Category: Daily Monitor

Spending unusually lengthy hours inside churches to pray has been blamed on the rising poverty burden among the youth across the Acoli sub-region.

On Friday, while gathering for the 2025 Annual Prayer Breakfast organised by Favour of God Ministries in Gulu City, religious leaders said that the poverty puzzle among the youth cannot be solved unless the youth begin to practice their faith with actions.

Rev. Samuel Francis Opiyo, the Gulu University (Church of Uganda) Chaplain, said that young people are too lazy to work and have now resorted to spending unnecessarily long hours in church praying to God.

‘Many of our youth are very lazy, and all the time they are in church praying, praying, and praying. It’s good to pray, but there is time for everything. There is time for prayer and there is time for work. What will God bless if you are not doing anything?’ Rev. Opiyo told the congregation.

He implored religious and political leaders to encourage the youth to focus on work and live by the examples of Jesus’ apostles, who lived by their works.

‘It is a huge problem that we need to address because our prisons are full of young people, energetic men, who should be doing something to fight poverty. Gender-based violence is too much in Northern Uganda; people are killing each other because of poverty, yet the solutions lie with us here,’ he added.

Because the youth are stuck in poverty, Bishop James Ochan, the head of born-again churches of Northern Uganda, said, they have resorted to prostitution, while the males have become drug addicts and robbers on the streets of urban centres across the region.

‘If your stomach is empty, it doesn’t matter how many prayers you say. You need to survive, and that has driven our young people to the streets, robbing and killing others. Young girls are in the streets. If you walk in the streets of Gulu City, you will find young people selling themselves.’ Bishop Ochan said.

According to Bishop Ochan, the problem is exacerbated by a lack of practical Christians to guide those going astray.

‘We are not having practical Christians. What are we doing as leaders in this region? Poverty is something manageable only if we can join hands as the body of Christ and encourage our people to work. We need to reevaluate our priorities and help the young people,’ the prelate said.

However, according to Bishop Godfrey Loum, the Northern Uganda Diocese bishop, the division among the political, civil and religious has exacerbated the poverty problem in the region.

‘Bluntly, the church thinks the political leadership is corrupt and incompetent, but the political leadership thinks the church does not have the moral authority. How can we talk to God’s people if I don’t have that? The people are on their way. But we in leadership, can’t we hold ourselves accountable?’ Bishop Loum wondered.

Brothers and sisters, we are gathered here as leaders of people and communities that are still rising from the ruins of war. It is very difficult for people who are in survival mode to differentiate what is right and what is wrong, and it is our role to guide and direct them, he added.

The Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) has responded strongly to Minister of Public Service, Mr Muruli Mukasa’s ultimatum to teachers to call off their strike.

In a statement released after a meeting of the National Executive Committee and branch chairpersons on Saturday, UNATU accused the government of attempting to coerce teachers into returning to class without addressing their grievances.

The Minister had threatened to treat teachers who fail to resume work within a week as having abandoned their duties and resigned.

However, UNATU General Secretary, Mr Filbert Baguma, dismissed the threat, describing it as “extreme, inflammatory, and unlawful.” He added that such threats violate the principles of natural justice and the Constitution of Uganda.

“Your threat to treat teachers as having abandoned duty and resigned is an extreme, inflammatory, and unlawful measure,” Mr Baguma said. “It violates the principles of natural justice and the Constitution of Uganda. Such threats are designed to intimidate and coerce, further demonstrating the government’s refusal to engage in good-faith dialogue required by the Recognition Agreement under Clause 8.”

Mr. Baguma insisted that the teachers’ strike will go on until amicable redress is secured from the government.

“UNATU reiterates that teachers are not striking out of selfishness or ingratitude, but in pursuit of justice and fairness,” he said. “We will not be intimidated into silence or submission. The Constitution, the law, and international best practice are firmly on our side.”

UNATU Chairperson, Mr Zadock Tumuhimbise, rallied teachers to remain focused and united in their demand for equitable salary enhancement across all categories of teachers.

“I wish to emphasize once again that our strength lies in solidarity,” he said. “No directive, however forceful, can silence a united voice. We must remain focused, resist intimidation, and continue to walk this journey together until the government meets our legitimate demand for equitable salary enhancement across all categories of teachers.”

Mr Tumuhimbise also warned those who might be tempted to betray the cause, saying, “For those that have chosen to betray the cause, we continue to take note, but we will not allow your disloyalty to deter us from our genuine cause.”

Dear President Museveni, as you conclude the presidential campaigns in Lango Sub-region this week, I wish to bring to your attention the case of the NRM enthusiast many Lango NRM people refer to as the ‘Luttamaguzi of Lango’, who was martyred and has never been recognised by the NRM and the government.

John Carlo Ogwal, aka Ogwal ‘Cadre’ was the first Resistance Council (RCIII) chairman of Chawente Sub-county in the then Apac District. He took his work and love for NRM so seriously that people nicknamed him ‘Cadre’ in reference to the political mobilisers in the District Administrators’ (now RDC) office.

In 1987, there was festering rebellion in parts of Lango led by elements who used to say they wanted to bring Obote back.

On March 30 1987, Ogwal Cadre, who also dealt in cattle trade, called a meeting at Apwori Trading Centre in Chawente, to mobilise locals against letting their children join the rebellion. As he was doing that, the same rebels, ironically led by a notorious fellow, descended on his home and found he wasn’t around. They arrested his wife and forced her to take them to where he was addressing the group.

Ogwal Cadre was arrested and tortured, with the rebels taunting him, ‘lwong Museveni bin lari’ (call Museveni to save you!) He had enough courage to tell them in Leb-Lango ‘Let me die if it brings peace’. The rebels walked him a few kilometres away to Apyelamot on Aduku-Aboko-Chawente Road. They stopped at a spot where he met his death.

Among those watching was Basil Okello Onach, then a student and now the immediate former Kwania District chairman, whose home was and is still near the scene of the event.

Ogwal was just 40 years old. Ogwal Cadre’s home is in Adakingo Village in Atongtidi Sub-county in Kwania District. Ogwal is survived by his wife and children. After his gruesome killing, all his children dropped out of school.

I understand that until last year when the late Brig Charles Oluka sent an officer to document the family, not a single government or NRM official has ever visited the family.

It would be befitting, Mr President, if this NRM cadre is given a posthumous honour in whatever form, either by erecting a monument in his memory, a national medal or both, or indeed whatever honour you may deem befitting.

The Election Management Committee (EMC) of the National Unity Platform (NUP) recently made public the results of its candidate selection exercise.

Highlight of the exercise: Mr Medard Sseggona was denied the NUP flag for Busiro East. However, there is also the curious case of Zahara Luyirika.

Ms Luyirika applied to be the NUP candidate for Kampala City Woman MP. But the EMC returned her as the aspiring candidate for Makindye West. Even the CIA and Mossad can’t decode the committee’s wisdom.

The joke now is: What if Byabakama were to declare Mr Robert Kyagulanyi as the winner of a race he never sought to participate in? In a quintessential ‘Zahara Luyirika Effect’, what if the Byabakama-led Electoral Commission declared Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu as the (winner of) president of Kenya?

From the beginning, NUP lacked moderation of agency. I gave up on NUP as a political group to lead the national drive for change when a senior official said Dr Kizza Besigye’s kidnap in Nairobi, Kenya, was drama.

What we see now is a party limiting its outlook to holding electoral positions (and thereby making the tag of a struggle rather incompatible with the party). What we see now is a party beholden to an individual whose interests and vision are limiting in ideological outlook and purposefulness.

But how did we reach here? I blame Mr Museveni.

People are asking: why and how can NUP choose Mr Mathias Walukaga over Mr Sseggona? My answer: it is the same reason NUP chose Kyagulanyi or his brother Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu over other ‘supposedly’ more qualified aspirants. Some people are saying this rupture could be the beginning of the fall of NUP. A friend was asked to give reason as to why he thinks NUP will fall.

Dear reader, we don’t need a reason (the why or how) to express fear that this may lead to the downfall of NUP. What we need is a look back at the history of political parties in post-independence Uganda. Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) never recovered from the (1964?) Gulu National Conference, where Grace Stuart Ibingira was pitted against Party Secretary General John Kakonge. Plus: the FDC seems to have never recovered from the Patrick Amuriat victory over Mugisha Muntu.

With these two examples, it is evident that internal party cohesion is the outcome of the moderation of agency. Failure to accommodate diversity in opinion may engender disruptive tendencies in all socio-political identity groups. But on a serious note, we are in what most Ugandans see as a major transition (likened to the 1954-1962 period), but these NUP people are involved in petty issues (driven by personal egos).

During any transition, you are better off with serious bargainers at the table than just numbers. Case study is 1979-80: whereas Mr Museveni’s was in the least a minority view, the outlook of his leadership balanced him in. That’s why the actions of most UNLF members, in one way or another, always sought to accommodate him and his views.

But why should we blame Mr Museveni for mishaps in NUP? Because under his wise leadership, political leadership has become the only profit-making industry. That’s why it is now a matter of life and death. As a result, we have reduced the seriousness of national politics.

This reduction was captured well in an audio-visual clip in which Mr Walukaga said the Shs200 million for his parliamentary vehicle allowance will be shared among the sub-counties of Busiro County East. Maybe it is this promise that won him the NUP flag? Mr Sseggona, do you copy?

As we begin the campaign period ahead of our country’s general elections early next year, it is important that we reflect a bit on the need to avoid civil unrest which is one of the major factors that disrupt farming. We will be listening to several different politicians, many of whom could be spreading misinformation and disinformation about fellow candidates and the different political parties in the race for the various political offices.

They might also engage in sowing seeds of discord like highlighting economic inequality, ethnic discrimination, political oppression, and corruption. The farmers make the majority of voters and they will be the largest group targeted by the aspiring leaders as they mobilise support. The danger is that such language could erode public trust and spread widespread discontent that may result in civil unrest instead of better governance.

False narratives can deepen divisions and stroke hatred especially in a situation where thousands of young people are not in gainful employment and feel excluded from the sharing of the national cake. We also have to factor in the use of social media nowadays which does not appear to mind about truthful spreading of news and information.

If elections are not well conducted they could be the springboard of civil unrest, war, and genocide. Where do such terrible evils leave our small farms? The videos that we have seen on TV, of people fleeing their countries or their regions of settlement, never depict them carrying their crop fields. They only show desperate men and women carrying their mattresses and just a few other personal belongings. Some of the videos display people carrying along a few sheep and goats and you really wonder if they are sure of grazing ground wherever they are headed to spend their refugee years. No farmer will run away with his or her garden if a civil war breaks out tomorrow.

Farmers must therefore take this campaign and election period very seriously. They should pay due attention to what the political candidates and their agents are saying and promising. Their choices should be governed by careful consideration after listening to all the candidates and not really because of gifts such as money or items like, sugar, salt, bars of soap, and loaves of bread.

The farmers should indeed elect candidates who have the best plans for developing agriculture. They should seek to know the truth by reflecting deeply about what the different candidates are promising.

In January 2023, congregants flocked to Our Lady of Fatima Kayunga Catholic Parish in Kayunga Town, Kayunga District, for Mass. As is characteristic of many urban churches, this House of God fills every Sunday. However, during the Mass, a yet-to-be-identified female worshipper, who had entered the church with three children, excused herself. She asked her elder child, who was five at the time, to mind his siblings while she went out to ‘ease herself.’

The children – two boys and one girl – were aged between five years and three months. The church’s toilets are located about 100 meters away. The children waited patiently for their mother’s return. However, almost an hour later, as Rev Fr Emmanuel Walakira, the Parish priest, ended the Mass and gave the believers the final blessing, the mother was nowhere to be seen. As the congregants walked out of the church, the children were stranded. They attracted the attention of the believers, among them, Ruth Nakitto, a primary school teacher. A search for the missing mother proved fruitless.

It was later established that she had abandoned her children and disappeared into thin air. As the congregants pondered what to do next, Nakitto offered to look after the children until their mother resurfaced. ‘The other believers helped me to take the children to Kayunga Police Station, where a case of child abandonment was recorded. Then, I took them to my home in Kisaaba Village for the night. The Probation Office gave me official documentation that allowed me to look after the children as authorities searched for their mother,’ the teacher says.

The 46-year-old Nakitto is a teacher at Kayunga Girls Primary School. The three children are among the over 15 abandoned children that she has helped to take care of through the years. The children she picked up from the church are now aged eight, six, and three years. ‘I believe these children are a gift from God. They have no memory of their biological mother. I look forward to the day when she will surface again. One of them used to fall sick regularly, and we discovered that he was HIV positive. Today, the child takes the medication regularly,’ she says.

Charitable beginnings

Recently, the Rotary Club of Kayunga awarded Nakitto a certificate in appreciation for her work. The teacher’s desire to help the vulnerable started long before she qualified in her profession in 2002. ‘As a young learner at St Agnes Girls’ Primary School, Naggalama, I used to assist my fellow learners who were in need. I also remember getting food for the elderly, disabled cleaner of our school compound,’ Nakitto recollects with a smile.

Her charitable heart and discipline earned her many friends, among them the now deceased Rev Sr Ann Elizabeth, who was the headteacher. Nakitto comes from a family of over 20 children who were raised by a single mother, who is a tailor. ‘I am asthmatic, so the situation must have been difficult for my mother, who also faced challenges with paying school fees for all of us. Because I was sickly, the headteacher offered me a half-bursary,’ she says. Interacting with the nuns at her school inspired her to join religious life and serve God. Her dream of becoming a nun was, however, frustrated because of her constant sickness.

‘One cannot be allowed to become a nun with an asthmatic condition. However, I was blessed that St Ann paid for part of my secondary education. After I completed O-Level, the headteacher advised me to join a teacher training college,’ Nakitto recalls. In 2002, she qualified as a Grade III teacher from the now-defunct Rakai Primary Teachers College (PTC). In 2009, graduated with a Diploma in Primary Education from Kyambogo University. A teaching job took her to Kayunga, where she has since built her house and become a resident.

Last year, Nakitto, who does not have biological children and is neither married, took on two children whose mother had developed mental problems. The children are aged 13 and nine years old. ‘I still want to be a nun, although now it seems impossible. I do not have any plan to get married or have my own children because I have devoted my life to serving God and helping vulnerable children. These vulnerable ones are my children,’ she explains.

The challenges

Nakitto, who is a catechist at Our Lady of Fatima Kayunga Catholic Parish, singlehandedly fends for the children and pays their school fees on a meagre monthly salary of Shs450,000.’I was helped by well-wishers to become what I am today, so I have to help others as well. I am glad that we have never gone to bed on empty stomachs. I know God would reward me for my charity work,’ she notes.

To supplement her salary, the teacher operates a small retail shop in one of the rooms of her house. The shop sells sweets, bread, cooking oil, soap, and children’s toys. When Nakitto is not in class, she is at home operating her shop with the elder children. Additionally, she sells Bibles and rosaries at the church every Sunday to raise more income. Nakitto says she faces a challenge trying to instill discipline in the children because most of them come from a bad social background.

‘Sometimes, when I discipline them, they get depressed. Two of the children ran away. I have tried looking for them in vain. I am also financially constrained when it comes to meeting their basic needs. The child who is HIV positive needs to eat a balanced diet, but sometimes I do not have the money to provide it. But, I try my best,’ she explains.

Official stance

Damali Mirembe Manyindo, the founder and director of Sonrise Baby Home in Jinja District, says most of the babies and children she looks after are from Kayunga and the surrounding districts of Buikwe, Jinja, Mukono, and Kamuli. ‘Parents abandon children at health facilities, marketplaces, the roadside, and in public toilets, where they think they can easily be seen and taken away by Good Samaritans. Currently, our home is taking care of 34 babies,’ she says. However, Mirembe points out that many more are brought in, but the home does not have the capacity to contain them.

Dr Charles Iga, the director of production for Kayunga District, says poverty and domestic violence are the leading causes of child neglect in the area. ‘The government has put in place poverty alleviation programs such as Emyooga and the Parish Development Model (PDM), but not everyone has benefited. In some parishes in the rural areas, about a quarter of the intended beneficiaries have not received the PDM funds, so poverty is still a challenge,’ he says.

Collins Kafeero, the probation and social welfare officer for Kayunga District, says cases of child desertion are on the rise in the district. Sometimes, he receives two cases a month, brought by local leaders, the police, or the community. ‘When we receive a case of an abandoned baby, we take the baby to a home or orphanage. The child will be taken care of until it is five years old. If we fail to trace any relatives, we start the process of adoption, although we desire to reunite the children with their families,’ he says.

Kafeero blames the vice on domestic violence, fathers who neglect their responsibilities, poverty, mental disorders, and the death of parents. He also notes that some single mothers abandon their children when they find men who are willing to marry them. ‘My office is working closely with the Family and Child Protection Unit of the police to ensure that acts of child neglect are mitigated. We are also sensitising the public on the rights of children to have caregivers. If we find the relatives of abandoned children, we either counsel them and reunite them with the children, or arrest them and prosecute them,’ he explains.

Last year, a widow in Nawankonge Village, Kayonza Sub-county, abandoned her children, all of whom are below 11 years, to go and get married. She was arrested, but when she asked for forgiveness, she was reunited with the children. The community is now contributing to the children’s school fees. According to police statistics, 11 cases of child abandonment were reported to Kayunga Police Station in 2024, up from nine cases in 2023. The Uganda Police Annual Crime Report 2004 indicates that 3,663 cases of child neglect and 1,597 cases of child desertion were reported countrywide, while in 2023, 4,730 cases of child neglect and 1,918 cases of child desertion were logged.

The Manager Conservation education awareness at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Ms Vanice Mirembe has urged Ugandans to embrace the use of clean energy in order to combat the rapid environmental degradation caused by deforestation across the country.

‘Most Ugandans, about 75 percent are still using firewood, the other percentage, they are using electricity, which is very costly and a very small percentage, not more than percent, are right now using the clean energy in the form of gas, briquettes, and other methods’ she said.

Ms Mirembe made the remarks at the first Uganda Wildlife Authority clean energy exhibition, targeting schools at the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC-CA) on Friday.

‘Currently, there is a lot of pressure on our forests, on the environment, on protected areas, because most of the neighboring communities have cut down all the vegetation and trees for firewood. We are doing everything possible to ensure that the public knows about clean energy to reduce the amount of pressure mounted on the forests’ she said.

She added, ”When we start at a young age, children get to know that you can use briquettes, they’ll go back home and talk to their parents, and also grow up into great conservationists, knowing that they have to understand the need to reduce pressure on the environment’.

Ms Mirembe further said UWA is carrying out sensitization of communities around protected areas to resort to energy saving stoves and various methods that use less energy than firewood.

‘Currently, we have MOU’s with communities around protected areas, they are looking for firewood everyday but it is not sustainable, climate change is here, with all its negative impact. Some of them come looking for firewood, and the best thing is to tell them to pick the invasive species, turn them into briquettes’ she said.

Ms Mirembe noted that UWA has projects in communities around protected areas supporting them in construction of energy cooking stoves, making briquettes among other interventions which has led to a drop in the number of people depending on firewood in the protected areas.

Mr Francis Ruhinirwa, a conservation education officer at UWEC-CA said the clean energy exhibition is aimed at creating awareness about the alternative fuel possibilities in Uganda instead of using firewood.

‘Majority of our visitors here are actually school groups which use firewood as a source of energy, our estimate is that a school comprised of about 500 learners, can use up fuel of a term that is equivalent to possibly an acre of firewood. Now, if we have about 40,000 schools, that is a lot of forest degradation that we are experiencing’ he said.

Mr Ruhinirwa said the exhibition which showcased biofuels, solar energy, eco and fuel-saving stoves, electric bikes and cookers is set to become an annual event to increase awareness of alternative fuels aimed at reducing the amount of firewood that is being used especially in schools.

Incumbent Nakasongola County MP Noah Mutebi Wanzala has withdrawn from the 2026 parliamentary race, ending weeks of political uncertainty and pledging loyalty to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

Mutebi, who has served two terms in Parliament since 2016, announced Thursday that he would step aside barely three weeks before nominations, saying he was putting the party above personal ambition.

‘After careful consideration and consultation with party elders and my supporters, I have decided to withdraw my independent candidature,’ Mutebi said.

He added: ‘The NRM is bigger than any individual, and I cannot be the one to cause division within the party that has given me so much.’

His decision comes after a bruising July 17 NRM primary, in which he lost to rival Stephen Tiberondwa Bujjingo. District registrar Godfrey Batumbya declared Bujjingo the winner with 10,531 votes, ahead of Mutebi’s 7,186.

District Speaker Rogers Bwanga followed with 3,365, while Robert Sekayingo polled 1,867.

Mutebi had rejected the results, citing ‘widespread irregularities and intimidation,’ and declared plans to run as an independent. The NRM tribunal later upheld Bujjingo’s victory.

But Mutebi, now opting for reconciliation, said he would dedicate his efforts to campaigning for President Museveni’s re-election.

‘My personal ambitions must take a back seat to the greater good of our movement,’ he said.

Bujjingo welcomed the move as an act of loyalty. ‘I want to commend Mutebi for this mature and wise decision. He is now being loyal to the party, and this is the kind of sacrifice that builds strong political movements,’ he said.

He recalled that in 2021 he had withdrawn after losing to Mutebi in the primaries.

‘What goes around comes around. Today, he has chosen the path of party unity, and I respect him for that,’ Bujjingo said, urging Mutebi’s supporters to rally behind him.

Mutebi’s exit leaves Bujjingo with a clearer path to the 2026 election in an NRM stronghold, though he is expected to face opposition candidates including NUP’s Ivan Kyeyune.

Mutebi, known for championing agricultural development and rural electrification during his tenure, may still find opportunities within the NRM structure.

His withdrawal mirrors a similar case in nearby Luweero earlier this week, when President Museveni intervened to persuade Cissy Mulondo to drop her independent bid.

With nominations due October 22-23, the NRM hopes Mutebi’s about-face will help calm tensions in Nakasongola and project party unity ahead of 2026.

The National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Mr Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, has demanded an explanation from Electoral Commission chairperson Simon Byabakama over why he was blocked from holding a campaign rally in Iganga Municipality.

Mr Kyagulanyi was scheduled to address supporters in Iganga on Friday, but was intercepted by police and the UPDF while traveling from Mayuge District, where he had earlier held a rally.

He questioned why he is being singled out, claiming his rival presidential candidates have freely campaigned in the same area.

‘I want Justice Byabakama to tell me why only I am being mistreated,’ Kyagulanyi said. ‘I am a presidential candidate like the others, and I am entitled to be treated the same.’

Mr Kyagulanyi added that ever since he arrived in Busoga sub-region, he has been barred from using tarmac roads and holding rallies in urban centers.

‘I have tested the potholes on rural roads, which has delayed us from reaching other venues on time due to long distances and poor road conditions,’ he lamented.

Mr Nasser Mudyobole, the NUP flag bearer for Iganga Municipality MP, said the actions of the police and army show that NRM’s presidential candidate, Mr Yoweri Museveni, lacks support in the region.

‘We defeated him in Busoga in 2021, and we are going to do it again,’ Mr Nassa claimed.

Ms Mercy Walukanba, NUP flag bearer for Bugweri District MP , said she wasn’t surprised by the blockade, noting that Mr Kyagulanyi had also been prevented from opening a party office in Namutumba Town Council on Thursday.

‘We are not scared. This only strengthens our resolve and shows Busoga loves its candidate,’ she said.

Mr Chris Wakalanga, NUP chairperson for Namutumba District, emphasized that Mr Kyagulanyi deserves equal treatment like any other presidential candidate.

According to Mr Kyagulanyi’s campaign schedule, he is expected to campaign in Namayingo and Bugiri tomorrow.

Biomedical engineers from different universities in the country have been advised to demand an innovation and incubation centre to support them in beginning local manufacturing of medical equipment.

Speaking at the third Uganda National Biomedical Engineering Conference yesterday at the Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Mr Tadeo Byabagambi, the Assistant Commissioner of Biomedical Engineering Services at the Ministry of Health, said with a lot of innovation of equipment and devices that is currently going on in the country, there is need to create an incubation centre where the ideas can be incubated and supported to spur local manufacturing of medical equipment.

‘There is a lot of innovation in equipment and devices that are needed for treatment and diagnosis, but they are not together in one area. We need to come up with a national medical equipment innovation and incubation centre to ensure that all our medical equipment is manufactured here,’ he said.

He further explained that when the equipment is manufactured locally, it is affordable and even if it breaks down, the spares can be obtained cheaply, and the local manufacturers can be supported to start the manufacturing instead of importing them all the time.

Pulling resources

Asked why they think they can now manufacture medical equipment locally, Dr Robert Ssekitoleko the head of biomedical engineering at the Makerere University School of Public Health, said when they started the Uganda Biomedical Engineering Conference in 2018, the idea was to bring together all the biomedical people working in hospitals to discuss issues affecting them.

He added that they have registered more than 100 prototypes of equipment and devices needed in the medical sector that are failing to make it to the market because of many issues.

‘We know that we share similar problems. We have students who have developed a machine for warming babies using a simple jerry can, we have a machine to support women with pre-eclampsia, we have developed over 100 prototypes that have complicated issues starting from ownership, property rights,’ he said.

He added that getting approval for producing medical devices and equipment is also a expensive and hard process, because it requires extensive research and trials, which require the engineers to pool resources together.

Oxygen tank

Asked what kind of support they are giving the local manufacturers, Dr Martha Mulera, the head of biomedical programme at ShiShi, a company which manufactures equipment, said they do contractual manufacturing.

She said so far, they have been able to get permission to manufacture the laparoscopy keyhole surgery device which has finished clinical trials. They are also going into manufacturing an oxygen storage tank.