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DJ Shiru spends 34m on music video with Nigeria’s Patoranking

By
Badru Kasadah
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BIG TIME: DJ Shiru and Patoranking

Nigerian Dancehall crooner, Patoranking was in the country for the first time in December last year, recording a song with DJ Shiru.

During Patoranking’s short stay here, the two singers managed to record ‘Dance Well’. The song, whose US$10,000 (about34 million shillings) video has had to wait for a year to premiere, has been getting a reasonable share of airplay in bars and night clubs the whole of this year.

However, the long wait came to an end last week as the much anticipated video was finally premiered on Friday at Club Ambiance.

“Eno video yantuuteko omutwalo gwa doola … (I spent $10,000 on this video)” DJ Shiru told revelers during the premiere of the video that is already playing on continental music channels like Trace Mziki.

 

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Ethiopia restores internet services after two months

By
Agencies
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RESTORED: Social media applications

Ethiopia has restored mobile Internet services after the service was blocked over two months. The blockage was connected with anti-government protests that broke out largely in the Amhara and Oromia regions.

Local portals reported that mobile service was restored on Friday evening (December 2) after being shut down since October 04. Ethiopia is currently under a state of emergency with some of the rules being a restriction on access to particular social media platforms. Anti-government protests in the country are believed to have been largely instigated via social media.

Social media and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook, and Instagram have still been blocked. Main internet lines were also said to be very slow during the period of the internet shutdown.

It is said that this is the longest sustained mobile internet service shutdown that has taken place in the capital Addis Ababa and across the country.

A recent report on access to the internet ranked Ethiopia amongst the worst in the world. In Africa they were ranked along with Gambia, Sudan and Egypt as the worst culprits.

According to the research on the use of the internet, online freedom generally around the world has declined for the sixth consecutive year.

All four African countries considered ‘Not Free’ had internet penetration of between 12 and 36%. Only Sudan did not block social media and other political and social content. But all the others did that and also conducted arrests of bloggers and internet users.

In all, 16 African countries were surveyed by the Freedom House team. The regional spread are as follows: Five in North Africa – Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, Sudan, Morocco; Two in West Africa – The Gambia and Nigeria; Four in East Africa – Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda and Five in Southern Africa – South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Malawi.

The report titled ‘Freedom on the Net 2016 – Silencing the Messenger, Communication Apps Under Pressure’ added that two out of every three internet users – 67% – live in countries where online activities are largely censored.

The research was carried out by Freedom House, ‘‘an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world.’‘

It looked at 65 countries across the world and how they related to the use of the internet.

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Former MP Tonny Kipoi off Interpol list

By
Our Reporter
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former Bubulo West MP Tonny Kipoi Nsubuga

Former National Resistance Movement (NRM) legislator for Bubulo West in the Ninth Parliament Tonny Kipoi Nsubuga, wanted by the Uganda government for among other crimes, treason, is off the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) list of wanted criminals.

Sources at Kipoi’s village home of Bugobero Sub-County in Manafwa district told EagleOnline that Kipoi, who jumped bail while facing multiple charges, was struck off the 17-page ‘Red Alert’ list that contains 147 persons wanted by Interpol, the international authority that is charged with apprehending criminals whose names have been referred to it by the National Police Forces of member countries.

Indeed, a quick search on the Interpol website revealed that there are only two Africans on Interpol’s Red Alert: Mohammed Adel, a 39 year old Egyptian and Abdi Khadar Musa, a 38 year old Somali. Previously, Uganda’s reference to Interpol included Tony Kipoi and the caged Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) boss, Jamil Mukulu. Another Ugandan referral to Interpol was Mr.William Muwanguzi aka Pastor Kiwedde, who was arrested in Zimbabwe last week. Kipoi’s name is not on the list.

And contacted about Kipoi’s striking off the Red Alert, Uganda Police Director of Interpol and International Relations, Asan Kasingye said he wasn’t aware of the development.

“That cannot happen; I don’t know who gave you that information because it takes four years and I am not aware that the four years have elapsed” Mr. Kasingye said on phone.

A former ruling party legislator, Kipoi’s woes started in 2013 when police arrested and detained him over allegations of theft of a motor vehicle in Botswana.

Kipoi was subsequently arraigned charged with being in possession of a stolen vehicle. He was released and jumped bail before he was also accused by the state of recruiting army officials to start a rebel movement.

Since 2013, Kipoi has been under investigations on allegations of treason, illegal confinement of South African nationals and dealing in narcotic drugs.

In the treason case, it was alleged that around 2013 Mr Kipoi held a meeting with Democratic Republic of Congo rebels and UPDF soldiers in a guest house in Kabarole District with the purpose of arming them last year.

Kipoi, who was subsequently arrested in the DRC for allegedly selling arms to the rebel outfit M23 when South African and Tanzanian forces battled the rebels, was held by Congolese authorities, who then liaised with the Uganda Police to have him extradited. “Ever since we received information from Kinshasa, we have been working hand in hand with DRC Police and our Ambassador in DRC to make sure that Kipoi is not released until we finalize all the legal documents required to deport him back to Uganda which I think will not take more than two weeks,” explained Kasingye was quoted by the media as saying then.

However, since then little was heard about Kipoi till the latest information that he was ‘cleared’ by Interpol trickled in, and the sources in his former constituency said he is currently in Europe.

 

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Italian PM to resign today

By
Agencies
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LOST REFEREENDUM: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife at the voting.

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi announced he will resign today after suffering a stinging loss in a reforms referendum, triggering immediate calls from a populist party and other opposition forces for elections to be held soon.

‘‘The ‘No’s’ have won in an extraordinary clear-cut way,’’ Renzi told reporters in Rome about an hour after polls had closed in Sunday’s balloting.

‘‘I lost and the post that gets eliminated is mine,’’ Renzi said. ‘‘The government’s experience is over, and in the afternoon I’ll go to the Quirinal Hill to hand in my resignation’’ to President Sergio Mattarella.

Leaders of the populist 5-Star Movement, which is led by comic Beppe Grillo, joined the chorus for early elections. The 5-Stars are the chief rivals of Renzi’s Democrats and are anxious to achieve national power for the first time.

 

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Fake US Embassy in Ghana issues visas for 10 years

By
Agencies
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FAKE! The building in Ghana where crooks issued fake US Visas for 10 years

It flew the American flag, hung a photo of President Obama and issued US visas for more than a decade. But a building that operated as a US embassy in Ghana was a fake, the US State Department says.

The enterprise, which issued fraudulently obtained legitimate visas, counterfeit visas, and other false identification documents, was overseen by figures from Ghanaian and Turkish crime rings working in cahoots with corrupt Ghanaian officials, the US State Department said in a statement. It operated three days a week in Accra, the capital.

The exterior of the real US Embassy in Ghana.
The exterior of the real US Embassy in Ghana.

The State Department did not say how many people may have entered the United States illegally using documentation issued by the crime ring, nor did it say how the ring may have obtained official documents.

Visas and passports from 10 different countries were found during raids on the nondescript stucco building with the corrugated tin roof, the State Department said.

Authorities shut down the operation after receiving a tip last summer and conducting a joint investigation by diplomatic security agents at the real US embassy in Ghana, Ghanian authorities and other international partners.

The operation also uncovered a fake Dutch embassy in Accra, the State Department said.

Authorities in Ghana and the Netherlands did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

The sham embassy advertised its services through fliers and billboards to cultivate customers from Ghana and neighboring countries, the State Department said.

 

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UK-based money transfer provider to make instant remittances to Uganda

By
Our Reporter and Agencies
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ANNOUNCED LAUNCH: Nyasinga Onyancha, CEO for SimbaPay

Ugandans and Ghanaians living in Europe can now send money to mobile phones in Uganda or Ghana, following the launch of SimbaPay, announced by a London based digital money transfer provider.

simbapay-app-screenshot

“This is the perfect Christmas gift to Ugandans and Ghanaians living in Europe who have been asking when SimbaPay will expand coverage to their home countries” said Nyasinga Onyancha, CEO for SimbaPay. “By delivering money via existing mobile money wallet services, many recipients who previously could not access formal financial services can now do so.”

Ugandans and Ghanaians living in Europe (UK & European Union countries) with a bank account, debit card or credit card will be able to use the SimbaPay app from any mobile phone, tablet or computer. Transfers made using SimbaPay are credited within seconds to recipients’ mobile money wallets such as MTN Mobile Money. This eliminates the inconvenience of queues and old school paperwork.

SimbaPay also delivers money transfers via mobile money and bank account to other African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya with more destinations and partners being sought for addition in 2017.

 

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Over three million face starvation in South Sudan

By
Agencies
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South Sudan refugees getting food aid at Bidi Bidi camp in Yumbe District, Uganda. Photo credit/WFP/Henry Bongyerirwe

At least 3.6 million people in South Sudan are currently facing severe food shortages, the highest levels ever experienced at harvest time with the crisis is likely to worsen when food from the current harvest runs out next year, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), has announced.

The latest report says the number of people facing severe hunger is expected to rise to 4.6 million between January and April next year and increase even more from May to July unless aid is scaled up.

Renewed violence broke out in the young nation in July this year when the country’s rival forces clashed in the capital, Juba, leaving more than 200 dead and displacing thousands on the population.

The country descended into civil war in December 2013 when a row between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy, Riek Machar, ended with fighting that often erupted along ethnic fault lines.

The conflict has prevented farmers from reaching their farms in several parts of the country, thus denting food security hopes.

“The scale of food insecurity remains unprecedented in South Sudan, despite seasonal improvements that are typical of the harvest season,” partly reads WFP’s latest report on war-torn South Sudan.

The country’s hunger levels, the UN food agency stressed, have doubled since last year. For instance, it said, nearly 60% of the population of South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal state is affected, 56% in Unity, and 47% in Western Bahr el Ghazal state.

The fighting and tumbling oil production and prices have hammered South Sudan’s economy. Inflation shot to 835 percent in the year to October, while the official value of the currency has plummeted.

Conflict and insecurity, WFP said, have also cut off trade routes and disrupted imports. Last month, however, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said there was a growing ‘risk of famine’, especially among the country’s most vulnerable communities.

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Kanyamunyu in court tomorrow

By
Francisco Adongo
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IN COURT: Cyhthia Munangwari, Mathew Kanyamunyu and his brother Jpseph Kanyamunyu, while appearing before the Nakawa Magistrate's Court. Photo/File.

Murder suspect Mathew Kanyamunyu, who is on remand at Luzira Prisons, is set to appear at the Nakawa Magistrate’s court tomorrow.

Two weeks ago Kanyamunyu, his brother Joseph and lady friend Cynthia Munangwari, appeared before Nakawa court magistrate Nuwa Sajjabi after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mike Chibita W’a Duallo preferred charges against them for the murder of social worker Kenneth Watmon Akena on Saturday, November 20.

Mathew is linked to Mr Akena’s shooting which allegedly occurred after the latter reversed his car and scratched Kanyamunyu’s Land Cruiser Prado, allegedly resulting in the fatal shooting.

The death of Akena sparked off a public outrage that has since caused divided opinion almost tending to a sectarian tinge.

 

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Airtel launches campaign for fans to win fully paid trips to watch Afcon in Gabon

By
Isaiah Mwebaze
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Airtel Uganda, the number one supporter of Ugandan football, has today launched “Tulumbe AFCON”, to build up support for the National football team, the Uganda Cranes as they head to the 2017 AFCON tournament in Gabon.

“Tulumbe AFCON”, will give Airtel subscribers a chance to win TV sets, brand new smartphones and Uganda Cranes jerseys. The ultimate prize however, will be tickets to watch the game live in Gabon.

Speaking at the press launch this morning, Airtel Uganda Managing Director Mr. Anwar Soussa called the campaign the “…perfect way to end a great year of Ugandan football.”

“A few months back, Uganda qualified for the 2017 AFCON tournament. This is a milestone that was heavily anticipated by the entire country. As the official sponsor of the National team, we are still in awe of what this team managed to achieve. And, it goes without saying that the presence of the tens of thousands of Ugandans, who showed up to Namboole on that day and gave our team the morale to create history,” Anwar said.

 

airtel2

“Tulumbe AFCON” is us keeping our promise- both to the Uganda Cranes and the rest of the country, to support our nation’s football in every capacity, while making sure that our subscribers remain at the heart of this promise.

Also present at the press conference was Indrajeet Kumar, Airtel Uganda’s Marketing Director who explained the dynamics of the campaign, “This campaign will simply require Airtel customers to recharge their airtime. To take part in the new campaign, Airtel Uganda subscribers will have to opt in by dialing *162#. This will allow them to know their target. They will then be required to recharge and meet their individual target. Upon reaching the targets, subscribers will receive 100 per cent bonus, which, on accumulation, will be rewarded to them as airtime to be used for voice (prepaid), data and SMS.”

Draws to reward the lucky winners will be held every Friday from Monday November 21, 2016 to Friday January 13, 2017. Winners will be contacted by Airtel Uganda via 0752-600-222.

 

 

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Community health promoters in Uganda reduce child mortality

By
Badru Kasadah
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Health Minister, Dr.Ruth Aceng making a point during a past. presentation. She is reported to be against the idea by government to have companies process Marijuana here.

The Minister of Health, Jane Aceng has revealed government is in plans to adopt a community health model used by Living Goods.

This followed a recent findings of a randomized controlled trial report carried out in 10 districts in Uganda. It demonstrates a 27 percent reduction in under-five mortality rates in the areas served.

The three-year study evaluated the health impact of the Living Goods and BRAC entrepreneurial community health worker program in Uganda.

Living Goods and partner BRAC recruit, train, equip, and manage Community Health Promoters (CHPs) who go door-to-door educating families on key health behaviors and distributing impactful and affordable products.

In addition to providing health education and access to basic health products for low-income households, the program aims to create sustainable livelihoods for the CHPs, who can earn an income through profits from product sales and small, performance-based incentives for visiting households with pregnant women and newborn children.

Study researchers worked with Innovations for Poverty Action and Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) to carry out the randomized evaluation to assessing the impact of the Living Goods and BRAC program in Uganda. The evaluation included 214 rural villages across 10 districts—involving a total sample size of over 8,000 households.

The study, presented by one of the Principal Investigators, Dr. Jakob Svensson, of Stockholm University, indicates a reduction in under-five mortality by 27 percent, and infant mortality by 33 percent in areas that Living Goods and BRAC CHPs serve.

These reductions were supported by an increase in health knowledge, preventative behavior, case management of malaria and diarrhea, and home visits. The working paper can be found on the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Speaking during the release of the findings at Golf Course Hotel, Alfred Wise, the Uganda Country Director at Living Goods emphasized the critical role that community health workers play in improving the health of families across the country.

“Through a focus on performance management—including effective supervision and smart incentives—and a reliable supply chain, the program addresses some of the biggest challenges in community health,” says Wise. “We are blessed to receive guidance and support from the Ministry of Health to ensure that CHPs are properly trained and connected with Health Centers for referrals of patients with danger signs or high risks.”

Statistics indicate Uganda’s under-five mortality rate has improved over the past 10 years, but there is still significant room for improvement. Three infectious diseases—malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia—account for the majority of early deaths. All of these diseases can be either be prevented or treated for less than the cost of a cup of coffee. According to Wise, Living Goods seeks to improve the lives of women and children by delivering frontline health care to those who need it most. By so doing, community health services also reduce the burden on health facilities.

“Our CHPs are trusted member of their communities, providing families with health education, accurate diagnoses and treatments, and referrals to health facilities when needed,” notes Wise. “Families rest assured, knowing they can call their CHP any time of the day, and the CHP will provide them with high-quality, affordable, and convenient care.”

Brian Kyohure a father of three, in Kawempe Division says he prefers getting treatment from the community health promoters because they deliver medicine at his doorstep. “I can get medication for my children at an affordable price,” says Kyohure. “I get good quality medicine and better care than I would from the clinic. And I don’t have to travel or wait in line.”

The CHP program is aimed at improving access to and adoption of simple, proven health interventions in rural and peri-urban areas in the country.

“We know the program works; now we need to scale it so we can save as many lives as possible,” said Wise about the program. “Together with the Government of Uganda, funders, and partners like BRAC, we can ensure that every family has access to an effective, well-stocked, and motivated community health worker.”

 

 

 

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