News

New Cameroonian study documents social, legal, and financial obstacles to queer parenthood   At a meeting last month, Femmes Debout CRD presents its report on the desire of LGBTI Cameroonians to be parents. By Steeves Winner In Cameroon, having a child is perceived as a social obligation, a condition of acceptance and respectability. But for queer people, this universal desire …

ALEXANDER LUYIMA | THE HOIMA POSTKAMPALA, Uganda — The streets of Kampala, once alive with the colour, sound, and anticipation of election season, now sit under a heavy and uneasy calm. Campaign songs have faded from junctions and trading centres. Public gatherings are rare. In their place are quiet conversations, early closures, and nightly reports of abductions that stir memories …

Uganda has been thrust into digital darkness as a nationwide internet shutdown coincides with escalating allegations of torture, abductions, and enforced disappearances allegedly carried out by security forces against opposition supporters ahead of the general elections. The internet blackout, ordered by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), has suspended public internet access indefinitely, cutting off social media, messaging platforms, email services, …

Uganda has been plunged into an indefinite internet shutdown just days before the country’s general election, following a directive issued by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) ordering the suspension of public internet access nationwide. In a letter dated 13 January 2026, addressed to all licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the UCC directed operators to block …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Communications Commission executive director Nyombi Thembo will at a special press conference Tuesday evening officially confirm a directive to all licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to temporarily suspend several telecommunications services, citing security concerns ahead of Thursday’s election. “The temporary suspension is intended to mitigate risks associated …

By Amos Tayebwa Mbarara The contest for the Kashari South Member of Parliament seat has intensified, with two retired Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officers—Capt. John Bosco Bamuturaki Tumusiime, popularly known as Omudumizi, and Rtd Col. Jackson Kakuru—locked in a heated political battle. Capt. Bamuturaki has warned his rival to stop bragging about having worked with “big people” in government, …

𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺, 12𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺, 2026𝘉𝘺 𝘜𝘸𝘢 𝘏𝘦𝘻𝘳𝘰𝘯𝙈𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙚The National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer and incumbent Woman Member of Parliament for Mbale District, Hon. Miriam Mukhaye, has successfully concluded her campaign engagements across the district, with final rallies held in Bungokho Subcounty yesterday. Her district-wide campaign covered all subcounties and town councils, where she mobilized support and reaffirmed the NRM’s commitment to …

By Crispin Kaheru Member, Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) Crispin Kaheru (Courtesy photo) Uganda is, without doubt, the Pearl of Africa. But Ugandans also have a strange habit. We complain and lament about our politics, then boom; we speak in whispers on Election Day by staying home. We write passionate essays in WhatsApp groups about governance, then fail the simplest …

Kampala-His Eminence Dr. Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, the Mufti of Uganda, on his own behalf and on behalf of the entire Muslim fraternity, has expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Sheikh Hussein Twahiri Walugumba, a member of the UMSC Majlis Al-Ulama, the College of Eminent Sheikhs mandated under the UMSC Constitution to elect the Mufti and his deputies. The …

By Pepper Intelligence Unit Before wrapping up his re-election campaigns at Kololo tomorrow, Jan 13, President Yoweri Museveni made a calculated move: he returned to regions he had already visited. From Arua in West Nile, to Iganga in Busoga, and finally Kasese in the Rwenzori sub-region, the message was clear—these were not courtesy visits, but political recalls. Kasese, in particular, …