Former National Resistance Movement Secretary General John Patrick Amama Mbabazi and his wife Jacqueline, the NRM Women’s League chairperson have been invited to attend the party’s delegates conference slated for October 30 and November 2.

According to NRM Deputy Secretary General Richard Todwong, Mr Mbabazi has been invited in his capacity as the Member of Parliament for Kinkizi West constituency, elected on the NRM party ticket.

Mbabazi, also a former Prime Minister, is aspiring to become President after falling out with his party chairman and fellow presidential contender Yoweri Museveni.

Both men have been cleared by the Electoral Commission to contest for the presidency in the 2016 elections alongside Dr Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party.

It is not clear whether Mbabazi will attend the said conference that will also see members endorse Museveni as NRM flag bearer, but sources intimated to the Eagleonline that the former NRM SG might not honour the invitation.

According to the source, Mbabazi is already deeply entrenched in his new alliance, gained when he joined opposition pressure group The Democratic Alliance (TDA), where he contested for flag bearer with Dr Besigye and former Vice President Professor Gilbert Balibaseeka Bukenya.

Prof Bukenya has since decamped to support Museveni, while Mr Mbabazi is enjoying the TDA support, orchestrated most by the Democratic Party (DP) and its President General Norbert Mao.

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Kampala-Makerere University Council has recommended former Finance Minister and Economic Planning Dr Ezra Suruma and Former Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki to president Museveni for appointment of Makerere University Chancellor.

President Yoweri Museveni who doubles as the Visitor of public universities, Makerere inclusive will have to choose between the two fine gentlemen.

The search team led by Chairman of the Makerere University appointments committee Bruce Balaba received four nominees and these were Dr. Suruma, Prof Charles Olweny, formerly Vice Chancellor Uganda Martyrs’ University Nkozi, Justice Odoki and former National Council for Higher Education Executive Director, Prof A.B Kasozi

The search team is guided by the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act of 2001. A chancellor is a none executive director of the university with no veto powers as he only presides over graduation ceremonies. If any of the two is picked, he will replace Prof. Mondo Kagonyera who has served his two none renewable terms.

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The NRM National Treasurer Rose Namayanja Nsereko has been involved in an accident and fractured but her life is out of danger.

A team of medical doctors led by Dr Ben Mbonye, have confirmed that her life is out of danger despite the fracture on her upper thigh.

Dr Mbonye said Namayanja’s mother, the bodyguard and driver are also safe although they sustained several injuries.

The Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, NRM National Vice Chairman Moses Kigongo and NRM Deputy Treasurer  Kenneth Omona are among the many dignitaries that paid her a visit at Nakasero Hospital.

The Party Communications Officer, Rogers Mulindwa, has however requested the public not to visit her until tomorrow as the medical team continues to asses her condition.

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A journalist who fled Burundi after the attempted coup against President Pierre Nkurunziza on May 13 is being held by authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, without charges.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Egide Mwemero, who works for Radio Publique Africaine, was arrested in Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on October 13 after fleeing from Burundi following violence that erupted when President Nkuruunziza announced he would run for a third ‘unconstitutional’ term.

In a release earlier today the CPJ says Mwemero was arrested together with two Congolese reporters, Manzambi Mupenge and Lucien Kanana, who work with local community station Radio le Messager du Peuple, which had partnered with Mwemero’s station to broadcast the latter’s show, ‘Humura Burundi’ on its airwaves. Mupenge and Kanana were released two days later, but the Congolese station that was airing the show was ordered by the authorities to stop broadcasting it on October 9.
‘Unrest in Burundi earlier this year, in which several radio station were forced off air and had equipment damaged, forced Radio Publique Africaine to stop broadcasting from Burundi,’ the CPJ says in the release, and adds that Bob Rugurika, the managing director of Radio Publique Africaine had confirmed that Mwemero was still in custody.

“Radio is a vital information source for people in this region and journalists should be allowed to do their jobs,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Sue Valentine. She added: “We are extremely concerned that Egide Mwemero is being held without any public disclosure of charges against him and we urge Democratic Republic of Congo authorities to release him immediately.”

According to reports DRC President Joseph Kabila, who is himself trying to vouch for a third unconstitutional term and participate in the elections in November 2016, has maintained good relations with Burundi.

‘Journalists in the Democratic Republic of Congo are often faced with a hostile environment, and the government has attacked press freedom in an effort to silence critics or dissenting opinions, the CPJ says. In January, authorities briefly blocked Internet and cellphone service throughout the country; in March during a pro-democracy rally, government forces arrested about 30 individuals, several of whom were journalists covering the protest and some of whom reported being assaulted’ the CPJ release adds.

The journalists’’ rights lobby group says efforts to get comments about the arrest of Mwemero from the DRC ministers for communications, human rights, and justice were futile.

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President Yoweri Museveni and the Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal have discussed military cooperation between their two countries, with Sellal promising that Algeria will help support the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) in counterterrorism and peacekeeping operations.

At a meeting held at the Zeralda State Residence, in the Capital Algiers Sellal hailed President Museveni’s efforts in finding solutions in South Sudan and Somalia and pledged additional support to stabilize the region and bring back security and development.

The two leaders also discussed military cooperation in Africa to ensure African unity, sovereignty and stability, with focus mainly on the security situation in the Sahel Region, Tunisia, Libya and the migration crisis, South Sudan and Somalia.

Meanwhile, President Museveni has called for the immediate resumption of the joint Ministerial Commission between Uganda and Algeria to push for the engagement of the business sector and table the trade proposal for tea, coffee, maize and maize products and milk to boost trade between the two countries.

While meeting the Algerian Prime Minister, the two leaders agreed on the proposal to bring the business communities of both countries together to exploit the economic potential of the two countries.

“I am happy to be here and I start with business. I want to sell a lot of agriculture products here especially, tea and coffee. We have a lot of tea. And for coffee, after a long time, we are starting to add value through processing. Nescafe have been buying our coffee at a dollar per kilo and selling at US$15 a kilo in London. We lose jobs and money. But when we process we sell directly,” he said.

Prime Minister Sellal noted that the visit by President Museveni is a great opportunity to make and update relations between the two countries in order to boost development cooperation.

“From the economic view, there are not great deals of trade exchanges. We look forward to building economic relations. We have some importers of coffee, tea and cocoa from Uganda but this is an opportunity to increase more trade,” he said.

Mr Sellal said his country has great opportunities in promoting cooperation in the Agriculture and fisheries sector and called for the biannual cooperation commission to meet and look at the possibilities of cooperation and exchange.

Uganda’s exports to Algeria are low with the major products being cocoa, coffee and tea. Uganda’s imports from Algeria are less than USD$ 1m per annum.

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