KABALE, UGANDA – Desperate residents in Kabale district have pleaded with the President to overturn the suspension of beneficiary registration for the Boona Bageigahare Nyekundire poverty eradication programme.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The development unfolded after large crowds descended on the residence of Senior Presidential Advisor on Agriculture Peace Rugambwa, pleading for the reinstatement of the process amid hardships in meeting school fees at the beginning of the first term.
Just after dawn, men, women, and children crowded the gates of Ms. Peace Rugambwa’s residence, chanting her name and holding up empty hands in a desperate plea for help.
They confessed that their pockets were bare, leaving them unable to fend for their families or take their children back to school due to a lack of books, mattresses, and even food.
The abrupt halt of the Boona Bageigahare registration exercise has left hopeful residents in limbo, as the programme was widely viewed as a direct lifeline to extend the Parish Development Model to the grassroots village level.
Visibly moved by the sea of anxious faces, Peace Rugambwa emerged from her gate to address the crowd, clarifying that the suspension of the programme was not her own doing but a directive from the highest level following concerns raised by religious leaders.
“The process was put on hold by the President after concerns were raised by Catholic leaders. I hear your cries, and I see your struggles. But we must wait for His Excellency to allow the process to continue,” Peace Rugambwa told the residents.
She assured the gathering that once the matter is resolved, registration would recommence at the village level, ensuring that assistance reaches the intended beneficiaries directly.
The suspension followed an internal diocesan communication issued on December 31, in which Catholic leaders formally cautioned priests, catechists, and laity against participating in the registration exercise.
The diocese stated that it had not received clear explanations regarding the purpose, legality, or scope of the data collection, which had already begun in Kabale and was rapidly spreading across the Kigezi sub-region.
A subsequent high-level meeting held at Rushoroza Cathedral, chaired by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Thomas Tayebwa, brought together diocesan leaders led by Vicar General Fr. John Vianney Sunday, alongside Ms. Rugambwa.
Following the dialogue, the exercise was halted pending further notice, but Ms. Rugambwa refused to send the desperate families away empty-handed despite the administrative stalemate.
She pledged immediate personal intervention to help families prepare for the upcoming school term by providing back-to-school hampers, assuring the crowds that no child should remain at home.
“I will assist you with back-to-school hampers to help you take your children to school at the moment. As we wait for the broader programme to resume, we cannot let your children remain at home,” announced Peace Rugambwa.
The Boona Bageigahare Nyekundire initiative had been widely anticipated as a transformative tool to overhaul the current Parish Development Model by rooting out inefficiencies and ensuring that funds directly benefit struggling households at the village level.
The gathering was not a protest but a prayer, residents of Kabale who saw the programme as their only hope came not to fight, but to beg for help.
The images from Kabale serve as a stark reminder of the urgent needs facing the nation’s rural poor and the high expectations placed on those tasked with delivering relief.
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