Independent presidential candidate Peter Solomon Gichira has been released on a Kenyan Sh200, 000 cash bail after pleading not guilty to three charges of attempted suicide, malicious damage to property and creating disturbance.
Before Milimani law Courts magistrate Francis Andayi, Gichira denied all the charges leading to adjournment of the case to June 15, 2017 for further hearing.
The presidential candidate was arrested on Saturday, May 27, at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) headquarters in anniversary towers for allegedly attempting to commit suicide by jumping off from the building’s 6th floor and he has spent two days at central police station in Nairobi.
Mr. Gichira had gone to the IEBC offices demanding for reasons why the commission demanded a list of 48, 000 signatures of registered voters from independent candidates despite successfully obtaining a court order suspending that clause of the elections act.
However his rival, Kelly Watima, faulted IEBC for allegedly fabricating accusations aimed at locking them out of the presidential race.
Mr. Peter Solomon Gichira was among seven presidential aspirants who were chopped off from the final list of candidates required to present their nominations papers to IEBC for approval.
Chelsea has awarded its outstanding player of the season and the award went to Eden Hazard.
The ceremony was held on Sunday night to mark the end of their champion season at Battersea Evolution.
The awards were given out to the winners, however, these are club’s annual awards and it was hosted by Jeremy Vine a Television presenter accompanied by Omid Djalili a comedian.
The first award went to Eden Hazard as Yokohama player of the year and the trophy was handed to him by Yokohama Europe president Mr. Hashimoto, making the Belgian midfielder the second person to collect the award the third time in the club’s 50 year awarding history. His first award as player of the year was in 2013/2014 meaning he has got the three awards in four years.
Meanwhile the second award went to N’Golo Kante who won Chelsea players’ player of the year this was as the choice of the teammates this came to him because of winning nationwide PFA player award last month.
The award was not handed over on the night in all happiness he said “because we spend so long together, and we win together and we lose together, to be named by the other players is something special, I spent a very good season here, We were unlucky we did not win yesterday but it was a good season and hopefully next season we are going to be stronger.”
Other winners where Karen Carney as Chelsea ladies player of the year and Mason Mount who is the captain of U-18s club was awarded as the Adidas Chelsea academy player of the year which was handed to him by his U-18s manager Jody Morris
The family of the late South Africa-based Ugandan businessman, Ivan Ssemwanga has apologized for fighting property in public
Since Ssemwanga’s death last week, the issue of his properties has pitted family against his ex-wife Hussein Zari.
While speaking to media last week, Ssemwanga’s godfather, Herbert Luyinda attributed the death of the chairman of ‘Rich Gang’ to Zari.
“There is no doubt Ssemwanga’s death came as a result of Zari’s treatment towards him. Ever since Zari left, my son (Ssemwanga) has never been the same. There is no way he could remain the same as his wife flirted around with men in his presence…..” he said.
He even cast doubt on Zari’s sons, saying that they might not be Ivan’s kids. He further threatened to take them for a DNA test to prove they are really Ssemwanga’s kids.
However in a twist of events, he retracted the same words and sought forgiveness from Zari’s family.
Speaking on behalf of Pinto’s family at Ssemwanga’s Church service at Namirembe Cathedral, Luyinda apologized for all that has been uttered in media by his family.
“I Luyinda Herbert apologize on behalf of my family for all the mistakes and utterances that have been made in the past days. Please, kindly accept our apologies. Ivan’s dad left him to me when he was still a kid and I brought him up to the man he was at the time of his death. You (Ivan) have also left me your children and I’ll also take care of them,” he said attracting handclaps from the congregation.
Earlier speakers like the chairman of ‘Kwagalana Group’, a group which unites businessmen in Kampala, Godfrey Kirumira had criticized Luyinda over his utterances in the past days and appealed to him not to forget that by the time of his death, Ssemwanga had a family.
“Ivan was a very hardworking person in addition to having a big heart. He helped a lot of needy children while at the same time working for the future of his children. It would be so sad seeing his children suffer yet their father spent days and nights working for them,” he said.
“You shouldn’t isolate the mother of Ssemwanga’s children, Zari. You should work hand in hand with her to raise the children.”
Zari’s older brother, speaking in his native language Lusoga also appealed to both families to stay united even after the death of the person who has been uniting them.
Meanwhile, Kayunga Member of Parliament Aidah Nantaba praised Ssemwanga for helping many of needy children in Kayunga. “Ssemwanga has been making his money in South Africa but he always had Uganda at his heart. He would always come to spend that money in Uganda.”
Meanwhile, Zari’s current husband Tanzanian husband Diamond Platnumz while speaking to Kenyan media at the weekend revealed that he will be attending the burial of Ssemwanga.
NEW: The new Bishop of West Ankole Diocese Johnson Twinomujuni
The Bishop of West Ankole Diocese Johnson Twinomujuni has been consecrated today at a ceremony presided over by the Archbishop, the Most Reverend Stanley Ntagali.
In his sermon the new Bishop promised to preach against corruption and other social evils.
“We’re going to use our voice to preach against corruption,” Bishop Twinomujuni, who is the fourth prelate of the West Ankole Diocese, read in his charge.
He said the diocese would also strive to promote education, adding that he would ensure that all Church of Uganda-founded schools get the requisite education materials.
He also pledged to help with the developments at the Ankole Western University, a hitherto tinderbox for Christians in the diocese. “Let’s stand up and build the diocese of West Ankole. This is the right time for us to work together,” he said.
Over the past few years Christians in the West Ankole diocese have been divided and at one time 11 canons led by Christopher Kisembo dragged Archbishop Ntagali to court, accusing him of violating the Constitution of Church of Uganda by appointing a commission to ‘select’ the new bishop following the retirement of Bishop Yona Katoneene.
South African President Jacob Zuma’s future hung in the balance as the top decision-making body of the ruling African National Congress began debating a proposal to recommend his removal from office, according to five people who are members of the party’s national executive committee.
The debate took place in the ANC committee late Saturday in Pretoria, after weeks of mounting pressure on Zuma following his March 31 decision to remove Pravin Gordhan as finance minister in a cabinet purge. That move swelled the ranks of his opponents and prompted S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings Ltd. to downgrade the nation’s sovereign credit rating to junk.
The committee of about 100 members is scheduled to resume its debate today on whether to vote to oust Zuma, according to the five members who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Divisions in the party have widened since the ANC suffered its worst-ever electoral result when it lost control of Johannesburg, the economic hub, Pretoria, the capital, in a municipal vote in August. Three of its top six officials criticized Zuma’s decision to fire Gordhan, while Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who’s a rival to Zuma’s ex-wife to succeed him as party leader in December, said on May 21 that South Africa is threatened with becoming a “mafia state.”
While only parliament can legally force the president from office, the NEC could instruct Zuma, 75, to resign, as it did Thabo Mbeki in 2008, or tell its lawmakers who occupy 62 percent of the seats in the national legislature, to remove him. Zuma has said he’ll quit if the party orders him to.
The committee decided against a similar motion against Zuma in November. ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa didn’t answer calls seeking comment.
Professor Lawrence Mukiibi, the Director of St. Lawrence schools and University is dead. According to sources Prof. Mukiibi died from Norvik Hospital where he had been taken for treatment.
Last year Prof. Mukiibi survived an accident that left him hospitalised for months.
DURING HAPPIER TIMES: Ivan Semwanga and Zari Hussein. The latter is under 'fire' from Ivan's relatives
It’s now three days since socialite Ivan Semwanga passed on but his death has elicited bad blood among the family members who claim that Zari Hassan, the mother of his three children, wants to ‘steal’ the deceased’s property.
According to Semwanga’s relatives, they want to secure the deceased’s property in his three kids’ names for them to be able to access it when they are of age.
The relatives say that Semwanga was under the care of his South African girlfriend before the arrival of Zari on the second day of the deceased’s hospitalization.
“Zari will not inherit the property of Semwanga and go and enjoy with her new lover Diamond Platinumz,” one of them said, adding that they helped Semwanga raise the kids after the separation of their parents.
Some of the properties include the Brooklyn Colleges in South Africa and, according to Semwanga’s cousin King Lawrence, Zari ‘was just an employee’ of the colleges.
“Zari is just an employee of the Brooklyn Colleges; she left Diamond to come and secure inheritance of Semwanga’s property not for the sake of the kids but for person benefit, she was not legally married to Semwanga but married to a South African called Ttale, the name on her Facebook account,” he was quoted as saying.
President Yoweri Museveni has urged the people of Kitgum district in particular and Ugandans in general to report corrupt police officers to their leaders so that they can be dealt with. This, the President said, will help solve insecurity in the Acholi sub-region caused by criminals.
President Yoweri Museveni speaks to Kitgum Woman MP Beatrice Anywar
“We told you that the NRM government would bring peace and now peace is everywhere in the country. However, the criminals who are disturbing people are a problem of the police because most of them are corrupt,” the President said.
He was speaking at a thanksgiving ceremony at Boma grounds, Kitgum Municipality, held in honour of Kitgum Woman MP Beatrice Anywar for having surviving an accident.
In March this year Hon. Anywar was involved in accident in after her car veered off the road as she was returning from a burial in Potika Village in Lamwo district. She, however, survived with injuries and was rushed to Kitgum Hospital for emergency attention and later airlifted to Case Clinic in Kampala for further treatment.
The President said he was happy to be in Kitgum district to celebrate Hon. Anywar’s recovery.
“I am very happy be here with my daughter, Beatrice Anywar, to celebrate how she has survived three accidents. We did not want her to die, we wanted her to survive these accidents,” the President said.
Mr. Museveni said that politics should be devoid of ill-feelings even if you disagree with somebody politically.
“You should not wish anybody to die even if you disagree politically, you should instead persuade them to join your side,” he said.
President Museveni informed the audience that NRM has policies on all issues that include security, roads, electricity, education, health and water, among others and urged the people to remind their leaders to audit these plans so that they know how far they have gone with the implementation of the government programmes.
On her part, Hon. Anywar, thanked God for saving her life and also thanked President Museveni for sparing time from his busy schedule to celebrate with her and the people of Kitgum district.
“I thank God for this day. I thank you, President Museveni, for coming to celebrate with us God’s grace that saved my life,” she said.
She further thanked the President and his government for the achievements in the area like giving them a Municipality, tarmac roads, the monthly elderly funds and security among others.
Later, the President handed over a tractor to Hon. Anywar for the women in the district and afterwards, a cake was cut to climax the function.
Earlier, President Musevni commissioned Tumango Nodding Centre, a health facility for the Nodding disease patients in Tumango village, Akwanga Sub-County in Kitgum district.
Tumangu Nodding Centre was built by an American non-government organization called Hope for Human in partnership with Government and will look after over 450 children suffering from the nodding disease in the area.
The President also commissioned IGF Women’s Hospital, a church based hospital constructed in Kitgum Municipality by the Irene Gleeson Foundation with support from the government of Uganda.
DECLARED THREE DAYS OF NATIONAL MOURNING: President Salva Kiir
South Sudanese authorities released a journalist who had been detained without charges since August 22, 2014.
George Livio, who worked for the UN-sponsored Miraya FM radio station, had been arrested by national security operatives and detained at an unknown location.
The UN did not immediately provide a reason for Livio’s release, though the UN mission in South Sudan had been pushing for his freedom and that of two other staff members.
Several rights groups, including Amnesty International, had petitioned President Salva Kiir to intervene and release Livio.
VOA’s South Sudan in Focus reached Gelego Livio, the journalist’s father, by phone Friday in Khartoum.
“I got the news … about half past 5 yesterday evening. He was released about midday, possibly,” Livio said.
Livio told South Sudan in Focus that he never received a reason for his son’s arrest from the government, but heard that the government thought he was “collaborating with Riek Machar,” the former first vice president who fled Juba shortly after a fresh outbreak of deadly fighting occurred in the capital in July.
The elder Livio said he and his wife were granted one visit with their son in March 2016. He said George Livio was being held at a Juba hospital.
Livio said he learned from his maternal uncle in Juba that his son had been freed Thursday.
“We, his mother and I, had a very, very exciting time last evening. Now, we really want to hear his voice,” said the father.
South Sudan in Focus directly contacted George Livio on Friday, but he declined to comment and referred the VOA program to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
A UNMISS spokesman, Daniel Dickinson, applauded Livio’s release and urged authorities to free other UN staff members in detention.
“The mission calls for the release of its two other national staff members who are currently also being held in detention without trial since 2014. UNMISS continues to call on the South Sudanese authorities to respect national law and the fundamental principles of due process under international human rights law,” Dickinson said.
Amnesty International said there has been an increase in illegal detentions since a civil war broke out in the country in 2013.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least five journalists have been killed in South Sudan since the country gained independence in 2011.
All isn’t well at the industrial based media house, Bukedde the television station is to take off air over 10 programs.
Among these include ‘Kanayokya Ani’ presented by Fifi Da Queen real names Fiona Nakitengero.
Other programs include ‘Music Ku Lugudo’, Innocent Tegusulwa’s morning show and a sports show presented by Lollian Lubulwa among others.
This will leave many with without jobs and our sources have intimated to us that among these include Sumaya Muwonge, James Sserunkuma and Simon Kasasa of the ‘Emikolo N’Embaga’ fame among others.
Fifi da Queen
The group is scheduled to be laid off effective June 4.
Meanwhile, Philip Mwesigwa has been elevated to head content at the station while Robert Ssemakula who has been the head of the Camera Department has been promoted to the post of Head of Bukedde TV.
Effective June, all music played on station will be supplied by DJ Shiru.
