“Seems I won’t be able to travel today! Am booked on a 9 am flight to Nairobi but won’t be let out of my house by the Kayihura police! No chance of catching my flight. I am waiting for reinforcements to fight!!” Besigye tweeted early in the morning.
His prediction turned out to be true as police refused to vacate his home until he cancelled the flight.
He was travelling to South Africa where he is slated to address the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Conference sitting in Durban, South Africa, on Thursday November 10, 2016.

Dr. Besigye has often been blocked from leaving his home with the recent incident being when he was blocked from attending court to extend his bail in the treason case that was brought against him.

However, police denies the blocking Besigye, saying they also learnt of the allegations from social media.

In a similar way shortly after the 2011 elections, Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima missed her flight to New York after she was blocked by police on her way to Entebbe International airport.
Like Besigye, the incident happened as she left their home in Kasangati to catch her flight at Entebbe.

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The trial of city motor rally driver, Andrew Desh Kananura has finally kicked off. The case commenced today morning with the suspects being charged with murder.

This is the second time that Desh, his brother Raymond Kananura and three others have been charged with Murder before the Kampala High court.

Appearing before Justice Joseph Murangira, the group denied beating Badru Kateregga to death. Kateregga was Desh’s employee at Panamera bar and restaurant in Naguru and according to prosecution, the accused on September 30, 2012 tortured him to death after they found him with Shs30,000 that exceeded the allowed amount to be held by any worker at the bar.

Initially it had been Justice Masalu Musene who was in charge of the case but quit the case in February this year citing bias accusations from the public. This was after the hearing of the case failed to kick off for over three years, that even Kateregga’s father, who had been following up on the case passed on. This left little hope for Kateregga’s children to get justice for their murdered dad.

The hearing of the case is set for November 26, 2016, and the State Attorney has informed court they will adduce evidence pinning the accused beating Kateregga to death while accusing him of stealing Shs30000 from the bar.

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Anger is boiling within Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces rank and file over “unfair” policy of making soldiers sit for exams for promotion.

Two years ago, UPDF introduced exams for army officers on the ranks of Lieutenant ad captain to sit for exams before they are promoted but what seemed to be good policy is now becoming an eminent disaster within UPDF which has been credited for its efforts bring peace in the region.

Soldiers especially those from Command say they are made to sit for exams with their colleagues who have course from which they derive questions from.

Officers from Command are not normally given opportunities to go for courses. Some officers who talked to EagleOnline but sought anonymity because they lack authority to talk to the media   say this unfair promotion on policy is a threat to cohesion in the force.

Already, soldiers have been complaining about their colleagues who meteorically get promotions while others stay for decades on the same rank.

The army says soldiers are promoted depending on courses done, discipline and hard work. But some soldiers say they are not given chances to go for courses.

Since 1986, when President Yoweri Museveni who doubles as the commander of armed forces captured power, there has been discipline and progression of cohesion and respect among forces as compared to the past.

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The Deputy Commander of the Africa Union Mission to Somalia (Amisom) peacekeeping troops Major General Nakibus Lakara has ended his tour of duty after 18 months in Mogadishu.

Maj Gen Lakara, who until last week was serving as the deputy force commander in charge of support and logistics, is to be replaced by a Burundi General.

On departure from Somalia Gen Lakara was seen off by the Amisom head Francisco Madeira, his deputy Lydia Wanyoto and force commander Lieutenant General Osman Noor Soubalegh together with other senior Amisom commanders.

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Makerere University Guild President Roy Ssembogga has tasked government to tell the students when the university is re-opening.

Speaking to journalists at Makerere, Ssembogga said they have made several requests to government in relation to the matter but all have gone unanswered.
He noted that it is not their fault that lecturers were not paid, saying as students they played their role of completing payment of tuition on time.
He gave government an ‘ultimatum’ of Wednesday to respond to their request ‘to avoid more damage’. He said among the planned activities is petitioning parliament in case they don’t get any response.

“International funding agencies like SIDA, JICA, Norwegian Cooperation and many others are likely to rescind their decision to fund Makerere because of the never-ending closures and standoffs at the Alma Mater of Africa,” Ssembogga argued.

Meanwhile, police has today afternoon been involved in running battles with Makerere University students who were protesting against the closure of the oldest institution of higher learning in the country.

Clad in their red undergraduate gowns, students holding placards reading “We want Makerere University Open’, attempted to put up a protest in the middle of Kampala city but police was quick to swing into action, arresting four people in the ensuing chaos.

Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Emilian Kayima, said the arrested include three students identified as Paul Kato, Ronald Ainebyona and Edmond Mugabi, and a hair dresser, who was arrested for allegedly joining them.

Last week President Yoweri Museveni ordered the closure of Makerere University after the students and their lecturers went on strike, protesting against non-teaching and non-payment of arrears incentives, respectively.

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The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, has proposed tough measures against parliaments that do not facilitate and consider women representation to international parliamentary meetings.

Kadaga said that many delegations to these meetings are improperly constituted and urged the members to the international organizations to impose tough sanctions on those that do not adhere.

“I am putting this meeting on notice that at an appropriate time, I will move a motion on this issue. These Parliaments should be prevented from attending meetings and from election to offices on the Executive Committee,” Kadaga noted.

The Speaker made this proposal during a meeting at the 39th Conference and 69th Session of the Executive Committee of the African Parliamentary Union in Rabat, Morocco on Saturday.

She added that the African Union (AU) declared the decade of 2010 to 2020 as the decade for African women issues on health, education, disability and women empowerment, and stressed that women must therefore be part of the decision making processes in international meets.

“We cannot attend such important meetings where decisions are taken without the African women. I want to propose that we take statistics of which delegations don’t come with women, and at some stage ask them why they don’t have any women among them,” she added.

The Speaker of the Namibian Parliament and President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Bureau on Women Affairs, Hon. Margaret Mensah-Williams applauded Kadaga for her role in women emancipation adding that the delegations without women should not have voting rights.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that women are empowered to take part in decision making. It is important that when we discuss issues of women, they are part of the solution. “Men must be part of the solution as they are the problem,” she said.

Several delegations including Zimbabwe, Ghana, Angola, Sudan and Mali supported the proposal by Uganda.

The Executive Committee committed to having the item on the agenda of the plenary session of the Conference.

Uganda’s delegation to the Conference includes legislators James Baba, Hellen Kahunde, Sarah Temulanda Nakawunde and Geoffrey Dhamuzungu.

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