The Parliament Appointments Committee has this afternoon approved the re-appointment of General Edward Kale Kayihura as the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

In a closed-door meeting, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, her Deputy Jacob Oulanyah and Leader of opposition (LoP) Winnie Kizza okayed Kayihura’s new three-year contract announced by President Yoweri Museveni early this year.

The vetting and subsequent approval of Gen Kayihura took place despite a petition filed by a group of activists led by lawyers Andrew Karamagi and Brian Atuhaire that implored Speaker Kadaga not to endorse the IGP’s re-appointment, with claims that his tenure has been characterized by abuse of human rights including torture by his officers; partisanship and brutality. However, the petition was not considered.

A lawyer, and army officer-turned-police boss, Kayihura rose from the rank of Major to General. He was appointed IGP in 2005 replacing Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala.

Sections of the public say that Gen. Kayihura’s legacy as police boss will be remembered for the way the police force has, between 2006 and 2016, handled key opposition figure Col. (rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye, his bush-war comrade and President Museveni’s personal Doctor during the five-year war that brought the National Resistance Movement/Army (NRM/A) to power in 1986.

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Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has promised to work with refugee-supporting agencies and the private sector to mobilize US$8 billion that Uganda needs to cater for refugees in the next four years. Uganda is now home to more than 1.2 million refugees, and according to PM Rugunda the number is likely to increase by 400,000 by the end of the year.

Dr. Rugunda, who was briefing the media about the refugee summit that will take place in Kampala from June 22 – 23, said that it is aimed at showcasing Uganda’s refugee model, a side-shoot of the UN summit that was held in September 2016.

The Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees will be hosted by Kaguta Museveni and the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the immediate former UN refugee High Commissioner.

In Africa, Uganda is currently ranked highly amongst refugee hosting countries, with over 100 camps in the 12 districts located in northern Uganda receiving at least 2,000 refugees, mostly South Sudanese, every day.

Bidibidi refugee reception center found in Yumbe district is one of the camps that accommodate over 50,000 refugees, and the Ugandan borders remain open to South Sudanese fleeing fighting in their country.

“The Government of Uganda and United Nations in Uganda have each spent US$150 million  to respond to the needs of refugees as well as host communities and the more their numbers increase the higher the costs incurred,” the Minister for Disaster Preparedness Hillary Onek, was quoted as saying.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator Rosa Malongo called for long term solution for the refugee crisis and also lauded Uganda’s refugee model, saying it is globally recognized.

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The Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (LGRB) has been launched with pomp today, with the Chief Executive Edgar Agaba urging operators to comply with the laws that govern the gaming industry.

Giving a brief background, Mr Agaba said the LGRB came into effect in April last year, and is mandated by law to supervise and regulate the establishment, management and operation of lotteries, gaming betting and casinos in Uganda, and to protect the citizens from the adverse effects of gaming and betting in Uganda.

In his speech Mr. Agaba thanked the about 40 legal operators for working with the LGRB, and promised to enhance the partnership and also to stamp out the illegal operators.

Speaking at the same occasion LGRB Board Chairman Manzi Tumubweine urged government to ensure the industry operators are taxed fairly, arguing that the gaming industry employs about 5000 people who in turn cater for about 10,000 other people.

He however, also reiterated Mr Agaba’s plea, urging the operators to comply with the industry regulations including paying taxes promptly; operating from gazette areas (the city, municipalities, town councils) and to deter under-age gaming.

“As a Board we want to focus on ‘responsible gambling’; weed out illegals; carry out sensitization across the board; ensure compliance to the law and international good practices,” Mr Tumubweine said, assuring the operators that his board would lobby MPs to internalize the essence of responsible gaming and fair taxation.

According to Mr Tumubweine, the LGRB will also talk to the Ministry of Trade and that of Local Government to see to it that gaming companies are allowed carry out activities in different parts of the country under one license.

He also weighed in on the touchy issue of taxation for the operators, which currently stands at 35 per cent, advising on the possible percentage options of the operators and punters, who are currently being taxed 15 per cent on earnings.

Speaking at the occasion, chief guest, State Minister for Finance in charge of General Duties David Bahati noted that government was in support of a fair tax regime for the operators.

‘I moved the Bill and encountered serious challenges; some of my colleagues (MPs) pointed at my moral uprightness but I told them ‘regulate or they will operate underground’,” Minister Bahati said, before adding that the matter is being debated by Parliament today and tomorrow.

“I am actually going there (Parliament) after here; so pray for me,” he joked.

However, the Minister insisted on regulation, clearly spelling out the ‘legal gaming age’, which is 25 years, before urging the operators to also participate in the enforcement of the regulations.

“I don’t know how we are going to do this but we want to ensure that people use ‘disposable income’ to game. You should also ensure that you operate in the gazette areas, not villages, so that economic activities are not distorted,” the Minister noted.

Further, the Minister promised that the LGRB would by next year procure equipment that would make the taxation processes easier for both the operators and the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), and to also scale up on the LRGB human resource capacity from the current operational strength of about 25 per cent to 50 per cent by next year.

Later, Minister Bahati was joined by Board members Tumubweine and Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Grace Akullo and, CEO Agaba, to officially launch the LRGB and to also issue licenses to the legally-permitted operators.

Invited Guests at the launch were also treated to light moments when comedian Herbert Ssegujja Mendo aka ‘President Museveni’ unexpectedly turned up after the Minister had left, sending the guests in prolonged laughter.

Meanwhile, in a related development gaming operators have donated 15 tonnes of grain to the famine-stricken people in different parts of Uganda as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which, according to an operator, one Kajura, is a key component of the partnership between the LGRB and the operators.

In his brief speech the chairman of the casino operators, city tycoon Bob Kabonero, lauded the close working relations between the LGRB, but urged the URA to be considerate while dealing with the thorny issue of taxation with the gaming companies.

“You have to feed and then milk the cow,” Mr. Kabonero, the proprietor of Uganda’s pioneer Casino, Kampala Casino, said.

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The Katikiro of Buganda Charles Peter Mayiga, has strongly criticised the police over ‘weakness in fighting one of the biggest challenges currently facing the Kingdom’ – land.

Addressing the Lukiiko (Buganda Parliament) today, Mayiga, while commenting about the ongoing land wrangles in Buganda, said: “Why should one talk about Mailo land before talking about the police weaknesses? That is where everyone runs to when an issue on land arises and many land-related cases have been reported to police but they hardly yield any positive results.”

“Police has been so weak in investigating land-related cases that even the cases that reach court are dismissed because of lack of evidence. This in turn has worsened the situation,” Mayiga, a lawyer by profession, added.

Further, he said, corruption within government institutions has also contributed to the escalation of the land wrangles in the country.

Mayiga was apparently reacting to comments made last week by the Minister of Lands, Betty Amongi who, while speaking at the launch of the land probe commission, asked chairperson Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, to probe the controversial Buganda Kingdom’s mass land titling campaign dubbed: ‘Ekyapa Mu Ngalo’.

At the launch Minister Amongi emphasised that the campaign of leasing land to Ugandans by Buganda Kingdom needs to be revisited. “There is a total departure from the mailo to leasehold, which provides for conditions involving payments,” she said, adding: “We have private and official mailo land held in trust by the Kabaka and that owned privately. Interrogate the official mailo where bibanja owners settle as bonafide occupants are suffering yet the law protects them.”

The Buganda Land Board (BLB), a corporate body mandated by the Kabaka to manage land in the kingdom is carrying out a mass land titling campaign dubbed ‘Kyapa Mu Ngalo’ for six months aimed at ‘strengthening security of tenure for tenants on the Kingdom land’.

By press time it was not possible to get comment from the police or the lands ministry.

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Creditors of Uganda Telecom Limited (utl) will meet on May 10 to deliberate on the way forward for the heavily indebted company, with a warning that failure to vouch for its continuation might negatively affect the creditors.

According to a May 8 release by Uganda Registration Services Bureau boss Bemanya Twebaze titled: ‘Provisional Administration of Ugamda Telecom Limited’, the meeting will decide whether UTL should continue operating or wind up (liquidation), the latter with possible negative consequences.

So, before the meeting Mr Twebaze, who is the official ‘Receiver/ Provisional Administrator of UTL, has advised the creditors to maintain the company, outlining the benefits.

‘Winding up/liquidation is is a formal process by which the life of a company is brought to an end. This would involve cessation of operations, termination of employment for all staff and suspending contracts with all suppliers and service providers and all assets disposed of one by one…closing down the business would significantly affect the value of assets and their disposal can be a very slow and hectic exercise’, Mr Twebaze release states in part, adding: ‘It is because (of) this diminished value that the potential to pay out to creditors may be significantly reduced’.

Previously owned by the Uganda and Libyan governments as majority shareholders, a select committee instituted by Parliament to probe is woes said that UTL is reportedly indebted to the tune of over Shs700 billion.

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