The United States of America's dodgy rhetoric discourages Ugandan citizens to accept, recognize and practice free and fair western civilised democracies:

North America desires to enjoy the true modern civilization of free and fair democracy and human rights, at the expense of the rest of the world citizenry: 

 

By World Media and by Kakwenza Rukirabashaija

 

US Ambassador William Popp with Uganda President Yoweri Museveni

 

On Wednesday last week, the AGORA Public discourse forum steered by two renowned civil rights lawyers and activists; Agather Atuhaire and Godwin Toko, held an X (formerly Twitter) space where they hosted the ambassador of the United States of America in Uganda, William W. Popp, to talk about, among other issues, the commemoration of the human rights day.

It was a smooth question-and-answer discussion where many Ugandans sent in their questions and the ambassador succinctly answered. However, one of his ambiguous answers which captured my attention was when he was asked why the USA government keeps coddling the Ugandan government which is notorious for human rights abuses.

 

His answer, to quote him without changing anything, was "Ultimately, what will resolve the human rights issues in Uganda are Ugandans. What the US Mission Uganda does, as with Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), is statutory assessment made of the Ugandan situation and a pronouncement is done."

I did not have the time to respond to him in the form of a follow-up question since I was busy but I guess he reads this wonderful newspaper and will read my response which is informed by my little knowledge of the International Human Rights Law, institutions and mechanisms.

 

Whereas it is indubitably true that Ugandans are responsible for extricating ourselves from the 1986 pandemic in which we are encapsulated, it is important not to forget that that would only be possible in a democratic process. But do Ugandans have a say in a presidential election which is always marred by violence and high scale rigging?

Democracy depends on strong and independent institutions coupled with rule of law–as an ingredient. These ingredients are, on the face of it, absent. Even a village champion knows very well that militarisation and monetisation of politics can never deliver a peaceful transfer of power through elections.

 

The judiciary that is tasked with enforcing the human rights laws have always recalcitrantly failed to stay the proceedings when issues of rights abuse are brought up in court, and the judicial service commission in lieu of punishing such errant judicial officers, has always recommended the same for promotion. The Uganda Human rights Commission, pursuant to its constitutional mandate, is in coma.

So what next?

International law provides for extraterritorial obligation of states over other states when it comes to issues to do with human rights. If the democratic process through which Ugandans are constitutionally tasked to dispose off a useless government and bring in another has failed, other state parties to numerous international statutes like International Covenant on Civil, Political and Civil rights, Convention Against Torture, Universal Declaration on Human Rights among others, parties may hold Uganda accountable for violating human rights of citizens.

States like the US are duty-bound to support one another and cooperate in the realization of all peoples' rights, not rhetoric statements and other ineffectual disciplinary tactics that are once in a while thrown here and there. The USA government and other partners know very well that the support in form of financial and hardware that they export to Uganda for military and police use, are used to commit and facilitate serious violations of human rights and therefore their position on the Arms Trade Treaty is key!

 

We have been in those dungeons and we can tell the tools of torture that the security persons use there. One of the absolute norms of international law is the prohibition of torture. There is no excuse for the Uganda government to resort to the torture of critics. The advantage of this absoluteness is the universal jurisdiction and individual criminal responsibility at the international level, which means that security officers in the UPDF, Prisons and Police who directly torture and those that bear command responsibility can be arrested or extradited to any state where victims of torture have reported their cases and be prosecuted.

Throughout the US diplomatic relations with Uganda, this has never happened. There are very many torture victims who flee Uganda and run to the USA or Europe and report torture through the recognised external institutions and mechanisms. We only see our tormentors on the territory of the USA or Europe enjoying diplomatic privileges despite obligations to arrest and prosecute them.

 

Also, during the meeting with the Chinese envoy on 23.11.2023, the Rt. Hon. deputy speaker of parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, spewed some unfortunate comments criticizing western powers over their interference with the internal matters of China's human rights records in Hong Kong, Tibet–saying these are internal matters that can be handled by China.

Former comrade during the Reform Agenda, I hope that you now know, from my succinct explanation above, that protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms can in no way be considered an interference in a state's internal affairs.

Despite the geopolitical expediency of the US government in the Great Lakes region, this is the time for the US to identify fairly democratic nations as reliable partners in fulfilling their interests, other than depending on brutal rulers who have no respect for a democratic process, human rights and rule of law.

Your dependency on them gives them wings which they use to proliferate our oppression, and that is how we, the oppressed, legitimately call you out that your interests cannot be at the expense of our lives and welfare!

The author is an exiled novelist and LLM student of Public International Law at Europa Universtät

Man well written. USA is well aware of your dilemma. Most probably such your dilemma is the same as the USA is suffering from. USA and probably Great Britain too were the first countries that opposed the guerrilla warfare of Museveni, Kayiira, and Lule when they were in Tanzania and in the bushes of Luweero killing innocent civilians. Obote, Amin, and all the rest, were then on the other side of universal human rights making love with the USA and Britain. USA and Britain especially always branded Museveni's guerilla outfit a Marxism political philosophy! Unfortunately one believes that when these so called new African communists on the continent of Africa 1970/90 pulled out USA currency dollar bills to buy military hardware, the USA did sell them as much arms as they wanted!

 

 

 

The President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, as the new chairman of the East African Community, believes that he can steer this region to greater prosperity:

 

By World Media

 

The happy African President of Southern Sudan, Mr Salva Kiir Mayardit who has taken the mantle of leadership as the new chairperson of the East African Community (EAC).

 

In a momentous development for the East African regional bloc, the President of the Republic of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit has taken the mantle of leadership as the new chairperson of the East African Community (EAC).

He takes over from Évariste Ndayishimiye, the President of Burundi. This marks a significant milestone in President Mayardit’s distinguished political career and signals a fresh chapter of cooperation, development and progress within the regional bloc. With his experience, vision, and dedication, he is poised to steer EAC towards even greater unity, development and prosperity.

As an experienced statesman, President Mayardit has demonstrated his unwavering dedication to regional cooperation by nurturing peace and stability within his country South Sudan through the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan and actively supporting the regional body initiatives in the past.

 

His leadership will embody the essence of unity, which will serve as a guiding principle during his tenure. He will prioritize bolstering economic growth and development in a more integrated region. With the region’s vast resources, diverse economies and untapped potential, he will aim to create an environment conducive for investment, trade, and job creation for the youth.

His expertise in East African regional affairs and his hands-on approach to governance equip him to spearhead initiatives that will drive economic progress within the East African Community.

President Mayardit’s assumption of leadership comes at a critical juncture for regional integration as the Federal Republic of Somalia was admitted into the bloc. With member states interconnected through trade, infrastructure, and shared challenges, there is a pressing need to strengthen the ties that bind them.

 

In the next one year, President Mayardit’s leadership will be instrumental in consolidating the gains made thus far and ensuring regional integration is pursued with renewed vigour. By breaking down barriers and fostering a deeper sense of collaboration, Mayardit will seek to enhance the EAC’s collective ability to tackle shared challenges.

With his proven record of nurturing peace within South Sudan, President Mayardit is well-positioned to contribute significantly to the stability of the East African region. Recognizing that sustainable development can only thrive in an environment of peace and security, he will lend his expertise and experience to address regional conflicts and foster peaceful resolutions.

 

He will leverage the EAC's existing mechanisms and foster dialogue among member states as he envisions a region marked by stability, which will serve as a catalyst for progress and prosperity. As he assumes the leadership of the East African Community, there is an air of optimism and anticipation for the future.

His takeover signifies a commitment to unity, economic growth, regional integration, and peace within the East African Community. The region and its member states will benefit from President Mayardit’s leadership, experience, and vision, as he steers the bloc towards a brighter and more prosperous future. As he takes the helm, East Africa stands poised to realize its full potential and establish itself as a leading force on the African continent.

 

South Sudan is not Sudan

 

The Republic of South Sudan is a sovereign African Country (member of East Africa Community) that gained independence on July 9, 2011; the country borders Uganda to the south, Kenya to the southeast, Ethiopia to the east, Sudan to the north, CAR to the west and DRC to the southwest.

 

With the above, I want the citizens of EAC to understand the distinction between the Republics of South Sudan and Sudan. Most media houses in the Republic of Uganda interchangeably use “South Sudan” and Sudan” leading to confusion and misinformation. However, it is imperative to recognize that South Sudan and Sudan are distinct entities, each with its own unique history, political landscape, and cultural identity.

For this reason, I will shed more light on their differences to enable readers to have a clearer understanding of these two beautiful neighboring countries. Located in northeastern Africa, the Republic of Sudan is the country that gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian Condominium rule in 1956. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, Ethiopia to east, South Sudan to the south, and Chad and Libya to the west. Sudan’s capital is Khartoum, and it is the third largest country in Africa by land area.

 

The Republic of South Sudan, on the other hand, became an independent country in 2011 following a protracted civil war within Sudan. It is located in eastern central Africa and shares borders with Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. Juba is the capital city of South Sudan. South Sudan is the world's newest nation and it is a member state of the East African Community.

 

Sudan’s history is marked by diverse civilizations, including the ancient kingdoms of Kush and Meroe believed to be associated with the present-day Nuba, Dinka, Nuer and Shilluk and others, as well as the influences of Arabs traders and Islamic dynasties. In contrast, South Sudan’s history is shaped by the rich cultural heritage of various African indigenous ethnic groups that are presently inhabiting the country.

 

Sudan has undergone significant political changes over the years. It has experienced periods of military rule and civil unrest including fifty years of struggle by the people of Southern Sudan that eventually became the Republic of South Sudan after its independence in 2011, leading to the formation of multiple governments.

Presently, after the ousting of its longest-serving President, Omar Al-Bashir, in 2019, Sudan is now governed by a transitional government in which the parties, Sudan Arms Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are in a military confrontation over power wrangle.

 

The Republic of South Sudan has embarked on nation-building efforts and is currently the fastest growing economy in East Africa with massive construction projects happening across the country on private and public scales as a large middle-class forming which is boosting economic growth and productivity etc.

Both South Sudan and Sudan have rich cultural diversities e.g.  Sudan’s population comprises a mix of Arab, African, and Nubian ethnic groups, with the majority of its citizens practicing Islam. In South Sudan, the population is predominantly African, with various ethnic groups practicing diverse religions, including Christianity, Islam, and traditional African beliefs.

 

In conclusion, understanding the distinction between these neighbouring nations is paramount in dispelling misconceptions and promoting accurate knowledge. Although both countries share a historical connection, these beautiful neighboring nations have charted their own paths, marked by unique political, cultural and social dynamics.

By appreciating the differences between the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan, citizens of the EAC and in particular Ugandans will be better informed since South Sudan is economically (in terms of trade) and socially (in terms people to people relations) interconnected with Uganda and the rest of East Africa region.

The writer is South Sudan’s head of Mission to Uganda, Mr Simon Juach Deng.

Nb

Indeed one would like to believe in such high handed political rhetoric. How about this new President starting to put a stop to this African region buying war armaments with the pretention of guarding sovereign security! The African continent has the leadership that buys obsolete war military equipment left, right and center just to consolidate state power. Many sensible Africans believe that no East African Union member countries in this unification and outside it are likely to attack each other with such expensive military equipments. Such saved money and civilian peace would then lead to economic development and prosperity all over this continent of Africa!

 

 

The East African court on trade has defended the high handed trade tactics used by Kenya to boycott Uganda's food products:

 

 

By World Media

 

 

 

  The healthy looking organic hens mainly sold in the markets of Uganda

 

The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) has validated the defence by the government of Kenya in a case in which lawyer Male Mabirizi is challenging a ban on maize and poultry products from Uganda.

Mabirizi sued the Kenyan government on March 11, 2021, challenging directives issued on January 14, 2021, and on March 5, 2021, by the Agriculture and Food Authority of Kenya banning the importation of maize and chicken products from Uganda. The directives were reportedly based on studies that had shown that the products contained mycotoxins and aflatoxins beyond the permitted levels.

 

Mabirizi also challenged the internal memo issued on January 14, 2021, by the director of Veterinary Services in Kenya, banning the importation of chicken cuts and eggs from the East African Community (EAC). He told the court that the ban on the importation of goods from EAC partner states is unlawful and infringes the operational principles of the community, which among others, encourage free movement of goods, transparency, democracy and rule of law, account and equitable distribution of benefits.

 

Mabirizi asked the court to quash the directives and issue a permanent order restraining Kenya from implementing its directives on grounds of being illegal. But while the Kenyan government submitted a response to the petition in time, there was a delay in serving Mabirizi with the same.

 

He, on the basis of this, sought to strike out the Kenyan defence for having been filed late. He argued that he was served on May 3, 2021, after the expiry of the 45-day timeline required by law. The court heard that the said days started to run on March 12, 2021, and expired on April 25, 2021.

 

He said that failure to comply with the timelines set by the rules renders the response null and avoid and asked the court to strike it out. But the Kenyan government opposed the application saying that they failed to comply because of COVID-19 restrictions and measures. At the time, they argued, their office was locked so as to allow fumigation to take place.

 

They added that even after fumigation, the structure of working in the office was changed to a rotational basis and it took time before the officers could settle which also incapacitated the serving of the response in time. They said the delay was a result of an excusable ground.

 

The court presided over by principal judge Yohane Masara on Friday dismissed Mabirizi's application and validated the response of the Kenyan government saying that the delay was excusable. They added that the Kenyan government filed the response on time but only delayed serving the petitioner, an issue which doesn't constitute inordinate delay.

 

"In addition, we do not see how the applicant will be prejudiced if the respondent's late response was to be validated in the best interest of justice. Considering the issues arising from the statement of reference, it is only fair and just that this court hears the respondent on the same before making a determination thereof," said the justices.

 

In its defence, the Kenyan government says it banned the said commodities to protect their farmers who were recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic from competition as well as to prevent the dumping of toxic chemicals, substances and hazardous wastes within the community.

 

According to Kenya, Uganda also put in place tariff measures that make their poultry products uncompetitive while it enjoys unhindered access to the Kenyan market.

 

For instance, the evidence submitted shows that Uganda was charging Kenya poultry meat value added tax (VAT) of 18 per cent and withholding tax of 6 per cent, one per cent of infrastructure levy, six per cent withholding tax on processed chicken meat and another six per cent tax for broilers and layer day old chicks.

 

The Nairobi administration argued that Uganda made it very difficult for Kenyan products to access the Ugandan market which led to the dumping of poultry into the Kenyan market.

It is all about lots of hot air concerning the intergration of economic and trade business in the East African Community. These are regional states that are locked in their old ways as soon as they attained their sovereignty many years ago and counting! They continue in arguements on anything. Like the politics of Nyerere of Tanzania. Nyerere was an African dictator but kept on antagonizing Idi Amin the famous President of Uganda, as the worst dictator on the continent of Africa. Now that these two countries are dependant on each other as neighbours concerning international trade, well they seem to want to argue over food production probably until Jesus comes back to earth!

Friends of Africa, if these political and judicial elites of these countries as neighbours continue to scream at each other over locally grown food, what will be next? Tourism, African human rights, immigration or Pan-Africanism? Who now is going to reimburse the hard working African farmers for their rejected farm harvest. Surely one understands that the E.A.C taxpayer pays lots of his money for this sort of joint international administration and trade now many years and counting.

How Uganda government officials are dispossessing the Ganda tribes people of their native lands to build up the Republic of Uganda.

 

By World Media

 

Gen Katumba Wamala and Dr Maggie Kigozi at an earlier scouts event

 

The serene and tranquil Kaazi camping site, home to the Uganda Scouts Association (USA), has become the battleground for a fierce ownership dispute, triggering the resignation of USA’s chief commissioner, Gen Katumba Wamala.

The 120-acre parcel of land, originally registered in the names of the Kabaka of Buganda, has been at the centre of a shady land sale involving USA trustees, the Uganda Land Commission (ULC), and two companies. Baker Mugaino, the commissioner Land Registration, is later this week set to meet all parties claiming ownership of the multibillion 120 acres of land in Kaazi, a greater Kampala suburb.

The land, whose title is in the names of the Kabaka of Buganda, is home of the Uganda Scouts Association (USA) but recent developments on it, including parceling out of new plots, have greatly divided several stakeholders that also include the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) as well as two companies.

The Kabaka, through the Buganda Land Board, accuses the trustees of USA for illegally subleasing the land without the consent from the Kabaka. As a result, BLB petitioned Mugaino to cancel all the titles recently created on the land and return it to the Kabaka of Buganda.

It emerged recently that several trustees of USA worked with officials from ULC as well as two companies to subdivide the land into seven new plots. The move has not only caused a fallout amongst the trustees but also caused the resignation of Gen Katumba Wamala on top of alerting Buganda Land Board about the dealings.

The trustees who assented to the deal include eminent people such as Dr Maggie Kigozi, Bishop Nelson Onono Onweng, Dr John Mugisha, Patrick Barugahare Mujuni and Richard Kamya. However, Lucy Nakyobe, the head of Public Service, did not sign.

FALLOUT

Documents seen by The Observer indicate that last year, the trustees subleased part of the land to two companies; Serena Heights Kaazi Ventures and Sky and Lakes Limited totaling about 32 acres. Part of the land has since been subdivided, with some of it graded for real estate.

Several scout leaders that spoke to The Observer claim the sublease deal was worth about Shs 5bn. According to sources privy to the matter, USA intends to make developments by setting up modern camping facilities at the site.

“USA wants to tap into the tourism potential of the area by creating amenities such as a hotel, swimming pool and other attractions,” said the source.

Upon learning about the deal, Gen Katumba Wamala, the USA chief commissioner, put in his resignation. In an April 12, 2023 termination letter to the chairman of the Council Uganda Scouts Association as well as its board, he noted that he found it difficult to continue serving the association as chief commissioner (chief scout).

“This is in addition to other issues surrounding unscrupulous conduct of some members of the association whom I would rather not conflict with,” he noted.

Meanwhile, The Observer understands that some of the people that upended their signatures on the deal are claiming to have been misled.

“I was convinced the companies were going to work under USA to develop the land but I am also shocked they also subleased the land to unsuspecting buyers,” said one of the trustees who signed the deal but preferred anonymity.

Efforts to reach out to other trustees were futile as they didn’t respond to our repeated messages and calls. The Observer further understands that the USA is set to hold an emergency meeting on November 20 to iron out the differences and put the record straight.

“There is so much tension and grumbling in the association and it is making everything hard,” said a top-level member.

“If anyone profited from the alleged sublease then they will have to carry their own cross.”

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT KAAZI?

Kaazi camping site is one of the most serene and tranquil places on the outskirts of Kampala. It is renowned for being the home of the Uganda Scouts Association as well as a conservation place.

Over the past few years, the area, along with neighbouring Kigo, have transformed to become popular places for the affluent to stay. In fact, according to locals that The Observer talked to, a 50X100m plot of land has risen tenfold in the past 10 years.

“If you don’t have Shs 100m, you cannot buy a plot in the area,” said a land dealer in the area.

SO, WHO OWNS LAND AT KAAZI?

One cannot establish the true owner of the land at Kaazi without traversing the history of land in Buganda kingdom. The 1900 Buganda agreement is the blueprint for land distribution in Buganda kingdom. Article 15 of the Buganda Agreement provides for allotment of land to both private persons and office holders. These among others include the Kabaka, Katikkiro, Mulamuzi, Nnamasole, Ssaza and Ggombolola chiefs.

However, for purposes of the land at Kaazi where there are two overriding interests of ownership, the beneficiaries of the estate of the Late Sir Daudi Chwa and the Buganda kingdom, the 1900 Buganda agreement allotted then Kabaka of Buganda Daudi Chwa 100 square miles while the Kabaka of Buganda [the office] was allotted 350 square miles of land.

The position of the 1900 Buganda agreement was in the 1908 Buganda Native Laws enacted by the Buganda Lukiiko under Section 2(b) was to the effect that the 350 square miles allotted to the Kabaka in the 1900 agreement shall be Kabakaship mailo for the time being.

The land at Kaazi, was originally registered under Final Certificate - FC.18454 later registered in MRV (Mailo Register Volume) 269 and Folio 25. At the inception of Block and Plot system of mailo registration, the subject land was registered as Kyadondo Block 273 Plot 5 at Masajja as official Mailo registered in the Kabaka of Buganda by virtue of his office.

On July 1, 1948, the Kabaka leased the land to the trustees of the Uganda Scouts Association for a term of 49 years for purposes of scouting and camping. The lease was registered under instrument No. 81336 under Leasehold Register Volume (LRV) 236.

In 1966, kingdoms were abolished by the central government and their official estates, including the Kabakaship mailo, was confiscated by the state and the same was vested in the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) by virtue of Article 108 of the Constitution. On July 1, 1988, ULC, into which land at Kaazi was vested, extended the lease with the trustees of the Uganda Scouts Association for a term of 59 years.

When government restored kingdoms in 1993 under the Traditional Rulers (Restitution of Assets and Properties) Act, the official estates comprised in the 350 square miles Kabakaship mailo, which had been confiscated under the 1967 Constitution, was restored to the Kabaka of Buganda, including the land at Kaazi.

In fact, the ownership of the land formerly comprised in F.C 18454, inclusive of the land at Kaazi, was settled by the High court which ruled and declared that the land belongs to the Kabaka of Buganda in Prince Kalemera Kimera Vs Kabaka of Buganda and 3 others HCCS no. 535 of 2017.

In 2001, the Kabaka of Buganda filed Civil suit No. 1024 of 2001 in the High court against the Registered Trustees of the Uganda Scouts Association for breach of both the express and implied terms of the lease agreement, specifically the change of use and nonpayment of ground rent.

In 2018, the High court entered a default judgement in favour of the Kabaka. However, the Uganda Scouts Association applied to court to set aside the default judgement and the application was granted thus the matter is still before court.

Despite the fact that the matter is still in court, the Uganda Scouts Association and the Uganda Land Commission have dealt with the suit land by sub-diving it to create seven plots without the consent of the Kabaka.

Nb

Well there goes the contradictions of running a state government of the Kingdom of Buganda under the NRM political manifesto. It is all about saying one thing and then doing something else. Mind you this Scout thing as it is now called USA , originated from the Apartheid sympathizers in South Africa who were good at scouting the whole continent of African. Scouting generally means the action of gathering information about enemy forces or an area of real interest. Every African knows very well what that means as the colonialists arrived and started scouting places of abode in Africa! If the Mengo elites do not understand it all it is unfortunate indeed for them. You do not come from anywhere any time at someone's land territory and scout and continue to renew leasehold of land at gun point and then you the owner accept such deals as International Legitimate Agreements. Tebatubalamu magezi?

 

THE UNFORTUNATE BENEFITS OF MODERN SLAVERY:

The Government of Uganda is to loose out about Shs 3bn per year following the  suspension of International Interpol certificates that are sold out to African immigrant labourers:

 

Written by URN

 

Interpol Uganda director Charles Birungi

 

The government of Uganda is set to lose more than Shs 3 billion per year following the ban on the issuance of a certificate of good conduct to people travelling abroad for jobs.

Recently, the Gender, Labour and Social Development minister, Betty Amongi Ongom wrote to her Internal Affairs counterpart, Gen Kahinda Otafiire, indicating that the cabinet has resolved to suspend the issuance of a certificate of good conduct.

“This is to notify you that beginning Wednesday, October 13th, 2021, all categories of migrant workers will not be required to present Interpol certificate as a pre-condition for travel except those travelling for security-related jobs,” reads Amongi’s October 8 letter in part.

Previously, all people travelling abroad for work would apply for the certificate of good conduct from Uganda National Central Bureau commonly known as Interpol–Uganda. The certificate serves to confirm whether or not the person has a criminal record and whether or not he is on the list of wanted criminals in any Interpol member states.

According to records, the Interpol directorate collects Shs 3 billion annually from issuing the certificates. For instance, Interpol collected Shs 3.9 billion in 2020 from issuing the certificates and Shs 2.9 billion in 2019, the lowest in the last three years.  Each applicant pays Shs 76,000 to access the certificate.

 

Interpol director SCP Charles Birungi, says that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, they were issuing over 500 certificates on a daily basis, which translates to Shs 38 million per day.

 

More than 97 per cent of the certificates issued, according to Interpol are for external labourers. Ronnie Mukundane, the spokesperson of the Uganda Association for External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA), says that they are extremely happy with the cabinet decision to suspend the issuance of the certificate of good conduct.

 

Mukundane argues that the certificate has been an impediment to the recruitment process in general because it has been taking over two months from the date of payment to the time of acquisition.

 

“The removal of this Interpol certificate has reduced the lengthy process even at the airport, many of the licensed recruitment companies have lost business because of this delay. We are extremely happy that this removal will make the formal externalisation process faster,” Mukundane said.

 

On the question of whether Interpol would not be isolated since the certificate of good conduct is what has been keeping the area busy, Birungi and his deputy Joseph Obwana, explain that the institution has very many duties it plays day in day out.

 

Some of these roles include coordinating with other Interpol member states on transnational crime investigations, provision and facilitating the exchange of evidence in respect of investigations of transnational crimes, provision of technical advice on areas of transnational police cooperation between Uganda and bilateral, regional and international organizations.

 

 

Other roles of Interpol include liaising with other law enforcement agencies in combating transnational and cross border crimes, overseeing joint and regional cross border operations in combating crime, and coordinating all matters related to the extradition of fugitives in liaison with the relevant authorities.

 

Data of 2020 shows that Interpol issued clearances for 450 motor vehicles and motorcycles thus collecting Shs 27 million. Obwana expounds that they conduct operations targeting terrorism, stolen vehicles and hence Interpol cannot be idle.

 

UAERA elaborates that even the certificate of good conduct has been a good source of non-tax revenue for the government, the new regulations provide other avenues of collecting the same money like payment for every job vacancy $30 by the licensed recruitment companies.

Nb

One would wonder how much Interpol certification revenue per person was lost for those African countries that were directly involved in international slave trade? This was the European-American slave trade that involved the transportation by slave traders of various enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, and existed for 300 years from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Unfortunately for those now very developed countries, such dodgy but lucrative revenue could have ended on 18 December,1865 when slavery legally ended. Such an article as this one underpins how these poor African countries now continue to benefit much more from a lucrative modern slavery. Of what benefit are these international good conduct certificates to the thousands of stranded young immigrants in Libya and elsewhere looking for any available low paid employment?

 

 

THE AFRICAN IS A UNIVERSAL HUMAN BEING

Posted on 6th February, 2017

The Parliament of Uganda continues to chase its tail over the number of years a President should rule the country:

Term limits are back in parliament just after removing the age limit a president should end to rule this country:

Written by Sadab Kitatta Kaaya

Deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanyah

Deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanyah

 

The ruling NRM is faced with another unattractive parliamentary battle; the reintroduction of the two-term presidential limits as part of an opposition push for elaborate electoral reforms ahead of the 2021 general election.

The reforms carried in The Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2019 are pushed by Ndorwa East MP Wilfred Niwagaba and, got the much-needed parliamentary nod of approval last week hardly two years after the NRM-dominated parliament lifted the constitutional lower 35 and upper 75-year presidential age caps in December 2017.

 

Igara West MP Raphael Magyezi’s promoted age-limit bill cleared the last hurdle for President Museveni’s re-election in 2021 when he officially turns 75 years of age. Both the Attorney General William Byaruhanga and his deputy Mwesigwa Rukutana were not in parliament last week when deputy speaker Jacob Oulanyah opened up debate on Niwabaga’s motion seeking parliament permission to table his bill.

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija was a lone wolf. He tried but failed to kill the motion supported by an army of opposition legal minds in the House. Kasaija argued unsuccessfully for debate to be pushed to this week when either Byaruhanga or Rukutana would be in the House to defend government but Oulanyah didn’t budge.

“When I ruled [on August 29], I was clear; I said at the next sitting of parliament, this issue will be handled, that is why it is on the order paper. There is nothing new; it is a motion for leave, which has been with us for eight months. Both the attorney general and his deputy know the importance of the matter but they are both not here, after eight months, there is no excuse to delay this matter any longer,” Oulanyah said.

 

In his August 29 ruling, Oulanyah shot down government’s objections to the motion, especially arguments advanced earlier by Rukutana that the bill contradicted Article 93 of the Constitution and Rule 123 of the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure, which restrict private members from introducing bills that could have financial implications.

At the moment, Oulanyah argued, parliament was dealing with a motion to introduce a bill. Niwagaba’s bill has been on the shelves since January when he filed a notice of motion but met stiff resistance from government.

LONG FIGHT

Then, Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire told parliament that Niwagaba’s bill was unnecessary since the reforms being proposed by the shadow attorney general were part of the issues government intended to handle through the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC).

Speaker Rebecca Kadaga then gave Otafiire up to the end of April to table the reforms. The three months’ ultimatum passed without Museveni approving the list of nominees to the commission forwarded by Otafiire and no bill had been tabled in parliament.

When Byaruhanga on June 26 tabled five bills, Kadaga alerted Niwagaba to dust his motion and table it to give parliament an opportunity to comprehensively handle the various reforms that government has been ignoring since 2014.

This sent the government strategists back to the drawing board to plot another move to block the bill. (See: Govt moves to block opposition reforms, The Observer, August 7.)

 

Because the bill has proposals that are intended to clip Museveni’s powers as president, government will most likely go out of its way to kill it at the next stage.

NEXT HURDLE

While it was easy for government to give Magyezi the certificate of financial implication to back up what came to be popularly known as the age limit bill, the story will be different for Niwagaba.

Once his bill is published in the government gazette as required under Article 93, Niwagaba must get a certificate of financial implication before proceeding to table his bill in parliament for the first reading.

“Seeing how the government has been objecting to it, I don’t have any illusion that it will be a smooth ride for me to get a certificate of financial implication, but, I will do what the law requires me to do to get it,” Niwagaba told The Observer on Tuesday.

Under Rule 117 of parliament’s Rules of Procedure, Niwagaba is supposed to pick his bill’s certificate of financial implication from Kasaija. Should Kasaija refuse to issue the certificate, parliament will proceed under Rule 117(4) to process the bill.

“They [government] no longer have that so much power to refuse to issue the certificate; where it is denied without a valid reason, the speaker can allow the member to proceed with the bill. Government must have a justification, which they have to explain on the floor,” said opposition MP Mathias Mpuuga (Masaka Municipality).

Rule 117(4) states that a certificate of financial implication shall be deemed to have been issued after 60 days from the date of request for the certificate. Interviewed on Tuesday, Otafiire said, “I have been out of the country, I haven’t seen the bill.”

But Information minister Frank Tumwebaze said in a separate interview that government will give its views after an internal discussion.

“It will be discussed on merit. We are going to discuss it as government and give our views,” Tumwebaze said.

Key among Niwagaba’s proposals is locking out the president in the appointment of the chairperson and commissioners of the Electoral Commission under Article 60. He suggests the appointments should be made by the Judicial Service Commission.

He also proposes to amend Chapter Seven of the Constitution specifically Articles 99 (2) and 100 to replace the office of Vice President with the office of Deputy President plus Article 103 (2) to require every candidate in a presidential election to nominate a person who is qualified for election as president, as a candidate for deputy president.

He also proposes an amendment to Article 104 to allow any voter or political party or organization to challenge the outcome of a presidential election in addition to an aggrieved candidate.

He also wants to reintroduce Article 105(2) reinstating the two-term limits for a president.

sadabkk@observer.ug

Nb

Of course reinstating the two term limits must state that those presidential candidates who have already completed a two term limit of presidential rule or a four term limit rule before this rule must not stand in the future time of this bill if it becomes law.

Such a simple logic of law should not need this parliament to demand money from the suffering Uganda taxpayer.

 

keremire Quoting kabayekka:

Of course reinstating the two term limits must state that those presidential candidates who have already completed a two term limit of presidential rule or a four term limit rule before this rule must no stand in the future time of this bill if it becomes law. ......



No. New laws are not applied retrospectively. That is a basic principle in law that must be respected.

 

Indeed thank you keremire for your reminder. The law is an ass. To look at things as they have happened in the past is what the 4th or 5th National Constitution of Uganda is all about. What one believes is that the next rule(Post M7) of this country is likely to dumb this current man made constitution in the dust bin. It is of what one believes is God and that is Supreme. Many Germany citizens during the 1930/45 believed and respected in the Supremacy of Heil Hitler at their own peril.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Uganda, the approaching Presidential Age limit jurisdictive ruling is going to be some sort of a litmus test for Uganda courts:

 

Constitutional Court judges Cheborion Barishaki, Remmy Kasule

Left to right: Constitutional Court judges Cheborion Barishaki, Remmy Kasule, Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, Kenneth Kakuru and Elizabeth Musoke at the hearing of the age limit case in Mbale District recently. File photo  

By a Uganda Monitor Correspondent

The fate of the five-month Constitution Amendment Act, which removed age limits on the presidency and sought to extend the term of parliament and government by another two years awaits a decision by the Constitutional Court, which spent two weeks hearing the petition.

The petitioners challenged the constitutionality of the Act passed last December amid drama that included a raid by security operatives who evicted mainly opposition MPs from parliament.

The Act extended the mandate of parliament by another two years, removed an age cap that would have barred President Yoweri Museveni from seeking re-election after his current term expires in 2021 and extended the time for filing and disposing of a petition challenging the outcome of a presidential election among other things.

But, the verdict, whichever way it goes, will be a test not just on the law but on the five judges of the Constitutional Court.

They are Justice Alfred Owiny Dollo, who was appointed deputy Chief Justice only last year, judges Kenneth Kakuru, Remmy Kasule, Cheborion Barishaki and Elizabeth Musoke.

All, but one of the five judges, are facing their first major constitutional case and their decision will determine whether President Museveni, who has been in power for over 30 years, can seek re-election in 2021.

Critical choices

The Justices have three critical choices and each will come with its own issues: They could dismiss the petition on the basis that it lacks merit or fail it on technical grounds.

They could accept the petition and quash the law in its entirety or they could opt to accept some aspects of the petition and dismiss others.

Whatever the decision, the losing party is expected to appeal it. And why not, given that an appeal would have an impact on other scheduled constitutional activities like the referendum, which would affirm the term extension for the presidency and the general election in 2021.

For the government, an initial win would provide the critical window to push through critical activities aimed at defeating any final verdict.

A similar situation was witnessed in the early 2000s when the law that cleared a referendum on political parties was nullified for lack of quorum, but the final verdict was determined after a new law had been crafted and the referendum held.

Another potential conundrum is the ruling lacking a unanimous decision or split decision on all or parts of the petition.

Whatever the decision, the judges will face criticism and praise in equal measure.

Of the five, only Justice Kasule has dealt with a contentious constitutional matter when he gave a minority opinion in a petition involving the ruling National Resistance Movement party and four of its members famously known as “rebel” MPs.

His dissenting opinion in the 2014 case — where NRM had expelled MPs Wilfred Niwagaba, Barnabas Tinkasimire, Theodore Sekikubo and Mohammad Nsereko and wanted them thrown out of parliament — was later to carry the day on appeal to the Supreme Court.

Judge Kasule ruled that the MPs could not be expelled because their disagreement with their party and their subsequent expulsion by NRM on whose ticket they were elected to parliament made them involuntary independents. This therefore did not amount to a crossing of the isle, which would have led to them automatically losing their seats.

The decision by the Constitutional Court will re-set the political dynamics of the country no matter the final outcome.

“The court itself is as much a hostage as the case, the petitioners and the citizens,” said Busingye Kabumba, a constitutional lawyer and lecturer at Makerere University School of law.

“In my view, the fundamental challenge is the resolution of the deep political crisis in the country. The ultimate liberation of the court itself can only be realised in the context of the resolution of that broader crisis,” he said.

Elison Karuhanga, a lawyer who was also part of President Museveni’s legal team in the 2016 Supreme Court challenge to his re-election by rival Amama Mbabazi, described the Mbale Constitutional Court hearing as a “laboratory for constitutional jurisprudence,” which provides an opportunity “to deepen and broaden” the role of courts in settling political disputes.

While avoiding to speculate on the outcome, Mr Karuhanga said that whatever the verdict, it will have a huge impact on the nexus between courts and politics.

He said that even though this case is important, Ugandan courts have already come a long way in building constitutional jurisprudence, which has contributed significantly to political dispute resolution as the country moves away from violence as the decider of political winners and losers.

According to Crispin Kaheru, the co-ordinator for Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda, the environment rather than the verdict is the most critical matter for Ugandans as they await the judgment.

“I think our democracy is being slowly chipped away and that is why the Mbale judgment is very important, whichever way it goes,” said Mr Kaheru.

“The decision is going to be made in an environment where there is little public confidence in public institutions including courts of law; in a context of an overbearing executive; and in a setting where courts have ruled in a given pattern with respect to cases of high political interest such as this one. The bench has good objective minds, but is the environment permissive for them to invoke their wisdom and judgment independently?” he said adding, “I do not expect anything ‘out of the ordinary” from Mbale.”

After closing arguments two weeks ago, the Constitutional Court promised to deliver its verdict on notice.

 

 

 

 

 

The Vice President of Uganda, Mr Ssekandi is in Brazzaville for  talks on the way forward for peace and not civil wars for African countries on the continent of Africa:

What of this Gentleman's own country?

 

By Vision Reporter

 

Added 18th October 2017 

 

The meeting that opens on Thursday is based on the 2013 framework agreement established to support the ongoing regional efforts to achieve peace and stability in the DRC and the region in general.

 

Ssekandi 703x422

Vice President of Uganda, Mr Ssekandi.

 

The Vice-President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi is in the Congolese Capital of Brazzaville where he joins other African leaders from the great lakes region to discuss peace and security in the region.

 

The Brazzaville meeting code named the High Level meeting of Regional Oversight Mechanism of peace, security and cooperation framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the region will be the 8th in series.    

 

The meeting that opens on Thursday is based on the 2013 framework agreement established to support the ongoing regional efforts to achieve peace and stability in the DRC and the region in general.

 

The AU, International Conference on Great Lakes Region(ICGLR), the South African Development Community (SADC) and the UN are guarantors of the initiative while member states including Angola, Burundi, CAR, Congo Republic, DRC, Kenya, South Sudan, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda are signatories. 

 

The meeting will among other things take stock of earlier commitments and consider additional measures aimed accelerating neutralisation and pacification of the Eastern DRC and addressing the sticky issue of resettlement of the former combatants.

 

Ssekandi who is leading the Government delegation to Brazzaville earlier, met with the AU Vice-Chairperson, Thomas Kwesi in Addis Ababa on his way to Congo with whom they discussed the situation in Somalia.

The Vice-President is being accompanied to the meeting by foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa, defence minister Adolf Mwesigye and several senior technical government officials. 

 

Nb

The Regional efforts to achieve peace and stability in all the regions on the continent of Africa have failed. When one looks at the blood letting in Somalia and the failure of democratic elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. What is worse about such failures are these very African countries and their governments. 

Many Africans want to blame their leaders who have taken on the responsibilty of stopping civil wars as only an African problem needing an African solution. Surely these  African problems require all the International Communities to come forward and to put up joint efforts to stop this African suffering. Africans are also human beings represented foremost in the United Nations than the African Union.

The African Unity troops must leave these countries in strife since they have failed to stop the blood letting for example in Somalia, and the Sudan. They cannot be seen exporting their own brand of inadequate democratic rule in other African territories.

The so called African democratic countries which are trying to bring peace and sanity to Somalia, Sudan, and DRC 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, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is like years ago when former tyrant Saddam Hussein of Iraq was trying to liberate Kuwait.

 

 

 

African leaders cannot afford to abandon the International Criminal Court as these same so called leaders continuously incite civil wars and horrible atrocities in their governance of this massive continent:

 Mr  Adama Dieng

Posted  Monday, February 6   2017 

 

IN SUMMARY

 

The Rome Statute that establishes the Court is a global achievement, and its practices are evolving. However, the Court must be prepared and willing to listen to the concerns of those it intends to serve.

 

To have done so would have presented an opportunity to have an open and frank dialogue, and discuss how to make the Court a better institution, one that is capable of responding effectively to the challenges it was established to address.

With the ongoing atrocities in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, South Sudan and elsewhere, this is not the right time to abandon the Court.

Adama Dieng is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General/Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and former registrar for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

 

 

All City waste from the Land locked International city of Kampala goes directly into the inland Fresh water lake. Geographycally well known world wide as the Victoria Lake or the Nalubaale, this lake will soon have no drinking water:

Nobel cause. NWSC board chairman Christopher Ebal (centre) cleans Ggaba Landing Site with members of Young Water Professionals during World Water Day commemoration yesterday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN OTAGE 

EAST AFRICA,UGANDA, KAMPALA. National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has asked government to take urgent measures to stop the high rate of waste matter disposal into Lake Victoria to minimise costs of water treatment and improve the quality of water drawn from the fresh water lake.

Speaking at celebrations to mark the International Water Day yesterday, Mr Christopher Ebal, the NWSC board chairman, said despite measures the corporation has adopted to extend its intake pipes deeper into the lake with the hope of drawing cleaner water, the quality of water drawn is continually deteriorating with NWSC incurring more costs in water treatment to make it clean and safe for consumption.

“The work of National Environment Management Authority (Nema) is to ensure that the water going into Lake Victoria is clean and not contaminated; but it is costing us a lot of money to treat water and this is unacceptable,” Mr Ebal said, adding that they will take up the issue with Nema.

Mr Ebal’s response followed concerns raised by the residents of Ggaba landing site, who complained about the alarming rate at which rain water is washing solid waste and pouring effluent into the lake following the degradation of wetlands which previously filtered waste matter in the water that poured into the lake.

“When it rains, the garbage comes direct through the market to the lake, it comes with the bad hygiene from the toilets. I have talked to the Ministry of Works and the [Makindye Division] town clerk and they have failed to respond,” Francis Sabiti Katuramu, the chairman of Ggaba market, in Kampala suburb, said. He said even the swamps that used to filter the water before it ends in the lake, have been demolished.

Mr Robert Kiwagira Sebiina, the chairman of Ggaba Mission, said he previously proposed to Mr John Nasasira, the former minister for Transport and Works, to create drainage channels to redirect rain water into the remaining swamps to reduce the rate of pollution in Lake Victoria but the minister then said there was no money. Mr Sebiina said the situation has since worsened.

Yesterday as the world marked the International Water Day, NWSC joined in the commemoration with its Young Water Professionals and planted trees in the remaining swamp surrounding the Ggaba waterworks.

Mr John Fisher Sekabira, the secretary general of Young Water professionals, said they decided to plant trees around the swamps surrounding the Ggaba waterworks in order to protect it from encroachment because most of the wetland has been destroyed by encroachers.

sotage@ug.nationmedia.com

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CIVILIAN TORTURE IN UGANDA BY LIBERATORS

The Uganda State right now is embroiled in human torture and death:

 

A government pickup truck is unloading dead victims of torture to be buried covertly!

 

 

The government last evening, however, said torture of any kind by anyone is “unacceptable” and substantiated allegations will be investigated and perpetrators punished.

“The position of government is clear, the President was clear in his [August 2021] speech and the laws against torture are clear; that, it’s unacceptable,” Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka said.

A lady in Uganda being abducted during daylight in the streets of Kampala by non uniformed military police.

 

In August 2021, President Museveni rebuked security operatives accused of brutalising civilians and criminal suspects, warning that extracting information by force and through inflicting pain is defective interrogation, and untenable.

“Nobody should be in the uniform of the army when he does not respect the interests of [Ugandans],” President Museveni said then, adding, “When you respect the people of Uganda, you must observe the following: do not bark at people, do not beat the people … and even do not beat criminals, and not even the children.”

Warning

That was five months ago, and a repetition of a warning in his May 15, 2017 letter to security and intelligence chiefs headlined “concerning torture”.

In the correspondence addressed to the then chief of defence forces, the inspector general of police and the director general of intelligence services, Mr Museveni, a retired general and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, wrote:

“It is, therefore, clear that torture in order to extract confessions (okutatsya) has three possible mistakes that may even interfere with the fight against crime.  Number one, you may torture the wrong person, somebody who is totally innocent.  This is very unfair.  Secondly, somebody may admit guilt when he is innocent in order to be spared being tortured.  This will make the real criminal escape in order to commit more crimes later.  Thirdly, confessions by the criminals are not necessary…”

With a four-year lapse between the two letters, and five months after the last one, little suggests security operatives have heeded their Commander-in-Chief’s clarion call to end torture and it is unclear if any of the perpetrator has been prosecuted.

According to Dr Livingstone Ssewanyana, a human rights activist and executive director of a civil society organisation, Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, there is no deliberate action being taken by government to curb the vice and it is bound to keep rising.

“This shows the culture of impunity, lack of concrete action on the part of the state and an attempt to subdue the popular will. The President isn’t particularly losing control, but this can be largely attributed to individuals who are very close to centres of power that they have [morphed] into untouchables. They know even if they commit these crimes, no action will be taken against them,” Dr Ssewanyana said by telephone last evening.

He added: “As long as there is no deliberate action by the State and relevant authorities to root out such individuals, this will just keep increasing.”

In the latest narratives of such ordeals, including by satirical novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, victims reveal unmitigated brutality meted on suspects abducted and bundled into unmarked cars at gunpoint.

Some are still being held incommunicado at ungazetted detention facilities, two victims including Mr Rukirabasahaija said.

In an interview with our sister NTV-Uganda television on Sunday, he said his tormentors repeatedly struck his ankles while forcing him to dance uninterrupted on the painfully failing feet.

 

He was lashed as a game and his tormentors gloated, Mr Rukirabashaija noted, revealing he dreaded most when his flesh was sporadically torn off with pliers. One of his nails was also partially removed.

“I was dancing with swollen feet, but you have nothing to do. [If] you stop dancing, they beat you [until] you collapse. [Still], they beat you…,” he said.

No security agency has publicly disputed the veracity of the rendered harrowing tales, and none has claimed responsibility.

The accounts came to light days after well-wishers propped a limping Mr Samuel Masereka, the Kasese National Unity Platform (NUP) party coordinator, to a press conference at the party headquarters in Kamwokya, Kampala, on January 31.

Mr Masererka, anchored feebly on swollen legs with festering wounds, said while in detention, he was electrocuted, his genitals squeezed and hit with a stick, and boiled water was poured on his body parts targeted to be whipped.

Each subsequent day, he said, his tormentors returned to step in the wounds with heavy army boots, leading to more bleeding during his 34-day ordeal from December 7, 2021.

Both Mr Masereka and Mr Rukirabashaija have publicly displayed torture marks on their bodies, including a maze of lines on the back that appeared to be whip marks.

Asked about the new revelations and why it appears President Museveni’s stop-the-torture directive is being ignored, Ms Lindah Nabusayi, the senior presidential spokesperson, said:

“The President stated that the use of torture is unnecessary and wrong. All security agencies know that evidence through torture is inadmissible and unreliable in court. Security personnel who go against this [order] will be held personally liable and face consequences of the law.”

Article 24 of the Constitution and Section 3(1) of the Prohibition and Prevention of Torture Act, 2012, forbid any form of torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, with the amended subsidiary law imposing personal liability on perpetrators.

Security agencies have in the past said errant officers involved in torture of civilians do so as individuals because brutalising citizens is not an official policy in UPDF, police and spy outfits.

Mr Rukirabashaija said about 20 men, many without uniform and all without name tags, and aboard the dreaded Drone vehicles, broke into his house and grabbed him before blindfolding him and taking him to a place he vaguely recognised like a barracks.

Investigations by this newspaper show that the December 28, 2021 arrest of Rukirabashaija was commanded by D/ASP Benjamin Manigaruhanga and the detective in his ‘statement of arresting officer’ noted that the novelist was taken to the Special Investigations Division “Kireka detention facility for procession”.

It was unclear where he was allegedly beaten. By Rukirabashaija’s own account, when pressure mounted, the army brought in a doctor who gave him an injection six-hourly to speed up drying of the wounds before he could be produced in court and, days later, driven home in an unmarked vehicle following his dramatic rearrest as he walked out of Kitalya Prison to freedom.

The accounts of repeat injections echo a similar experience that opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, relived after he was freed from Makindye Military Barracks where he was incarcerated following his brutal arrest, and alleged torture, during the last day of campaigns of the bloody August 2018 Arua Municipality parliamentary by-election.

 

When the politician broke loose and in 2019 declared his interest to run for President, onboarding NUP as the political vehicle for that objective, security suddenly began targeting and arresting his supporters before, during and after the January 2021 elections.

The abductions became so widespread that President Museveni was forced to address the nation on television and he disclosed then that 53 of the missing persons were in the custody of the elite Special Forces Command then commanded by his son, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, now the commander of UPDF Land Forces.

Other than the commander-in-chief’s revelation, no security outfit then, as now, accepted responsibility for the excesses of armed personnel.

In the end, some of the missing persons were dumped at various places including swamps and told to keep silent if they wished to avoid re-arrest while those that broke the deal named the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence which, until last month was headed by Maj Gen Abel Kandiho, as the lead perpetrator.

Sanctions

The United States in early December 2021 sanctioned Maj Gen Kandiho alongside 14 military and political officers in Syria and Yemen and his crime, according to Washington, included superintending an organisation whose officers illegally held incommunicado and tortured critics and political opponents of President Museveni’s government.

He denied the charges and a month later, President Museveni removed him from the CMI post and reassigned him as a guarantor of the South Sudan peace process and he took up the new office yesterday.

 

But the alleged torture has neither reduced nor ended, prompting Opposition lawmakers chaperoned by the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mr Mathias Mpuuga, to bolt out of the chambers in protest over the government’s delayed explanation about the vice. 

The rebelling legislators spurned Deputy Speaker Anita Among’s plea for them to await a government statement on the alleged widespread torture expected today, with Mr Mpuuga vowing that they will abscond House proceedings for a fortnight as a show of displeasure with the state of torture in the country.

Both Rukirabashaija and NUP’s Masereka have separately each singled out CMI as one of the detention places where they were tortured repeatedly.

This newspaper could not independently confirm the allegations because military installations, including the CMI cells in Kampala’s Mbuya outskirt, are off-limits to civilians.

In response to our inquiry about the claims against the army’s investigative arm, CMI, deputy UPDF Spokesman, Lt Col Ronald Kakunguru, asked the complainants  to lodge their complaints formally in order to aid investigations.

“Torture is a crime, if anybody is claiming they have been tortured, they should report to police. It will be investigated and if indeed culprits are found, they will be subjected to the full force of the law,” he said.

He added: “Let them come to us and report because now we have nowhere to start from and we regard these as rumours because they [alleged victims] are not providing us with relevant information.”

Some of the suspects who were arrested after the Kasese killings display their wounds in the Jinja Magistrate’s Court on December 14, 2016. The suspects say they were tortured by security. PHOTO/ ABUBAKER LUBOWA

It remained unclear if either Rukirabashaija or Masererka, both of whose torture marks bore semblance to that displayed by Kasese kingdom loyalists in court way back in 2016, have filed specific cases with police, although Mr Rukirabashaija showed his wounds in court during his trial.

Yesterday, the Buganda Road court rejected the novelist’s application to repossess his passport so that he could travel to receive an award in Germany as well as go for better medical care abroad. According to Chief Magistrate, Dr Douglas Singiza, Rukirabashaija can receive the accolade virtually while his medical condition can be handled in Uganda.

The satirical novelist is accused of using his social media accounts to make abusive and derogatory statements that allegedly belittled both President Museveni and First Son Kainerugaba. He denies the offensive communication charges.

Meanwhile during the January 31 press conference at NUP headquarters in Kampala, Mr Masereka said he was questioned about plans of the party as well as who bankroll its activities as his tormentors tortured him.

Attorney General Kiwanuka told this newspaper by telephone that torture is “unacceptable” and that every such claim will be investigated thoroughly on its merit, and the perpetrators prosecuted in line with the law, as a way to root out the indiscretion.

No State organ has taken responsibility, with both police and prisons saying their officers do not torture.

Mr Frank Baine, the spokesman of Uganda Prison Service, which Mr Rukirabashaija praised upon his release, said “people aren’t tortured in prisons, we receive them the way they are, record what we find, do medical reports and book them”.

Asked who the torturers are, Mr Baine said: “Ugandans know the answer, anyone who is Ugandan knows the answer to that question. I don’t need to say more.”

Similarly, the new police deputy Spokesperson, Ms Claire Nabakka, said torture victims should file cases with the law enforcement agency instead of media gimmicks.

Most operations resulting in arrests, and alleged torture of suspects, she said, are conducted “jointly” by sister security agencies and “I can’t speak for [security and intelligence] every organ”.

Under the Uganda Constitution and Police Act, the core roles of the Force include maintaining law and order, protecting life and property and detecting and preventing crime. The law allows police to take proactive action when its officers suspect a crime, not excluding torture, is being committed or likely to be committed.

Police inquiries are mainly led by the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) whose Spokesman, Mr Charles Twine, yesterday said that they have “zero tolerance for torture and that is why we have opened a general inquiry file”.

“If the victim comes forward, it is our obligation to investigate thoroughly … Medical examinations are done on victims and they are very important because the findings determine the charges to be levied against the suspects. So, I encourage the victims of torture to come forward,” he said.

In the 3rd Periodic Review of Uganda during the universal periodic review in Geneva, Switzerland, which ended this month, member states pointed out the deteriorating state of human rights in Uganda.

Some of the recommendations made about Uganda included the need to support the Uganda Human Rights Commission to curb torture and harassment of human rights activists and the need to abolish the death penalty in Uganda.

Rising concern about rights violations in Uganda gained renewed currency following the emergence on social media of full body torture marks of Rukirabashaija and Masereka, drawing condemnation from Uganda Law Society (ULS), rights activists, development partners and clergy.

“I am here to report that, unfortunately, some people are not listening, we have seen torture and it’s really destroying the name of this country with the few achievements that we are making. It’s also a humble request to you that you shall send a stern message of discipline, that we shall see some action on the [errant] officers that are meting these heinous acts on the citizens,” ULS President Pheona Wall told President Museveni during the opening of the New Law year last Friday.

In a statement issued yesterday, the European Delegation in Uganda, and embassies of its ten member states represented in Uganda, warned against increasing acts of torture by security forces, holding of citizens incommunicado, enforced disappearances and urged quick remedial measures.

“The EU delegation fully shares the concern of many Ugandan stakeholders over a situation that for more than a year has seen a significant increase of reports of torture, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, harassment as well as attacks against human rights defenders, members of the opposition and environmental rights activists,” the statement read in part.

The bloc added: “The arbitrary arrest of people by security services, holding them in ungazetted places of detention for prolonged periods of time, torturing them, not bringing them before a court within the mandatory time limits, are violations of Uganda’s national legislation, regional and international commitments as well as specific presidential guidelines.”

Earlier, the United States Mission in Kampala on the weekend condemned the ongoing reported tortures cases and asked the government to hold the perpetrators accountable.

“Recurring credible accounts of forced disappearance, arbitrary detention and use of physical and mental torture of Ugandan citizens by the security forces reflect poorly on the government and undermine the constitution, which under article 24 states ‘no person shall be subjected to any form of torture, cruel inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment’,” the US embassy noted.

Issue...Recent torture cases

• July 2021: Five of the Edward Katumba suspected attackers were arraigned before the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court with visible torture wounds all over their body parts including buttocks, back, legs and arms. They attributed the torture marks to the beatings by security during their detention.

• July 2020: The commandant of the police’s infamous Special Investigations Unit (SIU), D/SCP Elly Womanya, along with five other senior police officers, were summoned by court to answer to charges of allegedly torturing Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament Francis Zaake.

• August 2021: Court ordered government to compensate MP Zaake Shs75m after he proved that he was tortured during a brutal arrest by security for distributing food to his constituents during the lockdown.

 • January 2021: The High Court in Kampala awarded Shs40m as compensation to a journalist who was battered while covering Kifeesi criminal gang leader, Paddy Sserunjogi, alias Sobbi, in 2018.

European Union reacts- Statement on torture and human rights violations in Uganda

The Delegation of the European Union issues the following statement together with the

diplomatic missions of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the

Netherlands and Sweden in Uganda.

A man displays his wounds in court in the Jinja Magistrate’s Court on December 14, 2016.  PHOTO/FILE

During the recently concluded Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the Uganda Human

Rights Commission and several other stakeholders pointed out the persistence in Uganda

of torture. They also expressed concern for other human right violations in Uganda such

as the excessive use of force by the police, violations to freedom of expression and the

media, including harassment, threats, illegal detentions and violence against journalists

and human rights defenders.

The EU Delegation fully shares the concern of many Ugandan stakeholders over a

situation that for more than a year has seen a significant increase of reports of torture,

arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, harassment as well as attacks against human

rights defenders, members of the opposition and environmental rights activists.

The arbitrary arrest of people by security services, holding them in ungazetted places of

detention for prolonged periods of time, torturing them, not bringing them before a court

within the mandatory time limits, are violations of Uganda’s national legislation, regional

and international commitments as well as specific Presidential guidelines.

While we note the actions already taken against some perpetrators of human rights

violations amongst security forces, the relevant Ugandan authorities should urgently

ensure a comprehensive investigation into all the reported abuses, including the events of

18th and 19th of November 2020. Those who are being held incommunicado should be

immediately released or brought before justice and those who violate the laws of Uganda

should be held accountable and personally liable for their actions.

 

 A Uganda businessman doing government procurement and supplies business with the Uganda State House, SFC, ministries of Defence and Agriculture, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and the World Food Programme, and many more, has been found shot dead in his house.

7 November, 2023

By World Media

 

The businessman Mr Henry Katanga and his wife during the good times of their life together

 

The mysterious death of Henry Katanga, a once-obscure figure, has ignited a firestorm of intrigue that threatens to expose the darkest underbelly of power and privilege.

In this tangled web of murder and manipulation, the police are doing their best to elude the probing eyes of the media, shrouding the case in a cloak of secrecy. Henry Katanga, a man of connections and influence in both business and security circles, lived a life unknown to the masses until his highly-suspicious demise.

The twist in this tale lies in his wife, Molly, the prime suspect in his death, who also boasts formidable connections within security circles. Her affiliation with this elusive world has ensured that the police, for reasons unknown, have not yet considered her a suspect.

The death of Katanga has sent shockwaves through the influential families of the greater Ankole sub-region, a place closely tied to President Yoweri Museveni. He met his demise on the night of November 1, a single gunshot ringing out in the privacy of his bedroom following a heated argument with Molly. The tensions run deep, and the questions loom even larger.

CONFLICTING THEORIES

Theories regarding his death are rampant; some claim Molly pulled the trigger, while others whisper of suicide. Yet, this case is far from ordinary, as the Katangas have managed to keep the world at bay. There are no photos, no footage, not even a glimpse of the crime scene - a rarity in a murder investigation.

Henry and Molly, a power couple influencing business deals in the shadowy world of security, were part of President Museveni’s trusted inner circle. This connection has caused the police to tread lightly, avoiding the term “murder.”

In the shadows, some of Henry’s close relatives, including Agriculture state minister Bright Rwamirama and minister of state for Internal Affairs, Gen David Muhoozi, want Molly to face justice. But other generals and state enforcers, their allegiances concealed, aim to protect her for the time being.

It is said first responders to the scene found Molly unconscious, whisking her away to the secrecy of IHK hospital. The hospital management, locked in a vault of silence, refused to reveal any details.

“Brace yourselves for Uwera Nsenga part two because both sides are powerful and well-connected,” whispered an anonymous police source, hinting at a storm brewing beneath the surface.

Jacqueline Uwera Nsenga was on September 23, 2014 convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of her husband Juvenal Nsenga. They had been married for 10 years. And their marriage oscillated between harmony and toxic. Uwera drove over the husband at their residence in Bugolobi, an upmarket residential area.

As investigators delve into Katanga’s demise, they grapple with a crime scene steeped in tampering, obscuring the truth behind the motives that led to the businessman’s death. He was discovered lifeless, a pool of blood surrounding his lifeless body, a gunshot wound to his head. Beside him, Molly lay unconscious, it is reported.

With both parties wielding immense influence in security circles, the investigators face a daunting task. As they navigate through this treacherous maze, they must satisfy the expectations of both families, each with its own version of events. Henry’s family yearns for a murder investigation with indisputable evidence, while Molly’s kin spin a narrative of suicide.

In this dense fog of uncertainty, investigators struggle to unearth a motive. The heart of the matter remains elusive, hidden behind the veil of domestic violence and tragedy. An altercation erupted in the couple’s bedroom in Mbuya on that fateful November 1 night, but the spark that ignited the inferno remains a mystery.

Some sources claim that Molly, consumed by rage, drew a pistol and shot her husband in the head after a violent quarrel. But other relatives dispute this account, insisting that Henry assaulted Molly, leading to her unconsciousness. Believing he had killed her, he turned the weapon on himself. Forensic experts, however, raise questions about the location of the gunshot wound on Henry’s head.

In the house that night were their daughter and a houseboy, accompanied by armed guards. A loud bang rattled their senses, leading them to the bedroom in a state of panic. Now, they too have become persons of interest, the first witnesses to a crime scene steeped in uncertainty.

Forensic experts, tasked with finding the truth amidst a muddled crime scene, search for answers. The fingerprints discovered do not yet offer a conclusive narrative; they may be the result of concerned individuals rushing to the scene.

Among the questions that haunt the investigators is the identity of those who tampered with the crime scene, and whether it was an intentional act. There is enough evidence to suggest a cover-up, with the houseboy apparently acting under the orders of a key suspect.

In the African international city of Kampala, where connections and secrets run deeper than the Nile, the enigma of Henry Katanga’s death is far from solved. The police dance on the precipice, carefully evading the media’s probing eyes, as the hidden forces at play threaten to expose a truth too dangerous to unveil.

WHO WAS HENRY KATANGA?

Henry is an Ankole prince and hails from Kariro, Rubindi sub-county, Mbarara district. He is one of the nine children born to late Katanga and Miriel Kyobuhooro who is still alive. He belongs to the Bahinda royal family of Ankole.

The family patriarch was a brother to former Ankole Omugabe Sir Charles Gasyonga II. His brothers James Katanga, Ntomi Katanga and Arthur Kasasira [who was part of the original NRA 41 who attacked Kabamba and bodyguard to Museveni during the UNLF days], were part of the NRM guerilla war.

James and Ntomi died before NRA took power while Kasasira died just a few years into President Museveni’s reign. According to reliable sources, government compensated the Katanga family for the loss of the three sons with monetary resources and business deals which they have consolidated to this day.

A sister to Henry, Naome Kashushani, was married to the late Maj Gen Francis Nyangweso. This perhaps explains why some of Henry’s biggest business dealings in logistical equipment were with highly sensitive entities such as the UPDF, State House and the ministry of Defence.

At the time of his death, Henry had relocated to Kikatsi sub-county in Kiruhura district. Both Henry and Molly have been running Merge Ltd, a procurement and supplies company, that is doing business with State House, SFC, ministries of Defence and Agriculture, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and World Food Programme, among others.

Incidentally, with Henry dead, only Naome remains alive of the nine siblings.

One reckons this is a procurement businessman for the government over the the tax payers money. What sort of people does this government employ who kill each other with government security weapons in their home? What is the secrecy of the police crime investigators and the government on such a heinous crime? Omuwi wo musolo afunirawa kumusimbi omunene ogubadde guweebwa abasubuzi bano? It is unfair on the part of the public not to know what is the matter with the leadership elites of this country.

 

WHAT IS GOING WRONG ON THIS CONTINENT OF AFRICANS: 

 

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards Executive Director, Mr David Livingstone Ebiru has been fired from his critical office:

 

By World Media

 

The executive director of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), David Livingstone Ebiru

 

This executive director of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards , has been fired from his job over charges related to misconduct and misappropriation funds at the UNBS headquarters.

An official letter by Mr Henry Mwebesa the minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives to Ebiru read in part, “In light of the serious allegations raised against you, you are hereby directed to step aside for a period of six months with effect from today July 20, 2023, to enable sufficient investigations into your misappropriation of funds, misconduct and abuse of office”.

While appearing before Cosase yesterday, Mwebesa said they had informally agreed with Ebiru for him to step aside for six months to create room for the investigations into the charges levied against him. Mwebesa added, “As we talk here, I expect this man to be on leave”.

Ebiru’s knifing comes two days since the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) launched an inquiry into the audit queries raised in the Auditor General’s report for the financial year 2021/2022.

The report implicated Ebiru in misappropriating Shs 12.9 billion and shielding five staff from reprimand after they caused financial loss worth Shs 9.3 billion. The five staff are accused of allegedly backdating inspection reports and editing application dates on the UNBS applications e-portal.

While appearing before Cosase on July 19, 2023; Ebiru stunned the committee members when he confirmed bribing the board members of UNBS with Shs 100 million for him to retain his job at the helm of UNBS.

“I was asked by the board chairperson (Charles Musekura) that I must do the needful to cool down what is going on. I was shown a letter from the minister (Mwebesa) to him to dismiss me arising from that letter from the IGG. I borrowed the money and I handed it to Mr Omara one of the representatives of the chairman. He picked the money from my office in a bag."

Nb

Such employment confessions do not augur well with the professional administrators in this country. Such corruption emphasizes the point of the IGG. The management in corrupt institutions are in the comfortable zones of employment. It is the public that is got to suffer knowing very well that for example imports coming to this country have no approved trade quality standards. The world media is full up with reported fake and dangerous products.

 

There is one video showing a small nail in a medical drug capsule that was going to be given to a sick African child!

 

 

The Court in Kampala, Uganda has ordered specialised medical treatment for the long serving prison Members of Parliament.

Such mistreatment  and suffering does not augur well, for the love of modern Pan-Africanism!

 

 

By The World Media

 

Muhammad Ssegirinya (L) with Allan Ssewanyana at the last court appearence.

 

Masaka High court has ordered prison authorities to provide specialised treatment to Makindye West MP Allan Ssewanyana so as to enable him to recover faster such that he stands trial.

Resident judge Lawrence Tweyanze issued the orders today Tuesday during the hearing of the second bail application by Ssewanyana and his Kawempe North counterpart, Muhammad Ssegirinya, who are battling terrorism charges.

 

The legislators applied for bail through their lawyers led by Erias Lukwago on the grounds of ill health, saying they can't access the required medical attention while in prison. Lukwago told court that their clients, especially Ssewayana is currently bedridden because of ill health and could not attend court in person because he is currently admitted at Mulago National Referral hospital.

He revealed that they are afraid that Ssewanyana’s medical condition is gradually deteriorating and that he may even not live to stand trial. Caleb Alaka, another defense counsel told the court it is in the interest of justice that the accused persons receive the required treatment such that they stand trial.

In his ruling, Tweyanze directed the prison authorities to ensure the accused persons receive specialized medical attention pending the hearing of their bail application.

 

"The lord mayor informed court about the status and condition of both Allan and Ssegirinya. Now, we told court we came to hear a bail application, court told us that it was only ready for mention. They called us for purposes of mentioning the application but not to hear it and they were going to give directives. Although court was bent on fixing this matter for hearing from day today but because the state was not ready, court now had no option but to hear the application...Because of insistence on the health situation, court said in the meantime, it ordered for specialised treatment but the good news is at least we're not going to be having a hearing which is going to be prejudicial. We're going to have the bail application. And I want to assure you if all goes we do not see reason why these people should not be out. It is a decision of court but we're optimistic," said Alaka.

 

Richard Birivumbuka, the Masaka principal resident state attorney who is the main prosecutor in the matter, asked the judge to halt the main trial for murder in Masaka to allow them first to proceed with the terror charges before the International Crimes Division in Kampala. According to the state, it will be logistically exhausting for the state and the defense to be subjected to back-and-forth movements between Kampala and Masaka if the trials are conducted concurrently.

 

He informed the court that the International Crimes Division of the High court in Kampala has already fixed the hearing of the matter beginning next month February 20 and prayed that they first conclude the trial before they can handle the murder charges in Masaka court. In his response, Lukwago lashed out at the state for opposing their earlier prayers to merge the case files such that they can be heard jointly.

 

Notably, following their arrest in September 2021, Ssegirinya, Ssewanyana, and five others were committed to the High court for trial in November 2021 for murder, attempted murder, aiding and abetting terrorism arising from the wave of machete killings that marred Masaka and Lwengo districts between March and June 2021 where more than 20 people lost lives.

Nb

Good that modern Africans over human rights are blaming each other nowadays other than blaming colonial governance that seems to have disappeared from this continent 40 years ago. One wonders what sort of African professional judges are these that continue to imprison human beings left, right and center because of their different political beliefs? In actual sense of the history of this poor African country, political murders, prosecution and imprisonment have been on going in this country since the beginning of independence of this country when these two prisoners were not even born! It is only God knows how it is going to be like in 100 years of Uganda's independence!   

 

Thousand of Ethiopian citizens have got together in their capital to try and support their elected Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed:

Many of them have come out to denounce the agressive nature of the United States of American Imperialism that is all over the continent of Africa:

 

Written by VOA

 

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians rallied in Addis Ababa on Sunday in support of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government as federal troops fight rebellious forces who are threatening to march on the city.

 

Some demonstrators denounced the United States, which is among the foreign powers that have called for a cease-fire as a yearlong war that has killed thousands of people intensified amid rebel advances last weekend.

The United States, the UN Security Council, the African Union, and Kenya and Uganda have called in recent days for a cease-fire. Abiy's government has pledged to keep fighting. On Friday, the government said it had a responsibility to secure the country, and urged its international partners to stand with Ethiopia's democracy.

Some of those gathered in Meskel Square in central Addis Ababa draped themselves in the national flag. Many singled out the United States for criticism.

US President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday accused Ethiopia of "gross violations" of human rights and said it planned to remove the country from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade agreement.

"Shame on you USA," read one demonstrator's placard, while another said the United States should stop "sucking Ethiopia's blood."

Other demonstrators expressed anger at the US call for the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to begin talks.

The conflict in the north of the country started a year ago when forces loyal to the TPLF seized military bases in the Tigray region. In response, Abiy sent troops, who initially drove the TPLF out of the regional capital, Mekelle, but have faced a sharp reversal since June this year.

"Why does the US government not negotiate with terrorists like al-Shabab?" said 37-year-old Tigist Lemma, referring to an al-Qaeda linked militant group in Somalia. "They want to destroy our country like they did to Afghanistan. They will never succeed, we are Ethiopians."

Speaking at the rally, Addis Ababa mayor Adanech Abebe invoked Ethiopia's history of resisting colonial power to justify the war. The conflict has killed thousands of people, forced more than 2 million from their homes and left 400,000 people in Tigray facing famine.

On Sunday, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and the AU's special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo, landed in Mekelle, one humanitarian source in Ethiopia and one person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A spokesperson for the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Ethiopia did not respond to a request for comment, and UN officials in New York were not immediately reachable. AU spokesperson Ebba Kalondo did not respond to a request for comment.

"I can confirm only that they are both here and we are having discussions," TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda told Reuters.

Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not respond to a request for comment on the officials' visit.

'No youth' to front lines

During the Addis Ababa rally, there was one call for restraint, from popular musician Tariku Gankisi, whose songs call for unity of all Ethiopians.

"Let no youth go to the front lines to fight, let the elders go holding the fresh grass and ask for reconciliation," Tariku told the crowd, before his microphone was switched off, it was unclear by whom. Fresh grass is a symbol of peace in the country.

A state of emergency declared by the government last Tuesday allows it to order citizens of military age to undergo training and accept military duties.

Reuters has not been able to confirm independently the extent of the TPLF advance. The TPLF and their allies told Reuters last week they were 325 km (200 miles) from the capital. The government accuses the group of exaggerating its gains.

The government has also complained about foreign media coverage of the conflict and some people at the rally held signs denouncing "fake news" in Ethiopia.

Billene Seyoum, Abiy's spokesperson, said in a Twitter post late on Saturday: "Orchestrated media propaganda against Ethiopia is escalating ... Despite it all Ethiopia will overcome!"

 

For Uganda and its finance it is very bad indeed as this poor country strives to encourage many African countries to join the larger union of East Africa for the sake of mainly trade and greater profits.

 

This is the misery of the African international city of Kampala as discussed by the Mayor of Kampala himself.
 

For a long serving Central government that lacks credibility, and has so much debts to pay due to its high expenditures, the only largest city in the country, is badly starved of money to develop it.