Category: Daily Monitor

Mbu you can tell a lot about a society based on the things it worships, and the people it praises. Mbu, there is a reason Chameleone remains the most adored artiste by the Amin-era generation. Mbu that should tell you something. Mbu if you want to enjoy this Uganda, you ought to copy a ka-thing or two from that lanky artiste. Chameleone can be anything, and anywhere at the same time. ‘Therefore’ – Remember that voice during the Covid-19 lockdowns? Therefore, since the uncoordinated forces have learnt to deal with the citizens without mercy, the citizens must become miniatures of Chameleone. But that said, here is a ka rulebook for surviving through next week’s elections.

Rule One: If you think you understand Uganda, you are beginning to misunderstand it

National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters in Kanungu District, Western Uganda have expressed disappointment after their party presidential candidate, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi was for the second time frustrated from campaigning in the area.

ýMr Kyagulanyi who was scheduled to campaign in Mbarara and Kanungu districts on January 8, cancelled the Kanungu rally after security in the district refused to clear the campaign venues his team had identified.

ý’The venue for our rally in Kanungu (Kihihi polytechnic) has-last minute been given out for an NRM function. In light of this, we’re covering Mbarara only. Uganda will be free,’ Mr Kyagulanyi said on Thursday in a social media post.

ýAccording to Mr Joab Muhabuzi, the Kanungu District NUP chairperson, the failure by Mr Kyagulanyi to campaign in the area was brought about by the failure to secure a venue, cleared by the security team.

ý’We first secured St Pius playground but security refused to clear it. We then secured Kihihi Community Polytechnic playground but this was also not cleared but rather given to the NRM party to hold a mobilization rally. This morning the police directed us to take the rally to Kihihi High School playground with no clearance letter issued,’Mr Muhabuzi said on Thursday, January 8, 2026.

ýAccording to him, the news about the cancelled campaign rally left supporters disappointed.

ý Mr ýDickens Mushemeza, one of the NUP supporters in the district wondered why the state agents were frustrating Mr Kyagulanyi’s campaign activities.

ý’Why do they make it impossible for our presidential candidate to campaign in Kanungu district. Isn’t the district part of Uganda?’ he wondered.

ýAnother NUP supporter Mr Rauben Tumweaigye said that although the government agents have disorganized them, NUP supporters should express their dissatisfaction by voting for Mr Kyagulanyi on the polling day.

‘They can stop Mr Kyagulanyi from campaigning in Kanungu District but they will not stop us from voting for him on the polling day,’ Mr Tumwesigye said.

Mr Kyagulanyi was expected to address his supporters in Kanungu district November last year but skipped it due to unknown reasons although some of his supporters claimed that it was due to bad roads connecting Kanungu to Rukungiri District that affected his scheduled campaign trail.

It’s a new year. New resolutions. The promise of a ‘new Uganda’ (no pun intended) buzzes on, but the same old noise of urban Uganda, especially Kampala Metropolitan, still lingers like an incurable ailment; sadly, despite some of the finest diagnoses and prescriptions like Nema’s noise standards and control regulations, crafted 23 years ago.

I went to bed by 8.30pm on the first Saturday night of 2026, hoping to be up by 5am to start my day ‘in power’; hour-long exercise, a few book pages, morning quiet time, then prepare for the Sunday service. Alas, I was up at 2 am. I had lost sleep barely five hours after finally finding it! Loud music blasting all night in my neighbourhood in Mukono from what seemed to be a political-rally- ‘after party’ just couldn’t let me ‘rest in (temporary) peace’.

Normally, when you suddenly lose sleep at night, it’s advisable to try to get yourself back by staying in bed, eyes closed, lights off. If it persists, then maybe, you could, with warm light- continue reading the bedside book you dropped when you finally dozed off, until you do again. However, none of that worked, the noise was simply too much. My ear drums were vibrating while my chest heaved from annoyance due to the noise disturbance! After 30 minutes of wriggling in bed with failed attempts to ignore the kinyanya, I reached for my phone (never a good practice at night) to complain on a WhatsApp group with one of my Mukono Members of Parliament (MP).

Now don’t be fooled, I know about the legal provision for formally lodging a complaint against those emitting noise beyond permissible decibels. (Let’s not even go there). Anyway, no sooner had I began typing my message in this group, than I saw a message (link) posted at 1.28am by the area MP inviting members to either join a TikTok Live or watch a TikTok video. I immediately stopped typing. How could I expect action, let alone empathy for my sleep deprivation from a ‘night-lifing’ legislator!

I closed WhatsApp and asked Gemini for the list of the ‘noisiest cities in the world’. I saw Cairo, Delhi, Buenos Aires, Mumbai, New York, among others. Kampala wasn’t among, to my disappointment; even when I later narrowed my scope to Africa. Does that mean we’re good by international standards. No! How come we make it to global indices/rankings for other out-ward looking vices like corruption, human rights violations, epidemic outbreaks, and anything that threatens the international community! Two reasons: First, as it stands, Kampala’s multifaceted dysfunctions disqualify it from systematic, global, metrical analysis, let alone recognition as a city, essentially.

Second, for seemingly innocuous vices such as noise pollution, everyone’s got to clean their own house. Besides, our ‘generous’ neighbours like America, who normally run to our rescue albeit for their political interests, have noisy New York and Los Angeles to deal with. However, what makes Kampala’s situation particularly disheartening is that- as the song has always been sung- ‘we have some of the best (most refined) laws in the world’ including those on noise pollution- but just like the rest of the laws, they fail on enforcement largely due to lack of political will.

Maybe because this dire auditory dysfunction benefits the politicians and their noise-polluted political system: A noise-dulled/damaged intellect won’t cut through flimsy manifestos! Even worse, perhaps, due to long, undiagnosed partial hearing loss, the masses can barely detect the same lie/promise told five years ago/later. The World Health Organisation classifies anything over 65 decibels as noise pollution- unwanted or harmful sound that disrupts daily life. Ugandan health researchers should study the correlation between noise pollution and mental health in Uganda. We may be surprised by the results. Some of the notable risks of noise pollution include hearing loss, cognitive disorders such as stress, anxiety, memory loss, etc.

Even with elections looming, scarcely does one hear majority politicians’ manifesto specifically address this critical issue as part of their public health and social order agenda. Neither those vying for urban domains nor even one of the green coloured parties that should, obviously, for symbolic reasons, be more vocal on environmental issues. One thing is certain; we need to urgently turn down the noise gain in urban Uganda for a saner society; it’s not one to be protected.

Hopefully, I can catch some more sleep after checking out ear muffs online; it’s going to be a long day-you know how Sundays can be around Kampala, thanks to our Pentecostal and charismatic neighbours, who must apparently shout for their God’s attention; or has the city noise overtime also deafened their God, too?

Kamuli District Health Department has received 31,280 insecticide-treated mosquito nets for free distribution to residents, amid warnings against their misuse.

Receiving the consignment from the Ministry of Health, the Assistant District Health Officer in charge of Malaria Control, Ms Winnie Kaiza, said all preparations for distribution had been completed.

“We have already concluded the training of our personnel and finalized the mode of distribution. The community is eagerly waiting to receive and use these mosquito nets,” Ms Kaiza said.

She added that the district received 6,256 bales, each containing 50 insecticide-treated nets, and assured residents that distribution would target the rightful beneficiaries.

“Malaria accounts for about 30 per cent of all reported illnesses in Kamuli and remains the leading cause of blood transfusions. These nets are a key intervention in reducing the disease burden,” Kaiza noted.

However, Kamuli Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Ms Rose Birungi warned that misuse of the mosquito nets could undermine government efforts to fight malaria.

“We must intensify public awareness on the proper use of these nets so that they deliver the expected impact in malaria control,” Ms Birungi said.

She cautioned that government investment would be rendered futile if the mosquito nets were diverted for other purposes.

“These resources must not be wasted. Communities must take responsibility through monitoring, education, and embracing mosquito nets as a primary preventive measure,” she added.

Meanwhile, Mr Jackson Mukungu, a social worker in the district, called for improved hygiene and sanitation alongside strict enforcement against defaulters.

“Preventive approaches such as sanitation, hygiene, and community health outreaches are more cost-effective than curative interventions and will greatly reduce the disease burden,” Mr Mukungu said.

Free mosquito net distribution is a government-led health initiative aimed at preventing malaria by providing insecticide-treated nets to households at no cost. The exercise targets vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children, and communities are encouraged to use the nets properly for sleeping to reduce malaria infections.

The National Unity Platform (NUP) party presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine has rallied Ugandans to overcome fear when making political decisions.

Addressing supporters at a campaign rally in Rubindi town, Mbarara District on Thursday, Kyagulanyi said Ugandans are yearning for change but are held back by fear.

“The 21st challenges cannot be solved by the current government, it’s us the young generation, but the challenge we are facing is because we are ruled by fear. I am happy that the young people are now coming up to show that they want change but have been controlled by fear and intimidation,” Kyagulanyi said.

He emphasized that confidence and hope are key to making meaningful political decisions, urging Ugandans to focus on values rather than emotions when choosing their political path.

“When you talk to some Ugandans, even those in government, they tell you that things are not going well, they want change, and they know the current leadership cannot deliver this, but they cannot vote for you because of things like tribal sentiments,” Kyagulanyi said.

He cautioned against sectarian tendencies, saying the country has been divided along sectarian lines for too long.

“For the last forty years, the country has been divided along sectarianism, this is very bad for the country. The bad roads, poor quality education, the poor health services, the justice system knows no tribe or religion, our mission is to unite all Ugandans for the better of our country,” he said.

Kyagulanyi also highlighted corruption as a major challenge, citing instances where candidates have been allegedly bought out of the race.

“You can see how corrupt the regime is, even in this political season, we hear they are buying some candidates at Shs 500 million for political races, and you trust this government to develop this country?” he said.

NUP coordinator for Ankole region, Bright Muhumuza, said the people face numerous challenges but are often manipulated to support the system through politics of intimidation.

The Registrar General of the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), Ms Mercy K Kainobwisho, has been named among the 50 most influential people in Intellectual Property for 2025, a global recognition by Managing Intellectual Property (Managing IP), an international publication that tracks developments in intellectual property (IP) law, policy, and practice.

The annual list honours individuals who have made outstanding contributions to intellectual property policy, enforcement, innovation, and administration worldwide.

Ms Kainobwisho is the only Ugandan on the 2025 list, which also features senior global IP leaders, including World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Director General Daren Tang, Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property CEO Abdulaziz AlSwailem, and UK Intellectual Property Office CEO Adam Williams.

According to Managing IP, the list highlights leaders whose work has had a measurable impact on national and global intellectual property systems, particularly in strengthening protection frameworks and promoting innovation.

Ms Kainobwisho’s recognition follows a series of institutional reforms at URSB during 2025 aimed at strengthening Uganda’s intellectual property framework.

In December, URSB, in partnership with WIPO, launched the Intellectual Property in Schools Programme, an initiative designed to introduce learners to IP concepts through innovation exhibitions and hands-on activities in areas such as robotics and agritech.

Institutional effort

Earlier in April, URSB established a Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Department, completed the full digitisation of intellectual property services, and rolled out modernised IP examination guidelines aligned with international standards. URSB also stepped up enforcement efforts, overseeing the destruction of counterfeit goods valued at approximately Shs100 million, a move officials said was intended to protect rights holders and legitimate businesses.

Speaking on the recognition, Ms Kainobwisho said the honour reflected collective institutional effort rather than individual achievement. ‘I am deeply honoured to be included among such distinguished global leaders in intellectual property. This recognition is a testament to the commitment and hard work of our line minister, Mr Norbert Mao, the board of directors, and the entire URSB team in building a strong and inclusive IP environment in Uganda,’ Ms Kainobwisho said .

Progress

The recognition signals Uganda’s growing visibility in international intellectual property administration, particularly at a time when the country is seeking to promote innovation, protect creators, and attract investment. For years, many Ugandan creatives, particularly artists have faced persistent challenges in protecting their work, including piracy, weak enforcement, cultural misconceptions around ownership, and widespread copyright infringement. These issues have long constrained the sector, with many creators struggling to fully benefit from their intellectual property.

Uganda has closed the Third National Development Plan (NDP III) after achieving 60 percent of its target against the planned 80 percent, a shortfall that government leaders attribute to the Covid-19 shocks, global economic disruptions, and weak discipline in plan implementation.

Presenting the closure of NDP III, the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, said implementation of the five-year plan began at the height of uncertainty, with President Museveni signing its foreword during a national lockdown.

‘NDP III was written and implemented in an environment of huge uncertainty. At the peak of Covid-19, about 40 percent of the National Budget was cut and reallocated to health and security to keep Ugandans alive,’ Ggoobi said.

He said the pandemic, coupled with global and regional conflicts, constrained revenue mobilisation and forced the government to divert resources away from development spending, affecting overall performance.

Despite the disruptions, Uganda closed NDP III with 60 percent of planned results on target, a performance Ggoobi said should be assessed in context but also questioned.

‘I don’t know why we target to implement less than the plan. Our target should always be 100 percent. If you can’t implement it, then don’t put it in the plan,’ he said, directing planners to revise future targets.

Weak programme ownership

The review exposed weak ownership of the plan across government, with several key programmes failing to attend the final review meeting despite invitations being extended to all 19 NDP programmes. During the session, Ggoobi noted the absence of major programmes including agro-industrialisation, tourism development, human capital development, integrated transport and manufacturing, leaving only the Development Plan Implementation (DPI), private sector development and regional development programmes represented.

Mr Ggoobi described the poor turnout as a symptom of a deeper problem.

‘The first major challenge we have is seriousness and discipline. We can write many documents, but if we don’t take serious things seriously, we shall not transform Uganda,’ he said.

Transition pains

NDP III marked Uganda’s shift from a sector-wide to a programme-based planning and budgeting approach, intended to reduce silos and focus government on common results. While the transition improved coordination, Mr Ggoobi said the government was over-ambitious in the design of NDP III, setting very many indicators and unrealistic targets.

‘We set very high targets and scope. If we achieve 80 percent, we are okay. Why put in place targets we can’t achieve?’ he said.

The experience, he said, informed key adjustments under the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), including scaling down indicators and tightening performance accountability.

Lessons from NDP III include the need for fewer and well-defined performance indicators, realistic targets, stronger coordination, monitoring and reporting systems, improved national statistics, and deeper involvement of local governments, described as ‘street-level bureaucrats’ closest to service delivery.

Representing the Speaker of Parliament, the Minister of Public Service, Wilson Muruli Mukasa told the review meeting that implementation of national development plans would come under tighter parliamentary scrutiny under NDP IV, with Parliament intensifying oversight of ministerial policy statements, post-budget monitoring and tracking of major projects to ensure public spending translates into tangible services.

Parliament is also considering reforms to its committee structure to align more closely with the programme-based planning and budgeting model adopted under NDP III and strengthened under NDP IV.

In its assessment, Parliament raised concern over Uganda’s continued reliance on borrowing to finance development, warning that the gap between national ambitions and domestic revenue mobilisation remains wide and unsustainable.

The Speaker’s representative cited procurement bottlenecks, weak absorptive capacity and persistent project delays as key factors undermining service delivery and eroding value for money.

NDP IV impact

Kintu Anthony Mwanje, the head of Secretariat for the Private Sector Development (PSD) and Development Plan Implementation (DPI) Programmes, warned that NDP IV will not deliver meaningful impact unless the Development Plan Implementation programme enforces coordination across government.

Mwanje said experience under NDP III showed that weak follow-through and fragmented implementation diluted results, with ministries, agencies and local governments often pursuing activities in isolation.

He said the DPI programme was designed to act as the ‘superintendent of the plan’, ensuring all actors move in the same strategic direction.

Without this central coordination, investments risk becoming disjointed, duplicative and ineffective.

‘If everyone implements in their own direction, we shall not achieve impact,’ Mwanje said.

He added that DPI’s role under NDP IV would be to hold programmes accountable, track delivery against agreed priorities and ensure that planning at national and sub-national levels feeds into a coherent development trajectory, rather than scattered interventions with limited results.

Mwanje said that unless DPI’s coordinating authority is respected and operationalized, NDP IV risks repeating past shortcomings where resources were spent but transformational outcomes remained elusive.

NDP IV targets tougher discipline

Parliament approved NDP IV in January, and it was signed into law by President Museveni in March. The government has since finalised Programmed Implementation Action Plans (PIAPs) to operationalise the new plan.

Under NDP IV, government targets include raising the revenue-to-GDP ratio from 14.5 percent to 18.3 percent, reducing external financing of the budget from 47.7 percent to 12.7 percent, improving the budget transparency index from 59 to 80, and increasing the share of NDP results on target to 100 percent, following guidance from the PSST.

Soldiers Wednesday afternoon blocked the incumbent Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo while on his campaign trail in the constituency.

The blockade which lasted an hour happened around 2pm at Suula Village Junction when Ssekikubo as he and his supporters were heading to Bulongo Sub County where he was scheduled to hold a campaign rally.

Under the command of Lt. Bashir Zziwa, who is allied to Ssekikubo’ archival Rtd Brig. Emmanuel Rwanshande, the soldiers who were about 30 in number, ordered Mr Ssekikubo and his entourage to go back, insisting that he wasn’t supposed to campaign in the area.

However, Ssekikubo stood his ground, saying the Electoral Commission (EC) had cleared him to campaign in the area after skipping his scheduled rally on Tuesday while attending a court session in Kampala, where he unsuccessfully challenged Rwashande’s nomination.

“The army has nothing to do with the EC campaign programme. If I am in the wrong place, it is the Police who should block me, not soldiers. On top of that, no candidate is complaining,” he said.

When the blockade persisted, Ssekikubo sought the intervention of the police, which swiftly deployed 15 policemen under the command of the officer in charge of Sembabule Central Police Station, Mr Dickens Tar, who informed the soldiers that Ssekikubo was right to campaign in Bulongo and should be allowed to proceed, which they accepted and cleared the way amid chanting from Ssekikubo’s supporters.

According to the EC programme Brig .Rwashande was on Wednesday supposed to campaign in Lwemiyaga, Lwesankala, Kashunga, and Lwemiyaga town, among other places.

During a stopover at Kabukongote Village, Ssekikubo asked residents to stay calm, saying the deployment of soldiers was orchestrated by Brig Rwashande to frustrate his campaign programme ahead of the January 15 General Election.

‘We understand the situation is intense with a lot of intimidation, but remain calm. We know all this is being done by our rivals to disorganise us, but they will not succeed because we are strong and we ask you also to be strong,’ he said.

Brig. Rwashande was not available on phone to respond to Ssekikubo’s claims. His chief campaigner, Rtd Maj Gen Phenihas Katirima also did not pick this reporter’s repeated phone calls.

Ssekikubo, who has concentrated on voter education ahead of the January 15 General Election, asked locals to be vigilant on the polling day to reduce cases of vote rigging.

Ssekikubo was supposed to be at Bulongo Sub-county in Kyembogo, Kinoni, Booma, Kabukongote, and Kibeho, among other villages but he did not manage to campaign in all the listed places because of time.

Apart from Rwashande, another contender, Migadde Amooti (Ind) is also in the race.

Ssekikubo, 56, who seeks a sixth term in Parliament in 2026, hit the political scene in 2001 when he defeated former MP, Sam Rwakoojo, who was, until recently, serving as a secretary at the Electoral Commission.

During the 2021 General Election, he defeated his closest challenger, former junior transport minister Joy Kabatsi, who garnered 5,649 votes against Ssekikubo’s 8,527 votes.

Edmond Bwiire(Ind) 4,196 votes and Paul Ziridamu( NUP) 384 votes.

In the 2016 General Election, Ssekikubo polled 9,272 votes, Patrick Nkalubo Ind (8,074 votes), Wilber Nahweera of FDC (157 votes) and Andrew Nankunda Ind (68 votes).

The ongoing exchange between Dr Yusuf Serunkuma and Hon Simon Mulongo in The Observer newspaper is a refreshing breath of fresh air in a public square fouled by insults, demagoguery and ad hominem vitriol.

Here, at the risk of bastardising and even misreporting, is a summary of the argument. Dr Serunkuma makes a moral appeal to President Museveni, now in his fortieth year in charge, to “give Uganda a change” and hand over power peacefully, to avoid the chaos that many worry could erupt if he dies in office.

Hon Mulongo, on the other hand, argues that the emphasis on Museveni’s longevity and biological age is a sideshow in a relatively young post-conflict polity still suffering the birth pangs of state-building. “The real question,” he posits, “is not whether Uganda should transition, but how”.

The two protagonists remind us that it is possible to disagree without being disagreeable, although both alternative views suffer from substantial defects that a post-Museveni Uganda will have to cure and bridge.

Dr Serunkuma’s argument that it is not too late for President Museveni to “do the right thing” has at least two flaws. First, it presupposes that the incumbent knows or believes that Uganda would be better off with him out of office than in it.

There’s little to show this to be the case. In his long political and military career, the number of times Mr Museveni has been a visibly happy and content bit-part player, even as a number two, adds up to the grand figure of zero.

As he traverses the countryside on the campaign trail on roads and through towns that did not exist even 20 years ago, Mr Museveni sees, with merit, evidence of his hard work and justification for his need to carry on. The President’s frame of reference is not what Uganda needs to be in 2066; it is what Uganda was in 1986. Objects in the rearview mirror are closer than they appear to be.

The second flaw is that Dr Serunkuma’s moral argument misjudges human nature. If the world were, by default, a good and happy place where wolves grazed alongside lambs, society would have evolved to create incentives for us to do some bad, not laws to keep us in check.

It is not the default human condition to hand over power willingly. As long as the incentives to stay on outweigh the disincentives, most leaders will cling on. Hope and appealing to a leader’s good heart are not good political strategies.

Hon Mulongo does not dwell on human nature but on material political conditions. Citing examples from Libya, Sudan, Mali and elsewhere, he argues that leadership change as an end in itself can “trigger elite fragmentation and authoritarian relapse when institutional scaffolding is thin”.

This is a correct observation, as is the need he identifies, to control the security sector, clarify national direction, and manage elite competition without state rupture.

Hon Mulongo’s proposal, in lieu of an abrupt presidential exit, is for “a carefully engineered succession” and “institutional maturation” to consolidate democracy. The flaw in this argument should be self-evident: there is no need for carefully engineered successions if institutions are allowed to mature and become firmer than the sum of their parts, founding fathers, and foundational instruments.

In addition, power is a finite resource that enables the rise of strong individuals or institutions, but not both. Strong and long-serving individuals develop expertise, acquire experience and bring equilibrium to complex systems and processes like statecraft and nation-building.

But the opportunity cost of strong leaders is weak institutions that are unable to hold together the state, and the longer individuals reign, the weaker institutions become.

Unfortunately, science has not yet evolved to find a way around the law of biology, which states that all living organisms begin to die the moment they are born. In that sense, both Dr Serunkuma and Hon Mulongo are right to worry about an abrupt presidential exit.

The problem in Libya, Sudan, Zaire, Iraq and elsewhere isn’t that strong and experienced leaders who maintained the equilibrium exited suddenly. It is that these leaders were never going to be sustainable substitutes for strong institutions.

States are forged through violence and the visionary leadership of a few. They are held together by the enlightened and self-interested consensus of the many, through institutions.

On January 15, 2026, Uganda will head to the polls in a contest that falls a few weeks shy of the 30th anniversary of the country’s first universal suffrage election under the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

While the 2026 vote will happen within a multiparty framework, its makeup still owes much to the seeds sown during the May 9, 1996, ‘no-party’ presidential election and the June 27 parliamentary ballot that followed. That election was more than a transition from guerrilla-military to half-civilian mandate; it was the primary laboratory where the NRM developed the tactical and administrative mechanisms that define the Ugandan State today, and the logic of the electoral repression of the Opposition.