Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

I have been reading a book titled Hybrid, authored by Noel Kingsbury. It is about the history and science of plant breeding. It is in this book that I have come across a statement that, in my view, deserves reflecting upon by all of us who spend time daily finding food for ourselves and for our loved ones.

Kingsbury says: ‘Most of us are alive not just because of historically recent advances in medical science and an awareness of basic hygiene but also because of advances in agriculture: improved plant nutrition, crop protection, and plant breeding. Our access to food is so much more secure than that of our ancestors, our choices are incomparably wider, and our food is safer than ever before.”

Much of this security and choice are down to plant breeding. With the varied diet we have today, it is difficult to imagine what it must have been like for our ancestors; their diet was often not just poor but incredibly monotonous.’

Our ancestors did not, for example, see grafted mangoes or oranges. They did not know about the qualities of hybrid seeds and the advantages of planting them. Today we have cloned crop seedlings. We have crops that take much shorter to bear fruit.

If anybody wants to earn money quickly from Robusta coffee farming, the best decision would be planting cloned seedlings from a registered coffee nursery. Harvesting normally takes place within less than two years after planting, with good agronomic practices. Many crops are bred to be much better tasting, drought tolerant, disease resistant, more nutritive, and higher yielding.

Agriculturists tend to refer to the formation and development of new individual plants as plant propagation. It perpetuates plants as individual units and ensures that the cultivated crops are under man’s control and that they are not lost to him by reverting to less desirable forms.

Through selection and propagation of only particular varieties with desirable characteristics scientists have built up a wide range of crop plants of great economic and nutritional importance from naturally and traditionally exiting species but of different characteristics.

We therefore have to go for farming practices that meet our desires. We have a much bigger population to feed, yet the land on which to grow the required amount of food is not elastic. We are also working against odds like climate change and stubborn pests, among other challenges.

Uganda’s political landscape is shaped not only by ideas and manifestos, but by the architecture of power itself. Over the years, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has fused with the State in ways that tilt the democratic playing field, giving the party an upper hand that goes far beyond the advantages of incumbency.

This fusion is not incidental. It is structural, deliberate and deeply embedded. From the conduct of security operatives to the posture of Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), the boundaries between public service and partisan loyalty have blurred. Neutrality of such offices, once a cornerstone of democratic governance, is now negotiable.

Security agencies, with or without tacit approval of their commanders, routinely act in ways that favour NRM candidates-whether through selective enforcement, intimidation of Opposition rallies or quiet gatekeeping of public venues. Civil servants, too, often find themselves navigating a system where career advancement is subtly tethered to political alignment. These dynamics distort the principle of equal access and compromise the integrity of electoral competition.

Beyond these institutional entanglements lies the sheer weight of incumbency. The NRM’s long tenure has allowed it to build expansive networks across Uganda-from the Local Council at the village, or cell level, to national agencies. These networks are not just political; they are logistical, financial and symbolic. They enable rapid mobilisation, resource deployment and narrative control in ways that Opposition parties struggle to match.

Recently, Daily Monitor published a story titled ‘Inside ANT’s dream of service leadership’, reporting that the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) had unveiled its 2026 presidential manifesto, ‘A Change You Can Trust’. Led by Maj Gen (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu, ANT offers a vision rooted in service leadership, integrity and institutional reform. The party’s emphasis on strengthening land rights, investing in reliable energy and reforming the public sector speaks to the aspirations of many Ugandans weary of transactional politics.

But ANT’s challenge is not merely to present good ideas; it is to navigate a terrain where visibility, access and protection are often contingent on proximity to power. The party must build not just a message, but a machinery. It must cultivate grassroots networks, train agents who can withstand intimidation and invest in civic education that demystifies the fusion of party and State.

Uganda’s democratic transition will not be achieved through manifestos alone. It requires a reckoning with the politicisation of State institutions and the normalisation of partisan enforcement. Until the State and the ruling party-not the NRM government-are disentangled, no political opposition, however principled, can compete on equal footing.

As voters, analysts and citizens, we must demand more than promises; the nation must demand structural reform and independence of institutions. And as parties like ANT step forward with bold visions, they must also prepare for the long haul: resisting co-option, building trust and confronting the quiet machinery that has kept power insulated from real and fair competition.

Uganda deserves a democracy where service leadership is not a dream, but a standard. The journey there will be hard, but it must begin with truth.

Students planning to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Masaka Comprehensive School of Nursing and Midwifery will have to wait longer after the school revealed it has yet to secure government approval.

Speaking at the institution’s 8th graduation ceremony on Friday, Principal Harriet Nanyondo said the school applied for approval nearly four years ago, but the process is still pending.

‘In order to ensure professional development and continued learning, we envisioned starting a bachelor of nursing science completion programme. Our request for approval has been on the table of the Ministry of Education and Sports since November last year, under the affiliation programme of Mbarara University of Science and Technology,’ Nanyondo said.

She attributed the delay to challenges including low enrollment and debts that once amounted to over Shs500 million.

‘Good enough, we have since addressed these challenges and now feel like we are fit to get the approval from the Ministry,’ she added.

A total of 430 students graduated in various disciplines. Among them, 155 received diplomas in comprehensive nursing, 90 in midwifery, and 185 in general nursing.

One of the graduands, Ms Noeline Nabuma, emphasized the importance of the degree programme for the region.

‘A big number of nurses in the region have attained diplomas, but for one to study a degree programme, he/she has to travel to either Mbarara, Jinja, or Kampala,’ she said.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Kedrace Turyagenda, represented by Commissioner of Basic Education Doreen Ankunda, called on nurses and midwives to prioritize patient care over financial gain.

‘It’s good that the management has addressed some issues, enrollment has grown, and the institution’s financial capacity has improved. I will deliver the school’s request to approve its degree programme, and I hope the ministry will reassess the school again to see its capacity to run the programme,’ Ankunda said.

Masaka Comprehensive School of Nursing, founded in 1946 and located in Katwe-Butego near Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, has a long history of training nurses.

It initially offered certificates in nursing but later expanded to diploma programmes in comprehensive nursing, midwifery, and general nursing.

The ruling NRM’s flag bearer for Ndorwa West, Eliab Naturinda Mporere, has accused Trade Minister David Bahati of dividing party members and undermining unity ahead of the 2026 elections, after the veteran politician defied the party line to stand as an independent in Kabale District.

Speaking shortly after his nomination at the Electoral Commission offices in Kabale on Thursday, Naturinda said Bahati, who is the Kabale District NRM chair, had long used disunity as a political tool, contributing to his loss in the recent party primaries.

‘It was disappointing to find the offices closed when everyone knew I was coming,’ Naturinda said, referring to the party offices in Kabale which he found locked despite prior communication that he would address journalists there.

Naturinda, a Kampala-based lawyer and first-time parliamentary contender, said he had been accompanied by Kabale LCV chairman Nelson Nshangabasheija, former Miss Uganda Natasha Nyonyozi, and several local leaders when he discovered the offices shut.

He further alleged that the defeated minister still influences certain security operatives in the district but assured supporters that local security structures would not allow intimidation or disruption of party activities.

Bahati, who was nominated on Wednesday to run as an independent, dismissed Naturinda’s electoral season accusations, branding his rival’s team ‘thieves’ and claiming the NRM primary was rigged.

‘Because of vote rigging by President Obote, President Museveni went to the bush to fight. I have come to reclaim my victory,’ Bahati said.

The remarks angered Naturinda, who accused the minister of spreading falsehoods to console himself, insisting that voters had simply ‘desired change’ after two decades of Bahati’s representation.

He alleged that over ten declaration forms, particularly from Kitumba Sub-county, had been tampered with during the primaries.

Lt Col James Mwesigye, the Commissioner in Charge of RDCs and RCCs in western Uganda, also weighed in on the rising tensions, warning candidates against misleading the public by claiming endorsement from President Museveni.

He told religious leaders at Kitanga Parish in Rukiga District that the President had made it clear he only supports official NRM flag bearers, saying independents risk dividing supporters.

The Ndorwa West race is expected to be one of the most closely watched contests in the Kigezi region, pitting Museveni’s long-serving minister, seeking to extend his leadership to 25 years, against a 37-year-old lawyer many supporters have dubbed ‘the King David of the Bible’ and ‘the savior of the constituency.’

Ugandans will vote the next parliament in general elections to be held January 15, 2026.

Deputy Inspector General of Government Dr. Patricia Achan Okiria has urged graduates to uphold integrity and resist corruption in their professional careers.

Speaking at the university’s 10th graduation ceremony on Friday, where 542 students received their degrees (319 females and 223 males), Dr. Okiria emphasised the importance of values like service, creativity, responsibility, and teamwork.

“As the Chancellor rightly charged you to be ready to face issues like corruption and community responsibility, he believed that passing exams was not the only thing, but that it is an assurance of the best script of values, service, creativity, responsibility, integrity, and professional teamwork,” she said.

Dr. Okiria encouraged graduates to be “pilgrims of integrity” and “pilgrims of social responsibility,” leveraging their skills and knowledge to drive innovation and solutions for Uganda.

“Be the generation that elevates the national conversation about transaction into transformation,” she added.

Msgr Charles Kasibante, who led the mass, urged graduates to avoid corruption in their workplaces.

The Chancellor of University of Kisubi, Br. Casio Aizire, also stressed the need for graduates to serve with excellence and maintain integrity.

“Let the UNIK script be a beacon of hope, showing that quality and ethical service can and must triumph over the corrosion force of corruption that drains our national resources and destroys the quality of public life,” he said.

“We commission you today to be anti-corruption agents by virtue of your professionalism, you must reject the cynical notion that success requires compromise,” Br. Aizire added.

Vice Chancellor Br. Dr. Deogratias Mugema highlighted the university’s innovations, including a solar-powered tricycle and an eco-bike, part of its e-mobility initiatives.

The university has also applied for patents to protect its innovations, Dr. Mugema said.

Among the graduates honored was the late Consolate Apio, a victim of the October 22 car crash on the Kampala-Gulu highway, who received a posthumous Master of Science in Clinical and Psychological Counselling.

One of the highlights of this year’s Benedicto Kiwanuka Memorial Lecture, held on September 19, was the spirited defence of the Judiciary by Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny-Dollo. Justice Owiny-Dollo spent most of the 16 minutes of his response to the keynote address delivered by Mr Francis Gimara, a former president of the Uganda Law Society (ULS), trying to allay fears that the Judiciary under him has been found lacking in courage in the face of pressure from the Executive.

‘One could have talked of courage if it were true that out there is someone, for instance, the Executive, the Head of State, the Minister of Justice, the Attorney General was always breathing on my neck from behind and say, ‘you must write judgment in this case to the right nor to the left.’ Then maybe one would have said I had the courage to defy the President, to defy the Attorney General, to defy the Minister of Justice,’ he argued. Mr Gimara, in a presentation titled, ‘Upholding justice with courage: Advancing the Benedicto Kiwanuka legacy,’ pointed to what he described as ‘a growing recent concern that the courts are losing’ their bravery.

What was the crux of the matter?

Under Justice Owiny-Dollo, Mr Gimara seemed to say, the Judiciary has lost the kind of bravery and judicial independence that was exhibited by the late Benedicto Kiwanuka in September 1972 when he issued a writ of habeas corpus and ordered the release of Daniel Stewart. The Englishman had been found in possession of printed materials that were critical of the Amin regime’s human rights records. Kiwanuka famously ruled thus: ‘The military forces of this country have no powers of arrest of any kind whatsoever.’

It is believed that this act of courage in the face of Amin’s tyrannical rule triggered his abduction and subsequent murder. Kiwanuka was abducted from the High Court premises on September 21, 1972. His remains were never recovered.

Bail difficulties

The latest Benedicto Kiwanuka memorial came at a time when bail has become increasingly hard to come by, with politicians like Dr Kizza Besigye and a number of National Unity Platform (NUP) members caught in the crosshairs. Mr Dan Wandera Ogalo, a constitutional lawyer who has practised law for more than four decades, says this is the first time in the history of the Judiciary that the courts have made it so difficult for suspects to access bail.

‘The practice used to be that you would make an application and the judge would make a ruling there and then. They never used to adjourn for two days to study the application. So this is a new development,’ he said. Mr Asuman Basalirwa, a lawyer who is also the president of the Opposition Justice Forum (Jeema) party, says some of the reasons being advanced as grounds for denial of bail are quite laughable.

‘Bail is in some cases being denied on speculation that you will interfere with witnesses. How can you say that one will interfere with witnesses that they do not know? The suspects do not have influence in society. How then possible is it that they will interfere with witnesses?’ he asks.

What exactly has changed?

Mr Ogalo says the courts seem to have adopted a fundamentally different approach. Previously, he says, the biggest consideration was whether the suspect was a flight risk. He hastens to add that even in such cases, the inclination was to make the conditions stringent, not to deny bail. Mr Basalirwa weighs in, noting that some of the conditions that the courts set for bail are, in some cases, not commensurate with the crime.

‘Look at, for example the financial aspect of bail these days. It’s so prohibitive that even if you are granted bail, you may end up still detained because you cannot afford the money. If somebody is being charged with the embezzlement of Shs5 billion, it is understandable when you make the requirement a little bit high, but why ask for Shs10 million for somebody who has been arrested for wearing a red beret?’ Mr Basalirwa wonders.

In October 2023, the Court of Appeal nullified the criminal trial of Mr Paul Wanyoto and Mr Patrick Mugisha because of blatant violations and infringements on their non-derogable rights and freedoms from torture, cruel, and inhumane and other human rights and freedoms guaranteed under Articles 23, 24, 42 and 44 of the Constitution. The panel of judges led by Justice Fredrick Egonda Ntende set a precedence that the court has to terminate proceedings once suspects prove that they have been the victims of torture. This precedence, however, seems to have been ignored by the courts so far.

The Judiciary’s new approach that Mr Ogalo talks about comes at a time when the institution has for several years now been under pressure from President Museveni to stop granting bail to persons accused of capital offences. Those calls were precipitated by the December 2009 disappearance of the former Mayuge District Chairman, Mr Baker Ikoba Tigawalana, a day after the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court judgment that had absolved him of the murder in January 2003 of a political opponent, Fred Nnume Musiitwa.

During the 16th annual judges conference in 2014, Mr Museveni gave the Judiciary a tongue lashing for claiming that bail is a ‘right’ yet the Constitution says it ‘may be granted.’ On June 14, 2018, Mr Museveni directed the Judiciary and the police to stop releasing murder suspects on bail and bond, respectively, saying issuance of the same to murders suspects was ‘unacceptable’.

‘There are two things I am not going to accept anymore; police bond and bail. I don’t want to hear about them again. Somebody suspected of killing our people and you give them police bond? No way, this is not acceptable,’ Mr Museveni said.

How did the Judiciary respond?

The Judiciary under former Chief Justice Bart Katureebe pushed back. On June 15, 2018, the institution issued a statement indicating that it would not bow to the President’s whims. ‘It’s very simple, the issue of bail is governed by the Constitution and the law. Until the law is amended, bail will be granted or denied in accordance with the Constitution and the law,’ Justice Katureebe said in the press statement, adding that courts presume that all the accused persons, including those facing murder charges, are innocent until proven guilty.

Mr Museveni’s pitch against the issuance of bail took a new dimension following the January 2021 killing of Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga, near his home in Matugga. Abiriga and his brother, Saidi Buga, were shot by two people who were riding on a motorcycle. ‘I have been very soft on these institutions (Judiciary and the police) who are always stepping on us,’ he said.

If the Judiciary’s response in June of 2018 was a display of bravery akin to what Benedicto Kiwanuka mustered in September 1972, the status quo in here and now couldn’t have been more different. Well, at least according to Mr Gimara. In his keynote address, he stated that there are serious questions as to whether the country and justice systems are living up to the late Kiwanuka’s legacy of justice and courage as the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to a fair hearing, the right to access to information, freedom from torture and conscientious freedoms, including freedom of expression ‘continue to be tested by political manoeuvrings and recent events.’

He pointed out that the lack of spine ‘has been especially evident’ particularly ‘regarding the granting of bail to individuals tried before military courts.’

What is the Judiciary’s defence? Mr James Ereemye Jumire Mawanda, its chief publicist, says other considerations also come into play. Justice, he opined, is not only for the accused. ‘We have,’ he added, ‘victims of crime, we have society and communities. Our judicial officers have taken a judicial oath to administer justice to all and the ‘all’ means and includes the accused, the victims, the communities and the society as a whole. That is why a judicial officer will grant or reject the (bail) application.’

Elsewhere, Justice Owiny-Dollo accuses sections of the legal fraternity of misreading the law on bail, insisting that it is not a right. ‘I get amazed that people still make statements as if there’s no jurisprudence on issues of constitutional right to bail. The Constitution says an accused person who seeks bail has the right to apply for bail. That’s the wording of Article 23. Then the Constitution gives the judicial officer before whom someone seeks to be admitted to bail the discretion to determine whether or not to admit such a person to bail. That cannot be called a right,’ he argued.

He added that the same standard applies to the issue of mandatory bail where an accused person has spent the statutory period on remand. Mr Basalirwa concurs with him, but hastens to add that the courts are not approaching the bail applications judiciously. Why would the courts not handle them judiciously? It is difficult to say why, but the biggest fear is that the Judiciary has finally bowed down to pressure from the Executive. That fear is perhaps best captured in one of Mr Gimara’s comments.

‘The concern raised is whether the courts are pandering to the Executive in this matter, and in many political cases,’ he said in his keynote address. While Justice Owiny-Dollo did not agree, Mr Ogalo and Mr Basalirwa are inclined to agree with Mr Gimara. ‘They (Judiciary) has not stood its ground. It is really just a caving in to the President’s continued fight against the grant of bail,’ Mr Basalirwa concludes.

Anita Among’s reelection to Parliament has opened a Pandora’s box, with Opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, saying the Speaker of the 11th Parliament is the beneficiary of exhibition of dark arts. Among was on Thursday elected unopposed as the Bukedea District Woman Representative (DWR) in the 12th Parliament.

Bobi Wine stopped short of saying there was foul play after two aspirants his party intended to have on the ballot were mysteriously unavailable on the final day of nomination of candidates in parliamentary races. The developments mean, just as was the case during the immediate past electoral cycle, Among heads to the House unopposed.

People installed within Among’s sanctum have told Saturday Monitor that Among intends to ramp up her mobilisation of votes for candidate Yoweri Museveni as he looks to extend his presidency. The Opposition say this is only half of the story.

Dark arts?

In every general election cycle, a National Resistance Movement (NRM) party cadre, who isn’t bogged down in their constituency, assigns himself or herself the role of undoing the work that the Opposition has done. This assignment includes organising rallies where the Opposition’s leading presidential candidate has just held their campaigns and parading Opposition supporters alleged to have decamped to the NRM.

During the 2021 election campaigns, it was Mike Mukula, unburdened by choosing not to vie for a parliamentary seat, who assigned himself the role of rocking the boat of Bobi Wine, the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential flag-bearer. Mukula used a helicopter to crisscross eastern and northern Uganda, making what he christened as ‘clandestine’ manoeuvres. Then the NRM’s Vice Chairman for eastern Uganda, Mukula declared his intention to dismantle any semblance of structure that Bobi Wine had put in place.

Mukula’s tactic was to go wherever the NUP presidential candidate had completed campaigning and talk to his agents to decamp to the NRM side. The NRM stalwart was confident that following his manoeuvres, NUP wasn’t going to win any parliamentary seats from West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Sebei, Busoga and Bugisu. The former Soroti Municipality MP’s methods basked in the glory of limiting NUP to only two successful parliamentary victories in eastern Uganda-John Baptist Nambeshe, who won Manjiya County in Bugisu Sub-region and Manjeri Kyebakutika, who won the Jinja City Woman Representative slot.

For the 2026 elections, Among has assigned herself the role of trying to undo the inroads made by the Opposition. After soundly defeating Rebecca Kadaga for the coveted position of the NRM’s Second Female National Vice Chairperson, sources say Among has been ‘under pressure’ to prove that she is a performer. To get the better of Kadaga, whose strength was her seniority, Among styled herself as the great mobiliser. ‘Yes, I’m new, but I come with new ideas and new vibrancy. The mobilisation that I’m doing for this party… I have over 10 Members of Parliament here that I have brought from the Opposition to the NRM, and here they are,’ Among said during the NRM delegates conference held in August.

With Museveni slowing down as any octogenarian would, Among has taken the role of being his chief campaigner. Observers say she has been eager to reach all precincts of the country where her boss can’t reach. Yet to effectively reach every part of this country, sources that preferred anonymity told Saturday Monitor that the outgoing House Speaker doesn’t want to be bothered with any notion of the Opposition in her Bukedea backyard where she has been the DWR for two terms.

It’s in this context that, sources say, all possible challengers to her seat in Bukedea, including Marion Mercy Alupo (NUP), Hellen Odeke Akol (Independent), and Susan Norma Otai (Forum for Democratic Change), found themselves off the voters’ register. NUP described the circumstances as dubious.

Barred

It all started when Zipporah Akol, who works at Parliament, where Among is the Speaker, dragged Alupo, Odeke and Otai to court. She said the three hopefuls should be barred from being nominated as candidates for the Bukedea DWR slot. It was further alleged that none of the three originate from Bukedea. The Electoral Commission (EC) would later file an affidavit in the High Court in support of Akol’s case, confirming that indeed the names of Among’s rivals had been deleted from the register following a recommendation from a tribunal.

‘The Commission, upon review of the tribunal’s decisions, established that no evidence was lodged with the tribunals to challenge its decisions recommending deletion of the first [Alupo], second [Odeke], and third [Otai] respondents during the 10 days of natural justice,’ said Richard Kamugisha Baabo, the EC’s acting secretary.

The three women who were removed denied ever appearing before the said tribunal. ‘To fool or expose themselves, they deleted the names, they called us at the EC office in Kampala, then constituted the committee whose mandate had expired, to probe us,’ Otai explained. While Among’s opponents were chained, she was combing Busoga, which had been covered by Bobi Wine. Once Bobi Wine exited Buyende District, where the Speaker’s husband, Moses Magogo, is a native, Among dashed there telling NRM supporters to start a door-to-door campaign in which they would ask people to vote for Museveni on the grounds that ‘he believes in God.’

‘Ask each person to please support the man who believes in God, President Museveni. I say he believes in God because he assented to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill,’ Among said. Among also went to Bugiri and Namayingo districts, which Museveni lost to Bobi Wine in 2021, telling them to vote yellow-the NRM colour-if they want their leaders to be appointed ministers by Museveni in the next Cabinet. ‘The Speaker [Among] comes from Teso. The ministers come from Teso. They are about five or 10 from Teso. Why, because people from Teso voted for Museveni. Are you ready to give President Museveni your votes so that you get ministers here?’ Among asked the Bugiri voters.

On the offensive

From Bugiri, Among took her crusade to Bugweri, another district in the Busoga Sub-region that Bobi Wine won during the 2021 presidential poll. In an effort to see that Museveni retakes Bugweri, Among brought on board the area’s long-serving legislator, Abdu Katuntu, who promised to spearhead efforts to see that the area is turned to the yellow column. ‘Those who know that I’m their captain should organise quickly such that we meet and strategise on how the president [Museveni] wins this area,’ Katuntu, who is for the second time standing as an Independent, said.

Katuntu also claimed that he had decided to support Museveni because when Bobi WIne campaigned in the district, he allegedly asked voters to throw him out on account of working with the NRM. ‘When he [Bobi Wine] campaigned here, he told voters that he doesn’t like me. So, since he said that he doesn’t like me, then what can I do? I’m left with no option but to go where I’m liked,’ said Katuntu, who has been in the House since 2001, forging alliances with Kadaga before dropping her for Among.

Throwing her weight behind Katuntu to be re-elected means Among is sidelining the official NRM flag-bearer, Sadala Wandera, who has the support of Kadaga. This is not the only sub-plot preoccupying Among’s mind. To curtail her movements, NUP decided to replace Alupo with Florence Asio. ‘Anita Among, using the Electoral Commission and the courts recently had the NUP candidate, the FDC candidate and an Independent candidate removed from the voters’ register in order to block them from running against her in Bukedea,’ Bobi Wine wrote on social media this week.

He added: ‘None of those candidates were ever invited for any tribunal hearing until they were informed that the Parish Tribunal had decided to remove them from the register! While we filed a court case, which is still ongoing, we have this morning unveiled comrade Florence Asio as the NUP candidate for Bukedea Woman MP.’

He concluded: ‘We hope that Among will not shamelessly seek to block her as well. The people of Bukedea now have an opportunity to choose between an internationally sanctioned thief of public funds and a young, vibrant leader who will speak for them.’ Asio, however, disappeared at the 11th hour, with Bobi Wine revealing on Thursday evening that ‘her phone numbers, as well as the phone numbers of the comrades she was travelling with from Soroti to Bukedea for her nomination, were all off!’ To many, this was the stuff of movies. Not Bobi Wine, who whined that ‘shamelessly, after committing all these crimes, Anita Among is chest-thumping that she is unopposed!’

Sour grapes?

Mr Chris Obore, the director of communications at Parliament, told Saturday Monitor that NUP should be advised that trying to capture State power through ‘hateful and tribal theatrics’ is unhealthy for Uganda’s national cohesion. ‘Let them also be advised that Anita Among, whom they hate so much, is cherished in Bukedea,’ Obore said. ‘They should appreciate that the NRM is strong and growing stronger in Bukedea and the Teso Sub-region in general. If they want to make political inroads into Teso and other areas, they should leave hatred and blackmail in Kampala and approach other places with honesty and humility.’

He added that NUP has invested heavily in hating and blackmailing the Speaker, yet thousands of women in Bukedea have allowed her to go unopposed because ‘she is their political treasure.’

Mr Obore further added that even NUP’s own candidates in Teso asked the Speaker for forgiveness, confessing that the party had deceived them and only taught them to hate. ‘They informed her that they were summoned to NUP headquarters and asked to pay for their own nomination fees, which most of them refused. Only one candidate in Bukedea was nominated after contributing one million shillings to NUP,’ he said.

According to Obore, the Speaker forgave them and advised them to either join the NRM or learn to avoid ‘politics of insults and blackmail.’

Mr Julius Mucunguzi, the spokesperson of the Uganda Electoral Commission (EC), said during or after elections, any person with a complaint should petition the EC for intervention.

He explained that the Commission has a clear process to handle electoral grievances. ‘If anybody has a complaint, he or she should petition the EC. The Commission will receive the petition and make a determination after hearing from all the parties involved,’ Mr Mucunguzi said. He advised all aggrieved candidates and political parties to follow the lawful procedures and channel their concerns through the EC rather than resorting to public confrontations.

A notable and growing trend in East African football is the increasing number of talented players from Uganda’s West Nile region who are opting to represent the South Sudan national football team, affectionately known as the “Bright Star.”

This cross-border movement of talent, driven by a complex mix of geographical proximity, heritage ties, and potentially more attractive professional offers, has become a significant talking point and presents both a challenge and a call to action for the Ugandan football fraternity.

The West Nile region of Uganda shares a deep cultural and historical connection with South Sudan, with many communities and families straddling the border.

This shared heritage provides a natural pathway for players to secure South Sudanese nationality and eligibility under Fifa rules, which permit players to represent a country if they or their biological parents/grandparents were born there, or after a continuous residence period.

This relationship has been strategically leveraged by the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) as they aggressively build and strengthen their national team with experienced and talented players, many of whom have honed their skills in the established Ugandan football league system.

The list of players with Ugandan origins, particularly from the West Nile region, who have been called up by South Sudan is a testament to this exodus. Some of the most recognizable names include; Tito Okello (formerly KCCA and Vipers) and Rashid Toha who was a defender at Arua Hill.

Others are Rashid Okocha, Geriga Atendele, Ivan Wani, Gadafi Wahab, Alfred Leku, Bida Ezra (Data Elly) and Francis Onekalit.

The continuous departure of talent has significant implications for the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (Fufa) and the country’s football ecosystem

The immediate and most apparent impact is the weakening of the pool from which the Uganda Cranes (Uganda’s national team) can select players.

The West Nile region is a traditional source of robust, high-calibre players, and losing them means a reduction in depth and quality for the national team and, by extension, the local leagues.

Ugandan clubs and academies invest time and resources in nurturing these young talents. When they switch allegiance, Uganda loses the potential return on this investment, both in terms of national team contribution and potential transfer revenue.

The influx of Ugandan-trained players directly improves the competitiveness of South Sudan, turning a less formidable neighbour into a stronger regional rival. This was evident when the two teams recently faced off in competitive fixtures.

This exodus serves as a stark signal that the Ugandan system may not be doing enough to identify, fast-track, and competitively compensate its best young talents. Players will naturally gravitate towards opportunities that offer better financial packages, regular international visibility, and a clear pathway to the senior national team.

Addressing this challenge requires a multi-faceted approach from Fufa, clubs, and the government.

Fufa and regional football associations must enhance talent identification and development programs in border regions like West Nile. This includes funding regional academies and ensuring a clear, appealing pathway from local leagues to the national team structure.

While financial parity with global standards is challenging, Fufa must ensure competitive and prompt compensation, allowances, and bonuses for national team players to make the Uganda Cranes a financially attractive option.

Promising young players must be integrated into the national team setup early (e.g., U-20 or Chan team) to earn their first caps. This is a crucial strategy to “tie” players to the country before they are eligible to switch allegiance, as per Fifa rules.

While some players switch allegiance, Fufa could also focus on scouting and integrating Ugandan talents playing in other regions and the diaspora who may not have been previously considered, diversifying the talent pool.

Encouraging and enforcing higher standards of professionalism, better infrastructure, and competitive salaries within the Uganda Premier League will help retain players in the local ecosystem for longer, giving the national team selectors more time to work with them.

The allure of the Bright Star is a legitimate consequence of proximity, shared culture, and ambition.

For Uganda, it is an opportunity to re-evaluate its talent management strategy and ensure that its brightest prospects feel compelled, both emotionally and professionally, to stay and wear the cherished red, yellow, and black of the Uganda Cranes.

Kampala International University (KIU) will graduate about 2,500 students during its 32nd graduation ceremony on Saturday at the KIU Western Campus in Ishaka-Bushenyi District.

Vice Chancellor Professor Muhammed Ngoma told reporters on Friday that this will be the second major graduation hosted at the Western Campus, highlighting the university’s commitment to ‘bring celebrations of academic excellence closer to our regional communities.’

President Museveni is expected to grace the ceremony.

‘As we celebrate our 32nd graduation ceremony and 25 years of existence, we are glad that, as a university of science and technology, we have played a key role as a major driver of the country’s social and economic transformation,’ Prof Ngoma said.

He said KIU’s founding philosophy of community engagement has guided its efforts to develop practical solutions to local challenges.

‘Our research is not kept on shelves. We disseminate it and hold annual research conferences where we invite stakeholders, including policy makers, to take up some findings and contribute to policy formulation,’ he noted.

Prof Ngoma added that the university operates an innovation and technology hub, where collaboration with community members has produced several market-approved products.

He called on the government to support private institutions with innovation funds, providing technical assistance, networking opportunities, and financial backing to develop and commercialize new technologies.

KIU has also deepened international collaborations. In partnership with Utrecht University in the Netherlands and Junior Achievement Uganda (JAU), the university will host an international summer school from October 31 to November 9, 2025 at both KIU campuses in Uganda.

‘We shall host thirteen students and four professors from the Netherlands,’ Prof Ngoma said. The summer school will be held under the theme, ‘Bridging continents; African-European Youths Collaborating for a Diverse and Digital Future.’

He said the initiative aims to strengthen cross-continental learning and innovation, preparing graduates to address contemporary challenges in technology, business, and community development.

Paul Biya, president of Cameroon for 43 (long) years, is 92 years old. As I write this column, mid-week, he is about to be declared the winner in the latest cycle of presidential elections. Barring dramatic street action or the random course of nature drawing the curtains on him, he will have another seven years, taking him to 50 years in power at close to 100 years of age! Biya’s longevity in power is only bettered by Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang, ruler since 1979. His son is the heir apparent.

There is no guarantee that if Biya left power, either through the ballot or the streets, Cameron will be better governed, or that its citizens will have better lives. In fact, quite the opposite is likely. If he leaves in a carefully choreographed manner, as happened in Angola and Zimbabwe in 2017, where presidents in both countries had ruled for nearly 40 years, there is a high possibility of continuity rather than radical change – his system of rule will endure without him. This has been the story of post-independence Africa. Changes of leaders and governments, but scarcely disruption in the existing structures. No revolutionary overthrow of existing political systems and social structures.

Public anger is often directed at the ruler, not the system. Rapturous celebrations ensue every time a president is forced out of power either by street protests or military putsch, or a combination of popular uprising and military intervention, as happened most recently in Madagascar last week. There is little focus, however, on whether replacing an aloof, corrupt, and inefficient incumbent president with an army colonel who seizes power in the shadows of popular uprising represents real change; often, it doesn’t.

In Uganda, after 40 years of one-man rule, there is revulsion and charged clamour for change. We have a decayed and dysfunctional political system, pervasive inefficiency, blatant official corruption, impunity in the exercise of State power, and personal profiteering at the expense of the public good. A distorted, in fact, broken regime of politics.

Yet, popular anger is directed at the potentate – the ruler at the top. It is easy to see why Mr Museveni is the singular target of blame and public indignation: he is an imperial president. His hand is in every corner that matters. He exercises limitless power in every consequential aspect and agency of government. Were he to leave power, even if his replacement is evidently worse or at best a continuation of the same, wild street celebrations will erupt despite his departure being only of the man at the top and not an overhaul of his system of rule.

As some perceptive analysts, better brains than your columnist, have aptly noted, Museveni will go, no question, but Musevenism and Pax-Musevenica will likely endure unless there is a deliberate movement to dismantle the system of rule he entrenched and presided over. To be sure, he inherited at least parts of this system when he took power in 1986, but perpetuated all manner of ills despite the lofty promise of a fundamental change. It is easy to make grand promises in the moment of triumphalism and exhilaration, but power has a way of corrupting and entrapping those wielding it. Mr Museveni fought a war on a platform of dismantling the colonial state inherited at independence. He pledged to bring about a totally new political order. Remarkably, though, he has done an excellent job reproducing that very colonial state.

Top leadership in a country matters a great deal, especially in ours lacking well-established and functional public institutions. But leadership at the top is not all. Political leaders overrate their abilities to change society; they over-promise and assign to themselves tasks beyond their pay grade. The citizens, on their part, exaggerate how much a government of political elites and bureaucrats can do to improve overall socioeconomic conditions and, especially, achieve structural transformation.

The truth is that a country’s fate, present and future, the wellbeing of citizens, and collective prosperity of a nation, are outcomes of society in its entirety, including leadership at different levels, local and national, institutional and individual, corporate and community. There are examples around the world of visionary leaders who engineered socioeconomic transformation, set the pillars of long-term stability, and oversaw a march from poverty to prosperity of their people, but they did so within specific sociocultural contexts. Individual innovation and ingenuity, collective productivity and quality of national output, the ethos and attitudes that define a people and feed into and fuel the ambition to climb out of poverty or demand better government, are the sorts of ingredients an individual leader has very little control over.

Africans rightly desire leadership change in vain hope of a socioeconomic turnaround. Instead of the promised prosperity, however, disillusionment and disappointment often follow. Changing leaders can be the easier feat; a tougher task is that of structural change and propelling prosperity.