The National Unity Platform Principal, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine has condemned the ongoing trial of Dr. Kizza Besigye and his colleague Obed Lutale in military courts.

Bobi Wine described the process as a blatant abuse of justice emphasizing the continued persecution of political opponents by President Yoweri Museveni’s government.

“I join all citizens of good will to once again condemn the trial of Dr. Kizza Besigye and his colleague Obed Lutale in the military court,” Bobi Wine stated.

He added, “The criminal regime continues to persecute its opponents in these kangaroo courts despite two Constitutional Court rulings barring the trial of civilians by the military.”

Bobi Wine criticized President Museveni for allegedly exploiting the military courts to silence dissent and maintain control over Uganda’s political landscape.

“Mr. Museveni takes great delight in military courts because they are under his direct command and control,” he explained.

He added, “Those who chair them are not even required to be lawyers at the bare minimum. He chooses when they should remand, prosecute, deny or grant bail.”

Bobi Wine recalled the plight of over 2,000 supporters who were abducted and subjected to trial in military courts in the period surrounding the 2021 general election. Many of these individuals, he said, faced unjust prosecution in various military courts across the country.

“In the period leading to and after the 2021 election, over 2,000 NUP supporters who were abducted went through these ‘courts’ across the country,” Bobi Wine revealed.

He added, “The comrades were charged before the General Court Martial, Division Courts Martial, and Unit Disciplinary Committees.”

While some were eventually released after President Museveni’s re-election, many remain imprisoned and continue to face trial by military tribunals.

“Although most of them were released after Mr. Museveni had successfully rigged the election and swore himself in, we still have many stuck in different prisons, being tried by the military,” he lamented.

Bobi Wine also expressed frustration with Uganda’s judiciary, particularly Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, for failing to address the issue of civilians being tried in military courts.

“It is the greatest travesty of justice that Mr. Owiny Dollo has refused to have the Supreme Court deliver judgment to put a final end to this grave injustice!” he asserted.

The opposition leader called upon all Ugandans to unite and raise their voices against what he described as a systematic erosion of justice and civil rights.

“We must all raise voices against this injustice which every Ugandan is a potential victim of!” Bobi Wine urged.

Currently, Besigye and Obeid Lutale are remanded in Luzira Prison over charges of possession of firearms at Riverside Apartments in Nairobi, Kenya, and holding meetings in Greece and Switzerland with the aim to interfere with the security of the Ugandan army.

Dr Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate and prominent critic of President Yoweri Museveni, is known for his political activism and has been arrested and detained numerous times over the years.

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The leadership of the Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC) has petitioned Speaker Anita Among over the deteriorating state of Uganda’s National Theatre.

The members of the Board of Trustees led by their Chairperson, Prof. Okaka Opio Dokotum delivered a petition to the Speaker, highlighting key challenges that the centre is grappling with, including limited financing and inadequate infrastructure.

“UNCC is a huge institution that is not functioning at the level it should be because of structural and funding problems. It is the central nervous system of the nation and should be shaping philosophy, values, aspirations and dreams of the nation which culminates into national transformation,” Okaka said.

According to Okaka, aging theatres, galleries, and office spaces continue to hinder the Centre’s ability to host high-quality events and thus, appealed to Parliament to increase UNCC’s funding in this coming Financial Year.

“The National Theatre building was partially renovated about 10 years ago. The facility has overtime worn out necessitating an urgent renovation to improve its face and facilities including the stage. The sitting capacity of the theatre stage is 377 people which is grossly inadequate considering that the current population is close to 44 million people and yet at the time the theatre was built, Uganda’s population was just about four million people,” Okaka said.

UNCC leadership also appealed to the Speaker to push for the amendment of the UNCC Act, 1959 which they say is obsolete and limiting in addressing the current challenges.

“The main problem with the Act is that it does not give the minister the authority to develop regulations for the sector. It does not also capture all the nine domains of culture. We, therefore, seek your support in ensuring that the UNCC Act is amended,” he said.

Among pledged full support to UNCC to ensure that Uganda’s identity is not lost.

“UNCC has an obsolete act which needs to be amended. That amendment can be done because you can’t have an act which is older than the country,” she said. 

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The United States has awarded $800,000 (approximately three billion shillings) in grants to private companies and community-based organizations working in refugee settlements and host communities in Isingiro and Lamwo districts.

The grants will be implemented by the United States Agency for International Development’s Uthabiti Activity to improve refugee and host communities’ livelihoods, create job opportunities, improve access to financial services and provide tools to foster refugee self-reliance. 

In a competitive grant process, 11 private sector partners and 47 community-based organizations with the greatest potential to stimulate ongoing business expansion and job creation through small-scale and medium enterprises in the two refugee settlements were identified. Grants to the 11 selected private sector actors will increase access to finance, irrigation, transport, seed production, horticulture production, honey production, and grain produce aggregation in Nakivale and Palabek refugee settlements. 

The 47 selected community-based groups will receive equipment and machinery and target refugee-led businesses, Village Savings and Loan Associations groups, local artisans, farmer cooperatives, and enterprises. The equipment and machinery will expand food catering, honey processing, clothes tailoring, grain milling, oil pressing, horticulture production, and other enterprises that create jobs and generate household incomes. 

This public-private cooperation will reduce the financial risks of business expansion, support the growth of local businesses, and accelerate private sector engagement of refugees and host communities as entrepreneurs, customers, clients, and employees. 

Since 2022, the USAID Uthabiti activity has impacted over 26,000 people and supported over 3,500 people, including 2,190 refugees, in starting new livelihood activities, and helped over 1,000 micro and small enterprises to enhance their businesses. 

U.S. Ambassador William W. Popp said, “These grants help refugees in Uganda to fully participate in the formal economy by accessing life-changing business and job creation opportunities. This supports their path to self-reliance, with the goal of ending dependence on aid.”

He added, “The United States’ humanitarian funding is designed to benefit both refugees and the Ugandan communities hosting them. All of our programs include support for the surrounding Ugandan communities, ensuring local input and generating economic opportunity for both refugees and Ugandans.”

The funding comes in addition to the tens of millions of dollars the United States has already provided to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other NGOs each year. The United States provides approximately half of all humanitarian funding in Uganda and is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance in Uganda.

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The Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety has issued a firm directive to all bus drivers across the country, emphasizing the mandatory possession of a driver’s badge issued by the Chief Licensing Officer at the Ministry of Works and Transport.

The reminder, delivered by SP Micheal Kananura, Public Relations Officer of the Directorate of Traffic & Road Safety is aimed at enforcing compliance with Section 42(1)(e) of The Traffic & Road Safety Act (CAP. 347). The section mandates that all bus drivers must carry the official badge to operate legally.

“The Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety hereby reminds all bus drivers that possession of a driver’s badge issued by the Chief Licensing Officer, Ministry of Works and Transport, is mandatory, as stipulated in Section 42(1)(e) of The Traffic & Road Safety Act (CAP. 347),” SP Kananura stated.

Failure to comply with this requirement constitutes a serious offence. According to the Traffic & Road Safety Act, drivers operating without the badge face severe consequences.

“Failure to comply with this requirement constitutes an offence, punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years upon conviction as stipulated in Section 42(2) of The Traffic & Road Safety Act (CAP.347),” Kananura warned.

To facilitate compliance, all bus drivers have been instructed to collect their badges from the Ministry of Works and Transport immediately. Notably, the badges are issued free of charge, eliminating any financial barriers to adherence.

SP Kananura also highlighted the deadline for compliance, urging drivers to act swiftly.

“As of Wednesday, November 4th, 2024, all bus drivers must possess a valid driver’s badge to proceed with passengers at any checkpoint.”

The Directorate has made it clear that starting on the stated date, stringent measures will be enforced at all checkpoints. Any bus driver found without the required badge will face legal action.

“Any driver found without a valid badge will be charged accordingly and taken to court,” SP Kananura emphasized, signaling the government’s zero-tolerance stance on non-compliance.

The directive is part of broader efforts by the Directorate to improve road safety and streamline public transport operations in Uganda.

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President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has cautioned Ugandans against prostitution, saying that it’s the main cause of HIV/AIDS infections.

“You people please don’t keep playing around with this problem. Yes, the drugs are there to suppress the virus, but it’s not eliminated. But the advantage we are looking for in suppressing the virus is that when it is much suppressed, the virus doesn’t spread so much,” he advised.

The President made the remarks during the World AIDS Day commemoration held at Bukungu Primary School, Bukungu Town Council, Buyende District under the theme: “Accelerating Interventions to End HIV/AIDS by 2030”.

Currently, the HIV prevalence among sex workers in Mbarara stands at a staggering 54%, significantly higher than the national average of 33%.

“Please stop this indiscipline. All Ugandans should stop living a risky life. You hear the statistics that in the whole world there are 39 million people with the virus. People in the whole world are like 7 billion. Now out of the 39 million, 1.4 million are in Uganda that is a high figure. Why should this be the case?” he wondered.

Museveni also revealed that HIV/AIDS limits the capacity of the infected person.

“There are certain things that you cannot do when you are infected. Like in the army, we discovered that when somebody over-exerts himself with the virus, it can cause a problem. Therefore, don’t say let me get infected since the drugs are available and I will live a normal life. You will not die but you will have deducted on your capacity,” he said.

President Museveni explained that AIDS is really a problem caused by indiscipline.

“When we analyzed when it was threatening us, we found that AIDS was just from three points. Number one was prostitution, number two was blood transfusion before we checked the blood of the givers, then number three was from mother to child transmission in the womb,” he said.

“But to show that it’s not really a serious disease, when you take the mother to child transmission, even without any intervention, we found out that only 30 percent would pass from mother to child even if the mother had the virus. Initially we were worried that it was going through mosquito bites and so on. But then we found that it was not possible. So, we closed the route of blood transfusion. The one for mother to child we also closed it; because the technology which would stop transmission from mother to child became available.”

Furthermore, the President advised that when someone tests HIV positive, he/she should start taking drugs as prescribed by health practitioners so that they are able to stay alive and healthy.

“Although it’s not what I prefer for you, it’s better than dying because if you live longer, you will be able to look after your children so by the time you leave this world, they are in a better position. You can work, make a contribution and as you have heard, you are less infectious if the viral load is suppressed. Therefore, from a national point of view, it’s good because it will stop you from spreading the virus more aggressively.”

President Museveni also lauded the Ugandan researchers who are moving in the right direction to make a vaccine for HIV/AIDS.

“There are even our children who are threatening to treat AIDS completely by killing the virus. I’m going to support and fund them fully,” he said.

“As we are still struggling with the ARVs, our people have found a medicine where you take one injection every two months instead of taking tablets every day. I want to thank our scientists for really doing a good job.”

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