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Vipers coach Ivan Minnaert has turned his full focus to the upcoming Caf Champions League second preliminary round showdown against Zambia’s Power Dynamos, a tie that promises to be a real litmus test for the Ugandan side’s continental ambitions.

The Venoms will host the Zambian giants at St. Mary’s Stadium in Kitende between October 17-18, before travelling to Kitwe for the decisive return leg a week later. The aggregate winner will progress to the lucrative group stages of Africa’s premier club competition.

Minnaert is under no illusions about the challenge ahead, especially after Dynamos showed resilience in ejecting Ivorian powerhouse ASEC Mimosas.

The Zambian side edged through on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw-Dynamos winning 1-0 at home before losing by the same scoreline in Abidjan, where ASEC were reduced to 10 men after Seydou Sacko’s 64th-minute dismissal. Dynamos kept their nerve in the shootout, converting all five of their penalties while ASEC faltered once.

Vipers, on the other hand, advanced after a composed 2-0 aggregate win over Namibia’s African Stars. A goal in each leg was enough to ensure safe passage, and while the performance wasn’t entirely fluent, Minnaert believes it was a justified result.

‘If you see the two games, you see that we deserved to win and go to the second round,’ he said. ‘Karisa (Milton) was disappointed not to start, but I told him he would come in and make an impact – and he did. This is what I expect from my players,’ Minnaert revealed.

League distraction

Despite their progress on the continent, the club’s domestic situation remains unsettled. Vipers, alongside SC Villa and Nec, are yet to confirm their participation in the newly proposed Uganda Premier League format, citing its vagueness and lack of clarity.

The duo notably boycotted Saturday’s joint press conference meant to rally support for a league double-header featuring Vipers vs Kitara and KCCA vs SC Villa at Namboole on Saturday.

Nonetheless, Minnaert remains focused. ‘We have no league games, so we will use the time to prepare. The Fifa break will take some players, but we will continue to train. The most important thing is that we qualified,’ he stated.

Vipers are eyeing a return to the group stages for the first time since 2023, when under then-coach Roberto Oliveira ‘Robertinho’, they knocked out Real de Bangui (Central African Republic) and five-time African champions TP Mazembe of DR Congo – a feat they are eager to replicate.

With a burning ambition, and Minnaert’s steady hand on the tiller, Vipers are quietly plotting to tame the unpredictable Aba Yellow of Kitwe.

Caf Champions League

Second preliminary round

Vipers vs. Power Dynamos

President Yoweri Museveni in a tweet on September 23, reassured Ugandans, ‘We are going to fight the theft of drugs at health centres [..] if immunisation has been successful, then all efforts can be effective as well’. The President’s remark mirrored the continued cries from the populace about theft of medicines at health facilities. The President’s concern, and that of the ordinary Ugandan, comes at a time the Government of Uganda has steadily increased the annual budget for National Medical Stores (NMS), a government agency mandated to buy, store, and distribute medicines and medical supplies to government health facilities at no cost.

These medicines, whether for malaria, HIV, maternal care, or childhood immunisation, are purchased and delivered by NMS to public health facilities free of charge, and should in turn be given out to patients at no cost. And yet, despite this huge investment, cries abound of shortage of medicines in health facilities occasioned by theft, patients asked to pay for health supplies provided free of charge by the government through NMS, or medicines being diverted at health centres to private clinics. This is theft. This is economic sabotage. It is not only a crime against government; it is a crime against every Ugandan whose life depends on those medicines. Every vial, every tablet, every kit that goes missing represents a life put at risk.

It is no longer about government not providing medicines, but more about unscrupulous actors robbing families of hope as soon as medicines are delivered at various health facilities across the country. To enhance transparency, all NMS delivery trucks are fitted with GPS trackers to monitor delivery of medicines up to the gates of health facilities in every corner of Uganda. Once dispatched from National Medical stores, an SMS alert is sent to MPs of the respective area, DHOs, RDCs, DISOs, the State House Health Monitoring Unit, plus all officers in charge of health facilities. This message includes a contact of the person receiving and verifying the consignment at the health facility.

The purpose is to ensure visibility and transparency from dispatch up to the delivery point and for stakeholders to verify deliveries real-time. After NMS delivers medicines to health facilities, the responsibility shifts to facility managers and local authorities to ensure that the medicines and health supplies delivered are efficiently utilised. Furthermore, the government has intensified the roll out of the Electronic Medical Records (EMR), a system that will create a traceable link between what NMS delivered and what was given out to patients. This is where the vigilance and participation of all Ugandans comes in because systems alone are not enough.

Beyond the government’s initiatives, the fight against theft of government medicines requires citizens, patients, parents, teachers, religious leaders, youth to stand up against theft and report any suspicious behaviour to the nearest police station or to the State House Health Monitoring Unit on 0800-200-447. To the extent possible, government medicines are now clearly labelled and easy to identify with a ‘Government of Uganda, not for sale’ or ‘UG’ label on every tablet.

National and district leaders, when you receive a dispatch and delivery SMS alert from NMS about medicines and health supplies, please, demand accountability from health workers; ask questions when you are told there are no drugs; demand delivery notes which show quantities and type of medicines and health supplies received. To the citizenry, refuse to buy government-labelled medicines. Report suspicious activity to authorities. Silence and indifference only embolden thieves. Lasting change will only come when every Ugandan understands that safeguarding government medicines is not the duty of a few. It is the responsibility of all of us.

High Court in Kampala has been asked to intervene in a dispute between the National Unity Platform (NUP) and the government after the opposition party was excluded from receiving statutory political party funding.

NUP, through its Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya, filed an application for judicial review challenging a directive by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs dated August 25, 2025.

The directive instructed the Electoral Commission to disburse funds to six political parties, excluding NUP, on grounds that they were not recognised members of the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD).

In its motion, NUP seeks several remedies, including declarations that ‘the minister’s directive was illegal, ultra vires, irrational, unlawful, procedurally improper, and null and void.’

The party also wants the court to compel the Electoral Commission to release funds to it and issue an injunction restraining authorities from enforcing the directive.

Rubongoya, in a sworn affidavit, told court that NUP has been receiving quarterly statutory funding since the 2021/2022 financial year under Section 14 of the Political Parties and Organisations Act.

He argued that as the second-largest political party in Parliament and an active member of the National Consultative Forum, NUP has a legitimate expectation to continue receiving the funds.

‘The Applicant has been unlawfully, unfairly and unjustifiably excluded by the respondents from all consultations regarding the operationalisation of the Amendment, as well as from the list of political parties entitled to statutory funds,’ Rubongoya stated.

He further said the exclusion has significantly affected the party’s day-to-day operations and preparations for the 2026 elections, including activities leading to the nomination of its presidential flagbearer Robert Kyagulanyi on September 23, 2025.

The Attorney General, representing government, appeared before Justice Collins Accellam on Monday and requested for two days to file a reply to the application.

NUP will then file a rejoinder on Friday, after which the case will return to court on October 10, 2025 for mention.

Meanwhile, lawyers for the Electoral Commission, led by Eric Sabiiti, the Commission’s head of litigation, and Hamidu Lugolobi, asked the court to dismiss the case with costs.

They argued that the application is fundamentally flawed and an abuse of court process citing incompetence, lack of merit, and a frivolous nature.

Sabiiti submitted that the applications were futile and have no chance of success adding that the relief sought was unconstitutional and beyond the High Court’s powers.

He further explained that decisions on political party funding are choices of the political parties themselves and that the balance of convenience favors implementing the statutory provision.

‘The court should dismiss the application,’ Sabiiti said, describing it as an unnecessary strain on the judicial process.

The controversy follows the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Act, 2025, which introduced a requirement that only political parties belonging to IPOD are eligible for government funding.

NUP insists it has never been consulted about the statutory instrument to operationalise the law and has not been availed a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding that other parties are said to have signed to join IPOD.

On September 18, 2025, IPOD held a summit at Kololo Independence Grounds attended by the Democratic Party, Forum for Democratic Change, Uganda People’s Congress, Justice Forum (JEEMA), and the ruling National Resistance Movement.

At the meeting, President Museveni, who had served as IPOD Council chairperson, handed over leadership to Justice Minister Norbert Mao, the opposition Democratic Party president.

According to Rubongoya, NUP was neither invited to the summit nor involved in discussions on the sharing of statutory funds, despite its parliamentary strength.

Justice Accellam has set October 10, 2025 for mention of the case to determine whether the parties have complied with his directions.

‘Jinja makes yet another statement this early! Yes, this is not just any other election, it is a revolution,’ read a post by Mr Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, on his X social media handle shortly after launching his campaign rallies for the 2026 General Election from Jinja City, Busoga Sub-region, yesterday.

The National Unity Platform (NUP) party presidential candidate drew multitudes of crowds, paralysing Jinja City for the better part of the day. Speaking at Kagoma Town Council in Jinja District, Mr Kyagulanyi told thousands of enthusiastic supporters that a NUP-led government would prioritise the economic empowerment of ordinary citizens, especially those in historically marginalised regions like Busoga. He said the area had suffered decades of exploitation and government neglect.

He noted that Busoga is one of the country’s leading regions in sugarcane farming, yet farmers are consistently paid low prices for their produce, leaving them trapped in poverty. He accused the government of letting sugar millers exploit farmers by offering them low prices for their produce. ‘I will help you get out of economic slavery when we take power,’ Mr Kyagulanyi declared. ‘You have resources, you work hard, but you remain poor. That must change. We can work this out together,’ he said. Mr Kyagulanyi’s manifesto centred around 11 key priorities. He promised to create 10 million jobs, end corruption and establish constitutionalism and the rule of law. The jobs, he said, would leverage tourism at 25.3 percent, manufacturing at 60 percent, as well as sports and creative economy at 14.7 percent.

The other areas included reducing government expenditure by cutting down the number of administrative units, consolidating national unity and rehabilitating war-torn areas. Mr Kyagulanyi also talked about creating equal access to health, education, water, energy, and public infrastructure. On education, he promised to establish school feeding programmes as well as boost agriculture to ensure food security. He also condemned the government’s aggressive deployment of security forces on water bodies, saying fishermen have been pushed off the lakes-robbing communities of their primary source of income. ‘This region has fertile land and abundant water bodies, but people are starving. It’s not a lack of resources, it’s poor leadership and exploitation,’ he said.

Mr Kyagulanyi also raised concerns over the state of political freedoms in parts of Busoga, specifically where he claimed residents face intimidation for supporting Opposition parties. Mr Kyagulanyi promised that if elected, his government would restore the political and civil rights of all Ugandans, regardless of their affiliations. ‘You deserve a government that listens, not one that silences you,’ he said. Mr Kyagulanyi added that Waiswa Mufumbiro, a ‘son of the soil’ who should have welcomed them to Busoga, is currently in prison. Mr Waiswa, who plans to contest for a parliamentary seat in Nakawa Division, Kampala, was arrested alongside more than a dozen other NUP supporters. They are accused of taking part in an unauthorised meeting, which authorities say was meant to train participants in ‘military exercises, movements and evolutions,’ an offence under Section 45(1)

(b) of the Penal Code Act.

Throughout his address, Mr Kyagulanyi called on the people of Busoga to rise above fear and vote for leadership that prioritises their dignity, rights, and economic wellbeing. He emphasised that under NUP, development would not be reserved for a select few but distributed fairly across all regions. The musician-cum politician also promised to stop land grabbing and guarantee land rights. On governance, Mr Kyagulanyi focused on empowering regional and local governments, while strengthening international ties and positioning the diaspora as a strategic asset to his government. The launch in Kagoma marks the beginning of a nationwide campaign trail that Kyagulanyi says will focus on grassroots communities and building a new Uganda from the bottom up.

Bobi paralyses Jinja

Excitement and anticipation gripped parts of eastern Uganda as hundreds of enthusiastic supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP) gathered along the Jinja-Kamuli highway to welcome party president Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine. The crowd, largely made up of youth, women, and boda boda riders, braved the scorching sun and lined the roadside hours before Kyagulanyi’s expected arrival, waving party flags and chanting slogans of change. The crowds started swelling along Kayunga Road, the route that Mr Kyagulanyi used to access Jinja from Kampala. Many wore red berets and NUP-branded attire as a show of solidarity and unwavering loyalty to the Opposition leader.

The atmosphere was electric, with drums, vuvuzelas, and music adding to the growing anticipation. During the last election cycle, which was a virtual one due to movement restrictions associated with Covid-19, over 50 people were killed in shootings and suffocation. This was after spontaneous riots engulfed Kampala City and major urban centres, following the violent arrest of Mr Kyagulanyi in Luuka, one of the districts in the Busoga region, during his campaigns there. Yesterday, the heavily deployed security personnel remained unobtrusive, though they diverted some of the supporters when they reached Jinja Bridge, with some opting to use murram roads to access the campaign rally venue, leaving them covered in dust.

The State Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Mr Godfrey Kabbyanga Baluku, has said the government may interrupt Internet connectivity during the 2026 General Election if intelligence reports point to attempts to use it to incite violence.

Mr Kabbyanga made the remarks at the weekend in Gulu City during a meeting organised by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to sensitise broadcasters from Acholi, Lango, West Nile and Bunyoro sub-regions on new electoral guidelines ahead of the polls. ‘The moment intelligence detects that the Internet will be used to cause violence during the election, we will interrupt connections. Our actions will be guided by intelligence agencies,’ Mr Kabbyanga said.

‘We will not allow anyone to disrupt peace. Do you know that Uganda is the most stable country in East and Central Africa?’ he added.

The minister further said that his ministry and the UCC have the gadgets and authority to restrict access.

‘We have the capacity to interrupt the Internet. You can have your data, but you cannot send any message using your device,’ he said, adding that the government will not sit back as the internet is used to fuel unrest. Mr Kabbyanga also cautioned media houses against violating broadcasting laws.

‘Any radio station or broadcaster that breaches the minimum standards risks being switched off or losing its licence,’ he warned. Uganda has a precedent. On the eve of the 2021 General Election, the government imposed a nationwide internet blackout that lasted about 100 hours, affecting more than 10.6 million users. Maj Gen Felix Kulayigye, the director of public information in the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs, also addressed the meeting, warning broadcasters against using airwaves to destabilise the country.

Journalists urged

‘We are in a politically charged season. In the next five months, we will see politicians campaigning. We will ensure the country remains peaceful,’ he said, urging the media to promote harmony. Meanwhile, UCC officials reminded journalists that only those accredited by the Electoral Commission will be permitted to cover the elections. ‘Any journalist who is not accredited will not be allowed access to electoral areas. This is to ensure accurate reporting,’ said Mr Medi Kagwa, the UCC manager for social media.

He added that foreign journalists must also obtain accreditation.

‘Those who fail to do so will be handed to security agencies for processing and possible deportation,’ he warned.

In the January 2021 General Election, the government imposed a nationwide blackout that lasted about 100 hours. The shutdown, which began with restrictions on social media platforms before escalating into a full internet cut, affected more than 10.6 million users across the country.

While authorities defended the move as a necessary security measure to prevent unrest, critics said it was a deliberate attempt to stifle dissent and silence Opposition voices during a sensitive political period.

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.