Kisoro district political leaders on Monday clashed over the endorsement of Yoweri Museveni as the sole NRM presidential candidate in the 2026-2-2031 general elections.

Kisoro district was slated to host a council sitting at the district council hall. However before the session could kick off, Philemon Mateke, the former Minister of State for Regional Affairs and also the ruling NRM party Chairman for Kisoro district emerged with a banner reading “Kisoro District Leaders Endorse HE. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for NRM Sole Candidate 2026-2031, a visionary leader and securing your future.”

Mateke argued that as NRM leaders in Kisoro they have realized that Museveni is still energetic and able to lead because he in January 2020 managed to cover 195 kilometers from Galamba in Kampala to Birembo in Kakumiro district as a way of reviewing his forces’ 1986 route, when they seized power after the fall of Milton Obote’s government.

Mateke told all NRM leaders in the council to sign on the banner, saying that those who declined to sign would be deemed as traitors of the party.

Mateke was backed by the party’s district vice chairman and Central Division LC3 Chairman in Kisoro municipality, Ramathan Ndikuyeze, Abel Bizimana, district LC5 Chairman, and Eng. Alex Seruganda Niyonsaba alias Super Seru, the member of parliament for Bufumbira south constituency.

They said that Museveni should contest as the sole candidate in the 2026 general elections because voting a youth as the president of Uganda may put the country in trouble.

However, their argument was strongly rejected by many councilors who questioned why such a matter was sneaked into a council sitting instead of popularizing it at the party offices. They also accused Mateke, Bizimana and Ndikuyeze of being traitors by failing to demand Museveni to fulfill pledges.

John Muftimukiza, councilor representing Nyarusiza sub county, Peninnah Sebazigale female councilor for Nyarusiza sub county, God Rukara, Nyakabande sub county councilor wondered why Mateke would ambush district political leaders to seal the deal when it is not yet time for elections.They said there is no reason for Kisoro district leaders to endorse Museveni to contest again when pledges of tarmacking tourism roads, construction of John Kale institute, and pardoning former Inspector General of Police, General Kale Kayihura are not honored. They also say that there is no reason to endorse Museveni yet he is ordering locals to stop cultivating in wetlands.

James Agaba, Councilor representing Central Division, and Amos Hakizimana, the district speaker accused NRM top leaders led by Matake and Bizimana of double standards.

According to Agaba and Hakizimana, the top leaders’ political stand is ambiguous because the same people who recently endorsed Museveni’s son General Muhoozi Keinerugaba to contest for presidency in 2026 are the same people that have even today endorsed Museveni to contest on the same seat. He expressed worry that if Museveni does not come out and stop such endorsements, contradictions of some leaders like Mateke and Bizimana will create confusion among NRM party members.

Ndikuyeze insisted that the failure of presidential pledges to be honored cannot make Kisoro leaders hesitate to endorse Museveni to contest again. He argued that pledges will be fulfilled at any time because the government has a systematic way of implementing projects.

The new board of Kilembe Mines Limited-KML has expressed shock at the level of encroachment on the land belonging to the mines. Several encroachers have set up structures and grazing and gardens on the land belonging to KML in Katadoba, Kiteso, and Kilembe in Kasese municipality and Hima.

KML sits on an estimated 21 square kilometers or about 8100 acres of land. On Tuesday, the new Board chairperson, Sanjay Tanna, and his team completed an assessment of the assets of Kilembe Mines Limited that are primary to cooper mining and another mineral that might be associated with copper.

He, however, says that they discovered that since the suspension of the operations of the mines, the surrounding local communities have encroached on KML land, dismantled boundary marks, and erected permanent structures.

He says that a number of valuable properties like electric systems were stolen, arguing that even the existing assets need serious renovation.

Tanna appealed to the local leaders in Kasese district to interest themselves in what is happening at the mines and take appropriate action to safeguard KML land.

Loyce Biira Bwambale, one of the board members, said a number of people surrounding KML properties never thought that the industry will be revived and as such decided to illegally take over these properties. She said that as the government undertakes the process of selecting a potential investor, people illegally occupying KML land should vacate or be ready to dialogue their way out.

Biira added that from their findings, there is a huge potential for reviving the mines if the government identifies an investor. She called on the local community to be ready to tap into the opportunities that come with such a big industry.

Fred Kyakonye Welaga, the general manager of KML says that whereas they cannot estimate the actual size of the land that has been encroached on, the government recently set up a committee to make findings on the same and this report has not yet been released. He added that the presence of encroachers could break conflicts, especially in areas where an investor might want to put up structures.

Kyakonye also said that KML has lost over 300 tonnes of cobalt and copper tailing ore since the industry closed.

Uganda seeks to revamp the production of copper and cobalt at Kilembe to take advantage of the growing global demand.

A Ugandan national has been recognized in London,UK for his outstanding dedication and tremendous contribution to the conservation of nature in the country.

Achilles Byaruhanga was awarded by Prince William, the prince of Wales at the annual Tusk Conservation Awards ceremony held on Tuesday November 1, at London’s historic Hampton court palace.

The prestigious award ceremony hosted by broadcaster and author, Kate Silverton was in celebration of the unsung conservation heroes of Africa.

“Conservation is not an event. It’s a process that takes a long time and communities are crucial,” Byaruhanga remarked in his acceptance speech.

“We are connected with people. We see the overall power is with the people,” he added.

Byaruhanga is the Executive Director at Nature Uganda which boosts of 3,500 members and has programmes on awareness, education, research and monitoring on nature conservation.

Due to his efforts, Uganda ‘s wetlands are not longer wastelands but productive ecosystems for conservation, climate change mitigation and supporting local livelihoods.

Tusk Conservation Awards ceremony was launched in 2013 by Prince William who acts as the charity ‘s Royal patron.

Through the recognition and support given to the award recipients, Tusk conservation awards aims to raise the profile of African leaders to advance conservation and their significant impact in the field across Africa.

Prince William in his speech said: “ As sir David Attenborough reminded us at the ceremony 5 years ago, Africa’s wildlife is truly special.What the awards alumni, their dedicated teams and local communities are protecting is one of the great natural treasures of the world.”

“And yet, we also know that it is just a fragment of what there once was that is why it is vital that we do everything in our power to halt the frightening decline in species that our planet has witnessed over the last 50 years,” he added.

Other award winners included; Ian Craig (Kenya), Miguel Goncalves (Mozambique) and Neddy Mulimo (Zambia) and each of the four winners received a trophy specially crafted by Patrick Mavros, and all finalists received grants totalling £345,000 to continue their vital work.

A revolver pistol which was abandoned at Busiika Police Post in Luweero district has been connected to three earlier killings in Kampala.

The pistol was abandoned when the gunmen raided Busiika Police Post on Monday evening and killed two police officers, identified as Alex Wagaluka who was the Police Post’s Officer in Charge and his junior Police Constable Moses Ongol. In the same attack Police constables, Adrian Ochom and Stephen Odama survived with bullet wounds and one female civilian was hit by a stray bullet.

It has now emerged that a revolver pistol which perhaps accidentally fell as the attackers panicked to leave the scene was previously captured on Closed Circuit Television -CCTV being used in the murder of two security guards in Lubaga and Kawempe division in Kampala.

Nathan Omuroni was shot and killed while guarding a supermarket at Kabuusu on September 9, while Samuel Muhindo was shot to death on September 24 at general stores at Lugoba. “…We have reviewed CCTV footage recorded at Kabuusu supermarket and Lugoba general stores and we are seeing the same revolver we picked being pulled to kill the guards,” a senior security commander said.

A pistol revolver was also used in the murder of James Amuriat who was guarding Nesta Fuel Station in Lusaze still in the Lubaga division of Kampala. Amuriat was killed on August 20 but 12 days earlier a similar revolver was used to kill a security guard identified as Peter Okoboi in Iganga district.

“These people have been moving in a pair and using a motorcycle. In all four incidents where security guards were killed, a revolver pistol was used. But because they were attacking a Police Post (Busiika) which had more than two armed police officers, they chose to attack it from various points using a pistol and AK47 rifles,” a senior security officer said based on scene analysis.

Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga has said that facts collected from witnesses show that the assailants who were about seven, emerged from three different sides, two in front and one from behind.

“Although the motive of the assailants is not yet determined, the fact that they killed, injured, and robbed two guns, clearly reveals how they targeted guns, police personnel, and the facility. The scene was cordoned off by forensic experts for thorough documentation. A pistol that fell as the assailants fled from the scene, was recovered, and will be subjected to further ballistic examination,” Enanga said.

The Inspector General of Police Okoth Ochola has since condemned the Busiika police officers’ attack and promised that everything was being done to ensure that the culprits are arrested.

The attack came six hours after Enanga said the arrest of the alleged commander of Uganda Coalition Forces for Change -UCFC, Frank David Ssemwogerere alias Col Ndugwa, was going to bring normalcy in areas of Mityana, Kiboga, Luweero, Wakiso and Nakaseke where they had killed several police officers.

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has issued a certificate of approval to Rwenzori Rare Minerals Limited for Environment and Social Impacts for the Makuutu Rare Earth Elements (REE) project in the districts of Bugweri, Mayuge and Bugiri.

The National Environment Act No.5, 2019 requires any project deemed to have significant impacts on the environment such as mining and mineral processing projects to undertake mandatory Environment and Social Impact Assessment and the Makuutu REE project falls under this category. The project comprises mineral processing plant and supporting infrastructure.

The approval follows a comprehensive review of the Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) studies undertaken by the developer and subjected to NEMA scrutiny including public disclosure of three public hearings; provision of written information on the project and ESIA (in English and local languages from the project area); and stakeholder engagement meetings. The ESIA was also made available online for public scrutiny and feedback regarding the environmental and social concerns that would arise from the project.

As an initial stage to the ESIA process, the Scoping Study and Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Makuutu Project ESIA were prepared and submitted to NEMA for review and consideration.

Key among the concerns noted during the ESIA review process were social challenges in the form of displacement of project affected persons. To address this, the developer is required to develop and implement a comprehensive Compensation and Resettlement Action Plan and ensure that livelihoods of the Project Affected Persons are enhanced. Further, the developer must ensure that the mining and excavation activities do not interfere with the natural hydrological functioning of wetlands, streams, or other water bodies in the project area, ensures biodiversity conservation and prevents pollution of all kinds. The project is also conditioned to ensure that artifacts of historical value discovered during the mining are handed over to the Department of Museums and Monuments.

The developer is also required to Liaise with Busoga Kingdom and the respective chiefdoms thereunder, to implement programmes and measures aimed at ensuring preservation of cultural heritage within the project area in accordance with the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, 2011 and Historical Monuments Act, 1968.

In addition, the developer is also obligated to develop and implement a robust Environment Management System (EMS) as well as a water resources management and protection plan for the major rivers; Nahidadala, Lumbuye, Kitumbezi, Naigombwa and Kituto; seasonal streams and wetlands within the vicinity of the project.

The Makuutu Project will deliver significant social, environmental and economic benefits to local communities, to Uganda as a nation and to the world through the supply of critical REE metals necessary for the world to transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy.