The Secretary General of the East African Community Dr Richard Sezibera met with Mr. Thierry Meyrat, Head of Regional Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to discuss ways in which the two institutions can collaborate to safeguard human dignity in the region.

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Ugandan President Museveni on Tuesday left for Khartoum in a rare visit seen as a diplomatic shift of relations between Uganda and Sudan, the President’s spokesperson said.

Uganda and Sudan have had hostile relations for decades following mutual accusations and counter accusations of supporting rebels.

“President Museveni leaves for Sudan Capital Khartoum – a two-day official visit, bilateral talks with President Omar Al-Bashi,” Lindah Nabusayi in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Ms Nabusayi says the two leaders will also discuss the conflict in South Sudan that has displaced millions.

The government of President Bashir has been accused by Kampala, US and the UN of supporting the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels that has abducted, killed and maimed hundreds in Uganda, South Sudan, DR Congo and Central African Republic.

Khartoum has also accused President Museveni of supporting groups hostile to Sudan. In 1995, the diplomatic row reached climax after Sudanese antonov attacked northern Uganda.

Uganda later recalled its ambassador in Khartoum and Sudan.

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Kampala-Government has this evening come out to nip the outrageous conspiracy theorist on social media who have been speculating on the cause of death of  Internal Affairs Minister saying such individuals are alarmist who should be ignored.

Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda held a special meeting today Tuesday Sept 15, 2015 to pay tribute to Gen. Aronda Nyakairima who passed on while in transit in South Korea on Sept 12, and to receive a brief from the task force led by Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga on the arrangements so far made for burial.

“However, cabinet noted that some elements of society including some senior leaders in the country were using the tragic passing on of Gen. Aronda to spread falsehoods, negative and sectarian sentiments aimed at inciting and dividing the people of Uganda. Cabinet strongly condemned such acts.”

Cabinet also received a report from Dr.Kiyonga’s task force where Dr.Kiyonga informed cabinet that government upon receiving news of Gen. Aronda’s passing on, on that very Saturday 12, a team of doctors led by Chief of Medical Services in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Dr. James Makumbi together with two family members namely Mr Henry Ngabirano and Ms Jolly Ngabirano to Dubai, United Arab Emirates to work with authorities there to conduct investigations and to repatriate the body.

Cabinet also acknowledged and saluted the significant contribution the late Gen. Aronda Nyakairima made to the country’s stability and unity of the people of Uganda.

Government also postponed the burial of date from Saturday Sept.19 to Sunday Sept 20.

Programme

Wednesday Sept 16, arrival of the body.

Thursday Sept 17, body lies in state in Parliament for MPs to pay tribute.

Friday Sept 17, funeral service at Kololo ceremonial grounds

Sunday Sept 20, burial in Rukungiri

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Following reports on social media that opposition party Forum for Democratic Change was weighing pulling out of the The Democratic Alliance, the National Executive Committee has resolved to stay in the coalition after a long meeting which took place at the party’s headquarters at Najanmkumbi.

While addressing journalist the Party President Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu said they discuss the road map for 2016 and also resolved to remain in TDA for political cooperation.

“We are going to meet the TDA leadership tomorrow and we discuss the criteria for the selection of the success full candidate to carry the flag for the alliance,” he explained.

He also emphasized that the petitions they received from some members of their party calling for FDC’s withdrawal from the alliance was as a result of misinformation.

We received their petitions, presented them to members and we have provided them with the necessary information and they have withdrawn their petitions.

Muntu also dismissed claims of a crisis within the strongest opposition party saying, “These are just imaginations of people out there. We have leaders with experience who are able to solve every issue within the party.”

Asked what step FDC will take if their candidate lost, Muntu said they going one step after another and that they will cross the bridge when he gets there.

The youth league had earlier on in the morning petitioned the NEC expressing their dissatisfaction with TDA and called for withdrawal of FDC membership.

They cited the failure by TDA to respect its own rules when they extended time for nomination after he failed to meet the deadline. They also wondered why even when Amama Mbabazi was given another day he brought his papers with errors prompting the TDA team to wait for him nominating him close to midnight.

Another factor of contention is why TDA rejected Lord Mayor. Erias Lukwago and admitted Mbabazi yet they are both independents belonging to their respective political parties.

The youth also questioned why TDA had to travel to Eastern Uganda begging Mbabazi to sigh the TDA protocol.

According to source that I talked to on condition of anonymity they had a heated debate but agreed that being the strongest Opposition political party they ought to lead by example by spearheading unity as this would help them in their efforts to capture power.

“We agreed that we cooperate because we share the goal of causing regime change and the need to stay in TDA,” intimated the source.

Another source however, informed this reporter that the party officials resolved to work to improve the internal processes within the TDA.”

However the ordinary members are still not satisfied with the party’s association as they claim that the alliance is tactfully edging out the FDC candidate Dr. Kiiza Besigye.

The FDC flag bearer Dr. Kiiza Besigye who is not a member of NEC said he respects the decision of NEC and that he will together with the FDC leadership to harmonies positions at TDA.

According to the mood at the FDC headquarters at Najjanakumbi it seems even when they agreed to stay in TDA, there are issues to be put right between TDA and FDC. One of them is the issue of electoral reforms which TDA is quiet about.

This was manifested when FDC members started fighting and accusing each other of being manipulative especially Mr. Waswa Birigwa the party’s national chairman to front Mbabazi at TDA.

Waswa himself survived being beaten by the angry members who accused him of betraying the party.

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President Yoweri Museveni has commended the youth and the Catholic congregation at Mount Zion Prayer Centre, Bukalango, in Nadangira Parish Wakiso District for being prayerful, hardworking and having the fear of God.

“I thank all of you for sparing time to worship God. I am happy to note that the evangelists have enabled the children and youth to love religion. It is good for the young people to fear and respect God,” he said, adding that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

The President was speaking during a visit he made to the Mount Zion Prayer Centre in Wakiso. The congregation congratulated him upon his 71^st birthday. The prayers were led by the Director of the Centre Monsignor Expedito Magembe. Museveni says he was born on September 15, 1944.

President Museveni said that his duty was to fight for peace in the whole of Uganda and revealed that Bukalango was one of the battle grounds during the people’s protracted liberation war. Quoting from the Holy Bible, Mathew: Chapter 7 Verse 7, “Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find”, he was pleased to note that what was a battle field was now a place of worship. He thanked the religious leaders for teaching the people to work hard. He thanked the congregation for praying for him, his family and for Uganda.

The Director of Mount Zion Prayer Centre Monsignor Expedito Magembe thanked God for enabling President Museveni to lead Uganda peacefully. He prayed to God to continue blessing the President whom he described as a person who has fought for peace and prayed for continued peace in the homes and in Uganda.

Monsignor Magembe prayed to God to protect President Museveni and for peaceful elections in 2016.

The Chairman of the executive Committee in Charge of construction Emmanuel Katongole congratulated President Museveni upon his 71^st birthday. He thanked him for his contribution of Shs100 million towards the construction of the Centre during his last visit. He saluted the President for inviting Pope Francis to visit Uganda.

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A team of American Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) officers are set to jet into the country later this week to help with investigations in relation to the trial of ex-LRA Commander Dominic Ongwen.

According to sources, the group will carry out investigations in Northern Uganda, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) recommended that Ongwen’s ‘confirmation of charges’ hearing be held in Gulu.

Ongwen, who is currently being held at the ICC Detention Facility in The Hague, Netherlands, is accused of committing atrocities during the twenty-four year Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion in Northern Uganda, in which many were killed and hundreds of thousands others injured or displaced.

Ongwen, who is charged with seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, was indicted in June 2005 together with four other senior LRA officers including their leader Joseph Kony, Okot Odhiambo, Vincent Otti and Raska Lukwiya. The LRA is an outlawed rebel outfit which has wreaked havoc in the East and Central African region, prompting the intervention of the US, which has sent several dozen military experts to try and capture the LRA leader Kony.

In May 2010 US President Barack Obama signed the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) Act and Northern Uganda Recovery Act to support armies in the East and Central Africa region to end the atrocities of the LRA.

Following the ensuing and sustained pressure Ongwen decided to surrender but before he could get to the Americans he was captured early in 2015 by the Seleka rebels in the Central Africa Republic (CAR), and handed over to the American military that also handed him over to the CAR government, which then handed him over to the ICC to face trial.

And recently, the Pre-trial Chamber of the ICC recommended to the ICC Presidency that the confirmation of charges hearings against Ongwen be held in Uganda in January 2016, in a bid ‘to bring the Court’s process closer to the communities affected by the alleged crimes’.

It is this development, sources said, that has led the Americans to send the FBI to help with the LRA investigations.

Meanwhile, of the five indicted LRA commanders only two, Kony and Ongwen are still alive, with the former eluding arrest even after the US deployed Special Forces to track him.

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