EKIRAGIRO ky’okusengula bbaasi ezimu okuva mu paaka ya Qualicel ey’omugagga Drake Lubega ereetedde abasaabaze abamu okubuzibwabuzibwa ne babulako entambula okugenda gye balaga.
Kino kyadiridde akakiiko akavunanyizibwa ku by’entambula
n’okuwa bbaasi layisinsi Transport Licensing Board (TLB) okuyisa ekiragiro egiggya bbaasi ezikwata mu bugwanjuba
n’obukikakono mu paaka ya Qualicell ne balekamu ezidda mu buvanjuba.
Embeera eno ereetedde paaka ya Qualicell okusigalamu kampuni za bbaasi nnya zokka okuli YY Coaches, Gateway, Kampala Hopper, Teso Coach ne Kakise okuba nga zezitikiramu
abasaabaze ng’endala zalagiddwa okugenda mu paaka ya Namayiba ne Kisenyi Bus Terminal.
Nathan Ssemujju akolera mu kkampuni ya YY agambye nti ekiragiro kino kikosezza nnyo abali mu mulimu gw’okusaabaza abantu mu mu kiseera kino bangi bakonkomalidde mu paaka tebalina mmotoka zibatwala kuba ezisinga zigyiddwa mu paaka.
“ Ekiragiro ekyayisiddwa nga kiggya bbaasi ezemu mu paaka ya Qualicell kitumenya kuba kati paaka nkalu nga temuli mmotoka zitwala basaabaze era eziriwo bali mu kuzirwanira tusaba abaakiyisizza bakikyuseemu” Ssemujju bwe bwategeezezza.
Agambye nti mu paaka ya Qualicell musigaddemu baasi 32 zokka songa luli mubaddemu ezisoba mu 150 nga abasAabaze bali mu kutataganyizibwa
ekisusse nga kyetagisa okukomyawo baasi ezimu.
UGANDA'S MEDICAL BRAIN DRAIN IS A GLOBAL PROBLEM:
December 14, 2016
Written by PETER MUWONGE
Health experts from across Africa have expressed dismay at the failure by Uganda’s government to stem the tide of skilled health workers leaving the country for greener pastures.
They voiced their disappointment during the third Congress of the African Health System Governance network (ASHGOVNET) in Kampala last week. The congress was held under the theme,“Fostering capacity for health governance and leadership with a focus upon health work development.”
The health experts argue that if the current hemorrhage of the country’s workforce continues unchecked, it will be extremely difficult for Uganda to fulfill its commitment to regional and global Human Resources protocols such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) Workforce 2030 Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health to which Uganda subscribes.
A normal medical surgical theatre on the continent of Africa.
“It is disappointing that officials at Uganda’s ministry of Health (MOH) evaded all our efforts to discuss the extent of the problem of medical brain drain in this country and the possible measures to bring it under control,” said Dr Patrick Kadama, the executive director of the African Platform on Human Resources for Health (APHRH), an NGO committed to the fight against brain drain on the African continent.
Uganda subscribes to the road map for scaling up human resources for health for improved health service delivery in the African region 2012-2025, which was adopted by African health ministers three years ago in Angola. But experts say the evident apathy towards brain drain means health improvement targets are unlikely to be met.
“No one seems to care when health workers exit this country. When you express worry about the problem to MOH officials, they tell you there is a capacity to replace those who have migrated, when it is actually not true,” said the president of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, Dr Nelson Sewankambo.
A Self-Styled African Spritual leader from the Tribal State of Acholi, Uganda, is a fake:
Mr Severino Lukoya walks out of Gulu Central Police Station last year after briefly being detained following the death of a child at his temple.
By JULIUS OCUNGI & CAROLINE AYUGPosted 5 February, 2017
UGANDA, GULU
AGAGO:
From casting himself as the untouchable almighty god (Lubanga Won) in late 1980s, it now required the intervention of an earthly police force in Agago District to save the father of late Holy Spirit Movement leader Alice Auma Lakwena from an angry mob.
The mob accused Mr Severino Lukoya Kibero, a self-proclaimed prophet, of preaching what they termed as false prophesies in their area and wanted to lynch him.
Mr Lukoya had travelled with his team of ministers to Kalongo Town Council to conduct door-to-door prayers, claiming that God had sent him to cleanse the area. Mr Lukoya is the leader of the New Jerusalem Tabernacle Church in Gulu Municipality where he preaches a mixture of Acholi traditional religion, Christianity and Islam.
It’s reported that before Mr Lukoya could embark on ‘redeeming’ prayer sessions, hundreds of angry residents confronted him and he was only rescued by the police who whisked him away to safety in neighbouring Pader District, several miles away.
Mr Albert Onyango, the Agago District police commander said: “Residents hate him because of the past rebellion his daughter led. They also believe Lukoya is a cult leader whose presence brings bad omen.”
Mr Onyango said Mr Lukoya’s activities in Agago District were in violation of a district council resolution that barred setting up of any prayer shrines.
“I think it is time Lukoya realised that he is not wanted in the district. This is the fourth time in less than two years that people are attempting to kill him,” Mr Onyango said.
Earlier last week, Mr Lukoya had told Sunday Monitor in an interview that God had called him out to walk on foot and do a door-to-door preaching until he covers the entire country.
“God wants peace to prevail in Uganda. He wants everyone to accept His word,” Lukoya said.
This is not the first time Lukoya’s activities are being stopped by residents and district leaders in Acholi sub-region for fear that his preaching could brainwash young people into another rebellion.
Background
After the defeat of Lakwena, Mr Lukoya launched another Holy Spirit Movement in Acholiland. But unlike Lakwena, Mr Lukoya didn’t attract the same big following as his daughter. He surrendered to the government in 1989, but has continued to re re-emerge from time to time.
In August 2011, Mr Lukoya and his followers survived death when residents hurled stones at them injuring him and his followers in Mucwini Kitgum District. In March 2015, police in Gulu District arrested Mr Lukoya over an illegal assembly after he and his church members stormed Gulu Town and disrupted traffic and businesses.
In August 2014, authorities in Kitgum District demolished Lukoya’s temple after complaints that a paralysed man had died while being prayed for there.
In 2008, Mr Lukoya was arrested on accusation that he wanted to revive his daughter’s Holy Spirit Movement rebel outfit. But the High Court acquitted him and awarded him Shs13 million in damages for malicious arrest.
As COVID19 hits the world, Uganda Media in Africa is proving to be a watchdog:
17 April, 2020
By Odoobo C. Bichachi
Odoobo C. Bichachi
One of the most referred to attribute of the media and journalists is their watchdog role in society. Because a dog is said to be mankind’s best friend and helps protect or shield us from situations that our human ability may not, the dog metaphor is, therefore, flattering to the media fraternity and presumes certain responsibilities and conduct.
However, over time, other imageries derived from dog behaviour have come to be used to describe media and journalists, depending on how their conduct departs from the generally agreed behaviour of a “watchdog”. These derivatives are “attack dog”, “lapdog” and “guard dog”.
The coverage of two “big” stories last week – arrest of four top officials of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and industrialist Abid Alam by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit – got me reflecting on these four imageries of media and where our journalism in Uganda today lies. First, I will attempt to describe each of them.
Broadly, “a watchdog journalist [or media] is a protector or guardian [of society] and their role is to supply the citizens with information that they must have ‘to prevent the abuse of power’ [by anybody in authority], and to ‘warn citizens about those that are doing them harm’.”
Watchdog journalism is built on investigations, asking questions and holding the powerful to account, etc. It is about digging up what is hidden. Attack dog journalism on the other hand, describes the move away from watchdog to placing importance on non-issues, inspiring and perpetuating misinformation and leaving out what is not easily accessible.
Christine Filer writes: “By giving so much attention to minor gaffes, rumours, and unimportant issues, the media make such items salient to the public and communicate that they are important. This can lead to skewed priorities and is diversionary. For example, attack dog journalists’ mongering about Obama’s birth certificate led about 25 per cent of Americans to believe he was born outside the US. Thus acting like attack dogs rather than watchdogs prevents journalists from investigating stories. Reporters might not act as politicians’ lapdogs, but by attacking rather than digging, they fail as watchdogs.”
This is a Nigerian ruling elite who has arrived in Germany for medical care:
By World Media
24 August, 2019
He is a vice president of the Senate of Nigeria. He has been beaten by his compatriots who are telling him to return to the country. '' You want better care !!! We too want some. Build 5-star hospitals to benefit everyone. You are not asked to do it from your pocket, and you are full of money from the people of Nigeria that you steal from every day. Do it with the budgeted money. Otherwise we die together."
The race is on to keep wild life multiplying on the continent of Africa:
Fearful of elephant attacks, some in Botswana cheer hunting's return
20 June, 2019
By AFP
Elephants cross a road as cars drive by in Kasane, in the Chobe district, northern Botswana, on May 28, 2019. PHOTO | MONIRUL BHUIYAN | AFP
An elephant carcass lies at the edge of a field in Legotlhwana village, northeast Botswana -- evidence of the desperation and anger felt by a farmer whose crops have been repeatedly destroyed.
Ishmael Simasiku, 71, indignantly recounts how he was guarding his field as he does every night when an elephant broke through the perimeter fence and helped itself to his watermelons.
Simasiku's attempts to repel the elephant using torchlights and gunshots fired into the air were futile. The animal only retreated briefly and returned.
Fed up, he shot it dead on May 14.
"The elephant came from the forest and was destroying my crops. The (sports hunting) ban made my life worse," said Simasiku, holding a watermelon half-eaten by an elephant.
Ishmael Simasiku, a farmer, explains how elephants damaged his crops in the Kachikau village, about 70 kilometres away from the Kasane town, in the Chobe district of northern Botswana, May 29, 2019. PHOTO | MONIRUL BHUIYAN | AFP
The retired policeman in this village near the border with Namibia has seen his corn harvest fall by about 90 percent over recent years as elephant numbers have boomed.
Under the country's wildlife conservation policy, Botswana's elephant population has increased nearly 10-fold since 1970, to 130,000 today, according to the UN Environment Programme.
As elephants grazed behind him in Chobe National Park , Thebeyakgosi Horatius, head of the park's human-wildlife conflict office, confirms that elephants are "killing people (and) destroying their crops".
His department runs a 24-hour emergency response team to react to elephant attacks.
Ishmael Simasiku, a farmer, shows the remains of watermelon from his field, that was damaged by elephants in Kachikau village, about 70 kilometres away from Kasane town, in Chobe district, northern Botswana, on May 29, 2019. PHOTO | MONIRUL BHUIYAN | AFP
Last month, the government lifted a blanket hunting ban, imposed in 2014 by then-president Ian Khama, on the grounds that elephant numbers were growing.
The decision angered many conservationists and stirred up a political hornet's nest as elections loom later this year.
"To me it's so sad and extremely painful that all these years' work to build up to what we had achieved is being put in reverse," Khama told AFP by telephone.
"Our tourism is wildlife-based. We have already seen it taking a hit. I'm told our numbers have dropped by 10 percent since they started talking about (re-starting hunting)."
TOURISM
Tourism is the second largest contributor to Botswana's GDP after diamonds.
But an end to the ban on sports hunting has been welcomed by many Botswanans.
On April 26, Merafhe Shamukuni, 53, was walking home down a steep pathway in Kasane, Botswana's wildlife tourist town, when he was attacked and killed by an elephant.
His sister, Dorcus Shamukuni, 49, tearfully remembers her brother who worked as a builder and cared for their wheelchair-bound father.
"No one expected he was going to die that way," said Shamukuni.
Tshekonyane, a villager, explains how he chased an elephant from his yard two days before, at Kazungula in Kasane town in the Chobe district of northern Botswana, May 28, 2019. PHOTO | MONIRUL BHUIYAN | AFP
TROUBLE
While global conservationists are up in arms over the resumption of hunting, locals appeal for understanding over problems caused by freely roaming elephants which live unfenced in Botswana.
"We are here in Africa, facing this on a daily basis (and) all they are interested in is to come and see those animals for a few hours and go back where they are comfortable
"We are in trouble, something really has to be done," said Shamukuni, who works at a four-star hotel in Kasane.
"I work in tourism, I know the importance of animals... but I don't see the reason they should be killing us in this manner.
"Human beings should be controlling the animals, not animals controlling us."
At least 34 people have been killed by elephants since the hunting ban came into effect -- 15 of them killed last year alone when 9,000 properties were destroyed, according to government statistics.
DEATHS
President Mokgweetsi Masisi, on a visit to the United States, recently tweeted of another death from elephant trampling.
"The tragedy comes virtually 24 hours after I responded to an elephant protester in Las Vegas and now a brother has fallen," he said.
Locals in Chobe district, home to Botswana's largest concentration of elephants, fear being overrun.
"I'm so sick of people who say we should not kill. When we had hunting, we never had elephants coming into our villages," said safari guide Petros Tshekonyane, 48, who recently found an elephant devouring his garden.
"It has to come to an end. This is too much. I can't continue planting for elephants."
Walking around after sunset is risky, and residents wake up to broken fences and destroyed vegetable patches.
Milton Khachana, a photographic safari operator, explains the effect of the elephant hunting ban lift in Botswana, at Kasane in Chobe district on May 30, 2019. PHOTO | MONIRUL BHUIYAN | AFP
CONFINEMENT
Frank Limbo, 48, is a farmer from Satau village who has survived both an elephant and a lion attack.
"One way of controlling is hunting, it has been done in the past," he said.
Kavimba village's chief Josephat Mwezi, 74, said elephants were previously found only in parks "but now they are where we live. We are not after their extinction. We want them... confined to their areas."
Community activist Watson Mabuku admits that poaching has increased in recent years because "we were deprived of our source of protein" when hunting was outlawed.
LITTLE EFFECT
Hunting resumption will see 400 permits issued annually.
But according to Khama, it will have little effect in reducing the population because around 650 calves are born each year.
He described most of the animals as "refugees" fleeing poaching in Angola and Zambia and said they should be encouraged to return to their home ranges.
Masisi's plan to re-start hunting could find favour with villagers five months ahead of what could be a tough election for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party.
But Amos Mabuku, who heads a community conservation charity involving 5,000 families in Chobe district, dismisses any link between elections and hunting.
"It's not a question of politics, it's about sustainable use of natural resources and caring for your people," said Mabuku.
In the Ministry of Justice in Uganda, Shs500 million for age limit case has split the serious Supreme Court judges:
This is only part of the cost to the tax payer of this country to change the constitution so that President Museveni is able to participate in the coming election of the year 2021:
30 May, 2019
By Anthony Wesaka
The justices who heard the age limit appeal in Kampala.Inset is Justice Faith Mwondha. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Kampala- A Supreme Court judge has questioned the rationale of the Judiciary paying her colleagues and subordinates in excess of Shs104m in honoraria for handling the age limit case appeal yet they receive monthly salaries for hearing and determining such matters. Justice Faith Mwondha in a November 2018 memo addressed to Chief Justice Bart Katureeba, and copied to other judges and senior staff, also noted that it was out of order to budget honoraria for all the 11 Supreme Court judges yet four were not on the Coram.
Details of the judge’s misgivings coincide with revelations that the 93-day determination of the age limit appeal by the country’s highest court cost Shs567m, with most of the money spent on facilitation for judges, registrars, magistrates, drivers and body guards, among others.
Other spending heads included stationary, bottled mineral water, research assistants, and librarians. The contention began on November 20 when the court’s acting registrar, Mr Godfrey Opifeni, wrote to the Secretary to the Judiciary, Mr Kagole Kivumbi, instructing him not to pay the Shs15.9m honorarium to justices Faith Mwondha and Esther Kisaakye each which was given to all the justices, including those who did not hear the appeal.
Mr Opifeni stated that the two justices should not be paid because Ms Mwondha was scheduled to travel to Singapore to complete her training while Ms Kisaakye was sick.
“...I have been instructed to inform you that it was resolved that honor aria of Shs15.9m should not be paid to two justices because they are not participating in the above [age limit] appeals. The honoraria is supposed to facilitate the justices who are participating in the said appeals,” the letter reads in part.
His instructions triggered a rebuttal from Justice Mwondha who wrote back to Chief Justice Bart Katureebe in a November 27 letter questioning the logic of the contents of the letter branding them “misleading” and “misrepresentation” of facts. Justice Mwondha added that the contents gave a false impression that she was out of the country for an indefinite period and that her whereabouts were unknown.
She also stated that Mr Opifeni’s letter gave a wrong impression that she had demanded the honoraria and questioned the justification for such a payment.
Justice Mwondah argued that honoraria is a payment for acts or professional services for which custom or propriety forbids a price to be set and where the recipient does not receive salary yet she receives salary and allowances as a judge.
“Regarding the issue countermanding the payment of honoraria, I would like to clarify I never participated in the budget process and I have never asked to be paid. If there is any money deposited on my bank account on the basis of honoraria for appeal in issue without my knowledge, I request that evidence of deposit be availed as well as the bank details of the sender to facilitate return of the same through an order to my bank as soon as possible,” her letter reads in part.
“I am a hired justice of the Supreme Court of Uganda on full time basis and on permanent and pensionable terms to hear and determine cases not merely to participate. I earn a salary and allowances. Honoraria is not part of my terms and conditions of service. In the present circumstances, there is no justification to pay me honoraria when I am not on the panel of the appeal in issue,” she added. The judge contended that on September 7, 2018, the Chief Justice constituted a panel of seven justices to hear the presidential age limit appeal, adding that she was not part of the panel.
“When the panel was constituted, I was not consulted like some other justices were to establish whether or not I would be on the panel. It therefore defeats my understanding as to why, when the budget was made for hearing the appeal, all the 11 justices were budgeted for and yet four of them were not hearing but merely participating in discussions,” Justice Mwondha stated. The justices who heard the age limit appeal which was dismissed on the majority decision of 4:3 were Chief Justice Katureebe, Stella Arach Amoko, Jotham Tumwesigye and Rubby Opio-Aweri who dismissed the appeal and upheld the removal of the presidential age limit clauses from the constitution.
Others justices are Lillian Tibatemwa Ekirikubinza, Eldad Mwangusya and Paul Mugamba who dissented and nullified the amendments that scrapped the presidential age limit clauses.
Chief Justice Bart Katureeba
Chief Justice speaks out Daily Monitor contacted the Chief Justice on why there was a proposal to facilitate all the 11 justices with honoraria yet only seven of them were selected to the panel that heard the age limit appeal. In his response, Justice Katureebe said since this was a unique appeal, just like the last presidential election petition, he wanted to involve all the 11 justices in hearing it for purpose of benefiting from each judge’s expertise, hence all had to be facilitated. He added, however, that upon inquiring on the composition of the coram (panel for hearing a case), he was cautioned that the age limit appeal was a constitutional appeal whose coram has to be seven justices and not 11 as he had thought.
“I later decided that all the 11 justices be involved in the appeal even if not all of us were to be on the seven-man panel. The idea was to deal with age limit appeal collectively as a court. For example, Justice Augustine Nshimye wrote us a paper on parliamentary proceedings, so we benefited from his wisdom despite him not being on the panel that was constituted to hear the appeal,” Justice Katureebe said. On why the Supreme Court justices had to be paid honoraria yet they are paid a monthly salary to do the same work, he said from time immemorial, judges are paid an honoraria when they handle special cases/assignments.
He added that even the ongoing trial of former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, Thomas Kwoyelo, the judges handling it are being paid an honoraria.
He said the justices of the Constitutional Court, who first heard the age limit petition from Mbale District, also earned the same, adding that it is not a new practice in the Judiciary.
“Paying honoraria to judges has been a norm in the Judiciary and it has not started with my regime. I think it is embedded in Public Service standing orders. The honoraria is paid to judicial officers for the longer hours they put in particular cases, the research involved among other considerations,” Justice Katureebe said.
“The honoraria was not only paid to the justices but also the support staff such as the bodyguards, drivers, clerks who were involved in the hearing of the age limit appeal. I remember on the eve of the judgment day of the last presidential election petition, we left court coming to 3am. But on how the honoraria is paid, kindly contact our permanent secretary,” he added. Accounting officer explains Explaining how honoraria is paid, Mr Kagole Kivumbi, the secretary to Judiciary (accounting officer of the Judiciary), cited the Circular Standing Order No. 4 of 2008 that provides for it.
He said honoraria is paid to officers who are assigned exceptional work which is of importance to government, work outside their normal work scope, requires use of their professional skills and officer’s active participation, among other reasons.
“The format for calculating the honoraria is you count the number of days worked on the special assignment and multiply by 60 per cent of the officer’s monthly salary,” Mr Kagole said.
“It is little money compared to lawyers in private practice and remember judicial officers are not allowed to do side income business due to conflict of interest. Much of the work in the Judiciary falls under this scope since majority of the judicial officers spend most hours of the day in court hearing cases and then later write judgments and read literature outside official court hours, including weekends,” he added.
In her memo to the Chief Justice, Ms Mwondha alleged that she was deliberately excluded not only from hearing the age limit appeal but other activities/workings of the Supreme Court despite her seniority.
She said the actions of the CJ have left her in abeyance and the same have reduced her to a mere spectator.
“By so doing, I have to strongly state now that your lordship have consistently and deliberately depicted me as a non-performer for your own reasons unknown to me. Right from the time I was appointed and joined the Supreme Court, you have completely ignored my seniority and experience on the Bench in the Judiciary and elsewhere,” she states.
“In conclusion and for avoidance of doubt, let me restate that the reason as to why I am not participating in the appeal in issue is not that I am out of the country…. I have put the record straight bearing in mind that the truth shall set me free.”
Supreme Court Justice, Stella Arach Amoko
However responding to the allegation, Chief Justice Katureebe said he had a discretion as the head of the court on which judge to pick and include on the panel on account that the rules could not allow him have all the 11 justices on the panel.
The Chief Justice said he rarely constitutes panels to hear cases. He said this task is for the most senior judge on the Bench who in this case is Justice Stella Arach Amoko since Justice Esther Kisaakye had been unwell.
“Composing a panel is a discretion of the Chief Justice. She (Justice Mwondha) is the only one complaining out of the four justices who were left out, why?” Chief Justice Katureebe asked.
By press time, Mr Emmy Vincent Mugabo, the court registrar, was yet to reveal the actual number of cases that Justice Mwondha has heard since her appointment and in how many cases she has appeared on the panel with the Chief Justice.
When Daily Monitor visited Justice Mwondha at her chambers yesterday seeking a comment about he claims, she said she was “very busy” and therefore could not speak on the matter. On the budget to facilitate the hearing of the appeal, the initial requisition was Shs292m.
However, along the way in February, the court sought an additional Shs275m for concluding judgment writing, bringing the total to Shs567m.
A brief breakdown of how the facilitation cash was spent
CHIEF JUSTICE Honoraria for dinner allowances Shs13.5m
TEN JUSTICES Honoraria for dinner allowances. Shs73m
ELEVEN JUSTICES Fuel Shs5.5m
WATER Served in court to litigants during the hearing. 200 boxes Shs25m
60 days. 11 research assistants, facilitation for two librarians , 12 secretaries, Three court clerks.
Shs24.8m
Over time, dinner, allowances
Chief Justice Shs24m, ten justices Shs116m, two registrars Shs10m, one magistrate Shs2m.
Shs152m
Facilitation
For support staff like research assistants, secretaries, systems administrators, senior accounts, office supervisor, process servers, attendants, body guards and court orderly for over time and dinner allowances.
Shs43m
Stationery
Stationery, transport, bound copies for justices, Attorney General, appellant lawyers, computer services, photocopying machines, generator, toilets and fuel for the generator. Shs18m
Computer items
Transport refund for four clerks, tonner for photocopier and 11 computer printers, photocopying paper,photocopying file proceedings and attachments Shs11m
Other costs
Preparation for pre-hearing conference -Honoraria for presiding 11 justices, 2 registrars, 1 magistrate, 10 research assistants, 4 clerks, 12 secretaries, 10 attendants, 17 drivers, 32 body guards, refreshments 2 boxes of water, splash, fruits, apples, pineapples, bananas and snacks. Subtotal Shs31.6m. -Facilitation for two registrars and one magistrate –Shs8.3m. Photocopying 50 cartons, drafting duplicating paper, allowances for 11 research assistants, 12 secretaries, 32 body guards, 30 police officers, break tea and eats-(outsourced) to be served in court and lunch for justices and registrars. Justices eats, fruits, drinks and snacks during meetings and registrars. Subtotal: Shs240m
awesaka@ug.nationmedia.com
In Zambia, poverty and social exclusion spur teenage pregnancies:
By Osman Mohamed Osman of Al Jazeera
Teenage pregnancy forces 15,000 Zambia girls out of school
Mbabala, Zambia – Deep inside Bangweulu, the largest lake in Zambia, lies Mbabala, a sandy island home to about 2,000 people.
From a distance, a dozen fishermen move around the water, slowly rowing their old, wooden boats in search of fish.
At the island’s shores, children wash utensils and clothes as others prepare to bathe.
It is a sunny Saturday morning and Irene Bwalya emerges from her tall maize plantations engulfing her modest one-bedroom house. She is breastfeeding her new son.
“Go inside and get me the brown mat,” the mother of seven angrily tells one of her daughters, who is sitting outside. “Spread it here and start cleaning the house. It’s getting late.”
In Mbabala, there is a rising number of teenage pregnancies with girls as young as 13 becoming mothers.
Bwalya’s 18-year-old daughter, her first-born girl, was one of them.
The then-14-year-old revealed her pregnancy to her mother in 2014.
“I was in pain. My daughter started developing pregnancy symptoms but I kept ignoring them since she was still young,” she said.
“After the symptoms kept on, she confessed about her pregnancy. I thought she was raped at first but she denied and went ahead to show me the man who was responsible.”
According to UNICEF, in Zambia, three in 10 young women aged 13-19 have started bearing children – that is, they have given birth already or are currently pregnant with their first child.
The rate of teenage pregnancies is about 29 percentand, as a result, about 16,000 of adolescent girls are dropping out of school.
Irene Bwalya sits outside her house in Mbalala island. Her first-born daughter was pregnant when she was 14 and then again at 16 [Osman Mohamed Osman/Al Jazeera]
Across Mbabala, there is only one primary school.
Students whose families can afford high school must travel to the mainland: a four-hour boat ride which costs $40.
This is hard, says Bwalya, who has no source of income.
Her daughter did not attend high school and found herself idol most of the time.
“The only way out to a better life is education. I do not have anything to support my children to further their education in the mainland,” she said.
In Zambia, according to government figures, 54 percent of the Southern Africa nation’s 18 million people live below the poverty line.
In Mbabala, fishing and agriculture are the main sources of income.
Kedrick Kasabwe, a 50-year-oldman who lives on the island, said residents are extremely poor.
“Apart from pregnancies, STIs and HIV are very high. Our children are engaging in sexual activities due to poverty and idleness. We only have a primary school and once a 13-year-old is done, they become idle, ending up engaging in sexual activities,” he said.
The father of seven has campaigned for sex education.
“I started by example. I took my 14-year-old daughter to the clinic and [she was given] birth control implants to make sure she doesn’t get pregnant at her young age. We want better lives for our children,” he said.
Together with a group of concerned elders and parents, he organised meetings with young teenagers, providing a space for discussion without judgement.
The message, explained Kasabwe, will not be heard if only one gender is targeted.
“We need to holistically inform our youth that you can abstain from sex. If you cannot abstain, these are the safety procedures to go about it,” he said.
“The problem is that these young boys and girls are sexually active without knowledge of its dangers. Our job is to teach them how to go about it and avoid unnecessary pregnancies and diseases.
“We cannot stop young and idle teenagers from engaging in sexual activities. But, through the talks, we can curb its dangers.”
Other parents have also educated their children about contraceptives.
According to records seen by Al Jazeera at Mbabala’s only health clinic, in the last six months, 22 teenagers were given birth control contraceptives.
The youngest was 13 years old.
‘Our children are engaging in sexual activities due to poverty and idleness,’ says 50-year-old Kedrick Kasabwe, who has campaigned for sex education [Osman Mohamed Osman/Al Jazeera]
Nason Bwalya, the area’s district commissioner, says the government is aware of the numbers.
“In this district, some places like Mbabala have an accessibility challenge.
“As the government, we are planning to put up more health facilities and schools so as to bring services close to the people. Once we do this, poverty levels will go down,” Bwalya told Al Jazeera.
But access to contraceptives will not stop teenagers from having sex, explained Monica Atim, a sexual reproductive health adviser at Voluntary Service Overseas, a UK Charity.
Education and awareness campaigns are essential, she added.
“Teenage pregnancies are very dangerous to these young girls. This is because their bodies are not yet fully mature to handle the dangers and risks that come with pregnancy. This leads to complications like over bleeding when giving birth, fistula and, in some cases, death,” she said.
Bwalya, the mother of seven, is aware of the dangers.
A year after giving birth, her daughter became pregnant again, prompting her to take her other daughters to get contraceptives.
“It was too much. I am struggling to take care of my own seven children. Having grandchildren is a burden at this time,” she said. “I just want my daughters to have a decent life and become mothers when the time is right."
In the African country of Burundi, schoolgirls have been jailed for scribbling on the President's photo:
Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza. Three schoolgirls in the country have been sent to prison to await trial for scribbling on a picture of the president in textbooks. PHOTO | AFP
In Summary
The girls, aged 15, 16 and 17, face up to five years in prison for insulting the head of state if found guilty.
Judges said the three girls should be "prosecuted for contempt of the head of state", and ordered them to a juvenile section of a prison.
The trio has been in custody since March 12, when they were arrested with three other schoolgirls and a 13-year old boy.
Three teenage schoolgirls in Burundi have been sent to prison to await trial for scribbling on a picture of President Pierre Nkurunziza in textbooks, activists said Thursday.
The girls, aged 15, 16 and 17, face up to five years in prison for insulting the head of state if found guilty.
Judges said the three girls should be "prosecuted for contempt of the head of state", and ordered them to a juvenile section of a prison in the north of Burundi at Ngozi to await trial, said FENADEB, a civil society umbrella group of 48 organisations.
The trio has been in custody since March 12, when they were arrested with three other schoolgirls and a 13-year old boy.
The boy was released immediately because he was below the age of criminal responsibility, while the three girls were released without charge.
The girls are accused of defacing photographs of Nkurunziza in five textbooks belonging to their school, but teachers pointed out that the books are shared among all the pupils as there are not enough for everyone to have their own.
A judicial source, who called the case "very sensitive" and said it was overseen directly by the Attorney General, reported that the girls arrived at the prison on Wednesday afternoon.
It was not clear when they might face trial, but the father of one of the girls said they were already "too scared to eat", according to Lewis Mudge, from Human Rights Watch (HRW).
In 2016, several schoolchildren were handed prison sentences for similar scribbles on the president's face, and hundreds of pupils expelled, sparking an international outcry.
Burundi has been in turmoil since Nkurunziza in April 2015 sought a fiercely-contested third term in office.
The violence has claimed at least 1,200 lives and displaced more than 400,000 people between April 2015 and May 2017, according to estimates by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened an investigation.
"With so many real crimes being committed in Burundi, it's tragic that children are the ones being prosecuted for harmless scribbles," HRW's Mudge added.
"Authorities should focus on holding perpetrators of serious rights violations to account instead of jailing schoolchildren for doodles."
Tanzanian government officials are in Uganda for a lucrative oil pipeline negotiation:
January 25, 2019
Written by URN
The East African map that shows how the oil pipeline is going to run crude oil across the whole breadlth of the territory of Tanzania.
Ugandan and Tanzanian officials are meeting in Kampala for another round of negotiations on the host government agreement for the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline.
Sources at the Energy ministry have indicated that at least four ministers from Tanzania are already in Uganda for the ministerial meeting to be held at Kampala Serena hotel. The team includes Dr Adelardus Kilangi, Tanzania's attorney general.
Uganda Energy ministry permanent secretary, Robert Kasande confirmed the arrival of the Tanzania delegation but was hesitant to divulge details about the meeting that could set off the construction of the $4bn project.
Uganda and Tanzania signed the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) in May 2017 for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project. The agreement provided the foundation for other project agreements, like the host government agreements, shareholders' agreements and financing agreements, which have since not been signed.
The joint venture partner CNOOC, Total and Tullow Oil have in the past indicated that the conclusion of the host government agreement could be key in the commercialisation of the Albertine region oil and gas.
Construction of an over 1,149km-long pipeline from Kabaale, Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani in Tanga, Tanzania should have started had the governments agreed on the remaining agreements.
The delay in construction of the pipeline together with other impediments, have pushed government to extend its first oil ambition earlier set for 2020 to 2021.
Uganda is expected to pay Tanzania a minimum of $12.20 per barrel of oil, according to the past negotiations between the two governments. Initial estimates put the capacity of the pipeline at 216,000 barrels of crude oil per day. In a related development, sources indicate that the National Environment Management Authority's (NEMA) oil and gas team is expected to review the Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report for the pipeline project.
NEMA is required to ensure that the project doesn't significantly affect the environment and people's livelihoods.
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Of course this sort of business is going to affect the East African environment.
The issue is whether Uganda and its future generations will benefit plus whether it is viable for Tanzania to be paid money for Uganda to export crude oil over about 700 miles on land to Dar-es-Salaam port and then to China and other countries of Asia and Europe by ocean shipping. The International price of Crude Oil presently is 55 dollars a barrel.
Right now Uganda is floating in lots of international debts and the only hope of paying such debts is through the export of crude oil because this country is unable to refine crude oil into products of high value.
Even if this country has a very high unemployed but educated African population. It is high time the real experts came out to discuss this dilemma concerning M7's oil.
This is an economic programme of about 100 years that NEMA must discuss without any prejudice. All the facts must be put on the table.
The inland country of Uganda trying its luck to export freshly excavated crude oil over a distance of 7000 miles all over this planet is like exporting freshly picked coffee beans from its tree gardens, packaged into clean boxes, and directed all the way to Vietnam.
As an African country like Uganda, African Debts Borrowing for the energy sector has not upgraded the African way of life:
January 16, 2019
Written by Diana Nabiruma
The Isimba environmental friendly hydro electrical energy dam that need debt relief from the IMF and World Bank where China and Russia have their financial interests for the joint betterment of this planet.
On Tuesday, January 8, 2019, after its 5pm news bulletin, Sanyu FM aired some of its listeners’ views on what their expectations of 2019 are.
Most of the sampled listeners expressed fears of a hard 2019. Worries over economic and political hardships were rife. One particular listener’s views caught my attention, however. In Luganda, he groaned that his two meals a day would be reduced to one in 2019.
Why? He must have heard the alarm raised by the auditor general (AG) and civil society organisations (CSOs) about Uganda’s rising debt. CSOs say Uganda’s borrowing is unsustainable.
The AG also expressed discomfort over the country’s debt burden, standing at Shs 41.3 trillion. Further, in the 2018/2019 financial year, over 65% of revenues collected by government are supposed to be used on debt servicing! Hence the above listener’s worries.
He said that in 2019, government was going to suck citizens dry to pay the mounting debt. As such, people such as himself would have to forego basic necessities such as food!
Interestingly, on the day the above listener’s views were aired, Hon Matia Kasaija, the Finance minister, held a press conference at the Uganda Media Centre to soothe the public. He is reported to have told journalists that Ugandans should stay calm.
He said that at a debt to GDP ratio of 41.5%, Uganda’s debt is below international sustainability thresholds of a debt to GDP ratio of 50%. To further calm Ugandans, the minister is reported to have said that if some of them are still around, there is no way the country would be led into debt stress!
He also reassured Ugandans that because money borrowed has been invested in the productive sectors of roads and energy, the debts would pay off.
HAVE ENERGY SECTOR DEBTS PAID OFF?
However, a look at available evidence and Uganda today shows that the above assertion by Kasaija is erroneous. Over the last ten years, (2009/2010-2018/2019), government has allocated over Shs 16. 871 trillion to the energy sector.
This was 16.57% of Uganda’s GDP as at June 2018. Some of the above money has been borrowed and invested in the construction of dams with the view that electrification will address poverty among other challenges in Uganda. Indeed, Kasaija affirmed that monies borrowed have been invested in dams such as Isimba and Karuma.
Noteworthy is the fact that the costs of Bujagali, Karuma and Isimba dams alone cover over 30.4% of Uganda’s $10.7 billion debt burden. Have Ugandans however benefitted from monies borrowed and invested in the electricity and roads sector?
Well, in 2015, the World Bank reported that for every dollar invested in infrastructural projects, less than a dollar is recouped. In addition, despite all the money that has been invested in the electricity sector, a dismal 22% of Uganda’s population had access to electricity as at June 2018.
Further, a look at the World Bank’s access to electricity data shows that in some instances, development of dams has had a negative impact on electricity access. For instance, before commissioning of Bujagali dam in 2012, urban electricity access stood at 55.4%.
This was in 2011. In 2012 when Bujagali was commissioned, urban electricity access dropped to 51.2%. By 2015, Ugandan urbanites were in yet to recover with only 51.9% having access to electricity.
Our rural counterparts fared worse. Even more indicting is the fact that according to 2016/2017 survey results released by Uganda Bureau of Statistics in 2018, poverty levels in Uganda increased from 19.7% in 2012/2013 to 21.4% in 2016/2017.
Rural poverty rose to 22.5% and urban poverty to 9.4%! How then, are Uganda’s debts expected to pay off as the minister reassured Ugandans if increased borrowing is followed by increasing poverty?
Moreover, with the corruption, high costs and procurement scandals that rocked the Karuma and Isimba dam deals, power from the two dams is unlikely to be as cheap as government promises it will be.
This means that the envisaged socio-economic transformation arising from completion of the two dams is unlikely to happen!
The author is the Senior Communications Officer of Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO).
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Uganda as one of the many poor countries with much debt. How much debt relief has it received since its economic problems started? This country with high levels of poverty and debt overhang is eligible for special assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on the programme of HIPC. And this programme with its international funds must indeed include China and Russia.
Dodgy leaders must not take their people for a ride on China and Russian high interest debts when with such a clear economic article as this one, the IMF and the World Bank can provide financial relief on such environmental friendly global energy projects.
What seems to transpire these days in Africa, is that African leaders who have involved themselves in deep debt for their countries do not want to be criticised on their human rights credentials. They do not seem to want to leave power giving all sorts of excuses to work hard their people so that these poor people can try to pay these debts together with their children and grandchildren. This economic process is unsustainable especially on the side of global environment.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, African Soldiers continuously fire live bullets in the air to end Congolese National Election protests:
The African Unity Organization is just looking on helplessly as fellow Africans suffer political persecution by fellow Africans, as it was during the by gone era of European colonial times:
Protestors in Beni. Photo: @patson_bita
Written by VOA
Soldiers and police in the Democratic Republic of Congo city of Beni fired in the air Thursday to disperse demonstrators who barricaded roads and burned tires to protest the decision to exclude them from a presidential election Sunday.
The electoral commission (CENI) announced Wednesday that it was canceling the vote in Beni, its surrounding areas and the nearby city of Butembo because of an ongoing Ebola outbreak and militia violence.
Those places on the eastern DRC are strongholds of opposition to outgoing President Joseph Kabila and local politicians denounced the move as an effort to swing the vote in favour of his preferred candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary.
"There was a group of demonstrators who wanted to enter the CENI office ... to demand the withdrawal of the decision," said Giscard Yere, a Beni resident. "But the police officers and soldiers who were there fired to disperse the demonstrators."
Dozens of protesters waved Congolese flags as they marched down Beni's main boulevard. Most shops in the city of several hundred thousand people remained closed, residents said.
“They went to the mayor's office and then the CENI office. There is teargas and gunfire," said Teddy Kataliko, a local civil society leader.
Beni, Butembo and the rural areas around them have been dealing with an Ebola outbreak, now the second-deadliest in history, since August,but health authorities had repeatedly said that it would not prevent the vote from going ahead.
The CENI also canceled the vote in the western city of Yumbi because of ethnic violence there last week that killed more than 100 people. The election to replace Kabila, who has governed since replacing his assassinated father in 2001, was meant to take place in 2016 but has been repeatedly delayed.
That has triggered violent protests in which security forces killed dozens of people. It has also stoked militia violence in Congo's eastern borderlands with Rwanda and Uganda as armed groups moved to exploit a perceived power vacuum.
Shadary is facing two main challengers in a field of 21 candidates: Felix Tshisekedi, the president of Congo's largest opposition party, and Martin Fayulu, a former Exxon Mobil manager and national lawmaker.
Nb
Where is the new modern breed of African leaders who are good at holding guns as in Syria so that Africa can embrace modern democracy? The democratic Republic of the Congo is waking up to the reality that there is no free meal in this world. You can have a very big country or continent to run but if you do not have the citizens good will with you to run it as a leader, it is all a waste of time and the country's natural resources.
In Uganda, at Kampala, the Naguru-Nakawa Satellite City project has badly stalled:
The Impressive urban housing project. An artistic impression of the Naguru-Nakawa Satellite City after completion of the project. Courtesy PHOTO
8 November, 2018
By Isaac Mufumba
The promise: On October 14, 2013 President Museveni laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Naguru-Nakawa Satellite City project. The project dabbed “New Kampala”, was expected to see the 160-acre land, formerly home to the Naguru-Nakawa low-cost housing units redeveloped to have among others, 1,747 flats, bungalows, commercial buildings, a five star hotel, a referral hospital, schools, houses of worship and recreational facilities. OpecPrime Properties Uganda, an arm of the UK-based OpecPrime Properties, was meant to undertake the project with funding from the Irish London-based Comer Group International, which would own the development for 30 years.
Commissioning The commissioning of the project took place close to six years after government, through the Ministry of Local Government, signed a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with OpecPrime. Under the terms of the agreement, which was signed on October 15, 2007, OpecPrime Properties was obligated to meet the financial, technical and operational costs, while government provided land for the project. The developer was also expected to deliver the project within at least four years from the date of signing. A separate agreement signed by the developer, members of the tenants’ association and government, made it incumbent upon the developer to give priority to the 1,747 former tenants who had been evicted from the low-cost housing estates in order to pave way for the project. However, delays on the part of government to hand over vacant possession of the land meant that the initial terms of the PPP could not be met. The two parties were forced to sign an addendum, which saw delivery date for the housing units pushed to December 2016. Once the former tenants were evicted, some forcibly, and the commissioning was done, it had been expected that the project, which was partially planned to decongest the city, would take off in line with the provisions of the addendum. This was never the case as more than 1,750 people have now taken refuge in the city slums around Luzira, Mbuya, Banda, Acholi Quarters and Kinawataka; with some of them encroaching on wetlands. By the time Mr Museveni commissioned the project, it was estimated that Uganda had a housing backlog of 1.6 million units. Urban areas were said to have a deficit of 211,000 units. A 2012 report from the Uganda Human Settlement Network had also indicated that 900,000 out of the 6.2 million housing units in Uganda were in a shambolic state. Likewise, a 2017 Sauti wa Wananchi survey by Twaweza, a non-governmental organisation, said home ownership is markedly higher in rural (87 per cent) than in urban areas (54 per cent), under which Kampala falls. The report also added that 75 per cent of the wealthier households in Uganda live in a house with walls made of concrete or stone, compared to 14 per cent of the poorest. The poor are more likely to live in a home with walls made of mud or branches (43 per cent) or unbaked mud bricks (27 per cent). There is a similar difference in roof and floor materials. Almost all wealthier households (94 per cent) have metal sheet roofs, compared to less than half of the poorest (46 per cent) who use grass or other cheaper materials and have earthen floors. Yet according to the 2014 national census report, 19.7 per cent of Ugandans are regarded as poor. Therefore, the project, it was believed, would partially address the housing deficit and reduce the number of people sleeping in houses that were deemed unfit for human settlement. The project’s transaction advisor, Mr George Brenan and OpecPrime’s chief operating officer Mohammed Mulindwa, gave assurances about the finances and the manner in which the project was to be implemented. “All the required funding for the modern estate is fully available,” Mr Brenan said in an interview with this newspaper. Mr Mulindwa said the project would be undertaken in a phased manner, the first of which would involve construction of 1,000 flats for allocation to former tenants who signed off agreements with the developer. He added that when the commissioning had been done with, the developer would hit the ground running. “The contracted time schedule was December 2012 for a period of four years. We are a little behind but we shall ensure we move fast since ground breaking is complete,” he said. What OpecPrime officials committed themselves to has not come to pass. More than five years since Mr Museveni commissioned the project and more than a year since the four-year period within which the 1,747 units were to be delivered elapsed, OpecPrime has not met its side of the bargain. Impact Access to decent housing remains one of the biggest challenges for many a resident in Kampala. Whereas there are houses in some areas, some of them are not fit for human habitation. This project was, therefore, meant to partially address the housing deficit and provide sections of the citizenry houses that are fit for human habitation. Matters were not helped by the fact that most of the former tenants of the project area were not provided with alternative accommodation when their former homes were razed. This could only have led to an increase in the number of people living in slums. As of 2007, it was estimated that between 1.2 and 1.8 million people were living in Kampala’s slums. The demolition of the Naguru-Nakawa estate must have exacerbated the problem. Nothing much has been done on the site since the housing estate was razed down and the site handed over to a developer. While it is fenced off, there are now worries that the site is fast turning into a haven for lawless persons. Users of roads within in the area have been reporting cases of thugs who snatch bags, phones and other valuables before running off into the bushes there. The bushy site is also now a home for rodents and other vermin. While the situation is yet to reach crisis proportions, it is clear that the city is sitting on a time bomb. The stalled project has now reopened debate on ownership of the land on which the project sits. There has been a push for sections of the political class to compensate some of the actors in this land. This if fast turning into another potential land grab. It is also one that unscrupulous people are trying to use to fleece government through dubious compensation claims. Finally, taxpayers’ money to the tune of $47m (about Shs176b) is likely to be lost to OpecPrime Properties. The company is seeking the said amount as compensation from government for a piece of the project land which has since been set aside for the proposed construction of the Aga Khan Hospital.
In East Africa, Uganda, there are hundreds of cars the tax man is holding as illegal goods arrived at the port of Mombasa as traders appeal for help:
The cost to business and industry for this country is immense:
There are billions of cars for sale all over the world as more are being made in many car producing countries as one goes online world wide:
Cars stranded at an East African port just because the local Uganda Revenue Authority does not want to tax these cars into the poor landlocked country of Uganda
22 October, 2018
Written by Yudaya Nangonzi and Alon Mwesigwa
Badru Senkuba during the interview
Ordinarily, at this time of the year, car dealers in Uganda are preparing for windfall sales that come with Christmas festivities; however, it may be harder this year as YUDAYA NANGONZI & ALON MWESIGWA report.
At his office along Lumumba avenue in Kampala, Badru Senkuba, a car dealer, speaks with long pauses of someone in deep thought, uncertain what the future holds for a business he has known for much of his working life.
At least 25 cars he was importing into the country, including seven Toyota Harriers worth $40,000 (Shs 152m), are being at held at Mombasa. Senkuba is one of the tens of car dealers whose vehicles registered in 2003 or earlier were either awaiting clearance at Mombasa or were on the ship to Mombasa as at September 30, 2018.
This is the date that cars aged 15 years and above were stopped from coming into Uganda. Consequently, hundreds of vehicles are being held at the Kenyan port with traders saying it was not their making that cars didn’t make it into the car by deadline date.
“We thought the ban would take effect next year in January,” Senkumba told The Observer. “That is why we went ahead to import cars registered in 2003.”
“When government passed the law, we thought that the ban would affect motor vehicles made in 2002 and below. When you subtract 15 years from 2018, you get 2003 and so, we believed that the ban on cars older than 2003 should effectively begin on December 31, 2018,” Senkuba said, adding that this implies that by next year, they would only import cars manufactured in 2004 and later.
The ban, however, took effect on July 1, 2018 with the new financial year. Traders were, however, given three months up to September 30 to have all the vehicles on the way into the country. Now traders say they were not aware of this arrangement.
Senkuba said the enactment and implementation of the Traffic and Road Safety (Amendment) Act 2018, has heavily affected their business and could see some of them out of the business soon.
MOMBASA WOES
Currently, Senkuba is stuck with 25 model 2003 car units such as Alphard, Premio, Toyota Harrier and TX Prado 2002 models at Mombasa port, plus about eight cars that are in transit from Japan to Mombasa.
“Government needs to look into this again before rushing to implement the law. We are losing a lot of money because our cars are stuck at Mombasa. It’s not that we are against the law, but we need to be engaged before coming to the deadline,” he said. “We first took it for a joke but cars kept piling at Mombasa and government insisted that they will not get into the country.”
“Our plan was to have all cars of 2003 in the country by November so that we sell them off during the festive season. We are likely not to benefit because prices are going to increase and people will not afford them yet they are also still stuck at various ports and in transit,” he added.
According to Senkuba, his stock of 25 cars reached Mombasa on September 28 but there was too much traffic at the port to capture them in the system. He believes that there has been an intended move to delay some local importers.
“Indians have been having very many cars and they have been putting in a lot of money to have their cars put into the system. All cars that were captured before September 30 were allowed to cross to Uganda but those that weren’t, the system has since rejected them,” he said.
Car dealers are already suffocated with demurrage costs and penalties paid for failing to clear their cars on time.Senkuba’s cars have been at Mombasa since September 28 and the recent invoice value currently runs into $10,000.
“This is my capital that I have raised doing business for the last ten years. Why should government leave our money to go to waste yet we can pay taxes for these vehicles,” he said.
CAR PRICES TO INCREASE
The immediate impact of the new policy has been the hike in the prices of cars. For instance, traders said, the price of a 14-seater taxi has increased from Shs 45m to Shs 70m while a Super Custom previously at around Shs 35m now costs Shs 50m.
Some of the high-on-demand vehicles are expected to be off the market or extremely expensive for buyers to afford, traders warned. They include Vitz, Spacio [both old and new models], Harrier, Wish, Toyota Allex, Toyota IST, Subaru Forester, TX Prado, Noah, and Premio.
“Owning a car is going to become a luxury again,” said Senkuba.
“I have an Allex at UBE and a 2005 model but I sell it Shs 27m yet people know an old model range is between Shs 20m and Shs 22m. So, whoever comes to buy should know the price will increase not only at buying but even on taxes,” he said, admitting it will be hard for him to retain his six staff at his Kampala bond, three car washers and about 20 drivers that bring his cars from Mombasa to the bond.
At parliament, MP Henry Musasizi, who is the chairperson of the committee on Finance, in June cautioned the House against rendering Ugandans jobless.
“The used motor vehicles industry comprises of car importers and forwarders totaling to 11,139 people. The ban on the importation of old vehicles will render 11,000 direct beneficiaries of this unemployed,” said Musasizi.
In a letter dated October 1, 2018, URA’s commissioner for customs, Dickson C. Kateshumbwa, told the Association of Motor Vehicle Dealers and Used Car Dealers Association that cars which had not arrived in Uganda by September 30 would not be allowed.
“As you may be aware, Section 14A (1) of the Traffic & Road Safety Act, 1998 (Amendment) Act, 2018 provided that ‘A person shall not import a motor vehicle which is 15 years old or more from the date of manufacture’. The same law creates various exceptions including motor vehicles which are in transit before the commencement of the Act (July 1, 2018) and which arrive in Uganda by September 30, 2018,” Kateshumbwa wrote.
He said URA was aware of an estimated 5,500 motor vehicles in bonded warehouses and in transit as at September 28 but said no motor vehicles aged 15 years and above shall be allowed into Uganda effective October 1, 2018. This included vehicles that were awaiting clearance in Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.
“Duty-paid motor vehicles that are still within the warehousing period will be relocated to a designated place within the bonded warehouse pending registration. Customs will auction any motor vehicle whose warehousing will have expired,” Kateshumbwa said.
But Senkuba said URA was not being considerate: “We want government to understand our plight because URA is setting its target without consulting us. We have an organisation of members who do not share our issues with authorities.
“They have never called anyone to explain these things yet our cars have been blocked.”
nangonzi@observer.ug
amwesigwa@observer.ug
Nb
Uganda Revenue Authority is proving to be the strong man of heavily industrialized countries. URA charges heavily by taxing its citizens the second hand goods that the World Trade Organization wants them scrapped. How far is this sort of business going to last as industrialised nations continue to mass produce products and as they are discarded into Uganda, tax payers have got to pay for them highly or they loose them completely together with all their meagre investment?
Ababundabunda mu nkambi y'e Parolinya - Moyo, Sudan, babawadde Solar equipments:
By Musasi wa Bukedde, Judith Nalugwa
Added 28th September 2018
ABABUNDABUNDA okuva mu ggwanga lya Sudan abali mu nkambi ya Parolinya mu distulikiti y'e Moyo balabuddwa obutaddamu kutema miti nga banoonya enku kisobole okukendeeza ku kyeya mu kitundu kino.
Omulangira Kimbugwe ng'akwasa ababundabunda solar
Okulabula kuno kukoleddwa omulangira Edward Kimbugwe owa 'Prince Kimbugwe Foundation' bw'abadde abatonera solar ezeeyambisibwa mu kufumba n'amaanyi g'enjuba wamu n'obugaali.
'' Ebitundu by'omu mambuka ga Uganda bye bimu ku bisinga okubaamu ekyeya kyokka ate abantu ababeerayo omulimu gwe basinga okwettanira kwe kutema emiti okwokya amanda n'enku, kye tuvudde tuvaayo ffe ng'aba Prince Kimbugwe Foundation nga tuyambibwako aba EG Solar okuva e German okudduukirira abantu bano ne solar ez'okufumbisa n'amanyi g'enjuba.
Omulangira Kimbugwe agambye nti batandiise ne Solar 50 nga zino ziweereddwa ab'enkambi ya Palorinya erimu abantu abawerera ddala 123 nga bano beekozemu ebibinja okusobola okukozesa awamu solar ezibaweereddwa.
Omukwanaganya wa pulojekiti egaba solar bicycle sponsorship project and workshop uganda, Edward Kyambadde ategeezezza nti enkambi z'ababundabunda zonna eziri mu bukiika ddyo zaakuganyulwa mu nteekateeka eno nga baakuzzaako ey'e Bidbidi esingamu abanoonyi b'obubudamu abasukka mu kakadde.
Omulangira Kimbugwe asiimye abaabawadde solar zino okuva e Germany mu kaweefube gwe bakoze okutaasa obutonde bw'ensi era n'abasaba okwongeza okuwagira basobole okubunyisa enkola eno mu ggwanga.
Nb
Awo no Kimbugwe mukoze. Okubonabona kuwa amagezi. Ekyo ne UMEME wano e Buganda kyeyandibadeko okusinga okuseera amasanyalaze agava mu mazzi banagagga abaagula UMEME bo buli mwaka nebasasulwa amagoba amayitirivu wano a Kampala. Tekigana nakamu kuyunga masanyalaze ga Mazzi ku masanyalazze ga Solar omunnaku nawona okutekebwako olunnwe nti yamalawo ebibira mu Africa.
The African Liberation Movement of Uganda is turning against its people as its political popularity wanes:
The European Parliament is at this time coming up to put pressure on the government of Uganda. An African government they have been supporting for now 33 years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2rJd16-PCE
September 14, 2018
Written by Observer Media Ltd
The European parliament has today issued a 14-point resolution in relation to the recent events of Arua in which at least four people lost their lives and several got arrested.
Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi's driver Yasin Kawuma was shot dead on August 13 and about 35 others arrested and charged with treason on allegations of stoning President Yoweri Museveni's vehicle.
One of the European parliament sitting sessions
Among those arrested were four MPs; Francis Zaake, Robert Kyagulanyi, Paul Mwiru and Gerald Karuhanga as well as then MP-elect Kassiano Wadri. Kyagulanyi and Zaake were reportedly tortured and are currently abroad receiving further treatment.
Now, the European parliament in a resolution issued today September 14, says it expresses its deep concern at the arrest of opposition parliamentarians in connection to the Arua by-election.
The parliament also said it "stresses that it is vital for Ugandan democracy that the president and government of Uganda respect the independence of the country’s parliament as an institution and the independence of the mandate of its members and ensure that all members of parliament can freely pursue their elected mandate."
Further, it called on the Ugandan government to drop what it said, appear to be trumped up charged against Kyagulanyi and the brutal treatment of opposition politicians and supporters. Kyagulanyi and his co-accused were charged with treason in Gulu Chief Magistrate's court following their brutal arrest. Since Kyagulanyi's arrest, protests broke out allover the country and across the globe. The brutality of security agencies against protesters and the media has also drawn condemnation from across the world.
The European parliament also demanded for an immediate launch "of an effective, impartial and independent investigation of the killing of Kyagulanyi's driver Yasin Kawuma and other deaths and the use of excessive force by security agencies."
Government was also reminded of its obligation to guarantee, protect, respect and promote fundamental rights including civil and political rights. The parliament also asked the security forces to desist from using live bullets when policing protests. The use of live ammunition when quelling protests led to the death The protestors were also urged to exercise their rights and freedoms with the law.
The European parliament called on the European Union "to take advantage of the political leverage provided by development aid programmes, especially budget support programmes with a view of enhancing the defence and promotion of human rights in Uganda."
It also called on the EU to closely monitor the situation in Uganda and that parliament must be "informed of any other signs of opposition MPs being hindered or obstructed in their work as legislators."
The resolution was forwarded to the President Museveni, speaker Rebecca Kadaga, African Union and other EU institutions.
The European parliament's resolution will likely draw the ire of the Ugandan government which has lately been complaining about external forces meddling in the affairs of the country.
How the African Ganda consipirators are selling the land of the State of Buganda and making lots of money for themselves:
The Acting Commissioner in charge of Surveys and Mappings in the Lands ministry, Mr Wilson Ogaro Ebunyu, testifies before the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters. There are lots dodgy affairs going on in this Ministry over land ownership in Uganda
An African Man and his lawyers who sold land of the dead African land owners at Temangalo village, are summoned to answer for their sins:
By Andante Okanya, Edward Anyoli
Added 29th August 2018
The land probe chairperson, Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, directed Abbas Mawanda to appear before the commission.
Part of the Probe team in the land commision of inquiry
UGANDA, KAMPALA - The Land Commission of Inquiry has summoned the man who sold the Temangalo land to industrialist Amos Nzeyi between 1988 and 1993.
On Tuesday, the commission chairperson, Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, directed Abbas Mawanda to appear today.
“Abbas Mawanda should appear tomorrow (Wednesday) without fail,” she directed.
Documents show that on March 10, 2008, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) purchased 463.87 acres of private mailo land in six parcels from two vendors: Nzeyi and Arma Limited, a company linked to former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi.
Bamugemereire was prompted to issue the directive after deputy lead counsel John Bosco Suuza explained that Mawanda had reported being unwell.
On August 1, a Canadian-Asian family petitioned the commission, claiming ownership of 366.2 acres of the land.
Nazim Moosa testified that his parents, Mohammed Hassnali Moosa (died 1997) and Sherbanu Hassnali Moosa, owned Temangalo Tea Estate Limited (TTEL).
Nazim says the family left Uganda in 1972 when then-president Idi Amin expelled Asians.
Land title trail
According to a chronology of the land title, on February 24, 1922, the land was registered in the name of Daniel Ssaku.
On July 17, 1944, it was transferred in the name Daniel Daniel Ssaku Mugwanya (senior). On October 19, 1944, there was a lease granted to Frederick George Tolbert.
Subsequently on August 7, 1959, the lease was extended for 49 years in favour of TTEL. The lease was due for expiry in 2003.
On October 23, 1983, one Hajji Ahmed Keeya registered interest on the land and lodged a caveat, saying he bought the land from Daniel Mugwanya Kato at sh500,000.
The caveat indicated that Mugwanya senior had agreed to sell the land to Keeya. Mugwanya senior reportedly authorised the transaction, prior to his demise.
On June 29, 1987, the land was transferred, and duly registered in the name Abbas Mawanda.
Parliament probes Temangalo saga
In July 2008, Temangalo saga became a subject of intense public discussion, which resulted in a probe on then Security minister Amama Mbabazi (former Prime Minister).
He was probed over purported use of clout to entice NSSF into buying the land.
NSSF admitted that it paid Mbabazi’s firm Arma Limited, and Nzeyi sh11.2b for the land, at sh24m per acre.
Public debate was fueled by scrutiny on value for money, as three valuation reports showed lower prices per acre.
Associated Consulting Surveyors showed sh14m, East African Consulting Surveyors at sh16m, while Knight Frank price indicated sh18m.
Public uproar surged when NSSF opted for what it termed a sh24m open market price.
The majority report recommended Mbabazi’s dismissal over breach of the leadership code of conduct but he was exonerated. The then Speaker Edward Ssekandi instructed the Committee on Rules and Discipline to probe further.
The committee was tasked with ascertaining allegations that Mbabazi obstructed the inquiry.
But the then committee chairperson Peter Nyombi said no proof was presented to incriminate Mbabazi.
Environment committees have resolved to stop charcoal burning in the tropical climate of Uganda:
These committiees have no capacity to bring about an Alternative Energy Supply:
By Jackson Kitara
Added 20th July 2018
A policy that prohibits cutting of tree species such as Afzelia Africana commonly known as Beyo, and Shea nut that are rare and take long to grow, has been established.
Traders loading charcoal bags onto a lorry
Acholi districts have drafted a policy framework that seeks to regulate the indiscriminate cutting of trees for charcoal burning and timber.
The draft policy was presented on Wednesday during charcoal policy conference for districts in Acholi region at the Gulu district council hall. It was drafted by governance links with support from GAP, University of Cambridge under department of African studies and university of New South Wales
The policy prohibits cutting of tree species such as Afzelia Africana commonly known as Beyo, and Shea nut that are rare and take long to grow.
Although the government through ministry of Water and Environment has suspended any cutting, transportation and sale of Shea nut and Afzelia Africana tree logs and their products, the high demand is increasingly putting the endangered tree species on the verge of extinction.
Afzelia Africana and Shea nut trees are both reserved tree species in Uganda and are only found in northern Uganda and West Nile sub regions. The suspension is in line with section (29)3 of the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act 2003.
Districts in northern Uganda such as Gulu, Amuru and Nwoya have established ordinances on the harvesting of trees for charcoal, but this ordinance has not been applied, as hundreds of Kampala trucks still carry charcoal from upcountry daily.
Charcoal burning is the biggest destroyer of the environment
Joshua Okebe Onya, a senior governance technical advisor in charge of leadership and local council development in the GAP programme in Lango region who drafted the policy said the policy framework seeks to prohibit cutting of the tree species
“The policy will prohibit unlicensed production of charcoal, establish environmental committees to ensure and enhance effective forest and woodland management, conservation and protection”, Okebe remarked
Okebe said it will establish charcoal producers’ association and charcoal producer union to ensure environmentally sustainable charcoal production, transportation and marketing, protect endangered or threatened plants’ species, license charcoal farming, levy stampage and regulate harvesting of biomass for charcoal production
Mary Njenga, the research scientist Bioenergy, world agro forestry Centre (ICRAF) University of Nairobi, Kenya said local community in Northern Uganda can engage in charcoal farming to regulate cutting of trees for charcoal.
She said charcoal is coming as the key commodities within the country as one third of the population rely on charcoal and firewood and people prefer to use charcoal because it is affordable, accessible for dependent and middle and high income earners
Njenga noted that in Uganda, the charcoal sector earns $38m (sh144b) annually as majority of the households depend on charcoal.
She said due to high demand, there is an unsustainable practice like indiscriminate cutting of trees without planting a new one that are causing land degradation and deforestation in the rural areas
“People can solve these challenges by integrating charcoal in agriculture with trees inform of agroforestry; intercropping trees meant for charcoal with crops in the gardens like in Western Kenya, where farmers are planting trees purposely for charcoal”, Njenga advised
Tree cutting is very rampant in many parts of the country since amjority of the people depend on wood for fuel
Njenga said: “People can use organic waste in towns, from farms, charcoal dust and saw dust to make organic charcoal briquettes to reduce the demand for fire woods”.
She advised communities to rotation of charcoal production where they put the land into blocks, cut trees in a block and move to another to allow natural regeneration go on well. She said the system will save wood, reduce emission and reduce degradation
Gulu University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George Openjuru Ladaah said the change in ownership of land from customary individual title deed like leasehold is causing food insecurity, land grabbing and environmental degradation
He said in a research he conducted on food security and environmental degradation in northern he found out that landownership is causing insecurity in livelihood and food security
Openjuru said “under customary landownership, people cultivate collectively in big chunks of land and spare other land for animal grazing land, hunting and forest for fruit gathering, but with individual ownership of land, one person owning a chuck of land for sale and chasing away the rest”.
He said majority of youths who are living in town some have killed their parents to grab land or have sold land and bought motorcycle for boda-boda.
Jackson Omona, Kitgum district chairman who doubles as the chairperson for Acholi region leaders said the draft policy is the culmination of various engagements as districts chairpersons of Acholi sub region which led to identification of logging and commercial charcoal burning which has depleted the environment
He said they pledged commitment in ensuring that the policy is put in place as a solution to cutting trees for logs and commercial charcoal burning
“We want to regulate charcoal burning as a business which will act as source of income to local government and help to sustain the environment”, Omona said
Omona said although the sub region came out with draft policy, Kitgum have been using the resolution of the council since 2016 where there is no commercial burning of charcoal, because whenever they impounded any truck carrying bags of charcoal, they off load and auction to community
He said in the council resolution, the councilors agreed that no vehicle should carry bags of charcoal that exceeds one pick up vehicle
“When this bill is formulated into law, it will benefit community who are being cheated by people involved in the trade from other region and help to eradicate corruption from grassroots, check points to leaders who are concerned and forgery of receipts in regards to log and charcoal dealing”, Michael Lakony, LC5 Amuru district said.
Lakony said the law will also point out the responsibility local leaders, police; environmental officers and help in identify who should do what
Gulu Resident District Commissioner, Major Santo Okot Lapolo asked the local leaders to involve local community in implementation so that they own it and encourage tree planting to regenerate environment.
President Museveni of Uganda, who has fought African dictators for many years, has failed to recover from the visiting Zimbabwe army officers, the Ethiopian leader that is hiding in Zimbabwe for a very long time:
Mengistu Haile Mariam is an Ethiopian soldier and politician who caused Red Terror and genocide on the African continent as a dictator of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991:
By The New Vision paper, Uganda.
Added 4th July 2018
President Yoweri Museveni pictured with the Zimbabwe army officers who toppled President Mugabe recently.
The President lectured to these African military soldiers about the beauty of the African Unity.
He said the three crucial areas that encompass prosperity, strategic security as well as the heritage and identity of the region’s people are the major objectives of the regional bloc.
"We need to ensure our prosperity through production of goods and services. We talk of East African integration to guarantee the prosperity of our people. Economic integration is for prosperity, surviving and living a good life," he said.
The President was addressing a delegation of 28 Zimbabwe army officers, who called on him Tuesday at State House, Entebbe.
The officers are on a study tour of Uganda to learn more from President Museveni and to draw from the experience of Uganda with regard to how the country has been able to handle matters of national security.
Museveni told his guests that negotiation becomes easy because of integration.
"We need integration to create market, but also to negotiate better," he said, adding that the people of Africa are all similar or interlinked.
Museveni also said that Africa must integrate to defend against global threats and guarantee the black race from marginalisation. .
The Zimbabwean delegation saluted their host for his wise counsel, saying they will draw from what they have learnt while in Uganda in the execution of their future chores.
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The Ethiopian Dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam:
Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam headed the junta which in 1974 overthrew the government of Emperor Haile Selassie in a bloody coup. Known as the "Derg" or "Dergue," the "committee," the junta consisted of about a hundred junior officers drawn from all regions of Ethiopia. Proclaiming a revolutionary agenda for the country, the Dergue inaugurated its rule by sending some sixty senior officials of the emperor's government to the firing squad. The emperor and the Patriarch of the dominant Ethiopian Orthodox church were both secretly killed in the months that followed. The Dergue's early victims included members of the group itself. Col. Mengistu emerged as its undisputed leader after orchestrating the physical elimination of rivals from within.
In 1976 Col. Mengistu gave a dramatic send-off to a campaign of terror that he officially dubbed the "Red Terror." He threw to the ground before a huge crowd in the capital Addis Ababa bottles filled with a red substance representing the blood of enemies of the revolution: the "imperialists," and the "counter-revolutionaries," as members of rival leftist groups were labeled by the Dergue. In particular, the campaign targeted students and young people suspected of membership in the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP). Thousands of young men and women turned up dead in the streets of the capital and other cities in the following two years. They were systematically eliminated mainly by militia attached to the "Kebeles," the neighborhood watch committees which served during the Dergue period as the lowest level local government and security surveillance units. The Kebeles required families to reimburse the administration for the price of bullets used to kill victims when they reclaimed their bodies for burial. The process of eliminating the "counter-revolutionaries" was quite organized. Each neighborhood committee would meet to discuss how to eliminate individual suspects, and each member would sign on documents to confirm the decision reached at the meeting. Copies of the document would be sent to different levels of the administrations and the party apparatus. The centralized killing enterprise thus left mountains of documentary evidence of its crimes. Cold war rivalries helped the Dergue to flourish and tighten its hold on power. It became the main client of the Soviet block in Africa, and received massive shipments of arms to help it counter serious challenges from several armed insurgencies by ethnic and regional liberation movements seeking to break away from centuries of centralized hegemony by Ethiopia's ruling elite. The counter-insurgency campaigns unleashed by the Dergue were characterized by widespread violations of international humanitarian law. Civilians were deliberately targeted and fell victims by the hundreds of thousands as a result of the indiscriminate violence against them. When famine in 1984 hit areas in northern Ethiopia partially held by rebels of the Tigray and Eritrean People's Liberation Fronts (TPLF and EPLF respectively), Mengistu's government for a while blacked out information about the famine. It later used the disaster as a pretext to forcibly relocate hundreds of thousands of villagers from northern Ethiopia to areas in the south. The Dergue argued that its "villagization" campaign, as it came to be known, was meant to relocate people from food deficient areas to the fertile plains of the south. In reality, the move was meant to empty rebel-held areas form potential supporters. Again, victims of government action during the forced relocation were in the hundreds of thousands. A 1991 Human Rights Watch report, "Evil Days: 30 years of war and famine in Ethiopia," gives a detailed account of this dark period in Ethiopia's recent history during which it is estimated that at least half a million civilians were killed as a result of the Dergue actions. The Dergue was deposed in 1991 by the Ethiopian people's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of regional and ethnic rebel groups led by the TPLF. In the province of Eritrea the EPLF established a provisional government that steered the province to full independence by 1993, with the blessing and cooperation of its former ally the TPLF. In 1992 the new government established a Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) to investigate the widespread crimes committed during the Dergue period and prosecute those responsible for them. However, the trials on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity of the seventy-two top-ranking Dergue officials, including Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam, who had fled to Zimbabwe shortly before the fall of Addis Ababa to the EPRDF, are still pending. As for the majority of those detained in relation to their suspected role during the Dergue dictatorship, it was only in the first quarter of 1997 that the SPO announced their charging with criminal offences. In January 1997 the Office charged a total number of 5,198 people, of whom 2,246 were already in detention, while 2,952 were charged in absentia. The vast majority of the defendants were charged with genocide and war crimes, and faced alternative charges of having committed aggravated homicide and wilful injury. All charges were based on the Ethiopian penal code of 1957. New additional trials of Dergue era defendants opened before the Federal High Court in Addis Ababa during March 1997. However, a serious crisis in the Ethiopian judiciary has left federal courts with a backlog of thousands of "ordinary cases." These court proceedings are now running into constant delays. Many of the defendants were in pre-trial detention for almost six years before they were first brought to court. The SPO subdivided the defendants in three groups by degree of responsibility: policy and decision makers; intermediary level officials who relayed orders, but initiated some decisions on their own; and the hands directly involved in committing the crimes. Mirroring the Dergue's preferred mode of operation, the SPO had structured the prosecutions by committee, leading to 172 cases, each of multiple defendants. There is no special tribunal hearing the Dergue cases. They are heard in both the central and regional courts of Ethiopia's decentralized federal court system. The SPO opted to prosecute the central authorities, such as the central politburo of the Dergue, in the central court system, and prosecute cases of other suspects in regions where they operated. As the leader of the Dergue, Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam is already being tried in absentia, together with his closest collaborators. But the manner in which the trials are being conducted has caused serious concerns to Human Rights Watch. In particular, excessive delays in the investigative phase led to the pretrial detention of hundreds of suspects for years at length. Additionally, Ethiopian law provides for the death penalty. Two Dergue officials were sentenced to death in absentia this month in these trials. Trial lawyers repeatedly complained about due process flaws in that their access to their detained clients was rendered difficult because of restrictions imposed by the government. The government was also slow in providing legal representation to some of the defendants.
'I have hurried to call in priests as a catholic to give me prayers and to prepare my self because my situation is not good and it should not surprise anybody when God calls me now.'
25 June, 2018
The NBS Television, Uganda
M/s Betty Nambooze on the sick bed
Hon. Member of parliament, Betty Nambooze Bakireke has broken the silence about her current situation noting that it worsens everyday and nobody should be surprised at the news of her death. Speaking to NBS Television during the Morning Breeze earlier today, Nambooze, who is receiving treatment at a prison confinement civilian hospital is not feeling well.
There are several members of the public at the hospital demostrating against the unconditional detention of this Member of Parliament.
Mu Uganda, Kkooti eragidde Member wa Parliamenti akikirira Mukono, Buganda, Mukyala Betty Bakireke Nambooze, aweeyo Essimu ne Kompyuta ye ng'ali muddwaliro lyobusibe e Kiruddu:
By Musasi wa Bukedde
Added 23rd June 2018
Mukyala Betty Nambooze omukiise we Mukono, mu Parliamenti ya Uganda nga M7 amukute aganye okumuta.
Omubaka wa Mukono Munisipaali, Betty Nambooze kkooti emulagidde okuwaayo essimu ne kompyuta ye eri poliisi ebyeyambise mu kubuuliriza kwayo. Ekiragiro ekiriko omukono gw’Omulamuzi Jamson K Karemani, kiragira Nambooze okuwaayo kompyuta, essimu n’ebintu ebirala by’akozesa mu mpuliziganya.
Omulamuzi Karemani ekiragiro yakiyisizza nga June 20, 2018 nga kiggwaako mu nnaku 14 zokka. Erias Lukwago, akulira bannamateeka ba Nambooze yategeezezza nti, ekiragiro kino kyabasobedde kubanga omuntu gwe baakiwadde mulwadde ali ku kitanda ng’ate musibe.
Yagambye nti tayinza kukkiriza Nambooze kufuna kiragiro kino mu mbeera gy’alimu. Lukwago yanokoddeyo ennyingo 27 mu Konsitityusoni ewa omuntu eddembe ku bintu bye okubikuuma nga tewali akkirizibwa kubikeberako nga tamukkirizza.
Okumwaza mu ngeri emenya amateeka, okwaza amaka ge oba ebintu bye; oba abantu abalala okuyingira mu maka ge oba mu nnyumba ye.
Tewali muntu ajja kuyingirirwa mu ddembe lye ng’omuntu mu maka ge, ebintu bye, mu mpuliziganya oba ebintu bye ebirala.
Wabula omwogezi w’ekitongole ekibuuliriza ku misango mu poliisi, Vincent Ssekate yagambye nti ekiragiro kya kkooti baakiwadde Nambooze nga kiri eri ye okusalawo engeri gy’ayagala okuwaayo ebintu bye baamusabye.
Ayinza okubiwa munnamateeka we n’abibatuusaako. Mu kiseera kino Nambooze ali mu ddwaaliro e Kiruddu gy’ajjanjabirwa oluvannyuma lw’obulwadde okumutabukira ng’ali mu kaduukulu ka poliisi.
Wiiki ewedde poliisi yakutte Nambooze n’emuggalira mu kaduukulu e Naggalama ne bamuggulako omusango gw’okukozesa obubi kompyuta n’awandiika ku kufa kw’abadde omubaka wa Munisipaali ya Arua Ibrahim Abiriga eyakubwa amasasi nga June 8, 2018 okumpi n’amaka ge e Matugga nga mu mmotoka yalimu ne muganda we.
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Nyabo Mukyala Betty Namboze, kola Hunger Strike. Omuganda agamba atya? Amazzi ga Nalubaale gakumira nawe ogamira!
Africans in Uganda are throwing away democracy and want to turn at each other again with military guns at the ready:
The current situation of democracy in Uganda is very worrying:
The Rukungiri District by-election in Western Uganda:
Thu, 31 May 2018
Bobby Alcantara
Anthony Middlemass Owana,
The Uganda army is getting ready to guard the by-election in the country of Uganda
M7 is no longer the choice of his African people. He is using the guns he got out of fake deals from the foreigners to brutalise UGANDANS.
Dr Besigye is under arrest by police and some other security agents. Bobbi Wine and the Kampala Mayor Lord Lukwago are under arrest. The election agents of Betty Muzanira have failed to reach polling stations while others have been arrested. There are military tanks everywhere of course with hundreds of soldiers.
That is what is happening just now. And no TV at present is able to broadcast this event. But somehow we have managed to forward some details:
The dictator wants to prove to his white masters that he is still the power they need to use in UG and the Great Lakes.
At this rate he may run out of money, as he is now probably using personal funds he has stolen over the years.
40 African women from Uganda have been stopped from looking for work abroad in the Asiatic country of Thailand:
They have been refused working permits, arrested and deported:
17 May, 2018
Written by Observer, Uganda
Over 40 Ugandan women have been rescued from a human trafficking racket in a Wednesday sweep in Thailand by Thai authorities.
The girls were reportedly enroute to several Asian countries of Brunei, Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam where they are used as sex slaves.
'Saada' the said grandmother of human trafficking of Ugandan girls
The head of the Thailand Anti Trafficking in Persons Task Force (TATIP), Lt Gen Jaruvat Vaisaya said the rescue mission was one of the biggest in recent years and that Ugandans were the majority among those rescued.
Earlier this month, Thailand immigration authorities took into custody a Ugandan national said to be the ‘grandmother’ of human trafficking of Ugandan women into the Thailand sex industry, and a reported ‘under boss’ who was once a human trafficking victim herself.
According to aecnewstoday, a Thai news site, the 'grandmother' of human trafficking of Ugandan girls also known as ‘Sadaa’, a Ugandan was arrested from her Bangkok apartment after 23 Ugandan women were taken into custody during a sweep by police and immigration authorities along Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok on May 7, 2018.
“She’s [Sadaa] a serious operator. She was the pioneer. Everything to do with the trafficking of Ugandans (men and women) into Thailand for sexual exploitation stated with her”, a source told aecnewstoday.com.
Lt Gen Vaisaya is quoted as saying that from the Wednesday sweep, seven Ugandan human trafficking victims have returned home, while others are currently at the immigration department International Detention Centre in Bangkok to assist police in investigations.
“I’ve been ordered to shutdown human trafficking into and through Thailand. The prime minister has made this a national agenda item and we intend to make sure the goal is achieved. There will be no more using Thailand for the terrible crime of trafficking people”, he said.
Lt Gen Vaisaya said that the women are promised high paying jobs in Thailand and are even given money before they are convinced to leave Uganda.
“Once they get to Thailand they are told there is no job, the money they were given at home and any other money they have is taken away from them...They are also told they have a debt to pay; sometimes this is up to $40,000 (Shs 148m) even before they do any work. How can they ever pay that?" he said.
As we earlier reported this week, the United Arab Emirates summoned Uganda’s ambassador Nimisha Madhvani who is said to have been the source of the April 18 comments by MPs about the UAE government which they accused of overseeing slavery and trafficking of Ugandans.
Nimisha has since been recalled back to Kampala. About 16 girls reportedly committed suicide in a space of seven months after being subjected to torture in UAE last year.
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The governance of Africa is back to square one. Women and Children sitting on the streets of Kampala begging. Even during the so called liberation civil wars of Africa, the women and children as the most vulnerable members of society were the ones that were seen to suffer greatly. The lack of an African government welfare system is very much to blame. If it is 40 African women trying to find work, that means there are about 80 young dependant children. Female gender leadership is failing badly to lead their following. It is a very bad Omen on the continent of Africa.
Justine Bagyenda, a very rich Uganda Bank staff, faces 20 years in Jail over Money laundering:
A former staff of Bank of Uganda. An executive director for commercial banks supervision, M/s Justine Bagyenda.
20 March, 2018
Newz Post.com
Member of Parliament for Budadiri County West in Sironko District Hon. Nandala Mafabi has launched campaign that seeks to charge and prosecute former Executive Directive in charge of Supervision at Bank of Uganda, Justine Bagyenda over money laundering.
The MP wants Parliament to summon Bagyenda and the banks she was allegedly dealing with in money laundering. The calls follows recent revelations that Ugx. 20bn was transacted through Bagyenda’s personal bank accounts in some commercial banks in Uganda over the last couple of years. “Bagyenda has been the head of Anti-Money Laundering committee and the law we passed, stated that whoever participates in money laundering has to be imprisoned for 20 years. That is why Bagyenda should have been in Luzira by now, and the law stipulates that the money she stole should be returned.” Mafabi told journalists at parliament on Monday.
He added: We are going to carryout investigations and we are going to deal with those banks because they have been doing illegal things with Bagyenda. “They have been doing illegal things with Bagyenda. Actually those banks should be closed because they have been involved in money laundering,” he said. DTB and Barclays have since issued apologies to Bagyenda over her account details leaking and they say the employees who leaked the accounts are going to face punitive actions.
Mafabi observed that the said banks should be closed because they have been involved in money laundering. Bagyenda, who earns about Ugx.35m per month, also ran a bank account in Global Trust Bank where she had made corporate deposits of Ugx. 2.4bn and $658,288 on the dollar account in the same financial institution. Bagyenda last flew to South Africa reportedly to handover as chairperson of Africa Banking Supervision Committee. She is expected to return early this week. Meanwhile, sources at BoU told Newz Post that she is expected to find a hostile environment at her former place of work where she is no longer wanted.
Meanwhile unconfirmed sources say Bagyenda has called all managing directors of commercial banks in Uganda ‘ ‘ are you among those dancing on my Grave?’’ adding that some people don’t appreciate after ‘doing several good things for them’
Reports also indicate, while she has no work to do at BoU following her termination, she reports for ‘work’ at 7:00 and leaves late in the evening.
Katikkiro w'ensi Buganda, Mr Charles Mayiga alabudde abayizi ba Muteesa 1 University ku kwekalakaasa nga bwekuli okwobulabe:
By Dickson Kulumba
Added 19th March 2018
KATIKKIRO Charles Peter Mayiga alabudde abayizi ba Muteesa I Royal University ku kwekalakasa nti guno muzze gutatanira ddala ekifaananyi ky’ettendekero bw'atyo n'abasaba okuwagira abagikulira mu kiseera kino nga balafubana okulaba nga batereeza okusoomoozebwa okubanyiga.
The academic staff members of the University sharing a photo with the Katikkiro of the ancient country of Buganda.
Bino yabyogeredde ku mukolo kweyakwasiriddwa emmotoka Nissan UBB 123N ng’ebalirirwamu obukadde obusukka 150 okuva mu Kkampuni y’emmotoka eya Motorcare ng’eno bagiwaddeyo yeyambisibwe abayizi ba Yunivasite eno abakola essomo ly’Obwayinginiya nga gwabadde Bulange- Mmengo ku Lwokutaano March 16, 2018.
“Temwenyigira mu kwekalakasa, ebyo bibi ddala tebirina gyebitwala Yunivasite. Emmotoka eno ebawereddwa yakubayamba kwongera kuyiga, mugyemu yingini n’ebirala mugiyiwe ate mujje nange munvugemu nga mukozesa omukisa gwemulina nti Yunivasite eno yabulwamu Ssekabaka Muteesa I eyali omwagazi w’obumanyi,” Mayiga bweyategezezza neyebaza aba Motorcare olw’okuvaayo okutumbula eby’enjigiriza mu Bwakabaka.
Emyaka ebbiri egiyise emabega abayizi ba Yunivasite eno bazze bekalakasa nga yagalwako mu October 2017 kyokka negulwawo nga December 2017 ng’abayizi naddala abasoma amasomo ga Sayansi naago agetaaga ebikozesebwa bagamba tebabirina. Okuva abakulira ettendekero lino bazze bafuna ebyuma ebikozesebwa naddala mu kitongole kya Yinginiya ekyaali obubi ennyo.
Katikkiro Mayiga yayongedde nategeza obumanyi bufunibwa mu kutta mikago bwatyo naakubiriza abantu okukolanga emikago n'emikwano egibagasa nga Ssekabaka Muteesa I bweyakola omukago n'abazungu ogwavaamu byonna ebiri Ku mulembe ebirabibwa mu Uganda eyawamu.
Ye akulira Motorcare Uganda, Florence Sempebwa Makada ategezezza nga bwebasazeewo okutta omukago ne Yunivasite eno okuyamba abayizi okufuluma nga bakuba buddinda sayansi akwata Ku mmotoka kuba bafuna abayizi bangi abajja okutendekebwa nabo okuva mu matendekero agatali gamu nga batendekeddwa Tekinologiya w’emmotoka mukadde okusinga kwono aliko.
Omumyuka Ow'okubiri Owa Katikkiro wa Buganda era nga ye Minisita w'ebyenjigiriza e Mmengo, Dr. Twaha Kaawaase agambye nti batandise Ku lugendo lw'okunogera ebizibu bya yunivasite eno eddaggala naddala nga bateeka ebikozesebwa mu masomo ga Sayansi ne Tekinologiya.
Omukolo gwetabiddwako, Minisata Omubeezi ow'ebyenjigiriza Dr. Prosperous Nankindu Kavuma, Omumyuka wa Cansala wa Yunivasite eno n'abasomesa be n'abakungu okuva mu Motorcare Uganda era oluvanyuma wabaddewo okussa omukono Ku ndagaano z'omukago ne Katikkiro okukwasibwa emmotoka aba Motorcare gyebatonedde Yunivasite.
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Kunsi ya Tonda eno teriko mwaana atayagala kwenyigira mukuyiga amagezi nga ogamutekedewo nebwaba omujeemu, omwavu, omugagga, omulema nowemputu.
Syllubus abaana bangi gyebasomesebwa nfu. Garage ze motor-car wano mu Kampala zamala dda okusomesa abaana bangi nyo okusumulula nokuzayo engine mu motor-car. Ate no nga wano mu Europe emmotoka ezirina engine ezikozesa diesel oba petrol mu mwaka 2030 tezigya kukirizibwa kukolebwayo no kuvugibwayo. Kyebuzibwa obanga wano mu Muteesa I Royal University ensonga nga eno esomesebwayo olwembeera zo budde ku planet earth?
Okulwana enkwangu wano muluganda lwa Dictionary yo luganda kubanga kwekalakaasa. Abaana bamasomero okutuuka okulwana enkwangu baba balina ebizibu byebalaba nga ababasomesa ne governmenti ya baddugavu balemeddwa okubisalira amagezi. Ffe abamu twasomerako mumasomero nga tumaala obusa ebibiina okubisomeramu okuwona envunza. Kibi nti kakati newankubadde sente ezidukanya essommero ziri mu million naye esommero liggalwawo governmenti kubanga terisobola kuzimba latrine. Lwaki abaana tebediime kutandika ntalo za nkwangu.
Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga of the African country of Kenya have decided to make a U-turn and accept Gerrymandering to continue unabated in African Democratic Electioneering:
10 March, 2018
Written by VOA
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga met Friday in an apparent effort to settle months of violent post-election tensions. The meeting came just hours before a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
In the surprise meeting, Kenyatta and Odinga agreed to work toward unifying the country after last year’s divisive presidential election. The two – who, after their meeting, appeared together to give separate statements to the press – acknowledged the country was heading in the wrong direction.
Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta at Harambe House in Nairobi
Healing divisions
Odinga, who has refused to recognize Kenyatta as president, paraphrased U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. He said Kenyans needed to know where they are and where they want to go before they can better judge what to do and how to do it.
"Fifty-four years since independence, we are challenged to audit our progress toward the ideals for which our fathers fought to establish a free and independent country and for which many of our compatriots died."
As leaders, said Odinga, they had a duty to reflect on their performance in reaching Kenya’s goals since independence: justice, unity, peace, liberty and prosperity for all.
Kenyatta said the two men came to a common understanding that for Kenya to come together, its leaders must come together.
"And this is what me and my brother have agreed," Kenyatta said, referring to Odinga. "That starting today, we will begin a process of bringing our people together. That we will begin a process discussing what ails us and what creates division amongst us."
Reconciliation panned
Miguna Miguna, a prominent Kenyan opposition lawyer and politician who was deported to Canada in February, denounced the Kenyatta-Odinga reconciliation.
In a statement posted to Facebook on Friday, he called the rapprochement "a fundamental betrayal of the innocent Kenyans who have lost their lives" supporting Odinga in several elections over the last decade.
Last fall alone, Kenyan security forces killed at least 55 people in election-related violence, according to Human Rights Watch. Miguna, whose deportation was ruled illegal by Kenya's High court, said in his statement that he would return to Kenya on March 26 "to continue the struggle for electoral justice…."
Support for collaboration
On the streets of Nairobi, Kenyans also welcomed the leaders’ agreeing to work together.
“It’s a really good step towards harmonizing the country," said Brian Wanjoki, a pedestrian. "Because the electioneering period has left us divided ... supporters of both sides. So, I think it’s a really good idea that they’ve met. And, hopefully we can progress from this.”
Another man, Philip Ndung’u, also seemed encouraged by the leaders' meeting.
Noting "the economy has been down," Ndung'u said if the two "resolve their issues, well, at least it will show that we are moving forward and the issue to do with the election is it behind us.”
Devil in the details
Kenya was plunged into political crisis after the Supreme court annulled the August presidential election, due to irregularities, and Odinga and his supporters boycotted a second round in October.
Odinga refused to recognize Kenyatta’s win; in January, he held a rally where his supporters symbolically inaugurated the opposition leader as president. Observers feared further division would follow the provocative action and the government’s crackdown on independent television and the opposition.
Friday’s breakthrough came just hours before U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's first official visit Kenya. That's not a coincidence, said independent political analyst Martin Andati.
"The meeting must have been come out of pressure from the U.S. secretary of state," Andati said. "... You know the West has been very keen on trying to get Uhuru and Raila to meet. So, it helps ease the political tensions....”
While Andati called the agreement on unification significant for healing Kenyan politics, the devil will be in the details. We need to understand what exactly has been agreed upon, he said, noting the Kenyan leaders’ statements contained only generalities.
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In a modern democracy these days, a candidate that is found out to rig or to steal a democratic election is disqualified from participating in another election. What is wrong with African politics that does not see such a viable command and accepts GERRYMANDERING to continue unabated in the electoral system on the African continent?
It is unfortunate that North America and the European Community accepts Gerrymandering to continue on the African Continent even if it is a criminal offence in their own countries. These are countries that should be setting up an example to the rest of the countries that aspire to democratic systems of civilization.
GERRYMANDERING IN THE AFRICAN ELECTION PROCESS:
For Uganda, Gerrymandering is the order of the day in every election now 2018 and yet when Dr Obote came back to rule Uganda 1980, many Uganda citizens caused a civil war to oppose GERRYMANDERING OF AN AFRICAN ELECTION PROCESS. The bloody problem does not seem to go away all over the continent of Africa!
Exactly Mr Raila Odinga why are you now turning around and accepting the leadership from an election you boycotted as fake and full of Gerrymandering? Why don't you stick to your political point of trying to improve the process of election in your country? Are you saying that there will not be another election in Kenya where Gerrymandering will not be repeated 100 percent?
Is this unity pact accepting the electoral crime Uhuru Kenyatta committed as forgiven and written off. Because the Constitutional court of Kenya found out that in the recent election there was GERRYMANDERING by UHURU and these elections were cancelled. And because no one was blamed new elections were done without Raila's involvement because indeed as in a football game, bad players are punished or refused to participate in the next games. Mr Uhuru Kenyatta should have been disqualified from attending the new elections.
The meaning of Gerrymandering:
Gerrymandering is a practice intended to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries. And the exchange of lots of money during the election process.
Vodafone in Uganda files for bankruptcy because there is not enough modern Information Technology coming out from this African country:
Actually Uganda in East Africa was the leading country in IT during the 1960s:
February 22, 2018
Written by URN
Telecom operator Vodafone has collapsed and consequently applied for bankruptcy protection.
In a notice of issue of an interim protection order, the Civil Division of the High court has appointed Donald Nyakairu as Vodafone's provisional administrator.
The African Vodafone IT staff that are likely to loose their jobs that are very crucial to the country's modern development.
The notice reads thus: "Take notice that on the 15th of February 2018, the High court of Uganda (Civil Division) issued an order confirming the application of Mr. Donald Nyakairu as the provisional administrator of Afrimax Uganda Limited, and an interim protective order was granted to the company for a period of three (3) months pursuant to Section 139 of the Insolvency Act, 2011".
Afrimax is the holding company of the Vodafone brand in Uganda. A protective order is a request to a court to issue a legally enforceable document preventing a person or entity from taking a specified action.
Protective orders are often used in bankruptcy to bar unsecured claims by creditors or the release of confidential or potentially harmful information. In the Vodafone case, for instance, a protective order may bar any collection activities by creditors against the debtor.
Vodafone posted a statement on their website today saying the provisional administrator manager is to help the company improve commercial and operational efficiency.
"Dear customers, this is to inform you that the directors of Afrimax Uganda Limited T/A Vodafone Uganda recently appointed a provisional administrator manager, Mr. Donald Nyakairu, who has been charged with restructuring and reorganizing the company in a bid to improve commercial and operational efficiencies."
In the interim transition period, the statement says, customers will experience a temporary deterioration in the quality of network services as the administrator implements the required changes and negotiates with suppliers.
"We apologise in advance for any disturbances and inconveniences caused and reassure all customers that any unused data will be reimbursed once our network is fully restored," the statement reads further.
In another statement, also posted on the website today, February 22, the telecom company describes Donald Nyakairu, the newly appointed provisional administrator, as "a highly experienced corporate commercial lawyer with particular expertise in the information technology and telecommunications sector, with over 29 years' experience, has been appointed provisional administrator of Vodafone Uganda."
For a while now it had been known that Vodafone was in turbulent water, owing to a small subscription base and high cost of doing business.
Vodafone customers have been experiencing regular service downtimes since last year after the company was reportedly taken off masts after failing to pay rent fees.
The company that had positioned itself as the leader in internet and data services found stiff competition from established players like Africell, Airtel and market leader MTN.
In addition to having a nationwide coverage unlike Vodafone which operated in Greater Kampala, the three competitors have embarked on a cut-throat competition leading to lowering of prices, especially for data.
Recently, government came to the rescue of Uganda Telecom, cutting its massive debt and ordering government ministries, departments and agencies to subscribe to its services, further narrowing the market for Vodafone.
The collapse of Vodafone points to the ruggedness of the Ugandan market which is increasingly becoming a graveyard for many a telecom operator. The company also recently reportedly suffered from internal fraud when its system was hacked into and over Shs 700m worth of airtime serial codes stolen.
Vodafone's crash comes hard on the quiet bow-out of Smart, a telcom owned by the powerful and wealthy Aga Khan Foundation.
Another telcom, K2 Telecom, linked to Buganda Kingdom is also struggling to penetrate the market dominated by MTN, Airtel and Africell.
Telcoms that have either collapsed or sold out include Celtel, Zain and Warid.
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This is an international company that can do better if it can amalgamate with Uganda Telecommunication Ltd to try and up grade Information Technology on the African Continent in a big way. The poor people of Africa badly need the IT services as well as the so called government made bourgeoisie in these difficult economic times. China now has its own lookalike Google(Alibaba) with a very big market on the Asian continent. This technlogical insight was the future for Uganda Telecommunication Ltd in real IT software systems when the EA community was first established during the 1960s. When the British colonialists established these institutions, they had no idea what they were putting up. The African counterparts are indeed now struggling while most modern countries are determined to stay put in IT systems whatever the cost.
One NRM diehard reckons M7 is the one who created and brought IT to the country of Uganda.
Why is a poor African Country like Uganda spending billions of its currency every year, to mark NRM's political history of 38 years of state power?
A pregnant woman shot by the Military Police of Uganda.
The military in Uganda is having a field day at the tax payers' expense
7 February, 2018
Written by Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda
On January 25, our revolutionary leader, Gen Yoweri Museveni, and his entire government drove to Arua to remember and celebrate the day (January 26, 1986) National Resistance Army/Movement (NRA/M) seized state power.
The distance from Kampala to Arua is approximately 497 kilometers, requiring at least seven hours on the road. This means that except for the revolutionary who has jets and choppers at his disposal, the rest of government officials travelled a day earlier and returned a day after.
January 26 fell on Friday, a working day in Uganda. It automatically became a holiday, requiring the shutting down of all public offices in order to facilitate their occupants to go to Arua.
Merits and demerits of remembering the day Museveni and group captured power is not what I want to discuss in this column. Rather, the amount of money involved in organizing this and other avoidable national events.
For example, think of the amount of money required to host such an event in Arua or any other district in terms of fuel, accommodation and allowances.
The state-of-the-art Land Cruisers that carry our beloved leaders, nicknamed Mpenkoni, can each consume two full tanks of fuel for this journey, which comes to about Shs 700,000.
Each of these leaders spends at least Shs 400,000 for accommodation and Shs 800,000 in out-of-station allowance. As a public official, that is what I am entitled to if I were to travel to Arua.
Therefore, a taxpayer spent approximately Shs 2 million on each minister and senior public servant attending celebrations to mark 32 years of NRM in power in Arua.
Mind you, these days nearly all ministers have escort vehicles full of armed personnel. To establish the total cost, just count the number of dignitaries that graced this occasion.
If that doesn’t give you the correct picture, let us use figures supplied to parliament every year by the ministry of Finance. This financial year (2017/18) which we are about to conclude (June), we are going to spend Shs 283 billion on travel inland. This means we are spending Shs 776 million per day and Shs 20 billion per month on travel within the country.
Mind you, there is a separate budget for fuel and vehicle maintenance. This year, we are spending Shs 131 billion on fueling vehicles for the entitled officers and Shs 75 billion on maintaining them.
The trouble with long journeys like going to Arua is that not only do they break a vehicle, but they increase its mileage. You know public vehicles are supposed to be sold when they clock five years of age or attain mileage of 100,000km.
A return journey to Arua is roughly 1,000 kilometres which means if such celebrations are to always be held outside Kampala, after 100 times to such destinations, you will need a new car. That is why this year we will spend Shs 114 billion on buying new vehicles.
Tarehe Sita, the day Museveni and other rebels raided Kabamba barracks, will be celebrated in Butalejja and, I hear, Independence cerebrations will be in Tororo.
And transporting the man himself is extremely expensive. In the 9th parliament, Dr Lulume Bayiga, using figures presented by State House to parliament, simplified the work for us.
Mr Museveni requires Shs 2.4 billion for what State House called public outreach. In other words, he requires Shs 2.4 billion to travel to Arua or Busia to preside over NRM/NRA victory parties.
Yet there is no money to repair the CT scanner at the country’s national referral hospital. And it is not only transport, allowances and hotel fees that we are paying through the nose.
We are also buying space in the media to congratulate the revolutionary leader. New Vision published 88 pages on NRM’s 32nd anniversary full of congratulatory messages from ministries, government agencies and ‘well-wishers’.
Daily Monitor published 44 pages on the same and The Observer had more than 20 pages. A full-page advert in a newspaper costs about Shs 8m. The revolutionary leader must be congratulated for being in power for 32 years!
And I hope you read the messages. The one from Agoa Country Response Office signed by senior presidential advisor Suzan Muhwezi was most interesting.
It partly read: “ …wish to congratulate His Excellency Yoweri Museveni, the First Lady Hon Janet Kataaha Museveni and the NRM government …” At first, I thought it was a marriage anniversary until I saw the word government.
This is what we pay for. Every year, we spend Shs 45 billion on advertising. I have framed copies of these newspapers for future reference. The next generation will need to know how much a poor country like Uganda used to borrow to congratulate its leader.
We (parliament) have just finished processing the preliminary budget figures for next year’s national budget and government has borrowed from commercial banks through treasury bills and bonds to the tune of Shs 12 trillion. Nearly more than half of the projected Shs 29.1 trillion budget will be spent on paying debts.
Local suppliers are crying, supermarkets are closing because of government failure to pay but money to drive to Arua is still available. Hospital equipment is not repaired but money to fund celebrations in memory of an attack on a barracks 32 years ago is available. Incredible!
semugs@yahoo.com
The author is Kira Municipality MP and opposition chief whip in parliament.
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This article explains well the African point about the Opposition of NRM. You have proved that NRM power for the country of Uganda lays with the Uganda Army as it was with the Great Military regime of Idi Amin. That is why the Opposition should address such common sense poor expenditures to the current Military of Uganda. A civilian government would easily loose power if it kept spending the tax-payer's money any how.
The ‘coup’ in Zimbabwe wasn’t about the African people of this country, but about another Life Presidency, not again!
January 8, 2018
Written by AGGREY NYONDWA KIKOBERA
Mr Aggrey Nyondwa Kikobera
When Robert Mugabe was forced to take a bow from the Zimbabwe’s top job, liberals and democrats all over the world were exploding with joy.
Zimbabweans ecstatically took to streets to show the whole world what a great accomplishment and relief it was to have Mugabe kicked out of office.
The army had delivered the people’s will (everyone thought). A new era was to be born; a new leadership had to be ushered in, in the name of Emmerson Mnangagwa, the long-feared crocodile.
A few pessimists like myself warned, amidst all these jubilations, that Zimbabwe was Jumping from a frying pan to flames for reasons that I tried to explain and won’t fully repeat here. It is now been almost two months since the stubborn nonagenarian faced his exit.
Emmerson Mnangagwa then took the oar, thereby sending the world into loud whispers. Were we to expect anything better? Wasn’t this the same hand that Mugabe had used to terrorise Zimbabwe? Wasn’t this the force that brought people on their knees with unspeakable poverty and inflation?
Was the country in a leadership crisis that there were no other options to take over for the remaining months before elections?
All these pondered in people’s minds. But with the hope and belief in reform, we decided to wait and see how the crocodile would later turn into a dolphin.
Mnangawa’s first task was to appoint a cabinet. This was his time to shine, to prove to the world that it was not business as usual. It was his chance to bring in new players, on merit. This was his golden opportunity to get rid of the rot by the looting fellas that had surrounded Mugabe.
This wasn’t the case. What the new big boss did was to look back to all his (and Mugabe’s) old colleagues, most of them still in government and rewarded them more with all the fat jobs in cabinet.
These were majorly his fellow coup plotters and sympathisers who ensured that Grace Mugabe doesn’t slide into the comfortable sit or else, they would all, including Mnangagwa, would be buried.
A big percentage of the undoubtedly corrupt cabinet was retained. Major general Sibusisiwe Moyo is now the Foreign Affairs minister, Obert Mpofu was retained as Home Affairs Minister and then the last nail in the coffin came with the recent swearing in of General Dominic Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi as the new vice presidents.
General Chiwenga led the so-called military takeover that ousted Mugabe and demanded the return of Mnangagwa. At that time, his new co-vice president Mohadi was the security minister, a post he had held for a very long time.
This clearly means all they were doing was fighting for themselves. If Chiwenga had been so patriotic and democratic, he would not have taken the VP job or rush to retire from the army so as to pose as a valid candidate for the vice presidency.
This then confirms everyone’s fear that the overnight capture of state broadcaster and forcing Mugabe to step down wasn’t for or even about Zimbabweans, but for a group of hungry and angry ZANU-PF individuals who only wanted to protect their positions and the unimaginable amount of wealth they have amassed over the years. Grace Mugabe was a threat to this arrangement and this is why she had to be dealt with.
There are numerous alternative leaders at Mnangagwa’s disposal if he is to show the world how transformed he and Zimbabwe are. Morgan Tsvangirai is tried and tested. His leadership brought about massive economic turnaround between 2009 and 2013.
He has, with no doubt, won people’s hearts given that it is believed he won the 2008 presidential elections. What more can, therefore, add to Zimbabwe’s transition than his ardent leadership? He doesn’t have to be president, as that perhaps is still a ZANU-PF affair, but he at least deserved to be in cabinet.
If Mugabe himself managed to bring him in once, why not Mnangagwa, who has a point to prove? Keeping out the opposition at this stage still shows the intolerant and despotic leadership of Mnangagwa and his colleagues.
If the coup was, indeed, for the people, let’s see some inclusion in the politics of Zimbabwe.
It doesn’t have to wait until the July 2018 elections because we can almost be sure that someone somewhere might say: “We have not had enough time for the transition, we just got here, give us some more time to set everything back in order, then we will have the elections anytime soon.”
The author is a social and political critic
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Indeed it seems all the modern coup and rule on the African continent is all about Life Presidency. At 90 years of age or more, Mugabe has made it and his comrades in arms hope to make it as well!
In Uganda, the unplanned and corrupt construction of Rural electrification infra-structure, has destroyed property for the residents in the countryside:
PIC: Emmanuel Ssenkubuge, the Kirembwe Local Council (LC1) Chairperson show off how his plantation has been affected by the electrification project. (Davis Buyondo)
By Davis Buyondo
Added 6th January 2018
Margret Namulema, one of the residents, says her mahogany trees, worth over sh2m, were cut from her plantation and her pit-latrine worth over sh500,000 was demolished.
Over 200 households in villages of Nabigasa sub-county have protested the destruction of their plantations and property, including houses, pit-latrines and graveyards to pave way for installation of electricity.
This began in December last year during the installing electricity poles to join the three-phase power lines in the ongoing rural electrification project.
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) contracted UMEME to carry out the project and UMEME sub-contracted City Harvest (U) Limited to do the job in Nabigasa.
Agitated residents told New Vision that surveying of their land and destruction of properties took them by surprise. In the project of this nature, residents are not supposed to use the land or property near the lines. It is recommended to leave a distance of at least 10ft to 15 ft from the lines.
Kirembwe local council (LC1) chairperson Emmanuel Ssenkubuge, one of those affected residents, says they were neither contacted for permission nor compensated before embarking on the project.
In this village alone, about five homesteads have had their pit-latrines demolished. Most of the electricity poles were placed just a few centimeters from verandas, in graveyards and the lines will be passing above plantations and houses.
Margret Namulema, one of the residents, says her mahogany trees, worth over sh2m, were cut from her plantation and her pit-latrine worth over sh500,000 was demolished.
“The power lines are bound to pass above my plot and house under construction. When I contacted the company supervisor, he promised to compensate me sh70, 000 for my pit-latrine, which is unrealistic,” Namulema says.
Nowelina Namagembe, 80, says electricity poles were placed in the family graveyard while others stretch through her coffee plantation, which is her source of livelihood. Namagembe appealed to the Government to intervene in the matter and compensate them.
The dilemma has since sparked off a spiral of protests, with more than 100 residents threatening to block the project until the company compensates them.
Vincent Kibandi, the sub-county chairperson, says they are in touch with the concerned authorities and are trying to arbitrate the matter before power connection.
Patrick Kintu Kisekulo, the Kyotera LC5 chairperson, said his office has not received any complaints concerning destruction of property.
Some of the affected residents in a village meeting over the matter
Electricity Disputes Tribunal Different leaders in greater Masaka region argued that dozens of residents have not been compensated for their property, which was destroyed during UMEME and REA projects.
Gomba resident district commissioner (RDC) Fred Nayebale Kyamuzigita, said some residents have kept on running to ordinary courts of law for redress instead of going to the tribunal with flexible services.
Fred Bamwine, the Butambala RDC, said the tribunal lacks regional committees that can receive complaints on its behalf. He explained that the concerned companies are always not forthcoming.
Robert Benon Mugabi, the Rakai district chairperson, said the tribunal has not arbitrated any cases in Rakai, which has left a lot of discontentment among the affected residents.
However, Charles Owor, the tribunal’s chairperson, noted that they have resolved over 100 cases in recent years although not many of them are in the central region.
He added that the tribunal is facing various challenges from limited personnel, lack of independence and enough funds to enable them conduct countrywide sensitisation campaigns.
Vincent-Kibandi, the Nabigasa sub-county chairperson
The Rural Electricity Agency responds:
Dorothy Orishoba, the REA manager, said they have received several complaints from individuals in different districts, but addressed minor ones as they come.
“Depending on the circumstances, the claim is investigated by our wayleaves unit in consultation with the project engineer, contractor, consultant and the chief government valuer’s office,” Orishaba says. The tribunal was established by the Electricity Act that was enacted in 1999. It was mandated to receive, hear and determine all matters relating to the electricity sector.
Key entities namely UMEME, REA and Electricity Regulatory Authority were previously accused of perpetrating such crimes as trespass on people’s land, over billing, delayed and denied compensation. Others are injurious affection, extra damage on land, delayed and assessment of damage.
The Age limit constitutional law is all set for a Court Showdown with the political militants of Uganda:
January 5, 2018
Written by Sadab Kitatta Kaaya
Behind the joyous and bullish celebrations within NRM for the passage of Igara West MP Raphael Magyezi’s private member’s bill lies anxious anticipation of an opposition-led court challenge to the law which scrapped the 75-year age cap for presidential hopefuls.
The controversial bill, passed on December 20, and assented to by President Museveni on December 27, also proposed a term extension for elected leaders from five to seven years – a similarly polarising provision which has attracted widespread denunciation as an illegality.
“Our lawyers are ready to battle in court, but since it was passed by parliament, the attorney general will have to take the lead,” Usuk MP Peter Ogwang said over the weekend.
Well-placed sources have told The Observer that shortly after the bill sailed through on December 20, President Museveni called a strategy meeting at State House Entebbe.
In the legislative House of Uganda above, the age limit law is set to be challenged in court.
At this meeting, Attorney General William Byaruhanga and his deputy Mwesigwa Rukutana were appointed to lead lawyers within the NRM in laying down a plan of action.
MPs Guster Kyawa Mugoya (Bukooli North), Aston Kajara (Mwenge South), Veronica Bichetero (Kaberamaido), Sam Bitangaro (Bufumbira South) and Robinah Rwakoojo (Gomba West) were drafted onto this team.
The Entebbe meeting was attended by a coordination committee constituted in early October with Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda as chairman. Before leaving for State House, the team met in Rugunda’s office to review what had happened.
The executive Director of Uganda Media Centre, Ofwono Opondo, described the meeting as a follow-up get-together.
“Once cabinet was brought on board, the committee has been meeting daily until the passing of the bill,” Opondo said on December 28.
Opondo added that Museveni wanted to be briefed on certain issues in the bill. Other sources said Museveni “wanted to be sure that there wasn’t any breach of procedures because the opposition would use such a breach to discredit the bill.”
On December 28, the attorney general was seen frantically looking for copies of the Hansard, parliament’s official recording of the controversial age limit debate, largely to prepare himself and his team for the legal showdown.
In the State House meeting, Defence minister Adolf Mwesige is reported to have told Museveni that the opposition cannot disown the bill.
“They sat in the Legal [and Parliamentary Affairs] committee that scrutinised the bill, wrote a minority report that was tabled and debated on the floor of parliament, and even took part in the voting when the bill was read for the second and third time,” Mwesige is quoted as having said.
Mwesige also reportedly said that in consulting their constituents, the opposition endorsed the process, which deleted Article 102(b).
TERM EXTENSION
The president reportedly also raised questions about the implications of Mbarara Municipality MP Michael Tusiime’s introduction of the clause, which stretched the tenure of MPs and local government leaders to seven years.
Tusiime’s clause changed Article 77(3) of the Constitution. For now, Museveni’s term remains fixed at five years since Article 105(1), which prescribes the five-year presidential period, is entrenched under Article 260. It can only be amended through a referendum.
“We are all going to campaign for the referendum so that we align the presidential term with those of other elected leaders,” Ogwang said on December 29.
Museveni’s concerns probably stemmed from Article 61(3) of the Constitution, which provides that the Electoral Commission (EC) holds elections for parliament, the president and certain local government leaders on the same day.
“The justices of the Constitutional court can either quash the entire bill or give a ruling approving it but can’t give a ruling that allows sections of the bill and cancels the others,” Museveni was told, sources said.
Only last week, shadow minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Medard Lubega Sseggona said the opposition will go to court. Sseggona said the term extension can neither apply to the current MPs nor to local governments because parliament has never amended Chapter 11 of the Constitution.
Chapter 11, Article 181(4) fixes terms of local governments at five years. Museveni is said to have also decided to host NRM’s 317 MPs who voted in favour, and to reach out to the 28 who voted against.
But the suggestion of reaching out to the ‘rebels’ reportedly did not please government chief whip Ruth Nankabirwa. Sources say Nankabirwa told Museveni that his private meetings with ‘rebel’ MPs encourage ‘rebellion’.
Opondo said Museveni suggested that the ‘rebels’ be profiled in different categories of indiscipline.
“It is not a disciplinary action per se that is going to be taken, [we also] want them to explain why they maligned their friends that they had received bribes to vote for the bill,” Opondo said.
In 2013, the NRM tried and failed to eject rebels; Ssekikubo, Barnabas Tinkasiimire (Buyaga West), Muhammad Nsereko (Kampala Central) and Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East) out of parliament for defying party lines.
The matter ended in a Supreme court judgement in favour of the MPs. Commenting, Ssekikubo said: “Whatever questions they may have, we have the answers but there is nothing new they are going to raise because everything is out there,” he said.
“They should not tempt us by bringing up the bribery issues because we shall reveal everything. For now, propaganda is the least matter we want to engage in, we are focussed on serious national issues.”
LEGAL CHALLENGE
Several sources have suggested that the president was against the seven-year term extension for MPs. He argued that such a proposal lacked legitimacy and would draw a strong backlash from a public already angered by the Magyezi bill.
But several MPs led by Deputy Prime Minister Gen Moses Ali warned that if the president refused to support the term extension, they would also ditch the Magyezi age limit proposal. Cornered, the president reportedly bowed.
A petition has already been lodged in the Constitutional court not only to challenge the entire process that led to the bill’s passage but also the constitutionality of parliament extending its own term.
Male Mabirizi Kiwanuka, a lawyer who filed the petition, argues that, “The decision of the current parliament to extend its own term by two more years, under the Constitution was inconsistent with and in contravention of articles 1, 2, 77(3) and 77(4) of the constitution, which are clear that the current parliament was elected for five years and its term can only be extended by only six months at a time and only when there is a state of war.”
Medard Lubega Sseggona, a lawyer and Busiro East MP, said, “It’s absolutely illegal and it shouldn’t stand. I think those who brought that proposal were self-seekers. We have a fixed contract under article 77 for five years and it can only be extended by the person who gave you that mandate.”
The Observer understands that as NRM MPs muscled through the bill, the Uganda Law Society assigned a few of its elite lawyers to find loopholes in its passage with the sole intention of challenging its constitutionality.
The team of ULS lawyers working on the petition are led by Peter Walubiri, Kampala lord mayor Erias Lukwago, Caleb Alaka and his partner Samuel Muyizzi Mulindwa, who doubles as DP’s chief legal adviser.
Worth noting is that between 2013 and 2015, all the above lawyers were key members of the legal team that represented the so-called NRM rebel MPs. Interviewed last Friday, Walubiri said, “We have been looking at the entire process of the amendment of the constitution. How legal is it?”
He said their primary review found that the amendments “tear the rock of the constitution” and that “the results of amendments are clearly unconstitutional.
“We are closely monitoring each and everything; and once Museveni assents to the bill you will hear from us,” he said.
Alaka added: “We are questioning the constitutionally of the constitution being amended through a private member’s bill.”
About the MPs’ term extension, Alaka said under the constitution, parliament was elected for five years and its term can only be extended by only six months and only when there is a state of war.
“We are going to pose several questions,” Alaka offered. “Does the law work prospectively or retrospectively; it’s our view that the law works prospectively, not retrospectively and that means the current MPs cannot benefit from these amendments.”
Interviewed, retired Supreme court justice George Wilson Kanyeihamba said in order to amend article 102(b), NRM needed to get two thirds of “all members of parliament.”
“Were all members of parliament available…We watched while the bill was being passed but we all know that not all members were there,” he said.
The former Supreme court judge’s argument is crucial since by the time the bill was passed, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga had suspended six MPs; Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda (Kira municipality), Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West), Gerald Karuhanga (Ntungamo municipality), Jonathan Odur (Erute South), Anthony Akol (Kilak North) and Mubarak Munyagwa (Kawempe South).
ULS President Francis Gimara confirmed the society’s legal team is ready to challenge the bill.
“Our view is that we have to let the whole legislative process be completed…You cannot file before the president signs the bill into law. What if he doesn’t assent to it and sends it back to parliament? What would you do?” he asked.
sadabkk@observer.ug
Additional reporting by Derrick Kiyonga.
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One reckons constitutionalism and democracy is all about the majority but respecting the minority.
Mu Uganda, Katikkiro w'Ensi Buganda alambudde amasiro e Kasubi, agakyalemye okuggwa okuzimbibwa:
By Dickson Kulumba
Added 20th December 2017
Charles Peter Mayiga nga yetegereza okuzimba okuludde nga kukolebwa nekutwala sente nyingi nyo ddala.
Mayiga yabadde ne baminisita ba Kabaka n’Omulangira Chrispin Jjunju ne balambula omulimu gw’okuzzaawo Muzibu Azaalampanga we gutuuse n’ayongera okuwera eri Bassekabaka nti gugenda kuggwa mu mbeera yonna.
“Teri mulimu muzibu mu Buganda ng’okuzimba amasiro. Omulimu guno gwetaaga obukugu kuba abakola eby’ennono nga Bawabulakayole tebawera wadde 10 mu Buganda. Gwetaaga obugumiikiriza bw’otunuulira obudde bwegututte ate n’ensimbi enkumu kuba ennaku zino buli ssente omuwanika zafunawo, azisindika Kasubi,” Mayiga bwe yagambye.
Maneja wa pulojekiti y’okuzzaawo amasiro, Jonathan Nsubuga yagambye nti omulimu gwetaaga obuwumbi bubiri okumalirizibwa nga ssente bwe zinaabula gujja kutwala ebbanga ddene.
‘Twasaba Gavumenti etwongere obuwumbi bubiri n’ekitundu okukola omulimu guno kyokka tetunnaba kuzifuna. Ssinga tufuna ssente zino omulimu gusobola okumalirizibwa mu July wa 2018.
Guno mulundi gwakubiri nga Katikkiro alambula omulimu ogukolebwa bukya bayimiriza abantu okulambula amasiro mu March 2016.
Ssentebe w’olukiiko oluli ku mulimu gw’okuzzaawo amasiro, Hajji Kaddu Kiberu yategeezezza nti waliwo omulimu munene ogukoleddwa okuva ku lunaku lwa May 17, 2017.
Hajji Kiberu yategeezezza nti okuwunda munda gusigaddeko omulimu mutono nga mu kiseera kino abazimbi batandise okuteeka emiti gy’emisambya wabweru w’akasolya era okwongeramu amaanyi mu mulimu guno, bafunye ebinywa by’emmuli 3500 okumaliriza munda mu kasolya.
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Olwo M7 bwanabawa sente ye aba afunira wa?
Ekika kya Balangira ba Buganda, kyekiswaala. Gwe ate ffe abebika bya Buganda abatavaamu bwa Kabaka bwa Buganda, tetufiirwa baffe netukuuma nokulabirira ebijja bya bajjajja nga bwetuba tusobode, munsi eno eya Buganda enzibu bweti? Siraba M7 atalina bijja wano e Buganda bwayagala kuwa sente kubijja byabalala.
Wabula temuswala, nemutuletela omukungu eyali ku kakiko akakunganya sente za masiro nga azimbye enyumba etemya eyiye mwasula. Kyoka nga amasiro gakyali mumbela eyo? Kale muswaza!
The Pope has made an appeal for the Freedom of the 6 Nuns Abducted in Nigeria:
17 December , 2017
By Associated Press
Pope Francis gestures during the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Dec. 17, 2017.
Pope Francis is appealing for the liberation of six nuns who were kidnapped a month ago from their convent in Nigeria.
Francis made the appeal Sunday while addressing faithful in St. Peter's Square. He prayed that the nuns and "all the other persons who find themselves in this painful condition" be free in time to return home for Christmas. He then led the tourists and pilgrims in the square in prayer of the nuns.
He said he was joining in an appeal made by Nigeria's bishops for the six Sisters of the Eucharistic Heart of Christ, whom he said were kidnapped about a month ago from Iguoriakhi, Nigeria.
But then for the old politics of the colonialists that were so much against the continent of Africa:
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A bit horrible to read this caption when one looks at the current modern technology that is soaking up the blue planet of earth for the good of all mankind.
See Photos Of the Great Son Of Incoming 75years Old President Of Zimbabwe Flaunting Cash And a Luxury Car On Social Media:
These are photos of Michael Sean, the son of former Zimbabwe’s former Vice President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who will be sworn in as president following the resignation of Robert Mugabe on Tuesday.
The example of misgoverning that is happening in Zimbabwe shows the hopelessness of Pan-Africanism on the continent of Africa:
By Mr Nicholas Sengoba
21 November, 2017
It is by the seat of his incontinence pants that Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old president, now in office for 37 years, is holding onto power.
The people of Zimbabwe have rebelled against the defiant Robert Gabriel Mugabe and for all intents and purposes, the army has overthrown him. Like it happens in countries where leaders with an iron grip subjugate people for decades, the citizens get so fed up that their yearning for change finds any kind of change acceptable. Now Zimbabweans are warming up for the replacement of Mugabe. That substitute is likely to be his immediate former vice president and long standing comrade from the days of the liberation struggle in the ‘70s, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, 71.
Overtime Mnangagwa had developed differences with Mugabe because apparently Mugabe was positioning his wife Grace Ntombizodwa Marufu Mugabe, 52, ahead of him in the succession queue. It can be safely argued that if Mugabe had not rubbed Mnangagwa the wrong way, it would still be business as usual; with Mugabe presiding in peace over this long suffering great nation.
Mugabe, who is now described correctly as a corrupt autocrat, has not come this far alone. He has presided over the collapse of most State institutions and padded most influential offices with his Shona kinsmen. They include Gen Constantino Chiwenga, whom the Daily Mail describes as ‘a fearsome individual known for his volcanic temper. He is one of the so-called ‘Dirty Half Dozen – six sinister military and intelligence chiefs, whose junta has kept Mugabe in office for decades, terrorising opponents and rigging elections.’
On these fellows, privileges have been piled on to their satisfaction for the sake of patronage. They own the economy and have huge stakes in real estate, mining, telecommunications, banking, farming, you name it. They were the major beneficiaries of the land that Mugabe’s government forcibly took back from the white farmers in Zimbabwe. To get here, they killed, maimed, robbed, terrorised and manipulated Zimbabweans to keep Mugabe in power for he was the source of their wealth and wellbeing.
To this point, they probably did not mind about him because of the consolation that as an ageing despot, his time was almost up. In case he kicked the bucket, one of them would replace him and the party would go on. The entrance of Grace Mugabe into the picture stood as a threat to that scheme in many ways. Not being from the liberation generation, she would probably upset the balance by bringing in younger people to replace the historical generation from the days of the liberation war from White rule. She would need her own people to boss over, not a group of ageing revolutionaries to be beholden to.
In the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, she had already thrown in her people in the Youth and Women’s Leagues. Of course, if things went according to plan and these new faces found themselves on the scene following the demise of Mugabe, they would disrupt the patronage network. Possibly to strengthen her position, she would prosecute a few, kill and exile others.
That would bury the ‘historicals’ and threaten their privileges. It is one of the major reasons for people overstaying in power in Africa. The cabal that surrounds the leader is interested in his long stay for their own selfish ends. But they also plan for a safe and prosperous future without him. It is not about love for the individual. He likewise expects them to be loyal and work for his uninterrupted stay in power and be considerate of his future plans. When there is no confluence in these two selfish objectives, you have the current Zimbabwe scenario. Let no one make a mistake, there has never been any honour among criminals. Zimbabwe is not where it is now because Mugabe’s rivals have seen the light or are any better than him. They are just feeling the heat. The major cause of the departure from Mugabe is akin to one where thieves fall out because they have failed to agree on terms of sharing their loot.
All the major players against Mugabe do not come to the table with clean hands. Just look at Emerson Mnangagwa, the dangerous substitute to Mugabe. In the 2000 parliamentary campaign in Kwekwe Central, Blessing Chebundo, the rival who defeated him, escaped death when the notorious youth of ZANU-PF doused him with petrol, but were unable to light the match which had become wet in the commotion. He was also instrumental in the violence which the army visited on the minority Ndebele people in the 1980s. The so-called ‘Operation Gukurahundi.’ Gukurahundi in Shona language is ‘the rain that washes away the chaff from the last harvest.’ Some of the recorded bizarre atrocities include gang-rapes, mass torture and forcing people to dance on freshly-dug graves of their relatives as they chanted pro-Mugabe slogans. (www.bbc.com). If the history of the main characters in the ouster of Mugabe is anything to go by, things in Zimbabwe are likely to change, but still remain the same.
Mr Sengoba is a commentator on political and social issues. nicholassengoba@yahoo.com
Twitter: nsengoba
There has been a Military Coup in the African country of Zimbabwe:
14 November, 2017
Written by VOA
Zimbabwe hovers in a state of uncertainty after the nation’s army moved on the capital Tuesday. After nearly four decades in office, President Robert Mugabe appears to have finally gone too far in firing his Vice President and positioning his Wife to succeed him.
No one saw it coming, and yet, everyone saw it coming. For at least a decade, Zimbabwe’s standards of living have been sliding— its economy is in shambles, its health system in tatters, its elections discredited, its infrastructure a shadow of the promise the nation held when it gained independence in 1980.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is currently under confinement
In recent years, protest movements came and went, journalists spoke up and were silenced, and nearly a million of citizens claimed political asylum in neighboring South Africa.
But throughout that, it appeared that nothing would challenge the supremacy of the only leader Zimbabwe has ever known, President Robert Mugabe.
But then, when the aging president fired his deputy and indicated that he would replace him with his unpopular wife, Grace Mugabe, the head of the armed forces warned he would "step in" unless Mugabe stopped trying to purge the ruling party of supporters of the ousted vice president.
That, says analyst Piers Pigou of the International Crisis Group, was the tipping point.
“Something obviously had to give, particularly over the last week, in the last few days, when the situation has become a lot more tense. …. He said he will intervene, and I think that a number of people thought that this was a bluff, that he would not intervene, that Mugabe still retained some measure of control of the situation.”
It is now clear that General Constantino Chiwenga was not bluffing. After tanks were seen rumbling through Harare on Tuesday, soldiers took over state TV in the wee hours of Wednesday, and army spokesman Major General SB Moyo delivered this stunning statement.
“R.G Mugabe and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed. We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice,” he said.
But the drama may be just beginning. Zimbabwe’s ruling party said on social media that Mnangagwa will return and take the helm, as, they say, the Constitution provides.
Economic, social challenges
But Pigou says a change in leadership will not, on its own, solve Zimbabwe’s woes.
“Much now depends, of course, on the line that is taken by whichever political force comes to power," he said. "And we believe that will be Mr. Mnangagwa, will be brought back now. Is he going to open the door to some kind of inclusive political settlement, bearing in mind that the economic and the social situation in Zimbabwe is so dire that it requires an intervention that goes beyond the normal political arena?”
Mugabe's future
And, of course, everyone is wondering what will come of the power couple at the heart of this drama. Few analysts think that Mugabe and his wife will themselves face the retributive rage of the Zimbabwean people.
Analyst Alex Magaisa of the University of Kent predicts a soft landing for them, but thinks that Mugabe’s longtime cheerleaders are in for a tough time.
“Perhaps they might have to leave the country in order to avoid having that pocket of power, which would be challenging. But I think those who were aligned to the first family, to President Mugabe and his wife, I think they are the ones who are going to face the brunt of the new regime,” he said.
For years, “MUGABE IS RIGHT” was the rallying cry of Zimbabwe’s powerful elite. Those who questioned the powerful leader were vilified or punished.
But now, with Zimbabwe’s strongman suddenly silent, the questions are mounting.
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That is exactly the political game on the continent of Africa. Easy come easy go. And then their own henchmen who have been keeping them in power for so long squeeze in to start the whole process of Pan-Africanism again. Imagine in Uganda now 2017, the Vice President Mr Ssekandi taking over after the departure of this long serving President of Uganda?
The Tanzania and Uganda governments do not want the International Criminal Court to legally understand the African violence in Burundi:
Tanzania President John Magufuli (L) with his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni
13 November, 2017
By AFP
Tanzanian President John Magufuli and his Ugandan counterpart Museveni have criticised the International Criminal Court (ICC) for launching a probe into alleged crimes committed during Burundi's political crisis. A statement from the Tanzanian presidency on Saturday said the two leaders had condemned the move, during a meeting in western Uganda.
"President Magufuli said this decision compromised efforts by the East African Community, which has put in place a committee charged with seeking a resolution to the Burundi conflict, led by President Museveni and former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa," said the statement. Mr Museveni is the current president of the EAC, a regional bloc made up of Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.
Mr Magufuli said "the situation in Burundi is not as bad as it has been described (by the ICC) because numerous Burundian refugees have already returned home," said the statement. Mr Museveni meanwhile accused the ICC of "interfering in the efforts of the EAC".
On Thursday, the ICC revealed that its judges had given the go-ahead for a full investigation into crimes allegedly committed in Burundi from April 26, 2015, to October 26, 2017, which is the day before the country's exit from the court. The prosecutor can also widen the probe to acts committed both before and after those dates "if certain legal requirements are met", and even investigate other atrocities such as suspected "genocide or war crimes," under the decision.
The period this covers begins with Burundi's descent into unrest and bloodletting when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he was running for a third term in office, winning July 2015 elections which were boycotted by the opposition. According to estimates, "at least 1,200 people were allegedly killed, thousands illegally detained, thousands reportedly tortured and hundreds disappeared", the ICC judges said.
In Tanzania, the opposition (Chadema) is demanding the East African Community leaders to intervene over the arrests and harassment of its members:
But then the leaders of this community are embroiled, left, right and centre in the same problems in their own countries!
Chadema is now calling on EAC leaders to intervene as the party members grapple with arrests of its cadres. TEA GRAPHIC | NMG
08 November, 2017
By The EastAfrican
Tanzania’s civil society and main opposition party Chadema have accused President John Magufuli’s administration of harassment of opposition lawmakers, three of whom were arrested in the past week.
Chadema is now calling on EAC leaders to intervene as the party members grapple with arrests of its cadres.
The Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), a human-rights NGO based in Tanzania, said the string of arrests amounted to a “violation of political and civic rights” in a country where multi-party politics is enshrined in the Constitution.
On Tuesday, opposition MP Tundu Lissu was arrested for allegedly insulting President John Magufuli, by revealing that Canada had seized a commercial aircraft purchased by the government over an unpaid $38 million debt to a Canadian engineering company.
It is the sixth time that Mr Lissu, the deputy head of Chadema, has been arrested this year. In July he was charged with hate speech after calling President Magufuli a “dictator.”
He was released on bail on Thursday.
Chadema says more than 400 of its members have been arrested and questioned, with some charged in court, since President Magufuli came to power in October 2015.
Last week, Ester Bulaya, the Bunda MP from the Chadema party, was arrested in the north for allegedly planning a meeting outside her electoral constituency.
“What law prohibits that?” asked the LHRC.
On Wednesday, another MP, Godbless Lema, was arrested for taking seven minutes longer than his allocated time to address a rally.
The LHRC urged the government to respect the rights of all political parties to freely carry out their activities. “Being the member of a different party is not a crime,” the organisation said.
Clampdown
President Magufuli, who came to power in 2015 as a corruption-fighting “man of the people,” has been increasingly criticised over his authoritarian leadership style that clamps down on the opposition, journalists and artists.
On Thursday, Chadema’s youth wing said in a statement that they were giving police chief Simon Sirro seven days to tell them “whether or not being a member of an opposition party is a crime.” If there is no response, they plan a countrywide protest on August 31.
The arrests of opposition leaders are higher than those recorded after the July 1983 failed mutiny against founding president Julius Nyerere, in which about 100 people were arrested and some charged with treason.
Chadema member of the Central Committee Prof Mwesiga Baregu told The East African that intimidation of their party members across the country has caused fear.
“The EAC has to intervene to save the situation. We have never had a situation like this before. Not even a crackdown against treason during president Nyerere’s era matched this level of arbitrary arrests because there was a sense respect for the law. But now people are fearful of being associated with the opposition. The opposition looks like treason and it is the president painting such a picture,” Prof Baregu said.
He added that citizens believe that if they follow the law and still get arrested, then the law is only trapping them.
In Kilombero district, 37 Chadema members have been arrested for allegedly beating up a police officer during a political gathering and providing false information to a government minister who was visiting the area.
In northern Tanzania, which is Chadema’s political base, 17 people have been arrested on accusations of insulting a district commissioner and obstructing a village meeting.
Mr Lissu, the vocal Singida East MP has been interrogated by police more than eight times since early 2016, while MP Halima Mdee and party chairman Freeman Mbowe have been questioned seven and six times respectively during the same period.
John Mrema, Chadema’s director of protocol, communication, ideology and foreign affairs, said the Central Committee had written a letter to acting Chief Justice Prof Ibrahim Hamis Juma questioning the independence of the judiciary due to cases of magistrates and judges refusing to grant party members bail for bailable offences.
Mr Mrema further said that cases involving 114 party members who were recently arrested in Geita and Arusha for unlawful assembly but were denied bail have prompted the party to consider filing a case seeking the constitutional interpretation of the decisions.
“Cases such as the arrest and detention of Arusha MP Godbless Lema for two months without bail, and many others, are threatening Chadema yet at the same time have made us more resilient as a party,” he added.
The sudden arrests of the Police force staff in Uganda seem to highlight many years of tension between Rwanda and Uganda:
Rwandan President Paul Kagame (left) and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni. PHOTO BY URUGWIRO.
6 November, 2017
By The EastAfrican
The recent arrest and charging in a Uganda military court of top police officers with illegally working with Rwanda to repatriate refugees to their home country is the most open flare-up in the tense relations between Kampala and Rwanda.
This is despite relations seemingly having improved when both Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame made several state visits in 2011. Both presidents recently attended the Head of State Dialogue at the Africa Global Business Forum in Dubai, UAE on November 1.
Diplomatic sources in both Kampala and Kigali say no official complaint has been made by Uganda to Rwanda but they say tensions have been simmering for some time.
The sources cite a long list of disagreements between Kampala and Kigali, some of which have played out in the open.
In 2015, Kampala and Kigali reached an understanding with Tel Aviv to repatriate Eritrean refugees from Israel to Uganda and Rwanda for resettlement.
Mediated by Israel’s national intelligence agency Mossad, the agreement gave each country a quota of refugees to host. Soon after, Uganda’s Minister for Regional Co-operation, Philemon Mateke, summoned Rwanda’s High Commissioner in Kampala, Frank Mugambagye, and reportedly lodged a complaint that Kigali was resettling its quota of refugees in Uganda.
Rwanda suggested that the two countries set up a joint verification committee to handle these allegations. However, Uganda did not follow up on the matter, according to an official privy to the disagreement.
Several concerns
Rwanda is said to have also raised several concerns, many of which Kigali officially and informally communicated to Kampala. One such concern was appointments of public officials thought to be hostile to Rwanda.
For example, in July 2016, when Kampala appointed Philemon Mateke Minister for Regional Co-operation, Kigali raised concerns with Kampala over the appointment.
In March this year, Uganda moved its long-serving High Commissioner in Rwanda, Richard Kabonero to Tanzania. He is said to have good relations with Kigali. It is alleged that many Ugandan officials perceived to have good relations with Rwanda were removed from their posts and replaced with tothers considered hostile to Kigali.
One such move was the replacement of Brig Ronald Balya as director-general of Internal Security Organisation (ISO) with Brig Francis Kaka. Brig Kaka is known to be close to President Museveni’s younger brother, Gen Salim Saleh, with whom Kigali is uncomfortable.
Tension
Tensions were yet again strained when the brash Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde, who had been at loggerheads with Kampala; was rehabilitated and appointed Minister of Security.
On his first official visit to Kigali, he failed to meet his counterparts. Brig Abel Kandiho, whom Rwanda claims is hostile to Kigali, was appointed Chief of Military Intelligence.
For many officials in Kigali, it is not surprising that the trio of Kaka, Tumukunde and Kandiho are behind the current manhunt for Ugandan police officers accused of collaborating with Rwandan intelligence to kidnap and illegally repatriate Rwandan dissidents in Uganda.
Diplomatic sources say the first indication that it was difficult for the two nations to bury the hatchet came in July 2012, when the daughter of deceased Rwandan intelligence chief Patrick Karegeya, Portia Mbabazi Karegeya, who was living in exile in South Africa came to Uganda. On arriving at Entebbe Airport, immigration officials refused her entry because Rwanda had cancelled her passport.
However, some top Ugandan military officials, one of whom was closely linked to State House, came to the airport and facilitated her entry into the country without going through immigration.
Once inside Uganda, Ms Karegeya got a Ugandan passport and was helped by government officials to get a visa to Canada. Some Ugandan officials felt the move was a snub to Rwanda. When Ms Karegeya tried to fly out to Canada, immigration officials denied her exit because some Ugandan officials had cancelled her new passport.
Once again, senior military officials intervened at Entebbe Airport and a scuffle almost ensued between the military officials and the police, which saw Ms Karegeya miss her flight.
The Rwandan government advised Uganda to give Ms Karegeya a one-way travel document to South Africa where she had refugee status. From there she could get a UN document to travel to Canada. However, Ugandan officials reinstated her passport and helped her leave Uganda for Canada. Rwanda was incensed but blamed the problem on unco-ordinated actions by different arms of government.
In 2013, Rwandan students escaped from Kigali to Old Kampala Police Station, where they claimed to be seeking asylum as Rwanda was forcing them to repeat Senior Six. Ugandan officials contacted the Rwanda government to verify the claim and concluded it did not merit refugee status. They worked with the Rwandan High Commission in Kampala to arrange for the students to be taken back to Kigali.
On the night before the students were to travel back to Kigali, the students changed their story and claimed they ran away because the government was trying to forcefully recruit them into the Congolese rebel group called M23.
Rwanda is said to believe that security operatives in Kampala coached the students to change their story. However, Rwanda did not file an official complaint.
Uganda worked with the UNHCR and the students were given refugee status and later repatriated to Norway and Sweden.
Strained tension
Another incident that further strained the tensions between Uganda and Rwanda was when according to a source, the State House switchboard in Kampala called the Rwandan High Commissioner, Frank Mugambagye, and informed him that Rwanda’s First Lady was about to land at Entebbe Airport.
Mr Mugambagye was surprised at the unexpected and unusual arrival, but rushed to the airport. On arriving at Entebbe, he found the widow of the late Fred Rwigyema — the first leader of the Rwanda Patriotic Front who died on the second day of the invasion of that country — being received like a head of state.
The matter was reportedly discussed with unease in Kigali.
Sources in Rwanda say Kigali decided to ignore these incidents as minor provocations by hostile officials. However, the sources added that the real problems began when Rwanda started feeling that Uganda’s actions were impinging on its strategic goals.
One such issue was the fibre-optic cable that Uganda was supposed to connect up to Katuna. Uganda delayed the construction of the cable line for almost nine years.
Then, Presidents Museveni, Kagame and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta began to fast-track regional infrastructure under the Northern Corridor project through what came to be known as the Coalition of the Willing.
Midway, Uganda changed its mind and decided to prioritise the line from Kampala to West Nile region on the border with Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
Officially, Uganda claimed that it would construct both lines at the same time. However, the IMF and the Bank of Uganda both argued that given the country’s debt sustainability status, Uganda could not afford it. Both recommended that Kampala choose one of the lines.
During meetings between the three countries, Kenya proposed to sell electricity to Rwanda to solve its power deficit. Uganda was supposed to build a transmission line to the border with Rwanda, but initially claimed it did not have the money. Rwanda talked to the African Development Bank, then led by Rwandan national Donald Kaberuka, to offer Uganda the money. Kampala then claimed it had got money from the French to build the line. But the promise to constructing never materialised.
Another thorny issue involves Rwandan dissidents and people suspected of genocide activities, whom Kigali seeks to have repatriated to Rwanda (for those accused of genocide activities) or relocated to other countries (for those accused of threatening Rwandan security).
Uganda reportedly made promises to act but did not, arguing that there needs to be an extradition treaty first.
A diplomat says that in 2009, Kampala and Kigali negotiated such a treaty, which was signed by Sam Kutesa, Uganda’s Foreign Minister and his Rwandan counterpart, then then Charles Muligande. Rwanda took the agreement to parliament and it was ratified. Uganda never took the agreement to parliament for ratification.
In May, the attorney-generals of Uganda and Rwanda and the inspector generals of police of both countries met in Kampala to address this issue. Uganda promised to ratify the treaty within a month but is yet to do so.
The arrest of senior police officers in Uganda, all of whom are close to the Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura, raised eyebrows in Kigali. IGP Kayihura is a Munyarwanda by ethnicity and President Kagame was the best man at his wedding.
Some powerful figures inside Uganda’s security forces have accused IGP Kayihura of disloyalty to Uganda. Given that the arrested police officers are all close to the inspector general, many observers in Uganda see this as a triumph of those opposed to the IGP. The seeming differences within Uganda’s security forces thus mask the wider regional tensions between Kampala and Kigali
The Rwandan opposition leader, an African lady, Victoire Ingabire, has been released from jail:
By AFP
Added 15th September 2018
The surprise release of 2,140 prisoners, including Ingabire and musician Kizito Mihigo, followed a cabinet meeting on Friday at which a presidential order of "mercy" was approved.
PIC:Ingabire returned from exile in the Netherlands intending to run for president in 2010 as leader of the FDU-Inkingi party. Photo: AFP
RWANDA, KIGALI- Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire was unexpectedly freed from jail on Saturday after President Paul Kagame permitted her early release, alongside two thousand other prisoners.
"I thank the president who gave me this liberation," Ingabire said as she left Mageragere Prison in the capital Kigali. "This is the beginning of the opening of political space in Rwanda, I hope so," she added calling on Kagame "to release other political prisoners."
The surprise release of 2,140 prisoners, including Ingabire and musician Kizito Mihigo, followed a cabinet meeting on Friday at which a presidential order of "mercy" was approved.
Ingabire returned from exile in the Netherlands intending to run for president in 2010 as leader of the FDU-Inkingi party.
However, she was arrested, charged with terrorism and treason and sentenced in 2012 to 10 years in jail after a widely criticised trial.
Ingabire, an ethnic Hutu, was accused of "genocide ideology" and "divisionism" after publicly questioning the government narrative of the 1994 genocide of mostly Tutsi people that killed around 800,000 people.
Rwandan musician Mihigo was arrested in 2015 and jailed for 10 years for conspiring to assassinate the president.
Kagame has been the country's de facto ruler since his rebel army stopped the genocide in 1994 and recently changed the constitution clearing the way for him to rule until 2034.
The United Nation torture prevention panel is giving up in the African country of Rwanda:
M/s Victorie Ingabire Umuhoza secured under handcuffs because of her political differences with the President of Rwanda.
M/s Ingabire of the opposition in Rwanda is under political detention
23 October, 2017
By AFP
The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture that was investigating alleged torture and rights abuses in Rwanda has suspended its probe, citing obstruction by the authorities and fears that interviewees would suffer "reprisals".
The UN organ had been in Rwanda for five days before deciding it could no longer continue its mission "due to a series of obstructions imposed by authorities", it said in a statement.
"We have been barred from completing our work in some places, and grave limitations have been imposed on granting access to certain places of detention," said Arman Danielyan, the head of the committee's delegation to Rwanda.
"We have also been unable to carry out private and confidential interviews with some persons deprived of their liberty.
"Moreover, many of those we have managed to interview have expressed fears of reprisals. We must not place the persons that have cooperated with us in danger," he added.
It was only the third time a trip has been suspended in the 10-year history of the anti-torture committee, the statement said.
"The delegation concluded that the visit as a whole had been compromised to such an extent that it had to be suspended", it added.
The UN organ has urged Rwanda to establish a national detention monitoring body officially known as the National Prevention Mechanism.
“Rwanda ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in June 2015 so it is required to set up an independent and sufficiently resourced monitoring body that has unrestricted access to all places of detention,” said Mr Danielyan.
-Additional reporting by AFP
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Rwanda is one of these peace keeping forces in Somalia. What is clear to all Africans is that these African countries are there to export their brand of AU political ideology of creating dictatorship on the continent of Africa. Putting up pre-determined democratic electoral results, rigging elections, amending national constitutions to formulate life presidency and to arrest and put into detention political oppositionto their home rule.
Abawakanya emyaka (Presidential age limit)babatwalidde mu boot ye Motor-car ekikolwa ekimenya amateeka gensi yonna mu United Nation:
By Musasi wa Bukedde Weziri Damba ne Muwanga Kakooza
Added 23rd October 2017
PISITO musanvu ne AK47 ssatu; z’emmundu ze baakozesezza okukwata abawagizi ba FDC bana abaabadde bakunga abantu okwetaba mu lukiiko oluwakanya okuggyawo ekkomo ku myaka gya Pulezidenti.
Abasajja abaabadde mu ngoye eza ‘leeya’ nga pisito zibali mu biwato ate abalala nga zibali mu ngalo, baatadde abantu ku bunkenke nga bakwata aba FDC abaabadde bakutte ebipande okwabadde ebigambo ‘Togikwatako.’
Ow’emmundu nga tali na mu uniform ya police ku bodaboda ng’awerekera mmotoka omwabadde abaakwatiddwa.
Abaabadde n’emmundu ez’ekika kya AK47 baazikookinze ne bazikwata ng’abali mu ddwaaniro.
Mu kukwata abantu bano abana, ekyasinze okukanga abaabaddewo y’engeri aba pisito gye baatwalidde abasajja ku mudumu gw’emmundu ne babasonseka mu bbuutu y’emmotoka ne babaggaliramu ne bavuga ne beggyawo.
Abaabadde balaba, baasigadde beebuuza ekigenda mu maaso nga tebakitegeera. Nga tebannabayingiza mu bbuutu, baasoose kubafukamiza wansi ne babakuba empi n’ensambaggere.
Omu ku basajja ab’emmundu, yabuukidde bodaboda UDX 375J n’agoberera emmotoka Noah UAQ 760D mwe baabadde bapakidde abawagizi ba FDC mu bbuutu.
Ow’emmundu eyabadde ku bodaboda naye yagenze yeekaaliisa ne piisito mu ngalo.
Abaakwatiddwa baabadde bakulembeddwa Ssentebe w’abavubuka ba FDC e Mbarara, Yasin Matsiko ne munne Mohammad Mpagi era be baatandikiddeko okukwata olwo ne babagattako bannaabwe abalala babiri abaabadde bazze okwetaba mu lukiiko lwa oluwakanya okukyusa emyaka gya Pulezidenti olwabadde lutegekeddwa ku Comfort Hotel e Mbarara ku Lwomukaaga.
Ebipande okuli ebigambo ‘Togikwatako’ nabyo byaboyeddwa ne bitwalibwa ng’ebizibiti.
Babavunaana kukuba lukiiko lutali mu mateeka Omuduumizi wa poliisi e Mbarara, Isaac Kambugu bwe yagambye nti talina ky’amanyi ku baakutte era n’omwogezi wa poliisi mu kitundu kya Rwizi Samson Kasasira naye n’ategeeza nti naye tabamanyiiko, olwo bannabyabufuzi mu Mbarara ne batandika okugamba nti abasajja abo baavudde mu nkambi y’amagye e Makenke.
Wabula omwogezi wa poliisi mu ggwanga, Asan Kasingye yategeezezza Bukedde eggulo nti abantu bano baakwatiddwa ekitongole kya poliisi ekirwanyisa obumenyi bw’amateeka obw’amaanyi ekya Flying Squad era baabadde bakolera mu mateeka.
Yagasseeko nti baategeezeddwa nti abantu abo baabadde bategese olukungaana olumenya amateeka era ne bagendayo okukakasa nti terubeerawo.
Yagambye nti bonna abana baabagguddeko omusango gw’okukuba olukungaana olumenya amateeka.
Aba famire z’abaakwatiddwa baalaze okunyolwa olw’engeri abantu baabwe gye baakwatiddwaamu ng’abatujju, ate okuva lwe baakwatiddwa baagezezzaako okunoonya gye baabasibidde wabula nga buli poliisi gye bagendako ebategeeza kimu nti terina ky’emanyi kw’ebyo.
Aisha Nakayima muka Matsiko yagambye nti banoonyezza naye bakyabuliddwa. Ate Amina Naluyinda muka Mpagi ng’amaziga gamuyitamu yagambye nti, abaserikale basusse okukwata bba era gye buvuddeko baamukwata ne bamuggalira e Nalufenya wabula n’avaayo nga tebalina musango gwe bamuvunaanye kyokka nga bamukubye nnyo era baamala ekiseera nga bamujjanjaba.
Kasingye yagambye nti we baasibidde abantu bano wakyakuumibwa nga wa kyama, kyokka n’awa aba famire amagezi okugenda mu Kampala balabe akulira Flying Squad Herbert Muhangi abannyonnyole ebikwata ku bantu baabwe.
Nakayima muka Matsiko n’abaana baabwe abagiddwako abazzadde baabwe nga bambi tebamanyi gyebabatute ne kakati.
BAVUMIRIDDE EBY’OKUTWALIRA ABANTU MU BBUUTU
Mu kuyingiza abantu bano mu bbuutu, obwedda abaabakutte baddihhana ekigambo “Panda Ggaali” ekyakozesebwa ennyo ku mulembe gwa Milton Obote era abalwanirizi b’eddembe ly’obuntu bagamba nti ebikolwa bino bijjukiza abantu effugabbi eryaliwo.
Dr. Livingstone Ssewannyana akulira ekibiina ky’eddembe ly’obuntu ekya ‘Foundation for Human Rights Initiave’ yagambye nti ebibinja by’abakuumaddembe ebitafaayo ku ddembe ly’obuntu bizze bibeerawo ku buli mulembe era gavumenti ya NRM erina okukangavvula ekibinja kino kuba bw’eneekireka ne kisigala nga kikwata abantu mu ngeri eyo, egenda kuba terina njawulo ne gavumenti ze yamaamulako.
Omumyuka w’omwogezi wa FDC, Paul Mwiru kino yakiyise kutulugunya okugendereddwaamu okutiisa abawakanya ekkomo ku myaka, n’agamba nti bwe baba balina omusango batwalibwe ku poliisi ezimanyiddwa zibaweereze mu kkooti, okusinga okubasibira mu bifo ebitategeerekeka.
Kasingye bwe yabuuziddwa ku ky’okutwalira abantu mu bbuutu, yagambye nti poliisi tekkiriza bikolwa ebyo era lipooti gy’alina eraga nti abaakwatiddwa baayingiziddwa bulungi mu mmotoka.
Nb
Wano Muteesa II waffe 1966. yalaba ensi ye bagifudde yakassa memme, yawereza obubaka mangu ddala mu UN. Kubanga tukiriziganye nga abatuuze ffenna wano e Buganda, tuli nyo mu United Nation okusinga African Union.
Wano wo e Ruanda abakazi abogerako nga balina endowooza eyenjawulo okuva ku ya Kagame basibwa mpingu nakommera. Obukambwe obuyitirivu enyo wano mu Africa.
Ate nga balabika bongerayo ntalo, bulumbaganyi nakutunda mundu, kutabula tabula mbeera za batuuze, kuyigiriza amawanga gyebagenda abafuzi baganire mubufuzi.
Banange no ne Somalia alabye ekitalo ky'ensi zino eza Africa ezibonya bonya abantu bazo ate nezefula enungi munsi yonna. Kibi nyo nti ensi zino eziwerera ddala kakati 12 zesibye mu Somalia nga n'America nayo kweli nti bo balongosa ensi Somalia oba Sudan.
Ddala kiki amagye age kika nga kino gali kakati e Somalia okuyamba ensi ya Somalia okufugibwa ne democracy afanana obulungi nga ow'America wano mu Africa?
The African bush war rebels in Somalia have blasted 300 Somali citizens to death with a terrible bomb. Those citizens alive are protesting to the whole world against the civil war atrocities that seem not to come to an end:
Terrible indeed
October 2017
Written by VOA
The death toll from Saturday's massive truck bombing in the Somali capital Mogadishu - the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history - has topped 300.
Abdirahman O. Osman, Somalia's minister of information, tweeted that the number killed is now 276, with about 300 wounded. He also laid blame for the bombing on the Islamist militant al-Shabab group. But today, Monday Reuters quotes Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of the city’s ambulance service as saying “We have confirmed 300 people died in the blast. The death toll will still be higher because some people are still missing."
In other tweets, Osman acknowledged Kenya, Ethiopia, and Turkey for sending medical aid to Somalia. Angry protesters took to the streets condemning al-Shabab.
The militant group, which often claims attacks in Mogadishu, has so far stayed silent. But the Somali government and terror experts strongly believe the group was responsible.
"Whether they claim or not claim makes no difference, we know the act that has happened, it’s al-Shabab,” former intelligence officer Abdi Hassan Hussein told VOA. “The information we are getting so far shows this is the work of al-Shabab, it has their hallmarks."
Hundreds of residents on Sunday marched to the scene of the attack, condemning the militant group.
“Where is my child, fight against the wicked, to hell with them, my God condemn the evil” said one elderly angry women.
Other protesters shouted anti al-Shabab statements like, “We don’t want blood thirsty elements”.
Some protesters wept as they reached the scene and saw the apocalyptic aftermath of the explosion. The truck bomb turned one of Mogadishu’s most beautiful junctions into death and destruction.
US reaction
In Washington, the U.S. State Department condemned the attack "in the strongest terms."
"In the face of this senseless and cowardly act, the United States will continue to stand with the Somali government, its people, and our international allies to combat terrorism and support their efforts to achieve peace, security, and prosperity," a statement said.
Mohamed Yusuf, a doctor at Medina hospital, described what happened when the explosion happened at around 3:20 pm local time on Saturday.
“We were preparing to leave work for the day but then huge blast occurred, we were shocked, within five minutes ambulances brought in the wounded,” he said.
“We have received many dead people, unlike we have ever seen. The hospital is working, we are lacking intensive care equipment, we get support from ICRC but we are still lacking full capacity.”
The victims
Maryan Abdullahi, 21, just finished Banadir University where she studied medicine. She left her voluntary work at Banadir hospital Saturday and was waiting a bus when the explosion occurred. She was killed instantly. He mother Hindo Yuusuf immediately called her number when she heard about the location of the explosion.
“I called her number immediately but someone else answered and they said the owner of the phone died, her body is near the hotel [Safari],” she told VOA Somali.
Abdullahi’s father flew from London Saturday to attend his daughter’s graduation from the university. He arrived in Mogadishu Sunday morning and attended her funeral instead. Also killed were five members of the same family who were running a clothing shop.
Aweys Moallim Ali is a cousin to the family. He too was wounded in the attack. He said his relatives own two shops but they gathered into one before the explosion.
“They were doing accounting work about the sales made so far so that they can make zakat [alms] payment, they closed the other shop and were meeting in a shop near Hotel Safari,” He said.
VOA reporter
Hundreds were wounded in the attack including VOA reporter in Mogadishu Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulle. Abdulle sustained injuries to the neck, hand and burns throughout the body. But he was in good spirits as he spoke about his condition.
“I’m injured in the lower neck, there is shrapnel inside. I have a second injury on the right hand, maybe it’s broken, and third, my body is burned in particular on the torso,” he said. "I have smaller injuries throughout the body, facial injuries, I had about 4 stitches on the face, I have multiple injuries.”
Abdulle recounted what happened at the time of the explosion
“I remember leaving the building near Safari hotel, I wanted to get into my car, as I stepped towards the car the explosion went off, that is all I remember,” he said.
‘The next thing I know is this morning when I woke up at 10am when I saw people standing around my bed.”
The Somali government has called for three days of national mourning and lowering the flag at half-mast. President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has condemned the attack as “barbaric.”
Sahra Ahmed, Asha Aden, Jafar Kukay and Kenneth Schwartz contributed to this report.
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Many Africans want to blame their leaders who have taken on the responsibilty of stopping this Somalia fatal war as only an African problem needing an African solution. Surely this is an African problem that requires all the international communities to come forward and to put up joint efforts to stop this African suffering. Africans are also human beings.
The African Unity troops must leave this country since they have failed to stop this sort of blood letting in Somalia.
The so called African democratic countries which are trying to bring peace and sanity to Somalia are involved in destabilizing their own respective home countries. They are every day detaining the opposition and using military police to stop free speech and a peaceful transition of political leadership in their own backyard. In some of these countries the Military police is trigger happy arresting women and children and shooting them point blank with live bullets.
This whole African Union political charade in Somalia and Sudan, is like former Saddam Hussein of Iraq trying to liberate Kuwait.
Why is the President of Ruanda abusing Politically minded African Women?
In Rwanda, the Leaders of two Rwandan opposition parties have been arrested:
M/s Diane Rwigara, who was blocked from challenging Kagame in the August election, was arrested by police in recent days along with some family members
09 September, 2017
By AFP
Several leaders from two Rwandan parties not recognised by the authorities have been arrested, police and opposition officials said Thursday. Since President Paul Kagame's re-election on August 4 with 99 percent of the vote, police in Rwanda have targeted a string of political opponents for questioning or arrest.
Kagame and his rebel army ended the 1994 genocide and he is credited with creating a peaceful country since then, but he is also widely criticised for suppressing basic freedoms. Diane Rwigara, who was blocked from challenging Kagame in the August election, was arrested by police in recent days along with some family members. A statement from the FDU-Inkingi party, whose leader Victoire Ingabire was jailed in 2013 on charges of denying the genocide and terrorism, said three senior party officials had been arrested in Rwanda on Wednesday along with a party employee and a security guard.
Party spokesman Justin Bahunga issued a statement from exile in Britain condemning the arrests as "intimidation". "This wave of arrest comes after that of the Diane Rwigara family and seeks to completely silence the dissenting voices of the democratic opposition in Rwanda," he said. Another party, the PDP-Imanzi, also announced the arrest in Kigali of its vice-president, Jean-Marie Vianney Kayumba. Neither the FDU-Inkingi nor the PDP-Imanzi are recognised by authorities.
Police said Wednesday it was "holding seven individuals linked to armed groups operating in a neighbouring country". Four FDU-Inkingi officials were among the names listed by police. In the past Rwanda has accused opponents -- including Ingabire -- of links to the FDLR, a Rwandan rebel group exiled in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since 1994 and including among its leaders some of those responsible for the genocide.
The local Uganda Revenue Authority taxation system is in shambles:
So where does the government of Uganda get money to pay salaries of Members of Parliament and all other government stooges?
Just recently you ordered the PM to “stop” different taxation of low income earners. Luckily I had just completed supervision of students doing field studies of this very subject.
Example:
1. Taxi (Matatu) in Kampala makes about UG 250000 -300000 shs a day – of which 70000-90000 goes to the taxi owner. The rest goes for fuel and the driver and conductors share between UG 30000 -50000 sh 2. Nakasero market vendor pays no tax at all but sells the same goods and services as a person renting on: Ntake, Kagimu or Sudir building just a few meters away. This applies to all markets in the country subject to your earlier directive. For instance a merchandise trader in Nakasero, an old cloth trade in Owino, a furtinure seller in Nsambya pays no taxes irrespective of daily volume of their trade ranging UG 50000 shs and UG 600000 shs per day for market traders and furniture trades respectively. 3. Majority business in Uganda as it is Kampala pa a flat fee (monthly trading licenses) ranging between UG 260000 – 360000 shs) irrespective of gross income. However those with established i.e. registered business have to pay income taxes.
I decided to supervise the students sine I needed to understand whether Uganda had a enough funds to run the country or not. I now understand that Uganda Tax revenue have a thorough knowledge of this sector which is in total confusion as per the above directives.
Notice that the largest trading sector is land but land brokers and agents are not registred and do not pay any taxes despite huge income.
My question then Mr. President;
a. Do you have adequate information about Ugandans incomes b. Do you have adequate information about Ugandan’s ability to pay taxes? c. Do you feel Uganda revenue Authority has the ability to make informed judgment about difference tax regimes d. Don’t you feel your directives are undermining state agencies to make right decision based on empirical data they have at their disposal? e. How are local governments running government business without adequate financing?
Remarkably – the above categories have no basic;
i. Healthy insurance ii. Not registered with NSSF iii. Have no pension what so ever iv. No home support (slum development all over the country) v. Pay a minimum of at least UG 200000 shs for their ids education
Taking Kampala as a reflection of an international trading city, I am now asking how can a country develop with such flimsy tax policies and trading irregularities?
Bwanika
The Uganda Security forces that call themselves the people's defenders is failing to account for the murder of over 150 civilians in the Western Province:
May 27, 2017
Written by URN
A coalition of 40 organisations has appealed to the Ugandan government to facilitate independent and transparent investigations into the November 2016 Kasese clashes that led to the death of more than 150 people.
The group urged the government to invite relevant African Commission experts and United Nations special rapporteurs to participate in investigations.
"At a time when the public trust in many inconclusive investigations into several murders in Uganda continues to wane, the government ought to accept international cooperation and support to restore trust in its commitment to investigate and act on these atrocities," Arthur Larok, country director of Action Aid Uganda said.
The coalition questioned why no military or police personnel have been charged for their conduct during the violence that preceded the arrest of Charles Wesley Mumbere, the king of Rwenzururu kingdom and 180 of his subjects. Mumbere and his subjects, most of them royal guards, have since been charged with murder, treason, and terrorism, among other crimes.
"The Ugandan government took significant steps to charge more than 180 civilians for their alleged involvement in the violence in Kasese. But six months after this unexplained and overwhelming use of lethal force by the police and military, the government has taken no steps at all to investigate their role or to provide justice for the many victims, Maria Burnett, the East Africa director at Human Rights Watch said.
"What happened in Kasese, that was the largest number of people have been killed in a single event since the LRA war. This should not be covered over by politics. This should be about justice and accountability for all sides that have suffered.
The concern is that government has poured significant resources into investigating alleged crimes by civilians but we all know over 180 civilians have been charged through reigns of various crimes and are still facing those crimes before court. But what we have not seen is the investigation into the killing of civilians in Kasese", said Burnett.
Police burry one of the unclaimed bodies in Kasese last year, 2016
Although government put the death toll from the clashes at 103 people, a report by Human rights Watch indicates that at least 55 people, including 14 police officers, were killed on November 26, and that more than 100 people were killed by joint security forces during the attack on the Rwenzururu palace compound.
Burnett says that the government should not continue to hide under the guise of politics to deny justice to its citizens. She said that government is supposed to account for what happened in Kasese.
Irene Ovonji Odida, the executive director for Uganda Women Lawyers Association asked the public to name government officials to account for what they have done to ensure the people of Kasese obtain justice.
"I'm not a young person, I believed in this country more than 50 years. I have experienced every government that we have had since independence. The coverups that has been seen in relation to Kasese is becoming the norm. And this contamination is spreading to very fundamental institutions.
The Uganda Police where else do you go if you need law and order, if you need investigations and evidence of crimes committed? Institutions like the Uganda Human Rights Commission and Parliament of Uganda are mandated to protect human rights in this country. We need to see these institutions stepping up with conclusive results as in the case of Kasese", said Ovongi.
Ovongi challenged the Defense and Internal Affairs committee of Parliament to spell out what they have done in addressing excesses from the Kasese clashes. She noted that several members of parliament have left the mass murders in Kasese as an issue of the area MPs.
"Leadership demands a solution to a problem, our parliament needs to show that leadership. Elected officials from Uganda paid by taxpayers from the whole country including those from Kasese, go there and demonstrate that this is part of Uganda. Because the primary role is to speak, that is the core role of a parliamentarian.
And you must not leave it to a few parliamentarians from Kasese or those on the opposition…Parliamentarians from the NRM particularly those who are heading committees, let us start naming individuals who are paid by us as taxpayers and are not doing the job. Maybe they are doing it and we are not seeing it. Can they show it? Let them demonstrate, let the show it", she said.
Godber Tumushabe, the executive director at Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment - noted that it is wrong for citizens to keep silent on such matters adding that government institutions would not be sufficient for a thorough investigation.
"I would like to call and encourage our government that they actually take responsibility and own this process because I believe that we have a government that has thrived and cherishes its contribution to creating security, stability. But this country is at pains because it cannot move to the phase of peace and prosperity because peace and prosperity are the only deliverables that you can get from peace and security.
When you don’t move to that point, security and stability become nothing and they become useless for the citizens. I therefore join colleagues here to say, let us have the courage to the truth because the truth will set everybody free", said Tumushabe.
"The world is watching how the government of Uganda responds to the Kasese killings," said Kerry Kennedy, President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. "Nothing less than a comprehensive, credible, and independent investigation is acceptable - particularly into the role played by security forces in the deaths of over one hundred Ugandans."
The organizations in the coalition include, among others, Action Aid Uganda, Advocates for Research in Development (ARiD), Akina Mama Wa Afrika (AMWA), Anti-Mines Network-Rwenzori (AMNET-R), Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG), Chapter Four Uganda, Citizens' Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU), Community Development and Child Welfare Initiatives (CODI), Defenders Protection Initiative (DPI), Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA) Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) and the us based Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
The International City of Kampala is failing to develop properly as government political funding reduce:
The International city Funding by a determined life time African dictatorship. An aerial view of Kampala City. KCCA has suffered a Shs200b budget shortfall after the Ministry of Finance approved Shs410.1b budget ceiling against its proposed Shs600b.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
BY SIRAJE LUBWAMA & AMOS NGWOMOYA
12 May, 2017
UGANDA, KAMPALA: Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has proposed a blend of new taxes and re-introduced those earlier suspended in a bid to plug the Shs200b funding gap. According to the KCCA budget estimates for the Financial Year (FY) 2017/2018, the authority has suffered a Shs200b budget shortfall after the ministry of Finance approved Shs410.1b budget ceiling against their proposed Shs600b. KCCA received Shs563b for the FY 2016/17. Explaining the proposed tax interventions in an interview with Daily Monitor last week, KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi said they have been compelled to introduce new taxes to give the city a facelift as the country aims to achieve a middle income status as envisaged by government.
“We are supposed to do a lot of work including remodelling about 20 roundabouts and increasing solar street lights but the money allocated to us is not enough,” Ms Musisi explained. “We are going to re-introduce property rates on residential-owner occupied properties and introducing new taxes,” Ms Musisi said. Boda boda cyclists and motor vehicles accessing the central business district too will be subjected to a fee, although Ms Musisi did not disclose how much. The new taxes will take effect next FY.
For instance, building plan fees and demolition fees will be increased by 150 per cent, outdoor advertising rates by 100 per cent and street parking fees by 50 per cent. In an effort to streamline the boda-boda operations in the city, KCCA registered 54,393 boda bodas in 2013. However, the exercise was later halted. It is estimated that there are currently 300,000 boda boda riders operating from within Kampala City. Unlike taxis which pay a road user fee of Shs120,000 per month, boda boda riders don’t pay any fees. In the 2015/2016, KCCA then proposed Shs20, 000 to be paid by each cyclist per month. Recently, Ms Musisi told MPs on the Presidential Affairs’ Committee that the authority projects to collect Shs5b annually from bodas. There will also be adjustments in the payment of the property tax to raise KCCA’s revenue collection targets. Property tax is the levy on any property that exists within the jurisdiction of the city.
It’s charged in fulfilment of the periodic statutory requirement of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2005. According to the Act, every property owner is required to pay 6 per cent of the money they collect from buildings after deductions on bills like water, electricity, wages to cleaners and renovation among others. The KCCA director of revenue collections, Mr Samuel Sserunkuuma, told Daily Monitor that they expect to raise Shs50b annually in property tax from all commercial buildings in the city. Currently, KCCA collects only Shs8b. Mr Serunkuuma also explained that they will tighten the grip on the collection of other taxes like ground rent. Kampala minister Beti Olive Kamya last month tabled KCCA’s ministerial policy statement for the next FY, to be scrutinised by the Parliamentary Presidential Affairs’ committee.
Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago expressed apprehension about the slashed KCCA budget saying: “The last time we stopped authority meetings, we were told that KCCA budget has been slashed to Shs314b from Shs562b. How do you tell the country that by 2020, we shall be in the middle income status when you slash money that would modernise the city?” he asked. However, the budget cuts will among others affect major city projects. Ms Kamya and Mr Lukwago concur that since Kampala contributes 70 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the budget should be raised to at least Shs1 trillion.
Budget cuts Making a case for the budget cuts before Parliament, Relief and Disaster Preparedness minister Hillary Onek said all government sectors have been affected and the money will be used to purchase food relief for the hunger-stricken areas.
The budget Since its establishment in 2012, KCCA has enjoyed a budget increment. One of the major areas where it has heavily invested is infrastructure. However, in the next FY’s budget, the unfunded road works are estimated at more than Shs25.4b. Last FY, Shs369.1b was released to the Works and Transport sector but this FY, only Shs116.9b will be availed.
The most affected sector is development and external financing of Kampala Institution Infrastructural Development Project (KIIDP 2) which last FY received Shs237b. This has been reduced to Shs109.4b where government will make a Shs77.6b contribution. On the other hand, trade development and external financing has been reduced to Shs337.3b from last FY’s Shs410.1b with government contributing Shs129.2b. In the new budget, works and transport maintains a lion’s share at Shs118.9b, human resources and administration (Shs89.5b), education (Shs37b), health (Shs20.3b), water and environment (Shs15.5b), political governance (Shs17.8b) and legal support (Shs12.4b). On the other hand, the least funded sectors include social development (Shs1.8b), urban planning (Shs3.4b), executive support (Shs5.4b) and production (Shs7b).
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
A 25-year commercial contract signed by Kenya and Uganda to upgrade one of the longest railway engineering spectacle on the continent of Africa has collapsed:
Posted Wednesday, April 5 2017
By the East African paper.
The dilapidated carriages of the former British colonial East African railways.
The Kenya Railways Corporation has terminated Rift Valley Railways’ (RVR) 25-year contract to run the Kenya-Uganda railway, casting dark clouds over the future of the private operator.
The Business Daily has learnt that Kenya Railways terminated the contract last Thursday, citing RVR’s failure to meet set operating targets, including payment of concession fees.
RVR, whose ownership is controlled by Egyptian private equity firm Qalaa Holding, was informed of the decision through a letter delivered to its bosses on Thursday morning — a day after the operator moved to court seeking orders to stop it.
The termination process was set in motion in January when Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina issued RVR with a notice over unpaid fees amounting to $5.8 million (Sh600m) and a string of misses in cargo haulage targets.
Attend the meeting
RVR’s chief executive Isaiah Okoth declined to comment.
The journey to termination picked pace in mid-March when Kenyan officials travelled to Kampala for a meeting with their Ugandan counterparts to assess RVR’s performance.
Qalaa’s head of transportation division Karim Sadek, who was expected to attend the meeting, failed to show up, instead choosing to send a junior officer.
The snub infuriated the top government officials, who left the meeting having passed a resolution to terminate the contract at the end of the 90-day notice they had issued in January.
Rushed to court
Mr Sadek is reported to have got wind of the looming termination and rushed to court for an injunction to stop it.
But the court declined to issue the order and instead asked the rail firm to return to court the next day (March 30) with the defendants for an inter-partes hearing.
Kenya Railways, which was expected in court on Thursday morning, however made a pre-emptive strike by serving RVR with the termination letter that effectively made the impending court appearance irrelevant.
The dispute
The termination of the contract leaves RVR shareholders, including Qalaa, Uganda’s Bomi Holding, the Kenyan government and the international finance institutions (IFIs) that invested millions of dollars in the rail firm with 180 days to sell it to a strategic investor or return it to Kenya Railways.
The dodgy government of Zambia has decided to give only one week to the citizens to discuss the country's membership to the International Criminal Court:
By AFP
Added 29th March 2017
View of a court room at the International Criminal Court in The Hague in 2016. AFP Photo/Peter Dejong
Zambia opened public consultations this week on the government's plan to leave the International Criminal Court, as several other African countries re-assess their membership.
South Africa recently revoked its planned departure from the ICC, based in The Hague, and The Gambia's new president, Adama Barrow, reversed his predecessor's decision to withdraw.
Zambian justice minister Given Lubinda announced the consultation, which will run until Friday, in a speech to parliament last week.
"The consultative process will be conducted through public hearings in 30 districts where members of the public will be invited to make oral and written submissions," Lubinda said.
The government will then decide whether to seek to leave the court, and plans to announce its decision at an African Union assembly later this year.
The court has been hit by withdrawal threats following longstanding complaints of an alleged bias against African nations.
Along with South Africa and The Gambia, Burundi has also registered to leave, while Kenya is considering following suit.
One Zambian opposition leader accused President Edgar Lungu of trying to evade justice by seeking to leave the court.
"President Lungu thinks that by running away from ICC he cannot face the ICC," said Nason M'soni, of the MMD party.
Opposition parties accuse Lungu of electoral fraud and political violence during his 2016 re-election campaign, though the result was upheld by the country's courts.
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If the African Mafia want to leave the international court, good riddance. Let them make their own international court where their African mafia interests will be well served as for the example in the Congo!
President Museveni of Uganda is used to providing patronage and he is not happy this time round.
His Principal Private Secretary M/s Kamukama has missed out handing over Shs 4.5 billion to his retired soldiers:
M/s Molly Kamukama
Ms Molly Kamukama, the Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to President Yoweri Museveni has allegedly failed to account for over Shs4,5 billion that was allocated to her to cater for NRM civil war soldiers.
A source privy to an ongoing investigation ordered by President Museveni a fortnight ago says Ms Kamukama and a couple of other State House handlers have landed themselves in trouble after a whistle blower informed the big man that the billions he had released last year to the veterans did not reached the intended beneficiaries.
The money was in form of a token of appreciation to the veterans for the job well done which brought Museveni back into power but to his annoyance, instead of the Shs14 million he had ordered to be given to each of his men as a Christmas, only Shs 400,000 was released to them according to Red Spy.
An insider goes ahead to reveal how the President was reportedly enraged on learning about the misappropriation and summoned Ms Kamukama and tasked her to explain where where the money had disappeared to before ordering her to recover it or she loses her powerful job.
Amid growing uncertainty about herself, Ms Kamukama is said to have run to the First Lady Janet Museveni for help and she tried pleading with her husband to no avail.
Her woes are just accumulating . President Museveni recently ordered the heads of spy agencies, CMI and ISO to thoroughly investigate how Kamukama and her fellow State House boss Maj. Edith Nakalema had in collaboration with other staffers duped him into releasing over Shs30 billion to over 70 ghost SACCOs during the campaign process. The allegedly created fake women groups in East Uganda and West Nile.
We reached out to the State House team for a comment but there is no word back.
Ms Kamukama formerly the political assistant in the office of the NRM chairperson (Museveni) has been a trusted aide and became so close to the president during campaigns and most sensitive matters like handling the most of the elections cash were entrusted to her. She is an astute mobiliser and smooth political operator and run a unique campaign structure in Mbuya with a healthy budget and political communication bureau that swayed hundreds of thousands of votes to the incumbent.
In Uganda, the opposition after failing to boycott the recently finished National Elections, is now requesting a National Dialogue with the incumbent and illegitimate President of Uganda:
February 24, 2017
Written by MOSES KHISA
Word on the grapevine this week has been that preliminary efforts are underway to get opposition leader Kizza Besigye into discussions with our long-surviving ruler, General Museveni.
Undoubtedly, an honest and transparent national political dialogue is long overdue. But it is not a dialogue that brings Dr Besigye and Museveni to pose for photos in a useless public relations exercise. This has been Besigye’s point of contention when similar overtures came up in the past.
Uganda has been on political tension for long. The future of our politics is decidedly uncertain and the current state of our economy is rather precarious.
There is no guarantee that Museveni will peacefully leave power and let the country to carry on under a new leader and a different government. The much-talked-about possible handover to his son or wife will be a most disastrous move for the country.
Museveni’s long stay at the helm, a staggering uninterrupted 31 years, placing him in the top-five longest-serving current African rulers, has created a deeply-explosive political environment for the country.
Staying too long in power can potentially be bad in and of itself. It breads endemic institutional decay and festers a moribund system of public management. Up to a certain point, it is impossible to reinvent and articulate a freshly-progressive agenda.
All African countries with long-surviving rulers are facing precisely the same problem of political decay and dysfunction as we see in Museveni’s Uganda.
The Ugandan economy has been in freefall over the last few years; in fact, one can say it never quite recovered fully from the plunge of 2011. There is need for a rethink of the overarching economic approach and mobilize a new sense of purpose to turn things around.
The current government shows no such attempts at a radical rethink and renewed determination. If the economy can’t perform, if new jobs can’t be created to take in at least a fraction of the army of the unemployed, and if inflation keeps surging as the shilling plunges, Museveni’s continued stay will become even more tenuous.
There stands the lot of them (opposition)who new what was coming from a rigged election but then decided to stand as Presidential candidates in last year's General Election.
But Museveni faces a much bigger problem. Even if the economy was doing well and state institutions were functional, the president, nevertheless, faces a huge legitimacy problem. Many Ugandans, perhaps in their millions, including me, do not consider Museveni a legitimately-elected president of Uganda.
He may be a legally sworn-in president, but he is not a validly-elected president. It is very likely that Museveni last won an election, genuinely and squarely, in 2001. After that, it has been one gamed election in succession.
The 2006 election was fixed at the helm of security and intelligence agencies. General David Sejusa has patently confirmed this. He was a key actor and directly participated in procuring an outcome that the Electoral Commission announced.
The 2011 election was, to put it mildly, bought. After a raid on the treasury, votes were literally purchased, one-by-one in some places. The economic turmoil following that election, which precipitated a near collapse of the shilling and an inflationary spiral, bespoke of huge sums deployed to secure the election outcome.
The 2016 election, too, was fixed. The best one can say about 2016 is that we don’t know who won the election. Perhaps some day we shall get to know what exactly happened. What we know is that the EC chairman declared General Museveni duly elected, and the Supreme court added a deeply unfortunate seal of approval.
But why would a legitimately elected president order a military/police siege on the residence of his main challenger? Why deploy heavily armed military and police personnel everywhere in the capital if the poll was transparent, fair, and credible?
Museveni is in State House, but he doesn’t enjoy the popular will of majority Ugandans. He can carry on, though, but the bigger problem is the headache presented by an intrepid challenger who remains determined to question the legitimacy of Museveni’s rule.
We don’t know the actual financial cost of containing Kizza Besigye, but it must be enormous. Yet, to be sure, the indirect and insidious cost to the economy, to the image of the country, to the credibility of state institutions is much bigger and immeasurable.
And the standoff and uncertainty is not about to end. Thus, the prudent solution is to have principled and structured dialogue, to find a workable settlement and start planning a post-Museveni Uganda, not for Besigye to recognize Museveni as president and Museveni to reciprocate in some way.
It has to be dialogue about moving the country forward and hopefully salvaging whatever positive legacy there is for a man who up until the late 1990s had emerged as a highly respected statesman.
As matters stand now, national dialogue is Museveni’s best exit strategy, to secure his retirement and get some assurances about life outside State House. Without candid and comprehensive national dialogue, the politics of confrontation will continue. The tensions will go on and the uncertainty will deepen.
Another Museveni-Besigye electoral contest in 2021 will take us further away from a peaceful and negotiated transition. I hope that Besigye, for one, will not contemplate such a plan.
The author teaches political science at Northwestern University/Evanston, Chicago-USA.
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So what of M7's dodgy national constitution? You mean that this country is going to accede to the nice national NRM constitution when the year 2021 approaches?
The Uganda Army has been deployed abroad again without the approval of the Uganda Parliament
Welcome. Former Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Katumba Wamala (left) meets president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on July 28 last year. PHOTO BY GUINEA CUATORIAL PRESS
By FREDERIC MUSISI & RISDEL KASASIRA17 February, 2017
KAMPALA. The first batch of Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) troops left quietly for Equatorial Guinea late last year for a covert mission of reinforcing security for that country’s president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, and officially to strengthen capacity of the Guinean armed forces, according to highly placed military sources. The troops, drawn from different army units — Logistics, Special Forces, Intelligence, Medical and Motorised Infantry — are also said to have left with own military hardware, which the army spokesperson Brig Richard Karemire denied but acknowledged that the first batch left last year for “reconnaissance” before others could go. “There is nothing like that, as if they were going to fight war. That is not correct,” Brig Karemire told Saturday Monitor.
“Equatorial Guinea is a brotherly country to us, and it is for that reason our forces were invited to help train the Guinean forces to attain a certain level of professionalism — that is all.” He added: “We are helping our brothers on the continent when we are called upon to, and as [Saturday] Monitor, you should be looking at it that way and supporting us.” According to the US intelligence agency, CIA fact book, Equatorial Guinea has a small army of about 1,500 troops. It has 400 policemen, 200 navy service members, and about 120 in the air force. The country was thrust into the spot recently for granting asylum to former Gambian strongman Yahayah Jammeh, who was forced out after 22 years in power by Economic Community of West Africa. Mr Jammeh had conceded defeat in the elections but later tried to cling on.
Long serving leaders President Obiang Nguema is ranked the longest serving non-traditional leader in the world, with 37 years under his belt. He is followed by Angola’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos with 36 years, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe (36 years); Cameroon’s Paul Biya (33 years); Uganda’s President Museveni (31 years); and Sudan’s Omar Bashir (27 years). Brig Karemire explained that in the one year renewable mission, according to the Status of Forces Agreement, Equatorial Guinea agreed to cater for transport, logistics, feeding, allowances and other incidentals of the Uganda troops.
Although the army says it deployed about 100 troops to the central African oil-producing but impoverished country, sources familiar with the matter put the numbers at more than 150. The last batch of troops are said to have left on January 17. Uganda already has more than 6,000 troops in Somalia deployed under African Union and two battalions in the Central African Republic hunting down the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels led by Joseph Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court. The first batch that left under the command of Lt Col Wycliffe Keita had prior to the deployment trained at the UPDF camp in Singo. Lt Col Keita recently served in Somalia under United Nations Guard Unit that protects UN installations.
Asked whether before the deployment the army had sought parliamentary approval, Brig Karemire said approvals are requisite when it is a peace-keeping mission “but in this case, it is not.” Apparently, the deployment was preceded by back and forth engagements at the highest level. President Nguema’s minister for external security, Mr Juan Antonio Nchuchuma, was in Uganda on July 16 last year and is said to have carried a “special message” for President Museveni with whom they held a private meeting. On July 28, the former Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Katumba Wamala, flew to Malabo, the country’s capital, with a special “textual message” for president Obiang Nguema and the two discussed military cooperation, according to information available to Saturday Monitor.
The Museveni - Nguema affair
The 75-year-old Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo assumed power in August 1979 after mounting a coup that toppled his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, who was also the country’s first president. The former, considered likely to have been a psychopath, is regarded as one of post-independent Africa’s cruellest and corrupt leaders. However, after several years in power, president Obiang Nguema became a copy and paste of his uncle. His single party government is known for its repressive tendencies, crackdown of Opposition, and excessive corruption. According to the International Monetary Fund, Equatorial Guinea boasts the highest level of per capita income in all sub-Saharan Africa, at $22,300 (about Shs79 million) per year, about the same as Portugal but more than three-quarters of the population live below the poverty line.
According to the New York based Natural Resources Governance Institute that monitors transparency in extractives, the country is the third-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, supplying 304,000 barrels a day, but its oil revenues are mostly misused. President Nguema is currently deputised by his son Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, who is seen as the next in line. Junior Nguema is known for living large with mansions in America and Europe. Last October, authorities in Switzerland commenced investigations into the wealth of the young Nguema at the request of France on claims of money laundering. President Obiang Nguema, like other African strongmen, is known for preaching pan-Africanism, especially during African Union (AU) Summits. The 23rd AU Summit was held in Malabo in 2014. At President Museveni’s swearing-in for a fifth elective term in office last May, president Obiang Nguema was one of the 11 African leaders that graced the occasion.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
In Uganda after 30 years in government, efforts are being made to recover the tropical green forests and Leisure parks:
National Forest Emperor Michael Mugisa (2nd right) and other NFA officials inspect Minziro border post last week. This is one of the routes used to smuggle timber to Tanzania.
BY AL-MAHDI SSENKABIRWA
13 February, 2017
Rakai. Government has deployed a combined force of UPDF soldiers and police in Malabigambo Central Forest Reserve in Kyebe Sub-county, Rakai District, to fight illegal logging. This follows reports that National Forestry Authority (NFA) supervisors in the district have been colluding with police officers to clear truck-loads of illegal timber, with some crossing to neighbouring Tanzania through the porous border points. Brig Richard Karemire, the UPDF spokesperson confirmed the deployment at the weekend, saying the officers will carry out regular foot patrols around and within the forest to ensure that no more illegal logging takes place. “We have found it imperative to deploy in that forest (Malabigambo) like we have done in other forests to save what is left of our forests,” he said by telephone. He, however, declined to reveal how many soldiers were deployed.
Both the army and environment police have already deployed in other central forests where illegal logging and encroachment has been high. Such forests include Kagombe, Bugoma and Zoka forest reserves in Kibaale, Hoima and Adjumani districts respectively. Last week, Lt Col Allan Kyangungu, the commander National Vital Assets & Strategic Installations Unit met Rakai District leaders and urged them to cooperate with the army and police to ensure that all other forests and wetlands in the district are free of encroachers. During the meeting which was also attended by National Forestry Authority executive director Michael Mugisa, the leaders formed a joint taskforce chaired by the district chairperson, Mr Charles Mubiru, to mobilise and sensitise residents about sustainable use, management and protection of the environment. The deployment comes a few months after Environment minister Sam Cheptoris inspected the forest on President Museveni’s orders to assess the extent of its destruction.
While meeting victims of the September 10 earthquake which shook parts of Rakai District last year, residents complained to Mr Museveni that the forest reserve was being cut down and NFA officials and police were doing nothing to address the problem. Mr Hashim Kasinga, the district police commander, said: “...I want to tell you that it is not going to be business as usual. If any of our officers has been in any way aiding people who destroy our forests, let him reform now or face the law.” Mr Mugisa said no timber dealer is licensed to cut trees in all central forest reserves and wondered why individuals continue to claim that they possess valid licenses allowing them to cut timber. “ We suspended cutting of trees in all forest reserves under our mandate and whoever is doing it does so at his or her own risk,” he said.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
In the Republic of Congo, Kinshasa is a ghost city as Kabila's Presidential tenure ends:
A street in Kinshasa. The DR Congo capital, normally a teeming megacity home to 10 million people, is a shadow of its normal self early Monday, December 19, 2016, with quiet main city arteries almost empty of traffic with just a day left of Congolese President Joseph Kabila's mandate.
PHOTO | FILE
By AFP
Posted Monday, December 19 2016
Workers and schoolchildren stayed at home and patrolling soldiers outnumbered civilians in some parts of Kinshasa Monday as tensions rose with one day left of Congolese President Joseph Kabila's mandate.
Kabila's second term ends on December 20 but he has shown no sign of stepping down and mediation talks have failed, sparking fears of fresh political violence in the mineral-rich but unstable Democratic Republic of Congo.
The capital Kinshasa, normally a teeming megacity home to 10 million people, was a shadow of its normal self early Monday, according to AFP journalists there, with quiet main city arteries almost empty of traffic.
Public transport was running a minimal service and in the north and east of the city, soldiers and police outnumbered passers-by.
Shops were shuttered in the city's main square with an armoured police vehicle stationed on one corner.
Kabila, 45, is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term but has indicated he wants to stay in power until a successor is chosen.
However, no elections are planned and some opposition figures want him to hand over to a transitional leadership until a vote can be organised.
In a last-ditch bid to achieve a peaceful transfer of power, talks took place between the ruling party and fringe opposition groups allied against a mainstream opposition coalition led by 84-year-old Etienne Tshisekedi.
But despite more than a week of mediation they broke up on Saturday, with no progress made on the main issues that divide the two sides.
Negotiations are due to resume on Wednesday when Catholic bishops acting as mediators return from a long-planned trip to Rome — a day after Kabila's term ends.
The president has been in power since his father Laurent Kabila was assassinated in 2001. He was elected in 2006, and again in 2011, in a poll the opposition decried as rigged.
Tshisekedi's opposition grouping has threatened to bring people into the streets from Monday if the talks failed.
Leaflets urging people to retake Kinshasa "street by street, district by district until we retake the whole of the DRC", have begun to circulate in the capital.
But so far the opposition has refrained from urging a general mobilisation, while the international community has pleaded for calm on all sides.
Tensions were also running high elsewhere in the country, with security heightened notably in the towns of Lubumbashi, Goma and Kisangani.
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These African dictators are the same. They come in power to chase away dictators but then they become dictators ten times more.
Adolf Hitler's birthplace of 1889 is to be turned into a care home for disabled persons:
Adolf Hitler was fascinated by hands. His library contained pictures and drawings of hands belonging to famous people throughout history.
.The Austrian house where Adolf Hitler was born is to be turned into a care home for disabled people.
The property, in the town of Braunau am Inn on the Austria-Germany border, has been the subject of a lengthy dispute between its elderly owner, Gerlinde Pommer and the Austrian government.
The lower house of country's parliament this week passed a new law giving it power to seize the house after Ms Pommer consistently refused to sell it or allow renovations.
Some local people demanded the property be demolished to prevent it becoming a shrine for neo-Nazis, hundreds of whom visit the town every year.
But a meeting of Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka, Braunau mayor Johannes Waidbacher and provincial governor Josef Puehringer decided the building should be used to help disabled people - a group that suffered persecution under the Nazi regime.
“Instead of demolishing history, we want to create an antithesis to the Nazi regime," After the meeting Mr Puhringer said. “Its old identity will no longer be recognisable.
“Social use [of the house], as has been the case for many years already, is a life-affirming statement, a homage to the victims of National Socialism and a clear symbol against the crimes committed by Hitler.”
The Old House Building in Austria, Europe
Provided by Independent Print LimitedThe building had been subject of much debate, with anti-fascist groups and some Austrian Jews calling for its destruction. Others argued it was a vital part of the town’s history and said tearing it down would amount to overlooking Austria’s Nazi past.
Ms Pommer, who once ran the property as guesthouse, will be compensated.
The local government has been renting the property for several years and using it as a centre for disabled people. That arrangement will now be made permanent in the hope the house will continue to be a symbol against Nazi hatred for many years to come.
The Nazi leader was born on the top floor of the house 20 April 1889. He spent the first three years of his life in Braunau Inn before his family moved to Passau, Germany.
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"The great mass of people...will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one."
"What luck for rulers that men don't think."
"Strength lies not in defence, but in attack."
The International Criminal Court Should Hang President Museveni for what has happened in the Western Province of Uganda:
Tanzania President Magufuli has this evening condemned the extrajudicial killings in Kasese, Uganda, saying Uganda’s President Mr.Yoweri Museveni has become an embarrasement to the East Africa Community:
Brig Peter Elwelu, the Uganda 2nd Division Commander, who led the Kasese palace invasion on November 27, 2016 that claimed at least 62 African lives
This is the burnt out African Palace of the King of the Rwenzururu territory in Western Uganda.
The official body count of both the police/army and Rwenzururu royal guards killed in Sunday afternoon’s clashes, by press time Monday, according to police, remained 62. Another 139 royal guards were arrested and were being detained at the Kasese Police Station, while items that were reportedly recovered by police from scene included 16 petrol bombs, 42 knives, and three metal detectors.
The deadly offensive, in the long standing chapter of hostilities between government forces and the Obusinga Bwa (king of) Rwenzururu, which has divided the public court of opinion was commanded by Brig Peter Elwelu, the UPDF 2nd Division Commander, who described the actions of the royal guards as those of a terrorist group threatening peace in the region.
He defended the army’s actions saying King Mumbere had been given an ultimatum of two hours to disband and disarm all royal guards from the palace, but in vain.
A battle-hardened soldier, born-again Christian, and gentleman, Brig Elwelu, led the first contingent of Ugandan troops—Battle Group One (UGABAG1), which landed under a hail of fire in Mogadishu on March 6, 2007—under auspices of the US/European Union funded African Union Mission to Somalia (Amisom).
Before the full scale deployment, in 2005 he was among the select group of officers alongside (now) Gen Kale Kayihura, and Brig Dick Olum (current 3rd Division commanding officer) whom President Museveni quietly dispatched to Baidoa, capital of Somalia's southwestern Bay region, to study the security and political situation.
Marauding warriors
Prior to the Somalia mission, he had been in operation in northern Uganda during the LRA insurgency.
He returned from Somalia in December 2008, and was deployed as 3rd Division UPDF commander in the Eastern/Karamoja region that was tasked to disarm marauding warriors and cattle rustlers through thick and thin.
From there in June 2013, he was tapped as commander of the Western-Uganda based 2nd Division taking over from Col. Fred Rugadya Akiiki, the deputy division commander, charged with shielding the area from any potential ADF threat.
In the wake of hostilities between security forces and King Mumbere, the UPDF launched an operation code-named “Usalama Rwenzori (Peace in Rwenzori) in the districts of Kasese, Kabarole, Ntoroko and Bundibugyo to contain the situation.
Sadly, Sunday's episode spiralled out of control.
The brutal Nigerian security forces have shot and killed 150 peaceful pro-Biafra African citizen protesters:
23November, 2016
Nigeria’s security forces have killed more than 150 peaceful protestors since August 2015, a human rights group has claimed.
Amnesty International said the country’s military used live ammunition and deadly force against pro-Biafra protestors who were campaigning for independence from Nigeria.
Modern day Nigerian citizens trying to demostrate peacifully in their own country.
The federal army officers listening attentively to the interview. The military interest in this African country is better served if Nigeria remains a Union of federated states.
Amnesty’s report is based on interviews with almost 200 people, alongside more than 100 photographs and 87 videos.
Among the allegations contained in the report are what Amnesty called “extrajudicial executions”, when 60 people were shot and killed in Onitsha, in the two days surrounding Biafra Remembrance Day in May 2016.
“This reckless and trigger-happy approach to crowd control has caused at least 150 deaths, and we fear the actual total might be far higher” said Makmid Kamara, Amnesty’s interim director for Nigeria.
Other victims detailed in the report include a 26-year-old man who was shot in Nkpor, but hid in a gutter, still alive. He said when soldiers found him, they poured acid over him, and told him he would die slowly.
Another woman said she had been speaking to her husband on a mobile phone when he told her he had been shot in the abdomen. He was calling from a military vehicle, she said, and she heard gunshots. She later found his body in a morgue with two more wounds in his chest, leading her to believe he had been executed after the call.
The human rights organisation said pro-Biafra protests had been “large peaceful” despite occasional incidents of protester throwing stones and burning tyres – and one occasion when someone shot at police.
“Regardless, these acts of violence and disorder did not justify the level of force used against the whole assembly.”
But army spokesman Sani Usman that “the military and other security agencies exercised maximum restraints despite the flurry of provocative and unjustifiable violence”.
Source: BBC
The Rwanda-European Catholic Church, finally offers apology over an African genocide:
Preserved human skulls on display at the Genocide Memorial in Nyamata, inside a Catholic church where thousands were slaughtered during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. FILE PHOTO | AFP
By Xinhua
Posted Monday, November 21 2016
The Rwanda-European Catholic Church Sunday apologised for its priests’ role in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis, which killed close to one million people.
The apology contained in a statement signed by nine Catholic Bishops who constitute the Episcopal Council was read after mass on Sunday.
“We apologise on behalf of all Christians for all forms of wrongs we committed.
“Forgive us for the crime of hate in the country to the extent of also hating our colleagues because of their ethnicity. We didn’t show that we are one family but instead killed each other. Forgive us for the crimes committed by priests and nuns and church leadership that promoted ethnic divisionism and hate,” the statement reads.
The statement also adds the Catholic Church had not instructed any of its members to commit genocide crimes.
Genocide scholars hailed the development, terming it as "landmark", since the Catholic Church had remained unyielding to pressure to make a public apology for the last two decades.
The Rwandan government has accused the Catholic Church of offering “indispensable support” to the genocidal regime during the massacre and of failing to take a moral stand against it.
Thousands had been killed inside churches and church compounds where they had sought refuge.
Shortly after the genocide, a report by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union, described the Church in Rwanda as carrying a “heavy responsibility” for failing to oppose, and even promoting ethnic discrimination.
Since 1996, several clergy members of the Church have been convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity by Rwandan courts.
For more than two decades, the Vatican has maintained that, while individual clergymen were guilty of crimes, the Church as an institution bears no responsibility.
In April 2014, Pope Francis told the Rwandan Catholic bishops to work closely with the government and help Rwandans not be held back by genocide and its effects.
CHILDREN ARE BURNT IN THEIR PARENTS'HOUSE BECAUSE MODERN SOLAR DEVICES ARE HEAVILY TAXED FOR THE TROPICAL AFRICAN POOR TO USE:
E'Buganda Abaana 3 basirikkidde mu nyumba E Najjanankumbi:
By Musasi wa Bukedde
Added 12th November 2016
Nnaalongo Nakayima ne mutabani we, Bukenya eyasimattuse ate emabega y’ennyumba abaana abasatu mwe baggyiiridde. Ku ddyo ye mugenzi Frank Wasswa.
EKIKANGABWA kibuutikidde abatuuze b’e Najjanankubi Church Zooni ku luguudo lw’e Busaabala, abooluganda basatu okuli n’abalongo ab’emyka 3, bwe baasirikkidde mu nnyumba eyakutte omuliro mu kiro ekyakeesezza Olwokutaano.
Ennyumba eyakutte omuliro ya Nnaalongo ne Ssaalongo Edward Bukenya omuvuzi wa bodaboda ku luguudo lw’e Busaabala. Abaana baabwe okuli; Frank Wasswa, Mariam Nakato 3, ne William Kizza 2, be basirisse oluvannyuma lw’enju okukwata omuliro oguteeberezebwa okuva ku musubbaawa ogwalekeddwa mu nnyumba.
Maama w’abaana bano ategeezezza nti omuliro we gwakwatidde yabadde mu ffumbiro eriri mmita nga ssatu okuva ku nnyumba kyokka gwagenze okukwata ng’abaana bonna bali mu nnyumba era babiri be baasimattuse.
Ronnie Lubega, 7 yasimatusse n’ebisago eby’amaanyi nga kati ajjanjabibwa mu ddwaaliro ly’e Kiruddu - Mulago.
Ate Raymond Bukenya Kigongo yataasiddwa nnyina era teyafunye kisago kyonna. Nnaalongo Aidah Nakayima agamba nti yabadde mu ffumbiro ng’afumba kyaggulo ku ssaawa nga 3.00 ez’ekiro, n’alaba ekikka eky’amaanyi nga kikutte waggulu ku mabaati ate ng’abaana baasimula nga bwe bakuba emiranga.
Ekyaddiridde, muliro kubumbujja n’alaya enduulu eyaleese abatuuze kyokka baagenze okutuuka ng’abaana basatu bafudde. “Eggulo nasiibye nnumizibwa era Ssaalongo ye yafumbye ekyemisana kubanga teyakoze ku makya.
Yavudde awaka ku ssaawa 12 ez’akawungezi okugenda ku mulimu kyokka omuliro we gwakwatidde yabadde tannadda waka,’’ Nnaalongo bwe yategeezezza. Sarah Nsanja ow’abakyala w’ekyalo yagambye nti abatuuze bano tebabadde na buzibu na muntu yenna n’asaba abazirakisa okubadduukirira kubanga tebasigazza kantu konna.
Emirambo giri mu ddwaaliro e Mulago gye gigenda okuggyibwa gitwalibwe ku kyalo Buwama Ssango gye bagenda okuziika.
Nb
Abange abazadde banaffe, ffenna tweyiwe ku Parliament etere esale ku bbeyi ye ttaala za masanyalaze. Government egyewo omusolo gwa solar kutabaza. Nga sibwekityo abalaba ebiriwo kubaana baffe bagamba nti olwobwavu abazadde aba Africa tuli mulukwe lwokwokya abaana baffe baleme okubonabona obwavu bwensi eno nayo eyabwe.
English translation:
Fellow parents let us all march to Parliament so that this Parliament can reduce the high rate of electricity for our domestic lights. The government should remove any tax on the solar energy concerning lighting our houses. If not we are taking the blame as parents that we are in the conspiracy to kill off our children so that they must not suffer poverty in their very own country!
The Total Amount Of Debt In The World is on Record at $152,000,000,000,000
(152 Trillion dollars)
By Michael Snyder,
Posted October 11th, 2016
Planet Earth absorbed into the face of the sun
If anyone ever asks you how much debt there is in the world, now you will know the answer. According to the IMF, the total amount of debt around the globe has now hit a staggering 152 trillion dollars. That is an amount of money that is almost unimaginable, and the IMF says that it is equivalent to 225 percent of global GDP. It is the biggest debt bubble in the history of the planet, and it is rising at an extremely alarming pace. Experts all over the world agree that when this debt bubble finally bursts, it is going to create an economic crisis on a scale that humanity has never seen before.
When I first saw this number I was absolutely astounded at how reckless we all have become, and I was also amazed that there was hardly anything about this announcement in the mainstream media in the United States. The following excerpt comes from a story in a major British news source…
The International Monetary Fund has urged governments to take action to tackle a record $152tn debt mountain before it triggers a fresh global financial and economic crisis.
Warning that debt levels were not just high but rising, the IMF said it was vital to intervene early in order to mitigate the risks of a repeat of the damaging events that began with the collapse of the US sub-prime housing bubble almost a decade ago.
It said that new research in its half-yearly fiscal monitor covering 113 countries had shown that debt was currently 225% of global GDP, with the private sector responsible for two-thirds of the total.
Right now the mainstream media in the United States is so obsessed with Trump and Clinton that almost every other important story is pushed to the side, but it boggles my mind how this cannot be major front page news.
When we borrow money, consumption is transferred from the future to the present. For example, if you put a 70 inch television on your credit card today, the quality of your lifestyle will immediately go up, but you won’t have that money to spend at some point in the future. In fact, you are ultimately going to pay back significantly more money than you originally spent for the television.
So when we go into debt, we are literally destroying the future one dollar at a time.
On a national scale, what we are doing to our children, our grandchildren and all future generations of Americans is beyond criminal. Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers warned that government debt was simply thievery from future generations, and they were exactly right. If future generations get the chance, they will look back and curse us for what we have done to them.
Earlier today I looked up our national debt, and it is currently sitting at $19,688,773,606,117.54. That means that Barack Obama has officially become “the 9 trillion dollar man”.
When Barack Obama entered the White House, the U.S. government was 10.6 trillion dollars in debt, and now we are 19.6 trillion dollars in debt, and there is a very good chance that we could hit 20 trillion dollars by the time he leaves the White House on January 20th, 2017.
In a just society, the politicians that have done this to future generations of Americans would be going to jail, but instead we put them up on pedestals.
It is truly hard to grasp how much money “a trillion dollars” represents.
For instance, if you were alive when Jesus Christ was born, and you had spent a million dollars every single day since that time, you still would not have spent a trillion dollars by now.
Since Barack Obama entered the White House, we have been stealing more than 100 million dollars from future generations of Americans every single hour of every single day, and as Obama’s second term draws to a close the pace of that theft is accelerating according to Simon Black…
In fact, for the 2016 fiscal year that ends in just ten more days, the US government’s debt growth of $1.36 trillion is on track to be the third biggest annual increase ever.
The only two years in all of US history that posted higher US debt growth were 2010 and 2011– the peak of the financial crisis.
Even more acutely, last month the US federal debt grew by $151.5 billion.
Not counting the financial crisis, and a few anomalous months following a debt ceiling reset, August 2016 was the single biggest expansion of US debt EVER.
How could we do this?
And I know that I have pointed the finger at Barack Obama a lot in this article, but the truth is that Republicans are highly to blame as well.
The Tea Party revolution of 2010 gave the Republicans control of the House of Representatives, and since that time they have also gained control of the Senate. Without Republican approval, Barack Obama would not be able to spend a single penny. The American people were counting on the Republicans to put a lid on the wild spending of Barack Obama and the Democrats, and the Republicans in Congress have completely failed.
Nobody wants to end the party. Because without a doubt, cutting back on our wild borrowing and spending would seriously damage the economy in the present, and nobody wants to be responsible for that.
So now the only thing to do is to keep the party going for as long as possible until it ends in a horrible, fiery crash.
Overall, the total amount of debt in the United States is now roughly equivalent to 350 percent of U.S. GDP, and a day of reckoning is rapidly approaching. Just consider what Charles Schwab’s chief investment strategist, Liz Ann Sonders, recently told Business Insider…
Sonders noted that total debt — public, private, nonfinancial, and financial — had become 350% of gross domestic product, and that is already causing problems for the economy.
“The question I get all the time is: When are we going to hit the wall? When are we going to hit the debt wall?” Sonders said. “I think we hit the debt wall in ’08, which unleashed a big round one of what I think will be a rolling set of crises — and not just in the US but globally.“
And I very much agree with her.
We definitely “hit a wall” in 2008, but it was just “round one” of our problems.
The coming rounds are going to be even more painful, but most Americans don’t understand this.
Most Americans seem to believe that our debt-fueled standard of living can be sustained indefinitely and that there is nothing to be concerned about.
Unfortunately, the laws of economics cannot be defied forever, and eventually the American people are going to experience economic and financial pain on a scale that we have never seen before in our entire history.
The Secretary General of the United Nations wants the United States of America to stop using its dollar currency to support international trade in fossil fuels all over the world:
Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, speaks at the UN World Climate Change Conference 2016 in Marrakesh, Morocco
Posted Tuesday, November 15 2016
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon called Tuesday for the "elimination of fossil fuel subsidies" to accelerate the transition to clean energy for the sake of the planet.
Countries and businesses must do more to curtail global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions, he said in Marrakesh, which is hosting the annual UN climate conference.
"We have no right to gamble with the fate of future generations or imperil the survival of other species that share our planet."
Ban said planet-warming greenhouse-gas emissions must peak by 2020 and decline rapidly thereafter for the world to meet the UN goal of limiting average global warming to under two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels.
Current country pledges to curb emissions "will not get us out of us the danger zone," he warned.
Last year was the warmest on record, the UN secretary-general noted, adding that 2016 "is virtually certain to be even hotter."
"Today more than 150 million people live on land that could be submerged or suffer chronic flooding within this century, possibly causing massive waves of migration and instability," Ban said.
The choices we make today could have "catastrophic climate impacts" for thousands of years to come.
"This is an enormous responsibility and an enormous opportunity to do what is right for our future," said Ban, attending his last Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN's climate body before his term ends.
"I strongly urge all countries to increase the mitigation ambition of their national climate plans by 2018," he said.
"The private sector must also do much more, and I call for the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies to accelerate the transition to clean energy."
Mr Severino Lukoya walks out of Gulu Central Police Station last year after briefly being detained following the death of a child at his temple.
Nakayima muka Matsiko n’abaana baabwe abagiddwako abazzadde baabwe nga bambi tebamanyi gyebabatute ne kakati.
Tanzania President Magufuli has this evening condemned the extrajudicial killings in Kasese, Uganda, saying Uganda’s President Mr.Yoweri Museveni has become an embarrasement to the East Africa Community:
Modern day Nigerian citizens trying to demostrate peacifully in their own country.
The International price of Crude Oil presently is 55 dollars a barrel.