Lightning has struck and killed nearly 20 people in Uganda. The lightning also left hundreds of Ugandans in numerous districts injured over the week. The incident caused the death of 18 students who were in a classroom. - “What was once a happy anticipation of rain for many farmers has now turned into a dark moment and many people now cannot stand the sight of dark clouds without imagining or expecting the worst,” says Weekend Razor of Uganda to express how lightning is affecting rural areas of the country. So far lightning struck 10 districts namely alebtong, Buikwe, Gulu,Jinja, Kamwenge, Kiryandongo, Kotido, Mbarara, Rubizi and Sironko. Even though the number of deaths va…

Ugandans gathered to commemorate World Environment Day under the theme -- "Plant a tree: Save life." However, the question "whether planting a tree by itself solves the problem of deforestation" remains unclear since it is happening at a faster rate than ever. - This year has not been good for environment activities in Uganda as the year was overshadowed by politics as a result of the February 18 presidential election. World Environment Day therefore seen as one of the biggest activities regarding environment after the election. On the other hand, Uganda has been facing water shortage, dry spell and droughts this year, which many believe that the incident is due to env…

Foreign investors see the huge long-term growth possibilities that Africa presents according to Ernst & Young's first Africa Attractiveness Survey. The survey predicts Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Africa will reach US$150 billion by 2015, resulting in hundreds of thousands of jobs. Foreign direct investment (FDI) projects show that in the last decade Africa has seen an increase of 87 per cent. - Despite a drop in investment in the last couple of years following a peak in 2008, Africa has remained an attractive investment destination throughout the global downturn and has managed to maintain its relative share of global investment flows as a result. Strong growth in new p…

The Albertine Rift, where Uganda explored a huge amount of oil, is globally recognized hotspot. Over 50% of birds, 39% of mammals, 19% of amphibians, and 14% of reptiles and plants found in mainland Africa occur in this Rift. However, the process of oil exploration in this area causes alarm, as it is believed that the impact on environment will be unaffordable. - Uganda is said to clutch up to 2.5 billion barrels of oil, an amount that could place it among the world’s apex 50 oil producers, in the Albertine region. According to economists, this is an incredible amount of wealth for a country that has one of the lowest GDP. On the other hand, the Rift, which is located within si…

Every day, an estimated 16 women die from giving birth in Uganda. Unlike the success stories of the country in fighting against HIV/AIDS, new infections are on the increase. One third of the population also runs out of clean water, as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have only about four years to go. - It was in September 2000 that world leaders met to set eight critical development goals in order to halve poverty in developing countries by 2015. As a country classified by the UN as one of 49 Least Developed Countries, Uganda has also been exerting efforts to attain the goals before the deadline. However, even after 10 years of long journey, it is quite difficult to conclude that m…

"We are already in the crisis. There are areas where people are going with only one meal in a day. There are also areas in Karamoja region where people do not have a meal at all unless they are rescued. That is what is happening, the reality that we must tackle," Ecweru Musa Francis, State Minister, Relief and Disaster Preparedness, explains the magnitude of drought in Uganda. - Drought in the East African country, Uganda, is not a new phenomenon since it happens almost every year, especially nowadays. However, according to Francis, this year’s drought is different from previous droughts as it caused by natural phenomenon called La Niña, which is followed by Eli-no and ch…

If water is indeed life, 35 percent of Ugandans are still denied of their lives since the national safe water coverage estimated at 65 percent. Recent trends in water resources availability and demand also show that Uganda will face scarcity if current environmental and water management practices are not developed. - Prince Kisekka, 33, is one of the residents of Katwe, suburb of Kampala, capital city of Uganda. Kisseka is a father of one whose wife is now expecting her second baby. Thus, presently, the responsibility to fetch water has lies on him. “My wife is pregnant. That is why I came here to fetch water,” he justifies. However, instead of the responsibility that his wif…

Uganda has played a starring role in the story of the Nile since 1862, when the explorer John Henning Speke found the spot where the river flows from Lake Victoria, near the current day town of Jinja, and speculated that he had discovered the source of Nile. - Later exploration placed the ultimate source further to the south, in Burundi, but Uganda is still popularly thought of as the source of the Nile, and a good number of visitors from around the world come to Jinja every year to see it. When this reporter paid a visit to Jinja, some 80 kilometres from Kampala, capital city of Uganda, he was anticipating all the adventures of Nile. However, he could not dare to say that he got the way …

President Museveni has got landslide victory over his rivals after the contentious Friday's presidential election of Uganda, which was rejected by opposition leaders as being full of fraud and irregularities. According to the Electoral Commission, National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer and incumbent president Yoweri Museveni got 68.38 percent of the total vote. - The result from nearly 24,000 polling stations throughout the country puts Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC) nominee Kissa Besigye next by 26 percent. Ugandans have now answered by saying “YeSebo!” – Mix of English and Ugandans’ local language which means ‘Yes Sir’- for the lyrical qu…

Finally, the long awaited Uganda elections are due in the East African country with over 13.9 million eligible voters joining long queues on Friday to select president and Members of Parliament. The winner of this election has a five-year term. Many polling stations opened as early as 7:00am while others delayed slightly. - Arele Gladys, 63, was the first to cast her vote at Bugolobi Flat polling station, which is under Nakawa Division, after staying two hours in the long queue. She looks forward to several fixations from the candidate whom she had cast her ballot for. “I want corruption out. I want injustice out. I need good governance”, she uttered. “I think, peop…

The meteorological department of Uganda has forecasted an on-coming long period of drought, severe water shortages and famine in the country from this month, February 2011, up-to May 2011. Subsequently, Disaster Preparedness and Management Department announced to the general public to gear up in advance to avoid something worse happening. - The public message released from the Prime Minister’s office says: “The Ministry of Disaster Preparedness issues an alert to all families to avoid wastage of their food and water resources in order to be better prepared for the on-coming drought period”. Climate change is believed to be increasing the scale and frequency of disasters …

Ugandans are now in their hottest season with an average 30oc of daily temperature. However, most of them are not sure whether the coldest months will come soon since everything regarding the environment has changed. Besides, unusually, night temperature has been increasing from time to time and water shortage is real in several areas. - For Kampala residents like Moses, 32, this is not something to read from newspapers or watch from television stations. He has rather started to live in a situation like mentioned above. “Of course, Kampala, where I have been grown up, had hot and cold seasons. But things have been changing since some 10 years back. Apparently, I am observing very long …

Uganda has kicked of national blood donate campaign as citizens are left with days to vote to their next president. Michael Mukundane, Senior Blood Recruiter, Nakasero Blood Bank, announced the campaign on the state television, Uganda Broadcast Corporation. - Actually, it is always an annual problem. In the first season of every year, Ugandan hospitals suffer from blood shortage since students who form the bulk of donors are on holidays during this period. However, there is apprehension that the outcome of the upcoming general election might worsen this problem while the demand is still low. “We do not know what will happen, so we want to make sure whether there is enough blood …

Achilles Byaruhanga is now Executive Director of Nature Uganda, which is striving for the well-being of natural resources. When he was at his early days, he used to herd cows as many of his village colleagues. Thus, waking up early to deploy the caws and getting back home late evening were daily activities of Byaruhanga. - From those days when his village was as cold as an ice in the refrigerator especially in mornings and evenings, Byaruhanga had good and bad memories. Particularly in the evenings, the weather went down so that he could not even move his fingers. “When we herd cows, we usually intermingles our right and left hand fingers to hold the stick”. Byaruhanga recal…