Category: Daily Monitor

JEEMA party president and Bugiri Municipality MP Asuman Basalirwa has rejected allegations linking him to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), calling the claims false and politically motivated.

Basalirwa spoke at a press conference on Saturday at his offices in Kataawo Zone, Bugiri Municipality, responding to claims made by his former political assistant, Abdul Rahim Masamba, who reportedly wrote to security agencies accusing him of aiding the rebel group.

‘These claims are baseless and meant to intimidate me and tarnish my reputation,’ Basalirwa said, adding that the accusations had also resulted in threats against his bodyguards and supporters.

The ADF is an Islamic State linked rebel group considered active in Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, known for attacks on civilians and security forces.

Basalirwa further dismissed accusations by some opposition leaders that he had betrayed the opposition and acted as an agent of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

‘I have faced attacks from both sides, but my focus has always been on ensuring that my people benefit from government programmes,’ he said.

He explained that, as the only JEEMA MP, he maintains a working relationship with the ruling party to lobby for development projects in his constituency.

‘I remain in the opposition, but I cannot isolate myself from those implementing government programmes. Hostility would only deny my people services,’ Basalirwa said.

On development priorities, Basalirwa said his next term would focus on economic empowerment, particularly for women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.

‘These groups are often left behind, yet they form the backbone of our communities,’ he said, adding that health, education, road maintenance, and household income improvement would remain central.

He pledged to closely monitor the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) project, noting that Bugiri Municipality is expected to benefit in the 2026/2027 financial year.

‘We want quality tarmac roads, security lighting, and proper drainage systems,’ he said, noting that a municipal USMID committee had been constituted to oversee the project.

Residents, however, voiced ongoing concerns over service delivery. Ms Sarah Kagoya, a vendor at Bugiri Central Market, said the market faces persistent problems such as poor garbage collection and delayed construction, though she acknowledged Basalirwa’s Shs5 million donation to the market vendors’ SACCO.

Kataawo Zone chairperson Musa Bazibu called for the upgrading of more health centres to ease congestion at Bugiri General Hospital and praised Basalirwa for lobbying for Bugiri Health Centre III and staff housing.

Basalirwa is contesting for re-election against four other candidates, including Mercelino Egesa Mangeni (NUP), Nalongo Phoebe Catherine (Independent), Brian Mukwaya (Democratic Party), and John Francis Oketcho (NRM).

The Electoral Commission (EC) has defended its decision to cancel the candidature of Mathias Walukagga, insisting that he did not meet the minimum academic qualifications required to contest for the Busiro East parliamentary seat.

In an affidavit in reply filed before the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala- a copy of which has been accessed by our reporter- the Commission maintains that Walukagga lacked the requisite academic qualifications at the time of nomination, contrary to the provisions of the Parliamentary Elections Act.

The affidavit was sworn by Abubaker Kayondo, a Legal Officer at the Electoral Commission, in response to Walukagga’s appeal challenging the Commission’s decision to nullify his nomination.

Mr Kayondo states that the mature age entry certificate presented by Mr Walukagga for nomination had expired by October 23, 2025, the date on which he was nominated.

He adds that upon evaluation of the evidence and submissions presented during proceedings before the Commission, it was established that Mr Walukagga did not satisfy the minimum formal education requirements prescribed under Section 4(1)(c) of the Parliamentary Elections Act.

The Electoral Commission further argues that it acted within its constitutional and statutory mandate. According to the affidavit, the Commission is empowered under Article 61(1)(f) of the 1995 Constitution and Section 15 of the Electoral Commission Act to hear and determine complaints relating to a candidate’s qualifications prior to nomination.

‘The Commission had the authority to inquire into whether Mr Walukagga Mathias possessed the required academic qualifications prior to his nomination,’ Kayondo states.The Electoral Commission has asked the court to dismiss the appeal with costs and to uphold its decision. The response, which was submitted electronically, comes as the High Court prepares to deliver its judgment in the matter on Monday, December 22, 2025.

Earlier this week, Justice Simon Peter Kinobe fixed the judgment date after hearing submissions from all parties and issuing strict timelines for the filing of responses and rejoinders, citing the urgency of the electoral calendar.

Mr Walukagga, the National Unity Platform (NUP) flag bearer for Busiro East, filed the appeal through his lawyers Alex Luganda, Erias Nalukoola, Jonathan Erut, and Aua Napala. The Electoral Commission is the first respondent, while voter John Lubowa Kilimiro-who initially petitioned the Commission to challenge Walukagga’s nomination-is the second respondent.

The appeal arises from a decision by the Electoral Commission to cancel Walukagga’s nomination following Kilimiro’s complaint challenging his academic qualifications. The Commission heard the complaint over several sittings in November before reaching its decision.

Under Ugandan law, a person seeking nomination as a Member of Parliament must possess a minimum of an Advanced Level certificate or its equivalent.

In his appeal, Walukagga argues that the Commission acted without jurisdiction, contending that his academic qualifications had already been equated and verified by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) in collaboration with the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB).

Mr Walukagga maintains that he was duly nominated on October 23, 2025, on the basis of a mature age entry certificate issued by the Islamic University in Uganda in June 2023. He argues that although such certificates are ordinarily valid for two years, his was used within that period to enrol for further studies, a fact he says preserves its validity.

He further states that in June 2025, NCHE equated his mature age entry qualification to Advanced Level standard and issued him with a certificate confirming completion of formal education at that level, which formed the basis of his nomination.

However, the Electoral Commission insists that despite the NCHE documentation, the certificate presented for nomination had expired and did not meet the legal threshold at the time of nomination.

Justice Kinobe directed during the previous session that the judgment would be delivered electronically through the court’s Electronic Case Management Information System (ECCMIS), and parties were advised against returning to court for a physical ruling.

The High Court’s decision is expected to determine whether Walukagga’s name will be reinstated on the ballot as the country heads to the polls on January 15, 2026, to elect Members of Parliament and the President of Uganda.

At your age, I’m cocksure you’ve never heard of the Kasayi river, right? So how was I, at just 11, supposed to even know its source? But I had to show Mr Batwawula exactly that, or the cane in his hand would come crashing down on my head. We were in P6K at Victoria Nile School, Jinja, one afternoon in 1982. Mr Batwawula, stocky and strong, calm and cool as a cat, was a man of few words who spoke mostly using his cane. He expected us to read widely and to know a lot. For that geography lesson, he had a map of Africa pinned on the blackboard. One by one, we’d be called up to pinpoint certain physical features. Whoever failed would be whipped. Ferociously. Starting with the head.

‘Gawaya, show me the source of River Kasayi.’ Forget about the source, I’d never heard of the Kasayi thing – but I couldn’t ask for an easier question. I looked at the man, then at the stick. He knew he had me. I hesitated a moment as I prayed quietly, ‘Lord…please!’ Then I walked slowly to the blackboard. I didn’t look at the map, since I didn’t know River Kasayi. I simply put a finger on a spot…then closed my eyes and braced for impact, expecting the stick to strike my head. Then, wonder of wonders, I heard him say, ‘Perfect!’ I opened my eyes, looked at my finger…and, there, met River Kasayi for the very first time, at its source. Two things happened to me at Victoria Nile. One, I was seven when I starred in the Christmas play, as one of the Three Wise Men that took gifts to Baby Jesus. Two, I got a personal copy of the Victoria Nile Hymnbook.

One of the songs that melted my heart went, ‘God is in heaven, can He hear, a little prayer like mine? Yes, He can, and I need not fear, He’ll listen unto mine’. In my little heart, the Jesus I had taken gifts to, big though He was, could answer little prayers of kids like me. In class, I was a struggling kid, with many limitations and flaws, incapable of computing even the most basic of sums. Fortunately, I recognised my limitations early and realised that, with the incredibly brilliant kids around me, I’d be bottom of the class. I began praying…and began seeing God help me in incredible, often dramatic ways. Perhaps the most telling incident came in third term, 1980. I had failed the Reading exam the previous term, with an E. So, when I got called up for the final one, Ms Kirigwajjo – quiet, plump, Black beauty – didn’t expect much from me.

She gave me a list of about 50 words, told me to begin, and then looked down at something, completely unconcerned. When I reached the fifth word, she looked up sharply and told me to stop. She was greatly disturbed. She sent me away. I got called up again after a while. This time, I found she’d called another teacher, Ms Biryeri. I was asked to read again, then stopped when I reached the fifth or sixth word. They summoned me again after a meeting. Ms Biryeri looked into my eyes and asked me, ‘Gawaya, tell us, does your father (the headmaster) give you these exams ahead of time?’ I shook my head, surprised that anyone would think so low of my father! But if I told them I’d been praying, and they’d just witnessed a miracle, they wouldn’t believe me either. I later learnt it was an exam we weren’t supposed to pass.

The P5 class had failed it, and here was a P4 kid making short work of it. I got an A (90 percent) for doing 10 percent of the exam. Some columnists in Sunday Monitor consistently use acres of space in this newspaper to allege that there’s no God. The simplest proof of God’s existence lies in the fact that He answers honest, sincere, heartfelt prayer. One of Uganda’s finest lawyers, Fred Muwema, my best friend back then, sat beside me in Mr Batwawula’s class; he’ll probably remember that afternoon of 1982. Both Ms Kirigwajjjo and Ms Biryeri are alive and well in Jinja. They’ll remember this. Let’s put Christ in our Christmas celebrations, because He isn’t just a story. Merry Christmas, y’all, my dear readers.

Christmas is around the corner, I have heard from many people that this year was not the best for them. So, we would assume that last year or the year before were better, but I have heard the same statement over and over. And the world does not seem to show signs of improving any time soon.

But let us look at the bright side of this, children seem to still take this season very seriously and await with impatience the arrival of Father Christmas bringing them all sort of goodies they have been wishing to have. I know some children who start their new wish list as soon as they open this Christmas’s gifts, but the question that always comes to mind, is there still that shine in the eyes of today’s children like the one we had when we received the simplest gifts when we were young?

In countries with less privileged populations, this joy may still be there, but in places where children’s toys fill up houses and backyards, the story is quite different. The story does not stop here.

Today, families wish their children played with toys like we used to do before. Technology has advanced so fast and furious that children of very young age demand toys with electronic gadgets. A simple Lego has no place on the wish list, it has to turn into something else, trucks that transform into monsters , a fish that turns into a piranha with deadly teeth that will consume all others, scary dolls and alien looking teddy bears.

Even when I personally try to look for a toy gift for a young nephew or niece, my mind cannot accept simple gifts because I know they have it all. So, I end up buying them a T-shirt or another sort of clothing. At least I know the mother will be happy to take it off her shopping list.

As for the older children, especially boys, video games, phones and tablets are on top of the list, latest models of course. Once, a friend told me that her son who is academically gifted, is not being as appreciated because the boys with the best gadgets are the most popular. Everyone wants to be their friend and spend afternoons with them playing video games at their house.

Young girls seem to be more attracted to TikTok. They are hooked to certain fashionistas and influencers;their dresscode and general behaviour follows the trends that they bring online. Of course, these are not trends that are set by them but smart adults who are playing the game from behind the scenes. These adults have 100 percent interest in their own pockets.

What I like about Christmas in Luxembourg are the lights, and there seem to be many of them, very high Christmas trees set up beautifully in two zones of the city, one in the centre and the other in the area of the train station. Under these trees and alongside the main roads, food and gift booths are provided.

Almost the same vendors every year, with the food items such as crispy potato fritters, and Christmas sausages being the most sought after. All are served with a warm wine drink, quite symbolic of the season. Of course, it all comes at a price. A basic sausage will set you back Shs25,000 and the same goes for the famous Belgian waffles.

These markets are also a good place to select gifts for friends and family!

PHILIPPINE tourism, long hailed as a pillar of national development, is struggling to regain its footing in the post-pandemic era. Despite robust domestic travel and renewed investor confidence, the sector remains constrained by outdated laws, symbolic ‘place-branding’ bills, and fragmented governance.

This is the sobering conclusion of the government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) in its landmark review, ‘Philippine Tourism Sectoral Review (2000 to 2025): From Promise to Power-Accelerating the Philippines’ Tourism Transformation toward Sustainability, Competitiveness, and Inclusion,’ authored by John Paolo R. Rivera, Marga Clarence P. Bolalin, and John Joseph S. Ocbina.

The report paints a picture of a sector caught between promise and paralysis: a resilient domestic market and strong private-sector investments on one hand, but outdated legal frameworks, fragmented governance, and weak international competitiveness on the other.

Outdated legal framework

TOURISM legislation ‘defines the rules of the game for how the sector grows, competes, and sustains itself.’ Yet the Philippine legal architecture remains ‘thin, uneven, and outdated.’

The core framework, RA 9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009, continues to serve as the sector’s primary enabling law more than fifteen years later. While it established the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) and strengthened the Department of Tourism’s mandate, the absence of a comprehensive update highlights what the authors call ‘policy stagnation.’

Later measures-such as the 2019 amendment (RA 11262) and the 2024 VAT-refund law (RA 12079)-were useful but ‘largely fiscal and transactional.’

‘Taken together, these statutes lack a comprehensive modernization agenda. Unlike other major industries, tourism has not benefited from a second-generation policy framework,’ the report notes.

The rise of ‘place-branding’ laws

LEGISLATIVE activity has surged, with tourism-related bills in the House of Representatives quadrupling from 65 in the 15th Congress to 420 in the 19th. Yet this numerical increase conceals a qualitative decline.

Most measures are ‘site-specific or declaratory,’ proclaiming waterfalls, caves, or towns as eco-tourism parks or heritage villages. These acts rarely include funding provisions, implementing agencies, or sustainability clauses, leaving sites dependent on limited LGU budgets or competitive DOT grants.

Their chief utility, the report concludes, lies in short-term publicity. ‘Congress has become a factory of place-branding acts, not a source of transformative tourism reform.’

Fragmented governance

BEYOND legislation, governance gaps persist. National tourism plans often operate in isolation from local realities.

Local Tourism Development Plans are often drafted merely as compliance documents, with little alignment to the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP). National strategies are ‘largely top-down, with limited consultation of regional realities.’

Tourism management is frequently personality-driven, with officers on temporary contracts replaced after elections, erasing institutional memory and halting long-term projects. Overlapping mandates among DOT, DILG, and DENR further result in inconsistent enforcement and accreditation.

Stakeholders stressed: ‘Tourism products must graduate from PowerPoint to product.’

Economic recovery: Nominal vs. real

DESPITE governance flaws, tourism remains a major economic driver. The report distinguishes between ‘nominal’ recovery, buoyed by inflation, and ‘real’ recovery, adjusted for constant prices.

Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA)-the official measure of tourism’s direct contribution to GDP-peaked at 12.9 percent in 2019, but stands at 8.9 percent in 2024, underscoring that real recovery remains gradual.

Employment covers 13.8 percent of the workforce, projected to reach 14.1 million jobs in the next decade.

Investments hit PHP 590.4 billion in 2024, showing strong private-sector confidence despite external shocks.

Sectoral contributions

THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reports that tourism’s PHP2.35-trillion contribution to the economy in 2024 was powered by six subsectors:

Shopping – the single largest contributor, driven by mall tourism, duty-free purchases, and souvenirs.

Accommodation services – hotels, resorts, and homestays, boosted by long-stay balikbayans.

Food and Beverage – restaurants, culinary tourism, and farm-to-table circuits.

Transportation – domestic flights, ferries, land transfers, and ride-hailing.

Entertainment and Recreation – theme parks, nightlife, cultural shows, and festivals.

Travel Agencies and Tour Operators – packaged tours, circuit planning, and inbound logistics.

Domestic tourists spend heavily on shopping, food, and land transport, while international visitors allocate more to accommodation, air travel, and packaged tours. Balikbayans remain unique, spreading their spending across all categories due to longer stays.

Yet PIDS warns of tourism leakages: imported goods dominate souvenir markets, foreign-owned resorts capture profits, and weak local supply chains limit multiplier effects. Without stronger linkages, much of this spending fails to benefit local communities.

Regional innovation, local resilience

DESPITE slow national recovery, regional focus group discussions (FGDs) revealed a sector actively innovating from the ground up. Luzon stakeholders are strengthening eco-adventure and heritage corridors; Visayas stakeholders are developing wellness, experiential, and education tourism clusters; while Mindanao stakeholders are advancing agro-cultural, faith-based, and indigenous wellness products.

These initiatives align with the NTDP 2023-2028 agenda for multi-regional, high-value, and inclusive tourism. They demonstrate that while national-level data may show tempered growth, local diversification is accelerating.

MSMEs and accreditation challenges

Accreditation emerged as a critical issue. MSMEs, which comprise 99 percent of the industry, often struggle with compliance burdens and see little value in accreditation. Uptake remains low.

PIDS recommends tiered and incentive-based accreditation models, digitalized compliance systems, and expanded capacity-building programs to support MSMEs in transitioning toward a digitally enabled, AI-ready tourism ecosystem.

Roadmap to 2028 and beyond

The report outlines a phased roadmap:

Short-run (2024-2026): Fix the basics – seamless travel, last-mile access, interoperable booking, standardized LGU reporting, and data governance.

Medium-run (2026-2028): Scale competitive and inclusive products – fast-track visitor experience enhancements, commercialize validated circuits, and strengthen continuity of branding.

Long-run (2028 onwards): Future-proof transformation – smart destination systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, AI-enabled tourism services, and globally recognized excellence.

Domestic strength, international lag

THE Philippines leads Asean in domestic tourism, accounting for 32.9 percent of receipts (USD 52.1 billion in 2023).

‘This underscores the robustness and scale of domestic travel in the Philippines, signifying its critical role in driving national economic activity.’

Yet internationally, the country lags. Thailand generated USD 34.1 billion in international receipts in 2023, while the Philippines managed only USD 11.3 billion, ranking fifth in ASEAN. Returning Filipinos (balikbayans) remain a resilient segment, staying nearly twice as long as foreign visitors.

Tourism slogans: Promise and fragmentation

Tourism branding has shifted with each administration:

WOW Philippines (2002): Celebrated diversity and vibrancy.

It’s More Fun in the Philippines (2012): Centered on Filipino warmth and humor; achieved strong global recall.

Love the Philippines (2023): Emphasized stewardship, sustainability, and national pride.

While each campaign had merits, frequent changes have fragmented the country’s global image. Unlike Thailand’s ‘Amazing Thailand’ or Malaysia’s ‘Truly Asia,’ the Philippines has yet to sustain a coherent brand that transcends political cycles.

Call for reform

RIVERA, Bolalin, and Ocbina urge Congress to move from symbolic acts to substantive laws. Among their proposals:

Tourism Competitiveness and Innovation Act – institutionalizing digital transformation and green standards.

Tourism Resilience and Climate Adaptation Act – mandating disaster risk management and insurance.

Tourism Human Capital Act – aligning skills training with ASEAN benchmarks.

Tourism Circuit Development Act – incentivizing multi-LGU clusters and infrastructure corridors.

TIEZA Charter revisions – expanding PPP models and local investment portfolios.

As one stakeholder affirmed: ‘Our people are already world-class, the system just needs to catch up.’

Recovery to reinvention

The PIDS report affirms that the Philippines is well-positioned to move from recovery to reinvention. Regions are pioneering innovations aligned with the NTDP 2023-2028 agenda, MSMEs are seeking digital onboarding, and stakeholders are calling for convergence across government, private sector, and academia.

Yet without structural reforms-modernizing RA 9593, embedding value-chain integration, and institutionalizing smart-destination systems-the sector risks falling.

I was recently on a Christian website which carried the following words: ‘There is a tradition in historical Christianity that claims that Jesus descended into hell during the three days He was in the grave. The Apostles’ Creed says that Jesus was crucified, died, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day, he rose again from the dead.’ According to this tradition, Jesus went to hell to liberate the righteous. However, as he unclenched the hand of love, many of the righteous rejected the Son of God’s overture. He thus ascended with only the righteous who accepted him as the way, the truth and the light. The righteous who chose to stay in hell became the menus for damnation’s eternal barbecues.

Recently, a government functionary reminded me that the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) came from God. ‘That’s true’, I conceded. ‘But so did the devil’. The latter, I added, began his fiery career in Heaven. Based on the devil’s career trajectory, one must agree that hell is only a career move away. This is why politics is a zero-sum game in Uganda. It’s a life and death affair. Opposition members, righteous in every way, believe that to negotiate with the government would be akin to allowing the fox into the henhouse. There would be blood and feathers everywhere, with red flowing into a crimson tide. The NRM, on the other hand, only sees red when they see the Opposition. The two have thus gone eyeball to eyeball, and Uganda continues to blink.

This has turned our country into a hell waiting to catch fire. If Jesus came down and asked the righteous to follow Him and thereby leave their animosities this side of eternity, the righteous NRM and its Opposition would refuse. They would instead choose to reign in hell than serve in heaven. This is where we have reached. Our political appetites, exemplified by greed, have trapped us in hell, and we don’t even know it. We think this is the best we can do. That’s why we choose conflict over conversations, which champion our diversity as the very basis of our potential unity. We get it. It’s thrilling to hate. You get a rush from the release, which comes with blaming everyone but you for what has happened to you.

It doesn’t matter your affiliation or disaffiliation; it feels better to hate because that externalises the self-blame, you’re not strong enough to endure. Yet it must be endured. To endure is to refuse to give up, no matter what. In the 2023 film The Exorcist: Believer, this sentiment of giving up being surrender to the devil is well expressed. It reflects the central theme of the movie that the devil’s ultimate goal is to make humanity despair and lose faith. The devil recognises the power of despair. In the movie, the demon uses psychological attacks to convince people that hope is lost, pushing them toward despair-which characters in the film describe as a form of spiritual defeat.

Also, the devil uses the deception of choice. During the movie climax, the demon presents an impossible choice: one girl must be chosen to live while the other dies. This is revealed as a trick intended to make the parents “give up” their moral ground; when a choice is finally made out of desperation, the demon subverts it to cause maximum suffering. That’s why, no matter where you stand politically, you cannot give up on Uganda. To do so would controvert the very spirit of this season. I wish you a Merry Christmas!

In today’s letter, I’ll explore political nepotism and why it does not exist in Canada, despite it still being racist. Whereas Canada doesn’t have nepotism in the upper echelons of power, our southern neighbour, the United States, is currently littered with it. Both countries use Western democracy, though differently. Canada isn’t only different from the US but also from Africa, where colonisers introduced chaotic democracy that never worked because it was a far-off imposition on Africa. Other than Botswana and somewhat South Africa, it is hard to pinpoint any African country with a functional democracy. Western democracy embeds and provokes intraparty scuffles and fake patriotism for power, but not serving the people as they pretend to.

Many so-called political parties are either kitbag property of their founders and owners, or veiled means of controlling resources for exploitation by a political cabal of self-seekers, their families, and friends. Colonisers introduced their democracy to Africa to perpetually weaken, control, and exploit it. That’s why it has created family domination and monopolisation of power in many African countries. Why does this democracy always depend on the West if it doesn’t serve its hidden interests as opposed to those of the African ordinary people? Western countries are always happy to dish out millions of dollars to fund our elections. To make sure that recipients meet their standards, they dispatch electoral observers to Africa.

Using their lens, once they’re satisfied with the results, they’ll declare it credible, free, fair, and transparent or not. So why don’t they allow us to observe their elections, at least to learn how democracy is implemented and give our insignificant verdict? Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe once ‘offered’ to send electoral observers to the US. My eye! The US flatly ignored the offer. This brings us to an over-touted but complex riddle of the government of the people, by the people, for the people, a description of democracy which worries me a lot. Who are the people, and what are they? After winning, US President Donald Trump twice filled many top positions in his government with family members.

Trump in his two administrations appointed his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his senior advisor; Jared’s father, Charles Kushner, US ambassador to France; Kimberly Guilfoyle who was engaged to Donald Trump Jr until last year, ambassador to Greece; and Massad Boulos-the father-in-law of Trump’s youngest daughter, Tiffany- senior adviser on Arab and Middle East African issues, who also recently became the interceder in the DR Congo conflict. Ironically, when African presidents replicate the same, it’s called nepotism! It becomes anti-democratic. Let’s face it, nepotism is nepotism. Period. It’s bad, howbeit who employs, enjoys, entertains, or espouses it. When Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan recently appointed her daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, as the deputy minister for Education, and her son-in-law, Mohamed Mchengerwa, as minister of Health, it became big news globally.

Tongues wagged with condemnations. In Equatorial Guinea, its long-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo, appointed his sons, Teodoro Obiang Mangue, vice president and Gabriel Lima Mbega minister of Mines, in 2016; like his Togolese counterpart Gnassingbe Eyadema appointed his son Faure Essozimna minister, who later inherited the presidency after his demise. In the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara appointed his younger brother, Téné Birahima Ouattara, minister of Defence. In Congo, President Denis Sassou-Nguesso appointed his son, Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso, minister. What difference does such nepotism have from that in the US or any monarchy?

My simple argument is: if we want to become truly democratic, democracy must apply equally across the board; failure to which means double standard and hypocrisy. For Western democracy to work effectively and equally, it must apply the same standards globally. Its selectivity and inequality are its big undoing. We need to decolonise and deconstruct Western democracy by diving back into our past to see how our pre-colonial institutions and systems worked as a viable alternative to Western democracy, which has become a mockery.

FROM Olympic gold to a non-medal finish in the Southeast Asian Games, Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo’s journey has changed dramatically in four years, showing the unforgiving nature of high-level sport.

Diaz lifted 88 kgs and 90 kgs in the snatch and managed 110 kgs in the clean and jerk for a 200-kg total-a distant fourth place as Vietnam’s Thi Tam Quang came up with lifts of 96-119-215 for the bronze.

Thailand’s Suratwadee Yodsarn dominated with 224 kgs (96 kgs snatch and 128 kgs clean and jerk), while Indonesia’s Natasya Beteyob bagged the silver medal with a 98-120-218.

Still, Diaz-Naranjo remains the Philippines’ most celebrated weightlifter and one of the country’s greatest athletes despite the disappointment at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

‘Sorry,’ Diaz-Naranjo, who is trying to fight off a lingering right knee injury, said. ‘But I did my best.’

‘And this is my best for now because I have an injury and I’m having a hard time dropping weight because I gained weight. But it’s not an excuse. At the end of the day, I didn’t give up. I prepared and I’m happy to represent our country,’ Diaz said.

After a disheartening 2024, Diaz-Naranjo says she is motivated to return to competition and the missed podium in Thailand only fuels her drive.

‘After not qualifying for the Paris Olympics, I kind of lost motivation and this is my first international competition after 2024. I’m happy to be back again,’ said Diaz-Naranjo.

The toughest hurdle was returning to her top mental form, the Olympic champion said.

‘It’s not the physical training, it’s the mental training. That’s where I struggled. And I didn’t compete for almost two years.

‘I’m happy to be back,’ she added.

Eyeing LA 2028

DESPITE the struggles with the changes in weight classes-Diaz-Naranjo won the Olympic gold at 55kg, a division that was scrapped, which forced her to move up to 59 for the Paris Olympic qualification and now back to 58 in the Southeast Asian Games-the Filipina sports icon is determined to seek another shot at glory.

‘It keeps changing. Third time na ito ngayon. So tingnan natin, 61 kilos naman,’ Diaz-Naranjo said.

‘Hoping next year I’ll be qualifying for LA.’

She will be 37 in LA28, on her fourth Olympic cycle.

Beyond that, retirement looms on the horizon.

‘There are plans, because we are nearing retirement.’

‘But the SEA Games reignited the competitive fire in me.’

Tokyo Lift

HIDILYN Diaz-Naranjo reached the peak of her career in July 2021.

At the Tokyo International Forum, Diaz-Naranjo had a total lift of 224 kilograms to secure victory, ending the Philippines’ long search for an Olympic gold medal.

Diaz-Naranjo posted lifts of 97kg and 127kg for a 224kg total, edging her rival by a single kilogram.

Then the international weightlifting scene had major changes, with revised weight categories and stricter Olympic qualification rules ahead of the Paris 2024 Games.

Diaz-Naranjo, battling injuries and seeing action in limited events, fell short.

The SEA Games was expected to be a big comeback, but the 34-year-old Diaz-Naranjo was outside striking distance of a podium.

Still, officials note that the SEA Games debacle did not diminish her star power.

Uganda’s coffee sector is walking a tightrope. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which requires countries to adduce proof that all products sold to the EU were not grown on land cleared after 2020 and that production is in accordance with national laws, is coming into force on December 30. By the close of last financial year, coffee had become Uganda’s biggest foreign exchange earner. Coffee exports earned the country $2 billion (approximately Shs7 trillion) from the export of 7.43 million 60kg bags of coffee. That amounted to 30 percent of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings. Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that up to 72 percent of Uganda’s coffee exports go to the EU, with Italy alone consuming up to 40 percent of the commodity.

The importance of the EU market cannot be overemphasised. Any interruption of exports to the EU is certain to have serious ramifications for the economy. That is why we should prioritise alignment of the operations of the sector to meet the demands of the EU market. Uganda will now be required to track coffee production to a Global Positioning System (GPS) farm, which is always going to be a very big challenge given that the country does not have many large holder coffee farms. Most of the crop is produced on small, untitled farms that operate largely informally. This must change if we are to keep hold of the EU market.

Whereas the country has for quite a while now been talking about reviving the cooperative movement and modernisation of agriculture through adoption of appropriate and climate-smart technologies, most of those proposals have been gathering dust on the shelves of government ministries, departments and agencies. It, therefore, follows that while the coming into force of the EUDR is a threat of sorts, it also presents the country with an opportunity to streamline aspects of the agricultural sector and enable farming communities to take that giant leap into formal production. Most farmers work on small, untitled land holdings.

Whereas ignorance is a major factor behind the failure by some of them to acquire land titles to their holdings, the prohibitive costs associated with the land registration processes have also been a major impediment. That is where the government must intervene and fund land registration processes. That will not only curb persistent land wrangles, but also give farmers the kind of security of tenure that paves way for investments and increased production. That is why EUDR must be seen as a blessing, for it presents the country with the opportunity to make things right.

In one of our animated discussions in a journalists’ chat group, a colleague, Derrick Wandera of Daily Monitor, questioned why the National Resistance Movement (NRM), and particularly the security agencies, are placing so much emphasis on what he described as ‘ghetto political slogans’ used by National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi.

According to Wandera, slogans such as Tubayisemu Egaali (a ghetto expression implying the subduing of those one disagrees with through force), Kuzoganya (unsettling one’s enemies), and Mukakuume mukabanje (protect the vote and demand answers if one is dissatisfied with the results) are harmless political statements.

In his view, the government, especially security agencies, is panicking by reading too much into these rallying calls, which, he argues, should not be interpreted beyond their face value.

He is wrong. To security agencies, these are not innocent slogans. They are deliberately coded statements designed to incite sections of the population to take the law into their own hands during an election season.

To understand why security is concerned about such language, one does not need to look far; our region offers painful lessons on what political incitement can do in a highly charged political environment.

During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, perpetrators began by coining coded language to incite ethnic Hutu against Tutsi. Words such as Inyenzi (cockroaches) were used to dehumanise Tutsis and justify violence against them. This systematic use of language was a powerful tool of incitement. We all know what people do when cockroaches invade their homes: they exterminate them. The result of this dehumanisation was the genocide against the Tutsi, which claimed close to one million lives in just three months.

Similarly, during Kenya’s 2007-2008 post-election violence, explicit and coded language was widely used to incite ethnic hatred and violence. Politicians and their supporters employed terms such as madoadoa (blemishes or spots), a coded reference in the Rift Valley to ‘non-host’ communities, particularly Kikuyu and Kisii, who were accused of supporting the wrong political choices. The implication was that these ‘spots’ needed to be removed.

Other phrases included ‘beasts from the west,’ reportedly used by some Kikuyu politicians to describe Luo supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga, while some Kalenjin supporters retaliated by referring to the Kikuyu as ‘vermin’.

The phrase ‘clear the weeds from the grass’ echoed Rwanda’s genocidal rhetoric and was a coded call for the physical removal of non-Kalenjin communities from the Rift Valley. Another expression, ‘the mongoose has stolen the chickens,’ alluded to historical land grievances, portraying the Kikuyu as land grabbers.

The consequences were devastating. Tribal clashes, particularly between the Luo and the Kikuyu, displaced thousands of people. Property, infrastructure, and industries were destroyed; about 1,000 people were killed; and many more were displaced. For the first time, Uganda received hundreds of Kenyan refugees fleeing the violence.

Therefore, when security agencies act cautiously in response to inciting statements and innuendoes, they should not be dismissed as panicky or overzealous.

Instead, they should be commended for restraining desperate political actors who seek votes by any means, including those that endanger communities and national stability.

The use of coded language and slogans by the leadership of NUP to incite citizens must be condemned by all. Such rhetoric is deeply inciting, and his team and advisers should restrain him. Ironically, before entering the often reckless world of politics, he once sang, ‘Akalulu tekatwawula’ (elections should never divide us).

For Christians, the Bible offers a sobering warning about the power of words. In James 3:5-6, the apostle uses vivid imagery, comparing the tongue to a small spark capable of setting an entire forest ablaze. He illustrates how reckless speech can cause immense destruction, corrupting individuals and communities alike.