Category: Daily Monitor

Over the past decades, countries around the world adopted laws that permit someone to hold more than one citizenship.

The definitive legal evidence for one’s claim to citizenship is a national passport or, internally, a national identity card. When a Ugandan living and working in, say, Germany maintains his/her Ugandan citizenship, or a German who marries a Ugandan takes on the latter’s citizenship, that person becomes a dual citizen.

Poor countries in the so-called global south came around to appreciate the rewards from allowing individuals who are citizens of, say, Britain, but had to renounce their original citizenship of, say, Ghana, to hold passports of both countries.

In the past, if a Ugandan moved to Canada and became a citizen of that country, he/she had to give up their Ugandan citizenship.

Uganda’s immigration law prohibited keeping a Ugandan passport when taking up citizenship of another country.

In effect, this Ugandan, now Canadian, would return to Uganda as a foreigner.

They had to apply for a visa, pay for it and enter the country under the same status and legal conditions as any other foreign national.

This is not just inconveniencing, it is utterly humiliating – entering your ancestral homeland as a foreigner when socially, economically, politically and everything else, you are as Ugandan as any other citizen!

Substantively, there are invaluable benefits that accrue to a poor country when its nationals abroad can retain their legal status as citizens.

It is easier to do business, buy property, undertake investment ventures, proudly and proactively mobilise resources from abroad when you do not have to deal with the displeasures of being a foreigner to the very country of your ancestors.

As a universal policy and practice, national laws tend to be discriminatory against non-nationals in a variety of ways.

Ironically though, by dint of our colonial mentality, it is common for Ugandan authorities, the average Ugandan too, to grant preferential treatment to a foreigner, especially a White!

Being a national confers certain exclusive privileges and rights, including participating in national politics and engaging in commerce without restrictions that otherwise apply to a non-national.

All things considered, there is every good reason for a government, particularly of a poor country struggling to break out of the shackles of poverty, to let their nationals simultaneously hold two or more citizenships.

But governments or specifically states, as enduring entities with certain institutional interests, have political considerations and calculations that inevitably lead them to impose some limitations on dual citizenship. This can be couched in terms of national security.

All countries, whether developed or underdeveloped, global north or south, democratic or otherwise, practice some form of citizenship discrimination, how one became a citizen or if they hold citizenship of another country.

In the case of Uganda, the subject of so much brouhaha following President Museveni’s Cabinet announcement last week is whether a Ugandan holding citizenship of another country qualifies to be a member of Cabinet.

I know nothing about Uganda’s laws, but from media commentaries, dual citizenship is a disqualification for appointment as a government minister regardless of one’s ethnicity, race, qualifications and competencies.

The core controversy turned on one Dr Lawrance Muganga (PhD), currently Vice Chancellor of Victoria University in Kampala, who is no stranger to controversy, as not too long ago he was arrested on allegations of working for a foreign government!

In fact, at the time of his arrest, it was alleged that he was a ‘foreigner’ working illegally in Uganda. Apparently, Dr Muganga carries passports of Canada and Rwanda but insists he was born and raised in Uganda, which would make him a Ugandan like any other compatriot. Under the current legal regime, however, he cannot be a member of Cabinet.

There were other cases of nominees for Cabinet who reportedly held dual citizenship but told Parliament they had renounced and retained only the Ugandan one.

But renouncing citizenship is a process, not a mere self-declaration or something that is merely waved away.

Whatever ultimately happens, including all the noise getting swept aside and the nominees taking their seats in Cabinet or dropped, there is quite a bit of egg left on the face of the appointing authority and apparatus of State.

Often, there’s little regard and respect for the law, certainly not consistently, in the way Museveni’s government operates, so it is possible to sweep aside or even find a way of bypassing any legal obstacle.

But if members of Cabinet must go through the rituals and motions of vetting by Parliament, surely, the State’s intelligence and counterintelligence agencies should first thoroughly vet them.

In the case of Dr Muganga, predictably, much of the noise is on his Rwandan roots, which he spiritedly denies, insisting he is not anything other than a Ugandan of Rwandan descent.

This shouldn’t be an issue as Banyarwanda are Ugandans and have served in prominent public positions, especially under Museveni’s regime, but dating back to the dawn of independence.

The Ministry of Water and Environment has handed over a site in Omoro District for construction of a water quality monitoring and management laboratory, marking the start of works on a Shs7.3 billion project.

Financed by the Government of Uganda with support from the European Commission and German Government through KfW, the facility in Bobi sub-county will serve Lango, Acholi and West Nile sub-regions upon completion.

The infrastructure includes a water quality laboratory to ensure standards are met, a centralised warehouse for pipes and consumables to enable rapid response to bursts, administrative offices, and a training centre to upskill artisans and plumbers from across the northern region.

Consulting Engineers Salzgitter is the project management and implementation consultant while Zhonghao Overseas Construction Company Ltd is the contractor.

The handover on Friday, June 5, 2026, was described by the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Water and Environment, Dr Alfred Okot Okidi, as a critical step in decentralising water management in northern Uganda.

By combining quality control, logistical storage, and professional training in a single hub, the Northern Umbrella of Water and Sanitation is positioned to enhance service efficiency and water security for the region.

Dr Okot Okidi thanked Omoro District for providing 20 acres of land free of charge, expanded from the initial 8 acres to accommodate current and future facilities.

‘In today’s Uganda, it is very difficult to get a generous district like Omoro, where they give you land free of charge,’ Dr Okot Okidi said. ‘This facility is going to enhance service delivery because we are now going to be nearer our infrastructure. We are going to have training facilities. We are going to have workshops. We are going to have stores. And we are going to have our team based here. So it will be quicker for us to reach our people.’

Eng Yusuf Lule, deputy branch manager of WSDF-N, said samples from different regions will be brought to the facility for testing. ‘So, we are grateful that there is an opportunity to ensure that whatever we produce, especially to do with water, meets the quality before we supply it to the communities within the region.’

Dr Martin Wamalwa, manager of Northern Umbrella of Water and Sanitation, said: ‘When we have a water quality laboratory here, which will ensure the water that you drink meets the quality standards.’

Omoro Deputy RDC Geoffrey Akol welcomed the project and cautioned the contractor. ‘And I want to assure the contractor, we shall support you in this project. If something is wrong, please, share, so that we get quality work here. We don’t want you to come and play with the project. Please, do quality work. One year, the project must be here.’

Chief Administrative Officer Donato Oola Olam said the district is ready to provide more land if the technical scope requires it. ‘I want to commit myself on behalf of the administration that we shall continue to support this initiative. We shall support in terms of coordination, and where there are challenges which require technical input from the administration of the district, we shall always be available,’ Mr Oola said.

Ms Therese Scholl from Consulting Engineers Salzgitter said after a year of collaborative efforts, the project has reached the milestone of beginning physical work. ‘The focus now should shift toward a successful implementation phase that aligns strictly with the requirements established in the contract,’ she said.

The contractor has 12 months to deliver the facility. The CAO and district technical team will conduct regular site visits and coordination meetings to monitor progress.

What happens when the soul feels like a stranger inside its own body? Four digital artists have spent a month trying to answer that question. Tonny Mpungu, Osward Tayebwa, Maria Byoma, and Aliguma Mugisa have held an art exhibition titled Native in a New World at the Xenson Art Space in Kampala. The month-long show, which opened on May 2, and closed on May 30, is a groundbreaking digital art exhibition marking the first-time digital artists have taken centre stage at the venue. The exhibition brought together the four artists whose works explore identity, movement, and belonging in an ever-changing world, where tradition does not disappear but shifts, adapts, and finds new places to live, the curatorial statement reads.

A language of laughter and discomfort

Through illustration, cartoons, comics, and layered digital forms, the artists reflect everyday realities that feel familiar. You may recognise something from your commute, your home, or shared cultural memory. You may laugh at situations that are deeply serious or even uncomfortable. This tension forms the language of the exhibition; playful yet critical, light yet deeply honest.

‘The works soften heavy realities without losing urgency,’ the curatorial statement explains. ‘They invite viewers to loosen up and face the world as it is.’

The body as foreign land

Among Mugisa’s artworks are Native in a New World; The Noise of Beginnings; Eye in the Mad; The Weight of Thought; The Beginning of Escape, and The River That Carries Us. All are ephemeral digital prints on paper.

In Eye in the Mad, a figure drifts between collapse and awareness beneath a watchful presence. The eye above does not judge or intervene. It simply sees. In a place where everything feels buried or lost, perception remains, quiet and unyielding. Mugisa explains that his artworks explore the experience of a soul navigating and inhabiting the human body as though it were unfamiliar territory.

‘I approached the body as a kind of landscape, one that is both intimate and disorienting, where identity is not fixed but constantly forming,’ he says.

‘Through recurring symbols such as the African pot in place of the head, fragmented figures, and shifting environments, the work reflects a journey of self-awareness, displacement, and adaptation. It is about what it means to exist in a space that feels both like home and foreign at the same time.’

Rituals, gifts, and belonging

Tayebwa’s artworks include The Give Away; Nakasero; Taxi; The Aunties; Standing Tall, and Kalele.

The Giveaway captures the gifts delivered by the bridegroom to the bride’s home during traditional marriage ceremonies; known as okuhingira in Ankole and kwanjula in Buganda.

‘The Giveaway explores ritual, exchange and celebration as central pillars of cultural identity,’ Tayebwa says. ‘Within the broader theme of Native in a New World, the work examines how ceremonies, particularly those involving gifting, carry deep symbolic meaning beyond materialistic value. The act represents unity, respect, family bonds and the movement of social capital.’

He adds: ‘This work invites viewers to reflect on how cultural practices adapt without losing their symbolic weight. By focusing on the act of giving, the work emphasises connection, showing cultural sustainability through reinterpretation. At its heart, it is about connection, participation, generosity, and the reaffirmation of collective values.’

A new chapter for digital art in Kampala

The exhibition marked a milestone for digital artists in Uganda. By taking centre stage at Xenson Art Space, a venue traditionally dominated by painting and sculpture, Mpungu, Tayebwa, Byoma, and Mugisa proved that digital art can hold its own in conversations about identity, belonging, and the landscapes we carry inside us.

Mpungu has a comic project about the making of the matooke dish the right way or old way, which also includes a display of mats, banana leaves, empombo in banana leaves placed in baskets, and gourds, among others. Mpungu says his work on the theme at had explores the tension between cultural preservation and modern transformation through visual storytelling grounded in African experience.

‘In my comic project, I focus on how tradition is remembered, reinterpreted, and sometimes diluted in the current world, using the familiar staple of matooke as a central symbol, I tell a story that reflects broader questions of identity, heritage, and authenticity.’

According to Mpungu, the comic follows a young girl documenting her visit to a cultural museum, where matooke is presented not as a lived experience, but as a curated artifact.

‘This shift from everyday nourishment to preserved display mirrors the gradual distancing from tradition that many societies face. What was once a communal, hands-on process rooted in care, patience, and shared knowledge becomes simplified, aestheticized, and disconnected from its original meaning.’

‘Through this narrative, I examine how cultural practices are ‘downgraded’ in modern context not necessarily in value, but in depth. The preparation of matooke, once an intimate ritual involving peeling, steaming, and collective participation, is reduced to a surface level experience. This reflects a larger pattern where cultural identity is consumes visually rather than lived authentically,’ he adds.

Byoma has a video installation and comic about Kanga and Banana. She says the project was created as an extension of the comic story, which follows a young girl named Banana whose family lives near the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

‘Her father is a tour guide, and she is constantly begging to accompany him to work because of her love for the gorillas she has grown up alongside. This work explores the relationship between two major groups of inhabitants within the Bwindi ecosystem, and the delicate balance that defines how they coexist.’

He adds: ‘The video installation, currently playing exclusively at Xenson Art Space as part of the exhibition, offers a sneak peek into what will become the final animation. It presents the sequence of events that form the story, giving audiences an opportunity to experience the comic in motion. This complements the printed work by revealing nuances and transitions that may not be immediately apparent on the page.’

When asked how far she has reached with the production, Byoma replies: ‘The animation is currently well into production, following the completion of the animatic. It is scheduled for public release later this year. With the story and characters already established, the remaining stages involve refining the animation, recording dialogue, developing sound design, and bringing all elements together into a final piece.’

President Yoweri Museveni has declared that Uganda has officially transitioned from the cluster of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to a Lower Middle-Income status, driven by sustained industrial growth, agricultural surpluses, and a structural shift toward a knowledge-based economy.

Delivering the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on June 4, the President painted a picture of a resilient economy that has expanded 17-fold over the last four decades. He assured both citizens and foreign investors that the country is now locked into a trajectory of faster growth and structural transformation.

According to the President, Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown exponentially from $3.9 billion (Shs14.8 trillion) when the National Resistance Movement (NRM) took power in 1986, to the current $69.3 billion (Shs263.3 trillion) using the foreign exchange method. When measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), the President placed the economy at $197.1 billion.

“The GDP per capita has risen to $1,278 (Shs4.8 million), surpassing the international threshold for lower middle-income status, which stands at $1,136,” Mr. Museveni said. He added that household poverty had drastically declined from 56.4 percent in 1992 to 16.1 percent today, while life expectancy has jumped from 43 to 68 years. Infant mortality rates have similarly dropped from 122 deaths per 1,000 live births to 36.

The five phases of development

To contextualize the current economic posture, President Museveni outlined five distinct phases of development that Uganda has undergone since 1986.

The first phase focused on emergency recovery, which involved restoring the “3Cs” (Colonial, Cash crops, and Cooperatives) and the “3Ts” (Tourism, Tea, and Tobacco) of the old colonial enclave economy. This phase, he noted, successfully dismantled the informalized, chaotic economy inherited from Idi Amin’s regime, which was defined by magendo (smuggling), kibaanda (forex black market), and kusamula (reckless speculation).

The subsequent phases involved expanding and diversifying the economic enclave. Mr. Museveni highlighted how unconventional cash crops have transformed rural livelihoods. “That is how the dairy sector changed the cattle corridor, and how cassava is changing many parts of Uganda. These are totally new cash products,” he noted.

The fourth and fifth phases, according to the head of state, involve adding value to raw materials-such as refined gold-and ushering Uganda into a knowledge-based economy focused on domestic manufacturing of automobiles, medical vaccines, and computers.

Double-digit growth before first oil

Looking ahead, the President announced ambitious growth forecasts, projecting that the economy will grow by 6.4 percent in the current financial year before accelerating to a staggering 10 percent in the next financial year. This acceleration is expected to push the total size of the economy to $80 billion.

Notably, Mr. Museveni emphasized that these milestone figures are being realized even before Uganda begins commercial oil production from the Albertine Graben.

The country’s export basket has significantly widened, adding 31 new products over the last 15 years. Total exports reached $18 billion in the 12 months ending March 2026. Uganda now exports highly sophisticated and manufactured items, including pharmaceuticals, refined gold, structural steel, ICT components, ceramics, plastics, and dairy goods.

“The 67 percent of the people that have listened to our message, and friends from outside that have invested here, have turned our country into a country of surpluses,” the President stated.

To back his claims of agricultural and industrial abundance, the President rolled out a comparative statistical breakdown of Uganda’s production growth since 1986:

Product / Commodity

1986 Production

Current Production (2026)

Milk

200 million litres

5.4 billion litres

Coffee (60kg bags)

2 million bags

9.3 million bags

Fish

Negligible / Untracked

727,000 Metric Tonnes

Cement

4,900 Metric Tonnes

7 million Metric Tonnes

Maize

200,000 Metric Tonnes

5 million Metric Tonnes

Bananas

6.6 million Metric Tonnes

11 million Metric Tonnes

Sugar

152,000 Metric Tonnes

700,000 Metric Tonnes

Security and infrastructure backbone

The President, however, warned that wealth creation cannot sustained in a vacuum, asserting that peace, law, and order remain the ultimate prerequisites for economic success. While he commended the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) for guaranteeing national peace, he challenged the Police and the Judiciary to step up and strictly enforce law and order.

On infrastructure, Mr. Museveni detailed the NRM’s deliberate strategy to tarmac core national transit corridors connecting Uganda to its neighbors. Highways now run seamlessly from northern border points like Oraba, Nimule, and Musingo down to southern frontiers including Mutukula, Katuna, and Bunagana. Similar links connect eastern points like Busia and Malaba to western borders like Mpondwe and Ishasha, alongside dedicated tarmac networks linking vital water transport hubs like Jinja, Port Bell, and Bukakata.

To preserve these multi-billion-shilling road networks from premature wear and tear, the government plans to shift bulk haulage to alternative routes.

“We are revamping the metre-gauge railway and building the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). We are also working with Kenya and Tanzania on pipelines for crude petroleum and refined products,” Museveni said. “This will move heavy cargo and petroleum products away from the roads to the railways and pipelines, leaving roads primarily for passengers and light cargo.”

In the energy sector, power generation capacity has expanded from a meager 60 Megawatts (MW) in 1986 to 2,098 MW. The President revealed that the long-term state target is 50,000 MW, to be tapped from a mix of hydro, solar, gas, wind, geothermal, and nuclear energy sources.

Capital injection into households

Addressing wealth distribution, the President criticized land fragmentation, noting that in developed nations, very few individuals own large tracts of land, yet they maximize output. He directed local leaders to ensure that government wealth-alleviation programs are effectively “downloaded” to the grassroots.

Over the next five years, the state intends to ensure every household with land accesses low-interest capital through the Parish Development Model (PDM). According to executive data, Shs 557 million has already been disbursed per parish, reaching 3.7 million households.

The government commits to injecting Shs 100 million annually per rural parish-plus an additional Shs 15 million for local leaders-while urban wards will receive Shs 300 million plus Shs 15 million for leadership structures. This will run alongside the Shs 760 billion already funneled into the Emyooga initiative operating at the constituency level.

“We are now set for further and faster growth,” the President concluded, urging all leaders to closely monitor these funds to wipe out the remaining 33 percent of homesteads still trapped in subsistence agriculture.

Ugandan rugby has been thrown into mourning following the death of Rugby Cranes and Stanbic Black Pirates forward Sydney Gongodyo, prompting the postponement of this weekend’s Uganda Rugby Premiership semi final between Black Pirates and Heathens.

Gongodyo, 27, a student at Makerere University died on Friday evening after sustaining injuries in a mob attack in Kampala that is now the subject of a police murder investigation.

Mob violence

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson SP Racheal Kawala confirmed that a case of murder by mob action was registered at Kira Road Police Station following an incident at approximately 2pm in Masulira Zone, Bukoto I Parish, Nakawa Division. Officers responded to the scene and rushed Gongodyo to Mulago National Referral Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries at around 7pm.

‘Efforts are underway to identify and apprehend the suspects involved so that they can be brought to justice,’ Kawala said.

Police have not disclosed what triggered the violence, though unverified accounts circulating on social media suggest Gongodyo may have been involved in a road accident shortly before the attack and was set upon by boda boda riders and a section of members of the public as he attempted to explain the situation. Authorities have not confirmed these claims.

Served with honour

The news sent shockwaves through the rugby community. URU president Godwin Kayangwe described the death as a monumental loss to the sport, saying Gongodyo had ‘served Uganda with honour, discipline, and exceptional commitment’ through his contributions to Black Pirates and the Rugby Cranes.

Kayangwe directed that Sunday’s semifinal be postponed, that a moment of silence be observed before all sanctioned matches this Saturday and that national team players and officials wear black armbands in forthcoming fixtures. URU said it will work with Black Pirates and the Gongodyo family to ensure a befitting send-off.

A reliable presence in the Pirates forward pack, Gongodyo featured in the club’s 2025 Premiership title win and travelled with the squad for last week’s Enterprise Cup final against Kabras Sugar in Nairobi. He had also established himself as a regular for the Rugby Cranes at the XV-a-side level. A new date for the postponed semifinal is yet to be confirmed. Police investigations remain ongoing.

Farmers across the country have been advised to use agro inputs such as pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers, among others, to improve soil fertility, manage pests and achieve maximum yield.

However, some of these agrochemicals farmers are using in their farms are hazardous to human health and the environment.

As such, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries recently banned the use of nine agricultural agro chemical inputs since they pose human health and environmental hazards. This was revealed during the second annual Crop Life Symposium held in Kampala.

Background

While these synthetic inputs significantly increase harvests, they also raise critical concerns regarding food safety, ecosystem health and human toxicity.

Many smallholder farmers particularly in the western and central regions report that using fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides has effectively doubled their yields and profit margins for cash crops like maize, tomatoes, Irish potatoes, and beans.

Agricultural companies, often working with the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) and the Ministry of Agriculture are transitioning away from generalised fertilisers to crop-specific blends to maximize nutrient absorption and prevent soil degradation.

The experts believe some of the challenges which must be checked include Food Safety and Health Hazards because the excessive or improper use of agrochemicals leads to elevated chemical residues in food products like vegetables and milk.

Studies have raised alarms over highly hazardous pesticides some of which are banned globally finding their way to local markets.

Counterfeits and misapplication can be a problem because a lack of regulatory oversight in village markets means farmers frequently purchase counterfeit products or use chemicals without observing safe pre-harvest intervals

It is because of these challenges which led the Ministry of agriculture to ban 9 agro chemicals in the market and imposed restrictions on nine other agrochemicals for farmers to use on specific crops.

Insights by Crop life experts

The Chief Executive Officer Crop Life Africa Middle East, Ms Stella Simiyu, explained that Crop protection which emphasises the use of quality seed and advanced technologies such as Biotechnology is key for farmers to achieve better yields.

She contends that it is impossible to achieve food security, trade and sustainable goals unless regulatory systems are put in place to enable effective agri input innovations for farmer uptake.

She called upon African countries including Uganda to adopt fit for purpose emerging agricultural technologies, apply science and risk based assessments for agricultural products and link regulation to farmer access.

Banned and Restricted Chemicals

The Commissioner Crop Inspection and Certification Ministry of Agriculture Dr Paul Mwambu, explained that Crop Life raised concern for the ministry to review 18 agro chemicals about the risks of their ingredients which the ministry experts did using scientific laboratory tests.

This regulatory review was triggered by emerging international scientific evidence and trade concerns relating to potential risks posed by certain active ingredients to human health, environmental safety, food systems and compliance with international residue standards on agricultural commodities

Therefore, following technical review by the Agricultural Chemicals Control Technical Committee and final consideration by the Agricultural Chemicals Review Committee, the government reached a decision of phasing out nine active ingredients.

These include Alpha-cypermethrin and Chlorothalonil which are pollutants of water and may end up destroying aquatic life and they are toxic to beneficial insects such as bees.

Others are Atrazine, Butachlor and Carbofuran which are toxic to underground water and the environment.

The former causes reduced male fertility, coma and circulatory collapse as well as gastric bleeding while the latter irritates the skin and eyes and causes toxicity to fauna and flora.

Dichlorvos is acutely toxic to environment while Dimethoate causes reproductive disorder and is toxic to pollinators Meanwhile Diuron and Propanil cause Kidney failure, spleen and liver damage.

The nine active ingredients which the committee placed under restricted use for specific crops include Ametryn which is restricted for sugarcane and pineapple weeding while Carbendazim is restricted for use on cashew nuts only.

Chlorpyrifos is restricted only for use on ants in anthills and Fipronil is restricted in controlling termites in building sites.

Imidacloprid is restricted to seed companies for seed treatment and Indoxacarb is restricted for use on tomatoes to control tuta absoluta and diamondback moth insects.

There is no alternative at the moment for Mancozeb and yet it is critical for fugal management of several fungal diseases in fruits, vegetables and crops such as potatoes and tomatoes among others.

The ministry is retaining it for the next five years as alternatives are being sought.

Profenofos has been restricted for the control of fall armyworm and Thiamethoxam is restricted for use on coffee to control black coffee twig borer and in Maize to control fall army worm.

Dr Mwambu notes that the banned agro chemicals have other alternatives and that the decisions made are part of the government’s obligation to ensure that only safe, effective and internationally acceptable agricultural chemical products remain in circulation and use by farmers.

Lango sub-region is grappling with high cases of crime threatening the security of residents, with authorities linking most incidents to alcoholism, drug abuse and violence at night discos.

Lango sub-region consists of nine districts and a city: Alebtong, Amolatar, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Kwania, Lira, Otuke, Oyam Districts and Lira City. The trend is spreading across all of them.

The Police Annual Crime Report of 2025 puts Lango sub-region, or North Kyoga Policing Region, at number 4 among the top 10 policing regions with the highest crime rates out of 32 regions in Uganda. North Kyoga registered 12,728 criminal cases reported to police in 2025.

The trend has continued into 2026, with cases of murder by mob action, murder, theft, assault, rape and defilement among the common cases being registered. Authorities say most of these crimes are committed either under the influence of alcohol or during night discos, which have become common at trading centres.

The most recent cases include a fight over girls between students of Apac Seed Secondary School and the community at a disco on April 3, 2026, Easter Sunday, at Agweng Trading Centre in Apac Subcounty, which left seven students injured.

On May 3, 2026, Kenneth Odon, 16, a student of Kangai Secondary School in Dokolo District, was stabbed to death at a disco in Arwotcek Parish, Arwotcek Subcounty, Amolatar District during a fight over girls.

In Lira City, a 20-year-old woman was gang raped on May 2, 2026 by a group of over ten men who were already intoxicated with alcohol. The victim, a resident of Amuca, was returning from a hangout at Grand Paradise Hotel in Amuca along the Lira-Kamdini Highway.

In April, police in Lira City East Division arrested 100 suspected criminals at several drinking joints on the outskirts of the city.

The high influx of illicit alcohol in the local market has made crude alcohol accessible to low-income earners including youth, resulting in abuse and high consumption. Authorities say this is increasing school dropout, family breakups and poverty.

Bonny Okello Alele, the Assistant Resident City Commissioner for Lira City, said alcoholism is becoming a security threat. ‘Some of you would see security as thugs, Malaya mentioned them but alcoholism is now one of the big threats in our city. This alcohol of Shs 1000 per bottle is a danger to this society already,’ he said.

Okello added that some dangerous alcohols are being sold in open markets and the youth are the highest consumers. ‘Some of us do day operations, we arrested about 27 around VH Public School by 9am they were drunk and dead. You just pick them like the grasshoppers,’ he said.

Alex Ogota, the LC3 chairperson of Ibuje Subcounty in Apac District, said thieves are taking advantage of sound pollution from night discos to steal. ‘We have bars at the trading centres where they play loud music at night. The thieves stay here and deep in the night they go to people’s homes where they steal cattle, chickens, goats and break into the houses,’ he said.

Pastor Thomas Opio Okene, the senior pastor at Amuli Baptist Church in Kwania District, asked local authorities to regulate night discos and alcoholism since it is compromising security.

‘The government has under looked these issues of alcoholism and night disco for a very long time but it’s now costing us. Many lives have lost, properties destroyed, families broken because of these issues. People are no longer drinking responsibly. More sensitization is needed so that this vice is reduced,’ he said.

However, North Kyoga Region Police Spokesperson Patrick Jimmy Okema said the cases are isolated and do not represent a general security threat.

‘Those are isolated cases that we cannot term it as a very big issue in terms of security but all the things that the different stakeholders should look into, the religious leaders, the media, the CSOs should come in and join hands to deal with such,’ he said.

In 2012, George William Kiyega, a Kampala-based construction engineer, walked into dfcu Bank and borrowed Shs318 million, secured against land he owned in Bunamwaya, Wakiso District. He repaid the loan.

By his account, that should have been the end of it. Thirteen years later, Mr Kiyega sat before a panel of five Supreme Court justices on April 16, 2025, without a lawyer, representing himself and his company, Wills International Engineers and Contractors Limited, in a case that has become one of Uganda’s most closely watched commercial disputes. On the other side of the courtroom was dfcu Bank, represented by senior counsel Timothy Masembe Kanyerezi and the law firm MMAKS Advocates.

The case has wound through every tier of Uganda’s court system. It has produced a split Court of Appeal judgment that found the bank’s conduct illegal and fraudulent, a contempt enforcement battle in the High Court, and a damages award that, if left intact, would run into the billions of shillings. Dfcu denies wrongdoing and has appealed to the Court of Appeal judgment on seven grounds, and maintains it acted within its legal rights throughout. The Supreme Court has reserved judgment. Five justices; Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, Percy Night Tuhaise, Mike Chibita, Monica Kalyegira Mugenyi, and Muzamiru Kibeedi Mutangula, will have the final word.

What is the dispute all about?

The facts established across more than a decade of proceedings are not, at their core, disputed in their broad outline. What is fiercely contested is their legal meaning. Between 2012 and 2014, Mr Kiyega and his company obtained a series of credit facilities from dfcu, including a Shs200 million medium-term loan and a Shs220 million contract finance facility, both secured against land on Block 265 Plot 7346 at Bunamwaya. A separate piece of land; Plot 7347, was left with the bank for safe custody in connection with an earlier loan that had since been repaid.

According to court records, mortgage charges in respect of the medium-term loan and a performance bond facility were registered on Plot 7347, the safe custody title, rather than on Plot 7346, the intended security. The bank has consistently described at least one of these registrations as an inadvertent error, partly caused by the Commissioner of Land Registration, and says corrective steps were taken. The Court of Appeal majority, however, found that the pattern of encumbrances, including entries recorded on the same day, at the same time, yet bearing different signatures, went beyond administrative error.

Court records show that a Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) official testified in court that a stamp duty certificate produced during proceedings, purportedly showing that dfcu had paid Shs1.1 million in stamp duty on behalf of Mr Kiyega, was not a document issued by the taxman. The Court of Appeal’s majority took that evidence seriously. Dfcu has not publicly addressed the specifics of that testimony, and its legal submissions focus principally on procedural grounds, arguing, among other things, that fraud was never formally pleaded in the original plaint and, therefore, could not lawfully be found by any court.

The dissenting Court of Appeal justice, Ms Elizabeth Musoke, agreed that fraud had not been pleaded and that no finding of fraud should, therefore, have been made. It is one of dfcu’s stronger grounds before the Supreme Court. The bank is also contesting the scale of the damages. The Court of Appeal awarded Shs120 million in general damages, six times the High Court’s original award, plus Shs80 million for each illegal mortgage for each year it remained on the property, a figure the bank’s lawyers describe as exorbitant and accumulating.

What issues are up for consideration?

On the question of Mr Kiyega’s cross-appeal, his argument that damages should run from when the alleged wrongs occurred rather than from the date of the Court of Appeal judgment, dfcu says its position is supported by statute and by Supreme Court precedent. Section 26(2) of the Civil Procedure Act and established case law indicate that where damages must be assessed by a court, interest runs from the date of judgment, not from the date of the underlying act. Mr Kiyega’s cross-appeal on this point is likely to face difficulty.

The Court of Appeal found the bank’s conduct illegal and fraudulent, a finding dfcu contests and which the Supreme Court is now being asked to review. It came after a High Court order in September 2023 had directed dfcu to clear the encumbrances from Plot 7347 within two weeks. Court records indicate the process of clearing the title was still ongoing as late as that same month. The Wills International case is one of 623 such disputes currently before Uganda’s courts, and the numbers behind that figure have alarmed the country’s most senior financial and judicial leaders. The Wills International case is, statistically and structurally, entirely typical. On April 9, 2026, Bank of Uganda Governor Dr Michael Atingi-Ego stood before a judicial colloquium at Serena Hotel, Kigo, and described the scale of the problem in terms that left little room for ambiguity.

‘Currently, about 623 unresolved banking cases are locking up an estimated Shs7 trillion,’ he said. Dr Atingi-Ego added: ‘For the economy, this is dead capital. Every shilling locked in a disputed loan is a shilling that cannot be reinvested into the productive sectors of the economy.’ Chief Justice Dr Flavian Zeija, who took office in January 2026, was equally direct. Within the High Court Commercial Division alone, he said, the monetary value of pending cases stood at approximately Shs3.5 trillion as of February 2026. ‘Alternative dispute resolution, ADR, is no longer optional,’ he told the colloquium, adding, ‘It is a national policy imperative.’

The colloquium, the second of its kind, convened jointly by the Judiciary, the Central Bank, and the Judicial Training Institute, produced a concrete resolution: special mediation centres to be established as the first point of call for banking disputes before they reach the court system. A Judiciary-wide Mediation Settlement Fortnight followed in May 2026. What are the industry’s own lawyers saying? Separate from the Wills International proceedings, two senior lawyers at ENS Africa Uganda, one of the country’s leading corporate law firms- Mr Phillip

The challenges range from changed climatic conditions, newly arrived pests and parasites, and fast changing soil health conditions among others.

Farmers require more guidance about what pesticides and acaricides to use.

They need advice about what fertilizers to use and the best soil sustenance practices to keep the gardens well nourished.

In an opinion piece of the organization’s magazine, dated May 26 2026, Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) referred to the Agro -input dealers and agricultural extension service providers as ‘important frontlineadvisors’ supporting more resilient, climate-smart farming systems.

He wrote, ‘For decades they have primarily been viewed as suppliers of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and farm machinery. But as climate pressures intensify, fertilizer prices rise, and global supply chains become increasingly unstable, agriculture itself is undergoing a profound transformation.’

In a situation where farmers have to heavily depend on the use of agro-chemicals there is a bigger need for them to receive proper guidance on how to apply them to avoid poisoning food crops.

We don’t want the agrochemicals to destroy biodiversity and the environment. Our farmers need advice on where to purchase resilient and fast growing seeds, given the current climatic challenges.

They should be drought tolerant and disease resistant. It is a reality that our farmers are already facing erratic rainfall, water scarcity, and declining soil fertility.

This means that agricultural services extension workers at every sub-county should be more equipped and supported to meet the farmers in their villages and on their farms to provide the needed education and training.

The farmers need to apply farming practices that naturally support good soil health and withstanding climate shocks.

There ought to be measures that strictly ensure that the Farmers’ Shops are manned by people that are well trained to give the necessary guidance on agrochemicals’ application.

We have to be alive to what Dr. Himanshu Pathak has said about the unstable prices of fertilizers.

‘Across many parts of the world, geopolitical instability is now directly affecting agriculture. Global fertilizer markets have become increasingly volatile, driven by conflicts and supply chain disruptions, which are contributing to rising production costs and growing uncertainty for farming communities.’

On May 30, Ugandans woke up to a screaming headline by Al Jazeera where it was alleged that 263 people had died of Ebola in both DRC and Uganda.

Of course, Al Jazeera depicted lazy journalism while reporting this epidemic or they chose to go sensational for reasons best known to themselves.

The story was just generic and lacked basic details. Both Uganda and DRC have their own figures as far as Ebola is concerned.

And this is public information, and I can’t comprehend why the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) chose to sum up together with DRC as if Uganda is not a sovereign State to be judged by its own statistics.

For the record, Uganda has registered one fatality case out of the nine infections so far identified.

These are being medically managed, and some have been discharged after testing negative.

The Ministry of Health remains vigilant and has increased its level of vigilance, especially across the districts that border the DRC.

Together with partners like the CDC and World Health Organisation (WHO), the government is in control and without a doubt will control this disease.

This is not the first time Uganda has tamed Ebola within its territories. In fact, this epidemic is the 9th since Ebola began threatening Ugandans. And all these have been controlled with very limited fatalities.

Entebbe Virus Research Institute has the best virology lab in the region. In 2000, Uganda registered the first case of Ebola in Lacor Hospital in Gulu City.

Since then, several other variants of Ebola have struck, but our medical experts have always contained the situation.

The Entebbe Virus Research Institute has been equipped and is now a centre of excellence in viral diseases.

The Ministry of Health and scientists have indeed cultivated global-leading expertise in managing and controlling Ebola.

Having faced multiple outbreaks of different viral strains (including Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo), Uganda has honed its rapid response, contact tracing, and treatment protocols to become a globally recognised model for disease containment.

Uganda contains Ebola outbreaks through a tried-and-true strategy centered around rapid detection, aggressive contact tracing, community mobilisation, and decentralised mobile laboratories.

This highly effective model is executed by the Ministry of Health alongside partners like WHO and UNICEF.

Uganda’s success in taming these outbreaks relies on mobile laboratories in affected districts so samples do not have to be sent to the central Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) in Entebbe, dramatically cutting wait times for results.

A robust health system allows for quick turnaround times-often returning diagnostic results within 24 hours of testing at border or localised clinics.

Therefore, those making these out of proportion statement should come to Uganda to learn from our expertise.

This does not mean that we are not taking precautions as a country. We have set up standard operating procedures, especially where people gather in numbers. Schools and markets are operating normally.

Spreading unverified rumours and sensationalised data, which directly undermines public health efforts, causes widespread panic, disrupts the economy, encourages the use of dangerous unproven treatments, and severely damages the reputation of a country.

Uganda’s open policy in managing our affairs is being abused. As a country, we do not find it wise to hide information when we are faced with an outbreak. Indeed, when the rest of the world was still shy to talk about HIV/Aids in the 1980s, President Museveni came out boldly to tell the world about the strange disease then.

He championed a highly visible, grassroots, and top-down national awareness campaign that shattered taboos.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health is effectively managing the Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease outbreak.

The government rapidly activated national and subnational response structures, earning widespread commendation for its swift containment, contact tracing, and isolation protocols.