The Ministry of Education and Sports has banned all artistes from performing and holding concerts at schools.

The ban follows several video clips circulated on social media showing musicians Sheebah, Winnie Nwagi and others portraying indecency as they performed for students. In the videos, they show artistes dressed in skimpily dresses, making erotic and seductive dances.

According to Dr. Jane Egau Okuo, the acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, on July 11, the country woke up to the shocking videos that were circulating on social media to portray the indecency that is allowed in schools. She said there have been several unacceptable and offensive functions allowed in schools under the guise of co-curricular and entertainment activities.

“Extra co-curricular activities in schools include sports and games, debate clubs and others. If schools need to entertain themselves, they can engage themselves in acting plays or arrange concerts. However inviting artists who dance erotic dances, naked in schools under the guise of extra-curricular activities must be forbidden,” she said.

As its meeting held on July 18, 2022, the senior management resolved that the Ministry of Education and Sports is compelled to provide guidelines on the nature and conduct of co-curricular and entertainment activities allowed in schools.

“Everybody must remember that the Ministry of Education and Sports is the custodian of the values and behavior of the children of Uganda while at school, whether those schools belong to the government or private individuals.”

She directed head teachers and principals of both primary and secondary schools to stop hiring any of the artistes to perform in schools. Failure to comply, school managers will be held responsible and disciplinary measures will be charged against them.

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The Opposition in parliament has dropped Badege Layibi MP Ojala Mapenduzi as the Chairperson of Local Government Accounts committee. Mapenduzi has been replaced by Kilak South MP, Gilbert Olanya.

Mapenduzi was dropped following his decision to move a motion that led to the eviction of Mityana County MP Francis Zaake from the Parliamentary commission.

In February, Mapenduzi moved a motion seeking for the eviction of Zaake from the commission. The mission was seconded by Amolatar Woman MP Atim Agnes Apea of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Soroti West MP (Independent) Jonathan Ebwalu and Busia MP Geoffrey Macho (Independent).

The four accused Zaake of insulting the integrity of Parliament after he took to social media and used offensive language to express his dissatisfaction with the Deputy Speaker’s statement regarding his alleged torture.

The legislators argue that Zaake’s conduct when he attacked then Deputy Speaker Anita Among on social media did not only denigrate the integrity of Parliament but was also a breach of Rule 84 and 85 and paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct of MPs.

“All of us may have our own emotions and issues to deal with but there are avenues in our Rules of Procedure through which anything done by the presiding officer can be challenged. The member never exercised any of the remedies provided in the rules but chose to go to social media,” Mapenduzi said.

“The intention was to damage; lower the character and status of the Speaker and the reputation of this Parliament. It is our obligation to defend Parliament from any attack. We need to enact laws to check cyber bullying, cyber harassment, blackmail and intimidation,” he said. 

The then presiding officer of parliament Anita Among referred the matter to the Rules Privileges and Discipline Committee which was chaired by MP Abdul Katuntu for further investigations. Following the tabling of the report, the MPs voted Zaake out of the commission.

Zaake however didn’t relent, in March, he petitioned the Constitution court challenging his removal from parliamentary commission in a secret ballot conducted at Parliament, 155 out of 161 members voted for his removal from the Parliament Commission.

Through his lawyers led by the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, Zaake said that parliament had no quorum to have him removed from the commission. He wants the court to nullify parliament’s decision and order for his reinstatement as commissioner of parliament.

He accused the Rules Committee members of Receiving Shs6 million worth of taxpayer’s money as a reward for participating in the Committee proceedings that resulted in his removal from office.

During plenary sessions to honour Parliament and staff who had participated in the East African Legislative Assembly Games in Arusha, Tanzania last year, Among said although Zaake was reportedly tortured and had a broken leg, he brought back a gold medal for Parliament. This prompted Zaake to go on social media where he authored the statements for which he was found guilty.

The panel of judges led by Catherine Bamugemereire, Christopher Izama Madrama, Stephen Musota, Muzamiru Mutangula Kibeedi, and Irene Mulyagonja ordered parties’ lawyers to file all supported evidence that was not included in the petition. The judgment will however be delivered on notice.

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Opposition political parties in Uganda have joined forces against President Yoweri Museveni’s government. The political parties include; the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), the National Unity Platform (NUP), JEEMA.

The coalition follows their defeat in the just concluded Soroti East by-election where the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Herbert Edmund Ariko was declared the winner of the hotly contested election. Ariko polled 9,407 votes defeating his closest rival Moses Attan Okia who garnered 8,771 votes while Pascal Amuriat, the Uganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC) candidate got 115 votes. They resolved to challenge Ariko’s election in Court. 

The Opposition parties claimed that what happened in Soroti was not new, the arrest and detaining of polling agents was done in the Kayunga and Omoro too. They reechoed that it is not that there is a bad Constitution or bad laws, it is that there is impunity that Museveni’s leadership overrides the constitution.

Speaking today, the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago said; “We reject the results of the Soroti East by-election, and it doesn’t reflect the will of the people. It does not in any way meet the standards of the Constitution, and as we said earlier on, it is a mockery of democracy.”

Lukwago said the Opposition insists that the provisions of Article 3 give them a clear way forward on what they should be doing.

“What happened in Soroti is treasonable. Museveni, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, and all other state agents committed treason. Ugandans should rise to the occasion,” he said.

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During the presser at Hotel Africana, former Presidential Candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye said Uganda is in the middle of one of the worst social-economic crisis where very person almost, save for those whom they united to work against, is in a crisis of survival.

“As people are starving, nearly Shs 2 billion has been appropriated to be spent on one family of Mr. Museveni. The other day Mr. Museveni put on his uniform to send a message, to frighten people.”

He said the struggle that the country must undertake is to regain power and influence. To shift power from those who captured it to those who don’t have it. “The people must reclaim their power by action.”

“The way to get back our power is to unite all of us and the population to be rallied together. Once that happens, I’m very excited that I can see it now beginning to happen. Even if we said that let all of us do this, this regime has no capacity to stop it,” he said.

The National Untiy Platfrom (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine said they go into the elections promising change, even when they know that when one becomes an MP under the Museveni regime, apart from agitating, they can change very little.

“We cannot pretend not to see that Museveni organizes elections, but in real sense, organizes a fight where he is over-equipped, and we are zero equipped. It is my considered view that our message is more of a revolutionary message. The election should be more for sensitization than for winning. In any case, we know that Museveni decides days, sometimes months, which the winner will be,” Bobi Wine said.

“We have made it easy for Museveni by fighting each other. We have changed our targets from the enemy to each other. This country is bigger than our political parties. The mission is bigger than building our political parties. In any case, one would argue that there are no political parties in Uganda because we do not operate like political parties,” he said.

He said “Political parties are recognized in a democracy, but in a country where you cannot even organize as political parties, we cannot boast of being political parties. Therefore, we are all slaves. The more we fight against each other, the more we prolong it for Museveni.”

“We leaders have made an effort to unite for a common cause, but we are only leaders, and if you don’t follow us where we are going, we won’t succeed. Please get involved.”

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