The Force Commander of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding has visited Qoryole and Janaale Forward Operating Bases (FOBS) in Lower Shabelle region to assess the combat readiness of ATMIS troops ahead of the final phase of a military offensive against the Al-Shabaab.

Qoryole and Janaale FOBS are located in Sector One, which is under the Area of Responsibility of ATMIS Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) troops.

During the visit, the Force Commander inspected facilities at the two FOBS and held a meeting with the military leadership and later addressed the troops. He urged them to be more vigilant to ensure the safety of local communities during the transition period.

“My visit here today is to boost your morale and check on your readiness to face the enemy and safeguard the people of Somalia. Our main focus is to deliver on our mandate and leave behind a safe and secure Somalia when ATMIS exits in December 2024,” he said.

Gen. Okiding later held a meeting with area leaders including the local administration officials and clan elders to deliberate on how to collaborate with ATMIS forces to defeat the threat posed by Al-Shabaab.

He was accompanied by Sector One Commander Brig. Peter Omola and Col. Charles Asiimwe Kibaate, the Commander of Battle Group 37, in charge of Qoryole and Janaale FOBS.

ATMIS is currently in the process of handing over seven Forward Operating Bases and withdrawing 2000 troops by June 30, 2023 in compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions 2628 and 2670 that require ATMIS to gradually handover security responsibilities to Somali security forces.

The AU peacekeeping forces and the Somali National Army (SNA) are expected to launch a fresh round of a military offensive in a final push to degrade the Al-Shabaab and liberate remaining territories under their hold.

The Somali- led joint operation will target the Lower Shabelle and Jubaland regions as the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) continues to extend its authority.

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The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has directed the Minister of Internal Affairs to expedite investigations into the killing of five members of the same family in Bukoto County, Masaka District, on June 23, 2023.

Among said the incident is one of the rising killings in the country that have left citizens in fear. She noted that the investigation is as necessary as the measures to prevent likely killings, which she said, are becoming rampant.

“We need divisive and deterrent measures to restore safety and confidence in our population. This has not happened only in Masaka but in Kayunga and other places,” the Speaker said during plenary on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.

She added: “We need that investigation; we need to give clear assurance to the affected communities that they will not be killed the next day.”

On the fateful day at around 2 am, unknown assailants descended on Kijonjo Village, Kamwoozi Parish in Buwunga Sub-county, Masaka District, and hacked to death five family members.

The victims were Emmanuel Muteesasira, 57, (head of family), his wife Proscovia Ndagaano, 52, Beatrice Nakalyango, 13 (daughter), and two grandchildren – Shivan Nakasagga,5, and Robert Kayemba, 2.

Ms Among also tasked the Internal Affairs Minister to give Parliament an update on security issues raised by MPs, including the low staffing at police posts across the country.

“Truth be told we have few police personnel; I have written so many times to be given to police personnel in my district but I have not been helped. Just imagine when people are killed in the night and the nearest police post is 20 kilometers away!” she said.

She said Parliament is ready to support the Uganda Police Force to recruit more officers, refurbish their facilities, establish new police posts and acquire more patrol vehicles.

Bukoto County East MP Ronald Kanyike, attesting to the Speaker’s reiterations, said the scene of crime in Masaka District is far from the police station, which serves the area.

“Masaka has no police headquarters, the District Police Commander (DPC) and Resident District Commissioner all sit in Masaka City. In fact, when we contacted the DPC over the murder, he had to contact people of Masaka City to come to our rescue,” said Mr Kanyike.

Mr Abed Bwanika (NUP, Kimaanya-Kabonera Division), who also hails from Masaka, said his constituency was not any different.

“In Kimanya, we have zero patrol vehicles yet it is a whole division. When the minister is appraising us on the security issues, he should update us on police facilitation,” said Mr Bwanika.

The Minister of Security, Maj Gen (Rtd) Jim Muhwezi, said the Uganda Police Force has revamped its operations, which were initially challenged by funding constraints.

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Shenzhen, China – ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a global leading provider of information and communication technology solutions, announced today  that Gui Bin, Chief Engineer of Optical Access Product Planning at ZTE, has shared the Company’s thoughts and suggestions on improving ROI in 50G PON deployment.The insights were presented under the theme “50G PON Evolution and Coverage Scenarios” at the online “Next-Gen PON Digital Symposium” hosted by Light Reading.  

In terms of application scenarios, Mr. Gui envisions that 50G PON will enter the commercial deployment stage in 2025, starting with ToB scenarios and expanding to ToH scenarios. The combination of 50G PON and FTTR-B will cater to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) like hotels, street stores, and coffee shops, ensuring a quality user experience. Additionally, 50G PON will facilitate 10G all-optical access for campuses and enterprises in development zones, industrial parks, and factories, meeting demands for low latency and jitter. In terms of home scenarios, 50G PON + FTTR will provide ultra-high bandwidth for applications such as smart homes, online education, gaming, VR, and live streaming. Furthermore, 50G PON’s high bandwidth, low latency, and low jitter capabilities make it suitable for mobile backhaul and indoor coverage requirements. 

In terms of network evolution, ZTE recommends the Combo PON concept for a smooth transition from existing PON to 50G PON. This concept enables GPON, XG(S)-PON, and 50G PON to coexist on a single platform and line card, tripling the equipment life cycle and saving network construction investments. ZTE took the industry lead by releasing the 50G PON&10G PON&GPON Combo solution at Mobile World Congress 2023. Moreover, ZTE pioneered the application of the Combo concept to the upgrade from 10G PON to 50G PON. This upgrade approach requires OLTs to be built only once, allowing for the deployment and seamless evolution of GPON, 10G PON, and 50G PON ONUs on the same backbone fiber as per demand. Notably, this upgrade mode saves costs associated with equipment room, equipment, maintenance, and network upgrades since OLTs and ODNs do not require changes, ensuring no disruption to existing GPON and 10G PON users and services.

Additionally, ZTE holds the distinction of being the industry’s first to introduce precision 50G PON technology. This technology enables support for multi-service scenarios by providing deterministic control over bandwidth, latency, and jitter. ZTE unveiled the world’s inaugural precision 50G PON prototype at Mobile World Congress 2022 and launched the world’s first 50G PON+Wi-Fi 7 ONU prototype at the FTTH Conference 2022. These advancements have significantly accelerated the exploration of application scenarios for 50G PON, the integration of multiple technologies, and the overall maturity of the 50G PON industry chain.

Being a frontrunner in fixed network technologies, ZTE has consistently pursued innovation in 50G PON technologies and practices, drawing on its extensive experience in FTTx development and deep understanding of future PON technology trends. Thus far, ZTE has engaged in extensive collaboration with over 20 operators worldwide, encompassing demonstrations, tests, and trials of 50G PON. Moving forward, ZTE will continue to drive technological advancements, foster deeper partnerships in the 50G PON domain, conduct thorough feasibility and maturity assessments in diverse application scenarios, explore additional use cases, and accelerate the progress of the 50G PON industry chain.  

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The Uganda Cash Consortium (UCC), led by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in partnership with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), has received €6 Million grant from the EU’s Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) to provide cash-based assistance across targeted refugee settlements in Uganda.

Through this funding, the UCC will support at least 62,000 of the most vulnerable individuals within settlements in the Southwest (Kyaka II, Kyangwali, Rwamwanja, Nakivale, Oruchinga), Mid-West (Kiryandongo), West Nile (Imvepi, Rhino Camp, Bidi Bidi, Lobule, Palorinya) and North (Adjumani, Palabek) regions of Uganda.

As part of the UCC’s intervention, more than 44,000 refugee community members will benefit from unconditional multi-purpose cash assistance designed to assist individuals and households to meet their most immediate needs. The assistance will be provided monthly over the course of five months, with a potential sixth cash transfer, and through a digital mechanism. 

The UCC is also scaling up the referral mechanism to better link to and assist referred beneficiaries from other agencies across the settlements.

The referral mechanism is also open to protection partners, able to identify individuals with high protection risks, and whereby the complementary cash assistance will reduce or eliminate the protection risk. Cash will also be provided to over 18,000 children and adolescents, including approximately 1,300 Ugandan nationals, who are currently out of school or at risk of dropping out. This sectorial cash assistance will be provided termly for Term 2 and 3 in 2023, all three terms in 2024, and Term 1 in 2025.

“The UCC has been providing cash assistance since March 2019, observing the positive outcomes of the support in the most vulnerable communities. The DRC is grateful to the EU for responding to the most urgent basic needs of the most socio-economically vulnerable refugees,” said Anna Maria Trzcinska, the Uganda Cash Consortium Manager.

She said people of concern face challenges in Uganda as the funding is drastically decreasing. Humanitarian actors also need to do more with less. One added value of the UCC is the strong focus on cost efficiency; 75% of the entire budget goes to beneficiaries. The DRC, with the partner LWF, are committed to continuing their effort in supporting the most vulnerable in meeting their basic needs and enrolling or retaining pupils in school.

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The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application which sought to block the implementation of the intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS).

In July 2021, the Government signed a 10 year contract with the firm to provide digital vehicle trackers for motor vehicles and motorcycles in a bid to curb insecurity.

The proposal was first introduced by President Museveni in his 10 point security measure in the wake of gun violence in the country that saw several Ugandans killed in 2018. The intelligent Transport Monitoring System is set to be rolled out in July. 

In 2021, Legal Brains Trust (Lbt) Ltd through its lawyers led by Stanely Oketcho petition court seeking for a declaration that the presidential directives cabinet resolution and approval by the Attorney General, agreements, contracts, statutory instruments through which government of Uganda purportedly engaged or otherwise authorized a Russian Company, Joint Stock Company Global Security to execute a programme of compulsory digital surveillance of all motor vehicles, motorcycles and other vessels in Uganda, violate or threaten to violate a bundle of fundamental rights.

High Court injudiciously denied the Applicant the remedy of a temporary injunction and instead cleared the government to go on with the implementation of the programme. Legal Brains Trust did not relent, they appealed against the court decision.

In his ruling justice said the Applicant has not demonstrated the injury they are likely to suffer if the ITMS is implemented. 

“I am inclined to agree with the Respondent’s counsel submission that the implementation of the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System will only require persons who own cars to obtain new number plates that are embedded with digital tracking capacities,” he ruled.

“The application is dismissed. The costs of this application shall abide by the outcome of the appeal,” he ruled.

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