President Yoweri Museveni has held a tête-à-tête with Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga at Nakasero State House.
The meeting between the President and the cleric was reportedly held on April 08, 2018 following a recent phone call the President put through to the man of the cloth who notified him about security fears and attempts on his life.
In his Easter Sunday sermon, Archbishop Lwanga shockingly revealed to the congregation that he had received a warning phone call from a person claiming to work for the state’s intelligence service.
The Archbishop further revealed that the caller warned him that he was likely to become ‘next Janani Luwum.
Archbishop Janani Luwum was murdered in February 1977 allegedly on the orders of the Ugandan President Idi Amin Dada.
The head of the Anglican Church was a critic of President Amin’s regime accusing him of human rights abuse and responsible for the death of many Ugandans and foreigners at the hands of rogue security agencies.
This did not auger well with the fallen late former President who murdered Luwum only to fake an accident in which the authorities claimed he had died.
Like the late Luwum Archbishop Lwanga, current religious leaders under their body; Inter- Religious Council of Uganda have numerously criticized President Museveni’s government for failing to secure the life and property of many Ugandans.
They are also concerned with the fear of life Presidency by President Museveni because of his refusal for the public to discuss transition as called for by the civil society.
Religious leaders have also been outraged by the recent numerous high profile killings and kidnappings of women and young girls and home attacks that have gone unsolved since last year.
Given the concerns President Museveni promised to meet Archbishop Lwanga and listen to his concerns.
The meeting is a follow up of that presidential promise that was communicated by his press secretary Don Wanyama.
Efforts to talk to Wanyama to get details of what was discussed during the meeting were futile as he was unable to pick numerous calls from this reporter.
On Easter, Lwanga reiterated his statement that government is recruiting priests, catechists and seminarians to spy on other religious leaders.
“Let government have courage to call Ntagali (for protestants ), myself or Mubajje (for Muslims) and tell us the information they have about ourselves but some of those you recruit have been expelled from church and are only giving you false information. They will lead to your downfall,”Lwanga said during prayers at Rubaga cathedral.
Lwanga, who is also the chairman of the Uganda Joint Christian Council, warned Museveni that if he continues to listen and act on information given to him by some of the intelligence organs in the country, he would soon see his own downfall.
He said no one can stop government from doing intelligence work because it has been in practice all over the world for many years but warned that whoever is recruited should be truthful to avoid tarnishing other people’s names.
On recruiting men of God to spy for intelligence organs, Lwanga said most of those recruited have in the past been dismissed from the church before being contacted for espionage work by government.
“Some of these people (you have recruited) were dismissed by us because of bad record but are shining before you. Your mind is being poisoned to act on that information they feed you,” he said.
The Archbishop called on politicians to work for the interests of the people who vote them into power rather than selfishly caring about themselves at the expense of the electorates.

Stories Continues after ad

Kamuli-Uganda: Former State Minister for Works, Asuman Kiyingi has joined politicians mainly from the opposition to oppose the recent amendment of the constitution. While he has no problem with the amendment that removed the age limit, he is opposed to the amendment that extended the term of the current Members of Parliament by two years up to 2023. Expanding the term of Parliament to seven years can be accepted as long as it starts with the next parliament after elections in 2021, Kiyingi contends.

The extension of tenure for elected leaders from five to seven years was smuggled into the Igara West MP Raphael Magyezi’s private member’s bill which scrapped the presidential upper and lower age limit caps. It was not in the original bill presented and gazetted neither was it discussed in the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. It was just introduced on the floor during debate which act, according to Kiyingi, violated parliamentary rules of procedure.
Kiyingi, the former Bugabula South MP says that particular amendment was illegally passed to serve the selfish interests of the current members of parliament.

“You know the thing (the provision) is so ridiculous because in law we have a principle that says that, you cannot be a judge in your own cause. The reason is simple. You are likely to be very subjective and to the detriment of other interested parties, he told Eagle Online in an interview on Sunday April 8, 2018.

If not reversed by court, this provision which attracted widespread denunciation as an illegality will allow the current elected leaders in office until 2023.

Article 1 (3) of Uganda’s Constitution states that: “All power and authority of government and its organs derive from this Constitution, which in turn derives its authority from the people who consent to be governed in accordance with this Constitution.” Kiyingi, a lawyer by profession, is basing on this article to insist that for the seven year term to take immediate effect there should have been public approval after wide consultations. Since no such consultations took place the matter should be subjected to a referendum.

Clause 4 of the same article provides: “The people shall express their will and consent on who shall govern them and how they should be governed, through regular, free and fair elections of their representatives or through referenda.”

“And I will be very shocked if our Honorable Judges of the Constitutional Court endorse such a thing because it will set a dangerous precedent. We will have actually destroyed our democracy. In future, any parliament would sit any time and extend their tenure,” he says.

Kiyingi says that if court endorses the expansion of parliament’s term to seven years it should pronounce itself clearly on when the new term starts running. This should be after general elections in 2021 because the current leaders were given a five year term by the electorate not seven.

Court to decide

Toda Monday April 9, 2018, the Constitutional Court has started hearing the petition challenging the newly enacted Age Limit Law in Mbale.

The decision of taking it to Mbale, judiciary spokesman, Solomon Muyita says, was arrived at after the Deputy Chief Justice, Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo meeting all the seven litigants and their lawyers. Initially, the judiciary had set April 4 as the hearing start date but they postponed to April 9, because it would be more convenient for all parties.

However, several lawyers involved in this case including the Lord Mayor, Elias Lukwago and Wandera Ogalo contested the hearing venue which Justice Dollo maintains that the Constitutional Court and its view about constitutional matters is the same irrespective of where it’s sitting, according to Muyita.

The seven litigants include; Uganda Law Society, six Opposition MPs and a one Male Mabirizi among others.

Members of the five man panel of judges hearing this matter include Dollo himself as the lead judge, Justices Remmy Kasule, Elizabeth Musoke, Kenneth Kakuru and Cheborion Barishaki.

Following the constitutional amendment, that was characterized by fist fights among the MPs who were opposed and those who were in favor, now anybody aged 18 and above can contest for presidency, a position previously ring-fenced for persons above 35 years but below 75 years of age.

The Act also extended the tenure of the current Parliament and the local government councils from five to seven years.

In the new law, which is now under challenge, among other things, parliament voted to lift presidential age limits, reinstate and entrench term limits and extend the term of Members of Parliament and local council leaders from five to seven years effective immediately.

The amendments, which among other things allowed President Museveni who has been in power since 1986 a chance to rule beyond 2021, triggered several constitutional petitions from different parties, which have clogged the already overburdened court system. They included a private citizen, Male Mabirizi Kiwanuka, six opposition Members of Parliament and Uganda Law Society under the leadership of Francis Gimara.

They are led by the leader of opposition in parliament, Winnie Kiiza (Kasese Woman), the MPs; Gerald Karuhanga Kafureeka (Ntungamo Municipality), Odur Jonathan (Erute County South), Mubarak Munyagwa (Kawempe South), Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West) and Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda (Kira Municipality).

The MPs and Uganda Law Society insist everything in the Constitutional (Amendment) Act 2017 is unconstitutional. President Museveni signed the amendments into law, seven days later on December 27.

Stories Continues after ad

The High Court in Kampala has ordered former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Gen. Kale Kayihura to file a written statement against allegations that he denied a serving police officer leave so that he could contest as Member of Parliament for Tingeyi Constituency in Kapchorwa district in Eastern Uganda.
In a civil suit filed at the High Court, on March 26, Nelson Mungasa, who is serving as the top detective at Bugolobi Police Station in Kampala, said he tried to resign in order to participate in elective politics, but the ex-IGP could not grant him his wish.
“You are hereby required to file a written statement of defence within 15 days from the date of service of summons on you in the manner prescribed,” says part of the letter sent to Kayihura on March 26.
The plaintiff says Kayihura action denied him an opportunity to serve his people by providing them political leadership. Mungasa is said to have written a letter in 2015, a few months before kick of the campaigns.
“The defendants’ actions were unlawful, unconstitutional and amounted to abuse of office and the same were intended to deprive the plaintiff of his constitutional and fundamental rights to, inter alia, participate in the governance of his country,” he states.
Mungasa said his application was unsuccessful because Gen Kayihura usurped the powers of the Police Council and unilaterally rejected his request.
He then petitioned the ministry of Affairs that wrote to Gen Kayihura to re-consider his decision, but Kayihura refused to change his mind on the matter.
Three years ago, Gen. Kayihura informed the Electoral Commission that Mungasa, contrary to his claims, had been illegally participating in politics before official discharge from the Force, thereby offending various sections of the Police Act.
According to Kayihura side of the story at the time, the purported resignation letter was a mockery Mungasa to cover up his offences.
The registered case is civil suit No.1120 of 2018.

Stories Continues after ad

All is not well with the staff of Kampala Capital Authority (KCCA), following the revelation by the Minister of Kampala City and Metropolitan Affairs, Beti Kamya Turyomwe that many fall ill and have unbearable stress, probably due to pressure to achieve performance targets.
“KCCA management has overtime noticed that there were increased number of staff falling ill and many reporting unbearable stress levels which in turn affects staff productivity,” says Kamya in a ministerial policy statement to parliament.
According to the minister, KCCA has introduced professional counseling services to support staff who are faced with different challenges in their lives and improve their coping mechanisms. The authority has also introduced aerobics classes to promote fitness of mind and body.
“A total of 88 staff at city hall actively participated in these classes and the program will be rolled out to the five divisions in FY 2018/19. Staff engagements were held with top management to address various staff matters and identify welfare gaps. These activities replaced the end of year staff parties,” the minister says.
KCCA reports that 22 staff left the institutions including two directors who did not renew their contracts, seven resignations, three abscondments, seven left after expiry of their contracts while 4 staff passed on during the reporting period.
More, the minister in the policy statement says a staff medical scheme has been introduced, attracting over 1200 staff and 951 dependants.
Meanwhile, in the financial year 2017/18, a total of Shs88.55 billion was allocated for the general KCCA operations and human resource costs. By the closure of the second quarter, Shs37.12 billion had been released.

Stories Continues after ad