level higher than mine,’ she said.

CITES only allows trade for wildlife products obtained legally, such as from natural deaths or problem animal control, and only if a country’s population has recovered to a sustainable level.

‘For example, if our elephant populations in national parks exceeded carrying capacity, we could request permission to sell legally obtained products. But we are not saying that permission has been granted,’ Kasumba said.

On June 4, 2026, President Museveni delivered a historically grounded, multi-layered State of the Nation Address at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds. Marking his speech with an aggressive anti-poverty rally cry, Museveni re-anchored his classic economic narrative into a stern warning to public officials and citizens alike: the time for economic complacency has expired, encapsulated in his firm warning of “no more sleep” (obusi kuzi).

An underlying current in Museveni’s analytical history lesson was his fierce condemnation of modern under-productivity and economic dependency. To illustrate the antidote to poverty, Museveni traced the socio-economic evolution of Uganda’s “cattle corridor” since the 1960s, shifting local populations away from the pre-capitalist paradigm of okukolera ekidda kyoonka (working only for the stomach) toward calculated, commercially structured, indoor livestock farming. This internal success, according to the President, demonstrates that regional assets-specifically commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services, and ICT-possess the low-cost capital and ultimate structural potential to make every single Ugandan household financially self-sufficient.

However, this inward-looking economic nationalism exists in stark relief against an ongoing domestic crisis: the mass flight of young Ugandans migrating to cities like Dubai for domestic and low-wage blue-collar work. Over the past decade, hundreds of Ugandan women and men fly daily to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and wider Middle East, with data indicating that over 270,000 Ugandan migrant workers left for the Arab states between 2016 and late 2023 alone. Driven primarily by acute domestic unemployment, a lack of local business financing, and low wages at home, thousands of young women seek jobs as housemaids, cleaners, and security guards, yielding average informal salaries of roughly Shs 1 million (USD 260) per month.

While the President’s 2026 address champions domestic wealth creation through government mechanisms like the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, and the Uganda Development Bank (UDB), the structural disconnect is hard to ignore. For many vulnerable youths, flying to Dubai serves as an immediate survival mechanism against local financial exclusion, despite well-documented hazards such as predatory employment practices, passport confiscations, and harsh working conditions under remnants of the regional Kafala system.

This focus on structural internal self-reliance marks a sharp rhetorical shift from his previous address. In his June 2025 State of the Nation Address, Museveni focused extensively on macroeconomic resilience, regional integration, and border stability-celebrating Uganda’s post-pandemic economic expansion and the secure nature of the nation’s borders despite spillover conflicts in neighboring countries. The 2025 speech took a highly statistical, congratulatory tone on domestic revenue mobilization, projecting a 7 per cent economic growth rate and lauding the progress of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

In contrast, the 2026 address moves away from institutional patting-on-the-back and dives straight into aggressive grassroots accountability. Rather than prioritizing macroeconomic security metrics, Museveni’s 2026 speech explicitly Targets local leadership failures and personal work ethics. He heavily critiques leaders who stay in Kampala demanding allowances rather than training people on the ground. By moving the spotlight from grand infrastructure to the “four-acre model” and individual household financial intelligence (ekibaro), Museveni’s 2026 address acts less like a standard bureaucratic update and more like a definitive ultimatum: if Ugandans expect to tap into real sovereign prosperity, the country must rapidly outgrow its dependency on external labor export and wake up to build wealth at home.

Uganda was plunged into total darkness on Friday night following a massive system failure on the national grid, rekindling public frustration over chronic power instability just as the country transitions into a new era of state-managed electricity.

The nationwide blackout occurred at exactly 9:07pm on Friday, June 5, 2026, according to an emergency notice issued by the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL). In an initial statement, UETCL confirmed that its technical teams had been deployed to investigate the root cause and restore the grid, offering regrets for the widespread inconvenience. Highly placed sources within the sector pointed to an unconfirmed fault at the Owen Falls Dam (Nalubaale Power Station) in Jinja as the trigger for the sudden collapse. As the high-voltage system went down, the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) also issued urgent outage alerts to its customers, attributing the shutdown to the transmission network.

Following hours of intense technical intervention, UETCL successfully restored the national grid at 12am on Saturday, June 6, 2026. In a restoration update issued on Saturday morning, UEDCL management confirmed the return of power supply but advised citizens who remain affected to reach out. “If you are still off supply, kindly reach out to us through any of our contact channels,” the UEDCL statement read.

While power has been returned to most areas, the rapid system collapse serves as a sharp reality check for Ugandan consumers. For years, citizens endured high tariffs, frequent load-shedding, and sluggish customer service under the private distributor, Umeme. The recent departure of Umeme-marking the end of its 20-year concession-was widely celebrated, giving Ugandans renewed hope that state-led management under UEDCL would usher in a reliable, efficient, and affordable energy sector. However, the midnight scramble to fix the grid revives painful memories of past nationwide blackouts that have historically crippled businesses, darkened hospitals, and frustrated households. For many, the incident is a sobering reminder that removing Umeme was only the first step. The government now faces the monumental task of upgrading aging infrastructure at critical generation points like Jinja to prevent the country from slipping back into an era of perpetual darkness.

Losing a government job after 17 years shattered Ms Anne Arihomugisha’s life. For someone who had long believed that survival depended entirely on a monthly salary, unemployment felt like the end of the road.

The loss plunged her into months of emotional turmoil, uncertainty and depression as she struggled to make sense of life without formal employment.

While many would have remained trapped in despair, Arihomugisha, a resident of Kitala Village, Entebbe, Wakiso District, chose to rebuild, developing the idea of transforming her home into a flourishing urban agribusiness centre, starting with growing vegetables.

After three months of despair, on October 27, 2018, she teamed up with fellow women in her neighbourhood to support each other by growing vegetables at home using money saved from daily household upkeep, a venture that gradually transformed her life.

‘When the job was no more after 17 years, I realised that things can really turn over. In my mind, I was thinking about how I would survive with no salary. I felt like it was the end of life for me,’ she narrates.

Arihomugisha says she started slowly by growing amaranth greens, commonly known as dodo, in a polythene bag mixed with soil on her veranda for both commercial use and home consumption.

‘My first money to earn from the venture was Shs1,000, which was like a million to me after a long time of not earning anything,’ Ms Arihomugisha states.

As time went on, the venture drastically expanded, in 2021 transformed to JERO Farm. What began as a painful personal setback became a life-changing journey of self-reinvention.

She, however, notes that many women are still limited by their husbands from starting businesses, saying this has kept many women’s standards of living low.

Thriving agribusiness hub

While many people in residential areas turn their homes into luxurious spaces with fancy designs, swimming pools, ornamental gardens and sprawling compounds, Ms Arihomugisha chose to transform her home into an environmentally friendly agribusiness hub.

From vegetable gardens and hydroponic systems to livestock, biogas and organic farming, she turned personal tragedy into enterprise, converting her residence into a model of climate-smart urban farming that now feeds families.

She says her half-acre residential space prioritises small-space utilisation and recycling mechanisms for a clean environment, economic development and agro-tourism, with visitors paying Shs30,000 to tour the farm.

She practices organic farming as an environmental sustainability approach for better health, using the half-acre to grow vegetables, spices, food crops and rear livestock such as hens, goats, cows, black soldier flies and fish.

‘I effectively utilise the resources to ensure livestock feed plants and plants feed animals. I have azolla, which feeds birds, black soldier flies, where I get larvae and feed birds, and the birds together with my cows feed my biogas, which I use to cook food,’ she explains.

She echoes the need to promote climate-smart farming in cities to preserve the ozone layer, protect health and ensure environmental conservation amid the poor air quality Kampala and other developing cities face, which increases disease rates.

‘My husband had high cholesterol, but because of eating the organic vegetables we grow, he is now healthy. My mother was in a wheelchair, but because of the vegetables, she is no longer using it.’

Arihomugisha further urges the government to formulate policies that strongly promote urban farming systems, arguing that much of the available urban space is either wrongly used or underutilised.

Hydroponic farming in a compound

At home, she uses a unique hydroponic farming system – a science of soil-less gardening – to grow healthy vegetables using electricity, natural water and connected pipes, earning her a steady monthly income.

She says she earns at least Shs700,000 from selling vegetables, with a monthly input cost of about Shs100,000, creating greenery in dry environments that can fit on verandas, compounds or any place with direct sunlight.

Acquiring the hydroponic farming system costs about Shs5.2m, Shs2.5m or Shs800,000 depending on size, making it adaptable even for small rented urban spaces where the market for vegetables is readily available.

She grows red lettuce, butterhead lettuce, purple and green lettuce, changing vegetable varieties monthly after harvest. She says the initiative is cost-effective and environmentally sustainable.

‘A bad environment, which is contaminated, causes sicknesses that are now common in most homes. Aloe vera is an air cleanser, and if you plant it, you have your air cleansed. It will give you good oxygen in the house, and the environment will be made clean,’ she explains.

She says this method also saves the environment from soil degradation because no chemicals are released, as it mainly relies on rainwater or well water, with tanks refilled every two weeks.

Beyond food production, Ms Arihomugisha has also turned part of her urban farm into a healing garden – a green sanctuary carefully blended with medicinal herbs, spices and aromatic plants designed to promote wellness and relaxation.

Surrounded by lemon-scented herbs, jasmine and other naturally fragrant plants, the garden releases soothing scents into the air, especially during evening hours when the atmosphere becomes calm, cool and refreshing.

Visitors who spend time there breathe in the natural aroma believed to ease stress, relax the mind and offer a therapeutic escape from the noise and pollution of city life.

According to the 2025 World Air Quality Report, Uganda ranked among the world’s most polluted countries, with an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 43 micrograms per cubic metre – more than eight times the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended safe limit of 5 µg/m³ – while Kampala’s annual average stood even higher at 44.2 µg/m³.

In the same regard, Ms Lillian Nakigozi, founder of the Women Grow Initiative, urges the need to empower vulnerable women with sustainable agricultural skills, focusing on urban and vertical farming.

She says agriculture enables women from struggling families to generate sustainable incomes, promote food security, support economic development and fund social services such as education and health.

‘We want to see more people join the voyage of making Uganda free from hunger, poverty and diseases caused by malnutrition,’ she states.

Ms Nakigozi also urges women farmers to embrace organic farming by avoiding toxic fertilisers that harm the soil, saying this helps restore soil nutrients, protect the environment and produce healthier plants.

‘We are seeing that so many people are encroaching on swamps, which is very dangerous. You can utilise the small space you have without encroaching on swamps or cutting down trees,’ she advises.

As Kampala and other fast-growing cities grapple with worsening air pollution, shrinking green spaces and rising health concerns, urban homes can become more than places of shelter – they can be transformed into centres of healing, sustainability and economic transformation.

The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has raised alarm over severe congestion at Kirinya Prison in Jinja City, where the inmate population has risen to nearly 2,000 despite the facility being designed for only 397 prisoners.

Busoga region human rights officer Farouk Nyende said the prison, meant for 390 inmates, is now holding over 1,900.

‘Kirinya Prison in Jinja was constructed to hold about 397 inmates, but when we visited Friday afternoon, the number was close to 2,000,’ Mr Nyende said.

According to Mr Nyende, the overcrowding violates United Nations standards on prisoners’ rights. He told a stakeholders’ meeting at the UHRC regional office in Jinja that court delays are worsening the crisis.

‘When we were in prison, some inmates told us they filed appeals 10 years ago but they have not been heard. Why are court processes so slow?’ Mr Nyende wondered.

He noted that some suspects arrested during the Covid-19 lockdown are still on remand at Kirinya.

UHRC Acting Chairperson Lamex Omalla urged police, courts, civil society and the media to respect and promote rights.

‘Your presence here demonstrates continued commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights in Uganda. Let us respect the freedom of everybody,’ Mr Omalla said.

He added that UHRC depends on partners for information and reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to monitoring violations, noting there has been improvement by security operatives in Busoga.

To reduce congestion, the Kiira Regional CIID officer in charge, Mr Daniel Batte said police have adopted pre-arrest investigations.

‘We have instructed our officers to conduct thorough investigations before making arrests in order to reduce congestion in police cells. Where appropriate, suspects are granted police bond, while those whose case files are complete are promptly produced in court to prevent violations of their rights,’ Mr Batte said. He said community members including boda boda riders and traditional healers are now providing information to speed up investigations.

Mr Batte added that police are encouraging reconciliation for minor disputes due to prison congestion.

‘Due to congestion in prisons, police often encourage parties involved in minor disputes to pursue reconciliation and other lawful alternative dispute resolution mechanisms so that matters can be resolved without court convictions,’ he said.

Jinja Assistant Resident City Commissioner Mr Michael Kasedde appealed to UHRC to attend local government security meetings and pledged land for permanent offices.

‘I will engage the City Clerk on the allocation of land to the commission so that it can construct permanent offices and reduce expenditure on rent, considering the important work you are doing,’ Mr Kasedde said.

Kirinya’s population is nearly five times its approved capacity, a level that falls far below Uganda’s constitutional guarantees and the UN Nelson Mandela Rules requiring humane, safe detention.

The congestion strains inmates, staff and the justice system, reinforcing calls for urgent reforms in case handling, sentencing alternatives and timely court processes to reduce remand numbers.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has suspended the issuance of all new visas for Ugandan nationals and banned travelers from the country, citing proactive measures to counter the spread of the Ebola virus.

According to a joint statement by the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), the directive takes effect at 1pm on Saturday, June 6, 2026. The suspension applies to all new visas, including visit visas, and affects Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and South Sudan.

“The measures are part of the UAE’s proactive and preventive efforts to strengthen national preparedness and respond to developments related to the Ebola virus,” the UAE authorities stated, adding that the decision remains subject to extension.

Under the new guidelines, travelers arriving directly from the three blacklisted nations, or those who have transited through them, will be denied entry into the UAE. The only exception applies to individuals who have spent more than 21 days-the maximum incubation period for the Ebola virus-outside the affected countries prior to their arrival. However, transit flight operations through the UAE and cargo flights will continue uninterrupted.

The UAE authorities noted they are working with international partners to monitor the situation and will adjust restrictions based on ongoing risk assessments.

Uganda’s Ministry of Health, reported a cumulative total of 19 confirmed cases as of Saturday, June 6, 2026. This total comprises 14 imported cases and five Ugandan nationals, although encouragingly, there are 0 new cases reported in this specific update.

Out of the total recorded cases, the health system currently has 13 active admissions under medical care. On a positive note, 4 individuals have been successfully discharged, while two deaths have been registered, both of which were from the imported cases category. The Ministry of Health reassures the public that the situation is controlled and Uganda remains safe.

A Justice of the Court of Appeal, Geoffrey Kiryabwire, has issued a stark warning that Uganda’s judicial system faces imminent collapse unless the public embraces alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms.

Speaking on Friday while delivering a keynote address during an ADR workshop in Mbarara City, Justice Kiryabwire cautioned that the judiciary lacks the capacity to handle every societal misunderstanding through formal litigation.

‘If people stop talking and mediating, choosing court as the only option to resolve their disputes, then the judicial system will collapse and prisons will turn into remand homes,’ Justice Kiryabwire warned.

He urged the public to reflect on how communities maintained harmony before the introduction of formal courts in Uganda in 1902. He argued that traditional, community-led mediation options should be exploited to prevent the lasting hatred and wastage of resources associated with formal court battles.

Justice Kiryabwire further advised litigious citizens to prepare for long delays, revealing that the judiciary is severely overstretched.

‘In the Court of Appeal, we are only 18 justices, yet we have 14,000 cases before us. We sit in quorums of between four and five judges. Even if we chose to sit every single day, we would not finish this work. Yet, you have a case, refuse an alternative resolution, choose to appeal, and still expect to get timely justice?’ he questioned.

To illustrate the magnitude of the crisis, Justice Kiryabwire presented findings from the National Court Case Census report. The data highlights a staggering nationwide case backlog, defined as cases that have remained unresolved in the court system for more than two years.

According to the report, the Central region leads with 65,668 pending cases and a backlog of 16,224. The Western region follows closely with 48,525 pending cases and 15,375 in backlog. The Eastern region has 36,182 pending cases (11,028 backlog), while the Northern region has the lowest numbers with 16,978 pending cases and a backlog of 3,915.2

Reacting to the crisis, senior advocate Francis Butagira noted that the formal judicial system remains too expensive and slow for ordinary Ugandans. He called on the judiciary to urgently integrate traditional justice systems into formal court processes.

‘In the past, there were clear mechanisms on how conflicts were resolved in communities and people lived in harmony. Today, it is all about power and ego. If we integrate the traditional justice system into formal courts, we will have timely delivery of justice,’ Mr. Butagira said.

In response, Justice Kiryabwire revealed that major structural reforms are underway to ensure that formal courts become a last resort for conflict resolution.

‘All cases and disputes will start with dialogue at the grassroots. The government has already approved a White Paper on Alternative Dispute Resolution, and we are soon going to have an ADR Act,’ he revealed.

However, members of the public attending the workshop expressed skepticism about the implementation of ADR, accusing legal practitioners of sabotage.

‘The lawyers fuel cases to be resolved in courts because they know this is how they will earn. They actively frustrate efforts to resolve cases amicably out of court,’ said Mr Polly Muyambi, a participant.

One of the most iconic scenes in Ugandan women’s football is from a moment in the 2022/23 Fufa Women Super League season when Shamirah Nalugya and Cissy Nantongo fixed each other’s armbands.

At the height of the battle between their respective clubs Kampala Queens – which eventually won its first league title that season – and She Corporate – whose title defence that season slipped into relegation, the captains chose to show us that there is more to life than football and Fufa’s Stephen Mayamba captured the moment.

This week, that message was even clearer when Nantongo was pronounced dead on Wednesday night.

The combative midfielder whose football journey was full of so many comeback stories, unfortunately lost a quiet battle to breast cancer. The death, like its cause, shook women’s football to the core.

“She did not want to make public (her illness),” She Corporate chairman Richard Kaweere, shared.

Daily Monitor learnt that Nantongo has battled the ailment for over a year. She put up such a brave fight that it was hard to tell she was ailing in any way. From time to time, her name appeared on the She Corporate match sheets as a substitute.

In some cases it was surprising that she was an unused substitute but largely, She Corporate have enjoyed a rich vein of form this season that selection decisions rarely became a question.

But even those close to her kept anticipating her return because whenever Nantongo could, she was present for her club.

“It is so sad to lose her. We treated her and she even got out of danger. In fact, she even started training and from nowhere, she got some kind of paralysis,” Kaweere further shared.

Nantongo’s last battle was quiet too and took over a month at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago. She was briefly involved in matchday squads during the title run-in in March.

“If anyone was keen, they would have noted that she did not even warm-up for those games (in late March). After that, she fell ill and was re-admitted.

“She left us top of the table and I would not be surprised if she did not know how the season ended. We tried to keep football issues away from her.

“But last weekend, we (club officials and captains) visited her before our Fufa Women Cup match (which they lost to Wakiso Hill on penalties). She was very weak,” Lutwama added.

Passion and drive

Nantongo, who are friends called Kajozi, wore her passion on her sleeves.

Off the pitch, Nantongo was an endearing innocent personality. She always wore her smile and interacted freely with those she knew. That is perhaps why tributes have flown from teammates, opponents, and fans across the divide in equal measure.

On pitch she spoke when she had to. But she was more about actions. What she did in each moment signified the intent of the team. If she wanted them to get a bit physical, Nantongo was not afraid of sticking a boot where it hurt for a troublesome opponent. If she wanted control, she took a few extra touches on the ball.

She was of medium height and had an athletic body frame that she used well. She specialised in breaking down attacks in front of her defence and even though she had commendable passing range, she excelled more in possession when she was picking out more creative teammates that were close to her.

Interestingly, when she was younger, she took penalties – even in a team that had a striker like Fazila Ikwaput who loves to score goals like her breathing depends on it. That was the story of the inaugural 2017 Fufa Women Cup final.

Nantongo had joined Olila High School, alongside her long time friend Vanessa Edith Karungi, on loan from She Corporate.

The duo met years earlier at St. Mary’s College Kitende but after girls’ football had been banned there, they joined Kakungulu Memorial School, where they played with Nalugya. Kakungulu’s girls’ football team also fell into trouble so Nantongo and her friends moved to Mukono High School, which they led to the 2017 Uganda Secondary School Sports (USSSA) title with Nantongo as captain.

She Corporate loaned Nantongo and Karungi to Olila which they also led to Cup glory in Busia at the expense of Asubo Ladies – then Gafford. After the latter took a first half lead through Evelyn Kakayi, Ikwaput was fouled in the box at the start of the second half.

Nantongo dispatched the penalty for the game to end 1-1 in regulation time. Olila won 3-1 in the shootouts as Karungi saved against three takers from Gafford.

Eventually, they returned to She Corporate. But while Karungi moved to Denmark in May 2021, Nantongo inspired a She Corporate side that barely had weaknesses to the Fufa Women Super League title in the 2022 season.

Such was how good they were that they also made it to the finals for the Cecafa region’s Caf Women’s Champions League qualifiers in Dar-es-Salaam that year.

Unfortunately, She Corporate could not establish a dynasty. They struggled to manage their success and were relegated in the 2022/23 season.

Nantongo captained them in the second tier Elite League in the 2023/24 season leading them to the title and the Fufa Women Cup before going to Nepal for a short stint with Wailing Municipality. At about the same time, she established her CN18 brand.

Tribute

Unfortunately, her health issues started surfacing in the 2024/25 season and they deprived She Corporate of her leadership qualities for a long time. We will never know if they would have lost the 2025/26 FWSL title to Kawempe on the final day if she had been actively involved in the squad.

“There is a lot I can say about you naye muganda wange ogenze naye tondese kyekiimu (but your departure has not left me the same). It hurts more that I won’t be able to pay my last respects to you but I will always cherish you… Cissinho,” Karungi posted after paying homage to the journey they enjoyed together through their teenage years. Her eulogy was one of many that came from Nantongo’s now former teammates and opponents alike.

Ronah Reginah Nantenge, who played with Nantongo as a partner in midfield or on the wings, posted: “Thanks for fueling us. The kind and harsh words that shaped me (us), captain. I remember we once wanted to fight when we lost a game against Lady Doves 5-0. It was out of passion and we won the next game 5-0. Thanks for giving your best for the team. All evident in what you’ve won,” while their left back then Miriam Ibunyu added that it is “very sad! A soldier that would never quit or give up on herself, a fighter and a strong woman. Cissy, you have left us with broken hearts, wounded souls.”

Molly Naava, She Corporate’s current keeper, said “it is hard to take that you are no more, Cissy. We shall always remember your leadership both on and off pitch for you have been one of our strongest pillars.”

Photojournalist Asha Kamira said “Cissy was one of the few people who showed me kindness when I was finding my way as a club photographer and later a media officer of She Corporate. Today, I came across her words: If you don’t see me tomorrow, tell my mum her name is my password. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them.”

Nalugya said, “You fought the battle but from Allah we come and we shall return. Rest with Angels my sister. I am speechless” while Hasifah Nassuna added: “Rest with angels Kajjozi. It is very unfortunate that we could not help you. We are late…”

Lots of tributes continue to flow for a life lost so young but Nantongo will be fondly remembered for her passion, leadership, and making her craft look so easy. Rest in peace, Cissy!