The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has announced a major government securities auction scheduled for Wednesday, January 7, 2026, offering a total of Shs 990 billion in Treasury Bonds as the government continues to mobilise domestic financing for budgetary and debt management needs.

According to the auction invitation issued under the Public Finance Management Act, 2015, the central bank will re-open three benchmark Treasury Bond tenors: a 3-year, 10-year, and 20-year bond. The re-openings are intended to enhance liquidity in the secondary market and strengthen benchmark yield curves across the short, medium, and long ends of the market.

Under the offer, BoU will auction Shs 230 billion for the 3-year bond carrying a coupon rate of 15.550 percent and maturing on July 6, 2028. The 10-year bond, with a coupon of 16.250 percent and maturing on November 8, 2035, will raise Shs 330 billion, while the 20-year bond, carrying a 15.000 percent coupon and maturing on June 18, 2043, will account for the largest share at Shs 430 billion.

Successful bidders will settle their transactions on Thursday, January 8, 2026. Interest payments on the bonds will be made semi-annually, with detailed coupon schedules already published by the central bank.

The auction will be conducted on a uniform price basis, meaning that all successful competitive and non-competitive bids will be allocated at a single price, the lowest accepted auction price, which corresponds to the highest accepted yield. Non-competitive bids of up to Shs 200 million per tenor will be accepted in full at the cut-off yield, a provision designed to encourage broader participation by smaller investors.

Only Primary Dealer banks are permitted to submit competitive bids, while non-competitive bids may be submitted through commercial banks. The current Primary Dealers include Absa Bank, Citi Bank, Centenary Bank, DFCU Bank, Equity Bank, Housing Finance Bank, Stanbic Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

The minimum competitive bid has been set at Shs 200.1 million, while non-competitive bids can be as low as Shs 100,000, widening access to government securities for retail and smaller institutional investors. Bid prices must be quoted per 100 with up to three decimal places.

BoU cautioned that it retains the right to increase or reduce the amounts on offer and to accept or reject bids either partially or in full, depending on market conditions.

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Lawyer Sarah Bireete, 49 has been charged with unlawfully obtaining and disclosing personal data, police confirmed on Thursday,1.  

Sarah Bireete is a seasoned lawyer, the Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG), and a former employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to a statement seen by Eagle Online from the Uganda Police at Kampala Metropolitan Police Headquarters, Bireete is accused of violating Section 35 (1) and (2) of the Data Protection and Privacy Act, Cap 97. 

Bireete, who serves as the Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG), is accused of violating sections of the Data Protection and Privacy Act. The prosecution alleges that she, along with others still at large, unlawfully obtained or shared voters’ data without permission from the Electoral Commission, the body mandated to manage and safeguard voter information in the country.

The charges relate to the unauthorized access and disclosure of National Voter’s Information controlled by the Electoral Commission.

“Between January 2025 and December 2025, Sarah Bireete, together with others still at large, unlawfully obtained or disclosed voter information without the prior consent of the Electoral Commission,” the police statement read. 

Police statement added, “This data was controlled or processed by the Electoral Commission and any unauthorized handling is strictly prohibited under the law.”

The charge sheet details that the alleged offences occurred in various locations across Uganda, including Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso Districts.

During the court session, Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko read the charges to Bireete. The accused pleaded not guilty, denying any involvement in the alleged offences. She acknowledged the gravity of the charges but maintained that the accusations are baseless. The court, citing ongoing investigations, ruled to remand her until the next hearing set for January 21, 2026.The alleged offences reportedly occurred across multiple districts, including Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono. Authorities claim that the data was accessed and potentially shared for purposes yet to be fully disclosed, a matter that continues to raise concerns regarding the safety and ethical use of personal voter records in the electoral process.

The arrest of Dr. Bireete late last month has sparked strong reactions from civil society organizations and human rights defenders. Many have criticized what they describe as a growing trend of shrinking civic space in Uganda, particularly as the country moves closer to its general elections. Bireete has long been recognized as a leading voice on issues of democracy, transparency, and accountability in governance.

Bireete, a resident of Kiwango-Namwezi Village, Bukerere Parish, Goma Sub-County in Mukono District, was arrested on Wednesday, December 30, 2025, by police officers investigating the case. Legal experts say the case could set a precedent for how Uganda treats data-related offences, particularly as digital access to information becomes more common in electoral processes. Her legal team is expected to seek bail in the coming days.

Currently, Bireete is remanded to Luzira Women’s Prison, where she awaits her first court appearance. The case is a sensitive one, as it involves access to national voter data that underpins Uganda’s electoral process.

Prosecutions told the court investigation was ongoing, with authorities confirming that other individuals involved in the alleged scheme remain at large.

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History is not only recorded in elections, budgets or speeches. Sometimes, it is written in loss.

As Uganda closes the year 2025, the country confronts a difficult truth: this was a year that took away voices that mattered. From journalism and politics to law, business, security and culture, the nation lost individuals whose influence stretched far beyond their titles.

Their deaths demand more than remembrance. They require reflection.

Risdel Kasasira

Risdel Kasasira’s death on January 3, in a road accident at Kalagala village along the Lyantonde–Kashagama Road in Lyantonde District, Greater Masaka region, marked a painful moment for Ugandan journalism.

Returning from his ancestral home in Kashari, Mbarara District, Kasasira’s vehicle veered off the road and plunged into a swamp. He died not chasing headlines, but returning quietly to his roots. That detail alone captures the humility with which he practiced journalism.

Kasasira belonged to a disciplined generation of reporters who believed the newsroom was a public trust. His absence leaves a silence that will not easily be filled.

Muhammad Ssegirinya

Muhammad Ssegirinya died on January 9 at Lubaga Hospital after a prolonged illness. At 37, the Kawempe North Member of Parliament represented a restless and demanding political base that wanted to be heard.

He was unconventional, sometimes controversial, but undeniably connected to his constituents. His death raised uncomfortable questions about the physical and emotional toll of political life, especially on young leaders navigating Uganda’s harsh political environment.

Brig. Henry Oluka

Brigadier Henry Oluka died suddenly on January 29 after collapsing during a family prayer session at his home.

As Director General of the Internal Security Organisation, Oluka operated largely away from public view. Yet his role placed him at the center of the state’s most sensitive responsibilities. His sudden death exposed the human vulnerability behind the architecture of power.

John Bashaija Kazoora

Major (Rtd) John Bashaija Kazoora died on April 20 at his home in Rutooma, Kashari, Mbarara District after a long illness.

Kazoora’s life tells the story of Uganda’s liberation and its contradictions. Once a trusted insider in the National Resistance Army, he later became a critic of the system he helped establish. His book Betrayed by My Leader remains a bold and unsettling political document.

Rajiv Ruparelia, son to tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia

Rajiv Ruparelia died on May 3 in a fatal crash on the Kampala–Entebbe Expressway near the Busabala Flyover.

At 35, he symbolized a new generation of Ugandan business leadership confident, modern and visible. His vehicle struck concrete barriers, overturned and caught fire. The violence of that moment forced the country to confront uncomfortable realities about speed, privilege and road safety.

His death was not just personal tragedy; it was a national reckoning.

Cedric Babu Ndilima

Cedric Babu Ndilima died on May 31 at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi after suffering heart complications.

He was a connector between sports and entertainment, ambition and mentorship. His death abroad also reopened a familiar question: why Uganda’s elite continue to seek critical healthcare outside the country.

Shaka Ssali

Shaka Ssali died on March 25 in the United States, ending a career that gave Africa one of its calmest and most credible journalistic voices.

Through Straight Talk Africa, Ssali proved that serious journalism could be respectful yet firm. His passing marked the end of an era when journalism placed understanding above confrontation.

George Kanyeihamba

Prof. George Kanyeihamba died on July 14 at Kampala Hospital after a prolonged illness.

A retired Supreme Court justice and constitutional scholar, Kanyeihamba believed deeply in the rule of law. His judgments, writings and public engagements shaped Uganda’s legal consciousness. His death removed one of the country’s most principled legal minds from public debate.

Mary Karooro Okurut

Mary Karooro Okurut died in August in Nairobi while receiving medical care.

She was rare in Ugandan public life, a politician who valued literature, and a writer who believed public service could be intellectual and ethical. Her absence leaves a gap in both policy and cultural discourse.

Sam Omara

Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Sam Omara died on April 28, 2025, at Mulago National Referral Hospital after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer and kidney failure. He was 65.

Omara rose to national prominence in 2011 as Kampala North Police Operations Commander during the Walk to Work protests triggered by rising fuel prices and economic hardship. Under his command, police repeatedly confronted and arrested opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and his supporters in an effort to suppress the demonstrations.

Those operations drew sustained criticism from opposition figures and civil society groups who cited excessive force and human rights abuses. The images of Besigye’s arrest and mistreatment during that period became some of the most defining moments of Uganda’s recent political history.

In his final days, Omara is reported to have sought reconciliation, asking his family to seek forgiveness from anyone he may have wronged during his years in the police force.

A family lost at Christmas

On December 27, seven members of one family died in a head-on collision at Njagalakasayi along the Masaka–Mbarara Highway.

Their deaths during the Christmas season stripped the festivities of meaning for many Ugandans. They were not public figures, yet their loss resonated because it reflected a tragedy too many families know too well.

2025 took more than names. It took experience, institutional memory and moral authority.

Uganda must decide whether these deaths will merely be marked by funerals, or whether they will force deeper national introspection on road safety, healthcare, political culture and the value we place on human life.

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