Day: May 13, 2026

Lira, Uganda | The State Minister for Primary Education, Joyce Moriku Kaducu, has officially opened the National Boys Football Championship in Lira City, calling on teachers and stakeholders to nurture young talents and promote fair play throughout the tournament. The championship opening ceremony was held on Wednesday at Lira Town College Playground, marking the beginning of one of Uganda’s largest school sports competitions. Speaking as chief guest, Kaducu congratulated Lira City for hosting the national event and applauded the Ministry of Education and Sports for its continued support toward school sports development. She urged teachers to help young learners develop their sporting talents and appealed to players, officials, and supporters to uphold discipline and sportsmanship throughout the competition before officially declaring the games open. The Assistant Commissioner for Physical Education and Sports, Sammy Odong, commended Lira Town College for successfully hosting the championship and appealed to the government to increase funding for Ugandan teams representing the country at the international level. Meanwhile, USSSA president Justus Mugisha said this year’s championship had adopted a new competition format aimed at ensuring all participating teams play the same number of matches. He explained that while some teams would advance to the knockout stages, others would continue participating in classification games to promote player development and talent identification. Mugisha further revealed that the championship was also incorporating capacity-building programmes in which students were being trained as coaches, referees, and media officers. He added that the top three schools from the tournament would join Bukedea Comprehensive School to represent Uganda at the FEASSA Games scheduled to take place in Tanzania from August 12 to 22. According to Mugisha, Uganda is currently ranked second in Africa and second globally in school sports organisation by the International School Sport Federation, behind China. The headteacher of Lira Town College, Levi Abongo, described the hosting of the championship as historic for the school, noting that it was the first time the institution was hosting such a major national sports event. Abongo assured participating schools and visitors of adequate hospitality, welfare, and security throughout the tournament and encouraged residents of Lira City to turn up in large numbers to support the young footballers. In the official opening match played Wednesday evening at Lira Town College Stadium, hosts Lira Town College defeated PP Newton 2-0. The tournament, which started on May 10, will climax on May 20, with the group stages expected to conclude on Thursday. Source

Oyam, Uganda | Bee farmers across Oyam District have come together to form a cooperative aimed at strengthening beekeeping as a business and increasing productivity.  In a meeting with the District Entomology Officer and the Financial Officer, representatives from all subcounties resolved to establish the Oyam District Bee Keeper Cooperative. The initiative will enable farmers to benefit from climate-smart agriculture projects designed to raise Uganda’s overall farming output.  George Opio, the District Entomology Officer, urged farmers to invest more in beekeeping, noting that the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF) has identified it as a highly productive practice. “Beekeeping requires little land and less labor compared to other farming activities, yet it yields significant returns,” he emphasized.  Opio revealed that Oyam District currently has over 10,000 bee farmers producing approximately 400 tonnes of honey annually, which is sold in both local and national markets despite ongoing challenges.  Alex Enon, the District Financial Officer, encouraged the farmers to formalize their cooperative to access government support under climate-smart agriculture programs. He pledged full backing for the registration process, promising completion within one month if requirements are met.  The meeting concluded with the election of an interim nine-member committee, led by Odyek Jona from Loro Subcounty as chairperson. Jona promised to ensure the cooperative is registered and operational, with the goal of boosting honey production across the district.  Farmer Ejedio Apedo described beekeeping as “a lucrative venture” and urged colleagues to focus on quality management to produce honey that meets market standards. Source