Kiruhura District has been invaded by tsetse flies with the residents calling for government support to eradicate the pests that have seen several cattle in the area die.

Nyabushozi County Member of Parliament, Hon. Wilson Kajwengye raised the matter of national importance during a plenary sitting on Tuesday, 3rd May 2022 chaired by Speaker, Anita Among.

Kajwengye said that for the past five years, cattle farmers in Kiruhura have borne the burden of fighting tsetse flies, whose cost he said was exorbitant and discouraging to commercial cattle farmers.

“Unfortunately, we have lost the battle because the disease is chronic and cows lose weight. The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has intervened but minimally,” said Kajwengye.

He said that an estimated 100,000 herds of cattle have been affected by the diseases caused by the flies.

Kajwengye said Kiruhura has registered notable financial loss resulting from the decline in milk and beef production.

“It is estimated that the district has lost Shs26 billion and Shs15 billion from sales of milk and beef respectively,” he said.

He prayed that the Ministry of Agriculture should urgently procure and distribute tsetse fly traps saying they are easy to use and are environmentally friendly.

Kajwengye also asked government to urgently provide equipment and other necessary laboratory consumables to Kiruhura district veterinary laboratory, which he said would help improve surveillance.

He also appealed to the ministry to work with the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Antiquities to carryout studies on tsetse fly control measures that would include development of an appropriate acaricide that kills tsetse flies.

Speaker Among said she received similar reports from residents during her recent visit to Kiruhura and asked the Agriculture Ministry to urgently assess the disease burden in the district.

“I think what you need to do is to send a team there to assess the level of the damage that has been caused,” she said.

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The Uganda Journalists Association (UJA), an umbrella body that brings together all journalists in Uganda, has urged Security agencies of police and the army to investigate and discipline errant officers who violate journalists’ rights.

UJA said this during the commemoration of the 30th World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) anniversary. WPFD was proclaimed during the United Nations General Assembly in Windhoek Namibia 1993. The call for an international calendar to observe the importance of media freedom was originally made at a meeting in Namibia when African journalists convened in partnership with UNESCO in 1991.

The international celebrations are being held in Punta Del Este, Uruguay under the theme; “Journalism under Digital Siege”, assessing the digital era’s impact on freedom of expression, safety of journalists, access to information and privacy.

May 3rd acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives while in the line of duty.

“Persistent attacks on journalists in form of torture, intimidation of license withdraws, clobbering, unwarranted arrests, detentions, damage of work tools, etc., by individual security personnel from the Police, Army, RDC’s and press regulators, have significantly had a bearing to the enjoyment of press freedom and journalism activities in this free and democratic society. Such acts by the men in uniform have left several journalists with physical impairment,” UJA said in a statement.

UJA said Journalists’ rights have time and again been violated by some of their gate keepers and proprietors of media houses. Though the law sets contractual requirements, a number of media practitioners continue to be employed without appointment letters and formal contracts. Journalists are being retrenched and sacked at will, they are paid poorly, some are not facilitated to work effectively, and they are denied insurance covers to address health risks arising from occupational hazards.

The Journalist’s body decried the Communications Commission’s (UCC) arbitrary directives which  have compromised the independence of journalism practices and this has resulted in loss of jobs and denying the public access to right information.

They urged the government to waive taxes on the internet to foster information access by the public.

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A renowned South Sudanese activist has urged the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities to prioritize peace and stability in Abyei, an oil-producing region contested by both Sudan and South Sudan.

The call comes in the wake of a peace conference earmarked for Entebbe, Uganda between the Ngok Dinka of the contested border region of Abyei and Misseriya communities of Sudan’s Western Kordofan State in May.

Traditional leaders, women and youth representatives are expected to attend the peace conference organized by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) from 16-19 May.

Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) welcomed the move, saying a non-violent approach involving dialogue is key in resolving existing political differences.

“Violent politicking is not beneficial and may constitute acts of attempting to wage efforts for committing crime against humanity,” he remarked.

Barely a month ago, over 40 people were reportedly killed in Abyei by suspected armed Misseriya tribesmen in separate attacks. The violence displaced thousands of people into bushes and neighbouring communities.

Yakani said UNISFA is mandated to ensure that human lives as well as properties and societal growth in Abyei is devoid from all forms of violence.

“The expected Ngok Dinka and Misseriya peace talks in Uganda should be within the legal framework of the Abyei protocol as enshrined in the Chapter IV date 26th May, 2004 in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement [CPA] signed in 2005. Any attempt to undermine this legal framework will be an attempt of undemocratic resolution on status of Abyei,” he stressed.

Under the CPA provisions, Abyei was to be governed by its own elected executive council. Moreover, its inhabitants were considered to be citizens of both the western Kordofan state in the north and of Bahr al-Ghazal state in the South and were represented in the legislatures of both states.

According to Yakani, factors detrimental to the implementation of the Abyei Protocol by both Juba and Khartoum should be included in the agenda of the talks in Uganda between the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya.

He further UNISFA to ensure the African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) take part in the forthcoming peace talks.

The oil-rich border region of Abyei has been contested since South Sudan gained its independence from neighbouring Sudan in July 2011.

In December last year, the Chief Administrator of the Abyei Administrative Area called on the presidency to expedite the process of determining the final status of the area.

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