We are a multiple-branched group that focuses on uplifting arts and culture in #Uganda through cultural exchange and creativity. We also aim at empowering Uganda’s #tourism industry through promotion of culture both nationally and internationally. We host both domestic and foreign tourists at our culture centre to enjoy the various dances, songs and plays originating from the various regions in Uganda and from the rest of #Africa.

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September 16, 2019

Eleven countries have been confirmed to take part in the upcoming CECAFA U-20 Cecafa Challenge Cup to be played in Uganda from September 21st to October 5^th 2019.

There are eleven countries include hosts Uganda, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Burundi South Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti.

Two venues will be used for the tournament; Gulu (Pece War Memorial Stadium) and FUFA Technical Centre Njeru.

Group A matches will be hosted in Gulu while group B and C are to have their matches played at FUFA Technical Centre, Njeru.

The opening Match, Semis and Finals are be held in Gulu at Pece War Memorial Stadium.

Meanwhile, the national U-20 team of Djibouti have already pitched camp in Gulu District ahead of the tournament.

Darius Mugoye, the Fufa Vice President and Chairperson CECAFA U-20 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) called upon the local fans to come in big numbers to support the tournament.

“We thank Cecafa for giving us the opportunity to host the tournament. Having been the Champions of the CECAFA U-15 and U-17, we look forward to wining this tournament as we build a strong national team since our dream is to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022,” Mugoye was quoted by the cecafa website.

Morley Byekwaso, the assistant coach at KCCA FC, will handle the Uganda Hippos team together with Hamza Lutalo as the assistant.

This year Cecafa has already organized the Cecafa Kagame Club Championship (Rwanda) and the Cecafa U-15 Challenge Cup in Eritrea last month. The Cecafa Women’s Championship, Cecafa U-17 Women’s Cup and the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup are also slated to take place this year.

Groups:

A: Uganda (Hosts), Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti

B: Kenya, Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Tanzania

C: Burundi, South Sudan, Somalia

CECAFA U-20 Challenge Cup Uganda 2019:

Saturday 21st – October 5th

Venues: Pece War Memorial Stadium, Gulu & FUFA Technical Centre, Njeru

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Mixed-use is the key to funding hotel development in Africa- new report

By

George Mangula

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September 16, 2019

A new report from Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) the world’s largest professional services firm specialising in real estate, has revealed that people seeking to finance a new hotel project in Africa will be much more successful if their hotel is part of a mixed-use development.

JLL’s research into global property transactions reveals that in the first half of 2019, there was a 42% increase in the value of mixed-use property transactions, whereas there was a decline in other sectors, with Office down 4 percent, Industrial down 6 percent, Retail down 20 percent, Hotel down 18 percent and alternatives down 40 percent.

Xander Nijnens, Executive Vice-President, JLL Sub-Saharan Africa, explains that the trend is driven by lenders’ approach to risk. He said: “Diversifying risk by including alternative types of property, commercial, retail, hotel and branded residences, in one development, provides comfort to financiers due to the diverse and more consistent income streams generated. Branded residences are also increasing in prevalence because they provide up-front cash inflows and a more predictable source of revenue than one gets from a hotel alone.”

In Africa, the leading funders of hospitality construction projects are government-backed Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) like International Finance Corporation (IFC), Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the CDC Group, Proparco and the German Investment Corporation (DEG). They are motivated by economic development, skills development and job creation and have a lower requirement for the predictable, consistent loan repayments required by a commercial bank. DFIs are also able to stomach more risk.

A driving factor for this trend is that hotels rent their rooms in euros and US dollars rather than in local currency which, from a financing perspective, reduces the risk to the lender and lowers the interest rate paid by the borrower.

The research comes a week ahead of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), Africa’s highest profile gathering of the hospitality and tourism industry, which takes place in Addis Ababa on September 23-25, 2019.

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57th Independence Day Anniversary synopsis, key achievements outlined

By

Isaiah Mwebaze

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September 16, 2019

Former president Apolo Milton Obote being sworn in as first leader of independent Uganda in 1962 — Former President Apolo Milton Obote being sworn in as first leader of independent Uganda in 1962

Ugandans will celebrate 57^th independence anniversary come October 9, 2019 under the theme, “Consolidation of National Unity, Security, Freedom and Prosperity”. Below is a synopsis as written by presented by the organisers of the upcoming independence celebrations to be held in Sironko district in eastern Uganda?

Uganda will on October 9, 2019, celebrate its 57^th Independence Day anniversary.

More than half of the current population was not yet born in 1962. It is, therefore, important to remind ourselves of the origin of the struggle for independence and the people who played significant roles.

Uganda, the ‘Pearl of Africa’, sits astride the equator in Eastern Africa. At the time of independence in 1962, after 68 years of British rule, Uganda had one of the most vibrant and promising economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank, 1993b).

Favored with a good climate and fertile soils, the country was self-sufficient in food, and agriculture was the single largest export-earner. However, its potential for growth has been curtailed by more than 20 years of civil strife, especially between 1966 and 1986. The resultant economic mismanagement and civil war have had disastrous effects on the once-promising country.

Uganda obtained independence under a coalition government of Milton Obote’s predominantly protestant Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) and the Buganda traditionalist’s political party Kabaka Yekka (KY, which translates as “The King Alone”). Milton Obote became prime minister and chose the Buganda’s Kabaka (king) Sir Edward Mutesa as his largely ceremonial president when Uganda became a republic in 1963.

Independence in Africa has been variously defined and or interpreted by its beneficiaries. Some have understood it to be a mere victorious replacement of alien white colonialists, a lowering of the colonial flag and the hosting of that of the newly independent nation, by the Africans. Others interpreted independence to mean the return of sovereignty back to African chiefs to manage and allocate resources in the designed territories. But much as these interpretations may bear some unarguable grains of truth, Independence is much more than this. It bears noble meaning and deserves greater responsibility.

True independence enables the benefiting nations to build self-confidence, realise their full potential and lead a life of dignity and fulfillment, a life free from exploitation and or any social and political oppression. Indeed, Uganda attained full possession of their sovereignty and began on the road to decide and shape their destiny through democratic means. Alas, few years down the road selfish interests took center stage and slowly we backtracked from democratic path to dictatorship and finally into tyranny of the likes of Idi Amin before sanity was restored in 1986.

To stand does not mean that you can’t or won’t fall, but to fall, rise, stand and move forward is what makes an undisputable achievement. Indeed since 9^th october 1962 to date, Uganda has stumbled and even fallen, but we have taken it in our strides, risen, stood firmly and made fundamental steps forward.

This is the reason why today many Ugandans especially the young generation is more concerned and interested in opportunity and benefit coming out of the convincingly strong foundation for our future prosperity as individuals, families and country.

Struggle for Uganda’s independence

The origin of the struggle for Uganda’s Independence began in 1940s when Ugandans staged various demonstrations against the colonial rule largely objecting to economic exploitations. They objected the manipulative pricings of their cash crops that did not give the deserved benefits. Such bold and courageous face-up against the colonial rule later metamorphosed political agitation leading to the formation of various political parties all agitating for self-rule.

As a result, Uganda’s first political party the Uganda National Congress (UNC) was founded in 1952. The party that was largely for farmers was founded by Ignatius Kangave Musaazi, Abubakar Kakyama Mayanja, Stefano Abwangoto (Bugisu), Ben Okwerede (Teso), Yekosofati Engur (Lango), and S.B. Katembo (Tooro). Ignatius Kangave Musaazi, was the founding president general, and Mayanja was the founding secretary general. The others were chairpersons in their respective regions. The party was first based at the Kabaka’s Lake, Mengo, in the house of a one, Kitamirike. His place was the headquarters of the party for several years before it moved to Katwe and later to Kololo in the late 1950s.

The struggle for independence got a momentum with the formation of many other political parties that further enhanced the agitation for independence. Key among such parties was Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) of Dr Apolo Milton Obote, Grace Ibingira, John Kakonge and others. There was also the Democratic Party under Benedicto Kiwanuka plus other small political parties.

Sir Frederick Mutesa, the first none executive president of Uganda who was also a monarch, found it difficult to take orders from the national government, which was headed by A. Milton Obote. In 1964 there was a referendum to decide whether two counties, which Buganda had annexed, should be returned to the neighbouring territory of Bunyoro. Bunyoro won, but Mutesa refused to sign the transfer instrument, thereby creating a crisis for the government.

From that point matters deteriorated rapidly. Until 1966 Uganda managed to maintain a degree of stability, but in that year matters came to a head, as the Buganda government resolved to expel the Ugandan government from its soil (Ibingira, 1980). This event played into the hands of Obote, whose national government responded by sending soldiers to the Kabaka’s palace to ‘investigate’ the presence of arms. The soldiers (headed by Idi Amin) over-ran the palace and forced the Kabaka into exile. Obote proceeded to suspend the constitution crafted for the independence of Uganda and declared him-self executive president, head of state and government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The political instability had begun which resulted into a coup by Idi Amin and total collapse of the state of Uganda.

Post-Independence Uganda had this quagmire to the extent that by 1986, the country was experiencing absolute poverty and total regression.

Fortunately that period came and passed, leaving the nation with bitter memories which, though, have since served as learnable lessons. The last thirty three years of our Independence have witnessed a miraculous resurrection of Uganda as an Independent nation, thanks to some patriotic and caring Ugandans who saw the wisdom in using these learnable lessons. The resurrection began with the restoration of peace and security of both person and property and of democratic and constitutional governance.

Appreciating the need for markets and the wisdom of living peacefully together on this global village, the world or our mother earth, Uganda has vigorously established and strengthened friendly relations beyond her borders, regionally and internationally.

Our armed forces that were hitherto engaged in putting to an end destructive civil wars are in Uganda are now proud combatants that are restoring peace in countries across the continent that are still grappling with armed conflicts.

Government has carried out interventions that have led to economic growth and national development which is estimated at 6.3 per cent for financial year 2019/2019, having risen from 6.1 per cent in 2017/2018.

Several scientific indicators of development give hope to the Ugandans that the struggle to our middle term vision of reaching an upper middle class status by 2040 is not an impossible or lazy one.

Development of human resource starting with our young generation is a key strategy for strengthening of our Independence. Coupled with these developments in education is in the provision of health facilities.

Similar developments are afloat across the whole range of Uganda’s life e.g. Economy, roads, ICT, Construction, Democratic governance, Justice hither to deprived sections of Ugandans like Women, the youth, the Disabled, the Elderly and Entrepreneurs and workers. All these efforts are practical measures aimed at strengthening Uganda’s striving towards a prosperous country with a prosperous people in order to give our Fifty Seven years old Independence a true meaning.

Infrastructure Programme

Karuma Dan is at 99% and is expected to be completed in December 2019 Isimba Dam was completed and commissioned adding 183 MW to the national grid, which raised electricity generation in the country to 1,158MW.

Geophysical mapping for mapping was for petroleum was done in the Moroto-Kadam basin. Implementation of the oil pipeline and mineral development petroleum refinery projects are in Progress. Government has also continued to manage mining activities and licencing across the country

Electricity access

Access to the electricity grid increased to 143,461 compared to the target of 120,457. A total of 1049.02Kms of electricity lines were completed across the country.

Health

The country has registered improvement in quality care services. Government has also controlled the spread of disease outbreaks such as cholera, Ebola, anthrax among others. Construction and improvement of infrastructure is going on countrywide.Life expectancy at birth stands at 63.3 years and Infant and Under Five Mortality rates between 2000 and 2016, declined by more than half, dropping from 88 to 43 deaths per 1000 live births and from 152 to 64 deaths per 1,000 live births respectively

A very encouraging statement of the vision of the Ministry of Health – A healthy and productive population that contributes to socio – Economic growth and social development-says all that Uganda is striving for in the field of health. As a result all indicators of improvement like infant mortality, immunisation coverage, maternal mortality, HIV prevalence, number of hospitals both referral and general and health centres and provision of high tech machines for complicated diseases .

Education

In the education sector, government continues to construct and renovate learning facilities and provide instructional materials, and the curriculum review is in progress.

In education, the primary school enrollment is 1,965,606. For Secondary schools enrollment is 1,350,583. For Business, Technical, Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) enrollment is 45,153. The literacy rate is 77 per cent for males and 70 per cent for females. The challenge remains at the completion rate in both cases and, of course, in the relevance and effectiveness of the education provided. These are being handled by all relevant authorities. The president began a programme of skilling the youth in parts of Kampala as a pilot study and now it is going to be rolled out across the country.

Universities and other tertiary institutions are expanding their service at their levels by the day. There are now 40 Universities (9 Government). This is up from just one University in 1986.

Industry

Government is developing industrial parks in various parts of the country and it has also established zonal agro-processing facilities and provided support to UNBS for standards development, promotion and enforcement. Industrial sector: The industrial sector accounted for 19.8 percent of total nominal output in FY 2017/18 and posted real growth of 6.2 per cent compared to 3.4 per cent recorded in FY 2016/17. Manufacturing grew by 4.4 percent compared to 2.2 percent registered in FY2017/18.

National road network 2017/18

The country has a total road network of 4,157 km.

Finally, with such milestones so far achieved notwithstanding all the challenges we went through as a country, it is very imperative that we gather in Sironko to celebrate our independence as we continue to consolidate our national unity, security, freedom and prosperity.

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Eight die in Kamuli road accident

By

Our Reporter

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September 16, 2019

The wreckage of the taxi that involved in an accident

At least eight people died and nine others sustained injuries in a road accident that happened on Sunday in Nawantumbi village along the Jinja-Kamuli highway.

The accident involved a commuter taxi registration number UAZ 861J from Jinja whose one of its tyres burst before knocking a motorcycle carrying two passengers who died on spot.

The driver then lost control and knocked an electric pole, killing six passengers, eye witnesses said that the driver was over speeding.

“The driver was speeding and failed to limit the speed of the car even when he reached the trading centre which is highly populated with a lot of motorists,” an eye witness said.

Ms Fatuma Nakyanze, a survivor said that even the taxi was overloaded with 18 passengers instead of the recommended 18.

Meanwhile two people died and got scores injured yesterday after the driver of a taxi lost control and it overturned several times at Buyange Village, Magada Sub-county in Namutumba District.
The driver of the speeding taxi was reportedly distracted as he talked on phone asking colleagues whether traffic officers in Namutumba were still on duty, a survivor said.
The taxi, that was coming from Mbale and heading towards the Iganga direction, on Sunday evening overturned thrice, killing a 10-year-old pupil and a 39-year-old man.

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Absa Africa Financial Markets Index 2019 to be launched next month

By

Our Reporter

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September 16, 2019

Absa Group in partnership with Official Monetary Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) will launch the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index 2019 on October 18, 2019 in Washington D.C, according to organisers.

Now in its third year, the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index records the openness to foreign investment of countries across the continent. The index is a premier indicator of the attractiveness of Africa’s capital markets, for use by policy-makers, investors and asset managers around the world.

Over the past year, key mergers, new regulations and innovative financial products have contributed to the growth of financial markets across the region. The 2019 edition draws special focus on policy and market developments that have made an impact on the 20 countries covered by the index, and will boost financial market growth in the region for years to come.

The launch will take place alongside the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group annual meetings. It will feature a presentation of the report and key findings, followed by a panel discussion and moderated Q&A session.

‘The development of well regulated, deep and liquid financial markets is a key priority that should be at the top of Africa’s development agenda. The index facilitates a meaningful debate about the maturity and accessibility of Africa’s financial markets. It is an important contribution that supports policy-makers, investors, regulators and other market participants to identify the areas and initiatives which will drive the most significant improvements,’ said Maria Ramos, chief executive officer of Absa Group at the launch of the 2018 edition of the index .

‘It is heartening to see the advances made by African countries, in many areas, to improve the efficiency of capital markets,’ said David Marsh, chairman of OMFIF. ‘However, more remains to be done regarding the robustness of market infrastructure and regulatory frameworks across Africa and we look forward to tracking progress annually.’

Absa Africa Financial Markets Index 2018 showed that the greatest area for improvement across the continent remains the ‘capacity of local investors’. Excluding the top five economies, the remaining countries average a score of just 22 out of 100 in this pillar. Survey respondents highlighted that the lack of knowledge and expertise of pension fund trustees and other asset owners hinders the development of new financial products, by reducing their demand for more sophisticated assets and strategies to diversify returns. The index also shows that improvements in market infrastructure and regulatory frameworks could boost the performance of countries in the middle of the index over coming years.

The 20 economies surveyed were: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The 2018 edition showed Uganda as having a stable performance with good foreign exchange access but low local investor capacity.

The index provides a toolkit for countries wishing to build financial infrastructure by tracking progress annually across six pillars: market depth; access to foreign exchange; tax and regulatory environment and market transparency; capacity of local investors; macroeconomic opportunity; and enforceability of financial contracts, collateral positions and insolvency frameworks.

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Unilever publishes global list of tea suppliers, Uganda inclusive

By

George Mangula

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September 16, 2019

Unilever, the world’s largest tea company, is set to bring unprecedented levels of transparency to the industry by publishing its list of tea suppliers for the first time.

Unilever buys 10% of the world’s tea supply, enough to make 272,000 cups every minute; and supports a workforce of more than 1 million people in 21 different countries such as Argentina India, Kenya, Japan, Argentina, Vietnam and Australia and Uganda.

The landmark move to increase transparency in the industry covers all black and green tea sourced by Unilever. This supplies the blends for more than 30 brands around the world, including Lipton, Brooke Bond Red Label and Pukka.

Mick Van Ettinger, Unilever Executive Vice President Tea, said: “With transparency comes transformation. Greater scrutiny of our supply chains helps us work more effectively with partners and suppliers to bring about positive change for people and planet. We want all our consumers to be part of this process too, so they can see where their tea comes from and how we are supporting the communities we work with. We’re determined to make our tea supply chain even more socially and environmentally sustainable, from tea estate to tea pot, and this is a great step to help us do that”.

Sarah Roberts, Executive Director of the Ethical Tea Partnership, of which Unilever is a member said: “We prioritise approaches that tackle the deep-rooted issues that tea workers and communities are facing. We are therefore delighted that Unilever, which is such an important global player in the tea industry and a committed Ethical Tea Partnership member, is now fully transparent about where its tea comes from and is working strategically to address the social and environmental challenges that the sector continues to face.”

The supplier list will be updated annually. In addition, Unilever has published an interactive map, which shows people where in the world their tea comes from. The map also features stories highlighting social and environmental programmes that Unilever is implementing with NGOs and supplier partners to enhance the livelihoods and wellbeing of local workers and their families.

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Sudhir opens mega building in city, offers three months in free rent to new tenants

By

Our Reporter

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September 15, 2019

EP2 — Rajiv and his wife Naiya opening the Electrical Plaza

Sudhir Rupar Lia’s Ruparelia Group on Saturday officially launched its ultra-modern commercial building in Kampala’s Central Business district (CBD), a development that should help boost rental space in the city.

All new customers will be getting three months free rent.

The building dubbed Electrical Plaza is located on Market Street in Nakasero, and made up of 220 shops, 56 apartments and two floors of parking.

The building is the latest addition to Ruparelia Group’s business empire and its being run by Crane Management Services (CMS) – the property management arm of the group.

CMS is a leading real estate company that manages other buildings like The Cube, Hardware City, Hardware Plaza, Kampala Boulevard, Market Plaza, Kingdom Kampala and Speke Apartments on Wampeewo Avenue and Kintante among others.

Other Ruparelia Group investments already in place include, Speke Resort Munyonyo, Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort, Kabira Country Club, Speke Hotel 1996, Speke Apartments, Forest Cottages Naguru, Dolphine Suites Bugolobi, Victoria University, Kampala Parents School, Dheli Public School, Kampala International School of Uganda, Goldstar Insurance, Sanyu Fm 2000 Limited, Meera Investments, Rosebud, Premier Roses and Premier Recruitment Services.

Meanwhile Sudhir has scoffed at Bank of Uganda legal advisers saying they deliberately mislead the Central Bank for selfish interests.

Sudhir who won a case against Bank of Uganda on a technical ground last month when Commercial Court ruled that Crane Bank in (receivership) didn’t have audacity to sue its former owner- Mr Sudhir has roared, “I am ready for you today, tomorrow and when I am dead.”

BoU along with Crane Bank (in receivership) had dragged the businessman to court seeking a refund of shs 397 billion he allegedly pulled out of Crane Bank that belonged to customers.

Sudhir through Kampala Associated Advocates, they argued that the law quoting the Financial Act of 2004 doesn’t allow a bank which is under receivership to sue its former owner.

Therefore, Court dismissed the case with legal costs.

But Bank of Uganda Communications Director announced that the regulator was intending to appeal the decision made Justice David Mangutusi.

Reacting to Bank of Uganda’s attempt to appeal, Sudhir who Saturday was launching the new commercial building in Downtown Kampala- Electrical Plaza, said he is ready to face BoU again in Court.

The group chairman, Sudhir Ruparelia being welcomed at the function

“Me, I am ready, today, tomorrow or even when I am dead my son will takeover. Let me tell you, law is law, nobody can reinvent law. You see they created this law to protect themselves. They are saying no body can sue them. So we used the same law to defeat them,” he said.

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Busoga ready to utilise her assets for development-Kyabazinga

By

Geoffery Serugo

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September 14, 2019

As Busoga Kingdom commemorated five years of their King’s reign at Butagaya sub-county headquarters in Jinja District, the Kyabazinga, His Majesty William Gabula Nadiope IV told his subjects of his readiness to utilise the yet-to-be returned assets and properties from the central government for the kingdom’s development agenda.

In his address, the King elaborated the achievements in the last five years making it inevitable for the Kingdom to be financially stable to sustain the different initiatives embarked on.

“We have started and initiated several programs. We started the bursary scheme supporting needy but bright students, Ekigangu kya Busoga for the youth, Masaza cup, Kyabazinga trail, water distribution to schools, planting of trees and the demand for the service is enormous. However, we need to be stable financially to manage all of them”, the Kyabazinga noted adding that it’s high time government expedited the process of returning Busoga’s assets and properties.

“We appreciate government’s good will to return ebyaiffe as this will boost on our economic potential. However, I ask that let the process be expedited to quicken the process as all proceeds from the different properties of the Kingdom will be reimbursed towards the institutions’ development”, the King emphasized to the total amusement of the audience.

Flanked by his special guest of the day, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the King also appealed to the youth to be exemplary and work hard in the promotion of unity and development. Earlier, the King toured the different stalls and later moved around waving to his enthusiastic guests. He also sounded the different cultural drums as a ritual for all cultural functions in the Kingdom.

On her part, the speaker of parliament, Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga noted that Busoga is now stable with a King and focus is now on development of the sub-region.

“We are privileged to have a developmental oriented leader who is determined to take our Kingdom to greater heights”, she said noting that as current leaders, she will ensure that the Ambercoat-Budondo-Mbulamuti road is tarmacked sooner than later and other roads.

The Kingdom’s Premier, Owek. Joseph Muvawala lauded all the people of Busoga and partners for supporting the institution.

“The 5 years of the Kyabazinga’s reign have been a success and the sky seems to be the limit. We thank the people of Busoga for the support always”, the Premier flanked by his deputies Owek. Muhammad Lubega and Owek. Ahmed Noor Osman and cabinet ministers said revealing that he is under instruction to swear in the new Busoga Lukiiko in two weeks’ time.

A delegation from all over the World led by Gail McKenzie Alison also prayed for the King and committed to support the King and his Kingdom in community projects like water, health, youth among others.

Several dignitaries attended including the Umukhuka from Mbale, Royal Chiefs, MPs, RDCs, LCV Chairpersons, Clan heads, general public, partners among others.

The event was sponsored by MTN Uganda, Uganda Breweries under the theme; “Preparing a youth based on Busoga cultural norms and Virtues” with several pre-coronation activities like community dialogue on teenage motherhood, the Masaza cup, Gabula day, Health camp, Farmers forum and agricultural exhibition, boat race and the Kyabazinga tour of Bugabula

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Gen. Kale castigates America, says accusations labeled against him are ‘absolutely false outrageous and infuriating

By

Isaiah Mwebaze

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September 14, 2019

kale-kayihura1 — Former Inspector General of Police-Gen. Kale Kayihura.

The former Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura has responded to accusations by the government of the United States of America (USA) saying they are false and outrageous. The USA yesterday sanctioned Kayihura and his close family members, saying that the general engaged in human rights violations, corruption, smuggling of drugs, gold and wildlife.

Below read his full statement.

I have been informed about the statement of the United States Department of the Treasury issued on the 13th of September 2019. In the baseless, unverified and outrageous statement, I am accused that while I was working as Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Uganda, I engaged in Human Rights violations, corruption, and smuggling drugs, gold and wildlife. This is not only absolutely false but outrageous and infuriating, especially that these accusations and decisions have been made without according me an opportunity to respond to them, whereby I would give evidence to the contrary. The United States Government was known as a government that believed in due process, rule of law and democracy. There was absolutely no due process accorded to me before false wild and defamatory statements about my person and my record were issued from Washington, without any bother to verify such allegations, which are in actual fact against the state of Uganda for which I was working.

To set the record straight, I am an upright citizen of Uganda, who whether in my public or private capacity is pro-people and I have never been corrupt as alleged, or at all.

I do not own and have never owed any property in the United States, or anywhere else outside Uganda. I do not have any bank accounts outside my country, Uganda. The insinuations in the statement that I could own any property outside Uganda are totally fabricated and malicious. The freezing of my so-called assets therefore, is comical.

I reject completely the characterization of the Uganda Police Force as some criminal outfit that I led. Under my tenure, we grew the force to almost 40,000 people and introduced a number of departments to serve the public better.

The statement from the Treasury is not just factually inaccurate. It is not just procedurally improper. It is not just an absolute travesty of justice, it is also extremely hypocritical. The fact is that the FBI worked closely with me and with units of police that were involved in fighting crime, including the Flying Squad. They were not scandalised by my leadership but actually gave me an award for my contribution in the fight against terror. There is no high profile case in which our units did not liaise with the FBI. They participated in, for example, the investigations into the assassinations of the late Joan Kagezi and the late Andrew Felix Kaweesi, as well as the 2010 terror case. The Treasury would thus do well to sanction those officers also.
The FBI officers were not spared the false allegations I had become accustomed to. In fact, in the East African Court of Justice in the High Court of Uganda, and in a court in London, allegations were made about torture of the 2010 terrorist suspects, where the FBI was specifically mentioned, and FBI officers testified.

To have people who should have a better context of the challenges we faced and of the effort we undertook in the fight against terror, issue such nonsensical statements, is truly the height of hypocrisy. The Treasure Secretary would be well advised to conduct some research before speaking out against individual persons. For the record, investigations into the murders of the late Joan Kagezi and Andrew Felix Kaweesi were also conducted with help from the FBI. In the case of the latter, the FBI were at the scene of the crime to help us reconstruct it. The FBI also worked with Flying Squad. Thus, instead of searching for my non-existent US properties, the Treasury should instead be helping in the fight against global terror.

The allegations of Human Rights abuses in relation to Nalufenya, purportedly committed under my watch are false and without foundation. There is no person who was tortured under my instruction or with my knowledge in a police facility in Uganda. In fact, a number of Governmental and Non-Governmental institutions, in particular the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and the Uganda Human Rights Commission, visited Nalufenya from time to time. They fully interacted with the detained suspects, and received first-hand information that there were no complaints of their conditions while in detention. Indeed, in their report, the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights stated that there was no torture of suspects taking place in Nalufenya.

As a matter of fact, it is important to point out that during my watch and tenure, I institutionalised in the Uganda Police Force, the observance of Human Rights and the fight against corruption by establishing such departments as the Professional Standards Unit and the Directorate of Human Rights and Legal Services.Whenever any complaints were brought to my attention, I caused investigations of the same, and those culpable were handled through the due process of law either in civil courts or the Police Disciplinary Courts. A case in point is the Mayor who was tortured before he reached Nalufenya, and those officers were arrested, charged and prosecuted.

I find the allegations that I engaged in illegal transactions, such as the smuggling of drugs, gold and wildlife outrageous and insulting. This would be laughable if it were not such a grievous malignment of my character. Those who know me find these accusations absurd and extremely frustrating, to say the least. It is all the more scandalous since the American authorities cannot even specify the allegations and give me an opportunity to respond. The due process of law is disappearing in Washington and standards have slipped, but has it become so cavalier in its disregard for due process?

Let me also clarify on the role of the Flying Squad within the Uganda Police Force. I inherited some of these units of the force, where prior the department was called the Violent Crimes Crack Unit, then the Rapid Response Unit, and finally Flying Squad. This unit was to comprise a group of police officers who respond rapidly to criminal and violent incidents. These officers helped in resolving cases such as preventing murders, recovering illegal firearms and more. Units like these are created to respond to the changing nature of the criminal underworld. Any indiscipline in the force would be handled without stopping the evolution of the police into a force that can carry out its constitutional mandate of preventing and detecting crime. These units simply supplement the work of the territorial police, and even the United States Police contain such units. Criminalising them would only help crime thrive. The Uganda Police, and myself as its former head, did everything we could to fight crime, including receiving help from the FBI, setting up units like Flying Squad, expanding the force, and equipping its directorates.

That is why during my tenure, we worked greatly to expand Fire Brigade and Traffic, a Legal Unit as aforementioned, building the K9 Unit, on Forensics, creating a Pathology Department, Community Police, and Rapid Response. I therefore reject completely the characterisation of myself and the Uganda Police under me, put forward by this statement from the United States. Such a statement would be the equivalent of painting American security departments with the broad brush strokes of the controversies surrounding the Abu Ghraib prison, notorious for torture, Guantanamo Bay, and the police shootings of ethnic minorities.

By and large, the almost 40,000 police officers I left behind work as public servants for the betterment of Uganda, our sovereign country, and during my time the police were brought closer to the people. I too always acted in good faith for God and my country.

The idea that I used corruption to entrench my political position is completely nonsensical. The IGP in Uganda is appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament. There is no space for me to campaign and use corruption to keep my office. Any assertions of the sort are the result of poor research by American authorities. It is only in the United States where Police leaders are elected and can hence entrench their positions politically.

It is truly surprising that the US Government would pass judgement, make decisions and take actions on me based on deceitful propaganda, rather than facts and the truth. These allegations fit the now discredited narrative, which has been perpetrated by intriguers in Uganda since I left the Uganda Police Force. Their objective was to falsely criminalize me and accuse me of all sorts of crimes in order to malign me and destroy my public persona.

Regarding the sanctions on myself, my wife, and my children – I find them unfortunate because it is legally, morally, and factually baseless. In any case, neither I nor my family had any plans to travel to the United States, and therefore do not have any need to apply for visas to go there. There was no need to bring my family into a statement based on falsehoods and fabrications.

I find it hypocritical that the United States Government authorities could claim to uphold Human Rights yet in their letter and action, they fall below the lowest standards of the due process of law. How can they accuse, judge and condemn a person without the basic decency to respect the principles of natural justice, specifically, affording a person the opportunity and the rightto be heard?

To family, friends and well-wishers in Uganda and abroad, I wish to assure you of my innocence. This is only the latest part of an ordeal we have had to endure since I left public office in March 2018. It is particularly curious that this statement has come now, at a time when the truth about my innocence in relation to the multiple allegations against me were coming to light. And at the same time, when the conspiratorial plots to criminally frame me were finally being exposed to the country and the world, most recently in the Parliament of Uganda.

Lastly, I view the false allegations and the ridiculous action as an attack on the sovereignty of Uganda, as I and the Uganda Police Force are targeted in an official capacity. To sit in Washington and make the spurious and unproven baseless allegations, and take action on them without any effort to establish any truth, against a former IGP and a National Police Force is the highest form of disrespect of a foreign country.

I remain resolute against this new wave of actions based on concoctions and lies.

Gen. Kale Kayihura
14 September 2019I have been informed about the statement of the United States Department of the Treasury issued on the 13th of September 2019. In the baseless, unverified and outrageous statement, I am accused that while I was working as Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Uganda, I engaged in Human Rights violations, corruption, and smuggling drugs, gold and wildlife. This is not only absolutely false but outrageous and infuriating, especially that these accusations and decisions have been made without according me an opportunity to respond to them, whereby I would give evidence to the contrary. The United States Government was known as a government that believed in due process, rule of law and democracy. There was absolutely no due process accorded to me before false wild and defamatory statements about my person and my record were issued from Washington, without any bother to verify such allegations, which are in actual fact against the state of Uganda for which I was working.