Green Hill Academy emerged as the overall champions of the 2026 Uganda Aquatics Independence Gala, producing the strongest all-round team performance as swimmers from schools, universities and clubs battled through 50 events at Seroma Christian High School on Saturday.
The 22nd edition of the Uganda Aquatics Independence Gala brought together a broad field of young swimmers and senior competitors, with the programme moving through butterfly, breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle races before culminating in a series of fiercely contested relay events. The team showed depth of competition across age groups from the 10-and-under category to the 15-and-over field.
At the end of the competition, Green Hill Academy topped the combined team standings with 1,140 points, finishing well clear of Shree Sahajanand School on 982.50 points and The North Green School on 968.50. Aga Khan Swim Team Uganda was fourth with 794 points, followed by Hill Preparatory School on 619 and host Seroma Christian High School on 589.
The competition offered swimmers the opportunity to test themselves across the four major strokes, with the younger age groups contesting 25-metre races while older swimmers moved into 50-metre events. The gala also featured 100-metre medley and freestyle relays, allowing teams to turn individual strength into collective success.
In the Girls 10-and-Under 25m butterfly, Shree Sahajanand School’s Aya Adams set the early standard, winning in 15.35 seconds. She was followed by teammate Gabriele Amaya in 16.12 and The Olive School’s Talitha Siima in 16.18. Adams would go on to become the highest individual scorer in the girls’ 10-and-under category, finishing the gala with 74 points.
The boys’ equivalent saw Isaac Isabirye Gabriel of Kabojja Junior School take the honours in 15.61 seconds. His performance was part of a highly productive meet that eventually saw him finish top of the boys’ 10-and-under individual rankings with 72 points.
The younger swimmers continued to provide some of the day’s most competitive racing. In the girls’ 10-and-under breaststroke, Blessing Namugga of Vision for Africa won in 17.96 seconds, while Isabirye again showed his versatility by winning the boys’ 25m breaststroke in 19.20 seconds.
For the host school, one of the outstanding individual stories was Mushirah Nabatanzi. Competing in the girls’ 11–12 category, Nabatanzi produced a series of strong performances across the gala. She was second in the 25m breaststroke in 17.70 seconds and third in the 25m butterfly in 15.49 seconds, while also contributing to Seroma’s relay success.
Her consistency was rewarded in the individual standings: Nabatanzi finished as the top individual scorer in the girls’ 11–12 category with 73 points, ahead of Shree Sahajanand’s Liora Lumu, who collected 70.
Lumu herself was another major performer. She won both the girls’ 11–12 25m butterfly, in 14.92 seconds, and the 25m breaststroke, in 17.42 seconds. Her two victories helped her finish second in the overall individual points for the age group.
Among the boys aged 11–12, Raan Batuk of Hill Preparatory School topped the individual rankings with 67 points. He was closely followed by Makerere University Swim Team’s Luke Sebastian Ssimbwa on 66 and Hill Preparatory’s Ibrahim Lule on 64.
The 13–14 age group was another source of outstanding performances, particularly from Kristian Bwisho of Shree Sahajanand School. Bwisho won the boys’ 13–14 50m breaststroke in 32.90 seconds and then followed it with victory in the 50m backstroke in 30.13 seconds. He was also runner-up in the 50m freestyle, touching in 25.94 seconds, just behind Aga Khan’s Benjamin Ssali. Those performances made Bwisho the leading individual scorer in the boys’ 13–14 category, with 72 points.
The girls’ 13–14 category was led by Nisha Pearl Najjuma of Green Hill Academy, who accumulated 64 points. She also demonstrated her range, finishing second in the 50m backstroke and among the leading swimmers in the freestyle and other events. Friends International’s Daniela Munguci was second in the individual rankings with 61 points, while Shree Sahajanand’s Zara Mbanga collected 60.
Mbanga also produced one of the fastest performances in the age group when she won the girls’ 13–14 50m freestyle in 28.71 seconds. In the boys’ 50m freestyle, Benjamin Ssali of Aga Khan Swim Team Uganda took gold in 25.86 seconds, narrowly ahead of Bwisho, who finished in 25.94.
The senior category delivered some of the fastest individual swims of the gala. In the boys’ 15-and-over 50m butterfly, Jonathan Kaweesa, competing as an individual, won in an impressive 25.96 seconds. He also won the 50m freestyle in 24.79 seconds, making him one of the most prominent senior swimmers of the competition.
Kaweesa’s consistency was reflected in the individual rankings. He finished first among the 15-and-over boys with 69 points, ahead of his fellow individual competitor Kyle Kaweesa on 61 and The North Green School’s Nathan Nsereko on 52. Nsereko, however, had his own standout moment when he won the senior men’s 50m breaststroke in 29.12 seconds, edging Kyle Kaweesa, who clocked 29.23.
The senior women’s races were equally competitive. Tyrah Muganzi of Aga Khan Swim Team Uganda won the 50m butterfly in 29.24 seconds, while teammate Crystal Tendo Ssemanda claimed the 50m freestyle in 28.68 seconds. Ssemanda was also second in the butterfly, while The North Green School’s Angella Businge emerged as the leading individual scorer among the 15-and-over girls with 61 points. Shree Sahajanand’s Abigail Mwagale was second with 60, while Green Hill’s Bilquis Nabukenya was third with 52.
Green Hill Academy was particularly strong in the younger relay categories. Its boys’ 10-and-under medley relay won in 1:12.55, ahead of The North Green School at 1:15.11. Green Hill also won the boys’ 10-and-under 100m freestyle relay in 1:02.39.
Vision for Africa dominated the girls’ 10-and-under medley relay, winning in 1:12.79, while also taking the girls’ 10-and-under 100m freestyle relay in 1:04.16. Aga Khan Swim Team Uganda was particularly impressive in the girls’ 11–12 relays. Its team won the 100m medley relay in 1:07.35 and later the 100m freestyle relay in 59.76 seconds. Hill Preparatory School won the boys’ 11–12 medley relay in 1:03.25 and the boys’ freestyle relay in 55.87 seconds.
The 13–14 relays produced another strong showing from Seroma Christian High School. The host team won the girls’ 100m medley relay in 1:08.44 and the girls’ 100m freestyle relay in 59.86 seconds. Shree Sahajanand School took the boys’ medley relay in 1:00.98 and the boys’ freestyle relay in 52.14 seconds.
The home team saved some of its most impressive team performances for the senior relays. Seroma Christian High School won both the girls’ and boys’ 15-and-over 100m medley relays, recording times of 1:03.96 and 52.24 seconds, respectively.
The girls’ senior freestyle relay was another Seroma victory, with the team touching in 56.94 seconds. In the boys’ senior freestyle relay, Seroma narrowly missed the top position, finishing second in 47.62 seconds, just 0.01 seconds behind Makerere University Swim Team’s winning 47.61 seconds.
Those relay results were an important part of Seroma’s sixth-place overall finish on 589 points. The host school’s performance was led individually by Nabatanzi in the 11–12 category, while swimmers such as Alba Ihunde and Francesca Nazziwa also made significant contributions in the 13–14 division.
Ultimately, the defining feature of Green Hill Academy’s victory was not simply one superstar performance, but the team’s depth across the age groups. The champions accumulated 1,140 points, 157.5 more than Shree Sahajanand School and 171.5 ahead of The North Green School. Aga Khan Swim Team Uganda was fourth on 794, while Hill Preparatory School finished fifth on 619. Seroma’s 589 points placed the hosts sixth.
From the youngest swimmers racing over 25 metres to the senior competitors battling for fractions of a second over 50 metres, the 2026 Independence Gala provided a broad picture of Uganda’s swimming talent.