Northern Uganda-based TikToker Mercy Lucky Lakisa, popularly known as Macy through her account @23macy3938, has died.
Family members and people close to her say she was found dead at her home in Laroo-Pece Division, Gulu City, on Monday night. Authorities have not yet officially established the circumstances surrounding her death, and her body has been taken to the mortuary for a post-mortem examination as investigations continue.
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Who She Was
Before her death, Macy had built a following on TikTok through lifestyle and entertainment content. She was also a familiar face within Gulu’s entertainment scene, having appeared as a video vixen in the remix of “My Bebe” by Big Mosh and Laxzy Mover.
News of her passing has spread quickly across social media, with fellow content creators, entertainers, friends, and fans sharing tributes describing her as vibrant and talented, with content that brought joy to many who followed her online.
Her family is expected to communicate burial arrangements in the coming days.
No official statement on the cause of death has been released, and the circumstances remain under investigation.
Veteran Kadongo Kamu singer Willy Mukabya has shared his views on marriage, arguing that the ideal age for people to officially settle down is 30 years and above.
According to the singer, many people who marry before the age of 30 often make avoidable mistakes because they are not yet mature enough to make sound life decisions.
Mukabya believes that by the age of 30, an individual is more emotionally and mentally prepared to handle the responsibilities that come with marriage and family life.
If it were possible, I think everyone should start a family at the age of 30. Most of us rushed into marriage at a young age. By 30, a person’s reasoning is much better. The brain is sharper, and you’re able to make wiser decisions. It’s only later that many people realize they rushed into relationships after recognizing the many mistakes they made.
The veteran musician further observed that many young people rush into relationships without fully understanding the commitment involved, a mistake he believes can have lasting consequences.
He added that, in his view, many young women are becoming more cautious and are no longer easily pressured into settling down at an early age.
While Mukabya’s remarks reflect his personal opinion and experience, the appropriate age for marriage varies from person to person depending on individual maturity, circumstances, and personal choice.
Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) Nkozi has given a unique award to Dr. Aisha Ruth Kasolo, national coordinator of the GROW Project, in recognition of her work as a practical skilling champion, mentor, and source of inspiration for young scholars across Uganda and beyond.
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Dr. Kasolo, a PhD holder who also heads the Skills Development Facility at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), used her platform at PSFU, her substantive employer, to support the practical skills deepening programme at UMU. Through the PSFU-led Skills Development Facility (SDF) 3, she helped drive high-end innovations at the university, work that its Catholic Church-owned top management says made her deserving of recognition.
The innovations Dr. Kasolo instigated and enabled were carried out through UMU’s Faculty of Agriculture, where researchers successfully undertook the domestication, rearing, and value addition of Black Soldier Fly larvae. One of the research efforts her support enabled led to a notable scientific discovery: that larvae from Black Soldier Flies have the potential to deliver higher protein volumes than can be derived from silverfish.
Grateful for the collaboration, the university had previously invited Dr. Kasolo to serve as keynote speaker at one of its commencement lectures. She was also invited for a speaking engagement at the main campus in Nkozi on the eve of the university’s 18th October 2025 graduation ceremony, a sign of the deepening ties between UMU and the skilling advocate.
In its official statement, the university described her recognition as being tied to her outstanding contribution to youth innovations, alongside her leadership in pushing the commercialisation of research coming out of higher institutions of learning.
As Buganda celebrates the 33rd Coronation Anniversary of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, several public figures and politicians have joined the kingdom in marking the historic milestone while reaffirming their commitment to Buganda’s development.
Among them is Hon. Kiruluuta Nkerettanyi Yusuf, the Member of Parliament for Kalungu East, who used the occasion to encourage young people to actively participate in leadership and politics.
Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II
Hon. Kiruluuta revealed that he drew inspiration from the Kabaka’s long-standing call for the youth to engage in active politics, a message that motivated him to contest for a parliamentary seat under the National Unity Platform (NUP) Party ticket.
As a young leader, I heeded the Kabaka’s advice urging the youth to actively participate in politics, and that inspired me to contest for the position of Member of Parliament.
Today, my mission is to champion and guide fellow young people to love Buganda and contribute to its development as we honor our forefathers who sacrificed their lives for the kingdom.
I also encourage the youth to remain disciplined, respectful, and responsible so that together we can uplift our motherland.
His remarks come as Buganda marks 33 years since Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II was crowned, with leaders across the kingdom using the anniversary to reflect on the importance of unity, cultural heritage, patriotism, and youth involvement in shaping Buganda’s future.
Singer Angella Katatumba is among the beneficiaries of a High Court ruling that has cleared the way for the attachment and possible sale of two commercial properties owned by Springs International Hotel, a company under businessman Shukla Mukesh’s Shumuk Group, over an unpaid judgment debt of Shs173.36 million.
Angella Katatumba, alongside Rugiirwa Katatumba, Charles Odere, Benson Tusasiirwe and Julius Turinawe, sought to enforce the judgment after Springs International Hotel failed to settle the court-awarded amount.
In a ruling delivered by Assistant Registrar Samuel M. Kagoda Ntende of the High Court’s Land Division, the company was given 30days to pay the decretal sum or face execution through the attachment and sale of Condominium Units 67 and 68 on Plot 2, Colville Street in Kampala’s central business district.
The court noted that the judgment from Civil Suit No. 314 of 2018 had not been satisfied, prompting the successful application by the creditors. The properties targeted for attachment are part of the commercial assets that have been at the centre of a long-running legal battle between the Katatumba estate and companies linked to Mukesh.
The latest decision follows another major High Court ruling delivered in December 2025, which ordered Mukesh, Springs International Hotel, Shumuk Springs Development and another related company to pay about Shs14 billion in mesne profits after finding they had wrongfully occupied part of the property commonly known as Blacklines House, now Shumuk House.
The court also cancelled property transfers made in favour of Springs International Hotel, ruling that ownership remained with the Katatumba estate pending full implementation of the original sale agreement.
Although Springs International Hotel argued that the two Colville Street condominium units are worth more than Shs1 billion, making their attachment disproportionate to the Shs173.36 million debt, the court granted the execution order.
If the company fails to pay the outstanding amount within the 30-day deadline, the creditors, including Angella Katatumba, will be allowed to proceed with the attachment and sale of the properties.
A major international research project at Makerere University aimed at developing a vaccine to prevent the deadly visceral leishmaniasis and post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) has come under scrutiny after the Auditor General flagged a series of financial management and accountability weaknesses spanning several years.
The findings, contained in the Auditor General’s reports covering the PREV-PKDL Project from the financial year ended March 31, 2019 to March 31, 2025, reveal recurring concerns ranging from poor absorption of funds and expenditure outside approved budgets to failure to deduct and remit withholding tax to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
The PREV-PKDL project is an international research partnership implemented by Makerere University under the European Vaccine Initiative and funded through the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP2) Programme. Running from April 1, 2018, the project seeks to advance the clinical development of the ChAd63-KH vaccine to prevent deadly visceral leishmaniasis and post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis, while strengthening research capacity across Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan.
However, despite its scientific ambitions, the Auditor General found a pattern of financial management issues that persisted across several reporting periods.
For the financial year ended March 31, 2019, the project had an approved budget of €203,671.42, approximately UGX 877 million. Of this, only €192,933.61, equivalent to about UGX 831 million, was available, leaving a funding deficit of €10,737.81, about UGX 46 million. More strikingly, only €40,301.79, approximately UGX 174 million, representing just 21 percent of the available funds, was spent. The remaining €152,631.82, about UGX 657 million, remained idle, leading to failure to implement planned project activities.
The audit for the year ended March 31, 2020 showed that although the project had an approved budget of €93,921.42, approximately UGX 404 million, no funding was received because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even so, auditors found that project management paid suppliers €5,912.43, about UGX 25.5 million, without deducting and remitting the required six percent withholding tax to URA amounting to €354.75, approximately UGX 1.5 million.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the project had an approved budget of €116,490.66, approximately UGX 502 million. However, only €86,826.40, roughly UGX 374 million, was received, leaving a funding deficit of €29,664.26, equivalent to about UGX 128 million, representing only 75 percent funding performance. The Auditor General also found that the project spent €708.43, approximately UGX 3 million, on activities that had not been provided for in the approved budget.
The following year presented a different scenario. During the financial year ended March 31, 2022, the project had an approved budget of €63,740.66, approximately UGX 275 million, but received €97,932.78, equivalent to about UGX 422 million, resulting in a surplus of €34,192.12, roughly UGX 147 million, representing 154 percent funding performance.
The trend continued in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. Although the approved budget remained €63,740.66, approximately UGX 275 million, available funding rose to €142,955.22, equivalent to around UGX 616 million, creating a surplus of €79,214.56, about UGX 341 million, representing 224 percent funding performance. Despite receiving more than double the approved budget, the project spent only €72,837.90, approximately UGX 314 million, leaving €70,117.32, roughly UGX 302 million, unspent. The Auditor General noted that this translated into an absorption level of just 51 percent.
The audit for the year ended March 31, 2024 did not identify any reportable issues.
However, fresh concerns resurfaced in the financial year ended March 31, 2025. Auditors found that the project spent €54,501.65, approximately UGX 235 million, without any budget provision. They also established that although only €52,401.18, about UGX 226 million, had been budgeted for salaries, project management spent €76,465.03, approximately UGX 329 million, leading to excess expenditure of €24,063.85, about UGX 104 million, representing 46 percent above the approved salary budget.
The Auditor General further found that project management paid €3,618.97, approximately UGX 15.6 million, to a supplier without deducting the mandatory six percent withholding tax amounting to €234.90, approximately UGX 1 million.
The findings raise serious questions about financial discipline and budgetary compliance in the management of one of Makerere University’s internationally funded health research projects. While the project is expected to contribute to the development of a vaccine against one of the world’s neglected tropical diseases and strengthen research capacity across East Africa, the Auditor General’s report suggests that financial controls did not always keep pace with the project’s scientific goals.
The audit is likely to spark further questions over whether the weaknesses identified in the PREV-PKDL project were isolated or whether other donor-funded research projects implemented by Makerere University could also be grappling with similar shortcomings in budgeting, expenditure control, tax compliance and financial accountability.
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Nine supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP), who have been in military custody since the aftermath of the 2021 general elections, have been granted amnesty by the General Court Martial in Makindye. The amnesty was approved on Friday after the State declined to oppose applications the nine had submitted to the Amnesty Commission.
A panel chaired by Brig. Richard Tukacungurwa ordered that the beneficiaries be handed over to the Amnesty Commission for rehabilitation, counselling and reintegration into their communities in accordance with the Amnesty Act.
Nathan Twinomugisha, the Principal Legal Officer at the Amnesty Commission, was present in court and formally received the beneficiaries on behalf of the Commission.
The nine had been jointly charged with treachery contrary to Section 127(a) of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Act and unlawful possession of ammunition contrary to Section 158(2)(c) of the same law.
According to the prosecution, the accused allegedly operated between March and May 2021 in Kampala Metropolitan areas including Kireka, Nakulabye, Kawempe, Natete and Nakasero, as well as Jinja and Mbale cities, where they were said to have acted as agents of a rebel group identified as “Bali Bali.”
The State alleged that the group recruited members, underwent military-style training and detonated improvised explosive devices targeting government vehicles and other infrastructure in activities considered prejudicial to national security.
Prosecutors further alleged that the accused were found in possession of improvised explosive devices between November 2020 and May 2021 in Kampala, Wakiso, Jinja and Mbale.
The applicants reportedly acknowledged participating in the rebellion and renounced involvement in armed activities, paving the way for their applications under the Amnesty Act.
They were represented by Major Simon Busagwa Nsubuga. The Director of Prosecutions at the Court Martial, Lt. Col. Raphael Mugisha, informed the court that the State had no objection to the applications.
The beneficiaries are Yasin Ssekitoleko, also known as “Machete” (31), Patrick Mwase (27), Sharif Kalanzi (48), Joseph Muwonge (33), Abdalla Kintu (38), Emma Umar Kato (30), Musa Kavuma (26), Jimmy Galukande (26), and Abdallah Hakim Gibusiwa (26).
They will undergo rehabilitation, counselling and reintegration under the Amnesty Commission before returning to their families and communities.
The nine are among dozens of NUP supporters arrested following the disputed 2021 general elections whose cases remained before the Makindye military court for years.
In November 2024, President Yoweri Museveni pardoned 19 of their co-accused after they pleaded guilty before the Court Martial. Those pardoned had been convicted and sentenced by a seven-member panel then chaired by Brig. Robert Freeman Mugabe.
The nine granted amnesty on Friday had remained in custody after declining to plead guilty, maintaining that the charges against them had been fabricated.
The case stemmed from allegations by the Uganda Police Force that the accused had plotted petrol bomb attacks on government vehicles and installations ahead of President Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony in May 2021 following his election victory over NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.
Police also alleged they were behind attacks on the Kasubi Royal Tombs, the former Jinja Resident City Commissioner Eric Sakwa, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau offices and Katwe Police Station, among other targets.
The suspects were arrested by operatives of the then Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), now the Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS), and arraigned before the General Court Martial.
Several attempts by the group to secure bail over the years were unsuccessful.
However, NUP has consistently maintained that many of its supporters were wrongfully prosecuted and has alleged that some of those who pleaded guilty did so after prolonged detention and pressure to secure their release.
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Mukabya insists his passion for entertaining has not faded, even if some people no longer associate him with the success he enjoyed at the peak of his career.
He says anyone who questions his ability should come and experience the performance firsthand.
People see me now and think I am nothing, but what they do not know is that I was bad in my days. Let all of them come to Sheraton today and see what they missed in the old days.
Mukabya also believes the continued popularity of Ndowoza Napapa Nyoo reflects the lasting appeal of music created with longevity in mind.
The song has recently gained renewed attention on TikTok, where users continue to create dance challenge videos around it.
For Mukabya, that revival reinforces the approach he has followed throughout his career.
I do not do music that lasts for a short time. I make music that even my grandchildren will listen to in the future.
Mukabya will join a lineup of Kadongo Kamu legends at the Ataakulaba Akunyooma Concert on July 31.
Organised by Balunywa Promotions, the event celebrates Uganda’s rich storytelling tradition through classic Kadongo Kamu performances.
Da Agent says the reception to Daddy has convinced him that the song is becoming one of Uganda’s biggest hits.
Rather than existing as just a TikTok trend, the LugaFlow rapper believes the track has found its way into everyday life, with many people who are not active on the platform embracing it as well.
