By DAILY MONITOR More by this Author

The Ugandan Government has endorsed the establishment of the Uganda National Kiswahili Council whose main objective is to guide the introduction of Kiswahili as the second national (official) language.

Addressing journalists about the Cabinet decision at State House Entebbe on Monday, Mr Ofwono Opondo, the executive director of Uganda Media Centre, said that the establishment of the council is provided for in the Constitution and it’s mandated to ensure that Kiswahili is rooted as the second national language.

“The Constitution provides that we shall have two national languages [that is] English and Swahili but we have not been using Swahili. This council will be recruiting Swahili teachers who will be deployed to teach Swahili in schools,” he said.

He said the council will also oversee the establishment of a policy, legal and institutional framework for setting standards for effective promotion, development and usage of Kiswahili at all levels.

English has been Uganda's lone official language since independence in 1962.

In 2005, Kiswahili, which is viewed as neutral, was proposed as the country's second official language.