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Runjin Mining Holdings has built a fully operational gold mine in Tiira Town Council, Busia District, employing more than 60 Ugandans and establishing a partnership with local investors.

The infrastructure is in place. The mine is ready to operate.

But there is one major problem: the company is still waiting for a mining licence.

The delay was acknowledged publicly by State Minister for Minerals Phiona Nyamutoro during a visit to the site, where she inspected the investment and admitted that the licensing process had taken longer than expected.

Nyamutoro said the government was reviewing the licensing system and promised that the matter would be addressed within two months.

“This has demonstrated quite a potential investment that we should support,” Nyamutoro said. “I have committed that there has been a lag in licensing. We are undergoing a review of the process at ministerial level and, in a period of two months, we should be able to issue a proper licence.”

The Runjin case has once again brought attention to concerns about delays in Uganda’s mining licensing process.

For years, investors and artisanal miners have complained about lengthy procedures, multiple approval requirements and delays involving different government agencies, particularly in securing environmental approvals.

Nyamutoro said the Ministry was now discussing possible reforms with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), including the establishment of a dedicated desk to specifically handle mining-related applications.

“We are in discussions with NEMA to see how best we can come to a harmonised point,” she said. “We are asking them to constitute a particular desk that handles mining issues so that the bureaucracy is reduced.”

If implemented, the proposed arrangement could help speed up approvals for mining projects and reduce delays that have often left investors waiting despite having already committed significant resources to their projects.

For Runjin Mining Holdings, however, the immediate test will be whether the promised licence is issued within the next two months.

The company says it has already demonstrated its commitment to working with Ugandans through its local partnership model.

Johny Sasirwe, a Strategic Ugandan Partner at Runjin Mining Holdings, said the company allows local partners to negotiate for a significant stake in its mining projects.

“The Canadians want, for a mine like this, for you to take like 2%, but for Runjin Mining Holdings, you can negotiate with them for up to 30 or 40%,” Sasirwe said. “They are easy to work with because they are negotiating very nicely.”

The investment has also raised hopes among members of the Tiira community, which has long been associated with artisanal and open-pit mining.

Paul Angesu, Chairperson of the Tiira Landlords and Artisanal Miners Association, said established mining companies could help introduce safer and more modern mining practices while creating employment opportunities for adults.

“We need more of these developers,” Angesu said. “They are bringing new technologies. These developers are also going to help the Government to eliminate the element of school dropouts by not employing children under the age of 18.”

With more than 60 Ugandans already employed and the mine infrastructure complete, attention will now turn to whether the government delivers on its promise.

Minister Nyamutoro has set a clear two-month timeline.

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Lugogo Cricket Oval on Friday felt like a movie scene. Lydia Jazmine finally took the stage for her long-awaited ‘The One and Only’ concert, and Kampala came ready.

From glam entrances and a fireworks show to an unexpected technical glitch, the night had all the ingredients of a memorable concert.

As Lydia performed one of her hits with Geosteady, the music suddenly stopped. For a second, there was confusion. Then, from somewhere in the crowd, came the chant: “Lydia… we wanna partee!”

What could have been an awkward pause quickly became another moment for the crowd to own. Lugogo Cricket Oval erupted, and ‘The One and Only’ concert carried on with the energy of a night that Kampala had clearly come ready for.

Held on September 4, the concert, powered by V&A Sherry in partnership with Abitex Promotions, brought thousands of Lydia’s fans together for a night of music, friendship and a look back at the journey of one of Uganda’s most recognisable female voices.

By 3 pm, Lugogo Cricket Oval was already filling up. At the V&A backdrop, fans paused for photos and 360 videos as they made way to their seats, where the crowd slowly grew in anticipation of the night’s performances.

The lineup did not disappoint. The night featured artists including Sheebah Karungi, Lillian Mbabazi, Fefe Bussi, Ray G and Anknown, among others, who entertained guests alongside the DJs who kept the crowd moving between performances. And as the numbers grew, so did the social side of the evening.

Around the venue, V&A Sherry was a part of the rhythm of the night. Served neat and as Vangria, the sherry liqueur gave friends something to raise as they caught up, sang along, and settled into the concert. It became part of the experience- the conversations, the photographs, the shared jokes, and the moments that would last long after the concert was over.

“Lydia Jazmine has built a strong connection with her audience, and that was evident tonight. For us at V&A, that made ‘The One and Only’ concert a natural space for V&A to be,” said Roy Ronald Tumwizere, the Brand Manager for V&A.

“V&A is about those moments you want to enjoy and share with other people. Whether it is a big career milestone like Lydia’s second concert or simply a night out with friends, there is something special about having the people you care about there with you. That is what ‘Yours to Share’ means to us, and tonight we got to see that play out in a very real way,” he added.

When Lydia finally stepped onto the stage, the crowd needed no encouragement.

They sang along to ‘Cherie’, ‘Same Way’, ‘Masuuka’ and ‘You and Me’, among many other songs, turning the concert into something bigger than a performance. At several points, thousands of voices joined Lydia word for word, proving just how deeply her music has stayed with her audience.

For an artist marking another significant point in her career, there was something almost full circle about the moment. Lydia sang the songs that had carried her through the years, and the very people who had listened to them returned every word to her.

The night was Lydia’s, but in the same spirit, it belonged to her fans too. They came with friends, met people they had not seen in years, made new memories and sang to songs that have soundtracked different chapters of their lives.

By the time the lights came up, the crowd had given Lydia what every performer hopes for — their voices, their energy and their time.

For V&A Sherry, the night was another expression of its commitment to supporting Ugandan talent and creating spaces where its consumers can share good moments. The brand’s calendar continues with the Kenneth Mugabi concert on September 12, and the Miss Uganda Grand Finale, among other experiences lined up to give you a good close to 2026.

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Kampala’s Sunday social calendar is set for a denim takeover this weekend as Garden Pop Up returns with a denim-themed edition on Sunday, September 6, bringing together music, fashion, cocktails and the easy-going energy of a garden day party.

Hosted at Tales Bar & Lounge, the experience, billed as The Garden Pop Up, will run from 11am and is designed for a crowd that would rather ease into Sunday than rush through it. With denim as the dress code, guests can expect the familiar Kampala day-party mix of fashion, music, drinks and socialising, wrapped around an experience by The Singleton.

The whisky brand is bringing its signature approach to occasion-led drinking to the event, positioning the afternoon as an opportunity to enjoy whisky beyond the conventional night-out setting. For The Singleton, the partnership fits into a wider effort to connect the whisky with experiences around music, food, travel and contemporary social culture.

“The Singleton is about creating moments that feel considered but never forced. Garden Pop Up gives us the perfect setting to bring people together around great music, personal style, good company and an elevated whisky experience,” Simon Lapyem, the The Singleton brand manager said. “We want guests to experience the brand in a way that feels natural to how Kampala socialises today—during the day, with friends and with experiences worth remembering.”

Music will be central to the afternoon, with a broad line-up of Kampala DJs scheduled to keep the garden moving. The roster includes DJ Roja, DJ Bugy, City Girl, DJ Matson, DJ Sern, DJ Gero, DJ Heydez, Ville and DJ Gadorfi, promising a mix designed to carry the party from the late morning into the afternoon.

The event will also feature MCs Josh MC, MC Zack and Top Boy MC, who will take charge of the crowd and keep the energy moving between sets.

Beyond the music, the denim theme gives the event another layer, turning the garden into a space where Kampala’s social crowd can bring fashion into the experience. Denim-on-denim looks, statement pieces and casual interpretations of the theme are expected to become part of the visual identity of the afternoon.

Garden Pop Up arrives at a time when Kampala’s nightlife culture continues to expand beyond the traditional Friday and Saturday night format. Sunday experiences have increasingly become social occasions in their own right, combining brunch, fashion, music and premium drinks into longer daytime gatherings.

For The Singleton, that evolution presents an opportunity to meet consumers in spaces where culture and social connection naturally intersect.

With the music, denim dress code and whisky experience coming together at Tales Bar & Lounge, this Sunday’s Garden Pop Up is shaping up as less of a conventional party and more of a Sunday social ritual—one built around style, sound and good company.

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Parliament has adopted a report on the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) with cases of financial mismanagement, missing wagons, disputed procurement deals and the loss and encroachment of railway land.

Presenting the report on Thursday, 03 September 2026, the Chairperson of the Committee on Physical Infrastructure, Hon. Mwine Mpaka said public funds meant to revive the railway had instead been used to benefit consultants and foreign firms.
“We have established a systematic failure where public funds meant to build local railway capacity and rehabilitate critical transport infrastructure were instead deployed to enrich individual consultants and foreign firms under the guise of technical expertise,” Mpaka said.

The report, adopted during a sitting chaired by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth focused on a Shs125 billion Spanish-funded railway project with a Shs20.8 billion capacity-building component.

The committee found that almost 90 per cent of the capacity building funds worth Euros4.33 million went to five foreign experts with some earning up to Euros32,500 (Shs140 million) a month.
The committee report also revealed that some URC employees were allegedly listed as foreign experts to access the higher payments while continuing to receive their normal local salaries of about Shs6.5 million.

The committee also found that Spanish firm, Consultrans S.A.U which designed the project feasibility study and assessed URC’s capacity needs, subsequently awarded the works contract to its sister company, Imathia Construction, through direct procurement.

Other irregularities included multi-day workshops being reduced to one-day refresher courses, Euros79,500 claimed for overseas back-office travel, project-funded second-hand pickup trucks being sold to staff and Euro60,000 meant for office furniture being used to equip offices occupied by Spanish consultants.

Mpaka said the findings raised serious questions about the management of URC assets.
“URC cannot account for its own land, its land titles or its rolling stock,” he said warning that the disappearance and disposal of wagons raised issues of criminal liability.

According to Mpaka, the corporation also holds 20,848 acres of land, of which 1,983 acres remain untitled and are affected by more than 24,653 encroachment cases.
“A further 62 railway land titles misplaced by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development during office relocations have never been returned despite reminders dating back to 2016,” Mpaka added.

The committee found that only 269Km of URC’s 1,266Km network is operational while fleet availability stands at 22 per cent for locomotives, 36 per cent for coaches and 30 per cent for operational wagons.

It also found that 112 wagons remain unaccounted for after being routed to a “virtual station” in Nyahururu, Kenya under the tracking system used by the former Rift Valley Railways.

“URC sold 152 wagons domestically as scrap and another 28 in Tanzania, but official records could not account for 82 of the scrap wagons resulting in a direct financial loss of Shs2.4 billion,” the report states in part.

The adopted report directs the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) to investigate and prosecute members of URC’s Adhoc Board of Survey, Contracts Committee and Procurement and Disposal Unit implicated in the irregular disposal of scrap wagons and the resulting financial losses.

The IGG was also directed to investigate former URC Managing Director, David Musoke Bulega, contract managers and members of management over payments for unexecuted services, questionable travel claims, unprocured software, vehicle misappropriation and contractual terms that resulted in URC losing ownership of the concrete sleeper plant.

In one of the recommendations, the Ministries of Lands and that of Works and Transport were ordered to submit a joint railway-land recovery strategy within 30 days, including action, with police and military support where necessary, to remove 1,698 identified encroachers.

The Minister of State for Transport, Hon. Julius Maganda acknowledged the extent of URC’s decline but said government is now working to revive the corporation.
“Completely everything went down… Government is beginning to uplift Uganda Railways. Look at the report but support the agency because we are now moving in the right direction,” he said.

Hon. Joseph Ssewungu (NUP, Kalungu West) called for openness and frankness in discussions on the rehabilitation of the railway.

Speaker Oboth urged the ministry to replace URC’s old coaches and increase the frequency of passenger services.
“Replace those old coaches. I want to use that train to come to Parliament. We need some coaches. I have a stage just by my house,” he said.

The Minister of State for Industry said the Executive will respond to the report through a Treasury Memorandum.

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Government is drafting parole rules that will see eligible prisoners serve part of their sentences outside prison as one of the measures to reduce overcrowding.

The Prime Minister, Rt Hon. Robinah Nabbanja told Parliament that the proposed parole rules are being considered by the First Parliamentary Counsel, the office responsible for drafting and reviewing legislations.
“The Uganda Prisons Service is finalising the Parole Rules and Regulations, currently before the First Parliamentary Counsel to govern the safe release of eligible inmates,” said Nabbanja during the weekly Prime Minister’s time on Thursday, 03 September 2026.

Under the parole arrangement, the beneficiaries remain under supervision and may be required to report to a parole officer, maintain good conduct and participate in rehabilitation programmes. A prisoner who breaches the conditions may be returned to custody.

The Prime Minister was responding to Kampala District Woman MP, Hon. Shamim Malende who raised concern over extreme overcrowding and prolonged detention of suspects on remand.

Malende said delays in the judicial system are causing suspects to remain in prison longer than the sentences they would ordinarily receive if convicted.
“We have people who should serve six months but end up spending three years on remand because their cases are not heard in time,” Malende said.

Nabbanja added that the Prisons Service is working with Justice, Law and Order stakeholders to expand non-custodial sentences where punishments are served outside prison including community service. These are applied to offenders whose detention may not be necessary.

She stated that video conferencing systems have been installed in 21 prisons across the country.
Nabbanja named Luzira Upper Prison, Arua, Mbarara, Lira, Soroti, Fort Portal and Kabale Districts as some of the detention areas that allow prisoners to appear before judicial officers through video links without being transported to court.

“There is also a programme to expand prisons infrastructure with construction ongoing at several prisons including Sembabule, Lwengo, Kabula, Buwama, Paidha, Nakasongola, Ndorwa, Murchison Bay, Arua, Kitgum, Rakai and Mutukula, she said adding that, ’in the 2026/2027 financial year, government plans to construct 37 prison wards in Mityana, Mbarara and Kibaale Districts’.

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