‘Up Close & Personal’ in conversation with Blankets & Wine 13 artist Jackie Akello

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July 7, 2016

Globetrotting singer/ African contemporary and urban music performer Jackie Akello is set to share a stage with South Africa’s multi-award winning house band Mi Casa, will be headlining the 13th Edition of Tusker Malt Blankets and Wine in Kampala on 10th July, 2016, she’s originally from a small village near Gulu, Northern Uganda where they speak Acholi but also sings in most popular languages like Luganda, Swahili and English.

After years of working with a few of Uganda’s leading contemporary and world music greats such as Kaweesa, Susan Kerunen, Myko Ouma, Tshila and Kinobe Herbert..she is indeed a rare talent with a rich textured organic voice. Akello begins a new journey of performing her own music compositions that she chooses to call “Hybrid” a simple cross between urban and local sounds back home.

In this chat, she opens up about her music, life and her aspirations.

Tell us briefly about Jackie Akello?

Akello is an artist in the African contemporary style, driven by the need to tell a story bound to change our continent for better, in a language we all understand which is music. Which I believe is the one tool that has the utmost power to reach even the most impenetrable soul of mankind.

What genre of music do you play?

The genre of music I play is called afro contemporary…

How many languages are you fluent enough to sing in and how many songs do you have in differing languages?

I am fluent in three languages; Acholi proudly being my mother tongue, Luganda and English, most of my songs are multilingual written…

Do you have an album/mix tape/videos out?

I do have one Video out of the gospel hit single “Samanya”. I am working on the next project which I will be releasing my first album this August on 27th, 2016 at the pyramids casino Kampala. Don’t miss, it’s going to be memorable.

What are some of your most popular songs?

Some of my popular songs;

Amari… which means I love you in Acholi.

Wan Wilobo… a song dedicated to all the women in northern Uganda

Samanya… which is a huge gospel hit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSgRXH5IQc4

Do your songs surround a specific theme/cause or does it depend on the mood and experiences encountered?

I am a story teller through my music, true some songs do surround a specific theme. For example my album that is coming out this August called “I am Akello”, is dedicated to mostly the women and children. However some songs still are written depending on the mood.

Where can people find your music online?

People can find my music on Sound Cloud. They can also follow me on; Twitter: @akellomuzik, Facebook: Jackie Akello or fan page Akello, Instagram: @akellomuzik or @jackieakello

Who are some of your musical inspirations- local and foreign?

I must admit, I’m a versatile person when it comes to choice of who to listen to. I love to learn but always admired our African world music greats like Geoffrey Oryema, Angelic kidjo, Yousoundour, Brenda Fassie, Asa. Locally, I always admired Susan Kerunen, Racheal Magoola, Irene Namubiru, Phiona Mukasa and Richard Kaweesa.

Have you had any local or international collaborations?

Locally, I was honored to collaborate in a few songs like; Black Yellow Red, an all-star project with artist like Cindy, Irene Ntale, Michael Ross, Viboyo, Nick Nola and many others. Samanya the gospel hit single with Levixone, Ffena awamu with Mun*G and T-Bro. Then internationally, I got to participate in the Singing wells projects/Abubilla Music which is U.K based. Here I got to work with different artists from east Africa.

If you had a chance, who would you like to do a song with or share a stage performing alongside?

I would love to share a stage with Asa or Angelic Kidjo.

As a key performer for the upcoming Tusker Malt Blankets and Wine 13th edition, might you have performed at other stages like this?

I’ve been performing on different stages both local and international but blankets and wines is different because it’s one of those events where u are given a shot to create a milestone so it is only courteous for me to express my utter gratitude towards the team behind the event for giving my team and I that slot.

What should we expect to receive from your performance at Tusker Malt Blankets and Wine?

For Blankets and Wines we intend on giving a hint of my debut album, most importantly we hope to have a great time, be memorable and to spread the love.

Sharing a stage with Mi Casa and Uganda’s top multi-talented female sensation Mo-Roots, top saxophonist Kirya Kuti, Tusker Project Fame 4 winner Davis Ntare is the best experience one can afford.

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Magistrate denies ‘visiting Besigye’ in Luzira

By

Isaiah Mwebaze

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July 7, 2016

In a twist of events, Nakawa Court Chief Magistrate James Ereemye has said he was not widely reported in Luzira to see jailed Forum for Democratic Change former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye but on a routine District Chain-Linked Committees (DCC) visit of prisons.

Mr Ereemye and his team that has Oc CID Kira Road Police Station, DPC Jinja road police station, Nakawa Court Resident State Attorney is also to visit other Police detention facilities and the Naguru Remand Centre, among others.

“I only told him I will be on a routine visit of the prison and will check some of the issues he raises,” Ereemye told reporters outside who had been blocked from accessing the Luzira facility.

He said he was scheduled to meet with prison officials to assess the detention and remand standards of suspects and accused persons, like four time challenger of president Yoweri Museveni.

Dr Besigye who had continuously complained about his health and other conditions in the prison.

Eremye on June 29 offered to visit and see how his rights are being violated in prison.

Besigye who is being held over treason charges will appear before High Court in Nakawa on Monday July 11 for his bail application.

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Russia bans import of flowers, vegetables and fruit from Uganda

By

Stephen Muneza

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July 7, 2016

The Ugandan government is yet to respond to reports that Russia’s state Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor has banned import of fruit, vegetables and flowers from Uganda starting July 7.

Russian veterinary and phytosanitary watchdog Yulia Melano said on Wednesday the ban emanates from concerns that prohibited products may be supplied.

“Nearly all fruits and vegetables popular in Russia and flowers are the case in point. Restrictions are introduced to prevent deliveries of products under sanctions to Russia, Melano said.

According to reports, sloppy communication from Uganda Export Promotion Board (UEPB), a government agency tasked with promoting and marketing the country’s exports led to the ban. UEPB is supervised by the Minsitry of Trade.

Rosselkhoznadzor sent an inquiry to Uganda earlier requesting information about volumes of produce supplied to Russia, the spokesperson said.

“We have not received the response and are therefore forced to undertake restrictive measures,” she added.

Rosselkhoznadzo is the federal organ of executive power, carrying out functions on control and supervision in the field of veterinary science.

Last year, flower exporters are among those that are hard hit by the ban on Uganda’s exports from Belgium, one of Uganda’s major European Union market destinations.

According to information in the notification from Brussels, Ugandan exporters had failed to comply with the phytosanitary (health of plants) certification requirements.

These threats first cropped up in 2014 when some countries such as Belgium— one of Uganda’s major EU market destinations— issued a notification following increased number of interceptions of Ugandan horticultural exports.

Efforts to reach the executive director of the board, Mr Elly Twineyo Kamugisha or Ms Noreen Kamoti, the senior trade information executive for a comment were still futile by press time.

Meanwhile, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has taken over the issuing of Certificates of Origin to Ugandan exporters in order to do away with the bureaucracy that was delaying exportation of goods. The role was initially being played by the Exports Promotion Board.

“A directive issued by the Ministry of Finance decided that the role of issuance of these certificates moves to URA in order to facilitate exporters. There have been delays under the previous arrangement and this affects doing business,” URA commissioner customs Dicksons Kateshumbwa told exporters recently in Kampala.

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Zari is in trouble yet again — this time it deals with alleged disobedience to TZ authorities

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Our Reporter

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July 7, 2016

Wow! This is crazy! Uganda’s biggest showbiz export to Tanzania Zarinah Ntale, popularly known as Zari, has been ordered to stop immediate advertising of her flamboyant ‘ZARI ALL WHITE PARTY’ by the Arts Council of Tanzania.

She is a celebrity, and her man Diamond Platinumz is a celebrity too. And this, just like the Kim Kardashian and Kanye West situation.

In January, Tanzania’s government fined Zari approximately UShs 800,000 for breaching some of the laid down terms and she has reportedly landed in the same trouble again.

In the latest legal documents, Zari went ahead to advertise the upcoming gig way before it had been approved like the first time.

A source in Dar intimates that authorities have threatened to arrest Zari and booked for Civil disobedience, but nothing is expected to come of the charges.

Troubles back home

This will be a blow to Zari and her team, considering that the Tanzanian version of the ‘Zari All White Party’ has turned out to be a big hit. She can hold them in Kampala because she is still wanted by Police in Kampala after she jumped police bond given to her when she was charged with trafficking pornography.

Zari’s sex videos were circulated on social media last month. This prompted the police to interrogate her on charges of trafficking in pornography before she was released on police bond. But when she left for South Africa, she never reported back to police.

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Thomas Ayeko qualifies for Olympics, becomes first at Namboole in 3 years

By

Stephen Muneza

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July 7, 2016

Youthful Thomas Ayeko on Wednesday punched his ticket for next month’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro by winning the 10,000m finals at the National Championships in Namboole.

There’s a lot of hype behind him and his potential to earn a medal in the event. Ayeko who has always been in the shadows of Uganda’s most decorated runner Moses Kipsiro capitalised on his absence at the event to clock 27 minutes and 57.3 seconds, becoming the first Ugandan to qualify for a major championship on home soil in three years.

He is in tremendous form and had also already qualified for Rio over the marathon having clocked 2:12:07 while finishing fourth on his debut 42km race at the Slved Marathon in Spain last October. “I was home but wasn’t sure whether I would be on the list to Rio or not,” Ayeko said, “So I decided to come and try and qualify. I will also try and qualify in the 5,000m tomorrow (today),” he told Daily Monitor.

Before Spain, Ayeko had ran a personal best in October for the full marathon with 2:12:17 in Rennes, France and another victory can be on the cards in Brazil.

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Rwanda mayors jailed over genocide

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Our Reporter

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July 7, 2016

A French court has sentenced two former Rwandan mayors to life in prison for their part in the 1994 genocide.

Tito Barahira, 65, and Octavien Ngenzi, 58, were found guilty of crimes against humanity and genocide.

They were accused of playing leading roles in the massacre of 2,000 ethnic Tutsis who sought refuge in a church in the town of Kabarondo.

About 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, died at the hands of Hutu extremists during the Rwandan genocide.

It is the second case of its kind to be brought in France, after Rwandan army captain Pascal Simbikangwa was jailed for 25 years over the mass killings.

Attacks on Tutsis in Kabarondo began soon after Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana was killed in a rocket attack on his plane, the trigger for the violence.

Survivors of the church massacre testified at the two men’s trial. Marie Mukamunana said she lost seven children and her husband, killed by machetes and grenades.

“Someone said ‘don’t waste the bullets’ and they continued with machetes,” she said.

A lawyer for the civil parties in the case, Gilles Paruelle, said: “To kill one man, hatred is sufficient. To kill 1,000, you need organisation.”

Both men had denied any involvement in the killings.

The pair were arrested separately on French territory a few years ago and have been in custody ever since.

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MIRACLE! Six-year-old Criscent Bwambale sees for the first time

By

Guest Writer

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July 7, 2016

For the first six years of his life Criscent Bwambale was one of 18 million people in countries like Uganda currently estimated to be living with preventable blindness. He was born with cataracts, able to make out only vague areas of light and dark.

In Kasese, where Criscent lives with his grandmother in a mud-built house surrounded by cocoa plantations, that means almost total exclusion from normal life. He couldn’t go to school or play with other children his age, and had to rely on his family for even the most basic tasks.

In January, the family responded to a call from a Ugandan medical team at the Ruharo Eye Hospital supported by international charity Sightsavers, to submit their children for eye tests, which resulted in Criscent undergoing double cataract surgery.

Two months later, vision therapist Nelson Chwa examines Criscent’s eyes before fitting him with spectacles, allowing him to see the world clearly for the first time.

A doctor puts new glasses on Criscent for the first time.

On the journey back to his home village of Bundibugyo, Criscent looks out of the car window with amazement.

Back home, Criscent’s cousin lifts him up to show him the view out of the window. His family now have the task of teaching him what basic everyday objects are. “His siblings are all happy and excited. They are all elated that their brother can now see,” said his grandmother.

“He needs to learn to recognise things and their names. For example, he has never seen a boat or a chicken, so he does not know what these are called,” said Magyezi.

Criscent sits in class on his first ever day in school. He has never seen letters before, and must learn the alphabet from scratch. “He has lost many years of learning and his brain now needs to catch up with what he sees,” said Magyezi.

Criscent joins in a game with other students in his class at a local primary school. “I’ve never played like that before,” said Criscent, whose blindness used to prevent him from taking part in games with other children.

Criscent’s cousin explains to him what a flower is outside the family’s home in Bundibugyo. “Having vision is a process,” says Magyezi. “Once Criscent gets his glasses he will learn to use his eyes through what he sees through them. This will now be how he interprets the world.”

@BBC

All photographs by Tommy Trenchard / Sightsavers.

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DP’s Nsubuga explains meeting Museveni

By

Emmanuel Okello

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July 5, 2016

Opposition Democratic Party (DP) Secretary General Mathias Nsubuga has explained why he led a delegation to State House Entebbe for a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters at City House in Kampala, Mr Nsubuga, who was accompanied by DP Women League leader Florence Namayanja and the party’s National Youth leader Christopher Okidi among others, said he was asked by fellow opposition politician, Nathan Nandala Mafabi, to represent him as head of delegation to the Inter-Party Organisation on Dialogue, (IPOD), on July 1. He also refuted media reports that all the other parties were not represented at the IPOD meeting.

Formed in 2010, IPOD brings together six political parties in the country namely: the National Resistance Movement (NRM), the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Justice Forum (JEEMA); the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) the Conservative Party (CP) and the DP, to foster inter-party mutual understanding.

And, speaking today Mr Nsubuga disclosed that all the party secretaries general including Mr Nandala Mafabi, the FDC Secretary General who was supposed to lead the IPOD team, met earlier in Jinja and agreed to meet the President.

“Honorable Nandala Mafabi who was supposed to lead the delegation and doubles as FDCs secretary general called me prior to the meeting and informed me of how he could not make it to the meeting because of trying to bail out his party members at Nakawa court including Ingrid Turinawe that were arrested earlier on after the Besigye trial in Nakawa court. He then asked me to lead the delegation on his behalf which I agreed to do,” Mr Nsubuga said.

The DP Secretary General pointed out a number of issues they discussed with the President, saying the delegation emphasized a detailed review on the just concluded elections, including transparency in the appointment of Commissioners of the Electoral Commission, press freedom and the methodical funding of political parties.

“Even though political parties are given funds by Parliament through the budget, the largest shares go to the ruling party since it has more members in parliament than any other party and the more members the more the funds, so there was need for a systematic way of distributing funds to promote equality,” Mr Nsubuga said said.

He further charged that the delegation told the President that the post-election period has been characterized by a number of arrests of the opposition members that include the former presidential flag bearer Colonel (rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye and the Nakawa Member of Parliament FDC’s Michael Kabaziguruka among others.

Another IPOD meeting is scheduled to take place in the first week of August, Mr Nsubuga said.

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Miss Uganda UK champions fight against child sacrifice in Uganda

By

Shawn Davis Kawalya

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July 5, 2016

miss-ug-uk3 — Ms Natasha Mutebi, students on one of her activities.

Doubling as the brand Ambassador for Jubilee Campaign and AFFCAD Foundation, Natasha Mutebi a student of medicine at Queen Mary University of London and also Miss Uganda UK has armed herself to fight against child sacrifice in Uganda.

With an aim to speak to over 5000 children face to face, they started visiting schools empowering children to embrace education and also warning them about circumstances under which they could become victims of child sacrifice.

Natasha, with the help of her predecessor Gladys Kyotungire who survived being a victim of child sacrifice when she was young have so far moved to a number of schools including; Nakasero Primary school, Old Kampala Primary school, Kide Primary school in Kasangati, among others.

Using the slogan ‘Live Your Legacy’, Natasha has been able to empower many young people, “I feel life is very precious and each young person has the potential to be great,” she added.

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Besigye writes to Muslims from Luzira

By

Stephen Muneza

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July 5, 2016

Jailed former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye has congraculated Uganda’s Muslim fraternity upon successfully completing the Holy Month of Ramdhan.

Dr Besigye, in a July 5 letter that he penned from Luzira prison where he is currently on remand for treason charges, said Muslims are known for more than their generosity and they make an invaluable contribution to our country.

In a one-page letter, the four-time presidential candidate urges all to come together with Muslims, to pray and feast, we should reflect and celebrate the values that make us one Uganda, one people.

“Salaam, assalaam alaikum warahumaturahi wabarakatuh!,” Dr Besigye writes in part.

“I congratulate our Muslim brothers & sisters on successfully completing the Holy Month of Ramdhan. Uganda Muslims are known for more than their generosity, they make an invaluable contribution to our country, from education, hospitality, healthcare, business, sports to political leadership. As we all come together with Muslims, to pray and feast, we should reflect and celebrate the values that make us one Uganda, one people,” Dr Besigye observed.

“May Allah bring you joy, peace and shared prosperity on this blessed occasion of Eid. Once again Eid Mubarak!,” he states in his letter that was forwarded to EagleOnline by his media team.

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‘Up Close & Personal’ in conversation with Blankets & Wine 13 artist Jackie Akello

Magistrate denies ‘visiting Besigye’ in Luzira

Russia bans import of flowers, vegetables and fruit from Uganda

Zari is in trouble yet again — this time it deals with alleged disobedience to TZ authorities

Thomas Ayeko qualifies for Olympics, becomes first at Namboole in 3 years

Rwanda mayors jailed over genocide

MIRACLE! Six-year-old Criscent Bwambale sees for the first time

DP’s Nsubuga explains meeting Museveni

Miss Uganda UK champions fight against child sacrifice in Uganda

Besigye writes to Muslims from Luzira

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