FREEMAN NEWS-UG

KAMPALA — First Lady Janet Museveni has appeared in new photographs with her daughter Natasha Museveni Karugire, offering a rare recent glimpse of her as she continues to recover from a serious illness disclosed by President Yoweri Museveni. The photographs, shared by Natasha on Instagram, show the First Lady standing and smiling with family members. In one of the pictures, Natasha, dressed in a yellow sleeveless top, stands beside her mother with her arm around her. Geographic Reference Natasha accompanied the photographs with a brief message expressing gratitude: “Thank you LORD Jesus!” The images are among the clearest recent public photographs of Mrs Museveni following months of limited public appearances. President Museveni revealed on June 24, while marking his wife’s 78th birthday, that she had suffered a serious health episode on March 21, 2026. “God, using good doctors, saved Maama’s life and she is now recovering well,” Museveni said. He did not disclose the nature of the ill...

In a strategic push to accelerate Uganda’s digital agenda, a high-level Ugandan delegation led by Ambassador to Vietnam H.E. Betty Bigombe has toured the MK Smart Card Factory in Hanoi, seeking lessons from one of Southeast Asia’s leading manufacturers of smart cards and secure digital solutions. The visit, conducted ahead of the Pearl of Africa Business Forum and Expo (Vietnam Chapter), offered the team first-hand insights into Vietnam’s advanced capabilities in smart card technology. Officials explored opportunities for knowledge exchange, technology transfer, investment, and broader collaboration that could support Uganda’s drive toward digital transformation, innovation, and improved public service delivery. Dr. Aminah Zawedde, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, described the engagement as a valuable chance for Uganda to draw from Vietnam’s experience. She emphasized that strengthening such partnerships would help advance digital transformation, foste...

Former Namisindwa District Woman Member of Parliament aspirant Dr. Sarah Khanakwa is set to launch a pilot programme of massive nursery beds for coffee and other major cash crops this week, supplying high-quality seedlings completely free of charge to every household in the district — regardless of whether residents supported her candidacy or not. Dr. Khanakwa has already donated more than 10 acres of land to establish and expand the nurseries, marking the first major practical step in delivering on a key campaign promise she made last year: raising household incomes so that “people must have money in their pockets.” The initiative aims to transform the economic fortunes of Banamisindwa by 2030 through widespread access to improved planting material for coffee and other cash crops that form the backbone of the local economy. By removing the cost barrier of seedlings, the programme seeks to accelerate the establishment of productive gardens across the district and put more cash directly...

Twenty-five pupils of Buwanda Primary School in Nawampiti, Luuka District, have been hospitalised after reportedly eating white ants that had been contaminated with poison. The incident that triggered panic at the school happened on Thursday and the affected pupils were rushed to Kiyunga Health Centre IV for treatment. Luuka Resident District Commissioner, Mr. Michael Kibwika said the pupils were receiving medical attention and were under close monitoring. According to preliminary information provided by the RDC, one of the pupils brought the white ants to school and shared them with classmates before disappearing from the school.

The NRM Chairman for Sironko Town Council, Hajji Abdallah Difee, has secured four party flag bearers and one NRM-leaning independent candidate in the five wards of the town council in just concluded LC2 elections.  Difee spent Monday morning mobilising voters in Southern, Central, Industrial, Kibira and Mahempe wards ahead of the Local Council II elections. He urged residents to vote for candidates carrying the NRM flag, saying this would strengthen the party’s leadership at the grassroots. Difee attributed the achievement to his sustained mobilisation, particularly during the LCI elections, when most NRM-backed local council chairpersons in the area won their races.

Every Sunday, as churches fill and families gather, a familiar darkness descends across parts of Uganda. UEDCL’s planned shutdowns have become a weekly ritual. Power vanishes for hours—sometimes from morning until evening—turning what should be a day of rest into a day of frustration, lost income, and disrupted lives. Businesses that rely on Sunday trade suffer most. Market vendors, salons, restaurants, and small workshops watch perishable goods spoil and customers walk away. Students preparing for Monday exams sit in darkness. Patients on home oxygen or those needing refrigerated medicine face real risks. Families cook over charcoal they can barely afford while generators roar in the few homes that can run them. UEDCL insists these are necessary maintenance works to keep an ageing network alive. Fair enough. Infrastructure needs care. But why must it almost always fall on Sundays? Why do the same areas repeatedly lose power on the one day many Ugandans expect relative reliability? Why...

Members of parliament from Bugisu Sub-region have agreed to innitiate a programme of coffee growing as a symbol of development among 2026 boys who were initiated to manhood through Circumcision  This pronouncement was made in Sironko yesterday August 8th by Hon. Lydia Wanyoto-Mutende, Minister of State for Public Service who is also a Woman representative for Mbale City to the 12th Parliament during the final send off of late Charles Peter Nagimesi, Hon. Julius Nakiyi's brother  Hon. Wanyoto said circumcised boys should not just walk around with circumcision alone but also must show cause why they are men by having gardens to promote coffee growing in the region She added that this proactive programme is aimed at promoting Bugisu culture best known for growth of Arabica Coffee Hon. Nakiyi's brother send off in Buhugu-Sironko was graced by Bugisu Parliamentarians, clergy, business community among others