Category: Daily Monitor

When the Africa Amateur Championships was introduced two years ago, it offered a new platform for the continent’s best players.

The championship organized by RandA attracted the best players at Leopard Creek in Mpumalanga, South Africa for both 2024 and 2025 editions.

At both, Uganda’s best player was Joseph Cwinya-ai, tying in 36th place last year, an improvement by two places from the year before.

At this year’s edition, switched to the Royal Johannesburg Golf Course, Cwinya-ai, also carrying the captain’s duties, will hope to improve when Uganda features again beginning with a practice round on Monday.

‘I want to have a better finish,’ said Cwinya-ai before the team’s departure at the weekend.

The reigning Uganda Amateur Open champion will play the 72-hole stroke-play championship in the company of Joseph Reagan Akena, Joseph Kasozi, Titus Okwong, Abdallah Kakooza, Elton Thembo and Lawrence Walakira.

‘My target is to work hard to finish in the top 15. But I also want to be the top performer in the East Africans who will be competing,’ added Cwinya-ai.

After 36 holes, the tournament will have a cut and in the inaugural edition, only Cwinya-ai survived.

Last year, he had the company of Okwong and Michael Alunga who finished 38th and 39th respectively out of 41 competitors who played all four rounds.

‘As the Union, we have a feeling that our SA-bound golfers will give pride to our flag,’ stated Uganda Golf Union (UGU) president Jackson.

Unlike the men, only two ladies Peace Kabasweka and Meron Kyomugisha will feature in the 54-hole stroke-play competition, and they were selected based on their World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), as of October 29, 2025.

There are 19 other ladies from other countries and they won’t have a cut. Victory for either Kabasweka or Kyomugisha will earn an entry into the Johannesburg Ladies Open.

The male champion will be entered to compete at the South African Open Championship, the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions and the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

South African Bryan Newman won last year’s edition by two shots with an aggregate score of eight-under 280 gross.

In 2024, Altin van der Merwe held off fellow South Africans Christiaan Maas and Ivan Verster via a sudden-death play-off after they had all tied on 13-under 275 gross.

AFRICA AMATEUR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

Edition: 3

Organizers: The RandA

Dates: February 3-7

Venue: Royal Johannesburg Golf Course

Location: Linksfield North, Johannesburg, South Africa

Par: 72

Format: Stroke play

Current Champion: Bryan Newman (RSA) | 280 (-8, won by 2 strokes)

TEAM UGANDA CONTINGENT

Male Players: Joseph Cwinya-ai, Joseph Reagan Akena, Joseph Kasozi, Titus Okwong, Abdallah Kakooza, Elton Thembo, Lawrence Walakira

To be sure, a dictator’s panic is part of biblical prophecy, too. It’s linked to increased social chaos, war and political unrest as preludes to the ‘last days’.

The story of the Tower of Babel, found in the Bible’s Book of Genesis 11:1-9, explains why humanity speaks different languages and is scattered across the world.

You know that. I know that. Hence, we know that. Right? Wrong. According to scripture, which seemingly got lost on the way to the printery when the Bible was first published, the story of the Tower of Babel was given the Epstein treatment and thereby heavily redacted.

This is the story of the missing scriptures. It refers to discrepancies between older Bible translations (like the King James Version) and modern ones, where certain verses, such as the “Woman Caught in Adultery” (John 7:53-8:11), appear in older texts but are absent or footnoted in newer Bibles due to textual criticism revealing scribal additions in later manuscripts. With that said, what really happened 4,200 to 4,300 years ago, around 2200-2300 BCE, at the Towel of Babel?

Google will tell you what was up all those years ago because Google was there even 5,000 years ago, and that’s ‘googleable’.

Anyway, the story of the Tower of Babel goes: Humanity, speaking one tongue in Shinar, united to build a city and a tower reaching the heavens to make a name for themselves and avoid scattering. God, seeing their pride and unity as a threat, confused their speech, making them unable to understand each other, which halted construction and scattered them across the Earth, creating different languages and cultures, with “Babel” meaning “confusion.” However, because of humankind’s vanity, God created dictators to mirror that conceit (at the Tower of Babel).

This rare breed of half-men, dictators, would only find completion when united with their better halves: power. They were condemned to turning politics into a zero-sum game, one they must win at all costs. And they would win but, after their efforts, they will be so poor that all they will have is power. No love, no identity outside of office, no exit strategy to save their legacy. However, there was a catch. God decided that while the rest of us spoke unintelligibly to one another, dictators would speak the same language. Consequently, dictators would have similar fates.

For language is destiny, so our words, inner narratives, and even the structure of our native tongue profoundly shape our reality, choices and life path. Accordingly, the twilight years of different dictators can be cross-pollinated to deflower a composite sketch of where every dictator is sure to end up. For instance, you are all familiar with that dictator who was overthrown by a revolution sparked by protests in one part of the country that spread to other parts of the country leading to mass demonstrations and the military’s defection to the revolutionaries’ side. After fleeing, the dictator was subjected to a swift, unfair trial by a provisional government, and executed.

Many of you will assume that I am writing about Muammar Gaddafi (Libya, 2011), or possibly Ferdinand Marcos (Philippines, People Power Revolution), and what about Omar al-Bashir (Sudan, 2019)? Well, the dictator in my story is Nicolae Ceau?escu. He was overthrown by the Romanian Revolution of December 1989, executed along with his wife Elena. In eerily similar fashion to how Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were executed by Italian communist partisans on April 28, 1945, during the final days of World War II in Europe.

Subsequently, due to their aforesaid condemnation, dictators are said to have viewed the Tower of Babel as the Tower of Babble. That’s why they babble so much.

Before his ouster, Ceau?escu met about 100,000 workers bused in and provided with placards to chant pro-regime slogans like “Ceau?escu and the People”.

A few minutes into his address, the crowd began to boo and chant “Timisoara!” Protests to his misrule began in Timisoara and spread to Bucharest. As the protests were visible on live television, Ceau?escu’s expression shifted from confidence to confusion and panic.

To be sure, a dictator’s panic is part of biblical prophecy, too. It’s linked to increased social chaos, war and political unrest as preludes to the “last days” when first becomes last and last becomes first, reflecting Babel’s story arc.

A senior US senator has warned Ugandan General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also the son of President Yoweri Museveni, had crossed a red line which would negatively affect diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The Republican chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, said General Muhoozi did not follow diplomatic protocol to apologise to the US over human rights violations during Uganda’s disputed 2026 General Election.

‘Commander @mkainerugaba has crossed a red line, and now the US must re-evaluate its security partnership, which includes sanctions, and military cooperation with Uganda. The President’s son, and likely successor, cannot just delete tweets and issue hollow apologies. The US will not tolerate this level of instability and recklessness when American personnel, US interests, and innocent lives in the region are at stake,’ Senator Risch said in his X account.

The Electoral Commission declared President Yoweri Museveni the winner of the January 15 elections, granting him a seventh term and extending his rule beyond 40 years.

Senator Risch dismissed the vote as illegitimate, saying it served only to entrench Museveni’s hold on power. He described the election as a hollow exercise, staged to legitimise President Yoweri Museveni’s seventh term and four decades in power.

The senator compared Uganda’s election to Tanzania’s recent vote, but said Uganda’s situation raised greater concern because of its close security ties with the United States.

Shortly after Senator Risch’s announcement, General Muhoozi announced taking a social media break after being active for more than 11 years.

‘Let it be known that after almost 11 years on Twitter/X and after amassing over 1.2 million followers, I intend to reduce my interactions here. I’m going back to fasting and praying for my country. With God’s help I hope to write my autobiography,’ said General Muhoozi on X.

General Muhoozi sparked international outrage in his socials after the election, including the announcement of the suspension of all cooperation between the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) and the United States of America embassy in Kampala.

He also made a series of posts, which he has since retracted, where he claimed, among others, that security forces had killed 22 opposition ‘terrorists’ and suggested Bobi Wine should be next.

‘We have killed 22 NUP terrorists since last week. I’m praying the 23rd is Kabobi,’ he wrote using a derogatory nickname for the opposition leader.

In another post, he gave Bobi Wine a 48-hour ultimatum to surrender to police, warning that failure to do so would see him treated as an ‘outlaw/rebel.’

General Muhoozi also vowed to eliminate the National Unity Platform (NUP) from Uganda’s political landscape, claiming divine authority for the threat.

He later issued an apology and reaffirmed that bilateral ties remain intact, claiming he had been misinformed when he accused the United States of supporting opposition leader Mr Kyagulanyi, who has remained in hiding since the disputed January 15 presidential election.

‘I want to apologise to our great friends, the United States, for my earlier tweets that I have now deleted [and] I was being fed with wrong information,’ Muhoozi wrote.

‘I have spoken with the US Ambassador to our country, and everything is okay. We are going to continue our military cooperation as usual.’

Despite a reported slight increase in the number of candidates obtaining first grades in last year’s Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), the drop in the number of candidates scoring Aggregate 4 will push top-performing schools to maintain or relax cut-off points for Senior One entrants, Sunday Monitor has established.

Traditional well-performing schools like Kings College Budo, Kibuli SS, Gayaza High School, Kawempe Muslim SS, Mt St Mary’s Namagunga, St Mary’s College Kisubi, Ntare School and Namilyango College are expected to set their cut-off points between Aggregate 4 for boys and 7 for girls. Yet, according to the 2025 PLE results released on Friday by the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb), only 338 candidates managed to score Aggregate 4 across the country.

LIST: PLE 2025 National School Ranking based on Division One

Most top schools had fewer candidates with Aggregate 4 while others did not get at all. Of the 338 candidates who got Aggregate 4, a total of 220 are from schools in Wakiso, Mukono and Kampala. The three districts have many of the top schools. In the 2024 cohort, 400 candidates attained Aggregate 4 compared to more than 700 who got the same score in 2023.

Stuck in a rut?

Available statistics from Uneb show that of the 807,313 candidates who sat for the exams from 15,388 examination centres, 91,990 (11.39 percent) passed with first grade compared to 84,301 in 2024. Worth noting is that the number of candidates increased by 20,332 over the last year. Of the total number of candidates (807,313) who sat the exams, 730,233 (90.45 percent) passed and can proceed to Senior One. Amongst the 2024 cohort, 722,730 (91.8 percent) candidates gave them themselves a chance of proceeding to secondary school after securing the requisite grades.

Another 388,293 candidates passed in Division Two from the 2025 cohort compared to 397,589 who wrote their final papers in 2024. A total of 165,226 candidates were in Division Three, while 84,724 passed in Division Four. A total of 77,080 (9.55 percent) candidates completely failed the exams, compared to 64,252 (8.2 percent) in the previous year, indicating an increase of 12,829. This means that all these candidates who failed the exams do not qualify for government sponsorship under the free secondary education scheme, which is in its 19th year of implementation. Although more candidates passed in Division One in 2025 than in 2024, indicating an increase of 7,689, many of these didn’t score Aggregate 4 and Aggregate 5 to be able to join top secondary schools, according to Mr George Bamuleseyo, a veteran educationist.

LIST: PLE 2025 District Ranking based on Division One and Two

‘When the number of candidates who have scored Aggregate 4 is low, the top schools are usually forced to take even those with Aggregates 5 and 6, but they don’t exceed their admission capacities. This means the excess [candidates who put their first choices there] are ‘sold’ to other schools,’ said Mr Bamuleseyo, who also doubles as director of Harmony High School, Semuto. ‘But other schools like mine that performed well, but don’t fall in the top 50 category, will relax their entry points, absorbing more candidates even those with second grade,’ he added.

A Primary Seven candidate is deemed to have passed the exams if he/she garners between Aggregate 4 and 28. Usually, government schools implementing free education programmes take all candidates with aggregates between 4 and 28. ‘Academic excellence is not all about getting Aggregate 4 or 5. For a child to excel in this competitive world, he [or she] must have different competences which even those who scored second grades could be having but need to be nurtured to reach their full potential,’ Mr Ishaka Mbalirwa, head teacher of Madinah Islamic SS, Nsangi.

State minister for Primary Education Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu said the performance generally increased due to various inventions and initiatives. However, on the issue of dropping number of candidates scoring Aggregate 4, Minister Kaducu said the technical team at the ministry will conduct a research study to establish the reasons behind this. ‘No changes in curriculum were made and the papers were set according to the curriculum the country has been following,’ she said.

Ms Kaducu added: ‘We can’t rush to make conclusions, but our technical team will analyse the performance to find out what really caused this. I also urge the schools’ administrators to study critically the setting trend of Uneb because no changes in curriculum were made and the papers were set according to the existing curriculum.’

LIST: PLE 2025 Distribution of Aggregate 4 by School

Cut-off points for any given school are determined by the Ministry of Education and Sports based on the number of candidates who sat for the exams. The ministry sets the cut-off points using an automatic computerised system that allocates students according to general performance and first choice preference of pupils.

Three crucial words: ‘You’re all set.’ You’ll find them everywhere across American society. They are not idle words. They explain, in part, why America-a very young nation-rules the world. The United States declared independence in 1776. It is about 250 years old. To put this in perspective, ancient Egypt had already risen and fallen thousands of years before America existed. China, India, Persia, Greece and Rome had long, complex histories, while North America was still home to indigenous civilisations. Even most European nations trace their political and cultural roots back a millennium or more. In world-history terms, therefore, America is not even of voting age yet.

One secret is that American culture is unapologetically rigid. It focuses on process, not outcomes. ‘You’re all set’ is more than rhetorical reassurance; it is a philosophy of order. It reflects an American faith that life works when processes are followed, forms completed, and rules observed. American tradition holds that everything must happen organically, through patient growth and processing.

Africans, naturally, find life in America frustrating because, unlike our countries, America does not allow shortcuts. It believes there is a way things must be done. You cannot beat the process-and if you try, America spits you out. The appointment of the new Chief Justice, Dr Flavian Zeija (PhD), has sent the legal fraternity into an uproar. On January 23, the Uganda Law Society issued a reasoned and detailed statement condemning the appointment as an outright assault on judicial independence. The last time the profession witnessed such agitation was in July 2013, when President Museveni attempted to reappoint Benjamin Odoki as Chief Justice after his retirement in June that year.

That move failed. The President then took almost two years to appoint a substantive Chief Justice-Bart Katureebe in March 2015. This time, he has done the exact opposite: moved too quickly and installed a person still new to the Bench-something traditionally impermissible within the profession. This is where ‘you’re all set’ comes in. The appointing authority appears to presume that the Chief Justice will enjoy immediate respect by virtue of office alone-from judges and justices who started cooking before him and have broken more pots. That is an extremely ambitious assumption.

My dearly beloved, the legal profession is, by its nature, a vocation of time. At both the Bar and the Bench, seniority is not a vanity metric but a moral architecture-earned through years of disciplined judgment, accumulated restraint, and public trust patiently built. Experience tempers power; longevity refines discretion.

In this tradition, judicial appointments do not merely reward competence; they signal continuity. The elevation of a Chief Justice ought to feel inevitable, almost unremarkable-an ‘of course’ that reassures both the profession and the public. Seniority provides that reassurance. It anchors authority in lived wisdom, disarms suspicion, and allows judicial leadership to begin without explanation, its legitimacy arriving quietly, already complete.

Seniority in the law is not nostalgia; it is a constitutional instinct. The law distrusts haste, novelty, and sudden elevation because justice is not an arena for brilliance alone, but for judgment matured by error, patience, and restraint. Time, in this profession, is not incidental-it is formative. At the Bar, seniority disciplines ambition. It teaches younger advocates that real excellence-skill, judgment, and credibility-is built over time. At the Bench, seniority performs an even more vital function: it steadies power. A judge who ascends slowly carries institutional memory-of precedent, of crises survived, of moments when the law nearly faltered and was saved by caution rather than courage.

That is why the office of Chief Justice has traditionally been conferred on those whose careers already command assent.

We started the week with celebrations marking 40 years of the NRM in power. That is no mean feat. It means 10 years from now, the NRM will have been in power for half a century. The party’s leaders have been talking proudly of the government’s achievements. Ugandans who have benefited from the government will no doubt agree that the NRM has achieved a lot. The same applies to those who have led the government. But the best way to arrive at the truth is to assess the government’s achievements like an impartial judge. This means you are looking at evidence and facts and ignoring emotions.

Let us begin with what tops the list of the things the NRM says it launched an armed rebellion to restore: democracy. Is Uganda a democratic country? Do people have the right to choose their leaders in free and fair elections? Can supporters of Opposition politicians vote for/campaign freely for their candidates without being intimidated, harassed or persecuted? In theory, the answer to all these questions is yes. But in practice, we all know – at least those of us who have followed political developments closely for decades – that the answer is a ringing, undeniable no.

The NRM has clearly demonstrated that trying to compete with President Museveni for the highest political position, the presidency, is not only unacceptable but it is also extremely risky, unless you are a lightweight politician with insignificant support. But if you are hugely popular and you have the potential to unseat the President, the government comes down on you like a tonne of bricks. It makes life hell for you. Ask Dr Kizza Besigye and Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine.

There is no truly democratic country that does to its political opponents what Uganda has done to these two men.

In some of Africa’s best-governed countries – such as Botswana, Cape Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles – it is unthinkable that contesting a presidential election can be a real danger to your life. These countries do not have political prisoners. No one is jailed on trumped-up charges because they support a popular Opposition candidate. When Botswana’s former president Sereste Khama Ian Khama wrote about our January 15 election in an opinion article published by South Africa’s leading news site, the Daily Maverick, he said democracy in his country had lived up to its promise. ‘Not so for Uganda,’ he added.

He was stating the obvious, of course. Watch the video of what Mr Kagulanyi’s wife, Barbie, said after a raid by the security forces on their home, and you will see why Uganda’s claim to democratic rule is laughable. Where, in a democratic country, does a presidential candidate lose an election and security forces raid his home, smash doors, steal money (Mr Kagulanyi made this allegation), undress his wife, pull her hair, ask for the password to her phone? Where? The raid was a damning indictment of Uganda’s leadership. And that should make our leaders ashamed. They have clearly demonstrated it is gun rule at play, not democratic rule. If you have the people’s support and no guns, forget about leading Uganda. It is all in black and white.

If I was a judge ruling on whether Uganda is a democracy, given what I have written, I would say there is overwhelming evidence to suggest it is not and has not been for most of its 60-plus years of independence. On the economic front, the NRM’s accomplishments still leave a lot to be desired. It is all very well to cite figures that suggest the economy has done well for decades. But why has a strong economy failed to tackle seemingly small problems such as unreliable electricity supply? The NRM inherited power outages in 1986. There are still power outages even in Kampala. That means 40 years of fixing just one problem and making little or no progress.

Walk into a Ugandan courtroom on a formal day and you may momentarily wonder whether you’ve wandered into a 17th-Century British theater production. There they sit-learned judges, sharp minds, weighty decisions and on their heads, a thick white wig that looks like they’ve survived several wars, two monarchs, and a very long sea voyage.

The question must be asked, gently but firmly: why are we still doing this? Judges began wearing wigs in England in the 1600s, a time when men of status believed that the more hair they appeared to have, the more important they were. King Charles II made wigs fashionable, and lawyers, never known to miss a trend that signals authority, followed enthusiastically. Eventually, the wig stopped being fashion and became tradition. It was said to promote impartiality. Once the wig went on, the judge became the law itself, not a mere mortal with opinions, moods, or a bad haircut. The wig was also helpful for hiding baldness, lice, and possibly inconvenient expressions.

So far, so very European. Through colonialism, Britain generously exported many things to Uganda-railways, English names, tea, and without consulting us, judicial wigs. Along with common law came the full costume, as if justice could not be administered without looking like powdered bread. Fast-forward to modern Uganda, air temperatures rising, courtrooms packed, power occasionally unreliable, and judges are still wearing horsehair wigs designed for cold English winters. One must admire their dedication. If endurance were a legal qualification, our judges would all be Supreme Court material. Are wigs necessary for justice to happen? This is where the wig begins to wobble.

Countries across the world administer justice perfectly well without wigs. Judges in Rwanda, the United States, Germany, South Africa, and many others manage to sentence criminals, protect rights, and interpret constitutions without once reaching for horsehair. Justice, it turns out, does not leak out of the courtroom when wigs are removed. No study has ever shown that a suspect confesses faster, a witness tells the truth more honestly, or a judgment becomes wiser simply because the judge looks like an 18th-Century aristocrat who misplaced his horse.

Is the wig a colonial relic? Let’s be honest, yes. Unequivocally. With receipts. The wig is not African, not Ugandan, and not culturally meaningful to the communities seeking justice in our courts. It was imported wholesale from colonial rule and then politely left behind, like an awkward houseguest who never got the hint that independence had happened. To the average Ugandan litigant, especially one encountering the justice system for the first time, the wig does not say ‘fairness’ or ‘accessibility.’ It says, this place is not yours. It creates distance, not dignity.

And let’s not ignore the cost. These wigs are not free of charge. They are imported, maintained, and replaced with public funds, money that could buy law books, computers, or even fans to cool the very heads wearing them. But tradition! Dignity! Gravitas! These are the usual defenses. Yet dignity does not come from headgear. It comes from integrity, independence, and competence. A corrupt judge in a wig is still corrupt. An honest judge without one is still honourable.

Uganda has already Africanised many institutions. Our doctors do not perform surgery dressed like colonial surgeons. Even the Church, once very European, now reflects local identity.

Why should the Judiciary be the last museum of the empire? This brings us, respectfully and optimistically, to Chief Justice Flavian Zeija. Chief Justice, congratulations on your appointment! Your appointment comes at a moment when Ugandans are asking hard questions about justice, trust, and relevance. Ending the use of judicial wigs would not weaken the courts, it would humanize them. Removing the wig would not remove authority. It would remove unnecessary costume drama. Let the law speak through reasoned judgments, not horsehair. Let justice be seen as Ugandan, confident enough to stand without borrowed symbols from another century.

Wigs had their moment. A long time one. A very long one. They have crossed oceans, survived empires, and endured Ugandan heat with admirable stubbornness. But perhaps it is finally time to thank them for their service and let them retire gracefully, quietly, and permanently. Justice does not need a wig. Uganda does not need a wig. And our judges, brilliant, capable, and modern certainly do not need to look like they are late for a royal portrait. Let the wigs go. The law will survive.

Mr Timothy Nyanzi is arguably the most influential comedian in Uganda today. Not because he is the best performer, but because he is without a doubt the most consistent curator of comedy events and shows in Uganda. Ask any comedian about him and you will get glowing praise in return. He is something of a fringe player who’s at the centre of things, however. It’s a paradoxical existence. One far removed from any semblance to the early years of comedians like David Letterman. Who, before his TV fame, worked at a grocery store where he once stacked cans all the way to the ceiling. He arranged them so that if a customer pulled a single can, the entire display would collapse. On another occasion, he used the intercom to announce a fake fire drill, leading to a store-wide evacuation.

Today, Letterman’s former TV show The Late Show boasts a total of 16 Emmy Awards and 112 nominations over 33 years. He has received the Kennedy Center Honors (2012), the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2017), and two Peabody Awards (1991 and 2015). And, if that was not enough, the prestigious magazine TV Guide ranked The Late Show as the 7th greatest TV show of all time in 2002. As of 2025, Letterman’s estimated net worth is approximately $400 million.

On the ‘come up’

Before comedy, David Letterman seemed unsuited to success. It is different for Mr Timothy Nyanzi. He is single-minded in his focus on becoming comedy’s go-to guy. Mr Nyanzi is a workaholic and a visionary who has elevated the quality of stand-up and stand-up comedians in Uganda. To several Ugandans, Mr Nyanzi is the quick-witted stand-up comedian whose one-liners hit audiences long after he has left the stage. But he is also the founder of Uganda’s first official comedy club, Laughing Marabou Stork, and a mentor to many comedians. But away from the spotlight, there is a lot about Nyanzi that many people do not know.

Mr Nyanzi was born at Mulago Hospital on May 26, 1990 to parents Joshua and Winfred Ssentamu. The third of four children, he was raised in the lakeside suburb of Ggaba. His father is a land surveyor, while his mother operates a hardware business. He grew up in an Anglican household and went on to attend Namilyango College, where he completed his S6 in 2008. He joined Makerere University in 2009 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Procurement and Supply Chain Management. Clearly, on paper, it seemed that Mr Nyanzi was headed for a quiet life. One removed away from the ups and downs of comedic shenanigans. To be sure, a quiet life is ideal for comedians. It comes with the territory. Several comedians are introverts because their personality traits, such as strong observational skills, a preference for working alone, and empathy, lend themselves well to the creative process of developing unique and relatable material.

Although this is not always the case, some comedians love to fish in troubled waters too. One day, for instance, American stand-up comedian Don Rickles (the Merchant of Venom) was seated at a casino restaurant in Las Vegas. Rickles, who was dining with a date he wanted to impress, spotted musician Frank Sinatra at another table. He approached Sinatra and pleaded, ‘Frank, do me a favour. Just walk by my table and say, ‘Hello, Don,’ so this girl thinks I’m important’. Sinatra, being a good sport, agreed. A few minutes later, he strolled over to Rickles’ table and said, ‘Don, how are you? Nice to see you”. Without looking up, Rickles waved him away and snapped, ‘Frank, not now! Can’t you see I’m eating? Get lost!’ Sinatra reportedly stood there with his mouth open in shock before breaking into a fit of laughter, cementing Rickles’ status as one of the few people who could safely ‘insult’ him. Sinatra had strong connections to the American mafia, so insulting him was a health risk.

Depth charge

Long before audiences came to recognise him on stage, Mr Nyanzi was already shaping his craft. His first major television appearance came in 2014 on Comedy Club Live Kampala on Africa Magic. Just two years later, he was representing Uganda on regional stages, performing at the Goliath Comedy Club in Johannesburg and later at the Kigali International Comedy Festival in Rwanda 2016. He went on to appear at the Juba International Comedy Festival, South Sudan in 2022 and toured Kenya with his show Around The Border, performing at several venues in both Mombasa and Nairobi the following year.

While he has mentored some of the country’s top comedians currently like Dr Hilary Okello, Agnes Akite, Okello Okello, Don Andre and Akau Jambo (South Sudan), Mr Nyanzi has also played a significant role in guiding talents, including Optional Allan and others who left like Maggie D’Bwaiserian, Collins Emeka, Lyshia Juliet, Living Thomas, Richmouth, and Eva Nabadda. Comedian Emmanuel Ekeesit has described him as someone who ‘should be on the Mount Rushmore of Ugandan Comedy,’ highlighting the lasting impact of his mentorship and influence on the country’s comedy scene.

‘I was the one behind comedy nights such as Funny Tuesday (2016), More Coffee More Comedy (2019) and Laffé Little (2023). My support for the comedy ecosystem extends beyond mentorship into collaborative writing. For many years, I have been part of Anne Kansiime’s creative team, serving as head writer for her recent Comedy Grill, where I wrote roasts for the panelists, and working on the Pearl Magic Prime reality TV Show KanSeeMe, where I also appeared in three episodes,’ Mr Nyanzi told Sunday Monitor.

He added: ‘Additionally, I continue to play my part in shaping comedy behind the scenes. I have been writer and supervising director on multiple episodes of the sketch production Don’t Mess With Kansiime, and in 2024, I contributed writing to the Highly Debatable Show at the Nairobi International Comedy Festival.’

Comedy’s Renaissance Man

Mr Nyanzi is one of those comedians who believes he must learn everything he can about the comedic trade. He soaks in every aspect of comedy. One may liken him to being a latter-day Richard Pryor, a man widely regarded as the greatest stand-up comedian ever. American comedian Damon Wayans praised Pryor’s versatility and genius: ‘There are my kinds of comedians. The observational humourist, the impressionist, the character creator, the physical comedian, the self-deprecator and the dirty joke teller. What made Richard Pryor (RIP) so brilliant is he was able to incorporate all these styles at once.’

This is Mr Nyanzi, without the profanity that Pryor was famed for. Mr Nyanzi keeps his comedy clean. So clean that one wonders why he has not yet teamed up with Kenneth ‘Pablo’ Kimuli, another squeaky-clean comic. Any comedian will tell you that clean comedy is harder to do than dirty comedy. It has to be more subtle, more nuanced. That’s why comedians like Pablo and Nyanzi employ puns, homophones, double-entendres and other witty devices to add layers to what they are saying.

Audience appeal

However, even if they were to do dirty comedy, comedians like the late Richard Pryor would advise that other comedians never use profanity as a punchline. Instead, it should be a weapon in their overall comedic armoury. By steering clear of controversial topics like politics or religion, as well as profanity or crude jokes, Mr Nyanzi’s comedy ensures everyone in the audience feels comfortable and included in the shared experience of laughter. It’s also family-friendly, making Mr Nyanzi’s comedy appropriate for diverse settings, including corporate functions, charity fundraisers, church events, and family gatherings, without the risk of causing offence or backlash.

What many comedy fans may not know is that Mr Nyanzi is also an animation writer. In April last year, he scripted Cartoons from the Source of the Nile, a collection of four animated short films: The Adventures of Pablo, Rushian Macinary: Who Killed Captain Alex? Magujja and Opolot, and Queen Kitami. The collection later earned a nomination in the Gbaka African category at the Festival International Gbaka Animation Awards.

‘I also appeared as a panelist on the witty quiz show Dumb Questions for Cool People, which I co-created with writer and satirist Ernest Bazanye. From Mulago Hospital to the African animation stage, from small comedy nights to regional tours and writing rooms, my journey shows a career much larger than what audiences see under the stage lights,’ he told Sunday Monitor. Evidently, behind the laughs is a thinker, a builder of systems, a show producer, and a mentor whose fingerprints can be found across Uganda’s comedy landscape. Mr Nyanzi’s career is a testament to the versatility of the artist. It is a versatility that many can learn from and apply to everyday life.

The wait did not take long. For the first ever, Uganda’s long-distance running prolific runners Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo will face-off in a marathon this year.

Cheptegei and Kiplimo were announced late last week as two of the big names to headline the London Marathon which will happen on the streets of the English capital on April 26.

The London do is one of the seven big World Marathon Majors (WMM) of the year and the men’s current world record mark of two hours, one minute and 25 seconds was set there by Kenyan the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.

Cheptegei and Kiplimo last competed together in a race – during the men’s 10000 metres final – at the Paris Olympics in France in August 2024.

It was the last career track race for each of the Ugandan pair. Cheptegei won the gold medal but Kiplimo was disappointed with a distant eighth place finish on August 2, 2024.

And 18 months later, the two will meet in totally different circumstances. ‘London it is! I’m excited to return to the city where I won my first world medal in 2017 but this time to take on the marathon I’ve heard so much about,’ Cheptegei wrote in a post on Facebook.

The 29-year-old dominated track; beginning with that silver medal at the London World Championships before doing a three-peat over the 25-lap race at the Doha 2019, Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023 editions of the Worlds.

‘I can’t wait to experience it for real and feel the energy of the thousands of people in the streets. See you in April,’ he added.

Cheptegei’s marathon trajectory has been a rather more calculated transition, with notable improvements from 37th place with 2:08:59 on his debut at the Valencia Marathon in 2023, to ninth place at the Tokyo Marathon in 2:05:59 last March.

On October 19, Cheptegei finished fifth at the Amsterdam Marathon in the Netherlands, posting another 42km personal best of 2:04:52.

However, Kiplimo’s craft on the road is finer and relatively unmatched. The 25-year-old completed his three-peat at the World Cross-country Championships in Florida, USA early last month.

Last February, Kiplimo reclaimed his 21km world record with a time of 56:42 at the Barcelona Half-Marathon in Spain before debuting in the 42km race, with a respectable second place at the London Marathon, won by Kenyan Sabastian Sawe.

In October, Kiplimo became the seventh fastest marathoner ever as he won the Chicago Marathon in Illinois, USA with a national record time of 2:02:23.

On the entry list for the race this April, Kiplimo is ranked second behind Sawe who seeks to retain his title. ‘Sabastian Sawe showed the world at last year’s TCS London Marathon that he is a man that could rewrite the marathon record books so we are delighted to welcome him back for this year’s event,’ said London Marathon Events CEO Hugh Brasher.

‘To run 2:02:27 with a negative split of 60:57 for the second half of the race showed the huge potential he has and we are looking forward to supporting Sabastian run as fast as possible in London on April 26.

‘We are delighted to have such incredible storylines and depth across all our elite races in the 2026 London Marathon,’ added Brasher. Sawe, 29, has won his last three marathons – Berlin and London last year as well as the Valencia race in 2024.

Besides, the field has other entries including 2022 winner Kenyan Amos Kipruto, and a cast of Ethiopians such as Deresa Geleta who was second at the Tokyo Marathon last year, reigning Olympic champion Tamirat Tola and other prospective debutants like Hagos Gebrhiwet and Yomif Kejelcha.

LEADING ENTRIES

Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 2:02:05

Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) 2:02:23

Deresa Geleta (ETH) 2:02:38

Amos Kipruto (KEN) 2:03:13

Tamirat Tola (ETH) 2:03:39

Amanal Petros (GER) 2:04:03

Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) 2:04:23

Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) 2:04:52

Shunya Kikuchi (JPN) 2:06:06

Emile Cairess (GBR) 2:06:46

Mahamed Mahamed (GBR) 2:07:05

Philip Sesemann (GBR) 2:07:10

Hassan Chahdi (FRA) 2:07:30

Adam Lipschitz (RSA) 2:08:54

Patrick Dever (GBR) 2:08:58

Peter Lynch (IRL) 2:09:36

Tim Vincent (AUS) 2:09:40

Weynay Ghebresilasie (GBR) 2:09:50

Tewelde Menges (GBR) 2:09:58

George James (GBR) 2:10:10

Liam Boudin (AUS) 2:10:28

Jake Smith (GBR) 2:11:00

Marc Scott (GBR) 2:11:19

Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH) Debut

Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) Debut

ABOUT LONDON MARATHON

Stance: World Marathon Major (WMM)

Established: 1981 (45 years ago)

2026 Date: April 26

Event type: Road

Distance: 42km

Course records: Course records: Men: 2:01:25 (2023) by Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) and Women: 2:15:25 (2003) by (Paula Radcliffe)

CAST OF PAST CHAMPIONS

2021: Sisay Lemma (ETH) 2:04:01

2022: Amos Kipruto (KEN) 2:04:39

2023: Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) 2:01:25*

2024: Alexander Mutiso (KEN) 2:04:01

2025: Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 2:02:27

KIPLIMO AT A GLANCE

Date of birth: November 14, 2000

Major events: 5000m, 10000m, Half-Marathon, Marathon

Coach: Iacorpo Brasi, Peter Chelangat

Personal Bests: 12:40.96 (5000m), 26:33.93 (10000m), 56:42 (21km), 2:02:23 (Marathon)

Manager: Federico Rosa

Management: Rosa Associati

KIPLIMO IN 2025

Jan 10, 2026: World Cross-country (1st, 28:18)

KIPLIMO IN 2025

Oct 12, 2025: Chicago Marathon (1st, 2:02:23)

Aug 27, 2025: Buenos Aires 21K (1st, 58:29)

Apr 27, 2025: London Marathon (2nd, 2:03:37)

Feb 16, 2025: Barcelona Half-Marathon (1st, 56:42)

KIPLIMO IN 2024

Dec 31, 2024: NN San Silvestre 10K (2nd, 26:32)

Nov 17, 2024: NN Zevenheuvelenloop (1st, 40:42)

Sept 15, 2024: Copenhagen Half-Marathon (2nd, 58:09)

Aug 2, 2024: Paris Olympics, 10000m (8th, 26:46.39)

May 30, 2024: Oslo DL, 5000m (3rd, 12:40.96)

May 17, 2024: LA Grand Prix, 5000m (4th, 12:52.91)

Mar 30, 2024: World Cross-country (1st, 28:09)

Feb 10, 2024: National Cross-country (1st, 29:04)

Jan 14, 2024: Valencia 10K Ibercaja (1st, 26:48)

CHEPTEGEI AT A GLANCE

Date of birth: September 12, 1996

Major Races: Half-Marathon, Marathon

Personal Bests: 21km (59:21), 42km (2:04:59)

Coach: Addy Ruiter

International Manager: Youri Verbaas

Kit Sponsor: Nike

CHEPTEGEI IN 2025

Dec 21: Kolkata 25K (1st, 1:11:49)

Oct 19: Amsterdam Marathon (5th, 2:04:52)

Apr 27: Bengaluru 10K (1st, 27:53)

Mar 2: Tokyo Marathon (9th, 2:05:59)

CHEPTEGEI IN 2024

Oct 20: Delhi Half Marathon (1st, 59:46)

Sept 22: Dam tot Damloop (2nd, 45:18)

Aug 2: Paris Olympics 10000m Final (1st, 26:43.14)

May 30: Bislett Games 5000m (9th, 12:51.94)

May 17: LA Grand Prix 5000m (3rd, 12:52.38)

Mar 30: World X-Country (6th, 28:24)

Mar 16: Laredo 10K (2nd, 25:53)

CHEPTEGEI IN 2023

Dec 3: Valencia Marathon (37th, 2:08:59)

Aug 20: Budapest Worlds 10000m Final (1st, 27:51.42)

June 30: Lausanne DL (2nd, 12:41.61)

Jun 2: Florence DL (4th, 12:53.81)

Mar 19: New York Half-Marathon (2nd, 1:02:09)

Feb 18: World X-Country (3rd, 29:37)

FASTEST MARATHONERS – BEST TIME

2:00:35 by Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) at Chicago Marathon on Oct 8, 2023

2:01:09 by Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) at Berlin Marathon on Sep 22, 2022

2:01:41 by Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) at Berlin Marathon on Sept 29, 2019

2:01:48 by Sisay Lemma (ETH) at Valencia Marathon on Dec 3, 2023

2:02:05 by Sabastian Sawe (KEN) at Valencia Marathon on Dec 1, 2024

2:02:16 by Benson Kipruto (KEN) at Tokyo Marathon on Mar 3, 2024

2:02:23 by Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) at Chicago Marathon on Oct 12, 2025

The Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy has declined to advise President Yoweri Museveni to grant a presidential pardon to the embattled self-exiled Uganda Law Society (ULS) president, Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde.

The committee held that the application for Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde was premature because the former had neither served his sentence nor exhausted his appeal rights.

In a letter dated November 28, 2025, addressed to Mr Atabua Letia Shamil, the committee said it could not consider the pardon request since Ssemakadde remains outside the country and is actively challenging his conviction before the court.

‘Mr. Ssemakadde has not served his sentence and is currently outside of Uganda,’ the committee observed, adding that he also has a pending appeal against both his conviction and sentence, meaning the judicial process is not yet exhausted.

The petition, submitted in May 2025, sought presidential intervention to pardon Mr Ssemakadde in order to facilitate the restoration of harmony within the Uganda Law Society, which has remained deeply divided since his stormy tenure at the helm of the Bar.

However, the committee cited Article 121 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to exercise mercy only upon its advice, guided by strict criteria. These include that a convict must have served at least three-quarters of their sentence, demonstrated genuine remorse, exhausted all appeal avenues, and received a favorable recommendation from prison authorities.

‘At its meeting of November 26, 2025, the Committee determined that as the judicial process is still ongoing, the petition is premature,’ the letter states, emphasizing that non-interference with active court proceedings is a core guiding principle of its work.

The decision effectively shuts the door, for now, on Ssemakadde’s bid for executive relief and leaves him facing arrest should he return to Uganda.

Two-year jail term and arrest order

Ssemakadde was sentenced in early 2025 by then High Court judge Musa Ssekaana to two years in prison for contempt of court, after the judge found that he had repeatedly attacked judicial officers using abusive and scandalous language on social media.

Justice Ssekaana ordered his arrest, citing the gravity of the conduct and Ssemakadde’s stature as a senior advocate and elected leader of the legal profession.

‘The repeated nature of the attacks by a person knowledgeable in legal matters and duly elected as president of Uganda Law Society invites this court to send a strong warning,’ Justice Ssekaana ruled.

He added that while citizens have a right to criticize the judiciary, Ssemakadde crossed the line into contempt by publishing personal attacks that undermined judicial authority and independence.

Court records show that between December 11 and December 22, 2024, Ssemakadde published a series of offensive posts on X (formerly Twitter), including the hashtag #SsekaanaMustGo, accusing the judge of bias and even alleging sexual harassment claims the court described as reckless and dangerous.

‘The threat to judicial independence through personal attacks and disinformation amplified by social media must be checked,’ Justice Ssekaana warned, noting that Ssemakadde’s posts emboldened members of the public to threaten judicial officers.

The ruling was delivered in Ssemakadde’s absence after he declined to file a response.

Beyond the contempt conviction, Ssemakadde also faces a pending criminal case for allegedly insulting former Director of Public Prosecutions Justice Jane Frances Abodo, further complicating his legal troubles and dimming prospects of executive clemency.

His legal battles have fractured the ULS, with rival camps accusing each other of undermining the profession, even as courts have continued to nullify several decisions taken under his leadership.

For now, the advisory committee’s position is unequivocal: until Ssemakadde submits himself to the justice system and completes the judicial process, the doors to State House remain firmly closed.