Twelve female scientists from sub Saharan Africa have been honoured for their work in the science field.

Through the 2015 L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Fellowships the 12 were awarded post-doctoral fellowships worth a combined Euros 75,000, with the best three getting Euros 10,000 each.

Rasheedat Mahamood, a Nigeraian from the University of Johannesburg; Zebib Yunus of iThemba Labs, National Research Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa and Jandeli Niemand of the University of Pretoria, South Africa won the top awards that attracted competitors from 19 countries.

‘Through the great diversity of their research, this year’s Sub-Saharan African Fellows highlight the changing face of scientific research and the new disciplines that are continually emerging, forging the next generation of For Women in Science fellows. These young researchers share the thrill of curiosity and discovery, and are strong believers that science can change the world,’ a release by Africa Press Organisation sanction by L’Oreal and UNESCO states in part.

Awardees who received Euros 5,000 each include: Nomvano Mketo of the University of Johannesburg, South Africa; Gaelle Kafira KO of the Laboratory for Solar Energy and Energy Savings (LESEE), Burkina Faso; Shobna Sawry of University of Witwatersrand, Institute of Reproductive Health and HIV, South Africa; Majidah Hamid-Adiamoh of the Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia and the University of Lagos,  Nigeria; Jinal Bhiman of University of Witwatersrand,  South Africa and Olubokola Adenubi (Nigeria) of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Others are Olotu Ifeoluwa (Nigeria) – University of Johannesburg, South Africa; Danielle Twilley of the University of Pretoria, South Africa and Edith Chepkorir – International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Kenya, won Euros 5,000 each for their research.

“For the last 17 years, with the For Women In Science program, we have been fighting to advance the cause of women scientists worldwide. Much has been achieved: more than 2,000 women have been recognised worldwide, the program has gained recognition from the international scientific community, a springboard to enable women to go further and rise to greater heights. Science is part of our DNA and we are really proud of all the women who continue to make a difference in Africa through our program,” Sandeep Rai, Managing Director of L’Oréal South Africa, said.
The scientific research areas covered by this year’s fellows are varied and include studies in the fields of life and engineering sciences, food and water security as well as health. New and emerging areas include laser science, nanotechnology, renewable energy and climate change science.

Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is a previous awardee of the L’Oreal-UNESCO fellowship in 2007.

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Press Statement
14th December 2015

Progress of Implementation of the Roadmap for 2016 General Elections

A. Introduction

Our esteemed partners, members of the press, it is my privilege and pleasure to welcome you to this press briefing.

Today, the Electoral Commission would like to update the country on the progress of various ongoing activities under the Roadmap for the 2015-2016 General Elections.

B. Condolence Message on the Death of Hon. Suzan Namaganda, MP

We were deeply saddened by the news of the sudden death of Hon. Suzan Namaganda, Woman Representative to Parliament for Bukomansimbi District, which occurred on 11th December 2015.

The late Hon. Namaganda was also a candidate for the same elective position in the 2016 General Elections.

On behalf of the Electoral Commission, and on my own behalf, I wish to extend heartfelt condolences to the family, the people of Bukomansimbi District, the Parliament of Uganda, all friends and fellow citizens of Uganda, on the bereavement caused by her untimely death.

We join with you all to pray for her soul to rest in eternal peace.

As a result of the death of a nominated candidate, the Electoral Commission has postponed the electoral programme for election of District Woman Member Representative to Parliament for Bukomansimbi District.

We call upon the people of Bukomansimbi District to remain calm, as a new electoral programme will be issued in due course.
C. Condemnation of acts of Violence during Campaign Meetings

The Electoral Commission has noted with concern the images shown in print and electronic media, where supporters of two Presidential candidates clashed during a campaign meeting in Ntungamo District.

The Electoral Commission has asked the Uganda Police Force to investigate this incident and furnish us with their findings.

Even as the Commission waits for the report on this incident, we wish to reiterate our utter condemnation of acts of violence during the electoral process.

We urge candidates to prevail upon their supporters and agents to desist from any actions that may lead to disruption of public order, and to always use peaceful means to express their views.

We further call for a tolerant approach to political debate, so that we have peaceful, free and fair elections.

D. Issuance of Copies of Photo-bearing Voters’ Register to Presidential Candidates

Today, the Electoral Commission, in accordance with Section 18A of the Electoral Commission Act (as amended), will start the exercise of issuing a complete set of the photo-bearing National Voters’ Register, to each of the candidates contesting in the 2016 Presidential Elections.

The National Voters’ Register bears the names of all the 15,277,196 registered voters, arranged alphabetically by surname, at each of the 28,010 polling stations in Uganda.

The purpose of issuing this Voters’ Register is to enable the candidates, through their official agents, to ensure that only eligible persons are allowed to vote during the 2016 General Elections and only at the polling station where they are registered as voters.

Secondly, the issuance of the Register will help to keep the candidates and other stakeholders, including the electorate updated on the status of registered voters and their voting locations.

Please note that the Electoral Commission has already issued soft copies of the National Voters’ Register to the Presidential candidates, as provided for in Section 18A of the Electoral Commission Act Cap 140.

This issuance should therefore, put to rest any concern among stakeholders about the readiness of the National Voters’ Register for the 2016 General Elections.

The Electoral Commission urges candidates to mobilize their supporters who are registered voters, to prepare to vote in the 2016 General Elections.

The Commission has already clarified that this Register, which bears the photographs of the voters, shall be the basis for voting during the 2016 General Elections. All those persons, whose particulars and photographs appear on the Voters’ Register, shall be eligible to vote at the polling station where they are registered, whether they have a National Identity Card or not.

Constituency Voters’ Registers are also available for other political parties/candidates, on application through the Secretary, Electoral Commission, and payment of relevant fees.

I thank you,

For God and my Country,

Eng. Dr. Badru M. Kiggundu
Chairperson, Electoral Commission Uganda

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The New York son of Somali singer and politician Saado Ali Warsame is suing the US arm of a money-transfer business, claiming it helped fund the assassination of his mother who returned to Mogadishu in 2012 to work as a Member of Parliament.

Ms Warsame, who moved to Minneapolis in the early 1990s during the Somali civil war, was shot and killed by Al-Shabaab terrorists in Mogadishu, Somalia, in July 2014.

Her son, Harbi Hussein, who was born in New York but now lives in Minnesota, filed the case against Dahabshiil in Manhattan Federal Court last week.

Dahabshiil is the largest money-transfer company in Africa, and it has been accused of funding terrorism by allowing people to send and receive money anonymously.

Ms Warsame even wrote a song about Dahabshiil (whose name means “gold smelter” in Somali) called “Don’t Do Business With The Blood Smelter” and Hussein says his mother’s activist songs and strong feminism made her a target for terrorists.

“She was one of the few Somali female musicians to go on stage without covering her head and she sometimes wore pants, which is unusual for women in Somalia,” reads part of the lawsuit in which Hussein seeks unspecified damages.

Kenya reacts to Dahabshiil ‘Al Shabaab remittances’

In April this year the Government of Kenya, hit by intermittent attacks carried out by Al Shabaab militants, suspended the licenses of 13 Somali remittance firms including Dababshiil, following the attack on Garissa University Campus in which 148 students were slain.

Dahabshiil, which operates in 124 including Uganda, is a market leader in the remittances industry and serves about 95 per cent of the international agencies and charities working in Somalia.

Dahabshiil’s Kenyan license was re-issued two months later in June after President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to issue new regulations governing the operations of the 13 suspended firms.

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In the aftermath of Sunday’s clashes between National Resistance Movement candidate Yoweri Museveni and Go Forward supporters of John Patrick Amama Mbabazi in Ntungamo district, the Inspector General of Police, General Kale Kayihura has pitched camp in the area to assess the situation and figure out the exact cause of the clashes.

According to the Police Spokesman Mr. Fred Enanga, Kayihura’s move is to analyse, “if violence is a new tool used by politicians and whether the alleged NRM supporters were really NRM.”

Upon ending his last rally at Kyamate stadium in Ntungamo District yesterday, Mr.Mbabazi’s convoy was confronted by a group of people donning NRM party colours with the face of President Museveni on their t-shirts, and, according to police, reports indicate that a flying object was thrown at Mbabazi’s convoy, hitting an escort vehicle, prompting his supporters to attack.

A total of nine people, allegedly supporters of the NRM, were injured and rushed to hospital, have currently been discharged.

Police says all the nine have recorded statements and that two arrests have been made.

The IGP has promised Ugandans a preliminary report on the incident after assessing the saga thoroughly.

According to police, the election period is so far free of violence apart from a few incidents recorded in the areas of Bukomansimbi, Arua, Wakiso and the most recent one in Ntungamo. There are also three cases of threatening violence and three others of defacing campaign posters.

“We have so far policed more than 400 campaign rallies this season and all have been a success; we therefore call upon the public to desist from election violence,” Mr Enanga said.

In a related development the Independent Electoral Commission has condemned the Ntungamo violence and directed the police to investigate the matter.

“The Electoral Commission has asked the Uganda Police Force to investigate this incident and furnish us with their findings.

Even as the Commission waits for the report on this incident, we wish to reiterate our utter condemnation of acts of violence during the electoral process.

We urge candidates to prevail upon their supporters and agents to desist from any actions that may lead to disruption of public order, and to always use peaceful means to express their views.

We further call for a tolerant approach to political debate, so that we have peaceful, free and fair elections,” the IEC Chairman Eng Badru Kiggundu wrote.

Meanwhile, the IEC has released voters’ registers, complete with photos of the respective voters to the individual presidential candidates.

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The United States has urged its citizens in Burundi to leave the troubled central African country.

The State Department advisory issued on Sunday follows the Saturdaymassacre of over eighty people, who security agents claimed were part of a group that attacked military installations in Bujumbura city and its surroundings.

‘The US Department of State warns US citizens against all travel to Burundi and recommends that US citizens currently in Burundi depart as soon as it is feasible to do so,’ reads part of the advisory.

In November Belgium, the former colonial master, advised its citizens to leave Burundi while the European Union scaled down on its staff in the troubled country.

The tiny central African country descended into a downward spiral following President Pierre Nkurunziza’s announcement in April that he would seek a third term in office. Since then the country has been engulfed in persistent chaos that has seen the assassination of prominent opposition politicians and intermittent street protests.

Recently, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs linda Thomas-Greenfield asked the East African Community appointed mediator, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, to urgently initiate dialogue aimed at restoring sanity in Burundi.

According to Thomas Greenfield, Mr Museveni and the EAC would take partial blame if war broke out in Burundi.

However, responding to her concerns, Uganda Media Centre Deputy Director Colonel Shaban Bantariza said President Museveni had designated a seasoned peace negotiator, Crispus Kiyonga, to oversee the process on his behalf.

“The Burundi matters are delicate ones and therefore, need time to be solved. However, President Museveni appointed Dr Crispus Kiyonga, who is a senior at negotiations and the two warring parties have confidence in him,” Col Bantariza, the Deputy Government Spokesman told the EagleOnline on phone on Saturday.

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President Yoweri Museveni has today arrived in the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh for a two-day state visit at the invitation of His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The President was later received at the Al Yammamah palace by the custodian of the two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Salman Bin Abudulaziz Al Saud for the welcome ceremonies, which were performed by officers and men of the Saudi Arabian armed forces.

The two leaders held tete-a-tete talks followed by bilateral talks attended by officials from both countries. The President was later hosted to a State Banquet by H.M King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

During the visit the President will meet and hold talks with the Deputy Crown Prince, HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defence. He is also expected to hold a meeting with the President of the Islamic Development Bank H.E Dr Ahmed Mohamed Ali Al Madan, and the Secretary General of the OIC, HE Dr. Iyad Ameen Madani. The President will later address the Council of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry together with selected industrialists.

On arrival President Museveni was received at the King Khaled International airport by HRH Faisal bin Bandar, the governor of Riyadh Province, Kingdom officials and the Ugandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa.

Others included the Ugandan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States Dr. Rashid Yahya Ssemuddu, the Minister for General Duties in the Prime Minister’s Office, Tarsis Kabwegyere, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Kabagambe-Kaliisa and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Pius Bigirimana among others.

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