The Clerk of Parliament Jane Kibirige has rejected the withdrawal of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Secretary for Mobilisation Ingrid Kamatenesi Turinawe, from the race for the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), by her party.

In a letter written to Ms Kibirige by FDC President Major General (rtd) John Gregory Mugisha Muntu, he said the party was fielding only one candidate, Florence Ibi Ekwau.

‘ This letter is to notify you that as a party, we are withdrawing candidate Kamatenesi Ingrid Turinawe and retaining one candidate, Ekwau Ibi Florence effective the date of this letter. We thank you for your urgent action on this matter,’ Maj. Gen. Muntu wrote to Ms Kibirige.

However, a day the Clerk wrote back to Gen. Muntu, bringing to his attention the ‘Rules of Procedure’ in respect to ‘withdrawal or death of a candidate’.

‘I would suggest that the withdrawal of candidate Ms. Kamatenesi Ingrid Turinawe (FDC) as a candidate for the East African Legislative Assembly representing Uganda be done in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Uganda,’ Ms Kibirige wrote.

Political parties in Uganda with representation in Parliament are supposed to send 9 representatives to EALA, and already the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has finished its nomination exercise, electing six representatives.

Other candidates are expected from the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), the Democratic Party (DP) and the FDC.

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The hearing of the murder case of a Panamera bar employee, Badru Kateregga, has finally taken off with the suspects defending themselves.

Yesterday, the High Court ruled that the suspects Andrew (Desh) Kananura, his brother Raymond Kananura and security guards Samuel Muzolewa, Cyrus Maganda and Jacob Onyango had a case to answer in regard Kateregga’s murder.

The case, in which the state has lined up 10 witnesses, was initially set to have started yesterday but State Attorney Lucy
Kabahuma sought an adjournment on grounds that two of her colleagues in charge of the matter were out of office.

She said she was instructed by Senior State Attorney Jane Okuo Kajuga and Senior Principal State Attorney Alice Komuhangi to seek an adjournment, as they were atending a colleague’s funeral in Masaka.

Evidence by the 10 witnesses indicates that the accused persons, on September 30, 2012, allegedly beat Kateregga to death after they found him with sh30, 000 that was said to be a tip he was given by a customer.

Justice Joseph Murangira is hearing the case after the withdrawal of Justice Wilson Masalu Musene, who pulled out citing ‘public pressure’. Hearing of the case was adjourned this afternoon and resumes Monday.

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The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and party Secretary for Mobilisation Ingrid Kamatenesi Turinawe are involved in a public spat over the latter’s interest in vying for the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).

In a letter to the Clerk of Parliament, FDC President Major General Mugisha Munutu said the party had withdrawn Turinawe’s candidature.

‘Please refer to our letter ref: FDC14.2/POU/01/1/17, dated February 7, 2017, regarding FDC nominated candidates for EALA. This letter is to notify you that as a party, we are withdrawing candidate Kamatenesi Ingrid Turinawe and retaining one candidate, Ekwau Ibi Florence effective the date of this letter. We thank you for your urgent action on this matter,’ Maj. Gen. Muntu wrote.

However, Gen. Muntu’s letter has triggered off an angry reaction from the FDC ‘Iron Lady’.

‘I am in the race. The author of that letter has no authority to withdraw me’, she wrote on her Twitter handle, also attracting words of caution and restrained anger from her followers.

‘Sister Ingrid, if you lost the race, how come you are in it’? Please educate me; it seems you guys are hell bent on causing mayhem in the party. You need to support your leader’s decision. Are there 2 FDC party’? Alice Ruhindi, political activist and an in-law to former Prime Minister John Patrick Amama Mbabazi, wrote.

‘Its OK madam Ingrid; its bad that you also don’t know the author of the letter. Or I am wrong’? paused one Lydia Tusime.

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Renowned businessman Boney Katatumba is dead. Katatumba, who has been the Honorary Consul of Pakistan to Uganda from April 1999, owned several properties under the Katatumba Group.

He was also the President Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry for 5 years from 1996 and also invested in the hotel, tourism and service industry.

An author of his biography, Dr. Boney Katatumba graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelor of Science (BSc), Sociology in 1971 and then went on to attain a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Commerce and Industry from the Western Pacific University in the US, obtained in 2000.

The youngest of nine children, Dr. Katatumba is survived by two wives, Gertrude and Grace Katatumba, and several children among them renowned singer Angella Katatumba.

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The Supreme Court has ordered government to pay Butambala Member of Parliament (MP) Muwanga Kivumbi court costs for a case he won in 2005.

In a judgment read by Justice Lillian Tibatemwa of the Supreme Court, said the award of costs is a legal matter and calls for adjudication.

“It therefore follows that the panel should have pronounced itself on the matter in a formal court proceeding and not through an administrative process,” she ruled.

She ordered that Kivumbi be granted costs in the Supreme Court and in the court below (Constitutional Court).

Kivumbi run to the Supreme Court in 2008 after the Constitutional Court denied him court costs following his victory against government.

He had challenged the constitutionality of Section 32 of the Police Act (Cap 303) which empowered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to prohibit the convening of any assembly or procession on any public road, street or any place of public resort, if the IGP had reasonable grounds to believe the assembly or procession was likely to cause a breach of the peace.

Court held ruled in his favour that indeed there was no doubt that the power given to the IGP was prohibitive rather than regulatory. Further, the court found that the powers given to the IGP to prohibit the convening of an assembly or procession were an unjustified limitation on the enjoyment of a fundamental right. Such limitation was not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic country like ours.

In her lead judgment, Byamugisha JCC allowed the petition with costs. Learned Justices GM Okello and C.N Kitumba concurred with the judgment of Justice Byamugisha “in its entirety” but made no specific reference to the order of costs therein. Mpagi-Bahigiene, JCC specifically stated that she was in full agreement with Justice Byamugisha’s opinion in regard to the impugned section but was silent on the order given in regard to costs.

However, he was denied costs to the petitioner on ground that the matter was filed in public interest.

Following this, the appellant’s counsel wrote a letter to the Deputy Chief Justice to have the award of costs clarified. On behalf of the court, Byamugisha JCC responded to the letter as follows: “The above matter was referred to me by the Deputy Chief Justice regarding costs of the petition. Only two justices awarded costs. The majority of the judges did not. Consequently, the petitioner got no costs. There is nothing to correct under the slip rule.”

The other judges on the panel then were Mukasa-Kikonyogo DCJ, Galdino Moro Okello, Mpagi-Bahigiene, Christine Kitumba and Constance Kategaya Byamugisha JJC.

Justices Mpagi Bahigeine and Constance Kategaya Byamugisha have since died.

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President Yoweri Museveni was a notable absence at the inauguration of new Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed in Mogadishu because of a scheduled visit to Tanzania, sources have said.

Mr Museveni is a keen supporter of the war against the militant group Al-Shabaab in Somalia, and in 2007 Uganda was the first country to send peacekeepers to the Horn of Africa country that has been ravaged by terrorism and clan fights.

Meanwhile, other leaders that attended the investiture of President Mohamed aka Formaajo earlier this afternoon include Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, while the Eritrea leader is absent.

The former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is also in attendance, and he has been roundly hailed by the three presidents for overseeing an orderly transition of power after he lost the last polls.

In his speech the new President, who holds both US and Somali citizenship, said he would focus on security, fighting corruption and reconciliation. He also said unemployment was high on his agenda of priorities.

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A senior Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) has said that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir are set to deal in gold from the world’s youngest country.

The official who spoke on condition of anonymity said this in the wake of the recently-launched Africa Gold Refinery (AGR), whose Chief Executive Officer Alain Goetz was quoted as saying his Ugandan-based factory is set to import and process raw gold and other gold-related materials from the war-torn South Sudan and ‘the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’.

“Africa Gold Refinery is simply expanding ‘Uganda’s resource-sucking operation in South Sudan’,” the official reportedly speaking from Nairobi said, adding: “We are fully aware of such a contract. This gold deal between Kiir and Museveni was recently finalized and we are fully aware of such a contract.”

South Sudan’s rebels have in the past accused Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is a staunch supporter of South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, of taking advantage of the wealth of the war-wracked young nation.

But contacted, Senior Presidential Press Secretary Innocent Don Wanyama said: “That is total nonsense; Uganda does not attract investors based on resources from South Sudan. The company is based here and anyone can obtain its details.”

And, Goetz echoed Mr. Wanyama’s assertions, saying his company will comply with all the regulations and that it will be able to sell gold even to American corporations.

“It’s a very high compliance refinery. We do due diligence for every customer who comes in,” Goetz was quoted as saying. He also claimed his company will use the gold for coins and jewelry.

In 2010, the United States passed the ‘Dodd-Frank Act’, which ‘requires companies to disclose whether their products contain minerals from conflict-ridden parts of Africa’.

Meanwhile, media reports indicate the AGR has an initial output capacity of 300 kilograms of pure gold per week, and the ability to increase that to 500 kilograms eventually.

Uganda is South Sudan’s biggest trading partner and exports massive tons of maize and other items to Juba.

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