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ItemThe implementation of the prisoners’ right to vote in Uganda: A case study of Luzira prisons, 1995-2021(Makerere University, 2026)Although the Ugandan Constitution and a 2020 High Court ruling in the Kalali vs. Attorney General case guarantee prisoners’ right to vote, prisoners in Uganda have been disenfranchised in six elections, and there is no empirically grounded understanding of how their right to vote can actually be realised. Using Luzira Prisons as a case study, this study examined the implementation of prisoners’ right to vote from 1995 to 2021. Specifically, the study critiqued existing research methodologies in the implementation of prisoners’ right to vote; analysed the legal and policy framework; identified the challenges to protecting prisoners’ right to vote; and proposed a framework for its implementation. The study employed a qualitative case study design and was grounded in John Rawls’ Theory of Justice. Data were collected from 52 research participants, including 20 Key Informant Interviews with officials of the Electoral Commission, the Uganda Prisons Service, and other agencies, and 4 Focus Group Discussions comprising 32 participants from the Uganda Prisons Service. Thematic analysis was conducted using ATLAS.ti. The critique of methods revealed that most studies on prisoners’ right to vote rely on qualitative legal and doctrinal analysis, with few empirical studies from Africa. This underscores the importance of adopting multi-method, participatory approaches that incorporate prisoners’ perspectives. The review of the legal and policy framework indicated that sub-constitutional laws, such as the Electoral Commission Act, Cap 176, and the Prisons Act, Cap 304, do not address prisoner voting. Contrary to the ideals advanced by Rawls Theory of Justice and despite the Kalali Case, the legal gap has hindered the protection of this fundamental right. The study identified challenges, namely: logistical and operational constraints; security concerns about violence and unrest; legal and policy gaps; institutional attitudes marked by paternalistic beliefs; and a lack of political will. The study further established the absence of mechanisms to implement the right to vote. Using the Rawlsian conceptualisation of justice as fairness, the study proposes a “Fairness Incarceration Framework,” as an empirically grounded model that explains how the prisoners’ right to vote in Uganda can be realised. This model addresses legal reforms, institutional coordination, electronic registration, in-prison polling stations, prisoner categorisation, civic education, early voting, monitoring, and resource allocation. The study concludes that, although Uganda’s constitutional framework recognises prisoners’ right to vote, the statutory, regulatory and institutional architecture necessary to operationalise the right remains deficient. The study recommends: legislation to close the legal gap; the creation of guidelines for prison voting; a multi-stakeholder task force; and the implementation of the Fairness Incarceration Framework to realise prisoners' right to vote in Uganda.
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ItemBarriers and facilitators of small claims courts in the promotion and protection of the right to access to justice in the indigent persons: a case study in Isingiro, Uganda(Makerere University, 2026)This study examined the effectiveness of Small Claims Courts in Isingiro, with a particular focus on the challenges indigent individuals encounter when seeking access to justice through Small Claims Courts. Its objectives were to assess public awareness of Small Claims Courts in the promotion of the right to access to justice, and identify the key challenges faced by beneficiaries. Employing a qualitative research design with an exploratory approach, the study sought to capture the perceptions and experiences of various stakeholders. Data were gathered using purposive sampling methods through in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Participants included local residents, police officers, local leaders, judicial officers, and small claims court litigants.The findings indicated that awareness of Small Claims Courts remained very low among the general population within the indigent persons in Isingiro jurisdiction. The study concluded that although the Small Claims Courts national wide have met the minimum regulatory standards, their capacity was inadequate to meet the needs of underserved communities such as Isingiro. It recommended strengthening awareness strategies and also making the already client friendly procedure more accessible to be effective.
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ItemImpact of refugees on the host community in Ikafe Refugee Settlement, Yumbe District, Uganda(Makerere University, 2014)The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of refugees in relation to the wellbeing and livelihood of the host community in Ikafe, Yumbe District. The specific objectives were to explore the social impact of refugees on the host community; examine the impact of refugees on the environment of the hosting area, and assess the impact of the refugees on the livelihood and development of the host community in Ikafe. A descriptive research design employing mainly a qualitative approach was adopted. The respondents were selected using purposive sampling. During analysis, data was organized around the different themes of the study. he study findings showed that the refugees' presence has had an undeniably positive impact on the host community in terms of social relations, livelihood and economic development. Construction work seen and visited, such as schools, clinics and water points, were done to very high standards. However, the initial benefit from the sudden refugee influx, which was mainly increased and improved access to basic services, increase in commercial activities and improvement of infrastructure, was eroded by the continued increase in the population. Eventually services became inadequate to cater for the large population and thus a large number of the Host Community were negatively affected as food insecurity increased and many facilities such as health and education were inadequate to cater for both the refugees and the host community. Due to the congestion and deplorable conditions in which they lived, the refugee presence was associated with an influx of diseases, such as malaria, meningitis, cholera, measles, and many others linked to worms, and yet at the same time it contributed to a shortage of drugs and medicine. Furthermore, schools were overcrowded, water and sanitation facilities were overstretched and teachers were overwhelmed. Safe drinking water and sanitation became a big problem with the settlement of the refugees because of the huge population of the refugees. Frustrations emanated in the host community due to difficulties in meeting their livelihood and this would often result into dispute with the refugees over land, barter trade and water points to mention but a few. The refugee influx also led to unprecedented overuse of the natural resources for shelter, agricultural purposes and animal grazing. Some of the key recommendations of the study included, but not limited to, the call on government and its development partners to strengthen the synergy between relief and evelopment in order to ensure resources are used effectively to meet the needs of the refugees as well as that of the Host Community; there is need to support extended coverage and quality of services; GoU and UNHCR should support increased access to livelihood support such as through financial and technical support to facilitate economic exchanges between the refugees and the Host Community; community-owned agro-forestry initiatives need to be established together with replanting of trees in order to curb the total destruction of the environment; GoU and UNHCR need to encourage and support sustainable employment of the youth in the Host Community; and the call on UNHCR and GoU to uphold the established facilities, such as the health units, roads and water points through regular maintenance, repair and restocking in order to continue to be of relevance to the beneficiaries.
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ItemSubaltern struggles and resilience: the dynamics of land dispossession and responses in Mubende District, Uganda(Makerere University, 2025)Drawing on the 2001 eviction of 401 registered families from Buwekula Blocks 99 and 103, this thesis examines the responses to land dispossession in Mubende District in central Uganda. Conceptualising the dispossessed occupants as subalterns, the study explores the complex legal terrain they navigate under the 1998 Land Act, which grants them varying statuses. The central question is: how have these subalterns responded to land dispossession since 2001? Employing a qualitative, hybrid design approach that integrates case study, ethnographic, and historical research, the study examines the land tenure dynamics, the contradictions driving dispossession, and the strategies employed by occupants to reclaim their land. The findings reveal that for the past 23 years, land occupants have responded through litigation, petitions, and advocacy. The 23-year struggle for land restitution and compensation has been ineffective, largely due to the government’s conflicting interests in the land, despite efforts to pursue peaceful strategies. ActionAid and FIAN International have supported affected families through petitions to key stakeholders, including Ugandan and German officials. Their advocacy efforts have included research, online activism, meetings with government officials, and grassroots mobilisation. The Mubende land dispute reveals the judicial process’s inherent contradictions, including protracted delays and conflicts between judges and advocates. After nearly two decades of litigation, the 401 families split into distinct factions in 2019. This case highlights the complexities of land struggles where governmental interests contradict those of land occupants. Also, the non-confrontational approach assumes a benevolent state apparatus. However, this thesis argues that these strategies are inherently contradictory, as they seek redress from the very structures that perpetuate the violence. The study further reveals that the primary driver of dispossession was the pursuit of commercial coffee production, which altered existing land uses. This was exacerbated by absentee landlordism, unauthorised settlements, and the 1998 Land Act’s contradictory designation of occupants as “bona fide.” In terms of theory, the research demonstrates that subaltern resistance takes a non-linear path, contrasting with the Marxist linear stance on class struggle. Negotiations for land incorporation are not absolute or one-time events, but rather occur at different stages after other attempts to reclaim land or seek compensation have been exhausted or individual interests shift. The timing of negotiations is crucial, and not all victims of land dispossession may agree to negotiate. Additionally, resistance to land dispossession can vary among individuals within a group, with some choosing to resist while others may opt for negotiation or other approaches. Moreover, resilience is identified as an individualistic, subjective response, not a collective class phenomenon. There is no evidence of collaboration between the working class and the peasantry. Instead, non-state institutions like ActionAid and FIAN International have occupied the working-class space. This research contributes to contemporary debates on agrarian change, rights discourse, and rural resistance in Uganda and broader discourses on resistance, subaltern agency, and human rights protection. It emphasises that contextual specificity is crucial to understanding the politics associated with power relations, fear, and a misguided understanding of the state.
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ItemThe impact of mass media on the morality of the youths in Kyabakuza Parish in light of Miranda Prorsus(Makerere University, 2018)Kyabakuza Parish is a growing town with a big population of the youths. It is in this same period of its growth that we see a vibrant development in Mass media. And there is a remarkable decline in morality among the youths. Therefore, our research was to establish a thesis that Mass media has an impact on the morality of the youths and the Church has the capacity to curb the negatives of mass media and uplift the positives. Mass media is a term denoting that section of the media specifically designed to reach a very large audience and these may include print or electronic media such as: Newspapers, Magazines, television, radio, internet, smartphones and social apps. God gave man the power to subdue the earth, man uses his knowledge and wisdom to advance in technology like in the means of social communication. This dawn of the new era comes along with many advantages and at the same time with disadvantages. These in one way or the other may bring a negative impact on the morality of those who perceive the message. The church has a duty to safeguard against the errors that may come along with the new advancement in technology. The Church should not only use social media for evangelisation but should evangelize it first. In our research findings, we discovered the fact that Mass Media has got an impact on the morality of the youth; it has a positive impact, and a negative impact if not properly used, and also there are other factors that affect the morality of the youths like urbanisation and that the Church as a mother has a role to play in evangelizing media. Mass media has a positive impact on the morality of the youth; however, everybody can be manipulated by the powers of mass media: shows, Series, films, books, magazine, music, smartphones, which often portray violence and immoral behaviours. The youths are the group mostly influenced. Their lifestyle is mostly influenced and modelled after media personalities, it is highly believed that Mass Media is greatly responsible for the behavioural changes among the youths, this not an assertion or a hasty generalisation, but an observation. And at the same time evangelised it, such that its aim conforms to that of the Church. The Church as a duty to safe guard against the errors that may come along with the new advancement in technology.