The High Court in Ireland has ordered anonymous Facebook user Tom Voltaire Okwalinga aka TVO, to pull down a Facebook post he put up disparaging city lawyer Fred Muwema.

In TVO’s post, he indicated that in the period before the presidential elections in February 2016 Muwema, who was counsel for former presidential candidate John Patrick Amama Mbabazi,  had broken into his own offices and caused the disappearance of several affidavits sworn to support Mr. Mbabazi’s presidential petition, lodged against declared winner President Yoweri Museveni.

After losing the elections Mr. Mbabazi lodged a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Mr Museveni’s victory, but this was after Muwema had withdrawn from representing Mr Mbabazi.

In the ensuing debacle counsel Muwema asked Facebook to reveal to him the identity of TVO in order to ensure his public stature (Norwich Pharmacal Order) and also have the offensive post put down; kicking of a protracted legal battle that also drew in Ugandan human rights lawyer and activist Nicholas Opiyo to represent TVO.

And, delivering a ruling yesterday, Mr Justice Donald Binchy, ruled that TVO delete his posts, giving the anonymous ‘poster’ 14 days in which to effect the court decision.

Indeed, Justice Binchy had earlier heard counsel Muwema’s case lodged against Facebook after the online social media platform rejected pleas to reveal TVO’s identity on the grounds that the latter was a person at ‘risk’, wanted by the government of Uganda for some of his previous posts that had rubbed the Ugandan authorities here the wrong way.

‘One of the reliefs sought by the plaintiff included an order directing the defendant to provide the plaintiff with any details which it holds relating to identities or locations of the person or persons operating a Facebook page under the name ‘Tom Voltaire Okwalinga’ “(TV)” on whose Facebook page the postings were made. In other words the plaintiff sought a Norwich Pharmacal order with the intent of identifying the name of the person responsible for the postings concerning the plaintiff’, reads part of Justice Binchy’s 26-page ruling.

However, in a kind of win-win situation, Justice Binchy ruled that TVO’s identity remain anonymous.

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The Ministry of Public Service is overwhelmed by the number of civil servants who want to change their age declared on joining the public service.

In a letter addressed to all Permanent Secretaries, Chief Administrative Officers, Town Clerks, Directors of Regional Referral Hospitals and Heads of Government Agencies, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwiire says that the Ministry of Public Service has of recent received several requests from public officers to change their dates of birth.

‘The requests for change of dates of birth follow the biometric validation of Public Officers and matching of their data with the National Identification Register. Arising out of this exercise some Public Officers’ dates of birth on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPS) did not tally with the dates of birth on the National Identification Register,’ reads the document that was also copied to the Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet Office of the President.

‘In another development, for some Public Officers, the requests for change of dates of birth are submitted when they are approaching the time of attainment of mandatory retirement age, which creates doubt of the intent of the officer. In accordance with section L-b (7) of the Uganda Public Service Standing Orders, the date of birth of a Public Officer shall be that which was initially recorded unless unquestionable evidence to the contrary is produced and accepted by the Responsible Permanent Secretary’, the PS wrote.

The statement further informed them that no public officer should be allowed to amend their ages. ‘The purpose of this letter therefore, is to inform you that Ministry of Public Service will continue to uphold the dates of birth that a Public Officer declared earliest upon his/her initial appointment in the Public Service. You are required to bring the contents of this letter to the attention of all staff in your Ministry, Department, Agency or Local Government’, she added.

Though no particular names of officers who want to amend their ages, one of them is Deputy Chief Justice Kavuma who, in December wrote to the Judiciary requesting to amend his official age, contesting his birthday and current age of 69 years, which would make him a candidate for retirement in September this year.

It’s a constitutional requirement for judges of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, which doubles as the Court of Appeal, to retire at 70 years of age while judges of the High court retire at 65 years.

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Zimbabwe First Lady Grace Mugabe is reportedly ‘plotting’ to contest for the Harare South parliamentary seat in next year’s general elections, which could open the way for her to be considered for a Cabinet post, it has been learnt.

Initial reports had indicated that the Zanu PF women’s league chairperson was eyeing Harare East or Mazowe, but it seems she has settled for Harare South, currently held by fellow party member, Shadreck Mashayamombe.

“She has made indications that she wants Harare South and the current MP has already been advised to ‘look for another constituency’,” a Zanu PF insider, who declined to be named, said.

“The First Lady’s people are already on the ground in the constituency.”

Harare South constituency is largely an informal settlement, where various Zanu PF officials are often seen fighting for land.

The ruling party has used housing co-operatives in the area as conduits to hold on to the constituency for over a decade now.

Contacted for comment, Mashayamombe dismissed the reports, saying: “We have not been approached as a province regarding that issue. I am hearing it from you.”

Grace’s ally and Zanu PF women’s league treasurer, Sarah Mahoka, also scoffed at the suggestions.

“People should find better things to do with their time than to continue with a smear campaign against the First Lady,” she said.

“She is a national leader and would not want to stoop that low to be an MP. What would she gain from that?

“I do not even have to consult her, but I can assure you it is not going to happen. She will not reduce herself to be an MP.”

However, sources close to the developments insisted the First Lady would represent Zanu PF in next year’s general elections.

“It’s a done deal. Well, nobody is going to stop her if she really wants and that is the way we have accepted it. We are still waiting for official communication though,” a provincial leader, who declined to be identified, said.

The First Lady, with the backing of a faction known as G40, is locked in a bitter tussle for power with Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, as senior figures in the ruling party look beyond President Robert Mugabe, who turns 93 in two weeks.

Zanu PF youth league leader, Kudzai Chipanga, seemed to indicate that, while the First Lady had gone quiet, she was still a contender.

“It is not secret that the youth league and the women’s league work closely together, hence, we will have no problem with supporting a woman to any position of the party, including the Presidency, as long as it is done according to the dictates of the Zanu PF constitution and, like I have said, that person must carry the name Mugabe,” he was quoted as having said.

Should Grace Mugabe contest for the parliamentary seat and win, and also be named to Cabinet, she would have followed in the footsteps of Uganda First Lady Janet Museveni, who joined Parliament as the MP for Ntungamo and was later named Minister for Karamoja Affairs by her husband President Yoweri Museveni.

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