Andrew Matege

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Wednesday hosted the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, at State House Entebbe, advocating for Pan-African economic integration under AfCFTA, the creation of a dedicated climate energy fund covering solar, hydro, and nuclear power, and structured investments in youth skills development.

The Ministry of Education and Sports has issued a directive requiring schools concurrently offering the Ugandan national curriculum and foreign programmes to register, license, and operate them as completely separate administrative entities or risk total closure, as the Government enforces comprehensive Basic Requirements and Minimum Standards for international schools.

Kenya has confirmed its first imported case of Ebola Virus Disease after a patient who traveled by road from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Kampala to Nairobi succumbed to the virus at Nairobi Hospital, prompting health authorities to place 28 primary contacts under observation and trace 23 passengers and crew members.

Parliament has adopted an amended motion urging the Government to aggressively scale up funding and operational support for smallholder farmers under the National Smallholder Farmers Transformation and Climate Resilience Programme, rejecting proposals for a new law after lawmakers cited sufficient existing statutes and identified poor policy implementation as the real bottleneck.

Opening an induction for parliamentary climate and natural resources committees in Kampala, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa challenged legislators to move beyond speeches and conferences, urging the 12th Parliament to condition public spending, including Parish Development Model funds, on climate resilience, renewable energy adoption, and disaster prevention rather than perpetual disaster relief.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has passed out 155 newly trained Community Health Workers in Mitooma District, cautioning them against opening unlicensed clinics or attempting to administer medical treatments, while the Ministry of Health announced a strategic pivot toward primary disease prevention to alleviate pressure on healthcare facilities.

The UPDF Joint Staff Health Services, in collaboration with British medical specialists, has commenced a five-day intensive Basic and Intermediate Life Support training program at the UPDF National Referral Hospital in Mbuya, aimed at equipping military healthcare workers with critical, life-saving clinical emergency response skills.

Teenage prodigy James Bogere came off the bench to score a blistering 89th-minute equalizer as the Uganda Cranes held the Democratic Republic of Congo to a 1-1 stalemate at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, concluding their South African friendly double-header undefeated against the Leopards.

The Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Marksons Oboth, has held bilateral talks with Uganda-born UK peer Lord Krish Raval at Parliament in Kampala, committing to leverage legislative diplomacy to lower trade barriers, protect the rule of law, and attract long-term British investment into Uganda over the next five years.

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Ambassador El-Hadji Ibrahima Diene, has visited forward operational bases in the Lower Shabelle region, commending troops of Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces Battle Group 47 for their sustained counter-insurgency operations, civilian protection, and stabilizing the Somali operational theater.

Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja has commissioned the newly constructed Butebo Health Centre IV in Butebo District, commending the UPDF Engineers Brigade for disciplined, cost-effective infrastructure delivery while urging residents to uphold domestic hygiene to curb preventable diseases.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has presented a brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser VXR to the newly consecrated Bishop of Kabale Diocese, Rt. Rev. Bonaventure Bosco Gubazire, congratulating him upon his episcopal ordination and formal installation as the fifth ordinary of the diocese.

The Director of Women Affairs in the UPDF, Brig. Gen. Charity Bainababo, alongside French Ambassador Virginie Leroy, has presided over the graduation of female peacekeepers and tactical drone operators at the UN Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, reiterating Uganda’s commitment to multilateral peace operations and unveiling plans to host the inaugural Chiefs of Defence Forces conference.

Addressing the NRM Parliamentary Caucus at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni directed party legislators to reconnect with grassroots communities, strictly enforce the vacation of degraded wetlands while transitioning encroachers into commercial fish farming, and champion national investments in nuclear energy, railways, and oil refining.

Speaking at the opening of the inaugural International Teacher Education Conference (ITEC) 2026 at Hotel Africana, Acting Minister of Education and Sports Hon. J.C. Muyingo reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to comprehensive teacher reforms, highlighting the institutionalization of UNITE, the roll-out of the National Teacher Council, and the integration of competence-based training to anchor Uganda’s human capital development.

Officiating at the International Day of Older Persons at State House Entebbe, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni cautioned senior citizens against land and wealth fragmentation through physical inheritance, announcing plans to tailor an affirmative Parish Development Model package for the elderly post-AFCON commitments alongside state funding for specialized geriatric doctors in every district.

The Minister for Local Government Hon. Barugahara Balaam Ateenyi has issued a stern directive barring public servants on interdiction from returning to office before criminal and administrative investigations are concluded, emphasizing that revised Public Service Standing Orders prevent automatic reinstatement even after the mandatory six-month timeline expires.

A panga-wielding gang of six raided Bugoye Sub-County Police Station in Kasese District early Thursday morning in an attempt to disarm an officer on duty, leaving one assailant shot dead and four suspects in custody as joint security teams mount a manhunt for the remaining accomplices.

A Flydubai Boeing 737 carrying 174 passengers plunged more than 17,000 feet after a co-pilot stabbed the aircraft’s captain in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, before passengers and off-duty crew stormed the cockpit, subdued the attacker, and safely diverted the flight to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

The Ministry of Health and health partners have launched the Accelerating the Elimination of Vertical Transmission of HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis B in Uganda (ATESHHU) Project, a two-year intervention funded by the People’s Republic of China through ANECCA, to scale up integrated maternal screening, diagnosis, and treatment across the Busoga and Bunyoro sub-regions.