Bill Oketch

Lira

Correspondent at Daily Monitor

Correspondent @Daily Monitor

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Articles

ICC clears way for Kony charges hearing in absentia

4 days ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

What you need to know:The confirmation hearing in The Prosecutor v. Joseph Kony is scheduled to begin on September 9, 2025. The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday upheld a decision allowing the confirmation of charges proceedings against fugitive warlord Joseph Kony to be held in absentia. The ICC’s Appeals Chamber ruled that the court’s Rome Statute permits such hearings when a suspect “cannot be found,” confirming a 2024 decision by Pre-Trial Chamber III.
Museveni to warring ministers Aceng, Amongi: Avoid dividing people over politics

1 week ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

What you need to know:The minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development confirmed the President stressed the need for political players to respect the principles of democracy including ensuring a transparent internal democratic processes in the NRM, which eliminates cases of party members running on independent tickets.
Amolatar NRM elections suspended again after chaos

1 week ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

What you need to know:The distressing development follows the closure of the facility’s mortuary nearly two months ago. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) district elections in Amolatar were suspended on Tuesday following chaos that erupted during the voting exercise.
Lira battles plastic waste crisis with grassroots recycling drive

1 week ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

What you need to know:Locals have come up with ways to manage waste, especially plastics, in Lira City such as waste collection and recycling. In Lira City, northern Uganda, discarded plastic bottles litter streets, fields, and waterways. Most come from sodas, juices, mineral water, and alcoholic and energy drinks. As in many urban centres in the Lango Sub-region, residents lack efficient waste disposal systems, leading to plastic being burned, dumped, polluting the environment.
Farmers in the north want lasting solution for water

2 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

What you need to know:Safe water sources exist but are insufficient, with many still relying on open water sources, according to findings from the assessment conducted between June and September 2024. Water resources and ecosystems are severely degraded, with bare soils causing high runoff, low water retention, and siltation of rivers and wetlands. Aswa catchment, northern Uganda, is drowned in three groups of challenges.
Police officer, civilian killed in mob action in Oyam

2 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

What you need to know:The events leading to the violence began when three police personnel, Constables Eric Ojok, Robert Aguta, and John Bosco Naturinda, were deployed to arrest Ambrose Okwir, a suspect in a motorcycle theft case A tragic incident of mob violence unfolded in Tecik Village, Ngai Sub-county, Oyam District, on Sunday, May 18, 2025, resulting in the deaths of a police officer and a civilian.
Global study reveals alarming rise in attacks on human rights defenders

2 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

What you need to know:At least 102 reported attacks were recorded against human rights defenders in connection with the Tilenga Oil Project alone. A new study released on Monday, May 19, 2025, by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reveals a disturbing trend of violence, intimidation, and aggressive lawsuits being used to silence individuals and communities who speak out about corporate human rights and environmental abuses.
Ex-diplomat dismissed over Canada row eyes return to politics, rejects NRM

3 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

What you need to know:The ex-envoy is now preparing to run again in the 2026 general elections. Uganda’s former envoy to Canada, Joy Ruth Acheng, has denied ever supporting the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), saying she remained loyal to the opposition Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) during her seven-year diplomatic posting.
Time is over, UPC's Akena calls for regime change in Uganda

3 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

Uganda People's Congress (UPC) party president Jimmy Akena Obote has thrown down the gauntlet to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) administration, urging them to relinquish power and allow the people of Uganda to determine their own future. Speaking to a packed football field at Bala Primary School in Kole District on May 16, 2025, Akena warned that anyone attempting to obstruct the people's quest for regime change would face severe consequences. "Time is over.
ICC adds new charges against Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony

3 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Bill Oketch

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has added three new charges to the case against fugitive Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, raising the total number of counts to 39, an official said on Thursday. Kony, the elusive head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), has been on the run since the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest in 2005.