Traffic police at Bulambuli registered a fatal accident at Buyaga trading center in Bulambuli district which claimed lives of five people.

The accident which happened yesterday July 19, 2022, involved motor vehicle registration Number UAR 753K (FOTON Mixer) and UFL 438E, a Baja boxer that had five who all died on spot.

Traffic police spokesperson Farida Nampiima said the deceased victims have been identified as Rogers Namawungo aged 30 years; Mutonyi Zita, 47; Wasemwa WASEMWA Rose, 34; and two others yet to be identified male juvenile and male adult.

The bodies of the deceased were all conveyed to Muyembe Health Centre mortuary for postmortem examination.

Nampiima said the hunt for the driver of the vehicle is on and efforts to have him arrested are underway.  She added that the cause of the accident is not yet established.

“The Traffic Directorate continues to remind all road users to be vigilant while using the roads and further call upon all road users to change their attitude while using the road and be considerate of other road users,” she urged the public.

Stories Continues after ad

Kampala Central Member of Parliament, Hon. Muhammad Nsereko has tabled for first reading the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Bill which creates a new set of offences punishable with lengthy jail terms and fines.

The object of the Bill, which is the executive summary of its key provisions, highlights the intentions behind the proposed legislation.

“…to prohibit the sharing of any information relating to a child without authorisation from a parent or guardian; to prohibit the sending or sharing of information that promotes hate speech; to provide for the prohibition of sending or sharing false, malicious and unsolicited information,” reads the object in part.

Persons convicted under this act, proposes Nsereko, will be barred from holding public office for 10 years. “…to restrict persons convicted of any offence under the Computer Misuse Act, 2011 from holding public office for a period of 10 years,” reads the object.

Nsereko said Ugandan’s privacy rights are affected by bellicose messages on social media which violation he said extends to children and has to be curbed.

“The enjoyment of the right to privacy is being affected by the abuse of online and social media platforms through the sharing of unsolicited, false, malicious, hateful and unwarranted information. Regrettably, some of these abuses have also stretched to children where information about or that relates to them is shared on social media platforms without their parents’ or guardians’ consent,” said Nsereko.

Clause 2 of the Bill seeks to amend section 12 of the Computer Misuse Act to criminalise hacking of another person’s electronic device and publishes information obtained therefrom.

“A person who, without authorisation, (a) accesses or intercepts any programme or another person’s data or information; (b) voice or video records another person; or (c) shares any information about or that relates to another person, commits an offence,” reads Clause 2.

Nsereko prescribes a Shs15 million, seven years in jail or both such imprisonment and fine.

Sharing of information on children without the consent of persons responsible for them will be an offence if the new Bill succeeds.

“A person shall not send, share or transmit any information about or relating to a child through a computer unless the person obtains consent of the child’s parent, guardian or any other person having authority to make decisions on behalf of the child,” reads clause 3.

The punishments remain the same, Shs15 million in fines, seven years in jail or both.

Nsereko’s Bill seeks to create the offence of hate speech. “A person shall not write, send or share any information through a computer, which is likely to- (a) ridicule, degrade or demean another person, group of persons, a tribe, an ethnicity, a religion or gender; (b) create divisions among persons, a tribe, an ethnicity, a religion or gender; or(c) promote hostility against a person, group of persons, a tribe, an ethnicity, a religion or gender,” reads the Bill’s definition of hate speech.

Sharing of unsolicited information, of malicious or misleading information, will all earn one seven years in jail, Shs15 million in fines or both stringent punishments.

Nsereko’s Bill has been referred to the Committee on Information and Communications Technology for processing.

Stories Continues after ad

ICEA LION Life Assurance Company (U) Ltd has announced the introduction of the ICEA Annuity Plan for retirees and individuals nearing retirement. The ICEA Annuity plan guarantees the holder a regular stream of income for life after retirement. The ICEA Annuity plan allows the holder to make a lump sum deposit with the promise of guaranteed regular payments for the rest of one’s life.

“Typically, retirement benefits are provided through lump-sum payouts by retirement benefit schemes like NSSF and others. It’s commonplace to find retirees unable to sustain themselves because they invested in ventures that cannot guarantee a regular income during retirement. This leaves our retirees economically dependent on others, especially close family and friends. An annuity plan guarantees a steady income which is crucial to meet essential monthly expenses,” said Emmanuel Mwaka, the Chief Executive Officer, ICEA LION Life.

This plan is open to everyone who has accumulated savings towards their retirement through NSSF, private Retirement Benefit Schemes, businesses and any other form of savings or investment avenues and would like the option of a steady stream of income in retirement.

Speaking at the event launch, Alhaj Kaddunabbi, CEO of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) confirmed that the product has been reviewed and met all regulatory requirements to be offered on the market.

“We continue to encourage insurance providers to embrace innovation to increase uptake and access of insurance services among the population. Innovation is critical to the insurance industry as it has the capacity to reconstruct the mechanisms of society by reducing and even removing barriers to accessibility. World over, the importance of retirement planning cannot be understated. It is important to plan for retirement because assuredly when people retire, they are bound to experience a reduction in income,” he said.

The plan ise and provides a host of benefits including guaranteed income, medical cover at a subsidized premium and a funeral cover.

“We are concerned about the country’s emerging old age poverty crisis and are fully committed to the implementation of pension inclusion strategies. Year on year, a big proportion of benefits paid are lump-sum payouts, necessitating the need to introduce appropriate vehicles to preserve benefits. It gives us great pleasure to witness developments such as these that expand the options providing a wide array of offers for the population to choose from to enhance their quality of life after retirement,” said Martin Nsubuga, CEO, Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority.

Mwaka reiterated the commitment of ICEA LION to increase the uptake of insurance services in the market through innovation and providing tailored and relevant financial solutions to customers.

“There is no one-size-fits-all and as the economy grows, we are well positioned to continue to provide tailored financial solutions to our customers. With an accumulated asset base of over Shs 3.7 trillion and underlying investments of over Shs 145 billion, ICEA LION is financially solid. We are one of the largest annuity providers in the region with the oldest annuitant aged over 111 years who have benefited from the annuity product for the last 50 years.”

Stories Continues after ad