Uganda marks Heroes’ Day under Ebola restrictions amid growing calls for political, civil reforms

While celebrations had returned to their grand, public format from 2023 onward—drawing veterans, cultural leaders, and ordinary citizens across various regions—the re-emergence of the highly contagious viral hemorrhagic fever has forced the government to hit the brakes.

On June 4, the Minister for the Presidency, Ms Milly Babalanda, announced that the 37th Heroes’ Day celebrations would be moved to State House, Entebbe, with attendance strictly capped at just 25 VIP guests.
According to Ms Babalanda, the decision was a preemptive strike to prevent the mass spread of the disease, following reported outbreaks in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and subsequent warnings from global health authorities.

Data from the Ministry of Health indicates that Uganda currently has 12 active Ebola cases, two recorded deaths, and five recoveries. Given the high fatality rate of the virus, health officials warned that hosting a massive public gathering would present an unacceptable risk to public health security.
However, beyond the health crisis, this year’s Heroes’ Day arrives at a time of deep political fracture. Several opposition figures are currently grappling with severe legal and political challenges, prompting critics to question the government’s commitment to the very civil liberties the liberation struggle allegedly fought for.

Key opposition leaders argue that celebrating heroism rings hollow when voices of dissent are systematically silenced. Dr Kizza Besigye, the four-time presidential candidate and former president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), continues to face persistent state surveillance and detentions. Meanwhile, Robert Kyagulanyi (alias Bobi Wine), the president of the National Unity Platform (NUP), remains outside the country after fleeing following heightened threats to his security after the last General Election.
Other high-ranking opposition figures, such as Mr Muwanga Kivumbi (NUP Deputy President for Buganda) and Mr Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro (NUP Deputy Spokesperson)—who recently suffered the tragedy of losing his wife while he was incarcerated—have repeatedly condemned what they term the weaponization of the law.

Speaking to this publication, opposition leaders urged Ugandans to use the day not for regime praise, but for sober reflection on the country’s democratic trajectory.
“We cannot celebrate Heroes Day while suffering from state-sanctioned amnesia,” said Mr Robert Maseruka, the Member of Parliament for Mukono South and Shadow Minister for Youth. “The state cannot claim to celebrate historical heroes while simultaneously criminalizing and trying the youth who possess that exact same courage today.”

Mr Maseruka demanded the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Olivia Lutaaya and dozens of other civilians currently facing trial in the General Court Martial. He also kept the spotlight on unresolved grievances, demanding justice for the over 54 Ugandans shot dead by security forces during the November 2020 riots, and answers regarding missing persons like John Ddamulira.

The lawmaker further argued that the definition of a Ugandan hero needs to be rescued from political elite circles and extended to ordinary citizens fighting for survival.
“Our true heroes are the single mothers in the marketplaces striving to make ends meet, the under-paid medical professionals operating in under-equipped rural facilities, and the teachers working for low wages yet molding the future of this country,” Maseruka added.
In tandem, Mr Francis Zaake, the Mityana Municipality MP and Shadow Chairperson of the Government Assurances Committee, criticized the government for failing to deliver on infrastructural promises, which he argued constitutes a betrayal of the citizens.

Mr Zaake highlighted several stalled multi-billion shilling government projects, including the delayed Kampala–Jinja Expressway, implementation gaps in Seed Secondary Schools, unfulfilled rural electrification commitments, and slow safe-water coverage promises.
“Ugandans are taxed heavily every day, yet they continue to suffer from dilapidated roads, inadequate health services, and rampant unemployment,” Zaake stated. “Every promise attached to public funds must produce visible results. Where implementation has failed, those responsible must answer.”
He noted that despite repeated government pledges to upgrade Health Centre IIIs and IVs nationwide, many rural facilities remain empty shells lacking basic medicines, staff accommodation, and ambulances.

The annual June 9 celebration is rooted in the bloody history of the Luwero Triangle guerrilla war (1981–1986) that brought President Yoweri Museveni to power.
Specifically, the day commemorates 15 civilians who were executed on June 9, 1981, in Kikandwa Village, Luwero District, by Milton Obote’s Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). The victims were targeted under suspicion of harboring and aiding the rebels of the National Resistance Army (NRA).
Among those killed was Lutamaguzi Babumba and his grandfather, Nkangirwa, alongside others identified as Ssentongo, Siiza, and Ssempa. Historical accounts state that Lutamaguzi and his contemporaries refused to reveal the whereabouts of Museveni and his guerrilla fighters to the UNLA forces, a sacrifice that ensured the survival of the rebellion which eventually captured power on January 26, 1986.

This execution occurred just months after Museveni launched the bush war on February 6, 1981, with the famous attack on the Kabamba Military Training School in Mubende.
Thirty-seven years later, as 25 selected guests gather at Entebbe to remember that sacrifice under the shadow of Ebola, the debate rages on whether the democratic ideals Lutamaguzi died for have been realized, or if they remain an unfulfilled promise.