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Top Finance Bank Uganda acquired by Djibouti’s Salaam African Bank

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Our Reporter
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Bank of Uganda has approved the acquisition of Uganda’s Top Finance Bank Limited by Djibouti based bank M/s Salaam African Bank.

“This is to inform the general public that M/s Salaam African Bank (hereafter SAB) with its Headquarters in Djibouti has acquired Top Finance Bank Limited (hereafter TFB),” BoU announced on Monday August 8, 2022.

“This transaction was concluded following Bank of Uganda approval in accordance with provisions of the Financial Institutions Act (FIA), 2004 (as amended) and its implementing Regulations.”

Top Finance Bank was registered in Uganda as a company on the June 14, 2012 and was granted a Credit Institution License (Class 5) on the September 08, 2014.

Salaam African Bank was established in 2007 and is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Djibouti.

It also has a presence in Ethiopia, through a representative office, and in Kenya through Salaam Microfinance Bank Limited and Salaam Investment Bank Limited which are licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya and the Markets Authority of Kenya, respectively.

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Police releases list of 143 traffic violators

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Our Reporter
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ASP Faridah Nampiima

The Traffic police will start releasing a list of road users who violate the traffic rules every week.

Traffic police spokesperson Faridah Nampiima on Monday said with the help of cameras on the roads, every week they will be releasing a list of traffic violators, plus the place of the offence as a mechanism of naming and shaming.

“The disregard for the rules of the road has increased. Driving without proper caution includes; driving beyond the prescribed speed, failure to use signals, disobeying traffic signs, drafting into another lane, and using handheld mobile phones while driving,” she said.

She urged those named to report to the nearest police station and pick up their Electronic Penalty System (EPS) tickets for the various offences.

“Using our cameras, the following violated traffic laws and regulations in various locations and they have been charged accordingly you are advised to report to the nearest police station and pick up your EPS tickets for the various offences,” Nampiima said.

The full list below:

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Sand Cranes qualify for 2022 AFCON Beach Soccer

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Our Reporter
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Sand-Cranes team

Uganda National Beach Soccer Team, Sand Cranes qualified to the Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations for the second consecutive time after overcoming Comoros over two legs.

The Sand Cranes put up a spirited fight on Sunday at FUFA Technical Centre, Njeru to win the return leg 4-3 and this win 9-5 on aggregate.

Nicholas Mwere orchestrated the damage, bagging a hat trick while Brian Nkuubi got the other.

Uganda started like a house on fire getting the first goal as early as the first minute through Nkuubi. Mwere came off the bench to score twice and thus fire Uganda into a 3-0 lead in the first period.

The visitors showed a lot of improvement in the second period with Moeva Chakira scoring twice before Ismael Ahmed got the equalizer.

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However, in the final stanza, Mwere once again came off the bench to restore parity and thus send Uganda to the final tournament.

This will be second successive time Uganda will play at the tournament having featured last year in Senegal.

This year’s tournament will be in Mozambique.

Uganda’s starting five: Meddie Kibirige (C), Paul Lule, Joshua Letti Lubwama, Brian Nkuubi, Jonathan Kikonyogo

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Kenyans elect a new President tomorrow

By
Agencies
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A voter casts his vote in previous election

Kenya goes to the polls on Tuesday August 9, in a closely fought race to elect the fifth president since independence from Britain six decades ago.

From an initial shortlist of 17, four candidates were cleared to run for president, the smallest number since multiparty democracy in the early 1990s.

The incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta has served two terms and cannot run again.

Raila Odinga, 77, former Prime Minister

Born in 1945 in Maseno, Raila Odinga is the son of independent Kenya’s first Vice-President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. This will be his fifth stab at the presidency, having been on the ballot in 1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017.

Mr Odinga attended Kisumu Union and Maranda primary schools before joining Maranda High School. Mr Odinga is a graduate of the University of Leipzig in East Germany with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering attained in 1970. In 1974 he was appointed group standards manager at the Kenya Bureau of Standards before his promotion to deputy director in 1978.

In his political journey, he was at the forefront of the push for constitutional and political reforms. President Daniel Moi’s police state detained him on numerous occasions. He would later flee to exile in Norway in 1991. He returned in February 1992 and joined the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy at the height of the clamour for multipartyism.

He was elected Lang’ata MP in 1992 on a Ford Kenya ticket. He would later ditch the party over leadership wrangles that followed the death of his father and joined the National Development Party, on whose ticket he first sought the presidency in the 1997, coming third after Moi and the late Mwai Kibaki.

He joined Moi’s government after a merger between KANU and NDP and was appointed minister and Kanu secretary-general. But in 2002, he led a mass walkout from Kanu after Moi endorsed Uhuru Kenyatta as his successor, to form the National Rainbow coalition with Mr Kibaki and others.

He fell out with Kibaki ran against contested in 2007 and was named Prime Minister in the grand coalition government that was formed after months of violence.

William Ruto, 55, Deputy President

Dr William Ruto is the deputy president in the Jubilee administration and leader of the United Democratic Alliance, on whose ticket he is contesting the presidency under the Kenya Kwanza Alliance. 

Born in Surgoi, Uasin Gishu County in 1966, Dr Ruto began his education at Kamagut Primary before joining Wareng Secondary School and later Kapsabet Boys High School. He attended the University of Nairobi, where he graduated with a BSc in Botany and Zoology in 1990, before attaining MSc and  PhD in 2011 and in 2018 respectively. 

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After serving as Eldoret North MP from 1997, Ruwas in 2013 Uhuru Kenyatta’s running mate. They won the election and he became the first deputy president under the 2010 constitution.

In October 2014, he served as acting President when Mr Kenyatta briefly relinquished power to attend to his criminal case at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

Dr Ruto had in 2011 been named one of the six individuals who had sponsored the 2007/08 post-election violence. Like with other post-election violence cases at The Hague, his collapsed due to insufficient evidence blamed on witness tampering and failures by the ICC prosecutor’s office.

Ruto was a co-founder and member of the Youth for Kanu 1992 (YK92), a grouping that campaigned for the late President Daniel Moi in the 1992 General Election.

Dr Ruto served as an assistant minister in the Office of the President and then towards the 2002 elections which Kanu lost, he was promoted to Minister for Home Affairs. He also served as Minister for Agriculture and Higher Education in the grand coalition government from 2008.

George Wajackoyah, 63, lawyer

Aside from his pledges in reviving the economy and fighting corruption on the campaign trail, Prof George Wajackoyah will be remembered more for his radical proposals on legalisation of marijuana and harvesting of hyena testicles for sale, among other revolutionary ideas.

The immigration lawyer is the candidate of the Roots Party. A former Special Branch  Prof Wajackoyah is a law graduate of the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom. He also holds masters degrees in law from the University of London, University of Warwick and the University of Baltimore, Advanced Diploma in French from the University of Burundi, among other academic qualifications.

He was born on October 24, 1959 in Matungu, Kakamega County in western Kenya. Prof Wajackoyah has had an interesting past. In 1991, he was forced into exile following his involvement in the investigation of the murder of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Robert Ouko.

At the time, he had been deployed then director of intelligence, James Kanyotu, to look into whether anyone in government had been involved in the matter. This involvement in the case would put him at loggerheads with some people in government, who accused him of foul play, leading to what he says was his detention and torture before he fled the country. He returned in 2011.  

The lawyer has promised to legalise the growing of marijuana for industrial and heritage purposes, serve as the Immigration minister as well as appoint a person of Asian ancestry to the Trade ministry if he is elected President. He also wants to revive local industries and promote indigenous agricultural products like coconut and mukombero.

Mwaure Waihiga, 60+, lawyer

David Mwaure Waihiga of the Agano party is a lawyer and has vied in previous elections as an MP, Senator and governor. He also tried his hand in the contest for the presidency in the 2013 General Election. He however quit the race and vied for Lamu governor.

His most recent attempt at an elective position was in 2021, when he received the greenlight from his Agano party to contest the Nairobi governor’s seat after Mike Sonko was impeached. No election was held, though.

He had also tried in 2011 to contest for the Kamkunji MP’s seat after the High Court nullified the victory of Simon Mbugua. He lost, coming fourth in a race that was won by the Party of National Unity candidate Yusuf Hassan.

Mr Waihiga, an advocate with more than 35 years in practice, is a graduate of the University of Nairobi. He also has a masters degree in leadership from the International Leadership University and is currently studying for a PhD in leadership.

His law firm, Mwaure Waihiga & Co. Advocates, is based in Nairobi but has offices in Malindi and Lamu.

He describes himself as “a strongly committed born-again Christian and evangelical who is also an ordained minister, a reverend and an apostle.”

If elected, he would like to be remembered as the president who slew the dragon of corruption, bureaucracy, misadministration and tribalism.

He has also promised to recover all stolen wealth through corruption scandals.

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Ministry of Health, Roofings launch Shs160m sickle cell awareness campaign

By
Our Reporter
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The Minister of Health and Roofings group have launched a country-wide sickle cell awareness campaign.

Dubbed ‘Shine the Light on Sickle Cell’, the campaign was launched by the Director of Public Health, Dr Daniel Kyabayinze at the Makindye Ssabagabo Municipality headquarters.

Hundreds of community members received free screening and training. The project is being implemented by the Uganda Sickle Cell Rescue Foundation, an NGO that has partnered with Roofings Group for over 7 years.

 The campaign aims at reaching over 2 million people with information about sickle cell. Free screening services will be provided to over 4,000 people (estimated value of Shs160 million worth of testing), and over 10,000 people will be trained on homecare of sickle cell patients. These free services will be extended to selected communities in Mbarara, Bundibugyo, Gulu, Mbale, and Busia Districts.

Besides health, Roofings group is involved in other CSR initiatives like re-greening Uganda by providing free tree seedlings.

In partnership with Stanbic Bank, Roofings is providing fruit tree seedlings to plant in schools worth Shs 420m in 2022 alone.

Roofings is also investing in wheelchair manufacturing to donate wheelchairs to differently-abled children, Roofings also donates oxygen cylinders free of charge to government hospitals as well as some private hospitals. More than 43,000 oxygen cylinders have been donated since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Parliament wants Kasaija, Beti Kamya investigated

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Our Reporter
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Matia Kasaija and Beti Kamya

Parliament has recommended the investigation of the former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Beti Kamya and Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija for their role in the Shs10.6 billion land compensation.

The House chaired by Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among on Thursday, 4 August 2022 adopted the report of the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) which called for the investigation.

Four land owners including Stephen Nagenda, the late Kosia Rwabukurukuru, Geoffrey Mugisha, and Nantalia Namuli were compensated for their land in different parts of the country.

The committee in its report states that although the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) was the one supposed to request for the supplementary, the then Beti Kamya initiated the supplementary without the knowledge of the Commission.

The committee found that after it was approved and disbursed, the supplementary was however, full of controversies as it emerged that ghost claimants were paid.

One of the cases is that of Nantalia Namuli who was meant to get shs2.3 billion for her land in Kagadi, but the committee found out that she was not the owner of the land and that a law firm, Lubega and Buzibira Co. Advocates who represented her, benefited from the compensation of  Shs2.3 billion through a one Warren Mwesigye.

The committee report faults Kamya and Kasaija for their roles in releasing the supplementary.

On his part, Kasaija admitted to the committee that the right procedure in securing the supplementary was not followed and that his staff should not have entertained the supplementary.

The report also implicates the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, Patrick Ocailap who admitted before the committee that he authorized the payment without due diligence.

For Beti Kamya, the committee states that although she claimed that there was a directive from the President on the supplementary, she failed to present a copy of the directive but instead provided a letter written to her by the President’s Principal Private Secretary requiring a compensation follow up for the family of the Late Kosiya Rwabukurukuru.

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“The former Minister of Lands should be investigated in respect of her participation in the commencement of the 10.6 billion shillings payment. Matia Kasaija and Mr. Patrick Ocailap the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to Treasury should be investigated for their role in the Shs6 billion supplementary processes,” Ssenyonyi said.

The committee also recommended the prosecution of Barbara Imaryo, the then accounting officer of the Uganda Land Commission and Siraje Isabirye, the head of accounts in regards to the ghost payments in the supplementary. Imaryo reportedly fled the country when the probe on the supplementary started.

“Uganda Police should work with Interpol to have Barbara Imaryo brought back into the country to face prosecution. Nantalia Namuli and her accomplices like Amara Peter should be prosecuted for forgery and lawyers Buzibira and Co. Advocates should be prosecuted for aiding the fraudulent transaction that led to the illegal payment of shs2.039 billion to Nantalia Namuli,” Ssenyonyi noted in the report.

The committee also recommended that the lost money should be recovered and that the Uganda Law Council should take action against the lawyers.

Speaker Anita Among inquired about investigating the current IGG who is implicated but the Minister of Defense, Jacob Marksons Oboth guided that the IGG is being investigated as a former minister and not based on the office she currently holds.

He guided that that the Auditor General or the appointing authority can investigate.

“Allow me to thank the committee for a good job. I was listening and I thought it was a judgment.  I did not know it was a committee report; It was like a judgment; the way evidence was analyzed and evaluated,” Oboth said.

The Speaker however, guided that since the report was from the Auditor General initially, it cannot be sent back to that office but Parliament can only ask for investigations.

She said that the House should simply decide on the report and wait for a treasury memorandum on the matter.

“We can ask for investigations and of course, only Police and IGG can do the investigations,” the Speaker added.

Kalungu West MP, Joseph Ssewungu said that the IGG can pave way for their investigation by relinquishing her duties temporarily.

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Gov’t suspends operations of Sexual Minorities Uganda

By
Our Reporter
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SMUG

The National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO Bureau) has suspended the operations of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) over its failure to register with the regulatory body.

The NGO Bureau under the Ministry of Internal Affairs is mandated to register, regulate, monitor, inspect, coordinate and oversee all NGO activities in the country.

According to Okello Stephen, the Executive Director of NGO Bureau, they held engagements with SMUG on the 2nd and 27th June 2022 to understand the legal status of the entity after a number of concerns were raised regarding the operations of SMUG. He said SMUG’s operations contravene section 29 (1), 31(1) and 31 (2) NGO Act 2016.

It was established that SMUG continues to carry out its operations although it is neither incorporated with Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) nor registered with the NGO Bureau. It however emerged that SMUG had made an attempt to reserve its name with URSB in 2012 for incorporation purposes however the name was rejected on grounds of being undesirable

“SMUG operates in its own capacity and has partnerships with some Government institutions such as Ministry of Health, Uganda Human Rights Commission and Uganda Police,” he said.

He said the main objective of SMUG is to fight against discrimination of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) persons in Uganda; and there was no reliable record of the actual physical location of SMUG and the representatives of SMUG were reluctant to disclose the same.

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The NGO Bureau also engaged a number of stakeholders that SMUG was partnering with and established that the partners were not aware that SMUG was operating illegally.

“It is against this background that the NGO Bureau has taken the decision to halt the operations of SMUG with immediate effect. The NGO Bureau calls upon the general public and all its stakeholders to take note of this decision,” he said.

He urged all NGOs operating in the country to do so within the ambit of the law by ensuring that they are fully incorporated, registered and are operating with a valid NGO permit from the NGO Bureau.

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PICTORIAL: Tycoon Sudhir hosts Indian community for dinner in remembrance of 50 years after Idi Amin expulsion

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Our Reporter
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Sudir Ruparelia, Rana Ranjeet with the Thankrar familly standind from the UK posing for a photo.

City Tycoon Sudhir Rupaleria last evening hosted the Indian Community in Uganda to a dinner at his Kololo posh residence 50 years remembrance after former Ugandan strongman Idi Amin expelled Asians from the country.

In 1972, President Amin decreed and gave Ugandans of Asian origin 90 days to leave the country.

At the time of the decree, Uganda had a population of 80,000 Ugandans of Asian origin and about 27,000 fled the country to United Kingdom while 6,000 emigrated to Canada, 4,500 went to India and 2,500 went to Kenya.

Others sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

The dinner brought many Indians together from Africa and the world as they discussed how events unfolded.

Background

In early August 1972, Amin ordered the expulsion of Asian giving them 90 days to leave the country. At the time of the expulsion, there were about 80,000 individuals of Indian descent in Uganda, of whom 23,000 had their applications for citizenship both processed and accepted.  Amin accused a minority of the Asians of disloyalty, nonintegration, and commercial malpractice, claims that Indian leaders disputed. Amin defended the expulsion by arguing that he was “giving Uganda back to ethnic Ugandans”.

In total, some 5,655 firms, ranches, farms, and agricultural estates were expropriated, along with cars, homes and other household goods.

The main celebrations will be held this evening at CommonWealth Resort Munyonyo.

Members of the Indian Cominity in uganda pose for a photo
Mansukh Thakrar with the wife, From right is Raj Sakaria
From right is Raj Sakaria, Kaylesh Thakrar pose for a photo with friend.
Andrew Mwenda dancing with Joysner Ruparelia
Idians enjoying their dinner
Sudir Ruparelia dances with one of the guests
Sudir cheking on his guests during the celebrations
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MPs, plastic dealers lock horns over $70 tax

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Our Reporter
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Officials from UMA and plastic recyclers appearing before the committee

Parliament’s Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development has officials from Uganda Manufacturers’ Association (UMA) and Uganda Plastic Recyclers Association to negotiate a settlement over the controversial US$70 levy on plastic imports in the country.

The Excise Duty (Amendment) Act 2022 had levied a 2.5 per cent or US$70 excise duty on plastic imports, whichever is higher, but the manufacturers cried out to President Museveni claiming their businesses were failing as a result of the tax.

President Museveni returned the Bill to Parliament for reconsideration, asking that some clauses be deleted.

One of the areas the President is uncomfortable with relates to imposition of levies on plastics which he said should be reconsidered.

“…to streamline the provisions for taxation of plastic products as provided for in the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act 2021, particularly, with a view to ensuring that the targeting of the excise duty is refocused away from sensitive sectors that utilize elements of plastic,” said Museveni in a letter to Speaker Anita Among recommending the removal of the clauses he isn’t comfortable with.

In a letter to the committee, UMA Chairman, Deo Kayemba criticised the clause.

“UMA proposes that the law should be repealed because of its far reaching consequences and instead measures be instituted that provide clarity on the management of the pollutant plastic products which are known and well documented,” said Kayemba.

Muhammad Muzammil, a staffer at UMA who appeared before the committee said that nature of tax is unheard of.

“Uganda is the only country in the whole world that has taxed raw materials,” he said.

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The move to levy the tax on importation of plastics was intended to encourage recycling and save the environment but Muzammil said finding the plastics for recycling is difficult and that factories are idling.

“Majority of the plastics are rigid plastics; they take longer [in usage] the cycle for recycling them is therefore, longer as opposed to the single use plastics,” he said.

Committee Vice Chairperson, Hon. Jane Pacutho was unamused saying it is the duty of everyone to pay their fair share of taxes following complaints of double taxation from the witnesses.

“Who is not double taxed?; This will be leaving other people with the burden of paying yet one of the principles of taxation is that it must be fair,” she said.

The Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Keefa Kiwanuka said the levy was intended to generate Shs60 billion in revenue for government wondering how that gap in revenue will be addressed in the event that the levy is removed.

The committee has 45 days within which to report back to Parliament on their findings and recommendations regarding the president’s proposal.

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Flash floods claim 30 people, leave over 400,000 without access to clean water

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Our Reporter
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Mbale floods

Bodies of at least 30 people have already been recovered from the flood waters around the town of Mbale at the foot of Mount Elgon in Eastern Uganda, including those of two 6-year-old children found yesterday.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been cut off from their fresh water supply and sewerages have been damaged, triggering concerns about disease outbreaks, WaterAid said.

Forecasters predict the heavy rain will continue through August. But it’s estimated that 5,600 have been displaced from Mbale City alone and 400,000 people have already been cut off from the national water grid. Latrines and sewage systems have been damaged, polluting the environment. Furthermore, food shortages could result from 5000 acres of crops being destroyed.

WaterAid has expressed deep concern at the human cost of this latest environmental tragedy in an area where they have recently completed a project to build community resilience to climate shocks for water and sanitation.

Jane Mselle Sembuche, the Country Director for WaterAid Uganda said: “With limited access to essential health care services for submerged areas, consequences of unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are bound to cause a cocktail of diarrheal diseases. Malnutrition is projected to set in as many families have lost their source of livelihood crops, and livestock. The trend of events might spark cases of domestic violence and social imbalance.”

The Mbale city response team is currently organising 200 mobile toilets, hand washing facilities and water treatment tablets. Sembuche called for a greater focus on safeguarding communities from such climate events.

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“People need water, sanitation and hygiene to thrive without these basics, they can’t be resilient to anything. That means we need to protect WASH facilities from climate change impacts where possible and strengthen community resilience from these extreme weather events. This will help them bounce back from climate change disasters more quickly.”

“We need a much greater focus on sustainable, resilient sanitation when working on climate change adaptation,” she added.

Further north, the Karamoja region of Uganda has been affected by the severe drought which has mainly impacted the Horn of Africa.

“These are the kind of future challenges of either floods or drought which we are increasingly facing. It is truly time to act now – and invest in adaptation measures for those living on the frontline of the climate crisis,” said Sembuche.

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