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The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has emerged top in the shooting range competition at the ongoing Inter-Forces Games in Gulu City, winning both the individual and team gold medals.

The UPDF topped the shooting competition, followed by the Uganda Police Force (UPF) in second place and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in third. The Uganda Prisons Service finished fourth.

Major General Richard Karemire, Joint Staff for Formal Education, Sports and Culture, commended participants for their performance, discipline and teamwork.

Maj Gen Karemire said the Inter-Forces Games provide an important platform for promoting physical fitness, discipline, teamwork and cooperation among personnel from the different security agencies.

The competitions are continuing in Gulu City, with participating teams battling for honours across various sporting disciplines.

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LUANDA, Angola, Monday 31 August, 2026

Uganda has called for stronger political ownership, institutional coordination and decisive action to transform Africa’s existing peace and security mechanisms into effective tools for preventing and resolving conflicts on the continent.

Addressing the Extraordinary Summit on Strengthening Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Luanda, Uganda’s Minister of Defence, Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka, said Africa’s increasingly complex security environment requires practical implementation of continental frameworks rather than the creation of more mechanisms.

Delivering Uganda’s statement, Minister Kiwanuka who represented H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, conveyed his warm greetings and reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to advancing continental peace and security in line with the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063.

He noted that Africa continues to face multiple and interconnected security challenges, including terrorism, foreign interference, youth unemployment, climate insecurity and forced displacement. However, he stressed that the continent’s principal challenge is not a shortage of mechanisms, but the need for stronger political ownership and coordinated action.

Uganda identified four key priorities: strengthening institutional coherence and ownership; transforming early warning into actionable responses; securing predictable and sustainable financing for peace operations; and fully operationalising continental peace and humanitarian institutions.

Uganda urged the AU Commission to enhance coordination among its departments, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Mechanisms, while ensuring Member States remain at the centre of conflict prevention, early warning and inclusive governance.

The country also called for the swift finalisation of the AU Trigger Model and Threat Assessment Tool to enable timely responses to emerging threats. On financing, Uganda urged the UN Security Council to fully operationalise Resolution 2719 (2023), including through assessed contributions, while strengthening the AU Peace Fund.

Minister Kiwanuka further called for the resolution of logistical challenges affecting the African Standby Force and reaffirmed Uganda’s readiness to host and fully operationalise the African Humanitarian Agency in Kampala.

He said the success of the Luanda Action Plan and Implementation Matrix would ultimately depend on effective implementation, accountability and regular review.

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SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Why LC1 Leaders Are the First Line of Defense Against Corruption

By Brian Mugenyi

KAMPALA — Under President Yoweri Museveni’s seventh term, the political slogan “Kisanja No Sleep” signals a push for rapid national development. Yet beneath this mandate lies a critical question: who guarantees that public resources actually reach ordinary Ugandans?

While anti-corruption battles are typically associated with Kampala offices like the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), the Auditor General, or Parliament, the true frontline is much quieter.

It is the village.

This is where public policies meet beneficiaries, where paved roads either materialize or turn to mud, and where citizens first discover whether government promises translate into reality. With Uganda preparing for Local Council I (LC1) elections across 71,218 villages, these local ballots represent the ultimate test of whether decentralization can expose graft.

The Administrative Mandate vs. Village Reality

Ministry of Local Government Permanent Secretary Ben Kumumanya has repeatedly urged local officials to treat public office as a public trust rather than a private asset. In official circulars, Kumumanya emphasizes strict accountability, noting that positions must never be bought, sold, or compromised.

His directives outline explicit consequences for non-performance, mandating that officials who fail to deliver be removed. However, directives issued in Kampala face their true test when they travel down the administrative pipeline to the last mile.

Consider the journey of public funds:

• Appropriation: Parliament approves the budget.

• Release: Central ministries dispatch funds to local governments.

• Allocation: Parishes select local beneficiaries.

• Delivery: Households receive targeted support.

At every link in this chain, funds can be diverted. A farmer’s name appears on a register, yet no input arrives. A project exists on paper, but disappears on the ground. When these breakdowns happen, the LC1 chairperson is the first public authority a citizen encounters.

       DECENTRALIZED ACCOUNTABILITY PIPELINE
[Central Ministry] ➔ [Local Govt] ➔ [Parish] ➔ [LC1 Village] ➔ [Citizen]
                                                    │
                                         (First Line of Oversight)

The Sserwanjja Case Study

The transition of investigative journalist Solomon Sserwanjja to elected local office highlights this dynamic. Winning the Bamutakudde LC1 chairmanship by a single vote (106 to 105), Sserwanjja quickly raised concerns regarding the Parish Development Model (PDM).

“We have Parish Development Model funds, but no one in this village has received that money. It disappears at the parish level,” Sserwanjja noted shortly after taking office.

An LC1 chairperson lacks the legal mandate of an auditor or prosecutor. However, an active chairperson serves as the critical initial link in the accountability chain:

1. Listening: Receiving direct complaints from community members.

2. Documenting: Preserving registers, receipts, and project records.

3. Escalating: Forwarding verified irregularities to legal oversight bodies.

The Edge of the Accountability Chain

Ministry of Finance data highlights the scale of local government oversight: in FY2023/24 alone, the Inspectorate of Government investigated 191 local government corruption cases, leading to 12 prosecutions.

Behind every case file is a citizen who first noticed an anomaly. Central oversight bodies cannot physically monitor every project site across 71,218 villages. Decentralized monitoring relies on active village-level leadership.

Anti-corruption campaigns are rarely won purely through central directives. They rely on leaders willing to record claims, officials willing to produce records, and systems responsive to grass-roots complaints. The true measure of the LC1 election is not merely who wins the seat, but who will act when the first village citizen reports that something is wrong.

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“You Are Trained to Create Opportunities”: Inside Kampala University’s Masaka Campus

Inside the weekend classrooms where 2,556 learners are being prepared for a labour market that demands far more than a degree.

By Brian Mugenyi

MASAKA, UGANDA — On Saturdays and Sundays, when much of Masaka slows down, Kampala University’s Masaka Campus comes alive.

Students stream through corridors clutching notebooks while lecturers move between rooms with laptops and lesson plans. Some have traveled from surrounding rural districts; others have come straight from work. For them, the weekend is not a break—it is an intense school day.

Inside a journalism classroom, lecturer Wilson Kutamba turns a standard lesson into an exploration of a profession transformed by technology. A few doors down, Hamida Naluyima leads a Microeconomics class, opening not with definitions, but with questions: “Who can define a need? What is the difference between a need and a want?” These scenes reveal the campus’s core mission: turning access into competence, and competence into opportunity.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Badru Dungu Kateregga summarizes this vision in a direct challenge to learners: “You are trained to create opportunities.” In an economy where a qualification no longer guarantees employment, the crucial test is whether graduates can build meaningful livelihoods with what they have learned.

A Regional Campus Built for Access

Established in 2002 in New Kkumbu along the Masaka–Kyotera Road, Masaka Campus was the first private university campus in the region. It was founded to bring higher education closer to civil servants and working professionals in southwestern Uganda.

By bringing higher education closer to local communities, regional campuses eliminate the financial and logistical burden of relocating to Kampala. For working adults, weekend study offers a vital path to upgrade qualifications without forfeiting their jobs.

                    MASAKA CAMPUS ENROLMENT
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ In-Service / Weekend Learners: 1,476 (57.7%)               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Full-Time Learners:            1,080 (42.3%)               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
 Total Enrolment: 2,556

Today, the campus serves 2,556 students. The majority—1,476 learners—are in-service students using higher education to remain competitive in the workforce, while 1,080 full-time learners prepare for their initial entry into the labor market. Managing this growth rests on campus leadership, led by Director Ibrahim Ssengendo and Campus Administrator Daniel Adaun, who oversee admissions, examinations, student welfare, and campus development.

Practical Skills and Student-Centered Growth

To prepare students for changing industries, the university emphasizes Competence-Based Education and Training (CBET). Rather than relying on rote memorization, courses incorporate continuous assessment, practical projects, and field internships. Journalism students are taught to navigate digital publishing and fact verification, while economics students learn how local trade and resource scarcity impact regional markets.

Social Work student Harriet Nakachwa notes that practical administrative support is just as important as classroom learning:

“I started with a diploma in 2024 and today I am pursuing a Bachelor’s degree. The fees are affordable and lectures are always available. Marks are given to us in time, and the staff treat students well. The way students are treated matters.”

Financial accessibility is further supported through participation in the Higher Education Students Financing Scheme (HESFB). Meanwhile, efficient systems—such as issuing transcripts directly on graduation day during the university’s 23rd graduation on April 23, 2026—help smooth the transition from study to employment.

Beyond academics, campus life fosters civic responsibility. During the 2026 Guild elections, Masaka Campus elected Nakabugo Leontina as Guild President alongside Vice

President-Elect Turyahebwa Paul, giving students hands-on leadership experience.

As evening falls, weekend classes conclude and students return home. The lecture halls go quiet, but the core objective remains active: equipping a new generation with the practical skills required to create their own opportunities in a rapidly changing world.