The rich always prize elegance, while sometimes playing dirty to get what they want. This has been proven by a top don at Makerere University, who together with his wealthy colleagues know that using money to get what they desire in life is just a simple game. This follows a recent leaked address of a posh penthouse where these two rich good friends of advanced age occasionally host their close friends for sex parties.
The house where these orgy parties are hosted is located in the posh minister’s village Ntinda and it is reported that during these ‘social gatherings’, entrance is only restricted to ‘membership’, all said to be top CEO’s and city tycoons.
The parties are organized every weekend by their trusted and experienced ‘Pimp’ whose task is to invite sexy women, both university students and the working class. They are first prepared and briefed on what happens so that they are not surprised when they eventually indulge in the ‘activities’ of the day.
According to one who claimed to have been paid to ‘entertain’ the guests at one time, the parties involve unrestrained indulgence in sexual activity and drinking.
The ladies get hefty payments both in dollars and shillings as house rules prevail. MOTTO: ‘What happens here remains here’.
And now, with the Makerere don currently embroiled in accusations of sexual infidelity with his secretary, it may not be possible for the motto to stand the test of time, because he once again finds himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons! Relatively, his ‘comrade in crime’, who happens to be a board chairman for a number of renown private companies and government parastatals, is also not new to trouble.
The two friends are both wealthy and respected members of the Catholic Church, where they are both decision makers in its financial institution.
Anyhow, just like a scene out of the Hollywood blockbuster film Eyes Wide Shut starring Tom Cruise, from wild parties to prostitution, orgies and even live sex, this Ntinda penthouse reportedly has it all and is seemingly a gathering point frequented by prominent CEOs.
WONT REGISTER SIM CARD: Controversial city lawyer Andrew Karamagi
BY ANDREW KARAMAGI
Gentlemen Tumwebaze and Otunnu, I have read your most arrogant and infantile responses to the well-thought, measured and clear statement that was issued by Uganda Law Society regarding the SIM Card Re-registration stampede you have caused countrywide.
From the outset, I must note that for a very long time now, it feels burdensome being a Ugandan. Many times I wonder whether you people in those positions of power are Ugandans or are sober when you take most decisions—right from the appointing authority down to the regime’s sycophants and stooges who have distinguished themselves in pulling off scandals, one after another, while the sails of impunity move faster than the wheels of justice.
For the reader who may not have seen the responses of both men who are fed, clothed, housed and transported by we taxpayers, I will take the liberty to reproduce the statements they made as captured by the Saturday Monitor newspaper at page 4:
“The Commission is unbothered by ULS’s views. That is their opinion and we have our own. Our directives and deadline stand.” Fred Otunnu, Corporate Affairs Director at Uganda Communications Commission (UCC).
ICT Minister Frank Tumwebaze.
“The overriding principle is to deny criminals an opportunity to use SIM Cards for their criminal work. If ULS has some advice to give to UCC that will improve the outcome, they are welcome but they should not stand in the way of this noble exercise.” Frank Tumwebaze, Minister, Information and Communication Technology.
Here are five reasons why I think you both must be joking!
i) The “National ID” is an inferior document (to the passport for example) and is not the only proof of identity and does not override other valid (and superior) forms of identification:
It is apparent to me that many of you people who purport to be in charge of the public affairs of this country are actually clueless about the very policies, the resultant laws and regulations that govern your institutions and jobs.
If only you had taken time to address your minds to the 1995 Constitution of the Republic, the Registration of Persons Act, 2015; the Interception of Communications Instrument No., 42 of 2011, you would not have sounded as ignorant as you did when you dismissed the Law Society’s instructive position on this matter.
Section 55 of the Registration of Persons Act, 2015, stipulates that to be registered, one is required to furnish any of the following: a birth certificate, where applicable, a voter’s card, a driving permit, a passport or a baptismal certificate. In law, this means that a National ID is issued on the strength of the source documents listed under Section 55.
President Museveni displays a sample of the National ID
The National ID is not a source document. To simplify the point by borrowing from biology, the National ID is a sterile male, has no womb and as such cannot give birth. Birth Certificates, Voter’s Cards, Driving Permits, Passports or Baptismal Certificates are fertile female documents upon whose presentation the National ID is given or issued. You cannot present a National ID and get a passport. But once you present any of the “female” documents I have listed, you will receive a National ID. The National ID is in that regard of less weight than the other documents which require a more elaborate process before being obtained. Anyone with a passport knows how elaborate the process of obtaining one is.
In the same vein, Regulation 7(3) of the Interception of Communications Instrument No. 42 of 2011 enacts to the effect that identity documents such as passports, work permits, student IDs and voter’s cards suffice to prove an individual’s identity and cannot be trumped by the national ID, a document of less weight. Your directive is therefore manifestly unlawful and does not make sense.
This begs the question: Tumwebaze and Otunnu, why are you disturbing Ugandans and other phone users? If someone already registered their SIM Card(s) under the initial registration process, moreover using valid and legally protected forms of identification, why are you hinging the validity of their registration on an inferior document, to the extent of not only insulting those who are offering differing opinions to your own but also threatening to take them off-air?
Are you alive to the fact that your directive amounts to re-registration and is not registration? Which law allows you to conduct re-registration?
ii) Can we entrust our (bio-, meta- and other) private data to foreign, private and poorly regulated telecom companies?
The impugned directive that you have issued exhibits a total disregard of the potential intrusions into the privacy of the very personal information of Ugandans. By requiring we citizens to hand over vital information to private players, we are in many ways handing over significant chunks of our citizenship to them.
It is a known fact that the vast majority of the telecommunications companies operating in Uganda are subsidiaries of foreign (and multinational) conglomerates. These stateless, faceless and in many ways untouchable corporations have distinguished themselves in misusing private information in various countries ranging from unsolicited adverts and ‘information’ through to outright criminal activity—often with impunity.
Their biggest priority is the profit margin, not privacy or other rights. Who knows that they wouldn’t engage in any dubious deal-making with customer information? Have you Tumwebaze or Otunnu heard about something called identity theft?
This is worse in a country like Uganda where the telecom companies are stronger than the regulator, Uganda Communications Commission, which can only bark and issue a press statement whenever Ugandans complain about the indiscretions of these companies. For a long time while Ugandans complained about unsolicited messages, political campaign jingles and commercial adverts of all sorts, the Commission was impotent and all its warnings were shrugged off and laughed at by the powerful telecoms which knew that no punitive action could be done to them. It took a near riot at one of the meetings between subscribers and telecoms for the point to be driven home. Matters are not helped by the fact that Uganda suffers nearly irreparable institutional breakdown.
Who knows how Corporation X will use my information for nefarious purposes? With Ugandans’ personal information in the hands of private companies, how can we guarantee the digital and other security of people in sensitive positions like Judges, Intelligence Officers, Commanders of the Armed Forces, Heads of Public Offices and Departments, Business Executives, Political Party Leaders or those who simply want to live a quiet and undisturbed life?
What happens if some brilliant kid at Makerere or any other University hacks the database of one of these companies? Or worse, Al Shabaab? Or what happens if an errant employee sells this information to unscrupulous persons or entities?
Do you know what the spirit of our Data Protection Bill, 2015, is? It seeks, when enacted, to protect subscriber ins from unsolicited content or the harvesting and distribution of their user preferences, locations, habits and related information from various online entities. Are you aware that several of fellow members of the Commonwealth, for instance the United Kingdom, have made the effort to enact data protection laws which emphasise the centrality of the subscriber’s consent in all aspects of communication?
Why must Uganda be the odd-man-out when other societies are progressing towards a more enlightened fashion of regulating telecommunications, thanks to your obsession with arbitrariness? Are you alive to the possibility that the disconnection of phone lines can amount to a deprivation of the constitutional rights to expression, association, economic rights and academic freedom?
Please save me that empty talk about how you are going to pass a law which will govern the telecom companies on how to use this information. If Uganda implemented half of the policies and laws that have been passed over the past decade alone, we would be a glistening first world economy! Last I checked, corruption is not legal, but going by daily news headlines whether on electronic or print media, one would be forgiven for thinking that corruption is legal in Uganda. So much for impotent laws like the Anti-Corruption Act, Anti-Money Laundering Act, Leadership Code Act and paper tigers like the Inspectorate of Government, the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court, Economic Monitoring Unit at State House and all the other statutory and institutional frameworks that have been established only to cause an exponential increase in the theft of public funds.
The loss of privacy is immeasurable and cannot be undone. Going by your history, your knee-jerk reaction in the event of a privacy violation would be to institute yet another useless Commission of Inquiry!
This directive runs afoul of the Constitution which expressly and unequivocally protects the right to privacy for all Ugandan citizens. Your directive is, to this extent, a brazen affront to the 1995 Constitution. Ugandans should not hand over their private information to Airtel, MTN or any other telecom!
iii) How practical is your illegal directive?
Let us assume for a moment that the re-registration stampede you’ve ordered is founded in law. For a population of over thirty five million, with only four million two hundred thousand National IDs collected—notwithstanding printing errors and double issuances, how are you going to re-register twenty two million phone users in the period you have provided? Are you sober?
I needed some money over the long weekend but the neighbourhood ATM wasn’t online and so I walked to a nearby Mobile Money outlet to draw some. While waiting to be served, I overheard the desperation with which an old lady narrated her fears of having her phone disconnected…she had walked for up to an hour but could not find help to have her SIM Card re-registered as ordered by you the high and mighty of Uganda; her dusty feet were proof of the walking she had endured in vain. This mother and senior citizen of the nation I am sure is not alone in her predicament. I wonder what is happening in the far-flung parts of the country if people in the capital Kampala are struggling this hard.
Secondly on this point of practicality, and given the fact that 78 per cent of Ugandans are below thirty years of age, half of whom are below the age of fifteen, what remedy do you have for the millions of Ugandans who are between the ages of 13 and 17, own SIM Cards registered in their names and were not able to be registered for National IDs but possess valid Identity Documents such as birth certificates, passports or student IDs—all of which are protected by Registration of Persons Act, 2015 as competent identification documents? How about Ugandans who study, work or live outside the country but registered their SIM Cards already? Are you going to buy them air tickets before 20th April ( now May 19 – Editor) so that they come home and re-register? Are prisoners going to be disconnected by reason of their incarceration?
iv) The Prospects of Protracted, Multiple and Costly Litigation:
Your manifestly illegal directive is potentially the subject of protracted, multiple and costly litigation which will only exacerbate the backlog that our Judiciary is laboring under and further mete out collective punishment on we taxpayers when litigants are awarded—as they surely will be—damages for the inconvenience your arbitrary directive is going to cause if implemented. From subscribers’ Mobile Money balances, to loss of business by individuals and companies and the attendant inconveniences, many aggrieved persons will seek recourse to civil litigation which can be avoided if you swallow your pride and heed to the law. Our judicial officials need to be allowed space and time to handle more important issues and not these potential outcomes of your disregard for settled law.
v) What was the purpose of the initial registration process?
My fifth and final reservation regarding SIM Card re-registration revolves around the fact that most phone users, as an advent of Mobile Money services, are registered and their identity information is readily available. Statistics indicate that there are way more Mobile Money transactions than bank transactions on a daily basis. In fact, banks have been wary of the in-roads that telecoms have made into the financial services sector and have been playing catch-up but with little success. This volume of transactions via the phone cannot be done without clear identification—it means that the majority of phones in Uganda are registered.
This leaves me wondering why the Communications Commission doesn’t use that already existing information to streamline the identity information and then pursue those particular phone lines which are completely unregistered.
It brings me to Gen Kale Kayihura who jointly addressed a press conference on this matter and hinted on the recent murder of AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi as one of the major reasons for this re-registration. If the allegations that the assassins used unregistered phone lines to coordinate the murder are true, the correct person to punish for this is not all Ugandans—it is the phone company to whom the SIM Cards in question belong.
UCC should not blame or punish Ugandans for its failure to do its job. If UCC takes punitive action against the telecoms which allowed unregistered phone lines to be in use, long after the initial registration deadline lapsed, that would be a clear statement of intent to crackdown on sophisticated and violent crime. Telecoms must stop allowing their retail agents on the streets who sell SIM Cards without proper registration of subscribers.
To stampede Ugandans into re-registration when there are SIM Cards being sold on the open market without following the due registration processes is an exercise in futility only comparable to a fool’s errand.
I will end on a note of suspicion: Issue No. 456 (February 10-16, 2017) of The Independent news magazine featured a lead story wherein it was reported that Members of Parliament on the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee stumbled upon five hundred billion shillings that had been dubiously allotted to the Defence Budget for purposes of procuring spying equipment and sophisticated eavesdropping software.
It seems to me that this illegal operation has hit a technical snag that can only be resolved by forcing Ugandans to re-register using National IDs so as to enable the regime to spy without restrictions both on its own and those who hold alternative views. I am fortified in my suspicion by the fact that no other possible explanation for this re-registration exercise makes sense. The only other possibility is that this is yet another financial scam from which greedy public officials with the collusion of telecoms are somehow seeking to make a quick buck.
In the absence of clear explanations, we citizens can only speculate.
For the reasons I have given in the foregoing, come hell or high waters, I am not going to abide by your unlawful directive.
Many public officials such as yourselves do not fear public interest litigation because government is sued and ordered to pay for the indiscretions of people like you, further burdening the innocent taxpayer. I am not going to target the Attorney General in pursuit of recourse—I am going to seek remedies through Court from you Tumwebaze and Otunnu, in your individual capacities should you go ahead with this illegal directive.
Like millions of other Ugandans, I am sick, tired and fed-up of being misgoverned and under-served by a regime whose central obsession everyday is how to constrict the rights of citizens and extort the very last coin out of them in the form of prohibitive taxes, market dues, charges and pointless exercises such as this SIM Card re-registration.
Think about the inevitable post-Museveni era and where you will live having committed all these injustices against us. You are neither the first and nor will you be the last to occupy those offices. Stand warned!
The writer is an Advocate and Human Rights Activist
Margaret Katerega, the midwife narrating her story to SunTap’s Esther Katete and Peter Ssebabi
SunTap Uganda has come to the rescue of health centers that have no electricity, with some even operating on pregnant women using torches.
Esther Katete, the marketing manager Suntap Uganda taking a few pressmen around the solar system
One such facility to benefit from the campaign is Mpuunge Health Center located along the Mukono – Katosi Road, which was was Thursday given free solar power thanks to the Polish Development Organization which funded the project.
Mpuunge health center has for a long time been grappling with lighting and other energy issues, and speaking at the handover ceremony, Esther Katete, the Marketing Manager SunTap Uganda, noted that the company undertook the project because it can benefit many people.
“At SunTap, our mission is to promote use of renewable energy solutions for improved living conditions.We are here today because, we believe people deserve to live in the best conditions of life to achieve their full potential. With this energy solution, this health center will go a long way in providing the people of this area with the best medical services all day all night and for us, that is a milestone reached,” Katete said.
Loy Kyozaire, the Technology Manager at SunTap Uganda, said the company has reached several clients both in rural and urban settings, stressing that the company is largely owned and run by women who have a strong background in the energy sector.
“We were approached for this project because of the successful projects we have handled in the past we have successfully delivered energy solutions to other organisations before, such as the International Alert sites in Bunagana and Mpondwe borders.
“We are thankful and happy that we have been part of improving the livelihoods of this community, and we plan to carry forward this work in other parts of our country, since over 80 percent of Ugandans are still lacking access to energy. It is crucial for us at SunTap to always deliver affordable quality products. We know that in the long run, that is the only way we can offer sustainable solutions to our communities.”
Vincent Muzangandda, a resident of the area, said: “This community has had no serious health facility. Even after getting one, we have had no power. We have been using torches and lamps to have women deliver. As a matter of fact, people have feared to go to this health center especially at night.”
STILL TOGETHER WITH DANIELLA? Singer Jose Chameleone
Celebrated artiste, Jose Chameleone has continued with his fight to save his marriage to Daniella Atim Mayanja, which is said to be on the verge of collapsing.
Despite maintaining that they are still as solid as a rock, a large section has failed to believe the claim after seeing the divorce application that was filed in court by Daniela early this week.
But in what appears to be aimed at proving the skeptics wrong, this afternoon Chameleone drove Daniela to Vision Group Offices just to prove they are still together.
“A lot has been written and said. I will state very clearly that Family is from God and what he puts together no man can put apart!! All allegations that are circulating and making rounds are being blown out of proportion and exaggerated. Me and Daniella are flocking together,” he boasted as the couple took a tour at the Vision Group headquarters that is home to New Vision, Bukedde, Bukedde Radio, Bukedde and Urban TV.
Chameleone later made a brief appearance on Bukedde radio where he maintained they are still together.
A fan, one Edwin Ssesanga warned him against using the ‘divorce scandal’ as a promotional gimmick for his show, saying it might backfire as domestic violence is punishable by law.
“Guess it is not true that you guys are using this as a promotional strategy for your upcoming show. Domestic violence towards women and children is a serious issue and real victims will fell betrayed by you. Please do not take advantage of such a serious issue,” Edwin warned.
In his response, Chameleone said: “How can losing my family be a strategy. All those violent allegations are false.”
Chameleone cancelled his show last year over fear on the public boycott which had been launched against musicians that participated in President Yoweri Museveni campaign song popularly known as ‘Tubonga Nawe’.
Even after pushing the show to this year, not all has been well. Initially scheduled to be held early next month, the show has been rescheduled thrice, leaving many skeptical it will take place.
Many say it’s out of such pressure that Chameleone came up the ‘divorce scandal’ as a way of promoting his upcoming show.
RIP: Deceased Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Andrew Felix Kaweesi.
Thirteen men suspected of participating in the killing Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Andrew Felix Kaweesi have been remanded to Luzira prisons.
The group appeared before the Nakawa Chief Magistrate Noah Sajjabi this afternoon.
Earlier, there was speculation the two would be paraded before the press but this did not happen.
AIGP Kaweesi was gunned down on March 17 alongside his driver Geoffrey Mambewa and bodyguard Kenneth Erau as they left his Kulambiro home.
yesterday sources within security told EagleOline that the two killers Bruhan and Higenyi plus a host of others where to be paraded before the public at police headquarters Naguru but today police instead took the suspects to court.
Former Inspector General of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura
The High Court in Kampala has issued a temporary injunction barring media from publishing stories on the ongoing investigations into the murder of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Andrew Felix Kaweesi.
The injunction comes against a backdrop of a case filed by the Inspector General of Police General Kale Kayihura against media houses the Red Pepper, The Investigator, ChimpReports among others. It further adds that the costs of the case will be in the main cause.
Gen. Kayihura accuses the said media house of publishing information relating to the case without permission from Police and, according to court documents filed Wednesday April 19 he contends that the publications are injurious to police investigations, national security and prejudicial to the workings of the security agencies of Uganda. Subsequently, he ask court to permanently restrain media from writing any further about the case.
And, in a court ruling delivered this afternoon by the Assistant Court Registrar, Joy Bahinguza Kabagye, she stopped the defendants from publishing about the matter until August 21 this year, when the main suit will be heard.
“An Interim Order doth issue restraining the Respondents/Defendants by themselves or through their authorised agents/servants/employees from publishing the contents or running any series on the investigation into the murder of AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi pending the disposal of main application H.C.M.A No. 255 of 2017 or until further orders are issued by this court,” reads the order.
Representatives of the said media houses did not appear in court but the Attorney General was represented.
Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort is a story of nature blending with classical modernity to set base for a consummate abode in Uganda, with a tantalizing view of the marvelous Lake Victoria.
Sprawling across 90 acres, Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort boasts of world class business and conference venues; wedding, indoor and outdoor meeting venues, cuisines from all walks of life, a wellness centre that caters for kids’ activities and, a fitness centre and spa.
As testimony to the top-notch services offered at the Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort, Presidents and foreign dignitaries frequent the hotel anytime they are in town and hotel staff will talk of rubbing shoulders with the crème dela crème from the business, royalty, corporate, social and political world.
Presidential suite
A staffer at the Hotel fondly talks of the generosity of former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete who would direct his aides to offer tips to hotel staffers; Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta who is as cheerful as a lark and will gladly exchange pleasantries while Rwanda’s Paul Kagame is talked of as always being in a seemingly pleasant but reserved mood.
Viewing lake Victoria from inside the Presidential Suite.
Suffice it to say that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were guests of the Resort during the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM) held in Kampala. The catch is that check in at the Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort and you may well take up a suite that was used by either the Queen or Prince in 2007. Deal or no deal? Deal!
Presidential bed.
With a 30 minute drive from Kampala, you will enjoy the breeze of Lake Victoria just as you take residence in one of the state-of-the art suites and rooms that offer ultimate comfort and a ‘home away from home’ feeling.
A single deluxe room is available for US $145m, double deluxe room US $160, Executive Room US $250, 1 Bedroom Suite US $180, two Bedroom Suite US$250, Executive Suite US $420, Presidential Suite US $780 and the Presidential Cottage goes for US $600.
Only the Single Deluxe Room has a maximum occupancy of 1 guest with other rooms allowed a maximum occupancy of either two of four. Monthly rates vary.
For the lone business traveller, the Single Deluxe Room is the ideal setting to spend the night with the serenity and repose a business executive would cherish after a day of meetings. Palatial, elegantly decorated by fabrics and with cutting-edge technology, the Single Deluxe Room is supreme!
The Executive Suite and Executive Rooms are a ‘mini-five star hotel’ of sorts; the utmost sense of perfection.
Overlooking lush green gardens with a clear lake view, the Executive Suite and Executive Rooms have everything on offer. From a mini-bar and a babysitter on request and 24-hoour laundry service, every aspect of life is well catered for.
The Presidential Suite is heaven on earth. It is royalty. It is presidential. It is grand. It is rank. It is status.
At the Presidential Suite, you will enjoy a direct panoramic view as the waters kiss the shores of Lake Victoria while the balcony view of the lush gardens makes it an inevitable choice for any connoisseur with a classical taste for luxury blended with nature.
And with the stress that comes with the hustle and bustle of life, the Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo thought it better to have swimming pool facilities for guests to chill on a sweltering afternoon or relax after a long day.
DEAD: Germaine Mason, the British high jumper who won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Sprint superstar Usain Bolt was caught up in a fatal motorcycle crash in Jamaica which claimed the life of Germaine Mason, the British high jumper who won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, media reported.
Jamaican-born Mason, 34, died in the early morning crash which occurred near Kingston, police said, when he lost control of his motorcycle.
Bolt (pictured with British high jumper Germaine Mason) shattered both the 100m and 200m. dailymail.co.uk
According to the media, Bolt, Jamaica’s eight-time Olympic sprint champion and 11-time world champion, and fellow sprinter Michael Frater were immediately at the scene.
Team Jamaica, a website run by Jamaican athletics supporters, said a number of athletes, including Bolt and Frater, were riding in a convoy with Mason when the crash took place.
“Usain Bolt was part of the group that came by and he was very, very emotional, and still is,” police senior superintendent Calvin Allen said. “I understand they are very close friends.”
Mason began competing for Britain, his father’s homeland, in 2006 after having taken bronze for Jamaica at the 2004 world indoors and claimed silver at the 2000 world juniors in Chile and bronze at the 2002 world juniors in Kingston.
“Germaine was an outstanding athlete and a truly lovely man. He had a wry sense of humour and was a pleasure to be around,” said Fuzz Caan, a senior high jump coach at British Athletics who worked with Mason during his time as Olympic champion.
“He was a great ambassador of British high jumping. It is an honour for us to have him as part of our sporting history.”
Mason, still the Jamaican national record holder in the event, matched his personal best of 2.34m to claim silver at Beijing, one of a then-record 47 British Olympic medals taken in China.
“The whole of the British Olympic Association is incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Germaine Mason,” said BOA chief executive Bill Sweeney.
“Germaine was a great athlete, an Olympian and a silver medal-winning part of Team GB who made history at Beijing 2008. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this difficult time.”
Other British athletics stars were stunned and saddened at the news.
“This is just awful. Such sad news,” tweeted 2012 London Olympic and three-time world heptathlon champion Jess Ennis-Hill.
“Heart goes out to friends and family of Germaine Mason on this sad day,” tweeted 1992 Barcelona Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie. “R I P Germaine. Never forgotten.”
Denise Lewis, the 2000 Sydney Olympics heptathlon champion, tweeted, “My condolences and deepest sympathy go out to Germaine Mason’s family & friends. A tragic loss of such fun & loving person.”
Beijing Olympic 400m hurdles bronze medalist Tasha Danvers called it “a very sad day for track and field… He will be missed.”
L-R: Nile Breweries Country Director James Bowmaker, and outgoing Managing Director Craig Metcalfe, with outgoing Marketing Director Daniel Ogong
Three top officials of Nile Breweries including Managing Director Greg Metcalfe, Marketing Director Daniel Ogong and Manager Western region, have resigned.
It is not clear why Ogong and Biingi are quitting, but former MD Metcalf said he was leaving on his own volition, to be close to his family in Canada.
The Nile Breweries Country Director James Bowmaker acknowledged the changes and promised to serve the company’s customers to satisfaction.
“The beer market in Uganda looks to be consistent in the future. Due to increased number of consumers each year, the company will increase its productions,” he added.
A subsidiary of SABMiller, Nile breweries is the leading brewing company in Uganda, with over ten locally produced beer brands that include among others Nile Special, Nile Gold, Club Pilsener, Castle Lite, Castle Milk Stout and Eagle Lager .
The company also produces bottled water under the brand name Rwenzori Mineral Water.
SOLD GOATS TO BUY UBC LAND: Burahya MP Margaret Muhanga
The Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) is on the spot over land, with Haba Group of businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba and Burahya County Member of Parliament Margaret Muhanga’s name eminently surfacing again.
In a report by the Committee on Statutory Agencies and State Enterprises (COSASE) to the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, the members UBC land in various places in Uganda including 23.1 acres in Bugolobi were disposed of irregularly ‘by ministerial orders’.
Particularly, Haba Group and MP Muhanga are linked to the suspicious change of ownership of plots 8-10, 12-16 and 18-20 in Bugolobi and during earlier investigations the MP told Parliament that she sold her goats to raise Shs11 billion to raise the money to buy the UBC land in question. However, she has since returned the title but not before 2.095 acres disappearing in ‘thin air’.
‘The committee upon recovery of the title from Hon. Muhanga Margaret awaiting the directive of this house, requested for opening of the boundaries of the said land. Out of the 20.31 acres indicated in the land title, only 20.05 acres were available and the rest have equally been disposed of with the help of Uganda Land Commission. Recovery of the balance of 2.095 acres awaits directive of this house,’ the 184-pqge report by COSASE, which is chaired by Bugweri MP Abdu Katuntu, states in part.
Further, the COSASE report, derived from the Auditor General’s reports of 2013/14 and 2014/15, recommends that the land revert to UBC, while the ULC be investigated for all dubious transactions on the corporation’s land.
The committee also noted that the UBC had not carried out an inventory of its assets, with a view to arriving at the exact value of its assets including receivables amounting to over Shs20 billion that had not been recovered by the end of year 2015. Interestingly, according to the report, the UBC owes creditors over Shs30 billion, something that could lead to litigation.
‘The committee noted that the assets of the institution have not been valued thus portraying misstated financial statements over the years. It may appear innocent but its core to the functions of the entity, because the institution does not know what they own with the attendant values,’ the MP noted, and recommended that the Managing Director put in place a debt recovery policy.
The committee also noted that all the 247 UBC staff work without valid contracts, and that the corporation has not remitted to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) over Shs7 billion.
It also faulted the corporation for flouting Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDA) regulation by procuring promotional materials worth Shs61, 155, 680.
It should be recalled that in August last year, the former UBC MD Paul Kihika, who was forced out of office in 2014, was arrested over the suspicious purchase of Chinese movie soaps worth about Shs50m.
Meanwhile, the COSASE report that is due to be tabled in Parliament has so far covered six state agencies namely: UNRA, the UBC; the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC); the National Forestry Authority (NFA); the National Housing and Construction Company (NHCC) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
