President Yoweri Museveni has once again said murderers in Uganda should face the old age law of an eye for an eye, which simply means those who kill others must also face the same instead of being granted life imprisonment or many years in jail.

Museveni posted today on his Facebook page after yesterday presiding over the swearing in of newly appointed Judges of the Court of Appeal and the High Court at State House Entebbe.

“On the offenses of murder, rape, and defilement, we have very strong views in line with the old age rule of an eye for an eye in the case of murder, and the strongest and unrelenting punishment for the latter two. A dog that steals, must pay with it’s back. This is not to mean that we are vindictive, but the wrongdoer must apologize and rectify it. What we cannot accept is impunity,” he wrote.

Museveni also pledged to fight for bibanja holders especially in Buganda, saying he will not stand aloof as people are chased away from their land.

“On land; especially the bibanja holders here in Buganda because much of the suffering is concentrated here, where you have people who claim they love Baganda and they cause them so much trouble, supporting a system where the villagers have no rights and can be chased around. It is going to be difficult for people who think that I will stand aloof while bibanja holders get expelled from their land. It is my duty, to shout as loudly as possible, to all and sundry, that this is not acceptable. The security of persons and property is very crucial to our struggle.”

Museveni in his message urges courts to expedite commercial justices, saying that businesses cannot grow when justice is slowed. “To safeguard the competitiveness of Uganda, commercial justice must be expended expeditiously. Business cannot grow with slow justice, it is not fair,” he wrote.

Museveni said Ugandans are gaining an appreciation for engaging in production and as such, the economy is growing. “As a result of conscious economic decisions and security, we are also witnessing a boom in manufacturing, putting us well on our way to getting into good money economics. I am now enjoying myself because of the nature of “problems” we are running into now. In some parts where the people are listening to our message of wealth creation, the problem is now excess milk, bananas, sugar, maize, etc., but remember that for long, we have told our people to shun all manner of sectarianism; tribal, religious, all of it.”

The president also talked of the importance of regional integration, especially the integration of Africa.

“Prosperity comes with thinking about Uganda, not just tribes, thinking about East Africa above Uganda, thinking about Africa and the world. So, the next most important effort is going to be the integration of Africa, to realise prosperity in the modern sense. The judiciary must play its part in this process, bearing in mind that we are also dealing with a changing society from a pre-capitalist system, to a modern money economy.”

On remuneration, Museveni said the interests of the Judiciary and the executive are aligned. The recent salary enhancement can be considered as a teaser, as we continue to improve our economy.

Museveni said he was happy the judiciary is recruiting young people into active roles. “On behalf of elected leaders and the freedom fighters, I am pleased to witness a shift in the Judiciary and other government institutions, beefing up the expansion of our base of cadre-ship, with the young people taking an active role. I remember when I used to swear-in Judges who were all much older than myself, progressively, that has changed over the years,” he said.

Museveni warned that village thieves, along the way, distort development efforts, and that they should not be looked at as a small matter, as it affects the momentum towards the transformation of society.

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The Youth Representative for Western Region, MP Mwine Mpaka, has asked Parliament to investigate payments by firms involved in external recruitment of labour to an account of the Uganda Association of external recruitment agencies.

Mpaka prayed that government immediately suspends any further payments to the recruitment agencies monitoring fund until investigations are done by the House. The member also prayed that the Labour Liaison/Consular Assistant at the Ugandan Embassy in Saudi Arabia, Yassin Abdulaziz Musoke, into whose personal account the money is transferred be suspended.

Mpaka, who moved a motion during the House sitting on Tuesday 10 December 2019, said that the Ministry of Gender has not carried out its oversight role over the fund leading to funds being deposited in a personal account.

“The external recruitment companies on behalf of the domestic workers remit US$70 per Ugandan to the account of the Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA), held in Stanbic Bank. The money is then transferred by cheque to Yassin Abdulaziz’s personal account held in Stanbic Bank Metro Branch,” he said.

Mpaka added the while the funds are used as an emergency for the external workers, it has been misused by a public servant to items of personal effect.

The Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Janat Mukwaya in response, said that UAERA is a private and none public entity and registered as a company.

“The recruitment agencies were created to complement government efforts to monitor migrant workers abroad, and they decided to establish a fund that would monitor the migrants,” she said.

MP Lucy Akello (Amuru District) said that the staff at the foreign missions look for money to cater for Ugandans outside the country yet the same people have already paid money for this purpose.

“This fund is supposed to cover uncertainties that come up with the external labour recruits. They pay the money here and when they get there they suffer without any coin. These monies should be investigated,” she said.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah in his ruling referred the motion to the committee of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

“We need an urgent intervention on this matter. We shall refer this motion to the Committee who should consider it and return with seven days,” he said.

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President Yoweri Museveni has said government may consider giving cash as compensation for people living in disaster prone areas so that they quickly relocate “instead of the protracted process of resettlement which involves the allocation of planned farms, permanent houses.”

Museveni proposed the new approach of resettlement of people affected by landslides and floods in his condolence message to families that have lost their loved ones in the mountainous Elgon and Rwenzori regions that have of recent had heavy rains that have caused havoc in both areas.

“This is to express condolences to the families of the nine Ugandans that died in the Elgon area and the seventeen Ugandans that died in the Rwenzori area. Condolences also to all Ugandans as a whole,” Museveni said in the message posted on his Facebook Page.

“In order to expedite the evacuation of threatened People, we may have to look at only cash compensation instead of the protracted process of resettlement which involves the allocation of planned farms, permanent houses, These losses, on account of floods and landslides, are, mainly, due to the mistake of insisting on settling (living) in areas that logic and God did not intend for human habitation. “With cash, people can, then, go and fend for themselves,” he said.

The president however urged people to stop living and carrying out dangerous activities in areas like swamps, wetlands, river-banks, and lakeshores) and steep mountains.

“All people in such areas should accept resettlement as we have done with the previous Bududa victims that are now settled in Bulambuli. Those cultivating in the wetlands should accept our plan of changing to fish-farming as we have done in Limoto wetland, Pallisa District,” he said.

The swamps and steep mountains are not for crops and human settlements, he said. “The swamps are for water, and papyrus Undisturbed swamp water is for irrigation and the swamp grasses are for mulching crops.”

He said swamp grass also helps in the manufacture of rain through transpiration. “You normally see mist … along these swamps early in the morning. That is part of that transpiration that, eventually, helps with rain formation.”

Museveni said the swamp grass also filters the water of soil and impurities and, therefore, protects the Lakes from silting filling with soil. Forests and vegetation along steep mountains use their roots to hold the soil and also act as cushion for raindrops hitting the soil so that rain and the run-off water … does not sweep the soil, causing soil erosion and, eventually, landslides. The tree-leaves and canopy also break the force of the raindrops.

The tree-roots and the dropping leaves, also form a soft bed on the forest floor and slows down the speed of …run-off water and forces the water to sink in the soil, thereby replenishing the water-table underground. Instead of water running on the surface and causing destruction, it sinks in the soil, Museveni said.

The president said he would intensify the campaign for the Environment Resettlement Fund so that those who were misled by the Government to go to the wetlands in the 1960s are compensated to get out. “The recent encroachers should simply get out. Condolences, again,” he said.

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