Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Uganda Major General Frank Mugambage has been accredited as his country’s Ambassador Extra-ordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of South Sudan.

Gen. Mugambage, who will remain resident in Kampala, was among the seven new ambassadors who presented their credentials to President Salva Kiir last week.

By press time it was not possible to establish if Gen. Mugambage, a retired soldier-cum diplomat with vast experience on political and security issues in the Great Lakes region, had been reassigned diplomatically or would retain his Uganda accreditation alongside the new assignment to South Sudan.

Other envoys who presented their credentials on the same day include those from Denmark, Norway, China, Netherlands, Canada and the Federal Republic of Somalia.

“As you take up your roles, I expect you to play a very important role in strengthening our relations with your governments and the people. I would like you to send back to your people and governments you represent here a message of hope, peace, reconciliation and our commitment to implementing the peace agreement, and for which we need the support of everybody in the family of nations of the world instead of sanctions, which affect the common people, not those for which they are proposed,” President Kiir was quoted by the media as telling the new diplomats.

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Forum for Democratic Change flag bearer Warren Smith Kizza Besigye has early today been arrested by security operatives and driven to his home in Kasangati.

According to the FDC and Kampala Lord Mayor, Besigye, who was returning from a one month ‘working visit’ to Europe and the United States, was whisked away from Entebbe International Airport by police and Military Police, and taken to an ‘unknown destination’.

Besigye “whisked away by military at the airport”, a tweet on the FDC official handle states, adding: “we do not know of his whereabouts.”

And Lukwago, who was one of those at Entebbe waiting for Dr Besigye’s return, tweeted: It’s extremely difficult to establish where they have taken him; what they are doing is a violation. Flagrant abuse of the law. Fellow passengers say Dr Besigye was whisked away.”

Besigye was scheduled to return to Uganda last Thursday but the FDC, through party stalwarts Deputy Secretary General Harold Kaija and former Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Parliament Wafula Oguttu, announced that he had altered his plans.

Meanwhile, earlier today, police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi told the media that police would foil any attempts at holding processions and that the FDC had not communicated the new date for Dr Besigye’s return.

“Police is not going to allow any activity that’s going to disrupt normal activity. FDC didn’t communicate new arrival date,” Mr Kaweesi was quoted as saying.

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The government announced on Friday that it will provide free wi-fi in the capital, Kampala and in Entebbe beginning Sunday.

Minister for ICT Frank Tumwebaze says the country may be a first for the East African Community – the regional grouping of Uganda, Kenyan, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzanian and South Sudan.

The Government of Uganda’s public communications team tweeted the coverage map: @FrankTumwebazek: Not to brag but we may be the first ones to try out this #MYUG

But there are some restrictions. It will only be available from 6pm to 6am on weekdays and 3pm to 6am on weekends – so that people do not use it during office hours.

And Mr Tumwebaze added that some sites will be blocked.

However, it isn’t clear how restricted the Wi-Fi will be.

PRESS RELEASE

Sept 30, 2016 at Uganda Media Centre, 10 am
FREE PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS (WIFI)
As pledged by H.E the President in the NRM manifesto, the Ministry of Information Communication Technology and National Guidance through its mandated agency National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) has commenced the trial provision of free wireless access to Internet in Kampala Central Business District and parts of Entebbe effective October 1, 2016.
Internet access is no longer a luxury but a necessity for all Ugandan citizens. The ICT sector must remain at the center of this country-wide transformation steering Uganda to world class efficiency and productivity.
With H.E Excellency the President’s support, Phases I and II of the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) were completed and Phase III of the NBI is nearing completion. As a result, 169 Ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and local governments (LGs) are now connected, 102 MDAs are being connected this FY 16/17, and more will be connected in the coming years. The MDAs / LGs connected to the NBI are using it to receive internet bandwidth, making financial transactions, and integrating with other MDA IT systems, to improve service delivery to citizens.
Over time, we have seen the benefits of rolling out the National Data Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) in terms of increased productivity, efficiency and reduced costs of internet bandwidth. Internet Costs have reduced from USD 1200 to USD 300 per megabit per second per month in 2010 and 2016 respectively. We are now able to broaden the reach of Internet access to all citizens by effectively utilizing the capacity the country built by investing in the infrastructure (NBI).
NITA also partnered with the Research Education Network of Uganda (RENU) to connect over 50 campuses across the country for Universities and Research Institutions, as part of the programme to connect targeted user groups to the NBI. These targeted user groups are receiving internet bandwidth at about USD 130 per Mbps.
We will be providing free Wi-Fi services at the Kampala Capital City Authority Street Carnival this Sunday October 2, 2016 for a full day.
Subsequently we will be providing free Wi-Fi services between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am on week-days, over the weekends; Wi-Fi will be free from Saturday 3:00 pm through to Monday 6:00 am.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the Executive Director -NITA-U and his technical officers for working hard to achieve this great milestone as we struggle to turn Uganda into a digital society.
I would like to wish you all a festive and pleasant experience at the Kampala Capital City Authority street carnival and encourage all citizens to explore the new world of opportunities being offered through free Wi-Fi Internet access.
We will officially launch the Wi-Fi service at the end of October 2016.
END

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