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Former LoP mourns death of Rwenzururu Queen Mother, says kingdom still under threat

By
Isaiah Mwebaze
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Ms. Christine Biira Mukirania seen here at Case Clinic with President Museveni. Mr. Museveni had paid a visit to her.

The former leader of opposition in Parliament who doubles as Kasese woman MP, Winnie Kiiza, has mourned the passing on of the Rwenzururu Queen Mother (Nyamukama), Her Royal Highness, Christine Biira Mukirania.

Mrs. Christine Biira Mukirania who died today morning was the mother of His Majesty, the Omusinga of Rwenzururu, Charles Wesley Mumbere and state minister of agriculture Godfrey Kibazaanga.

“It’s unfortunate that she has died at a time when our identity is still under threat, her counsel, efforts and motherly love for Rwenzori will surely be missed,” Ms Kiiza said, adding that the late’s legacy stands as a symbol of patience and persistence during the kingdom’s trying moments.

The Queen Mother died at Kilembe Hospital where she had been admitted. She was first admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of Case Hospital in Kampala where registered improvement and was discharged. She has been battling cancer since early this year.

“I send our deepest condolences to the Mukirania family and the Banyarwenzuru and Banyarwenzuru at this difficult time.” She said, “Biira has been instrumental in spearheading peace and reconciliation in the Rwenzori region since the 2016 clashes between the royal guards and the army,” the former LoP said.

Kiiza said that the kingdom celebrates the extraordinary life of the woman who devoted her life to guard, serve and jealously fight for the identity of the Bakonzo.

Kiiza was at the forefront when kingdom leaders and area MPs petitioned international criminal court calling for investigations and prosecution of army offices led by Maj Gen. Charles Elwelu who in 2016 commanded the force that attacked the King’s palace, leading to the death of over 100 people.

During the clashes, Rwenzururu king Charles Wesley Mumbere, his premier Thembo Kitsumbire and subjects were arrested and tried over allegations that they allied with the other forces from DR Congo, seeking for the creation of the Yiira Republic.

They were however released on bail and slummed with restrictions on not stepping in Kasese till their case is disposed of.

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Woman forces stepdaughter to eat food mixed with menstrual blood

By
Our Reporter
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Annet Namata

Police in Mukono district are holding a woman accused of forcefully ordering her teenage step daughter to eat food mixed with her menstrual blood.

Annet Namata’s husband, Unusu Lungu, says that he learnt about the shocking incident from his neighbours who intervened to save the teenager’s life when they saw her vomiting on the veranda after the suspect had left to go and trap grasshoppers.

He says the curious residents asked the teenager what had happened but she couldn’t speak and instead pointed at a plate of food inside the sitting room. The irritated residents notified Lungu after giving the teenager hot water to wash her mouth, garlic and charcoal powder to swallow.

Lungu says he couldn’t withhold his anger and attacked Namata at her workplace. She reportedly confessed and blamed the girl, saying that she removed the blood from a bucket and mixed it with her food. According to Lungu, the suspect fled into hiding when he left to report the matter to local authorities.

“She mixed the blood with the sauce made of eggplants. She forced the teenager to eat it threatening her that she would strangle her and vanish. So I asked her to eat the food herself and that is when she confessed and said that indeed the food contained menstrual blood. But she blamed the daughter as the one who went and removed the blood from her knickers and added it to the food so she could be blamed.” said Lungu.

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Minister Tumwebaze urges Isbat University to be innovative

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Minister Tumwebaze presiding over the function at Isbat University.

The Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Frank Tumwebaze, has urged university students to be innovative in the era of technological advancement and use skills acquired to create solutions to problems that face communities around them.

Minister Tumwebaze made the call while launching virtual learning ICT platforms at Isbat University. The platforms offer an alternative medium of study where students do not necessarily have to be in classes to learn but can have lectures away from the university as long as they log in to the platforms.

“Innovation is the way to go, new challenges require new solutions therefore creativity will address a number of problems including reducing on the levels of unemployment among others in the country,” he said.

“Take the advantage of this advanced models of technology to create solutions to challenges facing people in the community. Technology advancement is beyond new gadgets, learn to maximize them,” he said.

Tumwebaze lauded the Isabat University for the Innovation, saying soon other universities like Makerere will adopt virtual teaching method to reduce on the number of students attending lectures in classrooms.

Blending learning and skilling platforms launched at the university bring services to students on their finger tips and enable them to connect with classmates, teachers, mentors and parents. Students can access online study material, online tests, discussion forum, online assignments submission, academic activities and many more related information.

According to the university chancellor, Fred Jachan Omach, the institution is training students in cyber security to defend tackle hackers.

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600 plant species extinct

By
Agencies
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The Chilean crocus: Rediscovered in 2001 after years of searching

Almost 600 plant species have been lost from the wild in the last 250 years, according to a comprehensive study.

The number is based on actual extinctions rather than estimates, and is twice that of all bird, mammal and amphibian extinctions combined.

Scientists say plant extinction is occurring up to 500 times faster than what would be expected naturally.

In May, a UN report estimated that one million animal and plant species were threatened with extinction.

Humans ‘threaten 1m species with extinction’
Nature’s emergency in five graphics
What does a biodiversity emergency mean for humans.

Researchers say their analysis of all documented plant extinctions in the world shows what lessons can be learned to stop future extinctions.

Most people can name a mammal or bird that has become extinct in recent centuries, but few could name an extinct plant, said Dr Aelys Humphreys of Stockholm University.

“This study is the first time we have an overview of what plants have already become extinct, where they have disappeared from and how quickly this is happening,” she added.

The lost plants include the Chile sandalwood, which was exploited for essential oils, the banded trinity plant, which spent much of its life underground, and the pink-flowered St Helena olive tree.

The biggest losses are on islands and in the tropics, which are home to highly valued timber trees and tend to be particularly rich in plant diversity.

What did the study find?
Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Stockholm University found that 571 plant species had disappeared in the last two and a half centuries, a number that is more than twice the number of birds, mammals and amphibians recorded as extinct (a combined total of 217 species).

This data suggests plant extinction is happening as much as 500 times faster than what would be expected normally, if humans weren’t around.

The researchers believe even these numbers underestimate the true levels of ongoing plant extinction.

One positive, though, was evidence that some plants once thought extinct have been rediscovered, such as the Chilean crocus.

Why does plant extinction matter?
All life on Earth depends on plants, which provide the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat.

Plant extinctions can lead to a whole cascade of extinctions in other organisms that rely on them, for instance insects that use plants for food and for laying their eggs.

Plant extinction is bad news for all species, said Dr Eimear Nic Lughadha, co-researcher and conservation scientist at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

“Millions of other species depend on plants for their survival, humans included, so knowing which plants we are losing and from where, will feed back into conservation programmes targeting other organisms as well,” she explained.

What lessons can we learn?
The researchers are calling for a number of measures to stop plant extinction:

Record all the plants across the world
Support herbaria, which preserve plant specimens for posterity
Support botanists who carry out vital research
Teach our children to see and recognise local plants.
Dr Rob Salguero-Gómez, of the University of Oxford, who was not part of the study, said understanding the how, where, and why of plant loss was of paramount importance, not only for ecologists but also for human societies.

“We depend on plants directly for food, shade and construction materials, and indirectly for ‘ecosystem services’ such as carbon fixation, oxygen creation, and even improvement in human mental health through enjoying green spaces,” he commented.

The research is published in the journal, Nature Ecology and Evolution.

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Four axed as Desabre names final 23-man squad for 2019 Afcon

By
Our Reporter
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Cranes Coach Desabre

Uganda Cranes Head coach Sebastien Desabre has named the final 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt.

Sadam Ibrahim Juma (KCCA FC), Alexis Bbakka (Carlstad United, Sweden), Charles Lukwago (KCCA FC) and Kirizestom Ntambi (Coffee FC, Ethiopia) are the players who have been dropped from the squad while in the camp in Abu Dhabi.

Moses Waiswa sustained a knee injury which automatically ruled him out from the competition.

Denis Onyango is the team captain and will be deputized by Hassan Wasswa Mawanda.

14 of the players who played at AFCON 2017 in Gabon return for the Egypt edition.

The team will play with Ivory Coast in an international friendly game on Saturday, 15th June 2019 before flying to Cairo, Egypt.

Uganda are in Group A alongside the hosts Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe.

The final squad consists of three goalkeepers, nine defenders, seven midfielders and four strikers.

Cranes final 23 man Team:

Goalkeepers: Denis Onyango (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa), Jamal Salim (Al Hilal-Sudan), Robert Odongkara (Adama City, Ethiopia)

Defenders: Nico Wakiro Wadada (Azam, Tanzania), Brian Ronald Ddungu Mukiibi (Ostersunds, Sweden), Murushid Jjuuko (Simba, Tanzania), Bevis Mugabi (Yeovil Town, England), Isaac Muleme (FK Viktoria Zizkov, Czech Republic), Hassan Wasswa Mawanda (Un attached), Joseph Ochaya (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Timothy Denis Awanyi (KCCA FC, Uganda), Godfrey Walusimbi (Un-attached)

Midfielders: Mike Azira (Montreal Impact, Canada), Allan Kateregga (Maritzburg, South Africa), William Kizito Luwagga (Shakhter Karagandy, Kazakhstan), Khalid Aucho (Church Hill Brothers, India), Faruku Miya (HNK Gorica, Croatia), Abdul Lumala (Syrianska, Sweden), Tadeo Lwanga (Vipers SC-Uganda)

Strikers: Patrick Henry Kaddu (KCCA FC, Uganda), Derrick Nsibambi (Smouha, Egypt), Allan Kyambadde (KCCA FC Uganda), Emmanuel Arnold Okwi (Simba, Tanzania)

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Mali could be disqualified from 2019 Afcon

By
Our Reporter
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Mali team

The Mali national football team face a risk of being disqualified from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt that kicks off on 21st July.

The Mali Eagles could be kicked out due to crisis that is weakening their football federation for almost two years now.

Since December 2017, the Mali Football Federation has been under the supervision of a standardisation committee put in place to draft new statutes within the Federation, and to re-organise current affairs.

Unfortunately, very little has been achieved as far as the missions are concerned.

FIFA is said to have issued an ultimatum to all stakeholders in Mali ahead of their general meeting scheduled for Saturday, June 15.

FIFA’s director of development for Africa and the Caribbean Veron Mosengo-Omba revealed on his twitter that the West African country may be banned if they fail to get it right in their congress coming up this weekend.

“Fifa President Gianni Infantino is clear: if the GA of June 15 turns into a fiasco, the competent bodies of Fifa may suspend Mali. This sentiment is echoed by the president of Caf, Mali risks being suspended from the CAN, which begins on June 21. We will not allow few people to take Malian football hostage.” Omba tweeted.

The General Assembly may not be able to approve the new statutes and the new organisation of current affairs proposed by the standardisation committee. If there are no solutions to the crisis plaguing the Federation, the Country may also be suspended at all levels in world football.

A potential disqualification may make CAF opt to leave only three teams to compete in Group E which comprises of Tunisia, Mauritania and Angola.

They may also consider other options, which include allowing the third-placed team (Gabon) during the qualifiers in Mali’s group to come in as a replacement or grant it to the best third-placed team overall during qualifiers which is Burkina Faso.

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Makerere: Cut off points, private & district quota admission lists 2019/2020 out

By
Our Reporter
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Makerere University Administration Building.

The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released lists applicants admitted under the Private Direct Entry Scheme, Bachelor of Laws Private Day and Evening Programmes, district quota under government Sponsorship as well as Ugandan Students with foreign qualifications admitted on Private admission for the academic year 2019/2020.

Also released are the Cut-Off Points for Private Students’ Admissions for the Academic Year 2019/2020

Click on the link below to view details

https://bit.ly/2ZotR8x

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Rwandan rebels appoint new Spokesperson after arrest of Sankara

By
Our Reporter
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Capt. Hermani Nsengimana, new Spokesperson.

The Rwandan rebels of National Liberation Forces have appointed a new spokesperson after the arrest of its former spokesperson Maj Callixte Nsabimana aka Sankara.

Capt Hermani Nsengimana is the new rebel publicist.

He was born in the Rwandan Southern province.
” I hold a post graduate diploma in Business Administration from Amity University in India,” he said in an interview with Eagleonline.

Sankara before his arrest said they had no option but to fight President Paul Kagame, who he described as “a dictator and murderer”.

In an interview with Eagle online before his arrest, Maj Sankara said the kidnap of refugees, harassing of the opposition and lack of freedom of expression are the reasons why his group has launched an armed struggle against the Kigali regime in Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda near Burundi border.

“MRCD and our FLN we are a revolutionary movement, we are fighting for democracy! Kagame and his junta they are killing, torturing, kidnapping, non-freedom of expression, non-independent media, opposition leaders some of them are in jail for nothing, thousands of Rwandans are refuges in different countries most of them fear to lose their lives,” he said.

Mouvement Rwandais pour le Changement démocratique [MRCD] is the political and FLN is the armed wing of the a coalition of three political parties, PDR Ihumure headed by Paul Rusesabagina, CNRD headed by Gen Wilson Irategeka and RRM headed by Major Callixte Sankara that have launched an armed struggle against Kagame.

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What the awarding Heroes medals to UPDF soldiers means to Justice Bamugemereire and her team

By
Editorial
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Justice Bamugemereire

Five Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UDPF) soldiers were among 100 Ugandans awarded medals by President Museveni on Heroes Day which was celebrated in Wakiso district. The soldiers were awarded for blocking Justice Catherine Bamugemereire-led land probe from accessing a disputed piece of land in Mbuya that also houses a military installation. The officers including; Sgt. Julius Katuliba (commander of the team), Sgt.David Kyabona, Sgt. Tumusiime Venalenda, Kanyihira Robert and Siraf Igga.

The soldiers were awarded the medals for the ‘exceptional courage and professionalism with which these officers conducted themselves during a scuffle with the head of the Commission of Inquiry into land matters’, according to organisers of the medal awarding committee.

The government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo, said, “because of the meticulous way they conducted themselves, the President Yoweri Museveni decided to confer on them meritorious awards. “They refused to be disarmed by people who are not their commanders. This clearly proved that the officers had a command,” he said.

The decision by government to award medals to the officers was criticised by some members in the public who argued that the government was trying to undermine justice Bamugemereire and impact of land wrangles in the country but what does that mean to the Chairperson of the land probe and her team?

First some analysts say Justice Bamugemereire failed to observe protocol by wanting to visit the place without clearance from top army officers. Ofwono while commending the soldiers blamed the Commission for trying to access land well knowing they don’t have authority to stand down the security they didn’t command.

An analyst further said Bamugemereire Commission must learn how to work with senior government officials much as the Commission has powers to arrest. In February Bamugemereire had a sharp exchange of words with the Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana, who she felt had been unruly or uncooperative and not giving the commission due respect.

After this, Justice Bamugemereire dismissed Rukutana from the public hearing. Rukutana in his response was that the Commission should “go and hang”, and his later comment to journalists was, “I don’t give a damn”.

Following the above public spat between the two officials, the President of the Uganda Law Society Simon Peter Kinobe condemned the incident, calling for sobriety in land probe. Sections of the public think Bamugemereire sometimes becomes so tough on senior government officials who come to the Commission to give their side of the story.

Tension between Uganda’s judiciary and a commission of inquiry headed by one of the judiciary’s own members further heightened following a new Court of Appeal decision. The appeal judgment refused to stay a huge, court-ordered payout of about Shs9.7 billion to a local pastor and land broker, as ordered by the inquiry, and warned that the independence of the judiciary was at stake if court decisions and orders could be countermanded by a commission of inquiry.

An analyst has written that the unsuccessful application, dismissed with costs, has dealt the attorney general, the commission and the inquiry a significant blow. Outsiders, who had hoped the inquiry would get to the bottom of land-related corruption and fraud, must be feeling increasingly frustrated at the sight of the commission, the inquiry and the courts locked in battle with each other – rather than with the land sharks and embezzlers that the inquiry was intended to uncover.

There have also been spats between Judge Bamugemereire and other members of the judiciary, including the Chief Justice of Uganda Bart Katureebe, over her remarks critical of judges for the role they have been playing in land-related matters. Justice Katurebe felt then that Bamugemereire should have used internal mechanisms of the judiciary to address issues rather than mentioning them in the press.

Bamugemereire, who has led the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters for the past two years, is living in fear following a suspected attack on her home in Buziga, Kampala, on the night of May 24. It is not clear what the intention of the attack was. However some people say it could be related to her work while other say the attackers might have been mere robbers.

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President Kagame makes 30 yrs in marriage

By
Our Reporter
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Rwanda President, Maj.Gen. Paul Kagame has day made 30 years in marriage. He married First Lady, Jeanette Nyiramongi Kagame on this day in Kampala in 1989 and his best man was later Gen. Aronda Nyakirima, the former Chief Defence Forces.

President Kagame was later on the best man of Gen. Kale Kayihura.

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