Summary:
- Col Katabazi encouraged the student leaders to emulate President Museveni’s example from 1966, when as a Senior Six student, he openly opposed nomadic pastoralism for its hindrance to economic progress in Ankole.
RUBANDA: The Deputy Director General of the Internal Security Organization, Col. Emmy Katabazi, has called on student leaders nationwide to actively join the fight against corruption in Uganda.
Addressing student leaders from the Uganda National Students Association (UNSA) during the 35th National Youth Council meeting at Murole High School in Rubanda District on Saturday, Col. Katabazi urged them to take a stand against corrupt leaders and government officials who have been accused of soliciting bribes from Ugandans seeking to benefit from government poverty alleviation programs.
“For example, under the Parish Development Program, the government is sending at least one million Ugandan shillings to support families stuck in subsistence farming. Yet, in some cases, sub-county chiefs are demanding bribes of 50,000 to 100,000 shillings to release these funds. You should speak out, condemn, and report such incidents,” Katabazi stated.
He described these corrupt officials as “saboteurs” with the intention of undermining the government’s efforts, stressing that they should be regarded as enemies of progress and of the Ugandan people.
Katabazi encouraged the student leaders to emulate President Museveni’s example from 1966, when as a Senior Six student, he openly opposed nomadic pastoralism for its hindrance to economic progress in Ankole. Museveni’s stand attracted criticism and even summons from the Vice President, but he remained resolute.
CUE IN COL. KATABAZI…….ON CORRUPTION…ENG//
Meanwhile, UNSA Coordinator for the Kigezi Sub-region, John Bosco Namara, highlighted Rubanda District as the only district with an UNSA-initiated project led by student leaders. He noted that schools in Rubanda had launched a piggery project last year, which had successfully expanded by October 2024, with the first pigs multiplying.
CUE IN NAMARA…ON PIGGERY…ENG//
Namara explained that the 35th National Youth Council in Rubanda was also intended to assess the current leadership’s performance and to prepare for upcoming elections.
The council meeting attracted 170 delegates from various schools in Rubanda District, gathered at Murole High School, joined by officials from the national secretariat led by UNSA Executive Secretary Toskin Cherukut.
Awards were presented to individuals who have consistently supported the Uganda National Students Association, including Col. Katabazi, recognized for his financial and technical support to UNSA. State Minister of Finance, Henry Musasizi, also received an award for his contributions to the Rubanda piggery project for student leaders.
