Gillian Nantume

2 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Gillian Nantume

I am one of those people who do not follow the posts on the Chief of Defence Forces’ (CDF) X handle, but I read them. Previously, I used to read them for banter. However, since last year, like many other Ugandans, I have found CDF Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba's posts increasingly alarming. When I woke up at 1 am, on Thursday, the other week, I turned to my X account. As a journalist, it is almost inevitably the first thing I look at when I wake up in the middle of the night.

3 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Gillian Nantume

What you need to know:As is happening in other districts, the youths in Bukwo have several challenges ranging from teenage pregnancies, child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), and dropping out of school due to a lack of empowerment and information. They also do not know the availability of family planning commodities in the health centres. Gillian Nantume spoke to some of the young women about their challenges.

Feb 3, 2025 | monitor.co.ug | Gillian Nantume

In 2020, while the world was grappling with the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, Deus Sebarenzi was diagnosed with stomach cancer. His son, Joseph Mugisha, narrates his father’s ordeal. “There was a time when he had a burning pain in his stomach, which increased whenever he had a meal. At first, we thought it was indigestion. Then, we thought he had a case of terrible ulcers,” he says. When the two visited a hospital, the doctors did some tests that confirmed that his father had ulcers.

Jan 10, 2025 | monitor.co.ug | Gillian Nantume

At 45, Goretti Nabwami has only known sadness and despair in her life. The look on her face is a tapestry of the trauma and abuse she has endured from the men in her life. As she talks, her voice is laden with unshed tears. Sometimes, though, she cries, the tears flowing out of her eyes as she narrates her ordeal. Nabwami lives in a two-room rental in Kireka, a suburb of Kampala City, with her children and abusive husband.

Nov 1, 2024 | monitor.co.ug | Gillian Nantume

“In 2006, the President wanted to make me a minister of Public Service, but I refused. I wanted to spend some time reorganising my farm and my life. I told him I would consider the position in two years. I have not seen him since then,” says Florence Mugasha, an education entrepreneur. She is visibly frail, but at 76, Mugasha has a sharp memory. After an illustrious life in the public service and private sector, the public administrator only has one regret. She wishes she had been a judge.