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The Parliament budget is scheduled to climb from the Shs918 billion ring-fenced for expenditure in the current Financial Year (FY) to Shs1.5 trillion in FY2029/2030. Projections seen by Sunday Monitor outline major drivers of the budget to include emoluments, and associated benefits such as medical insurance of lawmakers.

Multi-year commitments under the construction of the new chamber of Parliament and participation in the annual East African Community Inter-Parliamentary Games are also reasons for the budget’s upward growth. These increments are laid out in the Strategic Plan for Parliament 2025-2030 as authored and released by Parliament on September 26. The plan, a copy of which Sunday Monitor has seen, was unveiled this past week in Parliament’s Conference Hall in the presence of Mr Adolf Mwesige Kasaija, the Clerk to Parliament; heads of departments in the House and other staff members.

Speaker Anita Among had her speech delivered by Ms Esther Afoyochan, the Zombo District Woman Representative. Budget plans of the House show that expenditure projections for FY2026/2027 stand at Shs970 billion, Shs1.1 trillion for FY2027/2028 and Shs1.3 trillion for FY2028/2029. Parliament’s wage Bill alone will jump from the current Shs117 billion for FY2025/2026 to Shs142.272 billion in FY2029/2030. FY2026/2027, which will formally usher in the 12th Parliament, has its wage expenditures locked in at Shs123 billion.

Subsequent FYs will also witness steady rises-Shs129 billion in 2027/2028 and Shs135 billion in 2028/2029. The high projections come amid cries of salary disparities among government workers. The Uganda National Teachers’ Union (Unatu) is currently pressing the government to revise upwards the salaries of teachers of the arts and humanities to match figures that their counterparts teaching sciences get.

Dismayed

Mr Timothy Chemonges, the executive director of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), expressed his dismay at the House’s growing expenditure budget.

‘This kind of jump,’ he observed, ‘is difficult to justify, especially at a time when the country is tightening its belt.’ He added: ‘I recognise that Parliament needs resources to do its work effectively, legislation, oversight, representation and appropriation all come at a cost, but such a sharp increase raises legitimate questions about priorities and accountability.’

Mr Chemonges also noted that ‘Ugandans want to see a Parliament that’s efficient and people-centred; not one that appears to be expanding its budget faster than its performance.’ Growth in the institution’s funding, he further observed, ‘should reflect clear improvements in service, transparency, and the quality of representation, not just bigger administrative or recurrent costs.’ The August House’s policy wonks have in the same strategic plan indicated that the finances so far mapped out could be insufficient.

Already, the current FY2025/2026 had a Shs2.6 billion slash off from the Shs120 billion that was anticipated in document plans authored by the National Planning Authority (NPA). Overall, the House’s budget for FY2025/2026 was shorn of Shs201 billion. There are also similar deductions for budgets of FY2026/2027 (Shs215 billion), FY2027/2028 (Shs248 billion), FY2028/2029 (Shs122 billion) and FY2029/2030 (Shs3.3 billion). Owing to this, Parliament has already expressed fears that these cuts will adversely affect targets set for the respective years.

This, House officials warn, will leave Parliament with little choice but to press the government to mobilise more funds to plug the funding gaps.

Parliament also through its Commission plans to ‘strengthen mechanisms for attracting funding from development partners.’

Scramble for space

Chief among the House’s plans is the move to complete the construction of its new chamber. Parliament reasons that the House chamber, erected in 1960 to hold 82 members, now struggles to accommodate the 556 members of the 11th Parliament. The current building has only 12 committee rooms in which all the 29 committees of Parliament have to operate business. ‘[This implies] that some Committees do not hold meetings as and when necessary, due to lack of seating space,’ the document outlining the strategic plan going forward reads in part.

Yet the speedy construction of the chambers that had been anticipated when construction of the same commenced on July 27, 2017 has since slowed down.

When it picks up pace, the strategic plan indicates that the construction will gobble up at least Shs220 billion of the taxpayer’s money.

‘The chamber that had originally been targeted to be completed on July 27, 2020 stands at 44.9 percent as at September 1, 2024,’ the plan reads in part.

It added: ‘There is need to expedite construction of the new Chamber in order to avail a conducive environment for effective legislation, oversight and representation in line with the Strategic Plan of Parliament FY2024/2025-2029/2030 and NDP IV LOR Programme priorities.’

The new building is also scheduled to avail office space for all lawmakers, putting an end to a spell that has seen the House shoehorn its staff and lawmakers in Kingdom Kampala, a commercial property. At the start of 11th Parliament, Mr Chris Obore, the Director of Communications and Public Affairs, revealed that ‘the Parliamentary Commission will spend Shs9.8 billion per year for 9,030 square metres within Kingdom Kampala.’ He went to indicate that this would come with a parking space of 300 vehicles.

Parliament also rents space on Victoria’s Chambers, Development House and Queens Chambers. Besides cutting on such costs, the five-year strategy of the Fourth National Development Plan (NDPIV) also shows that Parliament intends to promote public participation in legislative processes, enhance its brand awareness, strengthen accountability and transparency of the institution, among others.

Need to be frugal

Economists and policy analysts that Sunday Monitor sounded out greeted news of the House’s expenditure increments with a mixture of horror and anger.

Mr Eric Odongo, an economist, told us that, whereas representation is necessary, the cost of funding the legislative assembly should be economically affordable.

‘The plan recognises that one of the threats is the public mistrust of the institution, but comparing with their own recognised cost drivers you can see that it is their benefits-East African Games, among others,’ Mr Odongo said in an interview, adding ‘To the struggling taxpayer, the big elephant in the room is: can our public purse finance this plan without causing further scars? Representation and oversight are key, but it should be economically affordable.’

Consequently, the economist recommends that House expenditures be aligned with the current financial situation in Uganda. ‘Under the programme approach over 80 percent of resources in the legislation, oversight and representation programme are in parliament alone and yet the same function happens at district level too where significant service delivery happens. In my view the plan should prioritise the unit cost of being represented in the sight of a taxpayer,’ Mr Odongo said.

Mr Chemonges concurs. He told Sunday Monitor thus: ‘The justification that the growth is mainly to cover MPs’ salaries and allowances, this is where the real problem lies. When the bulk of additional funding goes into salaries and allowances, it sends the wrong message, especially when sectors like education and health are struggling to provide basic services. It tells citizens that leadership has become more about comfort than service. We have teachers who cannot access their pay on time and hospitals that lack essential medicines. In such a context, increasing MPs’ benefits looks tone deaf.’

He therefore opines that ‘leadership should be about sacrifice and stewardship. Parliament should be setting the tone for prudent spending, not competing for a bigger share of the pie when ordinary Ugandans are tightening theirs.’

Only one journalist-moreover without a camera-attended John Munduga’s requiem mass on September 15. No one represented the government, and after Fr Marvin Lukyamuzi’s service, only two speeches were allowed. Not that people didn’t know about Munduga’s death. They just didn’t understand the man, arguably Uganda’s most gifted boxer ever.

Munduga, who slipped to death in his humble Naguru Go-Down hood, on September 13, aged 64, deserved more praise than we offered.

The requiem could not be in a better place than St Jude Church-where he was baptised as a child in the 60s-on the same campus as his primary school, in Naguru, his hood as a child and when he reverted after his American and European adventures. Still, many of his kith and kin didn’t show up for the Monday morning mass. Or the seven-hour journey to Media, Koboko, where he was buried.

The renowned John is Mugabi, the Beast, but few know that Munduga was not only his childhood friend, but also his sparring partner when both were under the legendary promoter Mickey Duff’s stable.

‘Mugabi lacked the discipline of serious training. And people don’t know that it’s Munduga who stretched him and brought out the best of him during sparring,’ their mutual friend John Bosco Waigo told me.

At some point, these namesakes and knockout artists shared world title dreams, but after both lost their most important fights in 1986, their legacies took opposite paths in ways hard to fathom.

The Breland setback

We forgot Munduga who knitted a 24-0 (18 KOs) record from Germany to USA until his agonising TKO loss to Mark Breland in June 1986 at the Sands Casino Hotel in New Jersey.

Prior, Munduga was among the top ten contenders for the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title and the WBC junior-middleweight title.

Meanwhile, Breland, two years younger, was a man on his own mission. Arguably America’s greatest amateur boxer of all-time, he had capped his stellar amateur career of 110-1 (73 KOs) with welterweight gold at the 1984 Olympics.

Now as a professional, with 12 straight wins, Breland was rated as “the next Sugar Ray Leonard.” He didn’t match the billing. But a year after stopping Munduga in the sixth of 10 rounds, he clinched the WBA world title, lost it, won it again and retained it multiple times until he lost it again to Aaron Davis in 1990.

And he sits among Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Joe Frazier in the USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame. But what if Munduga had defeated him? Well, those are might-have-beens.

Amateur peak

We forgot a man who dedicated his entire life to boxing since the age of 11, at KCC Boxing Club, almost until his demise.

A man who dominated the local amateur scene before conquering Europe.

A man arguably Uganda’s best amateur in the late 70s. A man who tempted legendary coach Peter Sseruwagi to bend the rules and summon him to the national team before he was 18.

A man who won bronze on his international debut-at the King’s Cup in Thailand-where his seniors Vicky Byarugaba and James Ochaya bagged gold.

In January 1978, Munduga won gold at the Uganda-Poland Duals in Kampala but missed a medal at the 1978 All-Africa Games in Algiers, where Byarugaba won gold, and Lodovico Owiny got bronze.

But in November, Munduga avenged with gold at the Feliks Stamm Memorial tournament in Warsaw, Poland, his first of three victories coming against Cuba’s Jose Luis Rios. He also bagged the best young boxer award.

In February 1979, Munduga and Adroni Butambeki were the only Ugandans, among 11, who won their bouts in the Germany-Uganda Duals in Schwerin.

At the Poland-Uganda Duals in Warsaw, Munduga again won, alongside three Ugandans, when the likes of Mugabi, Odwori, etc. lost. And it was no surprise when he retained his Felix Stamm gold in November.

So, how did we forget our most in-form boxer ahead of the Moscow 1980 Olympics?

Is it because his Moscow campaign ended prematurely in his second bout against Iraqi Farouk Jawad? But who didn’t fail except Mugabi, who got silver?

Ugandan fighter syndrome?

Munduga was never the same after that Breland knockout. But he is not the only Ugandan foreign-based fighter who struggled after a high profile defeat.

Winning the WBC title three years after that punishing defeat to Marvin Hagler can exonerate Mugabi. But clearly, he was no longer the Beast that had knocked out 26 opponents before Hagler stopped him in March 1986.

After losing his WBA junior-middleweight title to Sugar Ray Leonard in June 1981, Ayub Kalule won 10 of his last 13 bouts, but never regained his best shape and again lost the challenge for WBA title to Davey Moore in 1982.

As Kalule’s star was dimming, another Ugandan, Mustapha Wasajja, was rising. At 24-0, he was on the verge of greatness. But after losing the WBA light heavyweight title shot to defending champion Michael Spinks by TKO in the sixth round, in February 1982, he was done. He lost his next two fights and retired with lots of unfulfilled dreams.

Enter Arthur Serwano, whose career was virtually ended by that tragic first-minute knockout by Roy Jones Jr in 1992. The former IBF USBA super welterweight champ won just three of his last seven bouts, ending in 1996, aged 31.

My friend Sharif Bogere cannot be missed from this list. Arguably Munduga’s best student, Bogere was coasting in Vegas, with a clean 23-0 record when he met Cuban Richar Abril for the WBA Lightweight title in March 2013.

During a middle round, Bogere re-injured his Achilles tendon which partly cost him his first world title shot.

After surgery, Bogere would return a year later and won all his nine bouts. But the Lion never roared closer to any title, again.

Despite those career shocks, we still celebrated those gallant fighters, except Munduga and Serwano. But why?

Victim of own privacy?

Like Kalule and Serwano, Munduga preferred a private life. Thanks to his world championship status at amateur and professional levels, Kalule is duly documented. But Munduga and Serwano were unduly forgotten.

Should they have tried to rebrand beyond the ring? Serwano did. After failing to revive his boxing career, despite relocating to Nevada in 2000, he studied aviation engineering in Georgia, a job he did until Parkinson’s disease shackled him in 2020 and finished him in March 2024.

The job earned him a decent post-ring life. But never the fame he once had as the Jesus Kid. Sadly, he’s only remembered for his KO defeat to Jones Jr. Neither famous in the US nor in Uganda.

Is it because he avoided Uganda since his exile in 1985? That even when he visited in 2016 nobody noticed? Maybe not. Because after surrendering his American dream, Munduga stopped over in Europe, before reverting to Naguru Go-Down in the early 90s.

Having lost his investments like K and K, a discotheque he co-owned with Dick Katende and Mugabi, Munduga resorted to shaping dreams of younger boxers. 2004 Olympian Jolly Katongole and Nevada-based Bogere are the most popular products of his Kololo High School stable that had previously groomed Godfrey Nyakana, 1988 Olympian Waigo, etc.

But for nearly three decades, Munduga coached countless boxers. Jackson Asiku, Peter Okello, Adam Kassim, Sam Rukundo, etc. Many live large in Europe, Asia and America.

‘Whatever I do as a coach, whether technical or managerial, I learnt it from Munduga,’ said Sam Kabugo, who was in Senior Four in 1994 when Munduga became Kololo’s coach, after Israel Mwanje died in 1993.

Kabugo has coached at Kololo and the national level. Others, like Alex Mangeni, became ring officials. But their mentor? We didn’t care.

Maybe, Munduga didn’t help his own cause, his friend Waigo thinks. He would take boxers to national amateur championships or professional fights. But it was easier finding a needle in a haystack than a single media quote from Munduga. Sporting trainers, baggy trousers, loose t-shirts and a cap, he hardly drew any attention. And he liked it that way. His lanky frame never got close to the corners, ‘because despite his knowledge, he lacked the coaching certification,’ Waigo, a seasoned coach in England, told me.

Hence, Munduga’s credit went to his deputies, most of whom his students.

‘No one like him’

‘Coach Munduga made me what I am. The other coaches just supplemented his work. But without him, I wouldn’t be here,’ Moses Mukiibi, a professional boxer told me. ‘And whenever I got money from a fight, I bought him stuff, first thing. He’s like my father.’

When Munduga’s health deteriorated, after being diagnosed with acute diabetes, Mukiibi was the first to tell others, ‘because we were always in touch. He wanted me to fight in America.there will be no one like him.’

Muhammed Ali Sserunkuma shares the feeling. ‘He taught me how to throw the first jab; everything I know about boxing.’

Skills aside, Mukiibi said, Munduga emphasised discipline. ‘And he commanded respect from everybody in the club. Just one word of his instantly stopped an altercation.’

Many could leave Kololo for bigger clubs like KBC. But Munduga didn’t lose contact with his students, even those abroad. ‘He was particular about style,’ Sserunkuma said. ‘Before I fought Rohan Date in Dubai, he told me ‘Always keep your eyes on your opponent, that’s your ultimate guard.’ And be the ring boss, the rest will be easy. I lost the fight on points but everyone knew I won.’

Sserunkuuma also learnt mind games. ‘Coach said threatening a KO in a particular round, saying words the opponent couldn’t understand while in the ring, can affect the opponent’s focus to your advantage.’ Didn’t such a man deserve more respect?

Dream that never was

Breland broke Munduga’s nose, his terrific run, and his love for boxing. But 20 months later, Munduga returned to Florida, daring to dream again. He had retreated to Uganda when he and his wife Agnes Makuza welcomed their second child-Francisco Delgado Munduga-in May 1987.

Preparing to face Darrin “Schoolboy” Van Horn in February 1988, Munduga reviewed the Breland debacle. ‘From the second round, I could not see good, you know. So I just went through up to sixth round.’

Going into the Breland fight, promoter Duff added, Munduga had ‘all the skills and the ability necessary to win a world title.’

And even ahead of the Van Horn encounter, Munduga expressed some hope for a title shot.

He also downplayed his long absence: ‘Guys retire for four to five years but return and win their fights,’ he said in a YouTube video. “So I’m feeling okay for the fight. No Problem. I win this one, which I should, then I will be ready to fight for a world title anytime,’ he vowed.

Promoter Duff was equally confident: ‘I wouldn’t take this fight or any other fight if I’m not sure I’m gonna show up to win.’

Van Horn was a student at the University of Kentucky, and the match happened at Hilton Hotel, Frankfort, on the university campus.

Trained and managed by his father, at 19, he was seven years younger than Munduga, but had more ring experience and a superior record-unbeaten in 34 (21 KOs).

Both traded leather with admirable speed, precision and mobility. Then at the start of the seventh round, one of the commentators warned: ‘We’ve entered the moment where we have to worry about ring rust.’ Van Horn had defeated Joe Summers by unanimous decision in the past two months. But Munduga had not fought in 14 months since defeating Alvaro Granillo in December 1986.

The commentators’ worries were valid. Munduga landed some good shots but towards the last minute of the seventh round, Van Horn retaliated with lethal body shots and uppercuts that sent Munduga to the ropes. He gave him no breather, poking his ribs and jaws until the referee intervened. Munduga, back against the ropes, didn’t go down. But the ref said: enough.

The Schoolboy won the junior-middleweight bout by a seventh-round TKO. The following year, he won the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title.

Meanwhile, that was Munduga’s last fight in the US. One fight in Germany and two more in Belgium were futile shots at redemption. He quit before he turned 29.

Present father

I had always wondered if Munduga had any children, until Francis, who follows Sharon Katende Munduga, and Andrew Cohen Muhenda, were introduced during the service.

Due to his financial struggles, you would pardon Munduga for being an absent father. But he wasn’t.

‘He was the best father. He gave me everything. We used to play with him, even boxing even though I was a small boy,’ Muhenda, a UPDF private, aged 35, told me, his eyes red and teary.

‘He was my best friend; often called to check on me. One time, he called and asked: are you married? I said ‘not yet.’ He asked ‘what are you waiting for?’ Now I have a child.’

Francis, 38, an accountant, remembers his father as ‘a very funny man, whose jokes made everyone around him laugh.’ A man with a good heart, ‘who pushed us, and our cousins to higher education.’

Munduga’s siblings were the first beneficiaries. ‘It was his money that paid our school fees,’ his sister Jane Bamu told me.

Francis told me that Munduga fondly spoke about life with Mugabi in America. ‘Dad’s biggest regret was missing a medal at the Olympics.’

But Munduga didn’t stress over money. ‘He is someone who got Shs10,000 and gave you Shs9000. From childhood, he told me ‘my son, never be obsessed with money.’

Francis knew his father’s passion for coaching, which even took him to Rwanda in the early 2000s, was endless. ‘I wish I constructed him a gym where he would continue his coaching work.’

Legends’ nod

Asked about the best African boxer Duff ever worked with, the legendary promoter quickly said Munduga. It triggered debate: not Mugabi, Lottie Mwale, or Boza-Edwards? Many, including ex-world champ Lloyd Honeyghan, wondered.

‘But Duff told us that while others were hard punchers and won big, Munduga was the most technically gifted,’ Waigo reiterated a story he first shared when we visited veteran administrator Celestine Mindra at his Luzira home in May.

‘Munduga’s technical ability is what made him a knockout artist. His only problem was a weak jaw. He couldn’t take a punch,’ Waigo explained.

John Siryakibbe, another KCC BC product and two-time Olympian, said: ‘Munduga inspired me into boxing. He made it look easy. He could jab, dance, feint, and hook with a lot of ease.’

Sseruwagi, one of Africa’s greatest coaches, lauded Munduga as ‘the most talented I ever coached.’ Sadly, that’s the man we ignored!

Place of Birth: Naguru Quarters

Born: January 15, 1961

Died: September 13, 2025

Age: 64

Father: Gilda Yobuta

Mother: Regina Adiye

Children: Sharon Munduga, Francis Delgado Munduga and Andrew Cohen Muhenda

Buried: Media, Koboko

Kamiyati Naigaga is starting to live up to promise.

The Kampala Queens striker has now scored two crucial goals in two games to earn four points for the defending champions in the 2025/26 Finance Trust Bank Fufa Women Super League (FTBFWSL).

Naigaga followed up the other weekend’s vital equalizer against Kawempe Muslim by scoring a stoppage time winner on Saturday as they came from behind to beat Makerere University 2-1 at MTN Omondi Stadium in Lugogo on Saturday.

Makerere captain Josephine Ndagire headed in a 3rd minute goal before the crowd could even warm their seats. Allen Nassazi was fouled by KQ’s Zambian debutant Square Maiwase and U-20 women’s national team defender Hasifah Patricia Namboozo delivered a delicate freekick for Ndagire to score a free header.

KQ, which had also handed a debut to Maiwase’s compatriot Precious Phiri in midfield, picked momentum gradually and stretched Makerere’s press and midfield but the defence which also had Maria Gorett Nabbanja, Phionah Catherine Namukose, and Winnie Nakanwangi held things together for the first half.

Just after the restart, Makerere goalkeeper Grace Nassande conceded a cheap corner and Catherine Nagadya took it quickly before Makerere could set up. Joanitah Ainembabazi, who had earlier come on for Maiwase at the halfway mark, made no mistake with her free header to equalize in the 48th minute.

The game looked to be headed nowejre when Ainembabazi turned provider. She fed the ball into Naigaga, who still had work to do to get past Namukose and Namboozo before shooting past Nassande for the winner.

“For us to come back and win was a good show of character from the girls,” KQ assistant coach Sharon Kizza said in the aftermath.

This coming weekend, KQ travel to Wakiso to face Rines, who were involved in yet another 0-0 draw – this time with Asubo.

“Unlike in the game against Makerere where the girls made some defensive mistakes, today we were solid at the back. We also created chances but failed to take them. That is something we need to rectify before the next game,” Rines’ assistant coach Ismail Mukiibi said.

Needed a scare

However, KQ’s main anticipated rivals for title Kawempe also needed a scare to get in groove.

After a goalless first half, Brenda Atwani scored for Olila High School immediately after the restart.

Kawempe took 20 minutes to find the equalizer through Shadia Nabirye but 10 minutes after that, they were 3-1 up. Agnes Nabukenya scored in the 68th minute to make it 2-1 then new signing Latifah Nakasi opened her account of the season in the 76th minute for a 3-1 win.

For Kawempe, the season is about small gains as they have earned four points from the games where they earned just one point last season.

FTBFWSL RESULTS

Kampala Queens 2-1 Makerere University

Rines SS 0-0 Asubo

Olila HS 1-3 Kawempe Muslim

She Maroons 0-0 She Corporate

St. Noa 3-2 Lady Doves

Uganda Martyrs 2-2 Amus College

As you read this, Uganda’s Oscar Selection Committee is yet to announce Uganda’s entry or submission for the 2026 Academy Awards in the Best International Film category. This category is the only one at the awards where films not made in, or exhibited in the US, get a chance to compete for the biggest prize in the film industry.

However, at the end of the show, most of the time, if not all the time, the film that walks away with the statue is one whose producers managed to take it to America’s festival circuit and later gained a cult following through extensive Oscar campaigns in the US. If you care to follow, you would know that the local selection committee has, over the years, made only one selection: Tembele, a film by director and producer Morris Mugisha.

This was the first time a Ugandan film was fully submitted after the dramatic withdrawal of Kony: Order From Above in the years prior. Uganda has, however, had representation at the Oscars in other ways, most notably Bobi Wine: The People’s President, which was nominated for Best Documentary Film. That nomination made one of its directors, Moses Bwayo, the first Ugandan to receive both Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.

At the moment, there are a couple of films one could expect to make the cut as Uganda’s submission. But there’s a catch for both of them. One of these is Matt Bish’s Janani, a biopic about Bishop Janani Luwum, who was assassinated during Idi Amin’s regime. The other contender is Hassan Mageye’s Kimote. Both films are revered for their production values and boundary-pushing, but neither spent more than four days in cinemas-yet a film is required to screen for at least seven days to qualify for submission. Beyond that, while Janani may have been made in more than one language, it is predominantly told in English.

As Ugandan film enthusiasts wait in anticipation of which film could represent the country, different African countries have already begun announcing their submissions. The truth is, most of them have been announcing that they are not selecting any film for next year’s Oscars. Powerhouses such as Nigeria-whose Nollywood is billed as the biggest industry on the continent-and Kenya have already communicated that they are not submitting films. Other countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon, Rwanda (which got its selection committee this year), and Ghana, among others, are yet to declare their stand-at least by the time of writing this.

That doesn’t mean the continent has been left out. By the time of this writing, South Africa, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia had all made submissions.

South Africa is not new to the Best International Film category. In 2006, Gavin Hood’s Tsotsi won Best Foreign Film, back when the category was still called by that name. A year earlier, they had a nomination with Darrell Roodt’s Yesterday. Their most recent success came in 2018 when John Trengove’s The Wound made the shortlist.

For next year’s Academy Awards, South Africa has submitted The Heart Is a Muscle by Imran Hamdulay, a crime thriller that follows a man whose five-year-old son goes missing at a barbecue. The father’s frantic response sets off a chain of events that unearths secrets he hoped would remain hidden. Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, however, looks well positioned to make the shortlist and perhaps even secure a nomination. The film, according to Screen Daily, dramatises the true story of a six-year-old Palestinian girl’s call to Red Crescent volunteers while trapped in a car under fire from Israeli forces.

This story is not only relevant but timely-almost a call to action. It wouldn’t be surprising if the film secures nominations beyond Best International Film.

It is produced by Tunisia’s MIME Films and France’s Tanit Films, alongside producer Nadim Cheikhrouha, Odessa Rae, and Jim Wilson. The film recently gained notoriety when Hollywood heavyweights Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Jonathan Glazer joined as executive producers.

Other African submissions so far include Egypt’s Happy Birthday, Morocco’s Called Málaga, and Senegal’s Demba. Senegal, now a favorite in cinema circles, only began submitting films to the Oscars in 2018-a year before Uganda. Since then, it has been shortlisted three times out of six entries. Demba, directed by Mamadou Dia, is his second submission after Nafi’s Father in 2021. Demba follows a man struggling with grief and depression as the anniversary of his wife’s death approaches, but who finds solace in reconnecting with his estranged son.

The storylines across the continent are diverse, and since submissions are still underway, more exciting films are expected. Will Africa get a nomination once the announcement is made next year? For now, only the buzz can tell.

Bank of Uganda, the overall kings of the 2024 Annual Bankers Sports Gala, are plotting to defend their ultimate prize by picking valuable points in different sports disciplines at the 2025 edition.

In the CEO Golf Challenge at the Uganda Golf Club, for instance, despite missing out on the men’s gold medal, BoU gathered 138 points-the highest total-to win discipline.

In the men’s category, Stanbic Bank’s Samuel Bulenzi took gold with 42 points, BoU’s Kenneth Egesa took silver with 39 points while Equity Bank’s Peter Sekyanzi settled for bronze with 35 points.

But BoU’s Patience Musiime, of Namulonge Golf Club, stood tallest among the ladies, scoring 34 points. Equity’s Elizabeth Wahito came second with 29 points, while NCBA’s Olivia Nakuya finished third with 28 points.

At the end of the day, the central bank tallied the highest points, followed by Equity with 134 points, and NCBA in third place with 120 points.

In the swimming challenge at Hotel Africana, the 29 banks competed in the men’s and women’s individual races before the men and women teamed up for the mixed relays.

Last year, Ecobank and dfcu won the men’s and women’s swimming races respectively, while Ecobank won the relays.

This year, however, dfcu’s royal blues came in finer form bagging the overall title. Defending champions Eco Bank came second while BoU came third.

Meanwhile, 1885 bankers participated in the fitness challenge which ended Sunday October 5, with over 600 successfully completing the challenge of walking 5,000 steps daily for 30 days, which guarantees them a medal.

Elsewhere, after answering a variety of questions ranging from the world’s longest river to the first rocket to land on the moon, dfcu landed the overall trophy in the quiz challenge. Finance Trust Bank came second, while BoU came third.

This year’s event which climaxes October 19, is jointly organised by the Uganda Institute of Banking and Financial Services (UIBFS), and the Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) under the theme: ‘Beyond the finish line.’

GOLF MEDALLISTS

MEN

Samuel Bulenzi (Stanbic) 42pts

Kenneth Egesa (BoU) 39pts

Peter Sekyanzi (Equity) 35pts

WOMEN

Patience Musiime (BoU) 34pts

Elizabeth Wahito (Equity) 29pts

Olivia Nakuya (NCBA) 28pts

SWIMMING

MEN

1 – Ecobank

2 – dfcu

3- Stanchart

WOMEN

1- Bank of Uganda

2- Ecobank

3- dfcu

RELAYS

1 – dfcu

2 -Bank of Uganda

3- Ecobank

If Church of Uganda Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu is qualified for his job, he certainly knows the African proverb about Wakasanke (a small bird personified), who prays for a fight between two cocks to become fiercer and protracted. The kasanke is eyeing the plumage torn from the warring cocks to feather its nest. The canons who elected Dame Sarah Elisabeth Mullally to be the 106th Primate of All England and Metropolitan Bishop of the Province of Canterbury are a system mostly of men.

Being the first woman in that position in the Anglican Church’s 14 centuries of history is a far bigger deal than Mullally’s liberal views on human sexuality, although the latter, of course, has more sensational value, and a greater capacity to divide people. Naturally, Wakasanke’s kinsmen are watching. Some are even cheerleaders, overtly urging the critics of Bishop Mullally’s appointment to fight Canterbury.

It is not often that senior religious leaders in one Christian denomination advise the leaders in another Christian denomination how to resolve their theological and administrative differences. So, ordinarily, it would be considered indiscreet or audacious for leaders of a questionably defined Pentecostal group to vociferously advise Uganda’s Anglican Archbishop how he should proceed after the developments at Canterbury. But that is exactly what Pastors Joseph Serwadda and Andrew Lugoloobi did at their morning talk show on Impact FM last Sunday, a few days after Mullally’s appointment.

Archbishop Kaziimba and the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Gafcon), an outfit most identified with African bishops, were themselves perhaps hasty in responding to Mullally’s elevation, declaring that the Church of England had ‘relinquished its authority to lead’. The bishops correctly recognise that many Africans in and outside the Church are disgusted by same-sex relations. The question is whether to respond to Canterbury with the emotional intensity Kaziimba and Gafcon deploy to satisfy the home base, or to internalise the different cultural settings in which the Anglican Church has been established and over which Canterbury ceremonially presides but does not rule. It is a choice between populism and pragmatism.

Mullally’s elevation from outside the Oxbridge stock and her ideas on morality and spirituality reflect something of the zeitgeist, the tendency of thought in our times. African bishops can show off how holier than Canterbury’s their souls are, or they can commit themselves to finding points of contact and themes encouraging dialogue. When Pentecostals like Serwadda and Lugoloobi urge the Church of Uganda to change its constitution and extend Kaziimba’s reign, or to break all ties with Canterbury and set up something they called ‘reformed’ or ‘charismatic’ as they did on Sunday, they are not talking as allies, but as Wakasanke’s kinsmen.

The so-called reform or charismatic agenda returns Africans to neo-pagan spiritualism, with its emphasis on the power of ancestral spirits, fictitious demons, unintelligible jabbering (tongues), the concoctions of witchcraft and the magical acquisition of wealth. These things add nothing to the depth of Christianity in African minds. The Impact-FM talk show pastors secretly want Uganda’s Anglicanism to descend into the kind of anti-institutional anarchy and cutthroat personal rivalry plaguing Uganda’s Pentecostalism.

If you want, you can wake up tomorrow and build a Pentecostal church and call yourself a bishop even before you are qualified to be ordained a priest. The half-acre of land around your church building is your diocese. Your wife, of course, is the senior pastor serving immediately below you. End of hierarchy. Both of you will hold your positions for life. I greatly doubt whether Kaziimba deserves condemnation to that league.

A double defeat in their first two fixtures of the second round of the national netball league on Saturday and the Hamz Stadium in Nakivubo has not dwindled new league outfit UGX Luweero’s hopes of keeping in the national netball league.

The Luweero based side first registered a 58-30 loss against fellow newbies UGISHA before they were walloped 60-31 by league favorites National Insurance Corporation (NIC) later in the evening.

Having double fixtures on a given league outing is no easy feat for a team that travels from Luwero to Kampala on a given league day, but playing two fixtures helps them to cut transport costs by reducing their trips to Nakivubo in a season.

Most national league sides have their home training grounds from where they can host league games on a given day, but Netball Uganda chose the famous Nakivubo stadium as a host ground for all teams.

UG X Luwero Captain Madrine Nakalema admits that her team was unfit that led to the double loss, but also believes hosting home games will improve their performance.

‘On fitness we shall work harder to see that the team performs well in our next fixtures since our target is to exit the relegation zone,’ Nakalema said.

‘We have to travel to Kampala on every game day as if we do not have a home ground. We also have a home ground and we could host some of our league games for the home advantage as well as attracting more fans,’ she added.

In the first round, Busia Greater Lions Netball Club would travel to Kampala for double fixtures on a given day, however after deliberations with the netball governing body, the team has hosted their two second round fixtures at home.

The team hosted NIC before playing against UPDF this Saturday in Busia.

Team manager Muhammed Sifuna says they have minimized transport costs and also solved the problem of fatigue from the long journey.

‘We have not yet returned to our winning ways but we are improving as a team in terms of performance. Our fans are also returning and most importantly the transport costs have reduced and our players no longer spend long hours plagued by traffic on the way,’ Sifuna told Daily Monitor.

The league will resume on Saturday, with teams vying for positions and trying to overcome their challenges.

Results

Ugisha 58 – 30 UGX Luweero

NIC 60-31 UGX Luweero

Series between JKL Lady Dolphins and UCU Canons have never been straight forward. Regardless of what shape the Lady Canons are in, it’s always a battle until the end.

And this year’s semifinal series have been nothing short of drama. From the Lady Canons taking Game One to the defending champions winning the next two and closing in on the finals.

Friday night produced yet another classic encounter as Nicholas Natuhereza’s charges forced a decisive Game Five with a comprehensive 65-50 win at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium.

With their backs against the wall, UCU had no choice but to step up. Their defence on the night limited Brenda Ekone, who had scored 33 points in Games Two and Three.

Shutting her down made all the difference, with the speedy guard only managing two points on the night.

Hope Akello was the only Lady Dolphin to reach double figures as the experience struggled to close the series against a much younger and inexperienced UCU side.

Matrina Anyango led the university side with a double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds on the night.

Shillah Lamunu also continued to impress for UCU, scoring 10 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists.

Sylivia Nakituuka, the other UCU player to score in double figures, had 11 points while Zoe Atek came off the bench to record nine points.

Akello’s team-high 15 points were not enough for the defending champions to guarantee themselves a spot in the finals.

With the series tied at 2-2, the two sides will be separated in a mouthwatering decider on Wednesday.

The winner of the series will face JT Lady Jaguars, who defeated Magic Stormers 57-43 in Game Three to take the series 3-0 and qualify for their first ever finals series.

Led by former champions like Sarah Ageno, Shakirah Nanvubya, Maimuna Nabbosa and Aziidah Nabayunga, the Lady Jaguars will fancy their chances against whichever team progresses from the other series.

National Basketball League Playoffs

Semifinal series

Friday result

UCU 65-50 JKL

Series tied 2-2

A September 2025 report by the World Bank has revealed that the country’s tax system, despite its comprehensive design, continues to struggle with low revenue yield, significantly lagging behind the sub-Saharan Africa average and the government’s own medium-term targets.

The report shows that with a tax revenue-to-GDP ratio of only 13.9 percent in the Financial Year (FY)2025/2026, Uganda remains below the critical 15 percent threshold deemed essential for accelerated growth and sustainable development.

‘This persistent challenge is exacerbated by a personal income tax (PIT) system that has not been reviewed in over a decade, resulting in bracket creep,’ it indicates.

Compounding matters is the fact that a significant informal sector largely remains outside the tax net.

Furthermore, within the formal sector, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) frequently under-report or evade taxes, and large firms capable of making additional new investments, as well as start-up small firms, are exempt from the corporate income tax (CIT), which undermines revenue collection.

The report suggests that to enhance both revenue generation and tax equity, this year’s edition of the Uganda Economic Update focuses on reforms and strategic interventions that provide policy options to redesign the PIT structure, strengthen HNWI taxation, and re-evaluate CIT exemption policies.

It adds that the policy reforms should be intended to broaden the tax base, reduce tax expenditures and improve progressivity and equity of the tax system. If implemented, it predicts, tax revenues could improve by 0.5 percent of GDP.

The report further states that the proposed reforms are consistent with the annual target of the government’s own strategy on domestic revenue mobilisation and the national tax policy.

These emphasise the need to reduce tax expenditures annually and also grow the tax-to-GDP ratio to Vision 2040 targets.

To address this, it is recommended that the government adopt a targeted policy option that enhances the progressivity of the PIT system, increases revenue, and provides relief to low-income earners.

The recommended reform would increase the exemption threshold to Shs4.02m up from Shs2.82m per annum, maintain existing tax rates for most taxpayers, and introduce a new marginal rate of 35 percent up from the current 30 percent for a chargeable income exceeding Shs5.82m.

As a result, low-income earners would remain unaffected, while only the relatively higher income individuals would see an increased tax burden.

The reform is expected to generate Shs149b (0.1 percent of GDP) in additional annual tax revenue.

The impact on individuals’ income would be modest for most, with increases ranging from Shs15,000 for those earning up to Shs1m per month to Shs444,917 for those earning at least Shs9.5m per month.

Overall, the reform is designed to update Uganda’s PIT structure to avoid bracket creep, improve equity and ensure a fairer distribution of the tax burden, while providing relief for low-income earners and strengthening the country’s fiscal position.

Mr Saadia Refaagat an economist with the World Bank says the under-reporting and evasion of taxes by HNWIs represent a significant leakage in Uganda’s tax system.

A multi-pronged approach is essential to effectively bring this segment into the tax net. This is in line with the FY2025/2026 budget, which aspires to close loopholes that cause revenue leakage.

As Uganda celebrates its 63rd Independence anniversary and 30 years of the 1995 Constitution, we need to reflect on the extent to which our legal system has been liberated from the claws of the colonial British Administration. In this, we should reflect on one of the ‘Ds’ that characterised the campaign by the Radical New Bar (RNB), ‘decolonisation’. To what extent has our legal system been decolonised? In this short piece, I endeavour to answer the question.

The colonial system never intended to promote access to justice. In its architecture, the system was intended as a tool of dominance, to be used to support the colonial enterprise of subjugation. Although disguised as necessary to maintain law and order, the legal system, and especially in the area of criminal justice, was intended to be a tool to stamp the authority of the colonial master.

In the case of Uganda, concrete judicial power was introduced in 1902 through the Order in Council (OiC) of that year. Under Article 15 of the OiC, His Majesty’s High Court of Uganda was established, with ‘full civil and criminal jurisdiction in all cases and over all persons in Uganda’. Judges of the High Court would be appointed by His Majesty the King, who could also dismiss them at any time. The Commissioner, by the OiC empowered to adopt ordinances establishing Subordinate Courts. In addition, all laws in force in England would be applicable.

However, what stood out most was the use of the courts to stifle political dissent and struggles for political independence. A barrage of offences, properly calibrated for this purpose, were used; these, in the context of Uganda, included the following: Treason, promoting war on chiefs, publication of information prejudicial to security, inducing a boycott, inciting violence, unlawful society, and defamation of foreign princes, among others.

In addition to the law, the colonial administration imposed a foreign system of adjudication of disputes, laced with British traditions, dress codes and language. The common law, precedent and adversarial approaches became entrenched. The legal profession and legal education were also based on the traditions of the colonial state.

As we celebrate 63 years of Independence, it is clear that we have failed to decolonise our legal system. During the drafting of the 1995 Constitution, the Odoki Commission took note of the negative impact of having a foreign system of law on Page 442 of its report:

‘17.25. Most of Uganda’s laws derive from English law, and in the past were used by the colonial masters to rule Uganda. Following independence, the whole legal system should have been transformed to suit our own culture, norms and customs. The opportunity was never taken and so much of our law has remained foreign to most of the people of Uganda both educated and uneducated, with the exception of the members of the legal profession.’

The Commission then enumerated three aspects of concern arising out of the above: Alien orientation of the criminal justice system; failure of the statutory law to take into account local cultural norms; and language, dress code and procedures of courts.

Unfortunately, in spite of the acknowledgement above, the recommendations of the Commission largely maintained the foreign system. Judicial officers still rob in the same way as English judges, sometimes with pompous wigs which do not serve any purpose. Also, except for wigs, lawyers appearing before courts don the black gown, English dinner shirts/blouses and flaps. English remains the language of the court, even when all actors would comfortably proceed in a local language, which could be translated later if necessary.

From the point of view of jurisprudence, we still largely train lawyers to draw guidance from English precedents. Efforts to publicise local judicial decisions by the ULII and increase reliance on these should be acknowledged. However, the lack of consistency on the part of judicial officers, sometimes overlooking their own previous decisions, is undermining these efforts.

Also, the process to adopt use of the alternative justice systems is acknowledged. This, though, is still peripheral. From the governance point of view, the legal system has been used as a tool of control. The promulgation of laws which criminalise otherwise legitimate political conduct is an issue. Some judicial officers are demonstrating a willingness to use the courts in the same way their colonial counterparts did. This needs to be addressed. As we celebrate independence and the 1995 Constitution, the time is now to decolonise our legal system. Ensure transparency in the role of judicial officers, remove obnoxious offences and Africanise judicial procedures.