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Unlike industries where professionals often arrive through broadly similar training, Juliana Kagwa has found tourism populated by people from remarkably different worlds. It is common to find doctors running a lodge or a teacher doubling as a tour operator. Leading them means listening, motivating and building relationships with the private sector, while sometimes enforcing standards through licensing and grading.

‘It has been a rollercoaster ride, but a very rewarding one,’ she tells Lunch with the DM, with a chuckle.

Kagwa came to Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) with more than two decades of corporate experience, much of it in marketing, but tourism has demanded a different education. Her days now intersect with government ministries, foreign missions, tourism associations, conservation agencies, investors and businesses whose fortunes can shift with events far beyond Uganda’s borders.

Her first year has included the 10th edition of the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE), deeper engagement with Uganda’s foreign missions and international partners, and another period in which health-related headlines tested confidence in the destination. Yet some of her biggest lessons have come from discovering the industry itself.

Domestic tourism

One surprise has been its resilience. Kagwa entered a sector that had already endured the devastation of Covid-19 and rebuilt itself. Domestic tourism gained greater significance; the government introduced interventions to support struggling businesses, while operators fought to keep hotels and lodges running and people employed.

More recently, she has watched businesses contend with cancellations running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. She observes: ‘There are people who have cancellations to the tune of $300,000 (Shs1.1b). There are not many businesses in Uganda that can take that kind of hit and continue to come to work the next day, continue to hope and be optimistic that we will regain the business.’

She notes that the persistence speaks to the character of the people behind the industry. But perhaps the more consequential discovery has been just how much Uganda has to sell. Before taking the job, Kagwa admits, she viewed tourism much as many outsiders do. ‘I thought tourism is how many lions you have, how many elephants you can showcase at a time.’

There were the mountain gorillas too. Wildlife and landscape largely defined the product in her mind. A year inside the industry has broadened her outlook. She has encountered the cultural diversity that unfolds across Uganda through languages, food, dress, music and traditions.

She has met entrepreneurs experimenting with city sightseeing buses, others developing experiences around the Uganda Martyrs trail and still others looking towards Lake Victoria and its islands for new products.

Then there are the guides whose work demands knowledge of everything from history and culture to birds, plants and wildlife.

‘Having come in now, I see the opportunity. Honestly, it abounds,’ she says, adding, ‘We have too much to offer.’

Uganda has an abundance of tourism assets, yet many remain insufficiently developed, packaged and told.

‘We have not even scratched the surface,’ she notes, arguing that, for decades, African tourism has been heavily associated with wildlife and safari but underscores that Uganda cannot afford to remain confined to that identity. ‘We’ve been kind of put in a wildlife box.’

Step out of wildlife box

The answer, she argues, is not to diminish wildlife but to build richer experiences around it. A traveller might come for the mountain gorillas, but stay longer because of encounters with the communities, traditions and stories around them.

Travellers, she observes, increasingly seek immersion rather than simply things to see, which presents an opportunity for Uganda’s culture and heritage to become stronger parts of the tourism product.

The UTB chief executive looks at destinations that have successfully built tourism around preserved history and wonders what Uganda could do differently with its own heritage. Rather than visitors merely walking through a historical site and listening to an explanation, she imagines experiences in which history is brought to life through drama.

At Kasubi Tombs, for example, actors could interpret historical figures, taking visitors imaginatively into another period. The challenge is turning them into experiences people will travel for. The same challenge sits on the Ugandan dining table.

‘We’re a food basin actually, Edgar,’ Kagwa observes, adding that Uganda’s food is as diverse as its natural environment, yet culinary tourism has barely begun to develop as a deliberate visitor experience.

Coffee presents another opportunity. Uganda is home to Robusta coffee, but its story has yet to be sufficiently developed as a tourism product.

‘There is a lot of opportunity, and we haven’t even started. We haven’t packaged it well,’ she says.

The marketer in her turns to Rolex, the popular street food that has become recognisably Ugandan. How is it positioned, packaged and what value is attached to it? Beyond Rolex are matooke, groundnut sauce and gonja-foods Ugandans encounter so routinely that their tourism value can easily be overlooked. Kagwa speaks affectionately about gonja, admitting to eating it in different forms and regularly stopping for it in Namawojjolo and Lukaya.

‘I think the vendors there know my number plate,’ she jokes.

Beneath the humour is a serious proposition that everyday Ugandan food carries stories of people, place and identity. Developing products is one part of the equation. Someone must interpret them, and to this, she describes tour guides as the gateway to the Ugandan experience.

She explains: ‘You can book all the tourists you want. You will make all the itineraries you feel like. You can be as creative as you want, but if you don’t have somebody to tell the story, to guide the tourists, add that human element, then we’re no good or no better than the next destination.’

Leadership lessons

Kagwa’s first year has given her a deeper appreciation of what guides carry: history, culture, knowledge of birds, plants, wildlife and increasingly specialised interests such as reptiles and insects.

She says UTB sees a role in training and equipping them, including exposure to technology and artificial intelligence. With visitors coming from increasingly diverse markets, language itself becomes part of the challenge.

The destination, in other words, is only as compelling as the people capable of interpreting it. And as UTB’s CEO has learnt about the people she leads and serves. Kagwa says the year has also changed her. ‘Leadership,’ she observes, ‘evolves.’

The leader she was during her private-sector career cannot simply be transplanted into public service. The UTB role has taught her patience, listening and the value of trusting others to execute. It has also required becoming comfortable with not knowing.

‘Leaders actually are the biggest students of any organisation, because you have to be learning and listening almost 100 percent of the time,’ she says. ‘You have to know that you don’t know. And that’s one of the hardest lessons to learn in life.’

Kagwa has drawn on mentors including Baker Magunda and Marion Muyobo. Within tourism, she credits her predecessor, Dr Lilly Ajarova, with helping her appreciate that selling Uganda also requires protecting and conserving the product. She has also found teachers among peers and colleagues.

‘Sometimes it’s your peers that mentor you. Sometimes you’re mentored by even people that report to you,’ she says.

All that learning feeds into an ambition that Kagwa says keeps her awake. She aspires to grow tourism into a sector contributing 10 percent of Uganda’s gross domestic product by 2040. Getting there will require more than advertising Uganda. It means broadening what the country sells, improving skills and giving visitors more reasons to stay, spend and return.

The seasoned marketer increasingly sees tourism as an economy of possibility. A person can make a living telling stories. Similarly, a family can develop an agro-tourism experience and a community can draw value from its heritage. Tourism, in her telling, offers not only income but hope. Yet for someone carrying such ambitions, Kagwa has also learnt to put the job into perspective.

‘The show will go on, with or without you,’ she notes.

After about 25 years of work, she has learnt that sometimes work takes precedence and family waits. At other times, the phone goes off, and the laptop is put away. Her current job may amount to serving the nation, but even that does not make its occupant indispensable.

‘If I wasn’t here, Edgar, believe me, they’re going to find someone else in a split second,’ she says. ‘You have to be conscious of that, remain humble, because you’re replaceable.’

Perhaps that explains why her place of peace is her home and water. She lives near Lake Victoria and describes proximity to water as restorative. During POATE 2026, with thousands of visitors passing through the expo, 120 hosted buyers and more than 350 exhibitors to attend to, that relationship became particularly useful.

There were moments when the pressure threatened to overwhelm her. Then she would look towards Lake Victoria. ‘I just look over Lake Victoria and say, but no, we are sitting in the best location on earth.’

For the woman charged with convincing others to explore Uganda, sometimes it takes a glance across the water to remind herself why.

Unlike industries where professionals often arrive through broadly similar training, Juliana Kagwa has found tourism populated by people from remarkably different worlds. It is common to find doctors running a lodge or a teacher doubling as a tour operator.

Leading them means listening, motivating and building relationships with the private sector, while sometimes enforcing standards through licensing and grading.

‘It has been a rollercoaster ride, but a very rewarding one,’ she tells Lunch with the DM, with a chuckle.

Kagwa came to Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) with more than two decades of corporate experience, much of it in marketing, but tourism has demanded a different education.

Her days now intersect with government ministries, foreign missions, tourism associations, conservation agencies, investors and businesses whose fortunes can shift with events far beyond Uganda’s borders.

Her first year has included the 10th edition of the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE), deeper engagement with Uganda’s foreign missions and international partners, and another period in which health-related headlines tested confidence in the destination. Yet some of her biggest lessons have come from discovering the industry itself.

Domestic tourism

One surprise has been its resilience. Kagwa entered a sector that had already endured the devastation of Covid-19 and rebuilt itself. Domestic tourism gained greater significance; the government introduced interventions to support struggling businesses, while operators fought to keep hotels and lodges running and people employed.

More recently, she has watched businesses contend with cancellations running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. She observes:

‘There are people who have cancellations to the tune of $300,000 (Shs1.1b). There are not many businesses in Uganda that can take that kind of hit and continue to come to work the next day, continue to hope and be optimistic that we will regain the business.’

She notes that the persistence speaks to the character of the people behind the industry. But perhaps the more consequential discovery has been just how much Uganda has to sell. Before taking the job, Kagwa admits, she viewed tourism much as many outsiders do. ‘I thought tourism is how many lions you have, how many elephants you can showcase at a time.’

There were the mountain gorillas too. Wildlife and landscape largely defined the product in her mind. A year inside the industry has broadened her outlook. She has encountered the cultural diversity that unfolds across Uganda through languages, food, dress, music and traditions.

She has met entrepreneurs experimenting with city sightseeing buses, others developing experiences around the Uganda Martyrs trail and still others looking towards Lake Victoria and its islands for new products.

Then there are the guides whose work demands knowledge of everything from history and culture to birds, plants and wildlife.

‘Having come in now, I see the opportunity. Honestly, it abounds,’ she says, adding, ‘We have too much to offer.’

Uganda has an abundance of tourism assets, yet many remain insufficiently developed, packaged and told.

‘We have not even scratched the surface,’ she notes, arguing that, for decades, African tourism has been heavily associated with wildlife and safari but underscores that Uganda cannot afford to remain confined to that identity. ‘We’ve been kind of put in a wildlife box.’

Step out of wildlife box

The answer, she argues, is not to diminish wildlife but to build richer experiences around it. A traveller might come for the mountain gorillas, but stay longer because of encounters with the communities, traditions and stories around them.

Travellers, she observes, increasingly seek immersion rather than simply things to see, which presents an opportunity for Uganda’s culture and heritage to become stronger parts of the tourism product.

The UTB chief executive looks at destinations that have successfully built tourism around preserved history and wonders what Uganda could do differently with its own heritage. Rather than visitors merely walking through a historical site and listening to an explanation, she imagines experiences in which history is brought to life through drama.

At Kasubi Tombs, for example, actors could interpret historical figures, taking visitors imaginatively into another period. The challenge is turning them into experiences people will travel for. The same challenge sits on the Ugandan dining table.

‘We’re a food basin actually, Edgar,’ Kagwa observes, adding that Uganda’s food is as diverse as its natural environment, yet culinary tourism has barely begun to develop as a deliberate visitor experience.

Coffee presents another opportunity. Uganda is home to Robusta coffee, but its story has yet to be sufficiently developed as a tourism product.

‘There is a lot of opportunity, and we haven’t even started. We haven’t packaged it well,’ she says.

The marketer in her turns to Rolex, the popular street food that has become recognisably Ugandan.

How is it positioned, packaged and what value is attached to it? Beyond Rolex are matooke, groundnut sauce and gonja-foods Ugandans encounter so routinely that their tourism value can easily be overlooked. Kagwa speaks affectionately about gonja, admitting to eating it in different forms and regularly stopping for it in Namawojjolo and Lukaya.

‘I think the vendors there know my number plate,’ she jokes.

Beneath the humour is a serious proposition that everyday Ugandan food carries stories of people, place and identity. Developing products is one part of the equation. Someone must interpret them, and to this, she describes tour guides as the gateway to the Ugandan experience.

She explains: ‘You can book all the tourists you want. You will make all the itineraries you feel like. You can be as creative as you want, but if you don’t have somebody to tell the story, to guide the tourists, add that human element, then we’re no good or no better than the next destination.’

Leadership lessons

Kagwa’s first year has given her a deeper appreciation of what guides carry: history, culture, knowledge of birds, plants, wildlife and increasingly specialised interests such as reptiles and insects.

She says UTB sees a role in training and equipping them, including exposure to technology and artificial intelligence. With visitors coming from increasingly diverse markets, language itself becomes part of the challenge.

The destination, in other words, is only as compelling as the people capable of interpreting it. And as UTB’s CEO has learnt about the people she leads and serves. Kagwa says the year has also changed her. ‘Leadership,’ she observes, ‘evolves.’

The leader she was during her private-sector career cannot simply be transplanted into public service. The UTB role has taught her patience, listening and the value of trusting others to execute. It has also required becoming comfortable with not knowing.

‘Leaders actually are the biggest students of any organisation, because you have to be learning and listening almost 100 percent of the time,’ she says. ‘You have to know that you don’t know. And that’s one of the hardest lessons to learn in life.’

Kagwa has drawn on mentors including Baker Magunda and Marion Muyobo. Within tourism, she credits her predecessor, Dr Lilly Ajarova, with helping her appreciate that selling Uganda also requires protecting and conserving the product. She has also found teachers among peers and colleagues.

‘Sometimes it’s your peers that mentor you. Sometimes you’re mentored by even people that report to you,’ she says.

All that learning feeds into an ambition that Kagwa says keeps her awake. She aspires to grow tourism into a sector contributing 10 percent of Uganda’s gross domestic product by 2040. Getting there will require more than advertising Uganda. It means broadening what the country sells, improving skills and giving visitors more reasons to stay, spend and return.

The seasoned marketer increasingly sees tourism as an economy of possibility. A person can make a living telling stories. Similarly, a family can develop an agro-tourism experience and a community can draw value from its heritage.

Tourism, in Kagwa’s telling, offers not only income but hope. Yet for someone carrying such ambitions, Kagwa has also learnt to put the job into perspective.

‘The show will go on, with or without you,’ she notes.

After about 25 years of work, she has learnt that sometimes work takes precedence and family waits. At other times, the phone goes off, and the laptop is put away. Her current job may amount to serving the nation, but even that does not make its occupant indispensable.

‘If I wasn’t here, Edgar, believe me, they’re going to find someone else in a split second,’ she says. ‘You have to be conscious of that, remain humble, because you’re replaceable.’

Perhaps that explains why her place of peace is her home and water. She lives near Lake Victoria and describes proximity to water as restorative.

During POATE 2026, with thousands of visitors passing through the expo, 120 hosted buyers and more than 350 exhibitors to attend to, that relationship became particularly useful.

There were moments when the pressure threatened to overwhelm her. Then she would look towards Lake Victoria. ‘I just look over Lake Victoria and say, but no, we are sitting in the best location on earth.’

For the woman charged with convincing others to explore Uganda, sometimes it takes a glance across the water to remind herself why.

For 19-year-old Titus Kabanda, a student at St. Mathias Magada Secondary School, a toothache has turned into a two-month ordeal.

Kabanda, a resident of Buyange Village in Magada sub-county, sought treatment at Magada Health Centre III last month but was referred to Nsinze Health Centre IV, the district referral facility, for surgical extraction.

Health workers told him both facilities lack a dental chair and other essential equipment.

“The facility lacks a dental chair and other essential equipment,” he was told.

At Nsinze, patients are forced to seek services at Iganga Nakavule Regional Referral Hospital or Bugiri Hospital.

“I have endured the pain for the past two months because I cannot afford transport to Iganga or Bugiri, as I am not working,” Kabanda said.

He said rural residents and learners are the worst affected.

Dr Bright Isabirye, a dentist at Nsinze Health Centre IV, said the absence of a dental chair makes procedures difficult.

“When a patient sits on a plastic chair, he or she is uncomfortable, and the person performing the extraction is also not comfortable,” Dr Isabirye said.

He said the only service offered at Health Centre IIIs and IV in the district is tooth extraction.

“A dental chair enables teeth cleaning, cementing, root canal and surgical extraction, but these services are unavailable because we lack one,” he said.

Dr Isabirye added that patients with severe night pain have to wait until morning because the facility lacks a dental chair with a built-in light.

Dr Allan Lubiite, the in-charge of Nsinze Health Centre IV, said the shortage has lasted decades.

“It is true that the district has never had a dental chair in the 90 years since Nsinze Health Centre IV started as a dispensary and later became a district referral facility,” Dr Lubiite said.

District chairperson David Mukisa said the district is aware of the problem but has no immediate solution as government has not provided the equipment.

Rotary Club members have pledged to lobby for support.

“We mobilise resources among ourselves to support communities. We have identified this problem and will stand with you to address it,” said Kasim Kimbwa, president of the Iganga Rotary Club.

Dr Lubiite said they will use Rotary to lobby for a dental chair and organise a fundraising run as they await government support.

Salim Hussein Ng’anzi’s novel Mwanamkasi Ndio Basi (Mwanamkasi, That’s It!) and Ali Hilal Ali’s poetry collection Diwani ya Vizikwa Vya Kale (The Anthology of the Ancient Ruins) have won the Fiction and Poetry categories, respectively in the 2025 Safal Kiswahili Prize for African Literature.

Each winner received $5,000.

The winners were presented with their awards by guest of honour Paul C. Makonda, Tanzania’s Minister of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, at the University of Dar es Salaam on July 24, during the prize’s 10th-anniversary celebrations.

The 2025 judging panel comprised Prof. Rayya Timammy of the University of Nairobi, Dr. Masoud Mohammed of the State University of Zanzibar, and Prof. Austin Bukenya, formerly of Makerere University.

Ali Hilal Ali previously won the Fiction category in 2017. His award-winning manuscript, Mmeza Fupa, has since been translated into English by Meg Arenberg after receiving a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant. It will be published by the University of Georgia Press in 2027 as The Swallower of Secrets.

In his speech, Makonda congratulated the winners and praised the prize’s management, board and sponsors, led by Safal Group, for their role in promoting literature in African languages, particularly Kiswahili.

Safal Group chairman Sarit Shah said the company believes in the power of partnerships and has, over the past decade, reached thousands of writers, scholars and Kiswahili stakeholders.

‘As we mark 10 years since the inception of the Safal Kiswahili Prize, I congratulate the winners and challenge them to inspire younger generations to rise,’ Shah said.

He added: ‘We take pride in the remarkable achievements of the prize and look forward to expanding our partnerships and, in turn, expanding our reach and making our mark in changing many lives for the better for many years to come.’

A total of 230 manuscripts were submitted for this year’s awards from seven countries.

On behalf of the judges, Prof Timammy commended the 2025 entrants for the quality of their writing, saying it demonstrated that ‘literary talent in Kiswahili continues to grow and flourish at a remarkable pace.’

Other winners and shortlisted authors

Dickson Damas Mtalaze of Tanzania was the runner-up in the Fiction category with his manuscript Shamba la Mawe (Stone Farm), while Lenard Barnaba Mtesigwa of Tanzania took second place in Poetry with Rima la Miiko na Balaa (The Pit of Taboos and Calamities).

Each received $2,500. Mtesigwa was previously shortlisted in 2022 and 2023.

The Short Story Collection category was won by Kenya’s Dominic Maina Oigo for Mbunge Mtarajiwa na Hadithi Nyingine (The Member of Parliament Elect and Other Stories). He received $2,500.

The other shortlisted works were Ziaka Imetoboka (The Quiver Has a Hole) by Mathew Theuri Maina of Kenya; Zigo la Kichwa (Carrying Heavy Thoughts on the Head) by Maimuna Hashim Maalim of Tanzania; Koti la Karani na Hadithi Nyingine (The Clerk’s Coat and Other Stories) by Stallone Joyfully of Tanzania; and Siri ya Mama na HadithiNyingine (The Mother’s Secret and Other Stories) by Sophia Said Puta of Tanzania.

Maina, Hilal Ali, Mtesigwa and Joyfully have either won or been shortlisted in previous editions of the prize.

The winners and shortlisted authors attended the awards ceremony in Dar es Salaam. The 2025 edition also marked the first time a woman had been shortlisted in the Short Story Collection category.

The winning entries will be considered for publication in Kiswahili by Tanzania-based Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, while the winning poetry collection will be translated into English and published by the African Poetry Book Fund. To date, Mkuki na Nyota has published more than 25 books.

To mark the prize’s 10th anniversary, Mkuki na Nyota has also published two special editions of poetry and prose featuring works by all previous first-prize winners. Tunu Mpya and Hazina Mpya are available from TPH Bookshop.

Celebrating a decade of African-language literature

The Safal Kiswahili Prize for African Literature was founded in 2014 by Dr. Lizzy Attree and Dr Mukoma wa Ngugi to recognise writing in African languages and encourage translation from, between and into African languages.

The prize has been awarded annually since 2015, except in 2020, when the awards were paused because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

It recognises the best unpublished manuscript or a book published within two years of the award year across the categories of fiction, including novels and short story collections, poetry, memoir and graphic novels.

The prize is supported by Safal Group through its subsidiaries Mabati Rolling Mills of Kenya and ALAF Tanzania.

Ali Hilal Ali also won the Prize for Fiction in 2017. His award-winning manuscript, Mmeza Fupa has since been translated into English by Meg Arenberg, winning a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant, and will be published by University of Georgia Press in 2027 as The Swallower of Secrets. In his speech, the minister congratulated the winners and praised the management of the prize, its board, and the sponsors, led by Safal Group, for their important work in promoting literature in African languages, particularly Kiswahili.

The Safal Group chairman Sarit Shah said: ‘At Safal Group we believe in the power of partnerships, for the past 10 years we have reached thousands of writers, scholars and Kiswahili stakeholders. Today, as we mark 10 years since the inception of the Safal Kiswahili Prize, I congratulate the winners and challenge them to inspire younger generations to rise.’

He further added, ‘We take pride in the remarkable achievements of the prize and look forward to expanding our partnerships and in turn expand our reach and make our mark in changing many lives for the better and for many years to come.’

This year, 230 manuscripts were submitted for the awards from seven countries.

On behalf of the judges, Prof Timammy, commended the 2025 entrants for the outstanding quality of their writing ‘This undoubtedly demonstrates that literary talent in Kiswahili continues to grow and flourish at a remarkable pace.’

The second-place winner in the Fiction category was Dickson Damas Mtalaze (Tanzania) for his manuscript, Shamba la Mawe (Stone Farm), and in the Poetry category was Lenard Barnaba Mtesigwa (Tanzania) for his manuscript Rima la Miiko na Balaa (The Pit of Taboos and Calamities). Each received $2,500. Mtesigwa was previously shortlisted in 2022 and 2023.

The winner in the Short Story Collection category is Dominic Maina Oigo (Kenya) for Mbunge Mtarajiwa na Hadithi Nyingine (The Member of Parliament Elect and Other Stories) who received $2,500. The other shortlisted works and authors were: Ziaka Imetoboka (The Quiver Has a Hole) by Mathew Theuri Maina (Kenya); Zigo la Kichwa (Carrying Heavy Thoughts on the Head) by Maimuna Hashim Maalim (Tanzania); Koti la Karani na Hadithi Nyingine (The Clerk’s Coat and Other Stories) by Stallone Joyfully (Tanzania); and Siri ya Mama na Hadithi Nyingine (The Mother’s Secret and Other Stories) by Sophia Said Puta (Tanzania).

Maina, Hilal Ali, Mtesigwa and Joyfully have either won or been shortlisted for previous editions of the prize.

The winners and their fellow shortlistees were in attendance during the award-giving ceremony in Dar es Salaam. It is the first time a woman has been shortlisted for a short story collection.

The winning entries will also be considered for publication in Kiswahili by Mkuki na Nyota Publishers in Tanzania while the winning poetry will be translated into English and published by the African Poetry Book Fund. So far, Mkuki na Nyota have published more than 25 books.

This year, to mark the 10th Anniversary of the prize, Mkuki na Nyota have published two special editions of Poetry and Prose, containing work from all the former first Prize winners: Tunu Mpya and Hazina Mpya, available from TPH Bookshop.

The Safal Kiswahili Prize for African Literature was founded in 2014 by Dr Lizzy Attree and Dr Mukoma wa Ngugi to recognise writing in African languages and encourage translation from, between, and into African languages. This year’s awards mark the prize’s 10th anniversary; it has been awarded every year since 2015, except in 2020, when the awards were paused due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

The prize is awarded to the best unpublished manuscript or book published within two years of the award year across the categories of fiction (novels and short story collections), poetry, memoir, and graphic novels.

The prize is supported by Safal Group, through its subsidiaries Mabati Rolling Mills of Kenya and ALAF Tanzania.

Police in Lugazi Municipality, Buikwe District, have arrested and detained one of their officers over the alleged defilement of a 15-year-old girl.

Ms Hellen Butoto, the Ssezibwa Regional Police spokesperson, on Friday confirmed the arrest, saying the officer is being investigated over the alleged sexual abuse of a minor, which took place on Thursday.

“We have arrested our police officer on suspicion of defiling a minor, an act we condemn as police,” Ms Butoto said.

She added that the officer was entrusted with protecting the girl but allegedly abused his authority.

Ms Butoto said the suspect will be produced in court once police investigations are complete.

She further disclosed that samples reportedly collected from the victim’s body had been taken to the Government Analytical Laboratory in Wandegeya for examination to support the ongoing investigation.

Police did not disclose whether the girl is a pupil or student and how she came into contact with the officer, but Ms Butoto said the circumstances surrounding the incident were still under investigation.

The victim, whose parents are yet to be known, has been placed under the care of the Child and Family Protection Unit at Lugazi Police Station.

Ms Butoto urged parents and members of the public to remain vigilant and regularly talk to children, particularly during the school holidays, about personal safety.

She warned that children can be lured by strangers using simple gifts and urged parents to ensure that children, including boys, are protected from sexual abuse.

Uganda recorded 10,492 defilement cases in 2025, according to police statistics, representing a 14.8 percent decrease from the 12,312 cases reported in 2024.

Of the cases recorded in 2025, 7,019 were classified as simple defilement while 3,473 were aggravated defilement cases, involving children below 18 years.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) has lifted the quarantine restrictions imposed on Kalangala District following an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF).

The directive, which took effect on August 20, 2026, restores the movement and trade of pigs and pig products across the district after four months of severe restrictions that left local farmers and traders counting heavy financial losses.

African Swine Fever is a highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs. It spreads rapidly through direct contact with infected animals, contact with contaminated swill or equipment, and transmission vectors such as soft ticks.

In an August 12, 2026 letter addressed to the Kalangala District Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Dr. Anna Rose Ademun, the Commissioner for Animal Husbandry and Health, confirmed that containment efforts had yielded positive results.

‘The animal movement restrictions that have been in force, coupled with increased community awareness about ASF and strategic ring vaccinations carried out in the affected areas, have confirmed that the disease has been brought under control,’ Dr. Ademun wrote, adding that all quarantine measures across the district had consequently been revoked.

The quarantine originally affected Mugoye and Bujumba sub-counties, alongside Kalangala Town Council. Imposed under the Animal Diseases Act (Cap 38), it strictly prohibited the movement of pigs and pig products into, out of, through, and within the designated zones.

Origins of the outbreak

The outbreak was traced back to an emergency restocking drive under the National Oil Palm Programme (NOPP), intended to support households not involved in oil palm cultivation.

According to records from the Kalangala District Veterinary Office, at least 266 out of 372 pigs distributed to residents on March 13, 2026, died shortly after delivery. The virus subsequently spilled over to neighboring farms, killing an additional 148 pigs through secondary exposure.

The four-month ban hit local livelihoods hard, particularly for community members who had transitioned to livestock rearing following increased government operations against illegal fishing on Lake Victoria.

Patrick Sekanyike, a butcher at the Mweena landing site, noted that the restrictions severely disrupted household incomes.

‘After the government intensified the crackdown on illegal fishing, many people turned to piggery. But since the quarantine was imposed, parents have been left in tears-some could not even raise school fees for their children this term,’ Mr. Sekanyike said.

Strict guidelines for reopening

Although trade is resuming, local authorities have warned that compliance with biosecurity protocols will be strictly enforced.

Dr. Cedrick Mulindwa, the Kalangala District Veterinary Officer, stated that traders and abattoirs must meet rigorous health standards before resuming full operations.

‘All pigs must be moved with valid movement permits. Transport vehicles entering the district must undergo disinfection at the Bukakkata and Entebbe entry points, and all animals intended for slaughter must undergo pre-slaughter inspection by a qualified veterinary officer,’ Dr. Mulindwa said.

He added that meat vendors must possess up-to-date operating licences and maintain elevated hygiene standards at butchery premises.

Reinforcing the directive, Mr. Robert Lugambiso, the Kalangala District Vice Chairperson, urged operators to protect the island district’s tourism brand.

‘We need you to maintain high standards and quality meat. Kalangala is a primary tourist destination, and many visitors will be frequenting your establishments. You represent the image of Kalangala,’ Mr. Lugambiso said.

The Minister for Local Government, Mr Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, has ordered a fresh investigation into the long-running dispute surrounding revenue collection and management of the lucrative Mpondwe-Lhubiriha cattle market in Kasese District.

The cross-border market, located along the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border, serves as a vital trading hub where Congolese traders cross into Uganda to purchase livestock.

Mr Barugahara issued the directive during a public accountability and anti-corruption meeting in Kasese, following concerns raised by residents and local traders over the management of the market. The minister directed the Kasese District Chairperson, Mr Eliphazi Muhindi, alongside the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), to jointly investigate why Mpondwe Cross Border Traders Cooperative Society Limited has been blocked from operating despite holding a valid contract.

‘Chairman [LCV], together with the CAO and RDC, please sit down. I am guiding you as minister to consider the loss suffered by these contractors and give them an additional six months so that they can work,’ Mr Barugahara said.

Addressing journalists in Fort Portal City, Minister Barugahara pledged to return to Kasese to ensure the cooperative is compensated, noting that the contractors were unfairly stopped after working for only eight hours. He alleged that local actors hijacked the market after realizing its profitability. ‘People saw that they were collecting good money, so they said, ‘Now this money should be our money, not government money,” he added.

In response, District Chairperson Mr Muhindi explained to the minister that local leadership had previously engaged the Ministry of Local Government in Kampala, where they were advised to have the contracts committee review the agreement and grant the cooperative a six-month extension.

The intervention follows a petition by the cooperative’s chairperson, Mr Adam Masereka, who stated that the group paid Shs317 million to Kasese District Local Government after winning the revenue collection tender for the 2022/2023 financial year through a competitive process under the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) Act. However, the dispute escalated when Isango Sub-county created a parallel cattle holding-ground market at Kabafu I village, relocating the market from public land to private land and rendering revenue collection impossible for the contracted group.

Mr Nicholas Mwebaze, a member of the cooperative, noted that despite securing court rulings and ministerial directives in their favor, local district officials allegedly colluded to block their operations. The dispute previously reached the High Court in Fort Portal, where Justice Vincent Emmy Mugabo ruled on November 16, 2022, that the Isango market be regularized and the approved tenderer be allowed to collect revenue per their contract.

Official documents seen by this publication reveal that former Local Government Minister Raphael Magyezi had also written to former Kasese RDC, Rtd Lt Joe Walusimbi, ordering the closure of the illegal market and enforcement of the Markets Act, 2023.

‘I urge the District Security Committee to implement government instructions without further delay… It is your duty to maintain peace, enforce transparent trade, and uphold lawful administration,’ Mr Magyezi wrote.

Facing mounting bank loans from institutions including Equity Bank, the cooperative is demanding either immediate operational clearance or a full refund of their Shs317 million payment with interest.

Despite billions of shillings being allocated annually for the maintenance of district roads, many rural communities across Uganda remain isolated by impassable roads, raising fresh questions about accountability and the effectiveness of public spending.

Every financial year, the government releases funds to district local governments (LGs) through the Uganda Road Fund to undertake routine and periodic maintenance of community access roads. These roads are expected to connect farmers to markets, enable children to reach schools, improve access to health facilities, and stimulate local economic activity.

However, in several districts, cities, municipalities, and town councils, roads listed as maintained in official reports remain riddled with potholes, washed away by rain, or completely overgrown with vegetation. During the rainy season, some become inaccessible, forcing residents to walk long distances or abandon travel altogether.

The poor road network has left farmers counting losses as they struggle to transport produce to markets. Transporters say the deteriorating roads increase vehicle repair costs and fuel consumption. Expectant mothers and critically ill patients face delays in reaching health centres because ambulances and other vehicles cannot access their villages.

The persistent state of disrepair has prompted concerns over whether taxpayers are receiving value for the billions invested in district road maintenance. Governance experts argue that the problem is not only inadequate funding but also weak supervision, poor planning, and limited accountability in the implementation of road works.

Mr Job Kiija, the associate director at Innovations for Democratic Engagement and Action (IDEA), told Business Outlook that the public narrative surrounding district infrastructure is centred on the illusion of ‘billions of shillings allocated,’ yet Uganda’s decentralisation model suffers from a massive structural funding deficit.

He pointed to collective allocation to LGs consistently remaining below 10 percent of the National Budget, with the creation of more than 135 districts not helping matters.

Such is the costly administrative apparatus that, Mr Kiija said, 80 percent of the funds reaching LGs are consumed by recurrent expenditure, including wages, administrative overheads and allowances. This leaves less than 20 percent for capital development and infrastructure investment.

‘The Uganda Road Fund, therefore, frequently releases capped and delayed payments that can only finance superficial road scraping and grading, leaving roads vulnerable to being washed away during the rainy season,’ he said.

Too many flaws

Mr Kiija also pointed to major accountability gaps, including alleged collusive procurement cartels that favour politically connected contractors over technically competent firms, institutional capture of district engineering departments, and weak community monitoring.

The latter is because residents often lack access to bills of quantities, engineering designs and detailed budget breakdowns.

To ensure value for money, Mr Kiija called for open contracting, with all district road procurement details, unit costs, contract specifications and company directors’ identities published on a public online portal.

He also proposed independent technical audits, including physical core testing and drainage assessments, before final contractor payments are approved. He urged the government to blacklist non-performing contractors nationwide and subject culpable approving engineers to asset recovery and criminal prosecution. Infrastructure designs should be strengthened by making heavy-duty drainage, stone pitching and concrete culverts mandatory for district road projects.

The Auditor General’s 2025 report on the field inspection of road maintenance works implemented in 148 LGs, conducted between October and December 2025, revealed significant challenges affecting road infrastructure and service delivery. Two hundred and thirty-nine roads, covering 1,275 kilometres across 66 LGs, were incomplete at the time of the audit inspections.

In addition, 76 LGs had 228 roads with unsatisfactory works, including broken culverts, poor drainage and uneven carriageways with water ponding, among other defects. The shortcomings affected timely service delivery.

Accounting officers attributed the poor performance of road maintenance works to limited funding, heavy rains, inadequate road construction equipment and a lack of regulated control of carriage loads on LGs’ roads.

Mr Emma Bwayo, the Namisindwa District chairperson, told Business Outlook that there is a lot of impunity in LGs. ‘Some officials misuse public funds with arrogance and often shift the blame for their own mistakes onto others. The cost of road repairs and maintenance has also been inflated in many cases. As we struggle to maintain district roads, some teams at the sub-county level allegedly divert or share the limited funds allocated for road maintenance.’

‘There are also serious weaknesses in accountability systems within local governments, which are sometimes compromised. Rural roads require urgent attention, but the shortage of qualified engineers in our district is another major challenge. Some of the people responsible for technical work are not sufficiently qualified,’ he added.

Solutions needed

Mr Bwayo proposed that aspirations and responsibilities of the Road Committee be aligned with those of the engineers to ensure proper planning, supervision, and accountability.

‘The Office of the Auditor General also needs stronger oversight and independence. In some cases, audit systems appear to clear projects that have not been properly implemented, while internal audit mechanisms at the district level also need strengthening. Poor weather conditions are another factor contributing to the rapid deterioration of roads, but this should not be used as an excuse for poor workmanship or misuse of funds,’ he said.

Mr Balaam Barugahara, the LG minister, and his junior minister, Ms Justine Nameere, have, during their countrywide tours to expose corruption, ordered the arrest of several engineers in districts, cities and town councils across the country. Several of the engineers have since been interdicted over alleged mismanagement, neglect of duty and other administrative irregularities.

The engineers are also accused of mismanaging more than Shs1 billion in road funds and overseeing allegedly shoddy road works in their respective areas. The arrests and interdictions come amid growing concerns over the quality of road maintenance works and the management of funds allocated to local governments for road infrastructure.

Mr Allan Ssempebwa, the senior communications officer at the Ministry of Works and Transport, said Shs1b is allocated annually to districts and cities for road maintenance. He added that the Ministry of Works and Transport sends maintenance grants to districts, town councils and sub-counties every quarter, depending on the size of their respective road networks. On average, each district receives about Shs100 million in maintenance grants.

‘The local governments are given the funds and are required to account for how the money is used,’ said Mr Ssempebwa.

What next?

As the government continues to prioritise infrastructure development, communities are calling for stronger oversight of district road funds, publication of road maintenance plans and expenditures, and stricter action against officials found to have mismanaged public resources. For many Ugandans living in rural areas, the issue is no longer whether money is being allocated. It is whether the billions spent on district roads are translating into roads that genuinely connect communities-or disappearing long before the work reaches the ground.

Mr Marlon Agaba, the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU) executive director, told Business Outlook that road works are typically carried out towards the end of the financial year, largely to facilitate accountability for the funds. He cited cases where bridges are poorly constructed and cannot withstand the volume of water, resulting in them being washed away.

‘Corruption has significantly affected road construction and maintenance, particularly works undertaken by local governments,’ said Mr Agaba, adding that corruption in the tendering process that sees some contractors allegedly pay money to secure contracts has forced them to cut corners and undertake substandard work in order to recover the money spent to obtain the tenders.

Thirty one years, then army commander, Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu, warned that there were no guarantees that the 1995 Constitution would last long unless politicians changed their ways.

According to The Monitor of August 9, 1995, Gen Muntu, who was also one of the 10 representatives of the National Resistance Army (NRA) in the Constituent Assembly (CA), issued the warning on August 8, 1995.

The newspaper revealed that Gen Muntu issued the warning while contributing to a motion tabled by the Bubulo East Constituency Assembly Delegate (CAD), Mr Simon Mulongo. Mr Mulongo had sought to reopen debate on Article 131 (1) (b) and insert a provision that would have limited the number of terms of office that a Member of Parliament (MP) could serve.

Mr Mulongo, who was recently named as the State minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Employment and Industrial Relations, argued that the motion was meant to change the practice of old politicians standing in the way of young politicians who sought to replace them.

However, Gen Muntu argued that the biggest problem with selling the idea of term limits was that around 90 percent of the delegates in the CA were interested in contesting the next general election and to compete for parliamentary seats in future elections.

He said in most African countries, more than 50 percent of the people who went to Parliament at Independence were still active politicians.

“Politics should not be made into a profession. You may legitimise violence once all the channels of changing [leaders] are closed,” Gen Muntu was quoted as having said.

The soldier also wondered why the motion to limit the number of terms for MPs was being resisted, yet the number of terms that a President could serve had been set at two.

At the time, the CA had already passed Article 105(2), which provided that ‘a person shall not be elected under this Constitution to hold office as President for more than two terms as prescribed by this Article’.

According to the newspaper, Mr Daniel Omara Atubo, the CAD for Otuke County, responded, saying that the motion was being resisted because the whole institution of the Executive was vested in one man – the President, yet the Legislature would have many members.

Gen Muntu, according to the newspaper, was not convinced by Mr Atubo’s submission.

‘The abuse of power in Africa has not been because of the power of the President, but the inefficiency of Parliament to check him; the weakness of politicians who are weak and have no backbone; politicians who cannot, on principle, sacrifice,” Gen Muntu argued.

The newspaper also reported that Mr John Eresu, the Kaberamaido County CAD, opposed the motion, saying it would deny people the right to choose their leaders.

Also on the list of those who opposed the motion was Mr Gaston Maliro, who was the Mwenge North CAD. He, on his part, argued that being an MP was a service.

“If the electorate is interested in your service, they will vote for you again,” Mr Maliro was quoted to have said.

Mr David Pulkol, the CAD for Matheniko County in Karamoja, supported Mr Mulongo’s motion. He argued that in a country where leaders have not yet developed a culture of stepping down or resigning in the face of controversy, there had to be a mechanism for putting a cap on the period of time that one could occupy an office.

“Even if you are the best performer on earth, new people are being born. New ideas are being born, and when you stay too long, you become insensitive to the needs of the population,” Mr Pulkol was quoted to have said.

Mr Pulkol further argued that President Museveni had shown the way by announcing that he would quit elective politics at the age of 55.

Mr Pulkol was referring to the July 19, 1995, announcement by President Museveni that he would leave office and go into cattle farming once he turned 55 years of age.

Mr Museveni made the announcement in Kisoro during a meeting with district officials, members of the local councils and elders of Bufumbira East constituency in Kisoro District at St Gertrude’s Girls’ School, Mutolere. The meeting was part of activities he engaged in during a three-day tour of the district.

“When I reach 55, I will not be in public life anymore. I told you this when I was 48 (two years ago). I’m ready to help Ugandans and Africa in public life up to the age of 55,” Mr Museveni, who was 50, said at the time.

That would have meant that he would not be contesting for any election after the 1996 presidential election, the first that was organised after the promulgation of the 1995 Constitution.

During the debate in the CA on that day, Mr Pulkol used the announcement to take a swipe at some politicians who had been active in politics for a long time.

“There are people here like Abu Mayanja. Maybe until Jesus comes back he will be here,” Mr Pulkol was quoted to have submitted.

Mr Pulkol was referring to the late Abu Mayanja, who was one of the six founders and first secretary general of Uganda’s first political party, the Uganda National Congress (UNC), which was formed in March 1952. He remained active in the political opposition against the regimes of Milton Obote and Idi Amin. He was named a Minister for Constitutional Affairs after the NRM took power in January 1986 and went on to hold several ministerial dockets. He died on November 4, 2005, at Mulago hospital after a short illness.

Motion lost

According to the newspaper, Mr Mulongos’ motion was lost after a division lobby vote where 86 delegates opposed it, while 65 supported it. There were also two abstentions.

The newspaper reported that Ms Rhoda Kalema and professors Senteza Kajubi and Apollo Nsibambi were some of the ‘old timers’ who supported the motion.

Besigye’s motion

Earlier the same day, Lt Col Kizza Besigye, who was one of the 10 CAD’s of the army, moved a motion to reopen debate on Article 129 (1) (b), which provided that “Parliament shall consist of one woman representative for every district”

Dr Besigye sought to have it amended to insert a clause to read that, ‘Parliament shall consist of a woman elected from every district. The woman [referred to above] shall not be elected for membership of Parliament for more than one term of Parliament’.

He argued that the Assembly had already agreed on the need for affirmative action to empower women to come into public life.

“My intention is to ensure it will empower as many women as possible to come into public life and specifically into Parliament,” he argued.

He said to leave the women free to stand as many times as they want would block other women who want to join public life, because the incumbents would be too strong to be removed.

However, Kajara County CAD, Mr Kweronda Ruhemba, opposed the motion, saying that Dr Besigye’s reasons were ‘flimsy’. He argued that a district woman representative would inspire confidence among women in the districts, adding that women who performed best would always win.

“To say she should wind up halfway is erroneous. We are still short of these women. In some districts we have had to borrow women from other districts,” Mr Ruhemba argued.

He also wondered why Dr Besigye wanted restrictions on the number of times women could contest on the affirmative action ticket, yet no restrictions had been slapped on his own positions.

“He has been a member of the NRC since 1982, when we were in the bush, but he has not given up his seat to other officers,” Mr Kweronda said.

Dr Besigye’s motion was also defeated.

At an age when many people would reasonably expect to retire and rely on their children for support, 78-year-old Henry Balikowa, a resident of Iganga District, begins his day before sunrise pushing a loaded bicycle to secure his daily survival.

Every morning at 6:00am, Mr. Balikowa sets out to fetch clean water for local households and businesses. His daily target is to supply at least 50 jerrycans, selling each unit for Shs500. For every round trip, he loads eight jerrycans-weighing roughly 160 kilograms-onto his bicycle frame and treks about three kilometres.

To manage the physical strain, Mr. Balikowa splits his schedule into two shifts. Between 6:00am and 11:00am, he attempts to deliver at least 25 jerrycans before the afternoon heat peaks. He returns home to rest during the hottest hours, resuming work at 4:30pm until dusk.

However, advanced age and persistent pain frequently prevent him from hitting his target, forcing him to settle for about 30 jerrycans on difficult days.

“Every morning, I wake up with pain in my joints and across my entire body. At night, the pain follows me to bed,” Mr. Balikowa said in an interview. He explained that he relies on daily over-the-counter painkillers simply to acquire enough strength to move his loaded bicycle.

There are days when severe chest pain prevents him from riding or pushing the bicycle altogether, forcing him to abandon his route and retreat home.

“At 78, I know my body is no longer made for such hard labour, but stopping is not an option,” he noted.

Despite the hardship, Mr. Balikowa has built vital relationships within his community. Ms. Fiona Babirye, a local restaurant owner in Iganga Town, provides him with breakfast and lunch daily in exchange for eight jerrycans of water. On days when health complications prevent him from working, Ms. Babirye still provides his meals, which Mr. Balikowa repays with water deliveries once he recovers.

When asked why he continues the strenuous routine despite having adult children, Mr. Balikowa revealed that relying on extended family proved unsustainable.

“I have a family and children, but constantly asking them and other people for financial help became difficult. After repeatedly seeking support and being ignored, I decided to find something I could do for myself,” Mr. Balikowa said. “I looked at my bicycle and asked myself what I could do with it, and this work was the answer.”

In addition to physical exhaustion, Mr. Balikowa faces resistance from clients who refuse to pay. Because borehole water is free at the source, some residents argue they should not pay for the commodity.

“They do not consider the physical energy it takes to pump the water, the extreme weight, and the distance covered every day,” Mr. Balikowa explained. “The water may be free at the source, but the journey to deliver it is not.”

Looking to the future, Mr. Balikowa hopes to acquire more jerrycans and large water storage drums. This would allow him to pump and store water during cooler evening hours, reducing his daytime exposure to the sun and granting his body crucial rest.

Until such assistance arrives, Mr. Balikowa continues to report to work every morning at 6:00am-not because his physical condition allows it, but because he has no alternative.