Bill Oketch

Lira

Correspondent at Daily Monitor

Correspondent @Daily Monitor

Featured in: Favicon

monitor.co.ug Favicon

allafrica.com Favicon

ntv.co.ug

kfm.co.ug

htsyndication.com Favicon

ethiopianmonitor.com Favicon

msn.com

Articles

UPC fronts ‘Uganda’s only human asset’ Akena to uproot Museveni

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

What you need to know:Ocen’s Kwania District counterpart, Geoffrey Alex Ogwal, urged every Ugandan, including those who subscribe to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, to bank their hope in Akena. Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) leadership in Lango Sub-region, northern Uganda, has fronted their party leader to dislodge President Museveni in the forthcoming 2026 general elections.
Locals benefit from Apac oil palm project despite growing challenges

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

An oil palm project in Akokoro Sub-county, Apac District, is creating employment for hundreds of youth across northern Uganda, though farmers have yet to embrace cultivation themselves due to challenges accessing seedlings. The plantation, operated by Hillside Agriculture Ltd, employs over 250 young people from Apac, Lira, Kwania, Kole, Pakwach, Bulambuli, and Kiryandongo districts. The company was granted a 50-year lease in 2019 to grow oil palm on 54 square kilometres of Maruzi Ranch.
Business slowly picking up after Karuma Bridge reopens to traffic

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

What you need to know:The bridge, a key link over the River Nile and a critical route connecting northern Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, had been closed for urgent repairs between March 24 and April 13, 2025 Four days after the long-awaited reopening of Karuma Bridge, businesses in Karuma and Kamdini towns are slowly regaining momentum following weeks of economic standstill during the bridge's closure.
Hunger forces pupils out of northern UPE schools

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

What you need to know:A mini survey revealed that 10,876 pupils were absent or unaccounted for. Chronic absenteeism – defined as learners missing 10 percent or more of school – has emerged as a serious challenge in northern Uganda. While data from several Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools across the north, once a war-torn region, shows that enrolment of learners has greatly increased, the situation on the ground is considerably different.
Northern Uganda UPE pupils fail basic reading test, only recognise 'food'

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

What you need to know:Education experts argue that early literacy and numeracy are matters of social justice. Many primary pupils in mostly rural public schools in northern Uganda are unable to read or recognize basic words, an education assessment has found, raising alarm over the country’s foundational learning crisis.
Enrolled but missing: UPE numbers soar in northern Uganda, but where are the pupils?

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

Despite a reported surge in pupil enrollment in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools across northern Uganda, actual classroom attendance remains critically low, raising concerns over the programme’s effectiveness nearly three decades after its launch. A survey by Monitor conducted from April 10–12 in 32 UPE schools across Alebtong, Arua, Kole, and Oyam districts revealed that of the 19,712 learners enrolled in Primary Three to Primary Five, only 8,836 were present during spot checks.
Loro Core fights to stay afloat amid staff retirements, limited resources

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

What you need to know:The college has resorted to hiring contract staff from the surrounding communities. Currently, 17 individuals are serving on a contractual basis, each earning between Shs250,000 and Shs400,000, depending on their qualifications. A beautiful concrete gate welcomes visitors to Loro Core Primary Teachers’ College (PTC) in Loro Town Council, Oyam District.
Kitgum authorities evict NARO from research facility over land dispute

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

What you need to know:The Kitgum Satellite Station, which falls under the Ngetta Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (ZARDI), one of the 16 institutes under NARO, serves 17 districts across the Lango and Acholi sub-regions. Authorities in Kitgum Municipality have evicted the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) from its Kitgum Satellite Station, disrupting ongoing research and service delivery.
One month of blackout: Oyam slowly turning into ghost town

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

What you need to know:The situation, according to residents and Oyam District leadership, has brought untold hardship and destroyed their economic life It has been one month since residents of Oyam Town in northern Uganda last enjoyed a public power supply. They were completely cut off from the national grid before Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (UEDCL) took over from Umeme as the country’s power supplier.
Lira University receives Shs3b to tackle Uganda’s teenage pregnancy crisis

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

Lira University, in collaboration with its partners, is launching a research project worth 1.2 million Canadian dollars (approximately Shs3 billion) aimed at addressing the high costs associated with teenage pregnancy and reducing the burden of child dependency in Uganda. The project, titled Enhancing the Integration of Adolescent-Friendly Family Planning and Post-Abortion Care (CAFFP-PAC), will be implemented in Lira City and Lira District in northern Uganda.