Author: Robert Atuhairwe

On Friday, King Phillip Olarker Ubimu Rauni III of the Alur Kingdom, accompanied by his cabinet members, visited the Omukama of Bunyoro, Solomon Gafabusa Iguru, at his Karuziika Palace in Hoima City. The Albertine Journal captured the moments in the following images.

On Friday, King Phillip Olarker Ubimu Rauni III of the Alur Kingdom, accompanied by his cabinet members, visited the Omukama of Bunyoro, Solomon Gafabusa Iguru, at his Karuziika Palace in Hoima City. On its X handle (formerly Twitter), the Alur Kingdom highlighted their historical connection to Bunyoro, noting that the Alur trace their origins back to Bunyoro. The visit was described as a return to their ancestral roots to seek guidance from their historical “grandfather.” Andrew Kirungi Byakutaga, initially met with King Rauni before the visit to the Omukama in a closed-door meeting inside the palace. According to sources who…

The Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom has elected heads of clans as interim members of the Orukurato (Parliament) aimed at resolving a leadership impasse. During a stakeholders meeting at the Hoima Cultural Centre on Sunday, organised by Okwiri (Chief Prince) Engineer Fred Mugenyi Ruchunya, majority of heads of clans supported the election of their peers as interim MPs of Orukurato. The impasse had lasted for nearly a year after the expiry of the tenure of cabinet ministers and Orukurato members. The Rucunya has also been given 14 days to appoint a new Omuhikirwa (Prime Minister) and cabinet ministers for the kingdom. The current Prime Minister, Andrew Kirungi Byakutaga, has been directed to hand over office to kingdom authorities within one week.…

The Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) is working to bolster its presence in the Bunyoro sub-region by actively recruiting new members. During a regional consultative meeting at the Cultural Centre in Hoima City on Saturday, August 24, 2024, party leaders outlined their strategy for expanding support in the area. At the meeting, which aimed to develop strategies for increasing UPC’s influence in Bunyoro, party officials highlighted past achievements in the region, such as the establishment of schools, hospitals, factories, and roads. These developments were made during the UPC’s previous tenure before being succeeded by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government…

On Sunday, August 11, 2024, Rev. Canon Jacob Ateirweho was installed as the new Bishop of Bunyoro-Kitara Diocese during a ceremony at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Duhaga Cell, Hoima City. The installation was conducted by Stephen Samuel Mugalu Kazimba, the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda. Bishop Ateirweho, who succeeds Bishop Samuel Kahuma upon his retirement at age 65, outlined several key priorities for his tenure. These include preaching a holistic gospel, enhancing leadership, advancing infrastructural development, and striving for self-reliance within the diocese. “We will build on the efforts and successes of our predecessors to further evangelise our communities,”…

On Sunday, August 11, 2024, hundreds of people gathered at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Duhaga Cell, Hoima City, to witness the consecration and installation of Rev. Canon Jacob Ateirweho as the Bishop of Bunyoro-Kitara Anglican Diocese. The consecration was led by Stephen Samuel Mugalu Kazimba, the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda. Ateirweho becomes the sixth Bishop of Bunyoro-Kitara Diocese, succeeding Samuel Kahuma, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 65. The event was attended by bishops from across the province, officials from Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, politicians, local residents, and members of other religious denominations. Kazimba called on Christians and clergy…

Women in the oil-rich Albertine Graben trek long distances into Bugungu Wildlife Reserve, Kibiro salt and Buhuka villages in Buliisa, Hoima and Kikuube districts, to gather firewood. Credit: Robert Atuhairwe/The Albertine Journal

Joseph Isingoma, a student of environmental science at Kyambogo University and a resident of Biiso sub-county, is very concerned that effects of climate change characterised by unpredictable drought and rainfall patterns is becoming common in Buliisa district, in western Uganda. Isingoma observes that the area residents were becoming too vulnerable to such vagaries in the weather patterns arising from unfavourable climatic conditions, often linked to extreme human and industrial activities.  “The community is unable to adapt or to mitigate the effects of the changes. That is why Buliisa is too much affected and the people are homeless after their houses…

The struggle with stray elephants has become a fact of everyday life in Buliisa, an area bordering Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP). The park is situated 34.2 kilometres away from Buliisa Town Council. Reports indicate that elephants have bludgeoned to death up to an estimated eight people in the last two years while unspecified acreage of crops was devastated. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) the national agency responsible for managing Uganda’s wildlife says due to an enhanced conservation drive, the number of elephants in Murchison Falls National Park has shot up from around 200 in 1990 to 2,726. There are ongoing…

On a quiet neatly paved Hoima-Wanseko road, just metres from Waiga Bridge, splendid arrays of savannah grassland and dispersed tropical hardwoods welcome a first time visitor to Kabwola landing site. It is one of the biodiversity hotspots on the shores of Lake Albert in Buliisa district, Western Uganda. Along the way, chirps from stridulating crickets fill the airwaves as chameleons, venomous snakes and other wild animals roam lazily among fruit trees and drought hit maize and cassava plantations. A sweet aroma from smoking fish wafts through the air as other fish species are left simmering in the hot sun. At…