Author: Kabugho Sharon

Kasese District Local Government received a new Chief Administrative Officer  Mr. Paul Walakira who was handed over office by  Mr. Byamungu Elias yesterday 6th January 2025 at the district headquarters.

During the handover , Mr Byamungu appreciated the RDC and the District Chairperson for supporting his period of service to the people of Kasese. He appreciated their team work that enabled him deliver effectively. Mr. Byamungu urgued the new CAO to continue cooperating with the district security committee to maintain the security of the district.

The new Chief Administrative Officer Mr. Paul Walakira urged  the civil servants to work with love for their district for sustainable development . In his message he said, ” Players will come and go but this is your district so you should handle your mandate for the development of the district”.

He also called upon civil servants to always start early preparations for their exit at the time of entry and dedicate their time of service towards achieving goals that will sustain them during retirement.

The District Chairperson  Mr. Muhindi Elifaz Bukombi thanked Mr. Byamungu for his dedicated services to the people of Kasese. He hailed him for reaching all lower local governments during his period of service in Kasese and for the teamwork he upheld.  He called upon all civil servants to continue associating with the new Chief Administrative Officer to enable him deliver services effectively.

During the handover ceremony, the RDC LT. Joe Walunsimbi commended Mr. Byamungu the outgoing CAO for being hardworking and loving his work. He also commended Kasese Civil servants for being positive however condemned absenteeism and late coming which is high in health facilities and schools.

Mr. Byamungu Elias joined Kasese District Local Government in 2022 upon his transfer from Hoima district and has therefore served in Kasese for 2yrs.

Congratulations Mr. Byamungu Elias upon completing your period of service to retirement and Welcome Mr. Paul Walakira. Kasese is ready to work with you.

The end

Access to maternity services in Kabingo and other parishes in the mountainous sub county of Munkunyu has been so hard to achieve because of the terrain of the area with very poor access roads. The only functional facility in the area has been a health Centre II which offers only OPD services to the community and the nearest facilities being Nyabirongo, Kagando and Intergrated in Kinyamatseke Town council which are not easy to access especially during emergencies.

The community outcry was answered when government prioritized upgrading Kabingo Health Centre II to a health Centre III however delivering of materials to the site still remained the challenge because vehicles could not reach the site. This made it so hard for the contractors to implement the project and definitely affected the planned project cost in consideration of the accessibility of the site.

The community which never accepted loosing such a lifesaving project joined hands with the contractor to carry materials to the site manually. Women , men and the youth of Kabingo offered their backs and heads to carry materials to the site to enable the contractor to start the construction.

This project was launched yesterday by the Deputy RDC LT. Maate Magwara in witness of the LCV chairperson represented by the secretary for works, representative of the CAO Mr. Kikusa Mustafa and his technical team from the district, subcounty  leadership and the community.

The projects include construction of a Maternity ward and the relevant facilities and staff house.

According to the Acting District Engineer Mr. Asiimwe Ronald, the Maternity ward constructed by Mariam and Brothers Company limited is to cost 895 million and the staff house contracted by Tobis construction company LTD is to cost over 184 millions.

During the launch, the Deputy RDC LT. Maate Magwara  said that government is committed to extending services to the community through implementation of the policy of upgrading health Centre II’s to ensure that atleast every Subcounty has a Health Centre III.

He called upon the community to utilize the facility effectively to prevent maternal deaths since services have now come closer to the people.

Mr. Magwara also urged the Kabingo community to work hard to fight poverty in the community through positive utilization of government programs like PDM to stop earning from hand to mouth.

The District Chairperson who was represented by the Secretary for Social services Hon. Baluku Karim Kisembo appreciated members of the community for showing patriotism and supporting the contractor to deliver materials to the site .

He called upon the community to ensure maintenance of the facility once it is constructed and to utilize it for their wellbeing.

The Chef Admistrative Officer who was represented by his Principal Assistant Secretary Mr. Kikusa Mustafa appreciated the neighboring community for accepting to surrender their land to government to buy it for the project. He encouraged them to continue supporting implementation of the project to conclusion.

The LCI Chairperson, Kyibisire Village Mr James Katuramu appreciated government for extending services to the people in the mountains of Munkunyu and for reaching the ground to monitor implementation and ensuring the projects get officially launched.

He appealed to the government to also consider extending water to the community.

Kabingo Health Centre III is going to save mothers who have been moving over 10 Kilometers to have their babies and the facility is going to have health workers at the station fulltime since accommodation will be available.

This will improve delivery of health services to the community of Munkunyu and their neighbors.

The end.

Kasese district will be celebrating 5oyeears of existence this year .Preparations for the golden jubilee celebrations were launched yesterday at council hall by the deputy RDC incharge of Busongora, Mr. Mubingwa Zephanus.

As he commissioned the members of the organizing committee , Mr. Mubingwa Zephanus called upon the organizing committee to ensure proper coordination and  consultation of stakeholders. He asked the Chief Administration officer to work on appointing members of the committee to ensure they operate legally. Mr Mubingwa also called upon all stakeholders to treat the golden jubilee celebrations as a national function and desist from doing anything that would demean the function.

The district  was established in the year 1974 as it was curved out of Tooro District which was first named Rwenzori district and later named Kasese District .The district political leadership proposed celebrations in the month of October 2024 with the major objective of appreciating the key milestones the district has achieved since her creation.

Hon. Monday Girivazio, the Secretary Social Services who represented the district chairperson said that it was their previlage for the district to mark 50 yrs during their regime and they saw it wise to have this golden jubilee celebrated. He said that the chief guest will be H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni but they are still waiting for his confirmation. Hon. Monday called upon stakeholders to embrace this celebration and engage in preparations to have a successful event.

Among the activities to celebrate the celebrations will be ; Recognizing and awarding of the key people who have contributed to the development of Kasese, planting trees, documenting the milestones Kasese has taken as a district, among others.

Stakeholders who attended the launch at council hall including religious leaders, cultural leaders , members of security , technical staff, among others, appreciated the idea of celebrating golden Jubilee and committed to support preparations.

The end.

The Chief Administrative Officer Kasese District Local Government, Mr. Byamungu Elias convened a meeting with Kahokya widows  yesterday 22nd February 2023 at St. Johns COU, Kahokya.

According to Mr. Byamungu Elias, his agenda of meeting with widows who lost their husbands to armed conflicts, poaching and other effects of the war  was to see how their livelihoods can be supported under programs of Government.

Mr. Byamungu said that he was overwhelmed by the report he received from the community leaders indicating such a big number of 90 widows in just a Subcounty and even got more surprised to meet over 150 widows in the meeting.

He asked the Ag. Subcounty Chief , Mr. Muke Selevano to work with office of the District Community Development Officer to organize the widows in groups through which they can be supported under different programs of Government.

He committed to submit their groups to  the Office of the Prime Minister for support under Rwenzori Luwero Development  Program  and asked them to also positively utilize other government initiatives like Parish development model to improve their livelihoods.

The over 150 widows who attended the meeting cried out for support from government to improve their  income to support raise their Children who need school fees.

Biira Yodesi  a widow of 38 years who lost her husband in 2010 said that her husband’s family chased her from her land with her 7 children.  she added that she is struggling to raise the young children from her parents home and she is facing the biggest challenge of school fees. She appealed to government for support to buy some goats which she can be grazing and raise some funds to support her children.

According to the life stories of the widows shared in the meeting , a big number of them  have additionally undergone gender Based Violence after the death of their husbands and have either been displaced from their land to their parents homes with their children.

The Chief Administrative Officer committed gave a word of comfort and assured them of his commitment to lobby for support from the Office of the Prime Minister under the Luwero Rwenzori Micro Development Program.

The end .

Kasese district local Government celebrated 43^rd Tarehe Sita anniversary yesterday 7^th February 2024 in Hima town council, under the theme: “Celebrating the people’s struggle for unity, security and peace for social economic transformation”.

The event organized by UPDF in conjunction with Kasese District Local government was presided over by the Resident District Commissioner LT.Joe Walusimbi and in attendance was sizable representation of the army, political leaders, technical leaders and members of the public.

Tarehe Sita, is a commemoration of the February 6, 1981 when the five-year guerilla war that brought President Museveni to power was launched, with an attack on Kabamba Military Barracks.

The function was commemorated with a series of activities by UPDF united with the community including blood donation , screening of HIV and cervical cancer, cleaning of town prior to the event, band matching and a football match between UPDF and the community.

Speaking at the function, the RDC LT. Joe Walusimbi commended his Excellency the president of the republic of Uganda for building a highly disciplined army.

He asked UPDF to maintain their discipline and royalty to the people however, without compromising their core mandate of keeping security of the people and the territorial boarders.

He also hailed the Brig. Commander and the RPC for the good collaboration in keeping the security of Kasese district.

The Brig Commander, Kabira barracks Col. Nabimanya Saulo who was in lead of organizing the Tarehe Sita commemoration in Kasese, called upon members of the community to scale up their collaboration with security in keeping security of the district.

He asked asked everyone to ensure they  have contacts of the security team for easy communication in case any security issue rises and to stop going through a long protocol to raise a security alert.

He assured the community of  UPDF commitment  to keep security of Kasese and asked for positive collaboration.

Col. Nabimanya said that as UPDF, they are commemorating the Tarehe sita to recognize the contribution of UPDF in transforming this country and to remember the fallen soldiers who died in the struggle of liberating this country.
At the same event, the Regional Police Commander Rwenzori East, SSP Nanoka Moses hailed Museveni for achieving comprehensive transformation in both political and civil service since he took over power.

He asked all the security forces to embrace other government programs and utilize different initiatives of government to improve their welfare.

The district Chairperson, Hon Muhindi Erifaz Bukombi appreciated UPDF  for keeping security of the boarder  and the community for the positive collaboration.

He asked the community to continue working with UPDF to transform for comprehensive tranformation.

Hon .Muhindi asked  the RDC to consider organizing and an ideological orientation in Kyangwazi on  mindset change.

He appreciated all efforts made to organize a successful Tarehe sita commemoration in Kasese.

The end.

Kasese District Local Government has commissioned Buhuhira HC III in  Busongora North today 6^th January 2024 and handed over medical equipment to 3 health facilities including Bwesumbu, Buhuhira and Kabatunda HC IIIs. The commissioning and handover has been officiated by the RDC LT. Joe Walusimbi.

Buhuhira HCIII is located in Busongora North and serves a population of over 20,000 people in 5 parishes of Buhuhira, Bughendero, kithoma, Kasambya and muhumuza. This community has been undergoing challenges of access to maternal health services where the nearby health facility has been Rwesande HC IV which is located over 10 Kilometres from Buhuhira HC III.

In a project report presented by the Ag District Engineer  Asiimwe Ronald,
upgrading /construction of Buhuhira HC II to Health Centre III cost 654,136,098=
The project Key components include,  4 stance VIP toilet, Medical waste pit, Placenta pit, medical pit latrine and renovation of OPD .

The Ag District Engineer asked the district leadership to allow funds relocation of funds for renovation of OPD to fencing the facility for safety of the medical equipment.

While addressing the public at the commissioning and handover event, The RDC LT Joe walusimbi asked the medical workers to ensure services are effectively delivered to the community.

He urged the health incharges to strengthen his leadership skills for smooth running of the facility.

The RDC asked Buhuhira community to continue cooperating government to gain more services delivered to them.

The deputy CAO Kasese, Mr Begumya Eliab Ntarwete appreciated Buhuhira community for showing commitment by turning up massively to attend the commissioning event of their facility.

He asked the health workers of Buhuhira HC III not to disappoint the community by ensuring effective service delivery.

The CAO also asked the incharges who had received the medical equipment to engrave them for safety.

Speaking at the commissioning event, the LCV chairperson, Hon.Muhindi Erifaz asked members of the public to support the ruling government since they are delivering services effectively.

He said that it’s the plan of government to elevate all HC IIs to IIIs and allocate all health IIIs Medical doctors for better health service delivery.

He assured members of the community that government is committed to strengthening health service delivery.

Kabatunda Health Centre III worthy 17, 8280, 000= and Bwesumbu HC III received medical equipment worthy 134,826,087 = and all funded by world bank under UGIFT Program.

The end.

In a bid to combat the spread of Anthrax from the neighboring districts to Kasese, District Task force has resolved to consult the law on how they can ban the trade of meat coming from Sanka to Kasese District.

Anthrax outbreak was reported in Kyotera District in the month of June and over 15 cases have been confirmed in Kyotera.

Though Kasese has not yet received any Positive Case of Anthrax, the trade of illegal meat from Sanka has remained the biggest threat to transfer anthrax to the district. In addition, Kasese remains the major route for transporting animals from Uganda to DRC .

This triggered the district Task force to hold a planning meeting to do early preparations in case of any eventualities.

According to the District Veterinary Officer Dr. Kibaya Yusuf, consumption of meat in Kasese is very high which exposes the community to a very high risk of acquiring Anthrax.

Dr. Kibaya condemned the trade of  Sanka meat which he said is coming from dead animals that traders buy cheaply and sell in Kasese district at a very low price.

He reported to the task force that sofar they have buried 2 cows which were suspected to be having Anthrax however, results came out negative.

He appealed to the leaders to support regulation of trade of meat in the district and fighting transportation of contaminated meat from Sanka which is a biggest threat to all efforts to control the spread of Anthrax.

The RDC LT. Joe Walumbi called upon all stakeholders to join efforts with the Task Force to prevent the spread of anthrax to the district. He asked all members of the district task force to make public health a priority and avoid defending illegal actions which put the public health at a risk.

The RPC Rwenzori region pledged cooperation with other stake holders to fight illegal trade of non-inspected meat in the district to protect the public from Anthrax and other health hazards.

The Principal Health Inspector , Kasese Municipality ,Mr. Kabagambe said that  there is no public health law that allows transportation of un preserved meat from one district to another. He added that the law only allows transportation of live animals not dead animals.

The district Task force formed a small committee of technical stakeholders to consult and interpret the law to guide their actions against illegal trade of meat in the district.

His Majesty Omusinga Charles Wisley Mumbere has returned to Kasese together with his family  today 4th October 2023 nearly after seven years.

This was another historical day as millions of Rwenzururu Kingdom subjects from Kasese, Bundibugyo, Bunyangabo , Democratic Republic of Uganda and beyond saw  their King His Majesty Charles Wesley Mumbere, seven years after the 2016 Obuhikira raid by security.

The King was received at Kasese Aerodrome by religious leaders, political leaders , members of the royal family, Cultural leaders , among others at around 2:00pm  and head to Kasese Golf Course in company of crowds of his subjects who had waited for him for hours.

While addressing the crowd at Kasese Golf Course, His Majesty Omusinga Charles Wisley Mumbere mentioned that  his next agenda will focus on Peace building, Reconciliation and economic transformation.

He called upon the people of Kasese to appreciate the tourism potentials they have and utilize them for development.The representative of the president Hon. Minister Peace Mutunzo , urged the people of Kasese to put  peace building at the forefront. Shee mentioned the commitment of government to continue working with the kingdom .