Category: Daily Monitor

When you set a terrific pace at the start of the race, you must maintain it, lest you lose. That is the story of Cyrus Muwanga, who was inaugurated as Uganda Table Tennis Association (UTTA) president on July 12, 2025. The teacher-cum- education entrepreneur is using his rich social and business network to foster change that might drive table tennis to unprecedented heights.

That aside, Muwanga’s first 120 days in office have scored Uganda has historic successes, especially internationally, picking from where his predecessor Robert Jjagwe left, signaling a seamless transition.

July: ITTF appointment

Barely two weeks in office, Muwanga was appointed to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) advisory commission as head of the marketing committee.

This followed the adoption of Proposition A-07, submitted by UTTA under Jjagwe which was approved by a two-thirds majority at the ITTF AGM in Doha in May.

The proposal highlighted ‘urgent need for a strategic and collaborative approach to financial growth within the sport, particularly by increasing development funding and elevating marketing efforts.’

Interestingly, in that AGM, Jjagwe backed Khalil Al-Mohannadi, of Qatar against incumbent ITTF president Petra Sorling of Sweden, who edged it 104-102, amidst loud protestation.

But Sorling recognised Jjagwe’s contribution and trusted his successor Muwanga to lead the marketing arm.

At the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Muwanga called his assignment ‘a win-win for table tennis in Uganda, East Africa and Africa as a whole.’

Muwanga will also be guided by Thomas Kiggundu, an experienced ITTF member.

July: Golden Hopes

Precocious Joseph Sebatindira and Patience Anyango were the first to test action in Lagos, Nigeria where they both won gold at the 2025 World Hopes Week and Challenge in late July. Anyango, the 2024 U-12 Hopes champion, defended her crown ruthlessly, smashing all her four opponents from Zimbabwe, Guinea, Benin and Tunisia 3-0.

Meanwhile, Sebatindira, a multiple U-11 world champion, had a point to prove having lost the 2024 final to Ghanaian Israel Akli. He did it seamlessly, dispatching opponents from Egypt, Namibia, Algeria and South Africa to clinch gold.

These stellar displays earned the Ugandan gems coveted tickets to the 2025 World Hopes Week and Challenge in Sheffield, UK.

July/August: Lagos gold

Uganda’s achievements at the 2025 ITTF African Youth Table Tennis Championships in Lagos, Nigeria from July 27 to August 3 transcended expectations as Uganda reaped gold, silver and three bronze medals in different categories.

Jemimah Nakawala, Anyango and her elder sister Patra Nasirumbi teamed up to win Under-15 girls’ gold. En route to this historic feat, they beat South Africa 3-0, lost to Tunisia 3-2, then beat Namibia 3-0 to finish second in Group 2.

In the semis they upset Algeria 3-2 to book a revenge final against Tunisia. The North Africans started ruthlessly as Ela Said dispatched Anyango 3-0. Nakawala levelled matters with a 3-1 win over Mariam Brahimi but Nasirumbi lost for the first time, 3-1 against Nour Brahimi. Leading 2-1, Tunisia needed just one win to seal the grudge match. But Nakawala said: ‘Hold on.!’ beating Saidi 3-2 to level matters again. At 2-2, the shy 11-year-old Anyango returned to the table for the pulsating decider against Mariam Brahimi. Anyango won the first set 11-7, lost the second 6-11, won the third 11-9, lost the fourth 5-11, but finally clinched the fifth 11-9 to earn Uganda unprecedented gold.

Familiar duo Nakawala and Parvin Nangonzi were smelling gold after ejecting Egyptians Younes Mariam and Elbasoumy Habiba 3-1 in U-19 girls’ doubles semifinal. But another Egyptian pair Malak Abdelshakour and Nour Zaki stopped them 3-0 in the final. Silver was not bad either.

Preteen brothers Sebatindira and Sharif Nsereko got bronze after surrendering the U-15 boys’ doubles semifinal to Egyptians Sameh Asser and Abdelhalim Mohammed 3-1.

Meanwhile, Nsereko, the only Ugandan in the boys’ singles semifinal, fell to Algerian Bilel Zouitene 3-1 and settled for bronze.

In the under 15 mixed doubles, Nakawala and Sebatindira lost at the quarterfinals against Algerians Aylan Goudjil and Tania Morice 3-0, but Nsereko and Anyango got bronze after a narrow 3-2 semifinal loss to Nigerian duo Tobi Adebakin And Aishat Rabiu.

In the ITTF Africa Youth Cup, which followed the Championship at the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall, Uganda also picked some medals. Nakawala got silver after losing the U15 girls’ singles finals to Algerian Morice Tania 3-1.

But in the boys’ final, silver and gold belonged to Uganda as Sebatindira defeated Nsereko 3-0.

October: London here we come

With Nakasero Club teammate Anyango away in Sheffield at the 2025 ITTF Africa Senior Championships in Tunis, Nangonzi and Nakawala had to adjust to playing with Judith Mirembe from Table Tennis Kids-Uganda, a club from the remote district of Iganga in Eastern Uganda.

Despite failing in the singles, Mirembe would prove the unsung hero in team events, notching vital victories, especially that 3-0 win over Laila Edwards which restored Uganda’s lead against South Africa before Nakawala sealed the Round of 16 tie 3-1.

By reaching the quarterfinals, the teenage trio had already hit the main goal of qualifying for the 2026 World Team Championships in London, the first time in Uganda’s history.

But the girls, guided by 1996 Olympian Paul Mutambuze, went three more steps ahead, including a 3-2 win over hosts Tunisia in the quarterfinals, and beating favourites Nigeria 3-1 in the semis.

Losing the final 3-0 to Egypt was no heartbreak after all silver-Uganda’s first at this level-superseded the bronze they got in Addis Ababa in 2024.

Yet that silver came days after Nakawala and Nangonzi’s historic bronze in the doubles after defeating an overly experienced South African duo in the quarterfinals.

Little wonder, Nakawala was voted the most improved player on the continent following a nearly perfect display.

October: Sheffield gold

The same week Nangonzi and Nakawala shone in Tunis, their younger ‘siblings’ were rewriting history at the World U12 Hopes Challenge in Sheffield.

Anyango, the two-time U12 girls’ champion, missed the podium, finishing eighth among 18. But Sebatindira, once more tormented his four opponents and won yet another global gold. This was a huge upgrade to his performance at the 2024 edition in Asuncion, Paraguay.

The tournament is ITTF’s initiative to identify and groom young talents across the world.

October: Sebatindira Dubai

From Sheffield, Anyango, Sebatindira and their coaches Mary Tendo Balyewunya and Alvin Katumba jetted to the United Arab Emirates for the World Table Tennis Youth Contender Dubai 2025 from October 21-24.

In Group 1, Sebatindira beat Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Abbas and UAE’s Fahed Almehrzi 3-0.

In the quarterfinals, he defeated Egyptian Saif Metawea 3-0. In the semis, he eliminated Iranian Mohammadmehdi Sabzevari 3-1, before defeating another Iranian Nikan Shirvani 3-0 in the final to win another U-11 world title.

Anyango’s journey started at the quarterfinal where she defeated Kuwait’s Aljood Alsinawi 3-0, the same score she got against Canadian Tiffany Zhan in the semis.

She was not as lucky in the final, falling 3-2 to Olesia Ilina in the final-settling for silver, on her WTT debut.

November: first Islamic Games medal

Muwanga played at the inaugural Islamic Games in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 2005.

Twenty years later, he returned to the desert nation for the Games’ sixth edition, in Riyadh, this time as UTTA boss, dining with fellow ITTF administrators, to chart a table tennis road into the future.

Coincidentally, this was the moment Uganda broke the duck as Nangonzi and Nakawala, once more paired to win bronze in the women’s doubles-Uganda’s first ever table tennis medal at the Games.

Now Muwanga’s challenge is to turn that bronze into plural and gold in subsequent editions.

Uganda Open returns

Of course Muwanga is lucky to have inherited a class of national team players who are used to winning.

But he deserves the flowers for anchoring a smooth and fruitful transition, so far.

There’s, however, an urgent need to elevate the boys’ team to match the girls’ standards. Yet the girls too are still a work in progress.

Muwanga believes that the magic bullet is establishing a vibrant local presence, engaging a larger player pool from across the country.

Hence, the UTTA’s revival of the Uganda Open, which has not been played in years.

The inaugural edition will be hosted at Kabojja International School in Buziga due December 6-8.

Communities in Uganda’s Maracha and Yumbe districts are demanding urgent improvements in essential public services, accusing local leaders of presiding over chronic failures in education, health care, roads and access to clean water.

Residents say the government has not matched their long-standing demands with meaningful investment, leaving schools congested, health facilities under-equipped and key roads impassable.

‘We have been demanding for construction of more classrooms and latrines for our school,’ said Sabino Aluma, a teacher at Kamaka Primary School in Maracha.

He added: ‘Though our efforts are getting paid off when the leaders come and do assessment, we still need the services. The pupils deserve to study under a better environment.’

Aluma said leaders must show greater transparency in how public resources are allocated, arguing that communities want projects that benefit everyone rather than ‘extravagant, self-serving developments.’

Residents say population growth has stretched already-strained schools and health centres. ‘Communities have been able to demand for construction of more classroom blocks. But still, they feel dissatisfied because of the growing number of pupils,’ Florence Amaguru told Monitor on Saturday.

‘This means that the government should set their priorities right.’

Local officials acknowledge the pressure but cite financial constraints.

‘As the locals demand for better services, the government needs to improve on the funding, otherwise the citizens will lynch duty bearers when the services are not provided,’ said Yumbe District education officer Swali Olega.

He added: ‘Sometimes we feel the pinch from the locals and so equate it to over-demanding.’

Civil society groups say community engagement has grown through new grassroots accountability initiatives backed by the European Union.

‘With strengthened social accountability, citizens are now able to demand for the services because they want to see an accountable leadership,’ said Feni Tuaib, Executive Director of the West Nile Civil Society Organisation Network (WECISNET).

‘If citizens know what the leaders or government is supposed to provide, then the district leadership will have better work,’ he opined.

He urged citizens to prioritise demands that benefit entire communities, saying this would make accountability easier.

The Uganda National NGO Forum says civic awareness has widened sharply. ‘There was a gap between communities and the government leadership,’ Senior Associate Rebecca Ariokot observed, adding that: ‘But with an empowered community, there is growing demand for improved services. We managed to reach 25,000 people in both West Nile and Bukedi. So, people can now demand for accountability and services.’

Local leaders say they support citizens’ demands but lack resources to meet them.

‘We have created demand but there are some unmet demands,’ said Maracha District Health Officer Dr Paul Onzubo. ‘The LC5s and MPs should push for an increment in funding.’

Yumbe’s Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Sulai Ejosiga noted that residents were increasingly asserting their rights.

‘People have been demanding for the road from Kei to Yumbe town to be worked on so that they can move their goods. We need to lobby for funds to support the lower local governments.’

Recently, the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) leader Jimmy Akena came out to openly campaign against President Museveni, whom he had for the past few years enjoyed a good political relationship.

Addressing parliamentary, LC5, and mayoral candidates on the UPC ticket at his home in Lira City on November 8, Mr Akena urged his party’s flagbearers to capitalise on the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party’s empty promises to win the 2026 elections.

For more than a decade, Akena had enjoyed an affable relationship when President Museveni, who, in the process, appointed Akena’s wife, Betty Amongi, the Oyam South MP on the UPC card, as Minister of Lands and later Minister of Gender.

These appointments occurred amid talks of an alliance between Akena’s UPC and the ruling NRM.

Whether the talks culminated in anything tangible, sources to the goings on between the two camps say it was never formalised, leaving Mr Akena bruised.

‘Very many issues that UPC was seeking to address never came through on the side of President Museveni. UPC and Akena think the President is not being honest, and that is where the problem stems from. After we realised that the relationship was not heading anywhere, we decided to jump ship,’ a top UPC leader, who asked not to be named, told this reporter.

Sources say Akena had hoped for something similar to what happened with the Democratic Party (DP).

In July 2022, the NRM party signed a working cooperation agreement with DP. President Museveni, also the national chairman of NRM, signed on behalf of the party, while Mr Norbert Mao signed on behalf of DP.

In the 42-clause agreement, the two parties not only agreed to share political power but also to foster constitutionalism and the respect of human rights.

Fallout

At a recent event in Boroboro, Lira City, Akena knelt when the national anthem was sung as a sign of protest against what he called injustice from President Museveni.

‘I am not leaving Museveni, I am bumper to bumper with Museveni, up to the end. That is my one focus, I am going to stick to him, if he tosses this, I am going to be on his neck, there is nothing I am going to let pass,’ Akena said.

But while addressing journalists from Baralegi State Lodge in Lango Sub-region, President Museveni denied any knowledge of what happened to Akena or UPC, stating he only ‘saw it in the papers’.

But writing in a recent column in this newspaper, Mr Obed Katureebe, the acting executive director of the Uganda Media Centre, accused Mr Akena of badmouthing President Museveni because he missed the nomination to stand as a presidential candidate.

‘Mr Akena is all over accusing President Museveni of frustrating his presidential ambitions and undermining Uganda’s oldest political party. In his delusion, he has publicly urged people in the Lango Sub-region to shun President Museveni and deny him votes come January 15, 2026,’ he wrote.

‘The Electoral Commission (EC), in its September 22 communication, argued that Mr Akena’s term as UPC president expired on August 1, and, therefore, he lacked the mandate to stand as the party’s flagbearer.’

Bobi-Akena bromance

On October 24, in Akokoro Village in Apac District, a gate opened, ushering in National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, to his ancestral home. It was more than a symbolism of Mr Akena welcoming Bobi Wine to his home, but rather cementing a relationship that had been brewing.

This gesture, in the middle of an election, was received with mixed reactions. While some warmed up to it, others viewed it as a betrayal given the fallout between Akena’s father, former president Milton Obote, and former Kabaka Edward Muteesa II, which culminated in the 1966 Buganda Crisis.

‘If I can meet with President Museveni, what would make me not meet with Mr Kyagulanyi? What kind of intolerance are we trying to bring about?’ Akena questioned while explaining the incident during a press briefing at the UPC headquarters in Kampala.

‘I will continue to meet Kyagulanyi and fight to see how we can work together, especially for our people in the entire country. That is the kind of leadership that our forefathers left us. When my father died, I made a solemn promise that I would help and set the record straight, and this election of 2026 gives me that kind of opportunity, so I am not being belligerent for nothing,’ he added.

For the last seven or so months, Mr Akena has been a frequent visitor at the NUP headquarters at Kavule, holding meetings with the party leadership with the intent of working together in the elections.

Commenting on his meeting with Akena in Akokoro, Bobi Wine said: ‘That visit alone touched me, and in many ways, changed even my orientation to northern Uganda.’

‘My generation and those younger are being taught to be divided, being taught not to love each other, being taught to live when we miss the unfortunate events of the past. I realised that we are more similar than different, and that it is more beneficial when we are together. We have to be tolerant with each other and not judge others by their past,’ he added.

Can alliance deny NRM Lango?

The Akena-Bobi Wine meetings buy into the bigger conversation of bringing the Opposition together to fight the ruling NRM, a goal which has always eluded the Opposition.

Political commentators have attributed this to selfishness, viewing political positions as offices and the lack of authority for political parties over their members.

Dr Frederick Golooba-Mutebi (PhD), a Political Scientist from Makerere University, says there is nothing new in Ugandan politics as the Opposition has always gone for each other in election contests.

‘It would only be surprising if they came together behind one candidate, but as it stands, they have always run against each other because the political parties don’t have authority over their members, and the candidates are equally indisciplined,’ Golooba says.

Ms Sarah Bireete, the Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG), says the formation of some of these splinter groups makes it hard for the Opposition to come together and form alliances.

‘Opposition is too selfish to unite, yet their best fighting chance lies in unity. If today, genuine Opposition came together and ensured a win or good performance in every region, it would be game up for President Museveni and his party. The elements working against unity are only working in favour of the regime. Because of the uneven ground, no single Opposition party can win power on its own. They need to combine their capital and human resources plus their support base to win,’ Bireete says.

Ms Bireete says there are many areas the Opposition can unite around, including the abductions of supporters, because these are cross-cutting issues that affect all of them.

The politics in all this

Some political analysts say the vote in Lango would give NUP an advantage if Akena, looked at as a kingmaker in Lango, decided to front Bobi Wine in a place where President Museveni has enjoyed victory.

The UPC-NRM fault lines have already seen Akena’s wife, Ms Amongi, decide to contest against President Museveni’s Health minister, Jane Ruth Acheng, for the Lira City Woman MP seat.

But Mr Katureebe is confident of an NRM win in Lango.

‘They know better what President Museveni has done for Lango, and no wonder they have overwhelmingly voted NRM in the previous general elections and that there is nothing Mr Akena can do now to change the course of events. NRM got more than 70 percent in the 2021 General Election. Without a doubt, people in Lango will not fall for Mr Akena’s propaganda,’ he wrote.

I am God’s dog, as you probably already know. With 2025 AD coming to a close, and God still in a state of divine rest, I have time to sniff around and find out how some of the people who peddle His name are faring; what they are doing to keep themselves relevant. The showmen who do Pentecostal-styled services are, of course, very much in the limelight, as I suppose they want to be. The latest twist in their enterprise seems to be the introduction of a White man. Yes, White men.

You see, demons are a very big thing with African Pentecostal pastors and their African followers. In this respect, they are exactly like our witch doctors. A pastor or a witch doctor is usually only taken seriously if he is believed to have the power to exorcise demons or command them to perform special tasks, sometimes rather dark tasks. Because of this, it is routine for pastors to encourage or engineer conditions at their prayers in which the devotees behave as if possessed by evil spirits, presenting symptoms rather like those that schizophrenic and epileptic patients might present during severe attacks.

The pastor then intervenes to drive out the demons and normalise the devotee’s condition. The details may differ, but the witch doctor essentially simulates the same format. And Africans have shown that they are very good at this, wherever their church or shrine may be located. Indeed, the pastor sometimes exaggerates, driving exactly the same demons from exactly the same patients/believers several times every week; sometimes daily, when it comes to fanatics who go to church every day.

Are these demons so stubborn that they can always return as soon as they are driven off?

Well, good at the job as the African pastors may have become, there seems to be a trend to introduce (or maybe reintroduce) Americans and Europeans as even more powerful exorcists. That can happen. Witch doctors from distant places like Pemba and Zanzibar are also often believed to have more spiritual and magical power than our local practitioners.

As we approach 2026, we look back at the 2024 and 2025 footage and see visiting White pastors driving demons from many of our local pastors. Perhaps the cleansing was even overdue. Before Pentecostal spiritualists set up their biwempe (makeshift) churches wherever they saw a potential following, we had got used to Christian worship as cool highly ordered reflective events. You could call it ‘dull’. The Pentecostals tapped into the kind of pleasurable excitement associated with theatre and nightclubs and made their worship emotionally different. Call it ‘lively’.

The madness in the sessions involving active spirits – whether of demons being driven off or the Holy Spirit coming down – had that element, no matter how many calls and conversations with God your pastor may claim to have been blessed with. But like with all such excitement, it can wear off. And with over-repetition, a sense of hollowness creeps in.

It gets harder to convince the smarter followers that the local pastor has sufficient power to deal with demons, or even whether there are real demons to be driven off in the first place, let alone persuade them that pleasant miracles will happen to them because the pastor has smeared them with olive oil and he has been screaming all over the room. The trend of visiting Western pastors cleansing our pastors must, therefore, be viewed as a positive development, since it shows that the latter acknowledge they need correction. That is, if the demons won’t come back.

‘For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand.’- Romans 13:11-12

It has been observed that in our culture there has been a War on the Christian season of Advent, and we have lost it. Advent has been almost completely secularised, and most Christians go right along with it. Even many churches now schedule their Christmas concerts and activities before Christmas.

Advent is meant to be more of a reflective than festive nature. It leads to the celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem (history), the coming of Christ now in our hearts (mystery), and the coming of Christ at the end of time (Parousia).

Directly following the Solemnity of Christ the King and immediately preceding Christmas, Advent is a great reminder that the same infant in swaddling clothes in Bethlehem is the same person who sits on the throne in glory, ruling both heaven and earth. It is a four-week season, emphasising themes such as hope, peace, joy, and love. They represent the virtues Jesus brought us; each them inviting us to pause, refocus, and embrace God’s promise of salvation.

A question here arises, whether there is a political orientation to Advent. The answer is, yes. We should not be able to celebrate Advent or Christmas without the constant reminder that our Saviour was the long-awaited Messiah for the Jewish people. Both the historical background of the nativity stories in the gospels and the situation in contemporary Palestine reveal that the Messiah came to redeem the poor and oppressed.

All of this took place at the hands of a greedy, corrupt, and jealous earthly king, Herod. King Herod does not only refuse to give due reverence and honour to the Christ Child, who is King of the Universe, but also seeks to kill Him. Herod was not unlike the tyrannical leaders in many parts of today. They feel insecure and demonise or destroy the opposition.

The Incarnation means that God takes on our humanity and embraces everyone’s unique experiences. Jesus was born into a land that was hemorrhaging with pain and loss. He was born into a family that had experienced generational and poverty traumas. When He talks about how to treat enemies and how to react to violence, we hear somebody who is pushing through trauma, saying, ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:21). Hence, the Christian faith is neither forceful nor utopian/impractical in its promise for a better future. Pathetically, the Jews did not welcome that mode of redemption.

Rather than an idealistic season of rituals, the Advent season offers meaningful hope to face life with all its realities. History points to a church whose worship songs and prayers address a political perspective. As the early church continued to wait for Jesus’ return, anxious and desperate in the midst of persecution, they began to wonder if He was really coming back at all. Instead of using the coming reign of Christ to justify political inaction, exploitation of the natural world, and indifference toward material suffering, Advent reminds us that we still have a job to do, but the Christian way.

In the context of Uganda, the elections come at a time when many people are dismayed and disillusioned with politics. They feel like politics is irredeemable. They feel that politicians are nothing more than charlatans and sophists who will promise heaven and earth to win an election.

When we see the brokenness in our political parties, politicians, and governmental structures, we need only to turn to Christ. He must be consulted so that our hearts can be transformed. When Christian restraints have been removed from a society, the atrocities are magnified many times over. We really do need to wake up and open our eyes wide to see beyond our own small interests and concerns. In our communities, we need to take care that our kind of hope does not lead to indifference or to forgetting the poor, the hungry, refugees, the displaced and those languishing in conflict and war zones.

Christ instructs us in the politics that recognises the dignity of the human person and fosters the common good. We must bear the light of Jesus Christ in the public square by working for justice in our society, so that His kingdom would come on earth as it is in Heaven. To realise this, religious leaders ought to guide us, without going partisan or offensive.

In conclusion, the Advent season reveals that God cares not only about our souls but about our bodies too. He addresses things that make us uncomfortable, such as economics, politics, and social dynamics. By addressing these issues, the fullness of salvation becomes tangible, even if not on our human terms. No effort of our own making, no political party, no law, no nothing of that nature can restore us. Christ alone restores us. ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ (Revelation 22:21).

The Kyabazinga of Busoga, William Gabula Nadiope IV, has called on the Hotel and Tourism Training College (HTTC) in Jinja City to design short, practical courses targeting single mothers, school dropouts and other vulnerable youth, saying skills development is key to fighting poverty and reducing social vulnerabilities in the region.

In a speech delivered on his behalf by the kingdom’s second deputy premier, Mr Noor Osman, during the College’s 16th graduation ceremony on November 28, the Kyabazinga noted that many young people risk being left behind unless institutions intentionally support them.

‘We pledge to continue supporting this College but also appeal to its management to consider the kingdom’s subjects like the single mothers, school dropouts, and other vulnerable youth, so that they get skills, fight poverty and become ambassadors of Busoga’s culture and heritage,’ the Kyabazinga said.

Ms Florence Mutyabule, Busoga’s presidential advisor on poverty alleviation, told this publication on the sidelines of the event that many single mothers lack employable skills, leaving them unable to compete effectively for jobs.

The Principal of HTTC, Mr Richard Kawere, revealed that 66 percent of the College’s current student population is female, and that 82 of the graduands completed the apprenticeship programme, an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism under the government reskilling programme supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the ministries of Education and Gender.

‘Statistics show that 71 percent of the students who graduate as apprentices from the HTTC transition into employment within the first three months and another percentage within the next six months,’ Mr Kawere said.

‘We have not recorded unemployment out of the students who have undergone an apprenticeship programme; and today, I want to state that tourism and hospitality are at the centre stage of jobs. For every 100 jobs, 10 percent of the world population is employing tourism and hospitality professionals.’

He added that the College has strengthened its capacity through international partnerships, including one with the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute, under which 22 academic staff were certified as international hospitality educators.

Col (Rtd) Tom Butime, the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, urged the newly graduated students to uphold high professional standards and praised HTTC for its strong partnerships and contribution to the growth of Uganda’s tourism sector.

He described tourism and hospitality professionals as essential to national development, noting that the sector is a ‘strategic pillar’ under Uganda’s Vision 2040 plan, which aims to generate $50 billion from tourism.

A total of 366 students graduated with Diplomas and Certificates in Pastry and Bakery, Hotel Management, Tourism Management and other disciplines. Of these, 81 (22%) were male and 285 (78%) female.

Sixteen students achieved first-class honours, with Ms Priscilla B. Mukisa, a National Certificate in Hotel Operations student, emerging best overall with a CGPA of 4.92.

The HTTC, formerly the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (UHTTI), is a government institution mandated to train the tourism and hospitality workforce. It has produced more than 7,000 graduates now serving in the sector.

The institution adopted its new name in March following the enactment of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Act, which restructured Uganda’s vocational training system.

Joseph Eyinu tends to his onion crop with care in Apitopat Cell, Kayago Ward, Namasale Town Council, Amolatar District. The 26-year-old gently picks onions from the nursery bed, taking great care not to damage the delicate plants. With the soil prepared and the irrigation system in place, Eyinu plants the onions in the garden, making sure they are spaced evenly and watered. To protect the young sprouting onions from the harsh rays of the sun, he covers them with dry maize leaves that have the dual purpose of providing shade and retaining soil moisture. This simple yet effective technique helps the onions to grow strong and healthy.

Eyinu is one of several farmers in northern Uganda who are embracing vegetable growing as a way to adapt to climate change. With unpredictable weather patterns and increasing temperatures, these farmers are turning to irrigation and innovative techniques to ensure their crops thrive. The demand for vegetables is high in Namasale, and Eyinu is confident that his onions will fetch a good price at the market. By growing vegetables, he not only supports his family but also contributes to the local food system.

Daniel Opito, a 27-year-old farmer, works at the Apitopat Solar Powered Irrigation Scheme in Namasale Town Council. He serves as a scheme operator and watchman, where he ensures a consistent water supply to local farms to boost productivity and food security. ‘For over a decade, I relied on rain-fed agriculture and fishing in the nearby Lake Kyoga to feed my family. However, I faced persistent hardships with the meagre income.

There were changes in the rainfall patterns, declining fish stocks due to overfishing, destruction of breeding grounds, exploitation by middlemen, and harsh enforcement by the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU), which often resulted in the confiscation of gear and destruction of boats,’ he says. Opito struggled to meet basic needs such as buying clothes, paying medical bills, and school fees for his children and siblings.

Getting together

In July 2020, he was among dozens of residents of Kayago Ward who formed the Kayago United Farmers and Fishers Association. Their initial venture into agriculture involved purchasing a generator pump to grow onions on a small scale. However, the output was insufficient to meet the needs of all the members.

The turning point came when the association submitted a successful funding proposal to the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) through the Water for Production Regional Centre North (WfPRC-N).

In December 2024, the Apitopat Solar Powered Irrigation System was completed, marking a new chapter for the community. Opito joined the Apitopat Farmers Group, which comprises 40 members, including six landlords. ‘I was allocated two plots on a 12-acre farm and received extensive training in agro-entrepreneurship, including enterprise selection, nursery bed management, transplanting techniques, pest and disease control, post-harvest handling, and group dynamics,’ he says.

Diversification of crops and livestock

In January 2025, Opito planted tomatoes on one of his plots. By March, he had harvested the tomatoes and earned Shs3.3 million from their sale, an amount equivalent to what he had previously earned from fishing over 13 years. ‘After deducting expenses, I was left with a balance of Shs2.8 million, which I used to purchase two bulls for ploughing, a 21-inch television, pay school fees, and cover other personal needs,’ he says. Opito notes that before being trained by a team from MWE, he used to harvest five boxes of tomatoes from half an acre of land.

‘I had limited skills in pest and disease management, poor enterprise selection, and poor post-harvest handling. But with the training and exposure, I can now manage my crops, source better inputs, and market them profitably. This has greatly changed my life,’ he says. The farmer now advocates for horticultural production, citing its profitability compared to fishing. He plans to acquire more land, expand his agribusiness, construct a permanent home, relocate his family, and maintain the Apitopat Irrigation Scheme as a productive farm. Opito’s story reflects the transformative potential of sustainable agriculture and targeted development interventions in Uganda’s rural communities.

Irrigation efficiency

As in other districts in northern Uganda, climate change is no longer a distant threat in Amolatar District. The district peninsula has a total population of 188,715 people according to the 2024 National Population and Housing Census. Eighty percent of the population derives its livelihoods from agriculture and fishing. However, extreme weather events and increased pest and diseases have made agriculture in the area more challenging than ever. Benbella Opio, the agricultural officer of Namasale Town Council, says farmers in this administrative unit are mostly engaged in the production of cereal crops, cassava, and sweet potatoes.

‘They also engage in lake fishing, but not aquaculture. You expect rain to come in early March, but then it comes in April. Across northern Uganda, the dry spell sets in around May, at a time when we are about to harvest our crops. So, our production in the first season is always affected by drought,’ he observes. Opio explains that cereal crops are devastated by pests such as the fall armyworm. Nonetheless, he applauds the government for installing an irrigation facility in Namasale through the MWE. ‘This irrigation facility has helped farmers with a constant water supply. During the dry spell, production goes on. For instance, they have just finished the harvest,’ he says.

MWE, with funding from United Kingdom Export Finance and the Government of Uganda, is currently implementing the construction of the Solar Powered Water Supply and Irrigation Systems Project Phase I to increase access to safe and clean water and agricultural production and productivity through irrigation. The ministry contracted M/S Nexus Green Limited to design, supply, and install solar-powered irrigation across the country. The main objective is to demonstrate modern irrigation technology and sensitise beneficiary communities on the utilisation of available water sources to improve production and productivity, as well as sustainably combat the effects of climate change.

Eng. Rogers Masaaba, the deputy manager of Water for Production Regional Centre North, says the intervention is aimed at addressing the ever-growing demand for water supply in the face of climate change and its effects. ‘WfPRC-N under this project is implementing 31 solar-powered irrigation systems in the districts of Amolatar, Apac, Kwania, Dokolo, Lira, Otuke, Oyam, Omoro, Gulu, Adjumani, Amuru, Lamwo, Kitgum, Nwoya, Nebbi, Pakwach, Yumbe, Zombo, Madi Okollo, and Terego. Of these, ten are complete, and 21 projects are ongoing, he says.

Apitopat Solar Power Irrigation Facility has proven vital during the dry season. It covers ten acres of land and is installed with laser spray tape irrigation technology. Beneficiary farmers showcase thriving fields of tomatoes, cabbage, green pepper, and other horticultural crops. Several have reported strong sales, with some supplying produce directly to buyers at farm gate prices, while others transport their harvests to nearby markets, securing competitive prices and expanding their customer base.

‘Before this project, we struggled to grow anything when the rains stopped. Now, I harvest vegetables regularly and sell them to buyers who come straight to my farm,’ says Jessica Orech, one of the scheme’s beneficiaries.

Bosco Olum, another farmer, highlights the economic impact.

‘We do not have reliable rainfall. In other parts of the country, the second season starts in July and ends in December. Amolatar received rain in mid October. It is very difficult for farmers to thrive because of the changes in the rainfall patterns that have lasted close to 10 years. But now, with irrigation, I can afford school fees and better inputs for the next season,’ he says. To recover from climatic shocks, several farmers are adapting to horticulture.

Ronald Opio Orech, 36, says he started growing tomatoes in 2024, and in the first season, he sold his produce for Shs900,000, which he used to pay his sibling’s school fees. Bosco Okello, 48, used to grow millet in his two-acre garden, making Shs1 million after selling off the harvest. ‘I have realised that when you plant tomatoes in half an acre of land, you can get about Shs2 million. I regret wasting my time growing low-value crops,’ he says.

Semmy Achola, a 40-year-old tomato grower, says, ‘I used to grow simsim (sesame) in my two-acre garden, but I would get about Shs800,000 annually since simsim is grown once a year.’ Achola says in the first season this year, she planted tomatoes in a small plot measuring less than half an acre and managed to get Shs300,000. While the overall outlook is positive, farmers also voiced concerns about pest infestations and rising input costs.

Challenges

The lack of access to markets due to a poor road network is a huge challenge for farmers. During rainy seasons, several roads in northern Uganda become impassable, yet agriculture is the main economic activity in the north. When our reporter traveled to Namasale Town Council, about 130 kilometres from Lira City, he experienced firsthand how road users are suffering because of the terrible state of the Dokolo-Amolatar-Namasale road.

Two vehicles transporting produce and fruits were stuck in the mud on the road. Another challenge is fluctuating prices of agricultural produce. The prices are determined by middlemen. Despite these hurdles, the solar-powered irrigation scheme has led to notable improvements in crop yields, household incomes, and food security in Lango, Acholi, and West Nile sub-regions.

During the ongoing campaign season, it has become commonplace for National Unity Platform (NUP) candidates to adopt presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi’s campaign song titled ‘Eh Bobi Bobi’, which was composed by his long-term ally and music producer Daniel Oryewot, popularly known as Dan Magic.

One of the NUP parliamentary candidates who have effectively used the song has been Abedi Nasser Mudiobole who, for the fourth time, is attempting to wrestle Iganga Municipality from the firm grip of Peter Mugema, alias Panadol.

While Mugema is an Independent, he tilts towards the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) during parliamentary voting time.

Social media has been awash with videos showing hundreds of Mudiobole’s supporters dancing through Iganga Municipality in a carnival-like atmosphere that would make some of the presidential candidates jealous.

Though from afar the expectation is that Mudiobole would emerge victorious, considering that he is a crowd puller and also Iganga is now considered to be a NUP stronghold as the reception of Kyagulanyi on Friday attests, there is a lot to factor in and tame this expectation. Mudiobole is a veteran of Busoga politics, having thrown his hat into the Iganga Municipality race in 2011.

Back then, he lost to Mugema with a difference of 636 votes. Mudiobole, then a member of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), challenged Mugema’s victory at the High Court in Jinja, claiming it was secured through bribing voters.

Justice Lameck Mukasa cancelled Mugema’s victory on the grounds that he had bribed voters when he gave out Shs100,000 towards the construction of St Gonzaga Prisons Chapel during the campaign period.

Lives of a cat

Mugema, through Kiryowa Kiwanuka, now the Attorney General, wasn’t satisfied and took the battle to the Court of Appeal, which confirmed his victory on the grounds that Mudiobole’s witnesses contradicted each other.

‘Having reviewed the evidence adduced and the position of the law, as set out above, I find that the versions of the respondent’s [Mudiobole] witnesses who claimed to have attended the same function at the same time are contradictory in the areas already set out and thus cannot provide proof of what exactly transpired.

The possibility that the appellant did what he did purely as a matter of the practice and manifestation of his faith cannot also be ruled out,’ Justice Remmy Kasule adjudged in a majority judgement, with other justices being Alice Mpagi Bahigeine and Augustine Nshimye.

Five years later, in the 2016 General Election, it was yet another showdown between Mugema and Mudiobole. Once more, Mugema emerged victorious with a difference of 1,291 votes.

Yet again, Mudiobole wasn’t convinced that Mugema had won fair and squarely. The challenger once again ran to the High Court in Jinja, alleging his arch-rival’s victory was a result of bribing voters.

There was drama in court when Abdallah Siraje, Pastor Julius Taleng, whom Mugema had taken as a part of his efforts to shore up his defence, turned around and sided with Mudiobole.

Taleng and Siraje separately told the court that they indeed coordinated the distributed bribery items such as cash, soap, and salt to sway voters to vote for Mugema. Based on such evidence, Justice Margaret Mutonyi not only cancelled Mugema’s victory but also ordered that Mudiobole should swear in as the Iganga Municipality legislator.

Mugema once again appealed, and once again the Court of Appeal, which took over 15 months to deliver, came to his rescue when it overturned Justice Mutonyi’s judgment.

The Court of Appeal Justices claimed that the Shs300,000 Mugema had given out at Bethel Healing church was just an offertory given as an act of religious dedication, not a bribe like Justice Mutonyi had ruled.

Mugema wins, again

In 2021, the showdown was for the umpteenth time between Mugema and Mudiobole. This time round, Mugema, having fallen out with the NRM, after he voted against the editing out of the age limits from the Constitution, an act that allowed Mr Museveni to stand for re-election, he stood as an Independent.

On his part, Mudiobole stuck with FDC, whose popularity had waned, but he supported Kyagulanyi’s presidential bid, having sensed that Iganga Municipality had turned into a NUP stronghold.

Still, Mudiobole, who had crowds attending his rallies, couldn’t translate this into a ballot paper victory since Mugema emerged victorious with a difference of 109 votes.

There were claims that Mugema won because he had distributed food during the pandemic-induced lockdown, but Mudiobole this time didn’t pursue this matter in court.

With FDC in free-fall, Mudiobole formally crossed over to NUP, and it is during this time that he has attracted the wrath of security agencies, who abducted him for several days earlier this year.

‘Our comrade, Counsel Abed Nasser Mudiobole from Iganga, was abducted yesterday evening from Kyaliwajjala. Mudiobole, who is an advocate, was invited to meet a client, and on reaching the premises, he was put at gunpoint by heavily armed men and driven away in a drone to an unknown location,’ Kyagulanyi said after Mudiobole was abducted.

Before the abduction, Mudiobole had been summoned by the police in Iganga to explain his role in the video that emerged showing NUP foot soldiers celebrating Kyagulanyi’s birthday by mimicking a military parade.

Later, the State charged him with unlawful drills, and the file is now gathering dust at Iganga Magistrates’ Court after Mudiobole was given bail. Mudibole was subsequently given the NUP ticket on the grounds that he has a good record of mobilising the opposition in Iganga.

In the 2021 election, though Kyagulanyi not only defeated Museveni in both Iganga Municipality and at the district level, the party couldn’t replicate this at the parliamentary level as it failed to win a single parliamentary seat. In the municipality, Francis Muganga, its candidate, came fourth with 2,935 votes.

Lulenzi up in arms

Though Mudiobole is a crowd puller, the decision by NUP to give him the ticket to try out his luck for the fourth time didn’t go down well with Bamu Lulenzi, another NUP member.

Lulenzi won the Iganga mayoral slot on a NUP ticket in 2021, and he wanted to set up and represent the area in Parliament.

Lulenzi, who prides himself on setting up NUP grassroots structures, had no kind words for NUP leadership when they rejected him in favour of Mudiobole. Consequently, he decided to stand as an Independent.

‘The flag was sold for Shs40 million. The party that we thought had been constructed based on transparency and accountability has decided to sell party cards,’ Lulenzi alleged.

NUP insisted that their Elections Management Committee (EMC) wasn’t involved in any kind of corruption since the choices they took were based on merit.

‘We think the process was free and fair, but we weren’t going to make everyone happy. Some people had to feel aggrieved after this process. That’s what politics is about, but it shows how people like NUP’s ticket,’ David Lewis Rubongoya, NUP’s secretary general, defended the party’s choices.

It remains to be seen if Lulenzi’s decision to stand as an Independent won’t spoil Mudiobole’s party, with his perennial rival, Mugema, lurking.

‘Lulenzi is popular with many people, especially the youth in Iganga [Municipality]. He is a certified foot soldier. That will be Mudiobole’s first roadblock to victory,’ a source familiar with Iganga Municipality elections said on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, Mugema, with his deep wallet, is still the man to beat since he was once again nominated as an Independent; never mind that in 2022, he had said he decamped to NUP after ‘seeing the light.’

Sticking to his jocular if not cavalier style, Mugema, who made that announcement of crossing over to the Opposition’s largest political party at a burial in Kamuli, didn’t follow up his words with action.

‘Besides using money, he knows how to play both the Opposition and the NRM. That’s how he wins by the thinnest of margins,’ a source familiar with Mugema’s strategies said on condition of anonymity.

About Iganga

Iganga is located in Uganda’s Busoga Sub-region. It lies approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi), by road, northeast of the city of Jinja on the highway between Jinja and Tororo. This is approximately 118 kilometres (73 mi), by road, southeast of Mbale.

Iganga comprises of one county of Kigulu and Iganga Municipality. Iganga District is composed of three constituencies of Kigulu South, Kigulu North and Iganga Municipality. It has nine lower local governments.

These include the sub counties of Nawandala, Nabitende, Nambale, and Kidaago located in Kigulu North. Kigulu South includes Bulamagi, Nakigo, Nawaningi and Nakalama. Namungalwe Town Council located in Kigulu North is the urban authority.

Iganga Municipality which is an independent authority from the district in terms of leadership and managemnt, has two divisions of Iganga Central and Northern.

According to the 2024 census, Iganga District has a popuation of 505,405. This figure includes 366,736 rural residents and 68,669 urban residents.

The District accommodates all tribes in Uganda, and the usual common languages being Lusoga, Luganda, English and Swahili.

The bulk of the population belongs to Basoga, characterised by choice of their own religious affiliations, i.e. Protestants, Muslims, Catholics, Faith based and Traditional Cultural beliefs.

The Traditional Foods being mainly potatoes, Cassava, Matooke, Rice and Maize flour, the people are very hospitable.

Efforts to expand access to safe and affordable clean water in Kampala’s informal settlements have received a major boost as the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), working with the German government, begins installing 1,440 prepaid water meters across the capital.

The initiative targets communities where residents have long depended on private vendors who charge between Shs300 and Shs500 per 20-litre jerrycan, far above NWSC’s official commercial tariff of Shs25.

According to NWSC public relations manager Sam Apedel, the new system is intended to eliminate middlemen and ensure residents pay only the regulated price.

‘Many households in the informal settlements have relied on private vendors who charge between Shs300-Shs500 per 20-litre jerrycan, making clean water unaffordable for many, but with the prepaid meter, a customer decides how much water to buy paying the official rate, and right now we are in the process of installing 1,440 in Kampala,’ Apedel said.

He described the prepaid meters as ‘game-changing technology’ that puts customers in full control of how they consume and pay for water. He also praised the German government for its continued financial and technical support.

‘We are very grateful to our German partners for the work that they have helped us to achieve especially in informal settlements in Kampala, the direct contribution to treatment of sewage at Nalukolongo and one of the very good things about our partnership with the German government is that most of the money they provide, the funding they provide, is actually grants,’ he said.

National Housing and Population Census 2024 data shows that 18.9 percent of households still rely on unimproved water sources, while 49.7 percent have unimproved sanitation facilities.

Apedel said the prepaid system reduces household expenditure because customers purchase only what they need. ‘Everybody loads their money in their tokens the same way they use air time. So they go and get every time he needs water, if he wants a 20-litre jerrycan, he’s charged 25 shillings,’ he said.

From an engineering perspective, he added, the meters increase efficiency by serving many more people than traditional systems.

‘The normal meters. serve about 10-12 people but a prepaid meter serves 30, 40 households, over 100 people,’ Apedel observed.

NWSC said similar water interventions supported by Germany are underway in Gulu, West Nile, Arua and other regions.

‘These projects would not have been achieved without German support,’ Apedel said on November 27.

Philippe Roussel, the deputy head of development cooperation at the German Embassy in Uganda, said Germany has provided more than pound 200 million in grants to Uganda’s water and sanitation sector since 2001.

He said this funding has supported major infrastructure expansions including the Ggaba III and Katosi water plants, sewer networks and faecal sludge treatment facilities.

‘For many years now, we are operating with grants. The tremendous work we are doing here has a huge impact for the people of Uganda,’ Roussel said.

Uganda’s great political contest is probably not erupting in rallies or through slogans; it is unfolding quietly across village boundaries, homesteads and rising factory blocks. It is felt when a father divides his half-acre among five children or when a young graduate heads to Kampala because the soil at home can no longer sustain a dream, or when a bulldozer carves a new industrial road through land where cattle once grazed.

It is the story of land, not just as territory, but as inheritance, livelihood, identity and future. I can say with a fair degree of certainty that in 2026, the true winner will not be the one who speaks loudest, but the one who answers the question every Ugandan is silently asking around, how we turn land from a survival asset into a prosperity engine. Clearly, as things stand, we are on a collision course. Rapid population growth, historical land fragmentation and fast-paced urban-industrial expansion threaten to converge into a crisis.

If subsistence agriculture continues unchecked, Uganda will require an additional 16,000km² of agricultural land by 2040. This will have to be converted from grasslands and wetlands. It will fuel conflict, environmental degradation and could even affect investment. For a while now, we have owned land to survive. Uganda must shift from ‘survival through possession’ to ‘prosperity through purpose.’ The evidence is clear. Kampala (representing Uganda’s urban emergence) shows what order and planning can unlock.

A 31 percent rise in paved road coverage since Financial Year 2021, 64 advanced traffic-controlled junctions, and a 53 percent increase in city revenue over 10 years, with property rates contributing more than 50 percent of collections. Urbanisation, when planned, becomes development strategy, not disaster. Contrast that with Nakaseke. In Nakaseke, transformation is budding but constrained. With a youth-heavy population of 251,299 growing at 2.9 percent annually, 6,230 people employed in 87 factories, and an approved physical development plan running to 2040, the area is ripe.

But implementation struggles against weak infrastructure, waste management failures and inadequate community skill levels. The missing ingredients? Capacity, inclusion and partnerships. Nakaseke needs public-private partnerships (PPPs) not as slogans but as engines. Our industrialisation march adds urgency. Uganda currently hosts 690 companies across 13 national industrial parks, with 383 factories operational. In Kapeeka for instance, Liao Shen Park operates at 100 percent factory efficiency (32 out of 32). This is proof that where land planning meets investment and management, prosperity follows.

But national growth is being built on unsynchronised land regulation, environmental oversight, and inconsistent human capital alignment. Industry cannot grow while land policy drags behind. The next government must make land the nucleus of transformation. This means: consolidating land voluntarily and strategically, fast-tracking digital land demarcation and reforming tenure systems, harnessing urbanisation as a productivity accelerator, aligning industrial zones with logistics corridors, community engagement and environmental care and making human capital, not soil itself the most valuable land resource.

Embracing these reforms will turn land into the bedrock of industrial sovereignty, agricultural productivity, and social harmony. Whoever enters 2026 promising roads without a land strategy, factories without rural transformation, or prosperity without consolidation, is offering Uganda a raw deal.

The leader who understands that turning land into value is not about taking away, but about organising, empowering and modernising, will not just win an election, they will author Uganda’s next chapter. Because in the end, it won’t be the loudest campaign promise that shapes our destiny, but the one that dares to answer the people’s deepest national question: ‘How do we use the land that made us to build the Uganda we dream of?’