Category: Daily Monitor

The Kayunga Chief Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday dismissed an application challenging the election of Ms Harriet Nakwedde as the Woman Member of Parliament for Kayunga District, clearing the way for her gazettement as the duly elected MP.

The application was filed by National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Ms Jackline Birungi, who sought a recount of votes from 10 ballot boxes she claimed were not tallied by the district returning officer, Mr Douglas Twine, before the declaration of results.

Ms Nakwedde of the National Unity Platform (NUP), was declared the winner with 20,753 votes, followed by incumbent MP Ms Ida Nantaba with 16,138 votes, while Ms Birungi garnered 15,790 votes.

In her application, Ms Birungi, the former Buvuma Resident District Commissioner and daughter of Kayunga District NRM chairperson Mr Moses Karangwa, had argued that failure to tally votes from the disputed ballot boxes denied her victory.

However, in a ruling, Chief Magistrate John Francis Kaggwa dismissed the application, stating that Ms Birungi failed to prove that the alleged untallied votes would have altered the election outcome.

‘The evidence of declaration forms of votes in the 10 ballot boxes, which the applicant (Ms Birungi) produced in court, cannot be relied upon because they were not certified by the Electoral Commission. These declaration forms were merely concocted by the applicant,’ Mr Kaggwa ruled.

He ordered the Electoral Commission to gazette Ms Nakwedde as the duly elected Woman MP for Kayunga District and directed that each party bears its own costs.

Ms Nakwedde was represented by her lawyer, Mr Abed Nasser Mudiobole. Neither Ms Birungi nor her lawyer was present in court at the time of the delivery of the decision.

A teacher by profession, Ms Nakwedde clinched the parliamentary seat on her third attempt. She previously contested for the same position on the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) ticket and later vied for the Kayunga District LC V chairperson seat in 2021, where she controversially lost to the incumbent, Mr Andrew Muwonge of the NRM.

Shortly after the court ruled in her favour, a visibly excited Ms Nakwedde said, ‘I thank the court for upholding the will of the people of Kayunga, who overwhelmingly voted for me. I promise to serve you. I thank all the people who stood with me during this time.’

In a related ruling, the same court dismissed another application filed by Mr Patrick Nsanja seeking a vote recount in the Ntenjeru South parliamentary race. The Electoral Commission had declared Mr Fred Baseke of the NRM the winner.

In the early 1980s, as the National Resistance Army (NRA) engaged in a brutal guerrilla war in the Luweero Triangle, a parallel and indispensable struggle unfolded 500 kilometres to the east, in the orderly streets and sprawling suburbs of Nairobi, Kenya. This was the domain of the NRM External Wing; not a military front, but a political, logistical, and humanitarian one. Its existence was an open secret among a displaced community, yet it remained almost entirely opaque to the Kenyan state and the hostile intelligence services of Milton Obote’s regime in Kampala.

The members of this network were the archetypal ‘quiet’ exiles. They were not soldiers in the bush, but professionals woven into the fabric of Nairobi’s society; a mathematics teacher in Dagoretti, a surgeon at Kenyatta Hospital, a civil servant in a Kenyan ministry. By day, they performed their jobs with diligence, building lives as respectable migrants. By night and in the shadows of weekends, they became operatives in a vast, decentralised machine dedicated to a single purpose; sustaining a revolution back home. Theirs was a war of persuasion, supply, and survival, fought with the tools of civilian life. The Kenyan capital, with its relative stability, international connections, and large Ugandan diaspora, was not merely a refuge. It was, by necessity and design, transformed into the revolution’s rear echelon, its diplomatic outpost, and its logistical brain.

The clandestine machine

The External Wing was not a spontaneous gathering; it was a meticulously organised shadow polity. Its leadership structure mirrored a government-in-waiting, led by the respected intellectual Prof Yusuf Lule and operated by future pillars of the Ugandan state: Amama Mbabazi, Ruhakana Rugunda, Matthew Rukikaire, and others. They provided strategic direction, but the network’s real strength lay in its compartmentalised, cellular organisation.

Cells, or ‘wards,’ operated in neighbourhoods such as Dagoretti, each with defined roles. One cell focused on producing and smuggling the NRM newsletter, a vital propaganda tool that countered Kampala’s narrative and connected the diaspora to the cause. Another, led by the formidable recruiter Sam Njuba, identified and processed young exiles, like a fiery young lawyer named Kale Kayihura, for military training abroad, managing their perilous journeys to Libya and back into the bush.

A critical welfare committee, chaired by Besweri Mulondo, turned homes into sanctuaries and way stations, providing food, shelter, and a sense of community for the steady stream of students, activists, and families fleeing Uganda. Perhaps the most poignant and vital organ was the treasury, managed by Shem Bageine. His operation was a testament to collective sacrifice. Teachers on modest Kenyan salaries, nurses, and clerks would make regular, anonymous contributions.

These pooled shillings and pounds did not fund lavish offices; they purchased quinine for malaria-stricken guerrillas, boots for soldiers marching in the rain, and sacks of beans to feed families whose men were in the bush. This financial pipeline, built on trust and sheer necessity, was the clandestine economy of the revolution, a direct monetary transfusion from the diaspora to the front lines.

The human tapestry

The network’s mandate extended beyond mere military support; it was deeply invested in preserving the human capital of the nation it sought to redeem. When hundreds of Makerere University students flooded into exile after campus crackdowns, the External Wing intervened not with rifles, but with paperwork and persuasion. Figures such as Dr Frank Nabwiso negotiated with the UNHCR and universities across Africa to secure scholarships. This was a long-game strategy; ensuring a generation of future engineers, economists, and civil servants was not lost to despair or menial labour in refugee camps, but was instead prepared to rebuild a post-war Uganda.

This work was profoundly humanitarian, but it was also deeply strategic. It maintained the morale and cohesion of the exiled community, binding them to the NRM not just through ideology, but through tangible solidarity.

It signalled that this movement cared for the whole person; the student’s mind, the family’s welfare, the community’s dignity. This stood in stark contrast to the transactional violence and neglect that characterised the Obote regime, offering a powerful, lived alternative of what the struggle was for. In essence, the Nairobi wing was constructing the prototype of a social contract, demonstrating that governance could be an act of care rather than control. This quiet nation-building in exile provided a moral and administrative blueprint that would be desperately needed after the guns fell silent.

Why Nairobi mattered more than the world knew

The choice of Nairobi was not incidental but a masterstroke of geopolitical pragmatism. While capitals such as London or New York offered louder platforms, Nairobi provided unparalleled proximity and deniability. It was close enough for secure, land-based communication lines into Uganda, yet outside the immediate military and intelligence reach of the Obote government.

As a regional hub, it hosted diplomatic missions from across the globe, allowing the External Wing to engage in discrete advocacy without the intense scrutiny of a Western capital. Furthermore, the large, established Ugandan diaspora in Kenya provided a perfect camouflage, new arrivals blended seamlessly into existing communities, and meetings could be passed off as social gatherings.

The network leveraged Kenya’s own complex relationship with Obote’s Uganda, operating in the ambiguous space between Kenya’s official policy of non-interference and the tacit understanding of local officials who often turned a blind eye. This intricate dance within a host nation’s sovereignty was a delicate operation, requiring not just secrecy, but a sophisticated understanding of regional politics.

The risk and the weight of secrecy

Life inside the network was defined by a constant, low-grade tension; the calculus of risk. A misplaced word in a staff room, a suspicious neighbour noting unusual foot traffic, an unexpected visit by Kenyan police (who were under pressure from Kampala) could unravel a cell and endanger lives. Communications were cautious; records were kept in code or not at all. Trust was the ultimate currency, and its violation could be fatal.

The members were not naive to these dangers. They understood that their war, though fought in suits and laboratory coats, carried its own stakes. Exposure could mean deportation back to almost certain imprisonment or death in Uganda, or incarceration in Kenya. This pressure forged an intense camaraderie, a sense of shared fate that turned disparate exiles into a close-knit, if clandestine, community. The home of Besweri Mulondo, a frequent meeting place, was more than a safe house; it was a political sanctuary where the intellectual and emotional foundations of the struggle were reinforced.

The unceremonious end of a shadow war

The success of the External Wing was measured by its own obsolescence. On January 26, 1986, when NRA tanks rolled into Kampala and Yoweri Museveni proclaimed victory, the network’s core mission was instantly, gloriously complete. There was no parade in Nairobi for its members. The committees, so carefully built over half a decade, were quietly dissolved. The clandestine fundraising ceased. The NRM Newsletter had written its final issue as a tool of rebellion.

For many operatives, the transition was disorienting. They packed their lives in Nairobi and returned to a homeland they had helped liberate from afar, often to take up the very roles in government, education, and civil society they had preserved themselves for. Their war was over, and a new, more public challenge of building a nation began.

The story of the bush war is one of hardship, tactics, and battlefield courage, a necessary and gripping narrative. But to focus solely on Luweero is to misunderstand the anatomy of a modern revolution. Guerrilla armies, especially those fighting protracted wars, do not survive on captured ammunition and local support alone. They require a lifeline to the outside world: for legitimacy, for resources, for the preservation of their future. The Nairobi network provided that lifeline. It was the revolution’s silent partner, its invisible hand. It translated political vision into international awareness, converted teachers’ salaries into soldiers’ supplies, and transformed refugee despair into scholarly potential.

Its fighters wielded pens, passports, and pocketbooks. Their victory was not the capture of a hill, but the safe delivery of a recruit to the border, the placement of a student in a university, the consistent arrival of a money order in the bush.

In the grand, often-romanticised history of liberation struggles, the diplomats and administrators are rarely accorded the same stature as the commanders. Yet, as the tale of the NRM’s External Wing demonstrates, revolutions are fragile organisms. They need a heart in the bush, but they also need a nervous system in the world, a secret network to sustain them, stitch by careful stitch, until the final, public triumph. The struggle for Uganda was won not only in the jungles of Luwero, but in the living rooms, classrooms, and clandestine meeting places of a foreign city, by an army that never fired a shot. Theirs is a legacy written not in battle honours, but in the resilient institutions and restored dignities of a nation they helped reimagine from afar.

Masaka High Court has dismissed the bail application of jailed Rev Fr. Deusdedit Ssekabira, who has been on remand since December 23.

The curate attached to Bumangi Catholic Parish in Masaka Diocese is charged with money laundering contrary to section 3 (b) 119 and 139 and 139 (1) (a) of the Anti -Money Laundering Act, Cap 118.

On Tuesday, he appeared before Masaka resident judge, Victoria Nakintu Katamba, for a bail hearing.

Prosecution alleges that between 2023 and 2025, at Centenary Bank Masaka Branch, in Masaka City, Fr Ssekabira, 47 and others still at large, internationally concealed or disguised the true ownership of Shs500 million, knowing or suspecting such property to be the proceeds of crime.

The defence lawyers led by Sam Ssekyewa presented several grounds for the bail application before the court, which included the violation of the applicant’s human rights at the time of arrest and being held in an illegal detention facility since he was arrested on December 3, 2025 from his office in Katwe, Masaka City by armed military personnel.

Mr Ssekyewa also told the court that in circumstances where the applicant’s human rights were violated, the court was free to stay the proceedings and grant the applicant bail as the main suit is being handled.

Mr Alexander Lule, another defence lawyer, presented to court three people to stand a surety for Fr Ssekabira.

These included Masaka Diocesan chancellor Rev Fr Charles Jude Juuko, Ssekabira’s brother, Andrew Matovu and Kawungu West constituency legislator Joseph Gonzanga Ssewungu.

The court heard that since the charges being faced by the priest are financially related, two of the sureties had shown financial capacity to bail him out, just in case the bail was to be a cash bail by putting up their car log books, land titles and bank statements.

However, prosecution led by Masaka Chief Resident State Attorney, Deborah Itwau, objected to the bail application, saying if Fr Ssekabira is granted bail, he may interfere with the ongoing investigations into the case, which she claims to be of public interest.

She also said that, given the nature and the gravity of the offence the priest is facing, the sureties presented have to be with the required financial muscle, but one of the sureties presented(Fr Jjuuko], who is a servant of God, did not prove to the court his financial abilities, which may make him unfit to be a substantive surety.

‘The sureties presented by the applicant, Fr. Juuko, being an employee of the dioceses is subject to transfers which affect his fixed place of aboard and Ssewungu, being a member of Parliament spend most of his time in Kampala and may not fulfil his duties as surety if the court grants the priest bail,’ she said

However, Mr Lule told the court that the territorial boundary of the Masaka Diocese is almost the same as the jurisdiction of the trial court, adding that transferring Fr Juuko from one catholic parish to another may not in any way affect his duties as surety if Fr. Ssekabira is granted bail.

Justice Nakintu said since the case is said to be of public interest, it should be given priority, fixing it for a hearing instead of granting bail.

‘Prepare for the hearing of the case, and the parties should follow the set timelines or else the court will be compelled to hear the bail application,’ she said

The judge adjourned the matter to February 10. When Fr Ssekabira realized that he was not regaining his freedom as anticipated, he broke down in tears.

Armed men on December 3 kidnaped Rev. Fr Ssekabira at one of his offices in Katwe, Masaka City suburb.

He is also the director of Universal Chastity Education Organisation, which provides counselling services and charitable support to HIV-affected needy children, and the director of Uplift Primary School – both in Masaka. Although the Army, on December 14, came out and confirmed that he was in their custody -10 days after concealing details about the arrest, his fate remains unknown. In a statement, the UPDF said Fr Ssekabira is being held as investigations continue into alleged involvement in ‘subversive activities’ against the state. The military added that the priest will be produced before a court of law and charged accordingly.

It was a question that dared to reframe a historic frustration: Had this generation just come closer than any before to producing the first Ugandan to play in the English Premier League (EPL)? The premise was not born from mere euphoria, but from a clear-eyed analysis of a historic bottleneck. For decades, the EPL’s global broadcast had been a nightly religion in Uganda, its stars worshipped as demigods. Yet the field of play remained a distant, unreachable cathedral.

No Ugandan had ever featured in its hallowed competition. This disconnect, between fervent fandom and on-field representation, was a peculiar pain for a nation with deep footballing passion. The impact of breaking this barrier would have been profound, providing a tangible, electrifying blueprint for every child with a ball.

Talent under the global spotlight

The first and most crucial box was emphatically ticked in Qatar; undeniable talent had been showcased.

This was not a team of athletes merely competing; it was a tactically disciplined, technically sound unit holding its own against nations with entrenched footballing infrastructures. Scouts from top European academies, whose networks were vast and eyes ever-present at such tournaments, undoubtedly took note. They were not just looking for the flashiest player, but for football intelligence, adaptability, and coachability; traits the Cubs displayed in abundance.

For several standout players, the tournament represented their first major audition on the global stage. A subsequent move to a high-level European academy, governed by systems such as England’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), was the logical next step for turning that audition into a contract. This system was designed to fast-track development within a holistic environment, focusing on technical skills, tactical understanding, and crucially, life skills. For a talented Ugandan teenager, it represented a golden pathway that had finally become visible.

Forging a winner’s mentality

However, raw talent alone was an incomplete passport. One of the most significant barriers historically cited by coaches and observers was a lack of the requisite mental strength to thrive at the highest echelons of European football.

The leap from domestic competition to the intensity of top-tier Europe was not just physical; it was profoundly psychological. It demanded resilience in the face of criticism, consistency under immense pressure, and an unshakable self-belief. This was where the Qatar experience became a potentially priceless psychological investment. Competing and succeeding on that global stage at such a formative age was an irreplaceable builder of character.

Not guaranteed

To be clear, the tournament’s end did not bring a prediction of inevitability, but it solidified an argument for a new and tangible possibility. What the Uganda Cubs achieved was the most important first step; they captured the world’s attention and redefined what was conceivable for Ugandan football. They showed that with structured coaching, tactical discipline, and collective belief, Ugandan players could excel on the world’s stage. Scouts were now watching, and academies might soon come calling. The dream of a Ugandan in the EPL has become a project with a visible, talented cohort at its heart.

Hope

These young men were not just playing football; they were building a mental database of success against elite opposition. They learnt that they could stare down a world football powerhouse such as France and not blink.

That confidence, forged in the heat of a World Cup, was the kind of intangible asset that could sustain a player through the lonely, challenging years of academy life abroad. It had the potential to shift their internal narrative from ”I hope I can” to ”I know I belong.”They created a new reference point for excellence.

Uganda’s tax-to-GDP ratio had for several years stagnated at about 11 percent, before rising to 13.7 percent about five years ago.

But despite the rise, the ratio is still too low to help the country achieve critical development targets.

The low ratio underscores persistent challenges in domestic revenue mobilization and heavy reliance on a narrow tax base.

Against this backdrop, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has unveiled an ambitious 2025/30 strategy that seeks to significantly boost revenue collection and raise the tax-to-GDP ratio to over 18 percent by the 2029/30 financial year.

According to the report, the strategy is largely anchored in the Domestic Revenue Mobilization Strategy and seeks to reverse years of subdued performance in revenue collection relative to economic growth.

Although the economy has expanded steadily, tax revenues have not kept pace, leaving Uganda below regional and continental averages.

The URA strategy is designed to support the Fourth National Development Plan and government’s Ten-fold Growth Strategy, which targets expanding the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from $50b to $500b by 2040.

‘Key pillars and initiatives for the URA 2025-2030 strategy include digital transformation and data-driven enforcement, with a shift from reactive to predictive tax administration,’ the report states.

URA also plans to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to detect non-compliance early and improve enforcement efficiency.

Other measures include deepening the use of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS) and expanding digital tax stamps to curb leakages in Value Added Tax (VAT) and Excise Duty.

The strategy also emphasizes data integration, including improved data sharing across government agencies, and the use of National Identification Numbers (NINs) as Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) to simplify registration and broaden the tax base.

Mr Bill Nkeeto, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Management at Victoria University, says that for URA to achieve its targets by 2030, it should focus on high-potential sectors such as oil and gas, tourism, agro-industry, and the ICT and creative arts sector.

He also notes that greater emphasis must be placed on bringing the informal sector into the tax net, which remains largely untaxed despite accounting for a significant share of economic activity.

The tax register, according to URA data, has about 3.5 million taxpayers, but more than 70 percent of Uganda’s tax revenue is generated from just about 1,000 taxpayers.

But to achieve the targets, URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi says they will need to boost staff numbers by recruiting about 1,500 new staff to strengthen enforcement and build specialised systems for monitoring compliance in the oil and gas sector. He also notes that there is need to build mechanisms to reduce legal disputes.

‘We shall strengthen the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms to reduce litigation and speed up revenue recovery, and expand the URA Tax Academy to improve staff training and taxpayer education,’ Musinguzi says.

Despite the optimism surrounding the strategy, concerns remain over the high tax targets, which could increase pressure on already compliant taxpayers if the tax base is not sufficiently broadened.

The proposed use of National Identification Numbers (NINs) for tax registration has also raised data privacy and protection concerns, which the authority will need to address to maintain public trust.

Analysts note that while the strategy is ambitious, its success will depend on effective implementation, sustained economic growth, and the ability to transition Uganda from years of tax-to-GDP stagnation at around 11 percent to a more robust and inclusive revenue system.

The municipal and division mayoral elections in Kampala and its metropolitan areas on Tuesday marked the return of the Biometric Voter Verification Kits (BVVKs), two weeks after their controversial failure during the presidential and parliamentary elections held on January 15. While the election officers at various polling stations insisted that the technology functioned better this time, the polls were largely overshadowed by low voter turnout, delayed polling, logistical challenges, and renewed allegations of interference in several areas.

Across Kampala’s five divisions, Rubaga, Makindye, Kawempe, Central and Nakawa, as well as Mukono and Wakiso districts, polling officials waited for voters who never came on time, while candidates expressed frustration over apathy, technical glitches, and what they described as a shrinking public trust in the electoral process. Voting in Rubaga Division was characterised by a thin turnout, late opening of polling stations, technological challenges, and allegations of interference, as candidates and voters raised concerns about the integrity of the process.

The incumbent Rubaga Division Mayor, Mr Mbeeraze Zacchy Mawula of the National Unity Platform (NUP), cast his vote at Kampala University Polling Station in Mutundwe II, Kampala. Addressing journalists shortly after voting, Mr Mawula called on security agencies to execute their mandate professionally by protecting voters and safeguarding ballot materials. ‘There have been reports of ballot boxes allegedly being tampered with before reaching tally centres,’ Mr Mawula said. ‘This practice is unfair to candidates and threatens public confidence in elections.’

Biometric machines return

On the use of biometric technology, Mr Mawula acknowledged improvement compared to the presidential and parliamentary elections, saying the machines were largely efficient and time-saving. ‘When the biometric machines work as intended, they reduce the risk of ballot stuffing because all voters are digitally recorded,’ he said. ‘This enhances transparency and credibility.’ However, several polling stations across Rubaga South Division in Kampala struggled to begin voting on time.

At Kitebi Primary School, voting was delayed despite the timely arrival of materials, as officials failed to secure the minimum number of voters required by law to witness the opening of the polling materials. Mr Husein Waibi, a polling assistant, explained that the delay was procedural. ‘The law does not allow us to begin voting without the required number of witnesses,’ he said. ‘We are hopeful that more voters will come as the day goes on.’ Mr Siraje Kifampa, the People’s Front for Freedom mayoral candidate in Rubaga, said the situation could significantly affect the outcome.

‘Very few people have shown up to vote,’ Mr Kifampa said. ‘Low turnout directly affects candidates’ performance.’

Similarly, Mr Abdul Karim Kiggundu, a candidate for LC3 councillor in Mutundwe, blamed the apathy on limited voter education. ‘Many voters do not understand the importance of local government elections,’ he said. At Kasumba Zone, Kibuye Market Polling Station, voting began at around 10.30am after the BVVK machines failed to verify several voters.

The presiding officer, Mr Rashid Otete, later allowed those not verified biometrically to use the manual register. Even then, verification took between six and 10 minutes per voter, causing long queues. Ms Rita Nakanjako, one of the affected voters, said the process was frustrating. ‘I was rejected by the machine and had to rely on the manual register. It was stressful,’ she said. Opposition candidates also raised allegations of interference. Mr Moses Kasibante, the Democratic Front mayoral candidate, alleged that ballot boxes were taken and polling agents beaten by groups of goons in parts of Nateete and Namirembe.

‘These incidents, if not addressed, will undermine the credibility of the election,’ Mr Kasibante warned. Voters busy elsewhere? In Makindye West Division, particularly at Madiriza Zone, Kasawe Polling Station, polling officers and agents were seen seated idly, waiting for voters amid low turnout. Mr Deo Genza, the chairperson of the Makindye Division Urban Council boda boda stage, expressed concern over the low turnout. ‘Many people have gone to work. That is why the turnout is low,’ Mr Genza said. ‘The government should consider declaring election days public holidays,’ he added.

He added that Makindye West Division has 12 parishes, 436 polling stations, and more than 255,000 registered voters, yet turnout remained worryingly low. Ms Shamin Nassali, a polling assistant at the same polling station, said voting was proceeding smoothly despite the low turnout. ‘The biometric machines are working this time, so voting is moving well,’ she said. In Makindye East, voting was also delayed at several polling stations. A light morning drizzle affected voting in some areas, while in others such as Golden Eagle Junior School and Pantaleo Betty’s place in Kabalagala, materials reached in time but there were no voters.

By 1pm, about two voters had showed up in a 20-minute span at some polling stations. At Munyonyo Gardens Polling Station, voting was delayed until 11.30am after the Electoral Commission (EC) supplied the wrong ballot papers for Salaam A and B councillor positions. Mr Francis Sseguya, the NUP candidate for Salaam A, accused the EC of negligence. ‘Many of my supporters missed voting because ballot papers were not available until late,’ he said. ‘The 2026 elections have exposed serious weaknesses at the EC,’ he added.

In Kawempe Division, particularly at Makerere University’s Complex and Mitchell Hall, turnout appeared slightly better than during the presidential polls. ‘The turnout today is better than last week,’ Ms Samalie Isabella Kisakye, the presiding officer at Mitchell Hall, said. ‘People relate more with leaders they interact with daily,’ she added. Mr Martins Kato, a councillor candidate, credited grassroots mobilisation. ‘We called voters, sent messages, and physically visited them. That effort has helped,’ he said.

However, he accused rival parties of attempting to manipulate the process through bribery and intimidation. Presiding officers acknowledged that while the machines worked, they slowed the process. ‘With registers, it is faster. With machines, there are many steps,’ Ms Kisakye said. In Kampala Central Division, polling officially began at 8am across most stations, but voter turnout remained consistently low throughout the day, mirroring the apathy witnessed in other parts of the city.

Polling assistants and agents at several stations described a slow and uneven flow of voters, with long stretches passing without a single person turning up to vote. At Nakasero II Polling Station (A to L), Mr Emmanuel Kiiza, a polling assistant, said voting commenced on time but was characterised by irregular voter attendance. ‘Voting started at exactly 8am, but voter turnout has not been stable,’ Mr Kiiza said. ‘Voters are showing up at regular intervals, but the numbers are still low.’

Despite the apathy, Mr Kiiza expressed relief that the biometric machines were functioning better than during the presidential and parliamentary elections. ‘This time the voter verification machines have finally worked,’ he said. ‘We are optimistic that the turnout will be better than that of the previous elections.’ At Crested Towers Polling Station, voting proceeded calmly under tight security, with only a handful of voters appearing every 15 to 20 minutes. Polling officials relied on both biometric machines and manual registers for verification, particularly for voters whose fingerprints could not be detected.

In Nakawa Division, polling was slow, with some stations failing to meet the required minimum number of voters before voting could commence. Both incumbent Mayor Paul Mugambe and challenger Ali Bukeni, alias Nubian Li, cast their votes and outlined their agendas. Despite logistical challenges, voting remained largely peaceful.

Mukono District

Municipality-level elections in Mukono were marked by unusually low voter turnout, with several polling stations largely deserted throughout the day, raising serious concerns about voter mobilisation, civic education, and the EC preparedness. A visit to multiple polling stations across Mukono Municipality, including Mulago-Ggulu Ward, Maternity Ward, St Paul’s Catholic Parish, St Mary’s Noah Primary School, St Dunstan, and Butebbe Village, revealed a striking absence of voters, despite the timely delivery of electoral materials and the presence of polling officials.

Mr Moses Kizito, a voter, said some people did not turn up to vote because the EC announced two candidates for the position of LCV chairperson. ”Ten of my family members are not coming to vote because NRM members stormed the tally centre and rigged the election. The people we vote for are left behind and not given declaration forms, so what is the reason for voting?” he said. At some stations, residents who passed by appeared confused, with several expressing surprise upon learning that local government elections were taking place. Others said they had not received any official communication regarding the polls.

Sarah Ndagire, the presiding officer at Mulago-Ggulu Ward Polling Station, said the materials arrived a bit early, but no voters showed up despite candidates’ agents reporting to the station early. “The few voters who have turned out to vote are also asking us why we are using biometric machines this time round, actually, some had refused to vote, and we had to convince them,” she said. Mr Moses Nyombi Salongo, the chairman of Wantoni Cell in Mukono Municipality, said his area has approximately 1,800 registered voters. Despite this, a few people are turning out to vote.

He said some polling stations could even take 30 minutes without receiving a voter. Residents and local leaders also blamed the low turnout on poor public sensitisation, accusing authorities of failing to adequately inform voters about the elections. Some questioned whether sufficient civic education had been conducted to explain the role and importance of district-level leadership.

Wakiso District

In Wakiso’s Nansana Municipality, polling materials arrived on time, but turnout remained extremely low. Several polling stations failed to start voting early due to the absence of the legally required minimum of 10 voters. By 9am, voting had begun at only one of the three polling stations at Nabweru Playground Polling Centre in Nansana Municipality. At Benzima, two polling stations had not attained the required number of 10 people needed to start voting. The situation was similar at St Stephens Church of Uganda, Nansana, with three of the seven polling stations having failed to start voting by 11.30am.

Mr Steven Buule, an Independent councillor candidate for Nabweru North Ward, blamed the low turnout on ‘frustrations’ in the previous presidential and parliamentary elections. Mr Buule decried the use of biometric machines, claiming this also fuels the low voter turnout. “What logic is there in abruptly using biometrics machines that weren’t used in the previous elections? It’s intended to frustrate voters because the machines take too much time, and probably this is imposed to favour NRM candidates,” he said. The use of biometric voter identification machines caused slight delays, with each voter taking between four and six minutes to be processed.

A trainer was present at each polling station to assist officials with any challenges in operating the machines. Shortly after casting his vote at St Stephen’s Church of Uganda Polling Station, Mr John Bosco Sserunkuma, the NUP mayoral candidate for Nansana Municipality, criticised security personnel for allegedly sidelining the agents of the candidates. “We have seen a number of irregularities, including the RDC commanding a team of security personnel moving from polling station to polling station chasing away our polling agents. We don’t understand what his mission is.

Under the law, our agents are supposed to monitor the whole process, including making sure whoever comes to vote is eligible, but he has denied them that by ordering them to sit a distance away from the polling verification desk,” he said.

Biometric failure

The widespread failure of Biometric Voter Verification Kits (BVVKs) during the January 15 presidential and parliamentary elections was likely a result of Internet shutdown, according to highly-placed sources. The Electoral Commission (EC), a legal entity mandated to organise elections and referenda in the country, however, said the glitches had nothing to do with lack of Internet. EC spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi acknowledged that Internet connectivity was required for verification of voters’ particulars, but said other aspects of the devices could function while offline. “It was not expected that they would be working using the Internet.

The process of [the functioning of the BVVKs], save for the biometric verification, are all offline,” he noted. “So, the malfunctioning of the machines is not linked to the absence or presence of the Internet,” he added. In a demonstration to journalists last month, the EC showed that authentication of a voter’s particulars included an operator using BVVK to scan QR codes on a Voter Location Slip or National Identity Card to automatically pull up the profile of a duly registered individual from the National Voters’ Regigister.

Compiled by Damali Mukhaye, Isaac Ssejjombwe, Shabibah Nakirigya, Promise Twinamukye, Sylvia Katushabe, Sylvia Namagembe, Prossy Kisakye, Daphine Nakabiri, Juliet Kigongo, Michael Kakumirizi, Jessica Sabano, Barbra Anyait, Vincent Lusambya, Tony Abet, Jane Nafula, Moses Ndaye, David Walugembe, Micheal Sebalu, Abdul Nasser Stephen Otage and Karim Muyobo.

When Ugandan scholar and author Prof Mahmood Mamdani took to the stage in the Jain Bhavan Auditorium in Nairobi on the evening of January 23, 2026, he was flustered. He put his hand over his forehead and squinted into the fully packed hall, visibly overwhelmed by the sea of faces staring back at him. He later noted that audiences of that size do not usually show up to listen to intellectuals like him, especially for scholarly discourse on the state. Yet there he was, receiving the kind of excitement usually reserved for Afrobeats stars or high-stakes political rallies.

Prof Mamdani and Jahazi Press, the East African publisher of his latest book, ‘Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State’, had stumbled into a storm of surprise. The Kenyan launch of the book exploded beyond expectations. After a successful run in the sleepy coastal city of Mombasa, the tour moved to Nairobi, where interest surged within hours of the announcement. Initially, the launch was planned for Cheche, a radical pan-Africanist bookshop in the Lavington suburbs (where big Ugandans own expensive homes), with organisers preparing for a maximum of 400 people.

Nearly 800 people registered almost immediately, forcing the organisers to hastily impose a KSh1,000 (UShs 28,000) cap on numbers. It made no difference. People paid anyway, leading to a shift to the 1,000-capacity Jain Bhavan Auditorium. Even that proved insufficient, requiring a second open event on Saturday, January 24.

Ghost of 1960s Kampala

Such demand is unprecedented for a paid book launch and represents a first at this scale for a scholarly work in Nairobi-and likely in Africa. This is all the more striking given that Prof Mamdani has never been a ‘Nairobi person’. He has not written extensively about Kenya. While Slow Poison touches on Kenya, it is not a motivational ‘how-to-get-rich’ book. That it sold out two nights suggests a more profound shift in the regional psyche and a relocation of the East African intellectual heart.

To grasp the weight of this moment, one must recall that in the 1960s, Kampala, not Nairobi, was the undisputed intellectual capital of East Africa. At the centre stood Makerere University, then a beacon of global and African scholarship populated by giants like Ali Mazrui, whose lectures were so packed that students skipped meals to secure a seat. This was the era of the ‘Makerere School’ of thought, where the continent’s most provocative ideas were incubated and the line between the university and the public square barely existed.

The public soul of this movement was TRANSITION magazine, founded in 1961 by the visionary Rajat Neogy. A journal of arts, culture, and society, TRANSITION became the most daring literary and political platform on the continent, publishing everyone from Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe to James Baldwin and Julius Nyerere. It offered irreverent, searching debate that held a mirror to post-independence society. That openness proved too much for the government of Milton Obote.

In 1968, Neogy and regular contributor Abu Mayanja were jailed for sedition after the magazine criticised Obote’s authoritarian constitutional reforms. Neogy’s imprisonment marked the beginning of the end for Kampala’s intellectual golden age. While TRANSITION later moved to Ghana and eventually Harvard, its model of fearless interrogation became the blueprint for many serious African intellectual journals that followed. As Kampala’s light dimmed under years of military rule and illiberal democracy, the flame crept across borders.

New intellectual, tech capital

After Idi Amin seized power in 1971, Dar es Salaam claimed the crown, attracting global scholars such as Walter Rodney. However, over the last 23 years, Kenya, despite periodic episodes of repression, has emerged as the freest political and ideas space in East Africa. Nairobi has also grown more diverse and internationalised. While Slow Poison is openly sold in Kenyan bookshops, several shops in Kampala are afraid to stock it, and those that do often sell it under the counter. As civil liberties shrink in Uganda and Tanzania, local activists increasingly channel their political debates through Kenya.

Environmental campaigners against the Eacop oil pipeline have shifted their advocacy bases to Nairobi after arrests in Kampala. Sources in Nairobi say at least three major regional human rights NGOs formerly headquartered in Kampala have moved their primary operational leadership to Nairobi in the last two months. Likewise, during Tanzania’s October 2025 election crackdown, in which some allege up to 3,000 people were killed, Kenyans took up global campaigning for the muzzled democracy movement in the country after its internet was shut down.

The digital pressure was so effective that President Samia Suluhu Hassan accused Kenyans of stirring trouble and meddling in Tanzania’s internal affairs. Nairobi’s rising intellectual dominance is mirrored in proxy indicators that map a country’s new age imagination. Take the green transition. Kenya now sits in the driver’s seat for electric mobility in the East African Community, with more than 10,000 registered electric vehicles and over 200 public charging stations.

Rwanda is the regional challenger; Kigali has implemented some of the continent’s most aggressive e-mobility policies, including a ban on registering new internal-combustion motorcycles for public transport. Rwanda has over 7,000 EVs and a dense charging network for its size. By contrast, despite promotion of the locally made Kiira EV, fewer than 200 fully electric cars ply Uganda’s roads today. The country has fewer than 20 public charging points, most of them in Kampala.

The transit hub paradox

The movement of people underscores Nairobi’s pull. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) remains the region’s undisputed giant, handling more than 8,500 monthly flight movements-nearly triple Entebbe’s 2,800. This persists even as JKIA is criticised as ageing and inefficient compared to renovated terminals in Dar es Salaam, for example. Kenya plans a new JKIA, but even with leaking roofs, the airport remains the regional gateway. The diplomatic and expatriate class tolerates Nairobi’s chaos because of what lies beyond the terminal, which provides the audiences for jazz shows, symphonies, and scholarly literature.

Publishing may be the clearest measure of intellectual capital. Kenya releases an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 new titles annually, many in fiction and creative non-fiction. Uganda publishes fewer than 500, most of them educational textbooks rather than trade books. Using the Caine Prize for African Writing as a rough barometer, the gap is as wide as Lake Nalubaale (Victoria). Kenya has won it five times. Uganda has one win, through Monica Arac de Nyeko in 2007. This dominance rests on an ecosystem of around 50 bookshops and a reading public willing to pay for ideas.

This is the socket into which Prof Mamdani’s book plugged. His career has been devoted to understanding power. ‘Citizen and Subject’ (1996) analysed colonial ‘decentralised despotism’. ‘When Victims Become Killers’ (2001) examined the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi. ‘Good Muslim, Bad Muslim’ (2004) challenged Western narratives on political Islam. More recently, the unsettling ‘Neither Settler nor Native’ (2020) reimagined the post-colonial state worldwide. Nearly 20 books across five decades have cemented his standing as a thinker whose reach crosses borders.

Slow Poison is his most accessible work yet, a ‘man-on-the-street’ effort to reconcile the legacies of Idi Amin and Yoweri Museveni-a potentially risky endeavour in Kampala. Still, one debated openly with academic rigour in Nairobi. That willingness to interrogate the present through history may partly explain why a 1,000-strong crowd filled Jain Bhavan two nights in a row. Another bit is to be found in the fact that Nairobi’s cultural infrastructure is now way ahead of its neighbours’. The city has over 400 cafés compared with Kampala’s 150.

In theatre, Nairobi’s eight active venues stage up to 15 plays a month, while Kampala’s four stage about half that many. Musically, Nairobi hosts more than 30 jazz shows monthly and supports three symphony orchestras. Kampala, though rich in talent, has one symphony and roughly a dozen jazz events. This ecosystem supports a large international community. Data indicates that Kenya hosts close to 80,000 expatriate and diplomatic households, nearly four to seven times Uganda’s estimated 12,000 to 18,000.

That demographic sustains 90 international schools in Kenya, compared with about 30 in Uganda. These are the numbers of a regional hegemon, one that supplies the oxygen for ideas suffocating elsewhere. The Nairobi launch of Slow Poison was, therefore, more than about Prof Mamdani only, but his encounter with a city. It marked a Nairobi that is becoming a sanctuary for the African mind, much as Kampala was in the age of Neogy and Mazrui.

Kampala still offers cultural goods like fresh food, and a crazy party scene. Still, it has lost its edge as a place where power is publicly interrogated. For now, that vibrant space exists across the border in Nairobi and other cities like Kisumu. The slow poison of political stagnation in one capital has become one of the fuels for an intellectual surge in another.

Vipers retained their three point advantage at the top of the Startimes Uganda Premier League (UPL) heading into the final first round games with a 4-1 hammering of Police at the St. Mary’s Stadium in Kitende on Tuesday evening.

The reigning champions turned what was a top of the table clash into a one-sided contest as they played arguably their best 45 minutes since Ivan Minnaert was appointed head coach in July last year.

They led 3-0 at half time against a shell-shocked Police side with AbdulKarim Watambala again running the show.

The midfielder who ironically seems liberated by the departure of close friend Allan Okello created the opener for Milton Karisa with a fine through ball.

The latter obliged, toe poking the ball past an out of position Mathias Muwanga for a 32nd minute lead.

Watambala then added the second goal on 41 minutes with a goal of the season contender.

The midfielder received a pass from Enoch Ssebagala and with the Police defence backing off sent an unstoppable drive that flew in off the underside of the crossbar. The goal was his third in two games after scoring a brace in saturday’s 3-0 win over URA.

The game was then ended as a contest on 45 minutes when Odili Chukwuma headed in Usama Arafat’s cross after nutmegging Richard Matovu.

Police, who up to that point had offered little threat going forward then pulled a goal back through Saidi Kyeyune who scored with a low shot four minutes after the break.

But Vipers restored their three-goal advantage on 77 minutes when substitute Yunus Sentamu set up Usama for the fourth goal with a header.

The result lifts Vipers to 33 points while Police dropped to third on 27 points. KCCA are back into second position after a comfortable 4-0 win over UPDF.

Sammy Ssebaduka was the star of the show scoring a brace while there were also goals from Joel Sserunjogi and substitute Alpha Ssali.

UPL results

KCCA 4-0 UPDF

Vipers 4-1 Police

Lugazi 2-1 Bul

Calvary 0-0 URA

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have elected their 10 representatives in Parliament at a function held at the UPDF Land Forces Headquarters in Luweero District today.

The representatives were elected through the Army Council meeting chaired by President Yoweri Museveni, the Commander-in-Chief.

They include Deputy Chief of Defence Forces Lt Gen Sam Okiding and Chief Executive Officer of National Executive Committee (NEC) Lt Gen Sam Mugira.

The exercise, like any others is managed by the Electoral Commission and is conducted in line with the regulations that guide the election of Special Interest Groups.

“I KATEEBA TUMUSIIME DIANA being the Returning Officer for Election of Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Representatives to Parliament having added up the number of votes cast for each candidate in accordance with Section 72 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, Cap. 177. I declare the following who have obtained the largest number of votes as the elected Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Males Representatives to Parliament,” the declaration form reads in part.

LIST:

Lt Gen. Sam Okiding – 346

Col. Sylvia Meeme – 314

Col. Night Ikiriza – 307

Lt. Gen. James Mugira – 303

Lt. Gen. Sam Kavuma – 282

Brig. David Gonyi – 266

Maj. Gen. Henry Masiko – 261

Col. Victor Nekesa – 261

Maj. Gen. James Kinalwa – 241

Brig. Joseph Semwanga -198

Lt. Gen. Sam Kavuma, is the Deputy Coordinator of Operations Wealth Creation, Brig. Gen. David Gonyi, is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Maj. Gen. Henry Moses Matsiko, is the Joint Staff Political Commissar, while Maj. Gen. James Kinalwa, is the Joint Staff of Human Resource Management.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Ssemwanga, is the Deputy Commander of Land Forces, Col. Night Ikiriza is from the Special Forces Command, Col. Sylvia Meeme is from the Military Police, and Col. Christine Nekesa is from the Air Force.

Only Lt Gen Mugira, Maj Gen Matsiko, and Maj Gen Kavuma had served in the 11th Parliament.

The newly elected army MPs are expected to be formally received by Parliament for swearing-in, after which they will assume their legislative roles in the House.

These will replace the following:

Gen. David Muhoozi – Former Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and current Minister of State for Internal Affairs.

Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala – Former CDF and current Minister of Works and Transport.

Gen. Wilson Mbasu Mbadi – Former CDF and currently serving as the Minister of State for Trade.

Lt. Gen. Peter Elwelu – Former Deputy CDF and currently a Senior Presidential Advisor.

Lt. Gen. James Mugira – Managing Director and CEO of the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC).

Maj. Gen. Henry Matsiko – UPDF Chief Political Commissar.

Maj. Gen. Sam Kavuma – Former Deputy Commander Land Forces.

Col. Dr. Victor Nekesa – One of the three female representatives.

Lt. Col. Charity Bainababo – One of the three female representatives.

Maj. Dr. Jennifer Alanyo – One of the three female representatives.

During the constitutional assembly, some legislators opposed military representation in Parliament, but government ministers argued it would allow the armed forces to keep a finger on the pulse of national politics.

On January 30, 2021, President Museveni told UPDF representatives that their role in Parliament was to act as a ‘conveyor belt of national issues and a listening post.’

Unlike public elections for MPs and other groups, the UPDF vote is an internal process chaired by the Commander-in-Chief, with a requirement that at least two female officers be included.

The Army representatives are elected in line with the 1995 Constitution, which reserves 10 seats in Uganda’s Parliament for the UPDF.

Former Defense Minister Vincent Ssempijja’s second attempt to get back to Parliament has suffered a setback after his application for a vote recount in Kalungu East Constituency was dismissed.

This came after Masaka Chief Magistrates Court, where Mr Ssempijja, last week, through his lawyer, Mr Simon Kasangaki, dragged his opponent and National Unity Platform (NUP)’s flag bearer, Yusuf Kiruluuta Nkeretaanyi, to secure a vote recount, discovered that some ballot boxes were tampered with before the recount that had been scheduled by the court yesterday.

Mr Sempijja, who was the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer in the January 15 polls, argued that vote counting and tallying were marred by irregularities, which denied him victory.

On Tuesday, Masaka Chief Magistrate Abert Asiimwe after granting the recount rushed to Kalungu District Electoral Commission offices to supervise the exercise. However, after sorting the ballot boxes from Kalungu East Constituency , he was shocked to discover that five of them had been tampered with -prompting him to halt the exercise .

Nkeretaanyi’s lawyer Samuel Muyizzi in his submission, told the magistrate that since it was evident that the exercise could not go on following discovery of broken ballot boxes seals, court should clear his client to get gazetted as the duly elected legislator for Kalungu East.

‘Having found out that five out of the ballot boxes presented by the returning officer have improper seals, we submit that the purpose of the recount is not achievable .In such circumstances, a recount should be avoided and that you proceed to confirm that the respondent was duly declared as the duly elected member of parliament for Kalungu East,’ he said.

In his submission, Mr Ssempijja’s lawyer Mr Kasangaki said his client was disappointed that the process of the vote recount had been frustrated.

‘We maintain that our client is aggrieved. We reiterate our submission that there was vote inflation, which we hoped to discover through the process we had undertaken. Unfortunately, that has not been successful. Our only recourse shall be to pursue the next available remedy so that Hon. Ssempijja Vincent gets justice.’

When the magistrate gave Mr Ssempijja a chance to speak about the exercise, the latter said: ‘Certainly, God did not break these box seals, but He must have seen the one who broke them. Personally, I have not seen justice done, because I wanted to know how it was cheated which has not happened. In my mind, I have to find a way to satisfy myself on what I complained about.’

His ruling Asiimwe said: ‘.the law is that once the ballot boxes are tampered with, the purpose of recount is frustrated and court cannot continue with vote recount and both parties have admitted this, indeed the process well organised couldn’t be concluded due to broken and tampered with ballot boxes this notwithstanding that the main seal on the store was still intact. I therefore call off the vote recount for the directly elected MP in Kalungu East Constituency because the process has been frustrated.’

He advised the applicant to seek redress in the High Court, where a full election petition can be heard.

According to results announced by EC returning officer, Teddy Nabukenya, on January 16, Kiruruuta (NUP),a newcomer in Kalungu politics polled 15,473 votes while Mr Sempijja polled 13,219 votes, representing a margin of 2,254 votes.The incumbent MP, Francis Katabaazi, got 649 votes, independents Deogratious Katongole ( 637 votes) , Irene Nanyanzi (485 votes), Democratic Front’s Mathias Kintu (189 votes) and Democratic Party’s Asuman Kabonge ( 90 votes). This is not the first time Mr Ssempijja has demanded a recount after a defeat in a parliamentary contest.

During the 2021 General Election, Mr Ssempijja also went to court and secured an application for a recount of votes in the same constituency after Francis Katabaazi, who had the NUP ticket then defeated him. Katabaazi had polled 12,198 votes while Mr Ssempijja garnered 10,865 votes, indicating a margin of 1,333 votes. However, when the recounting of votes exercise kicked off at Masaka Chief Magistrates Court premises, it was discovered that some of the seals on the ballot boxes had been broken, forcing the then chief magistrate Charles Yeteise to call off the exercise.

Mr Ssempijja has previously served as area MP and Minister for Agriculture .Before joining Parliament, he served as deputy Mubende District administrator (1992-1993), Resident District Commissioner -Masaka (1995-1998) and later Masaka District chairperson (1998-2011).