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Dear Tingasiga: I have never voted in a Ugandan general election. I was a little boy when Uganda went to the polls in 1961 and 1962. However, my interest in these things was already bubbling within me, thanks to my father who invited me to attend political party leaders’ campaigns. We attended rallies by Benedicto Mugumba Kiwanuka, the leader of the Democratic Party (DP), and Apolo Milton Obote, the leader of the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC.) The rallies, held in our local marketplace, were simple affairs, presenting humble men who spoke with smiles, and made their promises before working the crowds. However, that election was shocking, even to a little boy whose mother was a Roman Catholic and the father a Native Anglican.

The ecumenical life which we had been accustomed to was overthrown by a frightening level of conflict. Friends and neighbours became enemies. The next election, held on April 25, 1962, was marred by worse conflict, election rigging, complete with underage ‘voters,’ and results that ended Kiwanuka’s leadership. He had served our country as chief minister for one year and as our first prime minister for just under one month. There is a marvellous photograph, taken in May 1962, that shows a smiling Apolo Milton Obote hoisted by several jubilant men celebrating the recent electoral victory of the UPC/Kabaka Yekka (KY) alliance. I have written about that photo in the past, but it is worth repeating, for it has a strong message for us.

The men in the photograph are cabinet ministers in the new government, probably certain of many happy years ahead, free men in the finest country on the continent. Alex A Ojera from Acholi bears most of the prime minister’s weight. Felix Kenyi Onama from West Nile/Madi looks into the camera, his arms steadying the victorious prime minister. Ali Akbar Adoko Nekyon from Lango, the prime minister’s cousin, lends a brotherly hand. Behind him is Grace Stuart Katebariirwe Ibingira from Ankole, age 30, waving in triumph. James Joseph Trevor Simpson from Buganda, the only European in the cabinet, grins with satisfaction. He is the Kabaka Yekka member of parliament for Kyaggwe North East .

Dr Joshua Ssejjengo Luyimbazi Zake from Buganda, perhaps the most academically accomplished member of the first cabinet, suppresses a smile. Matthias Mbalule Ngobi Ikoona from Busoga, arms thrust forward, appears to be dancing with joy. The Isebantu Sir William Wilberforce Bwamiki Kadhumbula Nadiope, the Kyabazinga of Busoga, beams as he offers a triumphant royal wave. The only man in the photograph whose facial expression hints at ambivalence, if not outright displeasure, is Dr Emmanuel Bijjugo Sajjalyabene Lumu from Buganda. Does he have misgivings about the prognosis that awaits the delicate arrangement that has placed their fate in the hands of Obote, a man who had not had any leadership or other executive experience?

Things fell apart rather quickly. JT Simpson, who was both chairman of the Uganda Development Corporation, and minister of Finance, resigned his seat in 1964, left the government, and repaired to Nairobi, Kenya. That became his home for the rest of his life. Obote imprisoned Ibingira, Ngobi and Lumu, together with Ministers George Magezi and Balaki Kirya, on February 22, 1966. They had been allegedly plotting to overthrow him from the prime minister’s office. Nekyon resigned from the Obote cabinet in April 1967, remained politically active for decades, and died of illness in Kampala on May 4, 2018. Onama had an uneasy relationship with Obote, even when the latter made him one of the most powerful men in the country.

According to the late Cuthbert Obwangor, Onama (and Basil Bataringaya) were behind the assassination attempt on Obote on December 19, 1969. Onama was believed to have been involved in the successful plot coup d’état that ended Milton Obote’s first presidency on January 25, 1971. Ibingira, released from prison in February 1972, served briefly as an ambassador to the UN, but remained at the periphery of Uganda’s power structure. He never rose to the role that his brief shining moment in our history had promised. He died of natural causes in Bujumbura, Burundi on an uncertain date in December 1995. After his release from political prison in February 1971, Dr Lumu returned to his professional career, and shunned active politics for the rest of his life.

He practiced medicine in Kisenyi in central Kampala and retired at 80 years of age. He died of natural causes at his home in Kampala on December 11, 2019. He was 103 years old. Alex Ojera, the only one in that photo who appeared to have remained loyal to Obote, joined the ill-fated armed force that invaded Uganda from Tanzania on September 17, 1972, with the goal of regaining power. Ojera surrendered to the Uganda Army, was arrested and executed sometime in October 1972. Milton Obote, overthrown twice by his soldiers, died of a natural cause in a South African hospital on October 10, 2005, ending 20-years of a second exile that he had spent in Lusaka, Zambia.

On the other hand, JT Simpson was knighted with The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) on January 1, 1965. He enjoyed a successful business career as chairman of Simpson and Company in Kenya and died in Nairobi at the age of 86 on April 10, 1994. In addition to his vast wealth in Kenya, Sir James’ estate in England and Wales alone was valued at £302,858 (equivalent to £769,259 today.) We remember the early 1960s with nostalgia. We rightly consider the first parliament and executive branch to have been populated with patriotic gentlemen. Yet they engaged in political battles that kept the country on the edge of our seats.

The leaders’ conflicts had supporting acts at district levels. In Kigezi we had the Banyama-Baboga wars that left deep and wounds in their wake. The Catholic-Anglican tensions hibernated a little when the UPC people were engaged in their suicidal factional fights. However, that religious tension occupied subterranean territory, with episodic eruptions, usually triggered by political campaigns and so-called elections. Just like the chief protagonists in the early post-independence battles are all dead and largely forgotten, their cheerleaders and foot soldiers are long forgotten. All gained from those fights were damaged relations and wasted opportunities.

Many believed the lies of opportunistic politicians without stopping to ask themselves what the fight was about. Whereas I understand the complexities of politics and the struggles for control that trigger epic battles between comrades and fellow kinspeople, I wish I could persuade all Ugandans that these religious and ethnic verbal fights are just not worth it. That is as true for the under-employed youth in Mparo and Bukedea, as it is true for those battling for control of State House or the parliamentary speaker’s chair. It is not worth it.

When Bunyama Primary School opened its gates in 2022, residents of Bunyama Island in Kalangala District celebrated what they thought was the dawn of better education.

Built to accommodate more than 200 children in Bunyama Parish, Bujumba Sub-county, the school was meant to save parents from ferrying their children to Bugala Island, five miles away, in search of learning facilities. Three years later, that promise feels broken. Enrolment has never exceeded 95 pupils. A visit to the school last week revealed only three teachers on duty, handling all classes. Both Baby Class and Primary One learners share a single room, while Primary Two and Three occupy another.

Primary Four and Five are separated by a wooden partition, with only Primary Six enjoying its own space. The entire school has just four classrooms. Primary Five and Six were only introduced this year after a parents-teachers meeting aimed at boosting enrolment. But the effort has not stopped families from putting their children in boats every day to cross to Bugala Island for schooling. ‘More than 30 children cross daily from Kagoonya Landing Site to Bugala. Others are even taken to schools outside Kalangala,’ said Ms Judith Naziwa, the LC3 councillor for women.

The hurdles

According to Bujumba Sub-county records, Bunyama Parish has more than 2,000 residents, including more than 400 children. Yet Bunyama Primary struggles to keep even a quarter of them in class. The only other learning centre on the island is a small private nursery near Kagoonya fishing village, which teachers say also affects enrolment. ‘We receive pupils at the start of term, but after six weeks they disappear when parents migrate to other islands in search of better fish catches,’ complained Mr Joseph Nsubuga, one of the teachers.

‘The long distances children walk also discourage attendance. From landing sites like Kisujju or Kagoonya, pupils trek four to seven kilometres daily through thick forests. Parents fear for their safety,’ he added. Mr Nsubuga believes a boarding section would be a game-changer. ‘If we had a boarding section, children would stay here and wouldn’t miss school even when their parents move away for fishing on distant islands,’ he said. Local leaders argue the school was neglected soon after construction.

‘It has no fence, no security. Even the solar panels were stolen and the water system destroyed by locals, which has worsened the school environment,’ said Mr John Lutalo, the speaker for Bujumba Sub-county. Kalangala District chairperson Rajab Semakula said all government-built schools in the district are designed as day schools, even though they are expected to serve multiple islands. ‘How can children from another island access a school daily? We have repeatedly asked the government to bend the rules and allow Kalangala to have boarding sections in all our schools,’ he said.

Parents’ struggles

For many parents, poverty is the bigger hurdle. ‘I cannot afford the requirements at Bunyama Primary School,’ said Ms Brenda Nakajubi, a mother from Kagoonya fishing village. ‘It’s cheaper for me to send my children to another school, even if it means crossing by boat every day,’ she added. Others fear the journey itself. ‘Some of us cannot risk letting young children walk long distances,’ said Mr Farouk Mulijo.

‘And the standards at Bunyama Primary School are not convincing. That’s why I don’t take my children there,’ he added. Even children question the school’s standards. Cain Ssentumbwe, who once studied at Bunyama Primary School but later transferred to Kibanga Primary on Bugala Island, said poor teaching drove him away. ‘Sometimes teachers would ask the best pupils to teach others. There were not enough textbooks. I lost interest,’ he claimed.

Pupils’ concerns

Maria Naziwa, a Primary Four pupil, recalled dangers on the way to class. ‘We sometimes meet snakes on the paths or even in classrooms. After that, we fear to return. I had to leave the school for another, for safety,’ she said. District Education Officer Emmanuel Nseko said the funding model makes survival harder for island schools. ‘The government allocates capitation grants depending on pupil numbers. A school like Bunyama, with fewer than 100 children, gets about Shs1 million a term, yet operational costs are the same as schools with hundreds of pupils,’ he explained. He urged the government to give special consideration.

‘One sub-county can have seven islands and only one day school. Without tailored funding for island schools, Universal Primary Education will remain a dream here,’ he added.

This article is the second in a three-part series on crypto. The first part unpacked the basics: What digital assets are, how blockchain works, and why concepts like Bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokenisation matter for Uganda-from cheaper remittances to inflation protection and financial inclusion.

This second part picks up where that left off.

Uganda, once a pioneer in the crypto space, has grown increasingly hesitant-whether this reflects justified caution, a deeper ‘crypto clash,’ or mere regulatory apathy remains unclear.

However, both innovators and regulators are now grappling with the challenges and opportunities of this fast-evolving landscape.

The easiest way to picture crypto is through mobile money.

When you receive MTN or Airtel Mobile Money, no cash moves-your balance changes on the company’s internal ledger.

Crypto works the same way, but its ledger is not owned by one company. It is shared across a public blockchain, open to inspection and secured by cryptographic keys-digital locks and signatures that protect your money.

On this blockchain, tokens take different forms: currencies (Bitcoin), assets (investments/property), or stablecoins (digital twins of real money like USDT). That is why crypto is not just ‘internet money.’ It is an asset class worth over $4.4 trillion globally. Uganda’s laws already touch these foundations.

The Electronic Transactions Act, 2011, recognises digital signatures if uniquely linked to a user (Section 18). The National Payment Systems Act, 2020, covers electronic value transfers.

As Robert Kirunda, one of Uganda’s legal minds on the intersection of law, science, and technology, notes: ‘The debate is not whether crypto is real-it already fits concepts Uganda recognises. The issue is how to regulate it.’

Without clear regulations, crypto remains a grey area exposing investors and leaving regulators uncertain. This is not unusual. Mobile money also ran for about years before formal rules on lending and consumer protection emerged in 2013.

The International Monetary Fund echoes the same principle in its research notes on Finance and Technology: ‘strong regulation is essential to harness benefits while mitigating risks.’

Uganda once led. In 2015, Kirunda helped launch Bitreco, the first local Bitcoin exchange. By 2017, momentum crashed when the Finance Ministry warned the public: ‘You’re on your own.’

Kenya, meanwhile, built sandboxes-controlled spaces where innovation continued under regulator oversight. Uganda instead embraced what many call ‘regulatory apathy’-shutting the door rather than learning.

By 2018, the contrast was striking. In its first 90 days, Binance Uganda had processed $7 million in trades, compared to just Shs2 billion ($570,000) on the entire Uganda Securities Exchange at that time.

Regulators noticed, but with no framework, the opportunity fizzled. The message was clear: crypto volumes were already outpacing formal securities.

The clampdown hardened in 2021, when the Bank of Uganda barred licensed payment operators from handling crypto, wiping out billions in monthly transactions.

Yet, as Kirunda argues, ‘Scams have always existed. The solution is awareness, not killing an asset class.’

Courts soon reinforced the freeze. In April 2023, Justice Musa Ssekaana ruled in Silver Kayondo v. Bank of Uganda that crypto was illegal since it was not a recognised payment instrument under the 2020 Act.

Though no law expressly bans it, the ruling entrenched hostility. That leaves innovators squeezed.

As Albert Gitta, head of technology at MTN Mobile Money Uganda, puts it: ‘If somebody does not understand something, it is easy to say, ‘wait a minute.’ But that understanding can take years, while the market is not standing still.’

It is here that Gitta’s broader vision comes in: how to build a system that satisfies regulators while unlocking crypto’s benefits.

Dignity and privacy

Gitta’s dream is a system that is both regulated and flexible-where data is protected, customers feel safe, and crypto’s low-cost benefits are unlocked. Privacy, he argues, is not a side issue but the very foundation of trust.

‘Everybody deserves the benefit of a modern, connected life. Imagine a Ugandan system that becomes the base of a new economic order. A villager doesn’t care whether it’s mobile money or Bitcoin. They just need to know their number and PIN, and they should be able to transact cheaply, securely, and with dignity.’

In his view, the future is a shared platform where banks, fintechs, and mobile operators interconnect-and crypto is just another rail. Customers should not care whether their money moves through a bank, mobile wallet, or blockchain-only that the transaction works.

On this, Gitta and Kirunda converge: ‘bans and circulars don’t stop adoption. They only push it underground and rob Uganda of potential benefits. The smarter path is clear rules, capacity to manage risks, and accountability.’

As Gitta puts it: ‘We need to make sure the regulator is comfortable, and that we are accountable. Yes, we must know who is transacting. But at the same time, we must unlock the opportunities that come with faster, cheaper payment rails.’

Kirunda’s stance remains steady: regulation should begin not with bans, but with understanding, dialogue, and recognition that crypto is already a global asset class.

That raises the bigger question now shaping Uganda’s third wave of crypto: what comes next-especially as geopolitics collides with regulation.

Regulation and power

If Uganda’s first wave of crypto was about discovery, and the second about clashes with regulators, then the third wave is about the future. How to regulate it, balance innovation with protection, and position Uganda in a world where technology choices are shaped by geopolitics.

At the start of 2025, the Bank of Uganda floated the idea of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Unlike Bitcoin, issued by anonymous developers, the pitch was that Ugandans could ‘trust’ their Central Bank as issuer. Consultations began in November, followed by further meetings in March.

But momentum slowed when U.S. President Donald Trump declared, ‘As long as I am president, there will never be a CBDC in the U.S.’ His warning revealed a bigger truth: digital currencies are not just about technology-they are about power.

So, will Uganda’s CBDC move forward? Robert Kirunda sees a deeper problem: regulators still assume crypto is ‘too difficult to regulate.’ In reality, he says, it is easier than mobile money.

‘Every transaction on a blockchain is traceable. With tools like Chainalysis, you can follow a token anywhere in the world. The real challenge is not regulation-it is understanding.’

Economists agree that regulation often comes down to a single principle: Know Your Customer (KYC). Major exchanges like Binance or Coinbase already require IDs, facial verification, and bank account linkage.

Yet this creates its own paradox: Exchanges will always comply with government demands over user privacy-just like banks do.

The paradox runs deeper. Ugandans already trust digital platforms such as Netflix, paying for subscriptions via bank cards without asking where servers are located. But with crypto, regulators insist it is ‘too risky.’

Several industry voices in law, finance, and technology reached out for this article suggest a way forward:

Political will: Some argue Uganda needs an executive order to unblock innovation while setting guardrails.

In the Education sphere, universities and law schools should add courses on emerging technologies.

Innovation funds: banks and fintechs like MTN and Airtel should pool resources to support blockchain solutions.

There should also be a Capital markets reform that allows listing of blockchain companies under existing trusted institutions.

As Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations (1776), ‘governments shouldn’t suffocate enterprise but set fair rules and let people use their skills freely.’

For Uganda, that means fear and bans only stifle growth; clear rules could unlock tools, attract investment, and widen inclusion.

Kirunda says: ‘Gen Z and Gen Alpha don’t care about your penal code. They live on their phones. Whether you like it or not, they will trade crypto. So you help them to do it better and safely.’

That tension-between caution and opportunity-frames Uganda’s current stance, where regulators distance themselves but industry leaders insist the Central Bank is more forward-thinking than many realise.

Uganda’s uneasy middle ground

For all the buzz, Uganda’s official stance on crypto has hardly shifted.

Dr Tumubweinee Twinemanzi, executive director of the National Payment Systems at the Bank of Uganda, says:

‘You are free to do whatever you want with it [crypto] because it has no jurisdiction. We are just saying you won’t have the same protections as you would if you were using a currency issued by the Bank of Uganda. So you do so at your own risk. If you choose to risk and make money, by all means-that is the whole purpose of money. The higher the risk, the higher the reward. Fantastic for you.’

This cautious distance goes back to October 2017, when the Ministry of Finance first warned that cryptocurrencies were unregulated. Two years later, the Bank of Uganda repeated the same message: |Anyone trading in crypto was ‘on their own.’

Twinemanzi insists: ‘Engaging or participating in cryptocurrencies is at your own risk. In other words, should you lose or have problems, don’t come to us crying.’

From the Central Bank’s perspective, this posture reflects its dual responsibility: leaving space for innovation while protecting the public from harm.

But not everyone agrees that the bank is dragging its feet. Reginald Tumusiime, chairperson of the Blockchain Association of Uganda, argues the opposite:

‘There are efforts within the Central Bank to explore the applications of blockchain technology in the entire payment ecosystem.’

The Bank has quietly engaged groups like the country’s Blockchain Association and Fintech umbrella body, studying blockchain beyond speculative trading-especially its potential for improving the payments system.

Tumusiime concedes caution is justified: ‘They owe it to the public to protect your money. Some people have done well with crypto, but it doesn’t mean everyone has had a good story-there are scams out there, and regulators can’t ignore that.’

This duality-loud warnings on one hand, quiet exploration on the other-captures Uganda’s uneasy middle ground. Crypto is neither fully embraced nor banned. Citizens are free to experiment, but without regulatory protection.

For Kirunda, Gitta, and other players, this is both a risk and an opportunity: a risk because uncertainty keeps mainstream institutions on the sidelines, and an opportunity because Uganda can still design a framework that marries innovation with accountability.

Who gets to participate?

As debates on regulation and adoption continue, a practical question looms: Who gets to participate?

By June 2025, Uganda had 34.6 million active mobile money subscribers versus 24 million bank accounts, according to Central Bank data. With a population of 51.3 million, this still leaves millions outside formal digital payments.

Gitta warns that the digital divide cannot be ignored: ‘We still have people who are not participating in mobile money. Now, imagine we are talking crypto. Think about the literacy rates today in Uganda. How is somebody deep down in the village going to understand talk of stablecoins, blockchains, or bitcoins?’

The comparison with mobile money’s early days is clear. What began as airtime recharge later expanded to payments, loans, savings, and virtual cards-growth made possible only through years of demystification and trust-building.

Crypto, Gitta argues, will follow a similar path but with steeper hurdles in devices, connectivity, and literacy.

Devices: Millions still use feature phones, relying on USSD (*165#) for transactions. Smartphones are spreading but unevenly, and without them, crypto apps remain out of reach.

Literacy: Even with devices and connectivity, terms like ‘stablecoin’ or ‘blockchain’ require education.

As Gitta puts it: ‘Our responsibility as telcos and fintechs is not to only bring crypto to the affluent. We need to make sure rural communities with small phones are not left behind. The technologies are available-USSD, SMS, and simple interfaces. We just need to be in the middle, helping to translate complexity into something the common man understands.’

This ‘middle layer,’ in his vision, would handle conversions-cash-in and cash-out of tokens-so villagers need only know their number and PIN.

‘We are governed by the central bank, and we’ve had these conversations with them. For us, our responsibility is to be ready to assure Ugandans that the technology we have in place is future-ready. If a mandate came tomorrow, we would implement it,’ he notes.

Uganda’s crypto journey remains unsettled. Innovation pushes forward, regulators hesitate, and millions of ordinary Ugandans still stand on the sidelines.

Whether this becomes a story of missed chances or managed opportunity will depend on how quickly rules evolve to balance risk with possibility.

This article is the second in a three-part series. The final installment will step back to assess how the East African region is approaching crypto regulation differently-and why those choices could carry both opportunity and danger for Uganda.

Kisoro District Council on Monday unanimously rejected a proposal to allocate public land to Uganda’s ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) for the construction of party offices, a rare setback at the local government level.

The motion, tabled by LC5 Chairperson Abel Bizimana on behalf of the District Executive Committee, sought to grant land near the Resident Senior State Attorney’s office to the NRM following a request from the party’s district chairperson.

‘In consultations held on September 24, 2025, under Minute 06/DEC/2025/2026, the committee recommended granting the land to facilitate the construction,’ Bizimana told councillors during the meeting chaired by Speaker Amos Hakizimana.

But councillors across the political divide pushed back, saying the ruling party should not enjoy special treatment.

‘The NRM should be treated the same way other parties are handled,’ said Nyakinama Sub-County Councillor Emmanuel Ndayisaba, an Independent.

Kirundo Sub-County Councillor Bishubeho Louise warned against setting a precedent of allocating scarce public land to one political organisation.

‘It would be wrong to prioritize public land for NRM offices when land is scarce. The NRM has enough money to hire or buy land for their offices,’ he said.

Louise further suggested that the offices could instead be housed in the Resident District Commissioner’s premises, arguing: ‘Both serve the same interests of the party.’

After heated debate, Speaker Hakizimana dismissed the motion, noting the overwhelming rejection.

Mixed voices within NRM

Not all NRM councillors were united on the issue. Byamugisha Deus, the party’s district publicity secretary and Rubuguri Town Council Councillor, backed Bizimana’s motion.

‘Kisoro district supports the NRM 100 percent. Allocating public land for party offices would show our continued love for the party and President Museveni while reducing costs,’ he said.

But NRM District Treasurer Hashakimana Joachim expressed reservations. ‘The offices are important, but I don’t think they are a priority for the people of Kisoro,’ he noted.

Joachim added that he would instead propose relocating the party’s district offices to a more accessible location.

‘The current office poses challenges for persons with disabilities and the elderly,’ he noted.

The majority of councillors cited the principles of a multiparty system and insisted the NRM’s financial resources made free public land unnecessary.

Residents along the 8.4-kilometre Kabale-Lake Bunyonyi tourism road are accusing contractors of extending mark stones beyond agreed boundaries, sparking fears of illegal land acquisition and unfair compensation.

The road, launched on June 14 by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa and Works Minister Gen Katumba Wamala, is being built by Egyptian firm Samcrete Egypt Engineers and Contractors. It is expected to take between 18 months and three years to complete.

‘We agreed to the first land measurement, but later the boundary was extended beyond the mark stones, affecting my house which is now at risk of collapsing,’ said Mariam Akacungura, a resident.

She added: ‘I have nowhere to go and I am appealing for government assistance.’

Another landowner, Jeniffer Turinawe, said she bought her land for Shs40 million but was compensated only Shs37 million.

‘The amount given does not reflect the actual value of my property,’ she told Monitor.

Several residents accused officials of making them sign compensation documents without clear explanations.

‘We needed to be sensitized,’ said Agness Sucess, who lost farmland to the project. She said the demolition of houses and loss of agricultural land had left families stranded.

Community Liaison Officer Brian Nicholas Okabaki said Samcrete had cleared bushes and begun works up to five kilometres from Kabale town, but admitted challenges remained.

‘We have encountered unresolved compensation issues. We urge government to expedite payments to avoid delays,’ he said.

Okabaki denied accusations of land grabbing, saying extended pegs were meant to provide sufficient working space.

From the government side, Engineer Alison Abenawe, the Works Ministry’s Kabale station manager, confirmed most residents had been paid but also acknowledged disputes.

‘Some issues have arisen from the contractor going beyond the original boundaries. While this was done to create more space for construction, it has caused distress among residents,’ he said. He assured alignment would be reviewed and landowners’ concerns addressed.

Despite the government’s assurances, residents say compensation and communication remain inadequate.

They are demanding a transparent process that protects livelihoods as the road, intended to boost tourism at Africa’s second deepest lake, progresses.

As emojis, memes, and GIFs redefine communication, a new player has emerged. Voice notes are making a comeback.

As voice technology matures, voice notes are becoming a mainstream communication tool-reshaping workflows, boosting accessibility, and challenging the dominance of typing in both personal and professional spaces.

But what is behind this shift, and how are voice notes changing the game?

Voice notes, especially when enhanced with transcription, are emerging as a powerful communication tool-not as a direct replacement for text, but as a more accessible alternative for those who find typing difficult.

According to eMarketer, as of 2025, over 3.5 billion people worldwide use messaging apps at least once a month.

In 2024, an estimated 7 billion out of nearly 150 billion messages sent by WhatsApp users around the world were voice notes, according to the data reporting solutions provider, Demandsage.

In its recent blog, WhatsApp reports that WhatsApp users end 1 billion voice notes per day.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as other global messaging apps with tonnes of monthly users such as Facebook Messenger (1.53 billion), WeChat (1.29 billion), QQ (591 million), and Telegram (550 million), according to Statista, Jan 2024, have incorporated voice note features for their users.

Why are people speaking up?

Emotional connection

‘Voice notes ensure emotional expression, properly conveying feelings and tones such as happiness, disappointment, sadness, and sarcasm,’ Ms Priscilla Martha Nafuna, an avid proponent of voice messaging, shares.

As more interactions shift to voice, writing (or ‘speaking’) with colour, emotion, empathy, and personality is becom more important.

How businesses can adapt

Therefore, businesses should make their apps and services compatible with multiple voice assistants to be accessible through many ‘voice-gateways. This ensures that customers can interact with you regardless of which voice assistant they use.

Voice messages capture sighs, laughter, pauses, the nonverbal cues that get lost in text. They are small acts of love, according to recent 2025 insights from Time magazine, as audio/voice offers intimacy during distance.

Mark Nsamba, a Gen Z from Jinja highlights that voice notes are more engaging as they deliver a sense of someone being present on the other side in comparison to text messages.

Emotional connection and expression is a crucial aspect in communication, and this is largely attributed to voice rather than words.

The Albert Mehrabian’s 7-38-55 communication model shows that 38 percent of communication comes from tone of voice, which is minimal in text or words (at 7 percent).

From a business perspective, Ms Brenda Nafugo, a florist and events business lady, notes that voice messaging provides a personal and humane touch for the clients.

‘If a customer has a concern with an order, receiving a friendly voice message from a support team or business owner apologising for the inconvenience and providing a solution feels much more human and also makes the client feel valued.’

Convenience

Voice messaging is faster, as it only involves hitting the record button, speaking, and releasing the icon to send.

‘With typed messages, I find myself making grammatical errors and misspellings, but with the voice notes, I get to communicate quickly without having to worry about the errors and autocorrect or edits that I would have to do on re-reading the message,’ says Josephine Nankya, a business owner.

A 2017 study by Stanford University indicates that, on average, a person speaks 125-150 words per minute, compared to 40 words per minute when typing. One tap records a stream of thought before self editing kicks in.

Unlike typing, audio can be recorded while cooking, commuting or walking. This multi-tasking appeal and convenience is greatly suitable for persons with very busy schedules.

‘Voice messaging provides an inclusive means of communication while using social media platforms such as WhatsApp, especially for us with visual impairment,’ says Lawrence Ssematimba, a person living with visual impairment.

‘With the voice note feature in place, approximately 2.2 billion people living with visual impairment globally (as per the World Health Organisation Report 2023), have been catered for, in terms of ease and access to communication.

‘Voice notes are more accessible and quicker for elderly people rather than typing,’ says Favour Nantambi.

‘I remember, after showing my 68-year-old grandmother how to send voice notes, this became her go-to means of communication, and the phone calls too became minimal.’

When voice notes don’t cut it

Unsung etiquette guidelines for voice notes are that these should be brief. ‘Beyond five minutes, that is a phone call, Ms Nankya says.

‘When there is a lot to be said, many people tend to send several but brief voice notes,’ she adds.

When communicating with new people, supervisors or superiors, voice notes are not the ideal means of communication unless they have been previously agreed upon or accepted by the parties involved.

If Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) sought justice in rejecting the scores of their first netball final they got in the most brutal form after ruthlessly falling to Hotel Africana 25-6 at Maroons Stadium in Luzira Sunday evening.

In the first final on August 31, UCAA came from behind to almost dethroning the defending champions but the match was cancelled after both sides disagreed on the scoreline. Some thought it was 8-8, while others said Africana had won by a point margin.

With players exhausted after a marathon of games on the day, both teams agreed to reschedule the final for September 24.

But in the four weeks in-between, one team seemed to have prepared, while the other rested. Evidence? The performance: Africana led 10-0, eventually winning the first half 15-3 thanks to the clinical pair of goal shooter Doreen Atukunda Kagumire, who is naturally a defender, and goal attacker Victoria Nakazibwe, who converted almost every chance.

Solid, agile and tireless, centre player Christine Zalwango had fluid coordination with her defense, wing attack and the entire forward line.

Despite that amorphous lead, Africana coach Bashir Matovu used the interval to emphasise the need to stick to the game plan, a message especially meant for goal defender Alton Sentongo, who was much later substituted for Ibra Inesko.

In the second half, goal attacker Brenda Namuhoma and goal shooter Joyce Nakirya tried to pull UCAA back into the game, but got limited supply. And UCAA were slow in attack, which gave an advantage to Africana, whose pace, power and accuracy resulted in an emphatic 25-6 victory.

‘We should have won this final last time, but our opponents complained. This time, I am happy that now they can only accuse us of being ruthless on the court,’ said Hamida Ayoub, Africana’s assistant coach, who plays for Busia Greater Lions.

‘We are happy that we have won this title again. We thank our employers at Africana for giving us a chance to train for the games. Such performances also contribute to promotions and pay rise.’

UCAA’s goal defender Henry Mukenya rued the missed opportunity but was graceful in defeat. ‘We left Entebbe to come and fight for gold. But I congratulate Africana for the good performance. We hope to do better next season.’

RESULTS

Africana 25-6 UCAA

OUTSTANDING PLAYERS

Doreen Atukunda Kagumire (GS)

Victoria Nakazibwe (GA)

Christine Zalwango (C)

Alton Sentongo (GD)

Husnah Kukundakwe and Condoleezza Thembo Nakazibwe left the World Para Swimming Championships stage in Singapore with enhanced reputations.

The Ugandan representatives hit their time targets and the latter took it a notch further by making the finals of all her four events.

Last Wednesday, her 1:11.76 in the women’s 100m freestyle S8, gave her a 3rd place finish in the heats. She split 34.31 at the halfway mark to lower her own African record (AR) from the 1:12.40 that she managed at the World Series earlier in Indianapolis in April to qualify for Singapore.

In the final, she split 34.43 and finished 8th in a time of 1:12.23, which is her second best performance in the event.

On Thursday, the 18 year old gave her all to clock a 32.49 in the women’s 50m freestyle S8 preliminaries lowering her own 32.58 AR. She further sunk it to 31.93 in the finals, where she missed a podium finish by a whisker.

Russia’s Viktoriia Ishchiulova, swimming under a neutral flag, clocked 31.30 to win the race and was followed by China’s Zhu Hui (31.39) and Italy’s Xenia Francesca Palazzo (31.44) – who also won 100m free bronze behind Great Britain’s Alice Tai and USA’s Jessica Long.

On Friday, Uganda’s Paralympian needed a bit of luck to make the finals but the fortune is always in the preparation and showing up. After placing 9th overall in the heats of the women’s 200m individual medley SM8 with a time of 3:03.72 just ahead of Germany’s Jeanne Maack Mira (3:05.26), Kukundakwe had done her bit. She had not competed in an IM event at the world stage in over a year and an AR was good enough.

But she was brought in as a replacement after Palazzo, who made 2:58.51 in the prelims, withdrew for medical reasons. Kukundakwe finished 8th with a slightly better time of 3:03.51.

In the 100m breaststroke SB8, on Saturday, Kukundakwe’s 1:28.54 got her to her fourth final in four days. Interestingly, she finished 7th with a new personal best of 1:27.37 in the finals and she beat Ishchiulova (1:28.86), who also had silver in the IM.

The 100m breaststroke SB8 AR, however, remains one of those she aims for. It still belongs to South Africa’s retired Natalie Du Toit, who set it at 1:25.95 at the World Championships in Eindhoven Netherlands on August 16, 2010.

Nakazibwe, just 13, also made an impressive 33.61 in the women’s 50m freestyle S9 on Saturday to cap Uganda’s performance at the Championships.

“The swimmers performed very well with 100% improvement. In my opinion it is the best performance for Husnah particularly, if compared to the previous events we have taken part in. We did not do well at the Paralympics in France and that taught us something to work on and since the Series in the USA, we have been registering good positions with excellent times

“We are now looking forward to the Commonwealth Games. Condoleezza is also a mentally strong girl with a huge passion for the sport. Usually, you would struggle with a young girl pushing her up to race at that level, but she managed,” coach Muzafaru Muwanguzi, said.

World Para Swimming Championships

Kukundakwe’s performance

Women 100m freestyle S8: 1:11.76 (African record, prelims), 1:12.23 (finals)

Women 50m freestyle S8: 32.49 (prelims), 31.93 (African record, finals)

Women 200m IM SM8: 3:03.72 (prelims), 3:03.51 (African record finals)

Women 100m breaststroke SB8: 1:28.54 (prelims), 1:27.37 (finals)

Nakazibwe’s performance

Women 50m freestyle S9: 33.61 (prelims)

In 2003, a cloud of uncertainty hung over the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) ahead of the 2006 presidential election. The 1995 Constitution barred President Museveni from standing again since he had already served two terms.

Yet the party leadership wanted him to continue carrying the mantle. At the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi, the NRM hatched a plan to amend the Constitution and initiated a process that would see their chairperson contest again in the 2006 elections. To secure the process, MPs from the ruling NRM party and allies each received Shs5m, presented as facilitation for consultations with their constituents on the constitutional amendments. A number of senior Cabinet ministers who opposed scrapping term limits were removed from government.

The victims included then Ethics minister Maria Matembe, the late Eria Kategaya, who was first Deputy Prime Minister, and Local Government minister Bidandi Ssali. Their dismissal sent a message: the amendment was not up for debate. According to constitutional lawyer and former Constituent Assembly delegate Dan Wandera Ogalo, the framers of the 1995 Constitution were guided by Uganda’s violent past.

Since Independence, there had never been a peaceful transfer of power from one President to another. ‘We had never had a peaceful transfer of power, and whenever you don’t have a peaceful transfer of power, it means violence. People die, people are maimed, property is destroyed, and people become paupers. This weighed very heavily on us to say we must have a provision which ensures that there is a peaceful transfer of power,’ he recalls.

The Assembly, therefore introduced two safeguards: presidential term limits and age limits. Ogalo notes that even the popular consultations pointed in the same direction.

‘The people of Uganda themselves, in their views, had said they wanted a two-term limit for the President,’ he said. Still, by 2003, he began hearing rumours that Mr Museveni’s strong performance and energy justified amending the Constitution to let him continue. ‘The argument was: if the President is still working very well, why should you do away with him when we still need him?’ he remembers. Current Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo was also part of the Constituent Assembly that debated the Justice Benjamin Odoki report. He recalls the justification for term limits.

‘People put the argument that if you serve more than two terms, then you would have lost the capacity, the reason why we found it necessary to include the two presidential term limits in the 1995 Constitution,’ he says.

He adds that the framers argued that leaders should serve and go, leaving behind strong institutions rather than depending on the strength of individuals. ‘However good a person is, we are only human. We should have a system, not a person. It’s good to have strong and devoted leaders, and people who will love their country, but what will sustain any country are systems,’ he says.

The Chief Justice’s regrets Justice Dollo has often expressed regret that the Assembly failed to entrench the two safeguards. ‘How could we, especially the lawyers, be so foolish? How could we be lured into not strengthening provisions for term limits? We left it as any other provision in the constitution. And that’s why it was easy for Parliament to remove term and age limits,’ he says. He insists that such provisions should have required a referendum to amend.

‘That one, I take responsibility and anybody else who was in the Constituent Assembly. We should have entrenched that provision so that if you want to amend, you go back to the people. We failed the people of Uganda as a consequence.’

For Mr Ogalo, the removal of the two-term and age limits had no justification beyond benefiting President Museveni. ‘Clearly, the scrapping of the two-term limit was to benefit President Museveni. Equally, the removal of the age limit was to benefit President Museveni. That is a very dangerous way of approaching constitutional amendments. You amend the constitution for the people, not to benefit one person,’ he says.

Former Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki, who chaired the constitutional review commission, wrote in his book The Search for a National Consensus that one of the central goals of the 1995 Constitution was to guarantee free, regular, and fair elections.

He recalls that consultations showed overwhelming support for a directly elected president limited to two five-year terms.

‘The President, for the first time, is now directly elected by the entire population. His election can be challenged in the Supreme Court. The term of office is five years, limited to two terms of office only, under Article 105,’ Justice Odoki wrote.

For constitutional lawyer Peter Walubiri, the removal of term and age limits destroyed any chance of constitutional democracy in Uganda. ‘It was the final blow; henceforth, only death by whatever means will remove Mr Museveni from State House and thereby start the process of the NRA-NRM disintegration,’ he says.

The final blow Prof Fredrick Ssempebwa, who was part of Odoki’s Commission, agrees. He recalls that the majority of Ugandans demanded term limits because they had never seen a peaceful transfer of power. ‘They wanted to have a peaceful change. They didn’t use that language of term limits, but they said there must be a system where leaders change right from the top,’ he says. Prof Ssempebwa notes that even Museveni supported the idea during consultations. ‘When we consulted, President Museveni repeated what he said at the very beginning, that the problem of Africa was leaders who overstay in power,’ he recalls. Now, with President Museveni in power for nearly 40 years, Prof Ssempebwa says the dangers are visible.

‘There are fears about his health, his grasp of power, and his control of things, so it’s a problem for the country. There is also this power of incumbency, and he is unlikely to be voted out,’ he says.

When Mr Museveni took power in 1986 after a five-year guerrilla war, he declared that Africa’s problem was leaders who overstay. But after the scrapping of term limits in 2005, he accepted his party’s endorsement for another run. On November 17, 2005, the NRM named him flagbearer. His candidacy sparked criticism, especially since he had promised in 2001 that it would be his last run. The arrest of Opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye in November 2005, on charges of treason, concealment of treason, and rape, triggered riots across the country. International donors, including Sweden, the Netherlands, and the UK withheld aid, citing democratic concerns.

In the 2006 elections, Mr Museveni’s vote share dropped to 59 percent, while Dr Besigye garnered 37 percent. Election observers from the European Union declared that the polls were not free and fair. Dr Besigye challenged the results in the Supreme Court, which found evidence of intimidation, violence, and voter disenfranchisement. Still, in a 4-3 decision, the court upheld Mr Museveni’s victory.

Currently, Mr Museveni is the third-longest consecutively serving non-royal leader in the world after Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and Paul Biya of Cameroon. When asked why he stayed on despite his earlier statements, he replied that it was the people who kept voting him back.

Uganda and Somalia will sign three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) at the Second Joint Permanent Commission (JPC), Investment and Business Summit in Kampala from October 7 to 8. President Museveni and his Somalia counterpart, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, are expected to grace the summit under the theme: ‘Promoting Uganda-Somalia partnership through trade, investment and tourism, and harnessing opportunities in both countries’. A JPC is a critical agreement between countries aimed at promoting political and economic cooperation initiatives. In 2022, Uganda and Somalia set up a Joint Permanent Commission (JPC), holding its first session in Kampala from August 7 to 8 that year.

Next week’s summit will review the status of implementation of the agreed minutes and MoUs signed in 2022, address any residual non-tariff barriers hindering trade and investment between both countries, and establish an enduring forum for continual discourse on trade and investment, among others. Speaking at the media launch of the summit last week, Prof Sam Tulya Muhika, the head of mission at the Uganda Embassy in Somalia, said the MoUs, ‘include a MoU on immigration management, education and sports, and bilateral labour agreement. Although we have been cooperating with Somalia in extending our generosity to a number of students to study in Uganda, we don’t have an MoU to formally cover this.’

‘Some people say there is no diaspora in Somalia, but there is a huge diaspora of Ugandans in Somalia. They are employed, with a large number of them being security guards, but there are also teachers, lecturers in universities and even doctors. Because it is a different economy and different labour laws from ours, they do get into trouble with their employment, so we need a bilateral labour agreement,’ he added. At the inaugural session three years ago, five MoUs were signed, including trade and investment, establishment of a joint permanent council for trade and investment, joint diplomatic and political consultations, defence cooperation, and trade cooperation.

Prof Muhika noted that the JPC will help implement trade and investment agreements, ease the movement of people-including those seeking residency-and support other areas of cooperation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Somalia’s entry into the East African Community (EAC) has aligned trade policies, paving the way for stronger collaboration and mutual benefits for both Ugandans and Somalis. ‘The summit will formalise this collaboration and provide a ready market for Uganda’s agricultural products, construction materials, services, and highlight its educational institutions.

Similarly, Uganda’s aviation sector will thrive as trade and movement of people increases…,’ the ministry stated in a statement released on Wednesday last week. It added: ‘Generally, the summit is a demonstration of Uganda’s proactive approach to economic and commercial diplomacy and its leadership in championing regional integration for mutual benefit of all EAC and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa member states.’ Somalia’s deputy envoy to Uganda, Amb Abdi Latif Ali, thanked Uganda for its support to Somalia.

BACKGROUND

Uganda and Somalia enjoy cordial bilateral relations, with the former being the first country to deploy its troops in Mogadishu in March 2007 under African Union Mission in Somalia.