Category: News

What began with a malfunctioning gym machine developed into an unlikely friendship between musician Shakira Shakiraa and the late King of Tooro, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

Following the King’s death, Shakira joined many Ugandans in mourning and spoke publicly about her personal connection with the young monarch, revealing that the two had been gym buddies.

She also said she had developed a friendship with the Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa.

Her comments, however, quickly attracted attention on social media, with some users questioning how close she really was to the late King. Others accused the musician of trying to associate herself with his legacy for publicity.

Shakira has since dismissed the speculation, insisting that her friendship with King Oyo was genuine and was never something she deliberately cultivated for public attention.

According to the musician, their relationship began in an ordinary and almost accidental way at the gym.

“I was on one of the machines and it refused to work and he came, he helped me out. From there we started hellos and then it matured into a friendship,” she explained.

What started with a simple act of assistance gradually developed into familiarity as the two repeatedly crossed paths during their gym sessions.

For Shakira, those encounters eventually became a friendship, although she says she never intended her description of King Oyo as a friend to suggest a relationship beyond the bond they had developed through their regular interactions.

The musician said she only spoke about the relationship because she was asked about the late monarch and chose to share the personal experience that had remained most memorable to her.

“When they asked me about him, I shared my experience because that stood out in my friendship with him,” she said.

The revelation nevertheless became a subject of online debate, with some questioning why she had chosen to speak about her connection to the King after his death.

Shakira, however, said she has little interest in chasing online attention or staying in the public conversation simply for the sake of being talked about.

“I am the kind of person that doesn’t care whether I’m trending or not, whether my music is played or not. I focus on my businesses, that’s all,” she said.

For her, the friendship did not begin because either of them needed publicity. It started with an ordinary moment at a gym, grew through repeated encounters and eventually became a relationship she remembers fondly.

And while social media users may continue to debate the closeness of that friendship, Shakira maintains that she was simply sharing a personal memory of a late King she had come to know in an unexpected setting.

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Kenyan President William Ruto’s directive targeting foreign-owned small businesses has caused anxiety among traders across East Africa, with Ugandan traders operating in Kenya among those likely to feel the impact most directly.

According to reports by NTV Kenya on September 4, 2026, civil society organisations have challenged the directive, describing it as unconstitutional and calling for formal clarification from the Kenyan government. The directive was reportedly issued on September 2 at State House in Nairobi following a meeting with Kenyan Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) traders.

Although the measure has been presented largely as an effort to protect Kenyan hawkers and small businesses from competition, particularly from Chinese traders, its implementation could also affect Ugandan nationals who have built livelihoods in Kenya’s informal and small-business economy.

Ugandans operate businesses in places such as Gikomba, Eastleigh and Kawangware, as well as in towns along the Kenya-Uganda border.

Who is affected?

Ugandan traders in Kenya are not necessarily large investors. Many are ordinary men and women operating small businesses with modest capital, including:

• Mitumba traders in Gikomba Market;
• Foodstuff dealers dealing in matoke, maize, fish and other commodities;
• Salon, barbershop and boutique operators;
• Traders dealing in mobile phones and accessories; and
• Small businesses operating around the Busia and Malaba border areas.

Many of these traders operate within the framework of the East African Community (EAC) Common Market, which provides for the free movement of persons and labour, the right of establishment and other forms of economic integration among member states.

The question, therefore, is not simply whether Kenya has the right to regulate its domestic market. It is whether such regulation can be implemented in a manner that respects the rights and commitments arising from regional integration.

Four key concerns for Ugandan traders

1. Loss of livelihoods and stock

For a small trader, losing access to a business premises can mean losing everything.

Daily working capital ranging from KSh10,000 to KSh50,000 may represent years of savings or the combined resources of an entire family. For traders dealing in food and other perishables, prolonged uncertainty can also result in significant losses.

The fear of enforcement alone can discourage traders from opening their businesses, travelling to markets or restocking their goods.

2. Legal uncertainty

The situation has also created uncertainty over the legal basis and implementation of the directive.

If existing laws are being relied upon to regulate foreign traders, authorities need to clearly explain which categories of businesses and persons are affected, what permits are required and what procedures traders must follow to remain compliant.

Where there is uncertainty, there is a danger that ordinary traders may become vulnerable to harassment, extortion or arbitrary enforcement.

Clear rules, transparent enforcement and access to lawful remedies are therefore essential.

3. A challenge to East African integration

The development also raises broader questions about the future of East African integration.

The EAC Common Market was created to facilitate the movement of people, services, labour and capital across member states. Any measures that restrict these freedoms inevitably raise concerns about how far the region has progressed towards a genuinely integrated common market.

Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia are not merely neighbouring countries. They are members of a regional community whose economies and people are increasingly interconnected.

When one country tightens access for citizens of another, the consequences can quickly spread beyond its borders.

Recent reports that some foreign nationals in Kenya have sought assistance from their embassies because of fears arising from the announcement should remind us that economic policy can easily acquire a human dimension.

4. The risk of diplomatic and economic retaliation

Uganda is also home to thousands of Kenyan traders and businesses. From Kikuubo and Nakawa to Busia and other commercial centres, Kenyan nationals participate in Uganda’s economy.

A prolonged crackdown on Ugandan traders in Kenya could therefore generate pressure for reciprocal measures in Uganda.

That would benefit neither country.

East Africa needs fewer trade barriers, not more. We need policies that protect local businesses while also respecting legitimate regional trade commitments.

Protecting Kenyan traders is a legitimate domestic concern. But it should be pursued within the law and in a manner consistent with Kenya’s regional obligations.

Food for thought: How about business at home?

There is, however, another lesson that Uganda should draw from this situation.

Our brothers and sisters who have built businesses in Gikomba, Eastleigh and other parts of Kenya may now be facing an uncomfortable reality: no matter how attractive a foreign market appears, home remains home.

Many Ugandans leave places such as Iganga, Mbale, Busia and Jinja in search of better economic opportunities in Nairobi and other cities.

There is nothing wrong with seeking opportunities beyond our borders. The EAC itself encourages such economic interaction.

But perhaps we should also ask ourselves a difficult question:

How about business at home?

A lion does not roar in another man’s forest. It roars at home, where its voice shakes the ground.

Kenya’s experience should therefore not only make us angry or afraid. It should make us think.

If every country is increasingly concerned about creating opportunities for its own citizens, what are we doing to ensure that Ugandans can build sustainable businesses without having to cross the border in search of survival?

Opportunities we should not overlook

Uganda has enormous economic opportunities that we sometimes overlook while pursuing opportunities elsewhere.

1. Industrialisation and local production

Government has invested in industrial parks and other initiatives intended to promote manufacturing and create jobs.

Instead of only travelling to foreign markets to sell goods, Ugandans should increasingly consider producing, processing and packaging those goods at home.

The real opportunity is not merely to sell products. It is to own the value chain.

2. PDM and Emyooga

Programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga are intended to increase access to capital and strengthen household incomes and enterprise development.

A trader with capital equivalent to KSh50,000—roughly Shs1.4 million, depending on the prevailing exchange rate—could, for example, explore opportunities in produce aggregation, food processing, retail or other viable enterprises at home rather than putting all that capital into a business where immigration or trading regulations could change unexpectedly.

The important point is not that every Ugandan should abandon regional trade. It is that we should use available opportunities to build stronger enterprises at home.

3. Strengthening regional markets

Uganda has major commercial centres such as Kikuubo, Nakawa, Owino and Busia.

These markets provide enormous opportunities for Ugandan entrepreneurs.

We should be asking ourselves how to move from being small-scale traders to owners of businesses, warehouses, distribution networks and manufacturing enterprises.

We should aspire to become exporters, rather than remaining dependent on foreign markets for basic opportunities.

4. Value addition

Consider agricultural products such as matoke, maize, fish and coffee.

Instead of exporting them in raw form and capturing only a small part of their value, why can we not process, package, brand and market them from Uganda?

A product branded and packaged in Iganga, for example, can travel much further than a truckload of unprocessed produce.

Imagine building brands such as “Iganga Gold” and selling them across East Africa and beyond.

That is the kind of entrepreneurship Uganda needs.

Let us build at home while embracing regional trade

I am not arguing that Ugandans should stop trading in Kenya.

The EAC Common Market gives citizens of member states legitimate opportunities to participate in the regional economy, subject to applicable laws and regulations.

My argument is that we should not put all our eggs in a foreign basket.

A business that depends entirely on a foreign market can be exposed to changes in policy, political pressure or enforcement decisions over which the trader has little control.

We should therefore build strong businesses at home while taking advantage of regional and international markets.

The Kenya experience should be a wake-up call, particularly for our young people.

Before boarding that bus to Nairobi with Shs2 million, ask yourself: What can I build with this money in Uganda?

Visit your commercial officer. Seek guidance from your local government authorities. Form or join a cooperative. Explore legitimate financing opportunities. Understand the available government programmes. Start small, grow steadily and build an enterprise that can employ others.

We should not only dream of becoming traders in Nairobi. We should dream of building the businesses that attract Kenyans, Tanzanians, Congolese and others to Uganda.

Patriotism is not merely singing the national anthem. It is also building the economic foundations of the country we call home.

Let us build Uganda so that tomorrow, it is Kenyans and other East Africans coming to Uganda in search of business opportunities—not Ugandans standing at foreign embassy gates because a policy changed overnight.

For God and My Country, let us build at home first.

Caroline Kiwala Tahir
Assistant Resident District Commissioner
Iganga District

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KALANGALA: Stanbic Bank Uganda has officially unveiled its newly refurbished Kalangala branch, combining a celebration of its 35th anniversary with a strong pledge to deepen financial inclusion across the Ssese Islands.

The modernization project transformed both the interior and exterior of the facility, introducing state-of-the-art equipment designed to streamline operations and elevate the banking experience for island residents.

The renewed branch was inaugurated by Mark Ocitti, Chief Executive of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited (SUHL), during his inaugural familiarization tour following his appointment in July. 

Ocitti was accompanied by Mumba Kalifungwa, Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Uganda, along with Sylvia Mulomi, Head of People and Culture, and local community leaders.

Marking his first major regional tour at the helm of the holdings company, Ocitti expressed deep pride in the impactful work being driven across the group, highlighting how the anchor subsidiary continues to deliver shared value for customers, shareholders, and communities alike.

“As we mark 35 years of operating in Uganda, seeing our anchor subsidiary continue to create shared value for our stakeholders—from customers and shareholders to the wider community—is a true reflection of our core purpose: Uganda is our home, we drive her growth,” Ocitti said.

Speaking at the same engagement, Stanbic Bank Uganda Chief Executive Mumba Kalifungwa turned the focus directly to customer experience and the bank’s localized impact agenda, emphasizing the critical importance of bringing island communities into the formal financial fold.

“Customer experience remains at the core of our growth strategy,” Kalifungwa noted.

 “This refurbishment ensures that our customers in Kalangala enjoy a modern, reliable, and exceptional banking environment. Through our positive impact agenda, we remain fully committed to driving financial inclusion that specifically empowers women, youth, and farmers across these island communities.”

The Kalangala revamp forms part of a broader nationwide initiative to strengthen physical and digital touchpoints. 

As Uganda’s largest financial institution by assets and liabilities, Stanbic Bank operates a vast network comprising more than 83 branches and over 7,000 active bank agents across the country, ensuring that remote regions retain consistent access to vital financial services.

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There is a particular moment in a Kampala party when the evening stops being an event and becomes a memory.

It usually arrives without warning. A song changes, somebody screams, a previously restrained crowd suddenly discovers that sitting still is no longer an option. Phones appear in the air. People who had been politely nursing their drinks are suddenly dancing with the confidence of people who have either forgotten tomorrow exists or have decided that tomorrow can deal with itself.

At the second edition of the Dread Lazer Turn Up at Kati Kati on Friday Sept 4, that moment came repeatedly. This is, after all, a city that knows how to party. Kampala’s nightlife is crowded, competitive and increasingly sophisticated. There is always another launch, another concert, another themed night, another DJ promising to take you somewhere you have never been before. The problem with making that promise in Kampala is that the audience has heard it all before.

So the interesting question is no longer whether a party is happening. It is whether there is anything about it worth remembering. Dread Lazer’s answer was music.

More specifically, it was what happens when a DJ decides that mixing records is not enough. The most anticipated performance of the night was Dread Lazer’s own set, and for good reason. He appeared alongside a coordinated team of instrumentalists, turning what might ordinarily have been a familiar DJ performance into something considerably more theatrical.

The distinction mattered. A conventional DJ set depends largely on the relationship between the booth and the crowd: one person controls the music, everyone else reacts. Dread Lazer complicated that arrangement by introducing live musicians into the equation.

Suddenly, the music had a physical presence. The beats were not simply coming through speakers. They were being interpreted, extended and reshaped in real time. Genres that might ordinarily occupy separate corners of the playlist began to collide.

Hip Hop could give way to Dancehall, only for the transition to be interrupted by an instrumental flourish that made the audience wonder where the song was going next.

That uncertainty was part of the pleasure. There is a special kind of excitement in not knowing exactly what comes next. It is one reason live music continues to matter in an age when almost every song ever recorded is available at the touch of a screen.

A live performance can misbehave. It can surprise you. Dread Lazer’s set leaned into that possibility.

The result was less a sequence of songs than a musical conversation between the DJ, his instrumentalists and the audience. The crowd was not simply listening; it was responding, and those responses became part of the atmosphere.

Then Joshua Baraka arrived. If Dread Lazer’s set blurred the boundaries between DJing and live musicianship, Baraka’s performance returned the evening to the straightforward pleasure of a singer commanding a stage.

The response was immediate. The singer performed his latest hits to roars from the crowd, adding a different kind of energy to an evening that had already been moving at considerable speed. Where the DJ set encouraged the audience to surrender to rhythm, Baraka gave them something else to hold on to: words they knew, melodies they recognised and songs they could sing back.

It was a useful reminder that good nightlife is rarely about one thing. It is about rhythm and recognition. Surprise and familiarity. The new song you did not know you needed and the old one that makes an entire room behave as though everyone has suddenly become a backing vocalist.

The other DJs understood this instinctively. City Girl, Linus, Life of the Party and others kept the music moving, each contributing to the larger architecture of the night. The variety mattered because Kampala’s party crowd is not particularly interested in being placed in a musical box.

A little Hip Hop is welcome. Dancehall will do nicely. Live music? Absolutely. Something unexpected from the DJ booth? Even better.

The second Dread Lazer Turn Up seemed to recognise that modern audiences are increasingly looking for experiences rather than merely events. And that distinction is important. An event tells you where to go. An experience gives you a reason to stay.

The Smirnoff presence at the Turn Up was built around that same idea. Rather than existing merely as a logo in the background, the brand created a visible part of the night’s social landscape through cocktail stations and a colourful party environment.

Raymond Karama, Smirnoff Brand Manager, described the intention plainly.

“Our plan tonight was to release the party spirit and we did exactly that. Smirnoff is a party spirit and wherever we go, we ensure that the party is lit and give our consumers a flavorful experience.”

There is a certain logic to that strategy. Brands have long understood that nightlife is about association. Nobody remembers the corporate presentation that preceded the party. They remember the song that came on at the right moment, the person they met, the performance that surprised them, the photograph they took and, perhaps, the drink in their hand while it was happening.

The most effective brand experiences understand that people are not attending an advertisement. They are attending a party. The brand’s job, therefore, is to make the party better.

At the Dread Lazer Turn Up, the cocktail stations and Smirnoff’s visual presence became part of the environment rather than a distraction from it. The music remained the main attraction, while the brand helped sustain the social rhythm around it.

That rhythm is increasingly important to Kampala’s nightlife economy. The city has become a place where entertainment, fashion, music, food, alcohol and social identity overlap. A night out is rarely just a night out anymore. It is content for social media, an opportunity to see and be seen, a chance to discover an artist before everyone else does, or simply an excuse to leave the house dressed considerably better than the occasion technically requires.

That puts pressure on promoters and performers. A crowded social calendar means audiences have options. If one party fails to deliver, there is another one down the road. The Dread Lazer Turn Up therefore had to offer something beyond attendance.

It offered a proposition: what if the DJ could become part of the band?

That was the night’s most compelling idea. Dread Lazer’s performance suggested a direction in which the traditional boundaries of Kampala’s nightlife could become increasingly blurred. The DJ need not simply be the person selecting and mixing recorded music. He can become curator, conductor and performer at once.

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Partygoers were treated to an energetic night of music and live entertainment as the Smirnoff Turn Up brought together Kampala’s party crowd for a celebration headlined by Dread Lazer and Joshua Baraka.

The night reached its peak when Dread Lazer took over the decks, delivering a distinctive performance that blended DJing with live instrumentation.

Unlike a conventional DJ set, Dread Lazer performed alongside a team of instrumentalists, creating a fusion of electronic music and live sounds that kept the crowd engaged throughout his set.

Moving effortlessly across genres, he switched between Hip Hop, Dancehall and other sounds, giving familiar tracks a fresh interpretation through live instruments.

The performance quickly became one of the biggest talking points of the night, with one reveller summing up the atmosphere simply: “The groove is mob lit.”

As the crowd settled into the high-energy rhythm, Joshua Baraka stepped onto the stage and took the excitement even higher with performances of some of his latest hits.

His set followed performances from DJs including City Girl, Linus and Life of the Party, who had kept the crowd entertained and built anticipation for the night’s main acts.

Beyond the music, the event featured the Smirnoff brand experience, with cocktail stations providing guests with a range of drinks throughout the evening.

Raymond Karama, Smirnoff Brand Manager, said the event was designed to give consumers an energetic and memorable party experience.

“Our plan tonight was to release the party spirit, and we did exactly that. Smirnoff is a party spirit, and wherever we go, we ensure that the party is lit and give our consumers a flavorful experience,” Karama said.

The combination of live instrumentation, DJ performances and live music gave the Smirnoff Turn Up a distinct character, with Dread Lazer’s genre-blending set and Joshua Baraka’s performance emerging as the standout moments of the night.

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By Sunday afternoon, Tales Lounge in Bukoto had traded its usual bar atmosphere for something more deliberate: a denim-filled garden party, where the dress code was as much part of the experience as the music.

The second edition of the Garden Pop Up brought together Kampala’s social crowd for an afternoon of music, fashion, drinks and photography, with premium whisky brand -The Singleton joining the party.

That was cue for customised cocktails, mainly named around retro themes and music- such as New Jack Swing, My Denim My Style, though at the soul of the whole thing, most of them were classic cocktails made using the world’s leading single malt whisky- The Singleton 12.

“The Singleton is about enjoying whisky through experiences that bring people together, and Garden Pop Up gives us exactly that,” Simon Lapyem, the brand manager said. “It is not just about the drink; it is about the music, the fashion, the conversations and the people you share the moment with. That is the kind of experience we want The Singleton to be part of.”

The brand’s presence fitted naturally into an event built around socialising. Rather than making whisky the sole focus of the afternoon, The Singleton became part of the wider lifestyle experience, one that combined music, personal style and the increasingly popular culture of daytime partying.

The denim theme was difficult to miss. Guests turned up in denim shorts, skirts, jackets and full Canadian tuxedos, with many taking time to pose for pictures and show off their interpretations of the theme.

But while the clothes provided the visual identity, it was the music that supplied the pulse.

DJs- Bugy, City Gal, Gero and Heydez, took turns behind the decks, building the kind of soundtrack that made it easy to settle into a Sunday afternoon and stay longer than planned. Their sets kept the mood upbeat without forcing the occasion into the intensity of a typical Saturday night party.

They jumped through genres, from old school classics like Fantasia’s When I See You and Bow Wow’s Let Me Hold You, to local old school that got people into a flash mob frenzy as they danced to hits like Ngoni’s Digi and Bobi Wine’s Bada; remember those songs came with their own dance moves.

That balance was perhaps the event’s biggest strength. Garden Pop Up did not try to reinvent the Sunday party. Instead, it understood what makes one work: good music, people willing to dress for the occasion and enough room for conversations, photographs and drinks between sets.

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