Category: Daily Monitor

Uganda is stepping up efforts to position itself as a leading conference and events hub in Africa after securing hosting rights for the inaugural Africa Destination Celebrations Conference and Expo (ADCCE), scheduled for 23-27 March 2026 in Kampala.

The continental conference and expo will be held at the Speke Resort Munyonyo Convention Centre and is expected to draw international buyers, investors, tourism authorities, event planners, media, and creative industry leaders from across Africa and beyond.

Organisers say the event is designed to strengthen Africa’s presence in the global meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market while showcasing Uganda as a competitive host destination for high-value international events.

Speaking at the official launch on Thursday, Ms Mellon Tukeikiriza, Senior MICE Officer at the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), said hosting ADCCE aligns with Uganda’s National MICE Strategy and the recently launched National Tourism Policy.

‘This event directly supports Uganda’s vision to grow Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions tourism while positioning the country as a competitive destination for high-value international events,’ Tukeikiriza said.

ADCCE is being positioned as Africa’s first continent-wide platform dedicated exclusively to the destination celebrations and luxury events economy. The multi-day programme will feature high-level conferences and keynote addresses, expert-led masterclasses, panel discussions, a curated exhibition showcase, and structured business-to-business matchmaking sessions.

Delegates will also take part in familiarisation trips highlighting Uganda’s tourism offerings, including wildlife, cultural heritage and adventure experiences.

According to organisers, the conference aims to bridge tourism and events by creating a single marketplace where international planners can access African destinations, suppliers and creative talent.

Peter Kaggwa, Chairman of the Uganda Association for Conference and Incentive Industry, said the expo would help integrate local players into global events value chains.

‘This platform will connect Ugandan and regional suppliers to international markets and opportunities, strengthening the country’s meetings and events ecosystem,’ Kaggwa said.

The conference will open with The Sounds of Africa Welcome Dinner, a high-profile cultural event celebrating African music, cuisine, fashion and storytelling. It will conclude with the Africa Destination Awards Gala, dubbed ‘The Iye Ball,’ to be hosted at the Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa, recognising excellence and innovation in Africa’s destination celebrations and luxury events sector.

Following the expo, international delegates will participate in curated post-event tours across Uganda, including safari drives in national parks, gorilla trekking, boat cruises on Lake Victoria and the Nile, island retreats, and cultural and adventure tourism experiences.

Tourism officials say these activities are aimed at converting conference delegates into repeat leisure visitors.

Jackline Nanteza, President of ADCCE, said the expo would be held annually and rotate across the continent, with Uganda hosting the first edition.

‘ADCCE was formed in Uganda, and as the first host, we have a responsibility to showcase what Uganda represents in terms of culture, hospitality and destinations,’ Nanteza said. ‘This expo is not just about tourism; it is a merger of events and tourism. When a guest is seeking a destination for an event, everything they need will be in one place.’

Industry observers note that while global trade shows such as IMEX, IBTM and DWP dominate the international events calendar, Africa has lacked a dedicated platform focused on destination celebrations and luxury events. ADCCE aims to fill that gap by highlighting the continent’s landscapes, wildlife, creative industries and hospitality infrastructure.

For Uganda, hosting the conference is expected to boost brand visibility and reinforce Kampala’s growing reputation as a regional conferencing destination. Officials say the event could generate spillover benefits across aviation, transport, hospitality and cultural sectors, supporting jobs and private-sector growth.

Organisers say ADCCE is designed as a long-term, scalable initiative, with future editions planned for other African destinations including Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Rwanda and South Africa, as part of a broader strategy to establish Africa as a competitive global hub for destination events and celebrations.

After four years of intense work across some of the country’s hardest-to-reach districts, the Rising Uganda project, a major national intervention designed to bring out-of-school children back to class, officially closed this week, leaving behind strengthened school systems, renewed community confidence, and more than 110,000 children reintegrated into Uganda’s public education system.

Implemented between 2022 and 2025, the project was led by Plan International Uganda in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports, district local governments, and the Strømme Foundation, with funding from Education Above All (EAA) through its Educate A Child program. Its goal was to tackle the persistent challenges that push Uganda’s most vulnerable children – especially girls, children living in poverty, and refugee learners – out of school.

Response to Long-Standing Gaps in Public Education

Rising Uganda was launched at a time when the realities facing government schools had become impossible to ignore. Although teachers, buildings, and instructional materials existed on paper, schools continued to grapple with chronic challenges: low parental engagement, weak school management, inadequate supervision, early marriage, and widespread absenteeism. These problems were especially pronounced in refugee-hosting communities across West Nile, where thousands of children navigated displacement, poverty, and limited access to consistent learning.

District data compiled in 2021 showed staggering numbers of out-of-school children, prompting government and partners to jointly select nine priority districts with the most urgent needs: Kamuli and Buyende in Eastern Uganda; Lira and Alebtong in the mid-north; and Obongi, Yumbe, Adjumani, Madi-Okollo and Nebbi in West Nile.

The project set an initial target to reintegrate 100,000 out-of-school children across 400 government primary schools. By the time of its official close-out this week, it had not only met but exceeded that target, reaching 110,000 learners – a milestone that development partners hailed as proof that public schools, when well supported, can successfully retain children who had once slipped through the cracks.

Retention – especially from Primary Four onwards – recorded significant improvement. Adolescent girls, historically the most at risk of dropout due to early pregnancy, domestic responsibilities, and menstrual hygiene challenges, returned to school in large numbers, thanks to targeted community mobilisation, better facilities, and stronger school management systems.

‘The project has shown that when public schools are well supported to function effectively, the learners return and parents regain confidence,’ Martin Obwoya, Technical Advisor for Education at Plan International Uganda told the Daily Monitor. ‘The systems are in place and the practices are known. What is needed now is consistent monitoring and adequate support for inspection so that schools can sustain the progress made.’

Stronger Systems, Better Schools

Unlike interventions that focus solely on infrastructure or materials, Rising Uganda was built on the understanding that lasting change requires stronger governance and accountability within schools.

To achieve this, district leaders took charge of building capacity among key school and community structures. Trainings were conducted for Baba Clubs, Mama Clubs, GEMS Clubs, SMC members, PTA leaders, and school-based data champions – all positioned to monitor attendance, track learner welfare, and support early identification of children at risk of dropping out.

Districts also formed Project Steering Committees, bringing together LC5 chairpersons, Resident District Commissioners, Chief Administrative Officers, District Education Officers, and heads of department. Their oversight ensured government ownership from the onset and created an accountability chain that strengthened supervision.

At the school level, teachers received refresher training on inclusive education, learner-centered methods, and psychosocial support – critical for refugee settlements where trauma, language barriers, and disrupted learning are common.

While the project did invest significantly in infrastructure, partners emphasised that the ‘hardware’ alone was not the heart of Rising. Rather, it was the systems – the ‘software’ – that held everything together: leadership, community engagement, data management, monitoring, and consistent communication between parents and schools.

Still, the infrastructure impact was substantial. Across the nine districts, Rising Uganda upgraded facilities in 25 schools, constructing 48 new classrooms, renovating 19 blocks, and installing 57 latrine units amounting to 283 stances. These improvements were not cosmetic; they responded to urgent needs of overcrowded schools, single-shift latrines shared by hundreds of learners, and dilapidated structures that were unsafe for children.

In places like Yumbe and Obongi – districts spotlighted for high dropout rates and large refugee populations – teachers reported that the new classrooms and improved Wash facilities made schools visibly more attractive to children and safer for girls during menstruation. This, combined with stronger management systems, helped boost enrolment and retention across the board.

The Sustainability Question

As partners formally signed off the project in late November, attention now shifts to a critical question: will the gains last? District inspectorates, though empowered through the project, still grapple with tight budgets that limit effective supervision – a key pillar in maintaining school standards. Without regular monitoring, the continuity of strengthened systems remains at risk.

Obwoya, however, remains optimistic. He believes sustainability is achievable because district and school leaders have been driving implementation for years. With modest investment – particularly in inspection and community engagement – the improved systems can be maintained.

Plan International Uganda and the government have already submitted a concept note to donors for a potential second phase, though funding discussions are ongoing. Stakeholders argue that extending the model could yield even greater long-term impact, especially in refugee-hosting districts where population pressures remain high.

For many communities, the closure of the project marks not just the end of a programme but the start of a new chapter. Teachers now have better tools. Parents are more involved. Schools are more accountable. And thousands of children, once considered ‘lost’ to the education system, are back in class – some for the first time in years.

During implementation, the project demonstrated that when systems are strengthened, communities are engaged, and schools receive targeted support, public education can thrive even in the most underserved regions. Its impact – from improved governance structures to renewed confidence among parents and learners – shows what is possible when government and development partners work in step.

As the project winds down, implementing partners are clear: foundations have been laid, systems are functioning, and children who were once out of school have returned to the classroom. The next chapter now rests with government structures and district authorities, whose continued oversight and investment will determine whether these gains endure.

Their call is to sustain the progress made under the project. They note it will require consistent monitoring, adequate facilitation of inspection services, and strong community involvement. Without this commitment, thousands of vulnerable children risk sliding back into exclusion.

Security agencies have recovered a six-year-old boy, who was allegedly kidnapped on December 12, 2025, by a shamba boy employed in his household.

Abraham Mpirwe Tumwesigye, who went missing from Ddungu Zone, Kawempe Division, Kampala District, was rescued on Friday at around 9:30 am. in Busukuma, Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District, according to police.

‘The child has been safely recovered. Our teams worked tirelessly, analyzing every lead, including the suspect’s social media activity. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the suspect and bring him to justice,’ said SP Rachael Kawala, the spokesperson for the Kampala Metropolitan Police.

She said preliminary investigations revealed that on the day of his disappearance, David Muchunguzi, a shamba boy working for Dr Emmanuel Tumwesigye, left with the victim to an unknown destination and failed to return.

‘A case of kidnapping was immediately reported at Universal Police Post, prompting swift search operations. Investigators analysed the suspect’s TikTok videos, which provided crucial leads that enabled security agencies to trace and recover the child safely,’ SP Kawala said on Friday.

According to her, efforts are ongoing to apprehend the suspect who remains at large.

She said that the rescued child will undergo a medical examination before being reunited with his parents.

Police records highlight the gravity of child abduction in Uganda.

According to the 2024 Annual Crime Report, a total of 1,597 cases of child abduction/kidnap were registered across the country between 2019 and 2024, underscoring the persistent threat to children’s safety.

Government agencies are spending up to five times more to recruit staff through private firms than they would using internal mechanisms, a new report by the Inspectorate of Government (IG) has revealed.

The report, titled ‘The Cost-Benefit Analysis of Outsourcing Private Recruitment Firms by Government Departments and Agencies,’ shows a growing shift from in-house recruitment and official service commissions to outsourced private recruiters, at a high cost to taxpayers.

According to the findings, outsourced recruitment accounted for 81 percent of total recruitment expenditure, with over Shs2b, to hire 1,028 employees, while internal recruitment processes cost Shs485m (19 percent) to recruit 413 employees over the same period. ‘The unit cost of hiring one person using the outsourcing recruitment approach was Shs9m, compared to Shs1.9m using internal recruitment,’ the report states.

It adds: ‘External recruitment of staff per year was found to be five times more expensive than internal recruitment.’

The study covered 20 government departments and agencies during the 2018/2019 to 2022/2023 financial years, with 10 institutions outsourcing recruitment services and seven relying on internal processes. Among the biggest spenders was the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos), which paid Shs606m to a private firm to recruit 171 staff. The Electoral Commission (EC) followed closely, spending Shs565m to recruit 247 staff, while the Electricity Regulatory Authority spent Shs347m to hire 40 employees.

Other agencies cited include the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which spent Shs280m to recruit 30 staff, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), which spent Shs136m to hire 229 staff, the Uganda Development Corporation (Shs80m for 15 staff), and Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd, which spent Shs71m to recruit 296 employees.

The IGG said agencies often justified outsourcing recruitment on grounds such as handling large volumes of applicants within short deadlines, lack of specialised in-house skills for senior positions, minimising internal interference, and understaffing in human resource departments.

However, the report raises concerns over value for money, pointing out that recruitment agency fees alone consumed 62 percent (Shs1.3b) of total outsourcing costs.

Other expenses included advertising fees (Shs322m), sitting allowances (Shs260m), ICT costs (Shs105m), legal and miscellaneous costs (Shs49m), onboarding (Shs10m), risk management (Shs25m), and skills testing and assessment (Shs11m). ‘Use of external recruitment is significantly more expensive than internal recruitment, with agency fees consuming the largest share of total costs,’ the report states.

The IGG further observed that private recruitment firms tend to emphasise academic qualifications and years of experience, often overlooking critical public service competencies such as integrity checks, security background verification, and familiarity with government systems. To mitigate this, some agencies reportedly retain control of final interviews to influence the ultimate selection of candidates. The report also highlighted variations in unit hiring costs, with the Uganda Wildlife Authority recording the highest annual cost per hire at Shs9.3m, followed by the Electoral Commission at Shs8.9m.

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) recorded the lowest unit cost at Shs69,634, after recruiting 219 staff at a total cost of Shs11m. The IGG recommended fast-tracking amendments to the Public Service Act, 2008, to harmonise recruitment across government entities, automating recruitment processes, strengthening HR capacity within MDAs, and prioritising internal recruitment mechanisms as a more cost-effective alternative to outsourcing. Efforts to obtain comment from some of the affected agencies were unsuccessful by press time.

The Ubos spokesperson, Mr Didacus Okoth, said he would consult internally before responding, but had not done so by press time, while EC spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi declined to comment, saying he had not seen the ombudsman’s report.

Some of the government agencies that outsourced recruitment services

Agency 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Total

Ubos Shs220m Shs124m Shs106m Shs73m Shs605m

EC Shs39m Shs191m Shs73m Shs172m Shs565m

UWA Shs56m Shs38m Shs42m Shs75m Shs280m

UEGCL Shs6m Shs8m Shs29m Shs8m Shs71m

NSSF – Shs35m Shs45m Shs45m Shs136m

ERA Shs84m Shs52m Shs30m Shs93m Shs347m

UDC Shs27m Shs10m Shs8m Shs12m Shs80m

Total Shs435m Shs461m Shs336m Shs481m Shs2b

Internal

Agency 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Total

UVRI Shs100m Shs96m – Shs60m Shs323m

NMS Shs23m Shs37m Shs32m Shs7m Shs118m

UNBS Shs1.9m – Shs384,000 Shs4m Shs10.9m

UCC Shs3.3m Shs3.3m Shs3.3m Shs3.3m Shs16.4m

NFA Shs4.8m – Shs8m Shs1.8m Shs16.4m

TOTAL Shs133m Shs136m Shs43m Shs77m Shs485m

I just binge-watched 50 Cent’s documentary on Diddy: Sean Combs: The Reckoning and came out changed. Not healed. Not evolved. Activated. I realise I have been doing this wrong. All of it. Life. Grudges. Existing. And before you come at me with your ‘let it go’ energy and ‘be the bigger person’ nonsense, I tried that. You know what it got me? Back pain from the moral high ground.

Operating on 5 Cents

As I watched the reckoning unfurl decades of beef with the calm confidence of a man who knows his enemies better than their own PR teams, I realised something deeply concerning. I have been operating on 5 cent energy this whole time. I have hated people politely. Internally. Privately. I have disliked people who do not even know I dislike them. I have forgiven people who did not ask. I have taken the high road so often I should have frequent flyer mile. I even talk amicably with my exes.

50 does not just say ‘I do not like you.’ He goes way back. ‘You were born with a face so ugly no one wanted to carry you as a baby’ kind of back. He is doing origin stories for his beef. He’s got lore. He’s got timelines. Nothing shows hatred like stringing it together in episodes. Building narrative arcs. I have been giving people one-off shade when I should be writing trilogies.

50 Cent does not just have beef. He has a whole cow. He is not holding grudges, he is curating them. He is the museum of modern malice. The Louvre of long-term resentment. Hating is his canvas. Petty is his brush. And he is glowing while at it.

This man wakes up and chooses violence with the consistency of the sunrise. He does not let things go. He plans. He waits. He strikes. Fiddy will bring up something you did in 2000 in a 2025 Instagram post with receipts, time stamps, and probably your old MySpace photos for good measure. That is dedication.

The year I glow on petty

2025 has been, for me, that year that you do not claim. That does not count. The year that goes straight into the ‘do not acknowledge’ file. Next year when someone asks my age? I am still 40. Because I have decided, with the full authority of someone three whiskys deep, that 2025 never happened. We are skipping it. Like that one cousin at family reunions. Like leg day. Like consequences. In 2026, we are not setting body goals again. It is a year of what would 50 Cent do?

Trespass against those who trespass against me

The Lord’s Prayer says ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ Beautiful. Poetic. Not happening. From now onwards, I will trespass against those who trespass against me. Because forgiveness is divine, but petty is therapeutic.

Petty revenge does not have to be reckless. It can be patient. It can be witty. It can be well-timed. It can look like silence while you win.

Like success that feels personal. Like joy that feels inconvenient to your enemies. 50 Cent did not teach me to fight people. He taught me to outlast them, loudly. He is not petty. He is strategically petty. He is a historian of disrespect. An archivist of audacity. A scholar of shade. And honestly? That is the energy I need in 2026.

So here’s to 2026, the year of strategic pettiness. The year of long-game grudges. The year of documented disrespect. The year I finally operate on 50 cent energy.

XOXO

The Kat

Baddie Rule of the Week:

l Remember everything with photographic clarity, keep receipts like your life depends on it and wait for the perfect moment. Patience is petty!

Mini Manifesto:

l Do not be the bigger person.

l Do not ‘Let it go’. You are not Elsa and this isn’t Frozen

l Do not give people the benefit of the doubt. The doubt can benefit itself!

In a scene that has become familiar across parts of Africa of late, a group of armed men in military garb appeared on state TV on Dec. 7, 2025, to announce that they had suspended the constitution and seized control.

This time it was the West African nation of Benin, and the coup was relatively short-lived, with the government regaining full control a day later. But a week before, senior military officers in Guinea-Bissau had more success, deposing President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and effectively annulling the Nov. 23 election in which both Embaló and the main opposition leader had claimed victory. A month earlier it was Madagascar, where a mass Gen-Z uprising led to the elite CAPSAT unit of the Malagasy military ousting President Andry Rajoelina and installing Colonel Michael Randrianirina as leader.

The cluster of coup attempts follows a broader pattern. Since 2020, there have been 11 successful military takeovers in Africa: one each in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Sudan, Chad, Madagascar and Gabon; and two each in Burkina Faso and Mali. Benin represents the fifth failed coup over the same period.

The prevalence of military takeovers led United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to warn as far back as 2021 of a coup ‘epidemic.’

But can coups, like the pathogens of many epidemics, be contagious? Certainly observers around the world continue to ask whether a military takeover in one country can influence the likelihood of another one happening elsewhere.

Do coups spread?

Cross-national research offers little firm evidence that a coup in one country directly increases the chances of another. And some scholars remain skeptical that such a phenomenon exists. Political scientist Naunihal Singh, for instance, argues that the recent wave’s coup plotters are drawing less from contemporary events than from their own countries’ long histories of military intervention.

In addition, he suggests that any observed regional cluster mostly reflects shared underlying conditions. For example, the countries across the Sahel region that have been the center of post-2020 African coups share a common set of coup-prone pressures: chronic insecurity driven by insurgencies, weak state capacity and widespread frustration over quality of governance.

Likewise, Michael Miller and colleagues at George Washington University, in a broader analysis, contend that would-be plotters pay closer attention to domestic dynamics than to foreign coups when deciding whether to move against their own governments.

As scholars of military coups, we recently explored the phenomenon and have come to a different conclusion.

Our forthcoming study argues that would-be plotters do indeed pay close attention when contemporaries seize power. A number of dynamics, however, could keep a statistical trend from being realized.

For one, statistical modeling typically requires contagion to occur within a tight temporal window, often 1 to 3 years.

Our findings challenge this approach. A wave of so-called ‘Free Officers’ coups – military takeovers led by junior or mid-ranking nationalist officers, inspired by Egypt’s 1952 Free Officers movement – is a widely invoked example of contagion. The original Free Officers ousted King Farouk and went on to abolish the monarchy and end British influence in Egypt.

However, it took a full six years before a second ‘Free Officers’ coup occurred in the region, in Iraq in 1958.

Rather than blindly follow the lead of Egypt’s coupists, would-be copycats watched closely, took notes and moved only when two factors lined up: the rewards appeared to be worth the risk, and they obtained the ability to make a takeover possible.

In the case of the post-1952 Middle East, the potential ‘rewards’ of emulating Egypt’s Free Officers were not immediately apparent, even in countries with circumstances very similar to Egypt’s.

It wasn’t until the original Free Officers Movement’s leader, Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, emerged as a revolutionary icon in the region that others attempted to emulate his success. Nasser’s status grew further through his anti-colonial sentiments and victories, like his handling of the Suez Crisis of 1956.

As Nasser’s influence grew, the perceived value of a military takeover increased, and Free Officers-inspired plots quickly proliferated against the region’s monarchies. Six years after the Egyptian coup, the first copycat coup succeeded in Iraq, followed by additional successes in Yemen, Libya and Sudan between 1962 and 1969.

A further complication to establishing a firm trend is that the success of one takeover may actually hinder the immediate progress of another. After all, would-be copycats are not the only observers.

Vulnerable leaders and their allies can take cues from coups in other countries to try to mitigate their spread at home.

Thwarted conspiracies in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which were uncovered between 1955 and 1969, demonstrated that while the sentiment to emulate Egypt’s coup was widespread, not all plotters had the capacity to act. Some governments were better prepared to block these attempts. Foreign partners like the United States and Great Britain also played no small role in helping shore up their monarchical allies against coup plots.

Africa’s coup wave

The case of the Free Officers Movement shows that plotters wait for clear signals that a coup is worth the risk. In Africa today, those signals are more immediate, even without a monumental figure like Egypt’s Nasser.

Coupists now see visible domestic support for military takeovers and muted international consequences for those who seize power.

It is increasingly clear to us that the region has seen a large increase in public support for military rule during this post-2020 wave.

Military coupists like Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré and Mali’s Assimi Goïta have not only attracted domestic support but also regional popularity, lauded for their anti-colonial rhetoric against France and their willingness to confront the Economic Community of West Africa States.

Data from Afrobarometer, which has regularly asked about respondents’ positions on having military rule, illustrate this shift clearly.

In the survey wave that ended in 2013, less than 11% of respondents in Benin said they supported or strongly supported army rule. This nearly doubled to 19% by 2021 and has now tripled, with 1 in 3 people in Benin expressing support for military rule. While a majority still opposes military rule, the direction of this change is significant.

These attitudes are reinforced by military leaders’ promises to ‘clean up’ corrupt or ineffective governments. In Madagascar, for example, over 60% of citizens in 2024 said it was permissible for the armed forces to remove leaders who abuse power.

Highly visible images of cheering pro-military crowds in countries like Niger and Gabon further signal that a takeover can gain public support.

International indifference

The international signals are just as important. From the near-absent reaction to the Zimbabwean military’s removal of Robert Mugabe in 2017 to the lukewarm response to Chad’s military takeover in 2021, these cases suggest that international punishment can be temporary or even nonexistent.

The message is reinforced when coup leaders who are initially condemned, like Madagascar’s Randrianirina, later gain acceptance from regional organizations like the South African Development Community. In Guinea-Bissau, attention on last month’s coup has somehow seemed to focus more on President Embaló’s alleged involvement in the coup than on the military’s unconstitutional seizure of power.

And the lessons drawn from international responses involve more than just the seizure of power. Contemporary military leaders are staying in power much longer than their predecessors in the early 2000s, either by indefinitely delaying elections or by directly contesting them.

Although the African Union’s framework specifically forbids coup leaders from standing in elections, there has been virtually no consequences for coupists consolidating their rule via elections in places like Chad and Gabon.

This is not lost on would-be plotters, who see their contemporaries seize and legitimize their authority with minimal pushback.

To some degree, the spread of coups depends on how they are received. And in the case of the recent rash of military takeovers in Africa, the international community and domestic policymakers have done little in the way of stemming that spread.

Farmers in Busoga Sub-region are set for a major livelihood transformation following the distribution of livestock and agricultural inputs by the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC and DB).

In Kamuli District alone, NAGRC and DB has distributed 50,000 improved chicks, 20 cross-breed bulls, 178 pigs, and 165 Kasolwe Brown goats to farmers under a government programme designed to modernise livestock farming and move communities into the money economy. The above items were officially handed over by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs, Ms Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, who described the initiative as a game changer for Busoga.

‘Government agreed to rejuvenate all stock farms across the country with the objective of supporting communities to scale up household income. I am happy that this dream is now taking shape in Kamuli and the wider Busoga Sub-region,’ Ms Kadaga, who is also the Kamuli Woman MP, said. She urged beneficiaries to properly manage the animals and poultry, emphasising disease control and adherence to technical guidance. ‘These birds are vaccinated, but farmers must provide the recommended starter feeds and continue vaccination to avoid disease outbreaks. Care must also be taken of the pigs, goats and cattle as guided by technocrats,’ Ms Kadaga noted.

Kasolwe Stock Farm Manager Daniel Epinyu urged farmers to embrace the Kasolwe Brown goat, describing it as one of the most resilient and productive indigenous breeds in East Africa. ‘The Kasolwe Brown goat is tolerant to drought… and can produce up to four kids a year,’ Mr Epinyu said. He added that the dual-purpose birds lay between 150 and 200 eggs, compared to roughly 40 eggs from indigenous breeds, and that they grow much faster, reaching market weights of 2-3.5 kilogrammes within five months. Kasolwe Stock Farm also hosts a commercial animal feeds production plant with a capacity of five metric tonnes per hour.

‘This plant, launched by Ms Kadaga in 2022, sources raw materials from within the Busoga community. This has ….transformed the livelihoods of farmers supplying the factory,’ Mr Epinyu said. NAGRC also supplied 20 artificial insemination kits and liquid nitrogen, enabling rapid genetic improvement of cattle herds. Mr Thomas Kaaku Isabirye, NAGRC’s community breeding coordinator for Busoga, said the programme has already yielded results. ‘In the last two years alone, we have successfully inseminated over 10,000 cattle in the sub-region, significantly improving herd quality and milk production,’ he said.

About the beneficiaries

More than 139 farmer groups organised under the NGO Uganda First benefited from the programme. Their spokesperson, Mr Waiswa Kawali, praised NAGRC’s role in transforming the sub-region. The initiative is also helping locals shift from dependence on sugarcane farming. By providing access to superior genetics, modern breeding technologies, training and a ready market for raw materials, NAGRC is laying the foundation for sustainable agricultural diversification. The programme traces its roots to 2017, when the government revamped Kasolwe Stock Farm to revitalise livestock farming.

The mercury in the political thermometer rose a few degrees this week after President Museveni warned his rivals against provoking the armed forces.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday at his farm in Kisozi while on the campaign trail for re-election, Mr Museveni warned supporters of the Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party against engaging in demonstrations during the election period.

‘I have been hearing [Robert] Kyagulanyi say that security officers are small in numbers and rioters are many,’ Mr Museveni, who is the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party presidential candidate, said.

He added: ‘Please don’t listen to him because every soldier has 120 bullets. So if you say rioters are many, first count the bullets of the soldiers before talking about numbers. whoever tries shall face regret.’

NUP leader Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, has not encouraged his supporters to overwhelm security forces but has asked them to protect their votes after casting them.

Mr Kyagulanyi has repeatedly called on his supporters to remain non-violent.

Speaking at a rally in Iganga on October 4, Bobi Wine said: ‘We refuse to be provoked into violence. We are going to run this campaign on morality, legality, and exposing impunity.’

Mr Museveni’s remarks echoed earlier claims made in Parliament by Kasambya County MP David Kabanda, who alleged that Mr Kyagulanyi had said security forces numbered fewer than 50,000 compared to Uganda’s population of 45 million.

Both Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, demanded video evidence, which was never produced.

‘This is a very serious allegation that can bring this country down,’ Speaker Among warned during the December 2 plenary, giving Mr Kabanda 20 minutes to table proof, which he did not present.

Mr David Lewis Rubongoya, the secretary general of NUP, described MP Kabanda’s comments as ‘reckless and dangerous.’

He added: ‘How does a President start thinking about killing citizens? Peaceful protest is a constitutional right. All we want is a peaceful and credible election. Organise it properly, and these issues will not arise.’

Dr Livingstone Sewanyana, the executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, said threatening citizens with bullets undermines constitutionalism.

‘An election must be peaceful. The President is also a candidate and must be treated as such. Warning the population with guns and bullets is unconstitutional. The role of the military is to protect borders, not intimidate voters,’ he said.

Likewise, political scientist Dr Juma Kakuba Sultan of Kyambogo University said “reliance on intimidation signals a government running out of options.’

“That is what authoritarian regimes do when civic space is shrinking. A government that has ruled for 40 years should be campaigning on achievements, not fear,’ he said.

The Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party also weighed in on Museveni’s threats, with spokesperson John Kikonyogo stating that security resources are meant to protect citizens.

‘These bullets are funded by taxpayers to defend them, not threaten them,’ Mr Kikonyogo said.

Mr Elias Lukwago, a leader in newly-formed People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), said: ‘What Mr Museveni is doing is acts of cowardice, but what I can tell Ugandans is that no one should intimidate you because power belongs to you.’

‘….that is what Mr Museveni fears, the power of the people, because he knows he can be overthrown easily, as it has been in other countries,’ Mr Lukwago, who is also the Kampala Lord Mayor, added.

Delicate balance

Ahead of the 2021 General Election, more than 50 people were killed after security forces fired live ammunition at protesters following Mr Kyagulanyi’s arrest in November 2020 while on the campaign trail. Mr Museveni’s caution comes amid robust debate about whether voters should be allowed to stay around polling stations after casting their votes. The Electoral Commission and security agencies have cautioned voters against lingering at polling stations after NUP asked its supporters to ‘protect the vote.’

Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama recently said anyone found around polling stations after voting would be arrested.

The statement was reinforced by the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who put security forces on high alert.

‘Cast your vote and go home,’ Gen Muhoozi said at a UPDF ceremony on Monday. ‘Those who try to cause trouble will be dealt with swiftly and in accordance with the law.’

The remarks sparked debate in Parliament, with Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda questioning whether or not the military was overstepping its constitutional mandate.

‘We want to know whether the military has taken over the organisation and management of elections,’Mr Ssemujju said, noting that the law allows voters to stand at least 20 metres from polling stations.

In response, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka clarified that voters are legally permitted to remain within that distance, but Opposition MPs said the core concern-security intimidation-remains unresolved.

The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) Appeals Tribunal is set to roll out a digital case filing system next year as part of a broader reform agenda aimed at improving access to justice, enhancing efficiency, and strengthening transparency in the resolution of public procurement disputes.

“The shift to digital filing will enable parties across the country to submit procurement-related complaints online, eliminating the need for physical travel to Kampala,” said Mr Francis Kiwa, the Tribunal’s Manager Legal. “Once we automate our registry, a person in Karamoja or Kisoro will not need to travel to Kampala to file an application.”

According to Kiwa, the digital system will allow complainants to file matters online, and institutions such as the Ministry of Finance and the E-Government Procurement (EGP) team will access documents in real-time. This move is expected to increase access to justice, particularly for those in remote areas.

Kiwa noted that limited knowledge and capacity gaps among procurement providers and entities contribute to many cases before the Tribunal.

“We have observed a serious lack of understanding of procurement laws and procedures. These gaps often lead to failures, increasing complaints to the Tribunal,” he said.

Deliberate non-compliance and internal bureaucracy within government entities also cause delays. “Documents take up to five days to move from an entity’s central registry to the accounting officer. Yet procurement timelines are strict – the accounting officer has only 10 days to act,” Kiwa said. He added that these internal delays lead to disputes escalating to the Tribunal.

The Registrar of the PPDA Appeals Tribunal, Mr Atiku Saki Mansoor, emphasized the Tribunal’s mandate for fair, impartial, and timely dispute resolution, calling it a cornerstone of accountability in public finance management.

“This is not just a legal process. It is a critical pillar for ensuring transparency, value for money, and trust in how public resources are utilised for national development,” Mansoor said.

The Tribunal plans to integrate artificial intelligence, strengthen capacity building for its members, procuring and disposing entities, and staff, and enhance collaboration with institutions like the Judiciary.

“Appeals from the Tribunal go to the High Court, which is the final decision-maker on procurement matters. Continued engagement with the Judiciary and other stakeholders is therefore essential,” Atiku added.

The PPDA Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body resolving disputes arising from public procurement and disposal processes in Uganda. Its mandate includes reviewing procurement decisions, ensuring compliance with procurement laws and regulations, and providing remedies where breaches are established.

The Tribunal’s decisions have far-reaching implications for government operations and the economy, impacting service delivery and the economy, yet often go unreported.

The planned reforms are intended to improve efficiency, expand public access to the Tribunal’s services, and promote accountability across Uganda’s public procurement system.

Folks, it is that dreaded time of year for loners like me. A time when families gather, travel hundreds of miles to remote homes they see once a year and pretend to love and care about each other and everyone within 10 kilometres of the local church. No, do not get me wrong, I am not a misanthrope; I love people and find joy in their merrymaking. Heck, half of the time, that is one of the things I enjoy about going to bars and nightclubs; getting a corner by myself and watching people have a wonderful time. It gives me joy. But there is something about the Christmas holiday that rubs me the wrong way. I just hate the pretense that comes with this particular holiday.

I am not going into gory details about it merely being a random day bestowed upon us by a solar and lunar cycle that is schizophrenic at best. It is a date that humanity has decreed that we pretend to share peace on earth and spread goodwill towards all men then the very next day, go back to our corrupt tendencies, buying court decisions, stealing each other’s land and sometimes spouses. Miss me with those celebrations.

Usually, Christmas finds me on the couch, book in hand or in the mountains on solo hikes. This time though, things are a bit different. A good friend of ours, Angie, who has probably never missed a Christmas gathering, has asked that we get together and just do a braai and whisky as we sing our vaunts to the gods and belatedly celebrate her 41st birthday and latest promotion at work. She is probably hosting.

When she asked, all of us gave her the ‘you can’t be serious’ look, but she told us a story about her last family Christmas that left us caught between laughter, tears and pity. She told us of her exchange with an ‘auntie’. You know the kind that ask for salt, sugar and medicine cash soon as they set eyes on you. She calls her ‘Auntie sukaali’.

Last Christmas, Angie had turned 40 and she went to the village, as usual. She handed Auntie sukaali her usual gifts of sugar, soap, salt and 100K. Hugs and loud thank yous follow. It is the usual Christmas cheer. Or so Angie thought. Until lunchtime came. Angie, in her own words, went like: ‘I can’t quite find a proper description of the element of surprise these aunties come with but I will use football terms for this: imagine having a village soccer team full of ex-pros, then a drunken village chief, beer in hand, potbelly to show for years of imbibing the bitter brew, just casually walks on.

He lulls everyone into a false sense of security, only for him to dribble past y’all and send a curler into the top left corner of the goal, Zizou style. Then bursts out laughing.’

She continued: that is the kind of mischief these aunties seem to be up to. Their timing is impeccable. They wait for when everyone is gathered for that heavy Christmas lunch, the alcohol is making rounds, everyone is praising you for your overwhelming career success and then they drop the bomb: ‘But Angel, we see you are doing very well but when are you producing?’

You look up, almost chocking on your meat. You know she is not talking about setting up industries for consumer goods. She looks around the silent table as if to confirm the punch landed and then she goes in for the kill: you know, these days, you do not even have to bring us the man. I am sure among your friends, there is one you really like and can stand. Wink, wink. Now you feel the entire weight of the room on you. They are suffocating you with judgement, expectation and a ting of pity; a resigned fate, if you will.

These are the same relatives that only a few short years ago were asking you to wait and find the perfect man to marry you in a glamorous wedding to be talked about by generations of villagers. Now, all they see you for is a baby assembly line. The bar is at basement level.

‘Being a single, successful, childless 40-year-old in Uganda should come with a warning label to remember to avoid family gatherings’, she concluded. Outside Angie, the entire friend group has kids but we were aghast at the treatment she got for making a choice only she can make. And hers is not the worst Christmas horror story. So, we will be gathering on 25th to have such a great time while the rest of y’all partake in this mass hysteria that is a middle eastern holiday. We shall use a break from your meanness. Merry Christmas!