FORT PORTAL — Drama has exploded in Tooro just hours before the highly anticipated coronation of Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, with a last-minute court petition threatening to derail tomorrow’s royal ceremony. The bombshell application filed before the Fort Portal High Court seeks to stop the September 29 installation, throwing the kingdom’s already tense succession saga into fresh uncertainty. Two Batooro, Derick Alitugabira and Juliet Kangume, together with Walezi Wa Katiba, a group advocating for the rule of law and good governance, have asked court to slam the brakes on the coronation. Represented by Messrs Thomas and Michael Advocates, the applicants are seeking an interim order restraining the planned installation of Kijanangoma until their main case challenging his selection is heard and determined. The applicants claim the selection of Kijanangoma violated the wishes of the late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. According to their court filings, Oyo left a...

KAMPALA — Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) Director General Fred Bamwesigye has issued a stark warning to PearlSky, saying the entity could be kicked out of Entebbe International Airport over what he described as illegal operations. Bamwesigye said UCAA is investigating PearlSky after complaints were raised over its activities at the airport and allegations that the entity has been presenting itself as an airline despite not being registered with the aviation regulator as one. “What they are doing is illegal. They are not an airline but instead a marketing agency. We shall investigate and we will chase it away from airport premises for acting fraudulently,” Bamwesigye told Red Pepper. The UCAA boss added that PearlSky is not registered with the authority as an airline and is instead a marketing agency renting space at Entebbe. “It is not registered with us (UCAA) as an airline. They are a marketing agency just...

Uganda Revenue Authority officials are struggling to establish how much gold is produced in the country and, more importantly, where the gold exported by Ugandan refineries actually comes from, exposing gaps in the country’s reporting and regulation of one of its biggest export earners. Lawrence Muwonge, the Uganda Revenue Authority manager responsible for extractives, says the problem starts at the mining sites, where much of Uganda’s gold is produced by artisanal miners who operate outside formal systems of production and record-keeping. He says URA cannot establish with certainty how much gold an artisanal miner produces in a day, how much is sold or who buys it. “Even just to know what he has sold in a day or what he has produced in a day, it is next to impossible,” Muwonge said. He said monitoring every mine continuously would require URA officials to be present day and night, something he...

The announcement that NSSF member-savers will earn a record 22.53 percent interest on their savings has been greeted with excitement. Savers in the contributory pension schemes are set to receive 5.44 trillion shillings in interest for the financial year 2025/2026. The excitement aside, the unusually high return is raising questions about its potential impact on the country’s wider savings and investment industry, particularly unit trusts, voluntary retirement schemes and government securities. The 22.53 percent rate is significantly higher than the returns currently offered by many competing savings and investment products. For savers, the question is whether products offering lower returns can continue to attract money when the country’s largest social security fund has demonstrated that it can deliver a return above 20 percent in a single year. At the NSSF Annual Members Meeting on Thursday, some savers said the announcement had already forced them to reconsider where they should put...

KAMPALA — A Government fertilizer programme designed to revive Uganda’s soils, boost coffee, tea, cocoa and horticulture production and lift farmers’ incomes has run into a storm, with farmers questioning why they are being asked to part with money for an intervention repeatedly presented as Government support. The programme, being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), involves the distribution of tens of thousands of 50kg bags of fertilizer to farmers across selected districts, with two firms — DEI Biopharma Ltd and Itracom Fertilizers Ltd — contracted to supply the inputs. But farmers are now raising questions over money being demanded from beneficiaries, the basis of district allocations, the quantity given to individual farmers, the distribution mechanism and the quality and background of the suppliers. The biggest controversy centres on the question of whether the fertilizer is actually free. A July 16, 2026 MAAIF PS Maj....

By Evans Najuna KAMPALA – Government has called for increased investment and innovative financing mechanisms to unlock more capital for Uganda’s housing and construction sector as rapid urbanisation and population growth continue to increase demand for homes and infrastructure. State Minister for Housing, Princess Persis Namuganza, said the sector needs long-term and patient capital to support sustainable housing development, infrastructure expansion and urban growth. Namuganza made the call in a speech delivered on her behalf by Dave Khayangayanga, Director at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, during the opening of the second edition of the Uganda Real Estate and Housing Expo at Kingdom Kampala Gardens on Friday. The two-day expo is running under the theme “Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Housing”, bringing together players from the real estate, housing, construction and related sectors. Namuganza said the combination of rapid urbanisation, population growth, climate change and limited public resources requires...

KAMPALA – Uganda-based integrated textile manufacturer Fine Spinners Limited is investing an additional US$5 Million (about Shs19.7 billion) in state-of-the-art machinery as it moves to expand production, strengthen local value addition and penetrate new African markets. The fresh investment brings the company’s total investment in its textile mill since incorporation to US$5 Million (about Shs137.6 billion), according to the company. Fine Spinners said the new machinery will significantly boost its production capacity and give the company greater flexibility to manufacture a wider range of textile products for the Ugandan and African markets, as well as meet the requirements of export customers. The investment comes as Africa’s textile and apparel industry experiences growing demand for locally manufactured products, driven by an expanding consumer market, urbanisation and efforts by governments and businesses to deepen local and regional manufacturing. Fine Spinners Chairman Jaswinder Bedi said the investment reflects the company’s confidence in the...

Centenary Bank’s Rotary Club of Mapeera has launched a road safety campaign aimed at promoting safer road use and reducing injuries and loss of life resulting from road crashes. The campaign, launched at Constitutional Square in Kampala, saw motorcycle riders receive safety helmets and reflector jackets alongside sensitisation on responsible road use, traffic laws and safe riding practices. The initiative comes amid concerns over the number of road crashes and injuries involving motorists and other road users in Uganda. According to the 2025 Uganda Police Annual Crime Report, the country recorded 26,044 road traffic crashes in 2025, up from 25,107 in 2024. The crashes resulted in 5,383 deaths, compared to 5,144 deaths recorded in 2024. That means an average of at least 15 people died daily from road accidents. Through this campaign, the Rotary Club of Mapeera seeks to equip road users with practical knowledge and safety gear while encouraging...

By Evans Najuna KAMPALA — The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has sounded the alarm over the 2026 examination season after registering a record 1,627,885 candidates for the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE). The figure represents a 14.9% increase from the 1,416,448 candidates registered last year, putting schools, parents and examination officials on high alert ahead of the national examinations. UNEB Executive Director Dan N. Odongo released the 2026 examination timetable on Wednesday at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, warning candidates, parents and schools against examination malpractice, fake papers and registration fraud. The examination season will kick off on October 8 with briefing of UCE candidates, while PLE candidates will be briefed on October 30. UACE briefing will take place in November. UACE NUMBERS SOAR The biggest increase has been recorded at UACE level, where candidature has jumped...