FREEMAN NEWS-UG

Bukedea District, Eastern Uganda – Residents and local leaders in Bukedea District have publicly appealed to Local Government Minister Hon. Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi to make an unscheduled stop in the district as he prepares to return to the Bugisu sub-region and Kapchorwa for the next phase of his high-profile “Expose the Corrupt in Local Government” campaign. In statements circulating among community groups, market vendors, boda-boda associations and village leaders this week, the locals accused district officials of widespread mismanagement and demanded that the minister personally inspect critical sites, including engineer works and road projects, health facilities, the CROSS office, the District Education Officer’s (DEO’s) office, and other administrative units allegedly at the centre of graft and poor service delivery. “Minister Balaam has shown he does not fear the big men in Mbale, Bulambuli and other places. Why should Bukedea be left behind?” one resident activist said in a w...

Kampala / Mbale — Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi has confirmed he will return to the Bugisu sub-region to intensify his high-profile anti-corruption drive, focusing primarily on the districts of Manafwa, Bududa, Sironko, Mbale and Kapchorwa. See Video:-  https://youtube.com/shorts/ymmYAA-f-Ns?si=8l1HRnQCDL6_KLgx The announcement comes weeks after the minister’s earlier “Expose the Corrupt” operations across parts of eastern Uganda, which led to arrests, interdictions, and public barazas that exposed ghost workers, stalled projects, mismanaged funds and substandard infrastructure. Residents and local leaders in the remaining Bugisu districts have repeatedly called for the same level of scrutiny. Speaking on the planned return, Minister Balaam reiterated his commitment to rooting out graft that has undermined service delivery in health, education, roads and water projects. “We are not done with Bugisu,” he stated in comments aligning with his ongoing national cam...

Kampala — The usually formal chambers of Uganda’s Parliament erupted in laughter on Tuesday afternoon when newly elected Budadiri East MP Hon. Julius Nakiyi extended a bold, culturally rooted invitation to His Excellency Tomio Okamura (@tomio_cz), the visiting Deputy Speaker (and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies) of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. Video:-  https://youtu.be/o6M4caIhglU?si=gOFdemkodRQaXPj0 Nakiyi, representing the Bugisu sub-region constituency in Sironko District, rose during plenary proceedings and invited the Czech parliamentary leader to travel to Bugisu that very afternoon to witness the ongoing Imbalu festival — the Bamasaaba people’s traditional public circumcision ceremony that marks the transition of adolescent boys into manhood. The invitation, captured and shared by the official Parliament of Uganda account, quickly became one of the lighter moments of the sitting. Lawmakers broke into laughter at the directness of the offer, which blended parliame...

Fresh details have emerged in the ongoing criminal case involving Pastor Robert Kayanja, with one of the nine accused boys Reagan Ssentongo telling court that the Rubaga Miracle Centre preacher allegedly connected him to powerful Masindi pastor Robert Rwomushana Kibuuka after assigning him duties he described as part of a wider operation in the Bunyoro concerning homosexuality. Ssentongo made the revelation on Monday while continuing his defence during re-examination by his lawyers from Ojambo & Ojambo Advocates before Mwanga II Chief Magistrate Adams Byarugaba at Mengo. According to the young man, his journey to Kiryandongo began after Pastor Kayanja initially promised to make him the overall person in charge of security at the farm, having gone through police training at the Police training school in Kabarye. He, however, told court that upon reaching the farm, Kayanja changed the arrangement and informed him that he would instead undergo training by a “Muzungu” before being made...

  Kampala / Western Uganda — Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi has launched a hard-hitting nationwide campaign targeting early-morning betting houses, unlicensed malwa points and illegal bars that operate before dawn, accusing them of fueling crime, youth idleness, domestic violence and the erosion of community values. In a strongly worded directive issued this week and reinforced during recent oversight visits, the minister ordered district local governments, resident district commissioners, police and local council leaders to intensify surveillance and enforcement against these establishments. Barugahara described the early-morning operations as “a growing social cancer” that preys on young people and working families before the official day even begins. “These places open as early as 5 a.m. or even earlier. Young men and women are already sitting there placing bets, drinking malwa or cheap spirits instead of going to work or school,” Barugahara said. “We cannot...

KAMPALA — In a decisive push to strengthen Uganda’s frontline defence against rising cyber threats, the National Information Technology Authority – Uganda (NITA-U), under the Uganda Digital Acceleration Project (UDAP-GovNet), has launched a three-day intensive capacity-building programme for more than 100 officers from the Uganda Police Force. The officers, drawn from the Criminal Investigations Directorate as well as the Cybercrime and Forensic Investigation Units, come from Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono and Mpigi districts. The training is designed to equip them with both the legal knowledge and practical investigative tools needed to confront the rapidly evolving landscape of digital crime. Participants are receiving hands-on instruction in six critical areas: Uganda’s ICT legal and regulatory framework Cybercrime investigation and digital evidence management Data protection and privacy compliance Electronic transactions and electronic evidence Emerging cyber threats and investigative bes...