The debate therefore goes beyond the proposed hotel and mall. It raises a fundamental question for Kampala: should it preserve its remaining open spaces for public use, or convert them into commercial developments in the name of modernisation and investment?

However, some netizens argued that, the deployment of security forces around the palace could be to protect the royal family and avoid attacks to ensure peace prevails.

The immediate phase will focus on crops that can mature quickly, including sorghum, green gram and white peas. Museveni cautioned households against relying heavily on maize, which he said takes longer to mature and is less suited to Karamoja’s dry conditions.

The President also recalled the close cooperation between Uganda and Tanzania, citing trade, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, the Murongo-Kyikagate mini-hydro project, roads in Tanzania, the Masaka-Bukoba transmission line and the Standard Gauge Railway, which has reached Isaka and is expected to extend towards Uganda and beyond.

According to Mukula, Uganda believes in the free and orderly movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the framework of regional laws and protocols, stating that it will continue to stand for the dignity of African brothers and sisters because Africa belongs to Africans.

The project has 22 of its planned 31 wells ready, with some extending more than seven kilometres underground. The wells are at different stages of completion and perforation, while pumping and flowback activities continue.

Customers face an estimated UGX 2.3 million initial payment for the Starlink hardware kit, while locally advertised kits can cost between UGX 2.7 million and UGX 3 million. Users are also expected to pay a mandatory regulatory charge equivalent to about US$100 plus VAT, estimated at roughly UGX 437,036.

The new envoys are Fahad Abdulrahman Ali Al Bishr, Ambassador Designate of the United Arab Emirates; Wu Guangrong, Ambassador Designate of the People’s Republic of China; Angele van der Heijden-Samura, Ambassador Designate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Anna-Maria Olsson, Ambassador Designate of the Kingdom of Sweden; and Sigrid Ingelore Luise Sommer, Ambassador Designate of the Federal Republic of Germany.