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Kibuli Muslim faction: Sheikh Muhammad Galabuzi named Supreme Mufti

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Sheikh Muhammad Galabuzi

The leadership of Kibuli Muslim faction has announced Sheikh Muhammad Galabuzi as the new Supreme Mufti. The appointment t was confirmed by Dr. Muhammad Kiggundu director communication and research in the Office of the Supreme Mufti.

Sheikh Galabuzi replaces Sheikh Siliman Kasule Ndirangwa who resigned his position in April over in-fights within the Kibuli establishment. Sheikh Galabuzi will be sworn in this Friday at Kibuli alongside his two deputies Sheikh Ntanda and Sheikh Mahad Kakooza.

Sheikh Ndirangwa’s resignation came moments after the death of outspoken Sheikh Nuhu Muzaata who was the spokesperson of the Kibuli faction.

Ndirangwa was appointed Supreme Mufti of the Kibuli-based Muslim faction on December, 16, 2015, replacing Shiek Zubairi Kayongo who died in April 2014.

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NSSF wins International Customer Experience Awards

By
Geoffery Serugo
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NSSF

National Social Security Fund has won Gold and two Silver accolades at the International Customer Experience awards 2021, held in London, United Kingdom last evening.

The Fund was recognized as a Gold winner in the category of Best Use of Customer Insight and Feedback in the Financial Services sector (under 5000 employees), for its response to COVID-19 pandemic where it redefined internal policies and processes to meet customer needs. It beat competition in this category that included National Bank of Kenya, Telesure Investments Holdings (South Africa), Balta Insurance (Latvia) and Allianz (Turkey).

For the Silver accolades, the Fund was recognized in the category of Customer Experience in a crisis in the Financial Services, for its shift to using e-channels to serve customers during the COVID-19 induced lockdowns. In the category of Employee Experience in a crisis- Financial Services, NSSF was awarded for its ability to keep their employees engaged and motivated to serve customers from anywhere. Competition in these two categories was from financial institutions in Russia, Ireland and United Kingdom,

Initiated in 2010 by Awards International  the world’s premier awards events organisation , the International Customer Experience Awards are aimed at celebrating the incredible work done by customer experience professionals worldwide.

“This award confirms that our self-service and ubiquity strategy is on the right track to attain our strategic target of 95% customer satisfaction by 2025. We are still on a journey to redefine our businesses processes to help us achieve this goal and this win has surely motivated us to aspire for greater interventions in the customer experience space,” said Patrick Ayota, NSSF Deputy Managing Director about the recognitions.

He added that the Fund is mainly focusing on technology to transform its customer engagement and experience. “Currently, our customer satisfaction rate stands at 86%. This has been made possible from interventions that included self-registration on USSD, a chatbot called Sanyu to handle common customer queries, automated Queue Management system, Interactive Voice Responses and financial literacy sessions,” Ayota said.

The Fund’s customer touchpoints include 17 branches and 23 service centers countrywide, an in-house call center, the NSSF Go App, and social media platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

NSSF is the first organization in Uganda to emerge Gold winner in the International Customer Experience awards. It is also the only organization from Africa to win Gold and Silver in three categories out of the four nominations that made it to the finals.

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Dfcu Bank’s VISA Card holders to get exclusive deals, offers and benefits in new campaign

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Faridah Nalubega - Manager Cards and Money Transfers, dfcu Bank

Dfcu Bank customers are set to enjoy a myriad of exclusive deals, offers and benefits when they transact with their dfcu Bank VISA Cards to pay for goods and services at select outlets across Uganda.

This campaign is a result of a new Local Offers platform developed by VISA to give cardholders an opportunity to enjoy great deals, rewards, and benefits across various local everyday spend merchant categories such as Groceries, Appliances, Restaurants, Furniture, Fuel, Fashion and Beauty products, and Lifestyle. This ‘always on’ local offers program ensures that customers can enjoy its benefits any time as long as they transact with their VISA cards at partner merchants.

According to Faridah Nalubega, the Manager Cards and Money Transfers at dfcu Bank, this campaign is an affirmation of the Bank’s continued efforts to provide services that add extra value to the lives of its customers, ensuring convenience by encouraging them to transact anywhere and at anytime using our Visa cards.

“The Festive season is a perfect opportunity for Ugandans to shop for their friends and families, dine at their favourite restaurants and fuel their cars to travel to their holiday destinations. This campaign therefore comes at a perfect time. I would like to encourage all dfcu Bank customers to transact with their dfcu VISA cards and take advantage of this timeless offer for great deals, rewards and benefits,” she noted.

To benefit from the campaign, dfcu VISA card holders can either sign up to access the offers or download the Visa Benefits and Offers Africa app from Google play store and App store to get started. Upon successful registration, card holders can enjoy available offers from time to time depending on the card type held.

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FDC calls for compensation of victims of Kampala twin bombings

By
Geoffery Serugo
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SEMUJJU NGANDA

The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has called for compensation of victims of Kampala twin bombings. The Parliamentary Avenue and Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) explosives left three people dead and scores injured.

“FDC demands that all victims of the bombings must be compensated. Families should be compensated for the loss of their dear ones and those whose property was destroyed should also be compensated. Officers sleeping on the job must be prosecuted,” FDC spokesperson Ssemujju Nganda said.

Over the weekend, President Yoweri Museveni said security officers are sleeping most of the time and only wakes up after an incident. He said that Police is corrupt and can be compromised by criminals.

Nganda said Museveni must personally take responsibility for the laxity and sleeping on job by some of the men in the uniform.

In tandem, the Party condemned the killing of Sheik Muhammad Kilevu. According to Police spokesperson Fred Enanga, Kirevu was gunned down last week after he resisted arrest.

Enanga said Kirevu was in charge of the Ntoroko cell of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), and would coordinate recruitment in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“It has become very common to kill suspects who moreover are handcuffed. The standard claim by Police is that the suspects were confronting their personnel or were attempting to flee. Sheik Muhammad Kilevu is the latest victim of this state inspired killing. We cannot affirm Sheik Kilevu’s innocence or guilt; we condemn his murder because that is not what our Constitution provides,” he said.

Article 28 of the Ugandan Constitution presumes every suspect innocent until proven guilty or until that person pleads guilty. The killing of Sheik Kilevu therefore qualifies as extra judicial killing and those who committed it will one day be personally held responsible.

Earlier suspects in the attempted assassination of Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala were murdered by Police and military men in suspicious circumstances. They were first arrested, handcuffed, blindfolded, driven around and then shot dead.

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Jacob Kiplimo breaks half marathon world record in Lisbon

By
Agencies
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Kiplimo

Jacob Kiplimo set a new world record to win the Lisbon Half Marathon on Sunday, 21st November.

Uganda’s Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist clocked 57:31, breaking Kibiwott Kandie’s mark from Valencia last December by just one second.

Kiplimo is the reigning half marathon world champion after beating Kandie in Poland in March 2020.

He was on pace to be the first person to run under 57 minutes for the half-marathon, but with no other runners to work with, he fell slightly off the pace but still managed to eke out a new world record.

Huseydin Mohamed Esa pipped fellow Ethiopian Gerba Beyata Dibaba for second, more than two minutes back in 59:39.

Ethiopia won the women’s race with Tsehay Gemechu Beyan crossing the line first in 1:06:06.

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Sale of Simbamanyo House was legal-Museveni tells Kamya

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Simbamanyo renamed Gender and Labour House

 

President Yoweri Museveni has advised the former owner of Simbamanya house, Peter Kamya that the transaction that resulted into his properties being auctioned was legal.

Museveni further said that since it was Kamya who defaulted on his loan payment, he can further seek court redress at his liberty.

“Following receipt of your complaint to me about the above illegal sale of your properties by Equity Bank, I directed the Attorney General  and the Governor, Bank of Uganda to investigate the complaint and report back. I have since been advised that the sale was lega, since you had  defaulted on payment of the loan and did not deposit 30% of the loan  amount  as was ordered by court” President Museveni wrote in a October 25, 2021 letter.

He further added “They have further advised that you are at liberty to pursue other remedies in court”

Mr Kamya had earlier petitioned the president seeking his intervention in a legal battle with Equity Bank. One of his arguments to the president was that he was not considered for #Covid-19 loan restructuring by the bank. However, Equity Bank says Kamya didn’t qualify for loan restructuring as his loan obligation was from 2012 and not one obtained during the #Covid-19 period.

 

In August 2012, Equity Bank Uganda and Equity Bank Kenya extended a loan worth  $10 million to Simbamanyo to finance the construction of a hotel in Luzira and also to take over Kamya’s prior loan from Shelter Afrique. The funds came from both Equity Kenya and Uganda.

Kamya continued to receive money from the rent payments but did not remit any for his loan obligations.

Equity Bank Uganda Limited began foreclosure proceedings against Simbamanyo to recover the outstanding loan.

The bank seized Simbamanyo House and Afrique Suites Hotel on Mutungo Hill in Kampala last year after the city tycoon Peter Kamya and his Simbamanyo Estates failed to clear loans to a tune of $10.8m (about Shs40 billion).

In their report to the President, Bank of Uganda defended the decision by Equity Bank to auction Simbamanyo House and Afrique Suits saying the transaction was done under the law.

BoU says Simbamanyo and Mr. Kamya failed to respect their loan obligation when they (Kamya) failed to payback the loan as agreed by parties as he continued receiving money from 2016 until September 2020.

“From 2016 to September 2020,  Kamya continued to receive from the mortgaged properties without considering paying back the loan but instead chose to ignore the agreement as he opted for legal means even with reminders no payment came through”

In detailed reported compiled for President Yoweri Museveni on the events surrounding Simbamanyo Estates Limited and Equity Bank Uganda Limited and Equity Bank Kenya Limited its indicates that between 2012-2014, the estate took a loan in excess of $7.1 million before interest and secured the said facilities by mortgaging LRV 2220 Plot 2 folio Lumumba Avenue (Simbamanyo House) and properties comprised in Kyadondo block 243 Plots 95, 958,2794,17800 and block 237 Plot 95 land at Mutungo (Afrique Suites).

“And by October 8, 2020, Simbamanyo did not deposit the said 30% as ordered by the court. In the absence of any further orders from court stooping the auction, the mortgaged properties were sold after a public auction, in accordance with provisions of the Mortgage Act and the Mortgage Regulations to the highest bidders”

In October 2017, Justice Billy Kainamura issued his ruling in the Miscellaneous Application No. 1159 of 2017 and, in accordance with the mortgage property Act, ordered Simbamanyo to deposit 30% of the outstanding loan amount otherwise Equity Bank Uganda Limited would be at liberty to sale of the mortgage properties at a public auction after 30 days.

The report further discloses that on July 4, 2020, in accordance with the Mortgage Act 2009, Equity Bank Uganda Limited retained an independent valuation firm which carried out an independent valuation of the mortgaged properties confirming that the forced sale value for Simbamanyo House was $4.6 million and Afrique Suites was $4 million.

However, just last week, Commercial Court ordered Simbamanyo Estates Limited and its proprietor Peter Kamya to pay Shs1.3 billion in legal costs to Equity Bank Uganda Limited and two business firms; Meera Investments Limited and Luwaluwa Investments Limited.In the ruling, the Commercial Court Registrar, Mr Elias Kisawuzi ordered Simbamanyo and Kamya to pay Shs600 million to Equity Bank, Shs 400 million to Meera Investments and Shs300 million to Luwaluwa Investments.

“The general rule remains that unsuccessful party will be ordered to pay the costs to the successful party, but the court may make a different order. In other words, the court may decide that as successful party must not be awarded his or her costs,” the court said.

Simbamanyo and Kamya had filed an application to stop the sale and transfer of their properties; Simbamanyo House located along Lumumba Avenue and Afrique suites in Mutungo. In October 2020 the court dismissed the application with costs.

Records show that Equity bank sold the properties to recover its $10 million loan acquired by Simbamanyo in 2017.

The Simbamanyo House at was acquired at $5 million about (Shs18.5 billion) by Meera Investments Limited which is owned by city tycoon and businessman Sudhir Ruparelia. The building has since been renamed the Gender and Labour House.

Simbamanyo has been involved in numerous court battles against the bank in which it challenged the legality of the $10.5 million unpaid loan.

The bank argued that the proprietors of Simbamanyo defaulted on their loan obligations when they failed to pay any money as required by the contract.

 

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National Teachers’ College Mubende, VVOB launch annual Agri-thon event

By
Our Reporter
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National Teachers’ College (NTC) Mubende in partnership with VVOB has launched the Agri-thon, an educational competition. Agri-thon is aimed at equipping student-teachers to teach agriculture practically.

By participating in the Agri-thon, student-teachers year one Juniors gained valuable skills such as innovation, value addition, facilitation techniques etcetera. The students also got to observe how educational competitions can be organised in the context of agricultural education.

VVOB has supported the agricultural department in organising this competition by offering technical support in running an educational competition, ICT solutions for distance learning and monitoring and evaluation efforts to draw lessons from this pilot.

The Agri-thon is a combination of agriculture and marathon, meaning the students participate in agricultural challenges over a longer period of time that requires stamina, skill and teamwork. Every participant gains from participating whilst outstanding participants and teams are recognised with prizes.

What has happened so far?

During the period of school closure, two challenges were set out for student-teachers year one juniors.

They were invited to conduct these challenges in their home communities and submit their work online via an automated WhatsApp channel or e-mail.

During the launch, students will work in teams to complete the final ‘live challenge’ in the student plots at the NTC Mubende. A team of judges will use a rubric to assess their work through observation and conversation.

Parallel to these activities guests will embark on a tour through the college to learn more about innovations towards practical teaching in agriculture and beyond. During the entire day we want to encourage the student-teachers to continue developing the agricultural, entrepreneurial, and pedagogical skills to teach agriculture practically when they become teachers.

VVOB is a non-profit organisation with over 35 years of experience in improving the quality of education systems. VVOB currently has long-term partnerships with Ministries of Education in 9 countries (Cambodia, DR Congo, Ecuador, Rwanda, South Africa, Suriname, Vietnam, Zambia, and Uganda) and works with a range of education actors in Belgium.

VVOB’s vision is to strive for a sustainable world based on equal opportunities through equitable and quality education. To this end, VVOB strengthens the capacity of those institutions that provide professional development for teachers and school leaders in four sub-sectors a) early childhood education, b) primary education, c) general secondary education and d) secondary technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

To realise these objectives, VVOB focuses on capacity development of its partners: ministries of education, teacher training institutions and organisations focusing on professional development. Partners range from national and regional governments to institutions, individual schools, school leaders, teachers, and students.

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URSB, partners equip women entrepreneurs with the knowledge and information needed to develop their businesses

By
Our Reporter
-

Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and it’s partners have closed a two days trainining on women entrepreneurs.

The training focused on arming participants with the knowledge and information needed to develop their business ideas into concrete plans, in addition to registering and trademarking their businesses. Participants also received personalized coaching on branding, product development and guidance on how to position their businesses for the market

Through its Women In Business (WIB) Initiative launched in March 2021,URSB, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and Grooming a Successful Woman with Intellectual Mind (GSWIM) held the training under the theme; “Women Entrepreneurs: Intellectual Property for Branding and Product Development”.

Speaking at the workshop, Duong Chi Dung, Director, Division for the Least Developed Countries, WIPO tasked the women entrepreneurs to use the skills acquired to grow their brands. He reiterated the commitment of WIPO to support training of more budding entrepreneurs. ‘WIPO will assist female-led businesses to use intellectual property to become more innovative and enhance their productive capacity and competitiveness. We plan on more such trainings to support skills development’ Duong Chi added.

URSB’s Board Secretary, Caroline Egesa who represented the Registrar General thanked the partners for looking out for women entrepreneurs who hold a significant percentage of economic activity through ownership of micro, small and medium enterprises in various sectors. ‘I am delighted that WIPO and GSWIM have collaborated with URSB to organize this workshop. Disseminating intellectual property information is key to women entrepreneurs such that they do not lag behind in the market. The 2019 MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) ranks Uganda first in Africa at 38.2% of total business owners. This suggests that in these economies, women are becoming as inclined as men to engage in entrepreneurship. URSB will support you to nurture, grow, commercialise and protect your businesses’ She said.

On his part, James Wasula, the Chairman of GSWIM said their organization has a well-crafted plan to skill and groom women entrepreneurs. “Our strategic approach is centered on mentorship, branding and product development. These will enable the women to launch themselves and their products successfully and irreversibly into the marketplace to grow and win over clients’’ Wasula said

The training gave participants the opportunity to exchange experiences and promote their products, discuss the benefits of intellectual property for entrepreneurs, how to build brands for enhanced market value, development and use of IP strategies, trademark and industrial design registration process among others.

This workshop targeted women entrepreneurs involved in sectors such as cloth making, detergents, confectionery, hand crafts, bottled beverages and beauty care products from across the country and representatives of businesswomen associations, representatives of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association (UWEAL) and the Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSA).

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Parliament tasks Energy Minister to explain rising fuel prices

By
Our Reporter
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Fueling a car

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development has been directed to present a detailed report on the spiraling fuel prices in the country.

According to the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, much as the country has fuel reserves, the increase in fuel prices is a global phenomenon, which has also troubled many Ugandans especially in trade.

The Premier who made the directive to the energy minister, was responding to a concern on the fuel prices raised Buvuma Islands County MP, Hon Robert Migadde, during the Prime Minister’s Question Time on Thursday, 18 November 2021.

Migadde observed that prices of petrol had increased by over 17 per cent since the beginning of the new financial year, adding that this was not in tandem with global prices of petrol.

“By 17 June 2021, the price of petrol was Shs 3,900 and diesel was Shs 3,500. As of today, the price of petrol is Shs 4,600 in Kampala and Shs6,000 in Buvuma islands, whereas diesel is Shs4,200,” Migadde said.

He told the House that as per the global petrol prices, by 15 November 2021, Uganda stood at US$1.3 per litre, Burundi at US$1.2 per litre, Kenya at US$1.1 per litre, Rwanda at US$1.13 per litre and Sudan at US$0.6 per litre.

The Buvuma Islands legislator added that soaring prices of fuel in the country has increased the cost of life for the public, and asked government to tell the country how much fuel is available at the government facility in the eastern district of Jinja and how long they can last the country.

Hon. Macho Godfrey (Indep., Busia Municipality) asked government to open Uganda’s borders with neighbouring countries, to enable Ugandans buy fuel cheaply and thus reduce on the cost of trade.

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EC lists requirements for nomination of candidates ahead of Local Government Councils by-elections

By
Our Reporter
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Mr. Paul Bukenya - EC Spokesperson

The Electoral Commission has listed the basic requirements and information on nomination of candidates for Local Government Councils by-elections. The nomination exercise will take place on Monday 29th November and Tuesday 30th November 2021.

The requirements and information have been specified according to age, formal education, number of supporters, nomination fee, and time of resignation for public offices, nomination date and the nomination venue.

The categories to be filled during these by-elections include: District Chairperson (Kayunga District), District Women Councilors (DWC), District Directly Elected Councilors (DDEC), Municipality Directly Elected Councilors (MDEC), Municipality Women Councilors (MWC), Sub-county Chairpersons (SCCP), Sub-county Directly Elected Councilors (SCDEC) and Sub-County Women Councilors (SCWEC).

The Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Councilors include: People with Disabilities (PWDs), Older Persons, Workers and Youth.

Requirements

The nomination of candidates shall take place at the respective District/City headquarters beginning at 9am and ending at 5pm on each of the appointed dates.

All persons aspiring to contest in the positions are urged to familiarize themselves with the requirements for nomination for each elective position, as outlined in the Guidelines issued by the Electoral Commission.

Aspiring candidates can collect copies of the nomination forms and the above guidelines from the District Electoral Commission offices in each district across the country, or obtain soft copies of the forms and guidelines from the Electoral Commission website: www.ec.or.ug

Candidates’ campaign meetings will be conducted for a period of thirteen (13) days, that is, from Thursday 2nd to 14th December 2021.

Polling and tallying of results for elections of Councillors representing Special Interest Groups (SIGs) shall take place on Wednesday 15th December 2021.

Meanwhile polling for the District Chairperson, Kayunga, and other Local Government Councils shall take place on Thursday 16th December 2021, at all polling stations in the affected electoral areas.

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