The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao has tabled before Parliament the Political Parties and Organisations (Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue) Regulations, 2025, a new statutory instrument aimed at enhancing cooperation, transparency, and accountability among political parties in Uganda.

The regulations, made under sections 20 and 28 of the Political Parties and Organisations Act, Cap. 178, seek to formalize the structure, operations, and code of conduct of the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD).

Presenting the instrument to the House, Minister Mao said the framework is designed to strengthen multiparty democracy through structured dialogue and mutual respect among political players.

“These regulations provide a clear legal foundation for IPOD’s operations and ensure that every registered political party has a seat and a voice at the table,” Mao said.

He added, “We believe in an inclusive, transparent, and peaceful political process where dialogue replaces confrontation.”

Under the new regulations, political parties that are members of IPOD will be required to participate in at least two-thirds of the organization’s annual activities, including summits, council meetings, and business committee sessions. Non-compliance may affect a party’s eligibility for funding under section 14(2) of the Political Parties and Organisations Act.

“Participation in dialogue is not just a right it’s a responsibility,” Mao emphasized.

He added, “No political party should isolate itself from national conversations that shape governance, peace, and development.”

The regulations establish three key organs of IPOD; the Summit, the Council and the Secretariat. The Summit, composed of party leaders and secretaries general, will serve as the highest decision-making body, while the Council of Secretaries General will oversee implementation and coordination of IPOD programs. Leadership of both organs will rotate every two years among member parties in alphabetical order.

The regulations also include a comprehensive Code of Conduct, which outlines principles and objectives to guide member parties. These include promoting democracy, good governance, gender equity, and respect for human rights; encouraging peaceful political competition; and fostering cooperation beyond partisan boundaries.

“We are setting a standard for political conduct that values dialogue over division. These rules will help political parties engage constructively, strengthen institutions, and build trust across Uganda’s political spectrum,” Mao told Parliament.

The instrument further provides for the creation of specialized committees including Research and Policy, Conflict Resolution and Mediation, and Implementation to help IPOD achieve its objectives and ensure decisions are followed through. A bi-annual audit of IPOD’s activities will also be conducted to promote accountability and transparency.

“This is not just about meetings and statements. It is about measurable results, dialogue that leads to reforms, cooperation that leads to peace, and engagement that strengthens our democracy,” Mao added.  

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Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has called for renewed commitment and practical action towards strengthening Uganda’s social protection systems, saying it is the surest way to build inclusive and resilient communities.

Speaking at the Social Protection National Dialogue 2025 held at Serena Hotel under the theme “Enhancing Access to Social Protection for Inclusive Socio–Economic Transformation,” Tayebwa urged stakeholders to translate discussions into tangible results that improve lives.

“As a social protection advocate, I always take every opportunity to add a strong voice to how important it is to our society. Today, I had that opportunity when I officiated at the Social Protection National Dialogue 2025,” Tayebwa said.

He applauded the government’s progress in expanding social protection coverage across the country, citing key interventions that have uplifted the lives of vulnerable citizens.

“We should be proud as a country because we have made significant strides; from the Senior Citizens Grant (SAGE) to new programmes like the proposed National Child Disability Benefit,” he noted.

Tayebwa highlighted the government’s efforts through livelihood programmes, such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP), and Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), which he said continue to empower individuals and promote community resilience.

He also revealed that the Cabinet had approved a proposal to lower the eligibility age for the Senior Citizens Grant from 80 to 65 years, a move expected to extend social security to more elderly Ugandans.

While commending the progress made, Tayebwa challenged policymakers and development partners to ensure that dialogue translates into measurable impact.

“I urged the participants to be intentional because many times, they meet and have great conversations, but fail to translate them into action. Moving from words to action is vital because the role of social protection cannot be underestimated in our continuously changing social and economic environment,” he emphasized.

The Deputy Speaker also reflected on Uganda’s changing social fabric, noting that traditional community support systems are weakening, leaving vulnerable groups more exposed.

“The family structure and communities are no longer as we once knew them, especially where communities used to offer support to those who need it. I grew up with my grandmother, and she used to receive a lot of support from community members,” Tayebwa shared.

He added that strengthening formal social protection systems is now essential to ensure that no Ugandan is left behind.

“Since this no longer happens as before, we must strengthen social protection systems that secure the well-being of all Ugandans who need them,” Tayebwa concluded.

The National Dialogue brought together policymakers, development partners, civil society actors, and social protection practitioners to review progress and explore strategies for expanding inclusive social protection coverage across Uganda.

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Uganda’s Deputy Ambassador to Khartoum, Sudan, Mr. Dickson Ogwang Okul, and his wife, also a director at the Ugandan Parliament, Ranny Ismail, have petitioned the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) over what they call a sustained smear campaign by a media outlet.

On October 26, 2025, via their website, www.redpepper.co.ug, the Red Pepper published a story titled, ‘On the rocks! Amb. Ogwang, parliament babe Ranny Ismail’s marriage hit stormy waters,’ complete with a photo of the couple’s happy wedding day. The same article would later circulate on social media and the news aggregator platform Opera News, as well as other online publications that republished it.

In a strongly-worded letter written by their lawyers of Anguria & Co. Advocates, on October 28, 2025, the couple contends that the article’s contents are not only false, malicious, inflammatory, and derogatory but also, “an assault on our clients’ right to privacy and the right to enjoy their marriage and family time peacefully.”

The lawyers further argued that, “The agony and anguish that the Red Pepper continues to visit on our clients, is immeasurable and whereas they have the legal right and the option of pursuing defamation and other lawful remedies in the courts of law, which they are pursuing, it is our considered view that it is prudent to engage UCC as a time-tested and ready, willing and able regulator of the online communication eco-system in Uganda, to call the culprits to order and follow the legal procedures as provided for in the Uganda Communications Act, to ensure that the ends of justice are met and that Red Pepper is reprimanded for this criminal-minded conduct and outright impunity.”

Red Pepper, one of Uganda’s enduring legacy media platforms, has a track record of a no-holds-barred approach to news reporting, sometimes peppered with a tinge of exaggeration, sexual innuendo, and sensationalist invasive reporting, attributes that made it stand out in Uganda’s newsstands for over two decades, stirring both hatred and admiration in many readers.  

The publication has, over the years, been slapped with several defamation cases by high-profile figures, including Capt. Mike Mukula, former Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, former NRM Secretary General, Justine Kasule Lumumba, Internal Affairs Minister Kahinda Otafiire, among several other who-is-who in Uganda’s business and political spectrum.

In the latest battle with Ogwang, a former deputy Ambassador of Uganda to the United States, a posting he exited after claims of domestic violence were made against him by his former wife, Miriam Otengo, the UCC has been petitioned to crack the whip on the publication whose fortunes have since declined considerably in the last five years, following run-ins with the government which at one point shut down the newspaper’s operations in Namanve, Mukono district after a controversial story on Uganda-Rwanda relations.

In a separate legal notice seen by this publication, Ranny Ismail and Dickon Ogwang have demanded, through their lawyers, that Red Pepper cease-and-desist publication of false, malicious and defamatory content about them or face legal proceedings. They also demanded that Red Pepper issues a public apology and pulls down its stories against them from their online platforms.

The letter to the Managing Director of Red Pepper states, “Our clients, being senior Government of Uganda officials and leaders in their own right, are too busy serving the state and public to be distracted by petty, malicious and evil schemes of this publication and yet the consistency and persistence with which Red Pepper executes its atrocious smear campaign cannot give the couple a peace of mind and leaves their wider family anxious.”

It adds that, “As you will appreciate, our clients are blessed with children who are now fairly grown and are exposed to online content as are, indeed, their friends and peers. Our clients are also businesspeople with several stakeholders in their lives, including employees and business partners. As public servants, they work closely with professional colleagues in their respective professional lines of work. The impact of your newspaper’s online articles, which are circulated widely, to these family, work, business and office relationships, is simply immeasurable. Our clients implore you to cease-and-desist from this smear campaign, firstly, out of humanity considerations.”

Red Pepper is yet to respond to the letter and it remains to be seen what UCC will do following the high-power couple’s petition.

In a press statement issued by the Office of Public Affairs and Communications of Rado Conciliation and Consultancy LLP, on October 27, 2025, titled, ‘a Unified Front,’ the celebrity high-profile couple said, ‘this orchestrated smear campaign, thinly veiled as “news”, represents a calculated attempt to malign two upright Ugandan citizens whose lives are defined by service, integrity, and patriotism. The couple remains steadfast in their commitment to family, faith, and the Republic of Uganda under the leadership of H.E President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the NRM Administration.”

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The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has dispatched over five million National Identity Cards to various districts following the recent mass enrollment exercise.

The mass registration and renewal exercise kicked off in May 2025, targeting 15.8 million National IDs set to expire by June 2025, and aimed to register 17.2 million new applicants, including children under 17 years old and citizens who missed the 2014 registration.

The new National IDs feature enhanced security measures, including laser engraving of multiple images for anti-counterfeit protection, a Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) similar to those in passports, and a 2D barcode readable by smartphones or scanners. The barcode stores encrypted personal data and enables fast and reliable identity verification.

Speaking Monday,27th, NIRA Registrar Claire Ollama said, “Many Ugandans who applied for the National ID. I am glad to report that production is in high gear and up to five million or more cards have been produced and therefore dispatched to different districts across the country.”

Many people have already started to receive their National IDs. “We have dispatched cards by district,” she said.

Abim 8,141, Adjumani 27,000, Agago 11,800, Alebtong 25,000, Amolatar 14,000, Amudat 9,000, Amuria 13,000, Amuru 15,000, Apac 17,700, Arua 16,000, Arua City 43,500 cards.

Ugandans in Australia received 200 cards and Belgium 50. Budaka 28,000, Bududa 13,000, Bugweri 17,000, Buhweju 2,000, Buikwe 60,600 cards, Bukomansimbi 3,135, Bukwo 9,400, Bulambuli 9,400, Buliisa 2,300, and Bundibugyo 24,800 cards.

Bunyangabu 3,596, Bushenyi 14,500, Busia 29,400, Butaleja 16,733, Butambala 2,600 cards, Butebo 2,700, Buvuma 7,302, Buyende 11,373 cards, and Dokolo 4,700.

Fort Portal City 4,800, Gomba 20,236, Gulu 2,345, Gulu City 11,800, Hoima 4,108, Hoima City 3,124, Ibanda 11,463, Iganga 31,700, Isingiro 34,000, Jinja 12,000, Jinja City 30,852, Kaabong 4,565, Kabale 23,700, Kabarole 4,087, and Kabiramaido 8,997.

Kagadi 12,000, Kalaki 10,200, Kalangala 1,362, Kaliro 25,700, Kalungu 3,500, Kampala 261,000, Kamuli 45,853, Kamwenge 15,937, Kanungu 17,000, Kapchorwa 13,000, Kapelabyong 1,411, Karenga 2,007, Kasese 69,000, Kasanda 13,197, Katakwi 3,788, Kayunga 43,000, and Kazo 2,500.

Kenya 546, Kibale 3,482, Kiboga 11,155, Kibuku 16,100, Kikuube 30,058, Kiruhura 2,802, Kiryandongo 3,565, Kisoro 3,196, Kitagwenda 2,674, Kitgum 17,000, Koboko 20,000, Kole 9,647, Kotido 9,000, Kumi 27,000, Kwania 3,380, Kween 9,812, Kyankwanzi 17,011, and Kyegegwa 28,000.

Kyenjojo 30,000, Kyotera 17,000, Lamwo 8,827, Lira 9,144, Lira City 15,212, Luuka 18,165, Luwero 42,000, Lwengo 24,668, Lyantonde 2,454, Madi-Okollo 2,831, Manafwa 18,000, Maracha 3,419, Masaka 10,000, Masaka City 30,000.

India 10, Mayuge 29,000, Soroti 18,000, Soroti City 12,000, and Tororo 51,000.

“These cards are in your districts, but the pickup is still very low. When you enrolled, the place where you registered falls under the jurisdiction of a NIRA office. The guidance was clear, we would mass enroll and we would mass issue,” Ollama said.

She added, “Please go to your nearest office and pick up your cards. I also want to emphasize that registration happened over time, and therefore, we shall receive cards over time, because we did not register on the same day. That’s why it is called a project.”

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