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FDC’s Amuriat arrested in Kitgum, driven to Uganda-South Sudan border

By
Our Reporter
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amuriat arrested

Police in Kitgum have arrested Forum for Democratic Change-FDC presidential candidate Patrick Oboi Amuriat for trying to forcefully enter the town.

Amuriat was meant to campaign both in Kitgum and Lamwo today according to the campaign schedule.

According to the campaign programme by EC, two presidential candidates NRM’s Yoweri Museveni and Patrick Amuriat were both meant to campaign in Kitgum District today.

However, Amuriat was tempting to access Kitgum forcefully with his supporters while Museveni was already holding a rally there.

To avoid possible clashes between FDC and NRM supporters, a decision was taken by Police to prohibit Amuriat from entering Kitgum town but he resisted.

This caused police to fire teargas to disperse supporters of the FDC presidential candidate who were following him.

He was driven away to the Uganda-South Sudan border by police.

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Nyakana’s wife drags KCCA, UNRA to court over Centenary Park land

By
Our Reporter
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aerial view of centenary-park

Both Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) have been dragged to the High Court (Land Division) by Nyakana’s wife Sarah Kizito Nyakana over the Centenary Park land.

According to an application filed in the High Court on 12th November 2020 by Nalongo Estates Limited, which is owned by Sarah Kizito Nyakana, she wants to know the most effective and efficient way of ensuring the smooth implementation of the Kampala flyover project in co-existence with her rights under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Nyakana accuses UNRA of encroaching on her land saying she surrendered only two acres but the authority attempted to demarcate 4.7 acres of the Centenary Park land needed for phase two of the Kampala flyover. She added that KCCA had agreed to renew her lease and process for her a title for the remaining 2.7 acres.

She also wants to know whether the process of finalizing the extension of the lease to a full term and issuance of a lease term should be completed by KCCA.

“Whether the process of finalizing the extension of the lease to a full term in respect to the properties compromised in LRV 4211 Folio 14 Plot 96A, Kitante Road (Yusuf Lule Road), and LRV 4211 Folio 15 Plot 5 Park Lane and issuance of a lease term in respect of the property compromised in LRV 2825 Folio 1 Plot 34E-38E Jinja Road, all in favor of the plaintiff pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding, should be completed by the first defendant (KCCA),” reads part of the application filed at High Court through her lawyers M/S Muwema & CO. Advocates and Solicitors.

Nyakana says that the tenants businesses have been adversely affected and disrupted by both KCCA and URA and they now live in constant fear of destruction of their properties and eviction yet the flyover project and the businesses are supposed to co-exist under the MOU.

“That this matter is clear and straightforward and it ought not to be subjected to long and winding litigation in the interest of expediting the government program of the said Kampala flyover project as it requires an interpretation of the aforesaid Memorandum of Understanding to determine the rights and obligation of the parties.”

According to KCCA records, Nalongo Estates Limited was given a contract to manage the green public open space land at Centenary Park on behalf of the city authorities. A contract which was to be renewed after five years.

The developers were supposed to plant trees that would create leisure gardens and conference centres among others and members of the public were to be allowed access without any restrictions.

However, the space was later fenced off and members of the public could not access it for free as permanent structures were constructed on part of the piece of land and turned it into bars and parlours.

After the expiry of the lease, KCCA attempted to obtain vacant possession of the land but there was a physical confrontation with KCCA enforcement officers, who wanted to demolish the structures and repossess the land to pave way for city developments.

Nalongo Estates Ltd has previously been at the centre of controversy in 2017 when the company blocked KCCA from accessing the same land to enable the installation of sewage pipes by the National Water Sewerage and Corporation (NWSC).

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SafeBoda exits Kenyan market as #Covid-19 aftermath bites hard

By
Our Reporter and Agencies
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Safe-boda-rider Courtesy photo.

Hundreds of motorcycle riders and workers of hailing app SafeBoda are set to lose jobs by the end of the month after the firm announced its exit from the Kenyan market, coming just two years after it entered the country.

In a notice on Monday, the Uganda-based tech startup said it will suspend its ride services from November 27, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic had weighed heavily on its operations.

“While Nairobi is seeing some economic recovery from Covid-19, boda transportation has been hit hard. This has meant our business cannot sustainably operate in this environment and, unfortunately, the timeline for a full recovery is not certain,” read part of the statement

SafeBoda is a community of entrepreneurs and bodaboda riders built to revolutionise transportation, payments, and on-demand services in Africa’s cities.

The firm’s exit is expected to hit hard its community of users and business value chain which extends to more than 4,000 riders in Nairobi.

Wallet balances

At the same time, the firm has encouraged users to exhaust wallet balances before November 27 by taking rides and sending packages.

The company will, however, offer refunds to customers with balances beyond the exit day.

In spite of its exit from Kenya, SafeBoda is expected to retain the rest of its continental footprint as it seeks to intensify its presence in other markets, including Uganda and Nigeria.

Last month, President Uhuru Kenyatta, during a social hall meeting with boda-boda riders, said the industry was emerging as one of the biggest drivers of the economy, with operators generating Sh980 million a day.

The Head of State was witnessing the signing of a major partnership between the Boda Boda Association of Kenya, Rubis Energy, the Capital Markets Authority, and Nabo Capital, which saw the birth of an investment scheme.

He termed the boda-boda sub-sector a sleeping giant that needs to be awakened.

“You have become a silent economic miracle in our midst and that is why I think this scheme came at the right time,” he said.

Full of potential

He described the sector as full of potential that can be of great importance if it puts mechanisms into use of its daily collection.

“With an average daily earning of Sh700, the sector’s annual earnings are estimated at Sh357 billion. Every single day, boda-boda operators collect Sh980 million,” said President Kenyatta.

He wondered why the riders are always complaining of being broke all the time yet the sector accumulates over Sh27 billion on a monthly basis.

“Every year, the boda-boda industry collects Sh357 billion; if you collect almost Sh1 billion a day, why does every boda-boda rider cry of hard economic times?” he asked.

According to the President, the sector supports, directly or indirectly, 5.2 million Kenyans which accounts for 10 per cent of the population. “This means that one in every 10 Kenyans makes his livelihood because of the business that you do.”

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Sudhir will defeat you, you are interpreting the law wrongly – Lawyer Ssemakadde warns BoU

By
Our Reporter
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BoU Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile

“An act of contempt and disrespect of courts”

City lawyer Isaac Ssemakadde of the Center for Legal Brains Trust says Bank of Uganda and its legal advisors are wrongly interpreting the Financial Institutions Act by rushing to illegally liquidate Crane Bank.

Appearing on CBS FM last evening, Ssemakadde said that already there were two court rulings from the High Court commercial division and the Court of Appeal which all pin Bank of Uganda for wrongly interpreting the Financial Institutions Act and misusing the Act while managing the banking institutions in the country.

He further said that apart from the two courts, Parliament of Uganda also investigated the Bank of Uganda on the closure of seven banks where Crane Bank was the last one and its findings are clear and pointing at the Central Bank for illegally closing these local banks.

He noted that in the last court decisions, there were loopholes on the receivership of Crane Bank by Bank of Uganda after it sent a statutory manager to manage the bank and make a report but did not wait for him to submit his findings because officials in Bank of Uganda used police to seize Crane Bank while Katimbo was upcountry and they took away crucial documents including land titles some of which have since gone missing.

The lawyer noted that from there, BoU chased away Mr Katimbo and the first thing they did was to sale the bank at a friendly price to dfcu bank.

According to Ssemakadde, the law can give some individuals in an institutions powers but explains those individuals can use the law to enrich themselves like using it to undermine orders among others.

He says that Dr Sudhir Ruparelia refused the issue of individuals misusing the law and decided to seek court redress and has been registering court victories on different occasions adding that after the recent one he decided to go to the registrar of companies to seek for re-ownership of his bank which was illegally taken over by the central bank.

Ssemakadde added that the actions of BoU to rush to liquidate Crane bank out of fear and panic without waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court is an act of contempt and disrespect of courts.

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Court of Appeal in Fort Portal delivers nine Judgments in five days

By
Our Reporter
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court of appeal fort portal

The Court of Appeal sitting at Fort Portal had delivered five Judgments in the ongoing Criminal Appeals Session by close of business on Friday November 13th.

This brings the number of concluded appeals to eleven in a space of five days, having delivered four Judgments on Wednesday and dismissed two appeals on Friday.

Justices; Kenneth Kakuru, Christopher Madrama and Irene Mulyagonja overturned a life imprisonment sentence that had been handed to Nuwamanya James, Bwambale Sunday aka Kibwetere and Muhindo Asansiso for Aggravated Robbery but maintained the conviction. The appellants’ sentences were reduced as follows; the first appellant was sentenced to 16 years and eight months while the second and third appellants were each sentenced to 14 years and eight months after court deducting time spent on remand. The Court was fortified by the need to promote reconciliation amongst the family members as a key consideration in reducing the sentences. The younger offenders were treated more leniently than their elder.

The Court enhanced the sentence of Elly Musinguzi who had been convicted for Murder of his biological father on his own plea of Guilty. The Court allowed the appeal against his 19 year sentence on the grounds of illegality but maintained the conviction. The three Justices unanimously agreed to increase his sentence to 20 years and two months jail term considering that he killed his own father by pounding his head several times after resisting his attempt to snatch a plate of food from him.

In the Appeal of Turyahikayo Augustine, where he was appealing against the sentence of 20 years for Aggravated Defilement, the Court allowed the Appeal against sentence but maintained the conviction. “We find that 20 years imprisonment in addition to the one year and 11 months on remand is harsh and excessive in the circumstances and amounts to an injustice,” the Justices observed in their judgment. The Court went on to reduce the sentence to 12 years and one month.

The Court reduced a 20-year jail term handed to Patrick Nyakana for the offence of Aggravated Defilement to 11 years.

The Justices also set aside a 45-year sentence handed to Nahabwe Livingstone for two counts of Murder. They reduced his sentence to 22 years and four months in each count and added that the appellant would serve both sentences concurrently.

In their Judgment, the Court expressed concern on the disparity of sentences that are handed down by the High Court for similar offenses to accused persons that are incarcerated in the same prisons across the country. Earlier on, their Lordships had decried the overwhelming numbers in prison and had called upon all judicial officers to provide quick solutions.

The Court’s Deputy Registrar, Ayebare Tumwebaze, said the hearing phase had ended on Friday (November 13) and reiterated that the Justices were committed to ensure that the remaining judgments are delivered within three weeks’ time.

He was glad that all the lawyers and State Attorneys were soundly committed to the task and indeed delivered good returns. He also appreciated the prisons authorities who did their best to employ the technology for virtual hearings leading to the success of the scientific session.

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Pastor Ssemanda remanded to Kitalya Prison

By
Our Reporter
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Pr Ssemanda (courtesy photo)

Pastor Sirajje Ssemanda of Revival Ministries Church, Bombo has been remanded to Kitalya Prison until December 2nd, 2020.

He was charged with 17 counts of obtaining money by false pretense before Grade One magistrate Ketty Joan Acaa. He pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

Pr Ssemanda is accused of defrauding over 400 private school owners and thousands of parents of vulnerable children. Over Shs4 billion has allegedly been defrauded by him on promises of getting them scholarships, trips abroad and connecting them to Operation Wealth Creation.

The State House Anti-Corruption Unit on Sunday arrested Sirajje Ssemanda at Mutukula border as he attempted to flee the country to Tanzania after he had stolen billions of shillings from the vulnerable people.

It is alleged that Pastor Ssemanda connived with Pastor Franklin Mugisha Mondo and Presidential Advisor on Kampala Affairs Catherine Kusasira to swindle over 4 billion from the victims by promising them trips abroad and connecting them to income generating schemes. They also promised to take them to President Museveni for a meeting.

On Saturday, a group of pastors under their umbrella body- Hands Across the World petitioned Lt Col Edith Nakalema, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit Head accusing Kusasira, Mondo and Ssemanda of soliciting from them over Shs4 billion.

Catherine Kusasira and Pastor Mondo have also been summoned by the the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.

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Free lunch for Immigration staff suspended

By
Our Reporter
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immigration offices

The Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control under the Ministry of Internal Affairs has temporarily suspended free lunch for its staff in offices.

Immigration staff have been receiving free lunch in their offices until last week when the free meals were scrapped off.

In an internal memo dated November 13th, 2020, all staff have been informed of hardships which have caused a shortfall in funding of the sector this financial year but however, it won’t apply to the detention centre.

“Following the current economic hardship and the underfunding of our budget and increased unpaid bills to service providers, this is to suspend serving of lunch within the departments,” reads part of the internal memo.

“This is a temporary measure to be adjusted as and when the funds are made available. This does not however apply to the detention centre,” it added.

This comes after government announced that it wasn’t having enough funds to disburse to none vital votes. However, critics of the government allege that money meant for some of the votes was diverted for political work.

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Finalists without ‘convincing reasons’ miss exams at Kyambogo

By
Ronard Shabomwe
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Students gathered outside the examination hall at Kyambogo University during the afternoon examination period.

Over 200 final year students of Kyambogo University have been engulfed as they were locked out of examination rooms and missed the end of semester two examination on the first day of examinations due to failure to come up with convincing reasons on why they have failed to pay school fees.

The university says that some of these students have not paid any single amount of money and others have failed to fully complete payments by the time the university kicked off their semester two examinations on 16th Monday.

According to Kyambogo university fees payment policy and examination regulations of the university, no student is allowed to sit examinations without full registration on completion of payment of fees. However, Associate Professor Fabian Nabugoomu, the deputy vice Chancellor in charge of finance and administration says that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have favored students who have failed to fully clear their tuition.

university has considered students with exceptional circumstances like those who lost their parents/ guardians to sit for their final papers even when they have not yet fully completed paying tuition.

Professor Nabugoomu adds that members of staff who wish to support the students have been allowed to pay for the students or to be cleared by the university secretary to stand as surety for the students.

However, a staff from the office of deputy VC in charge of finance and administration on the condition of anonymity told this reporter that many students who approached their office came up with reasons that did not convince them to allow students to sit for the examinations.

She says that students who have been granted provisional registration to do exams are those that have experienced financial challenges as a result of death of their sponsors, guardians, parents and those who managed to get staff as their surety.

She as well reveals that if a student has clear records of paying the university in time, this could serve as an indication that they have failed due to some other challenges.

According to Kasimu Kakande, a finalist in the special needs and rehabilitation faculty who has failed to pay his fees in time said that, many students failed to get member of staff to stand as surety because most of them fear that students might fail to pay fees and it is the staff to meet that financial loss.

Staff is required to write to the university secretary and provide a copy of their work identity cards, indicating that, incase a student fails to clear fees; the university is allowed to deduct from their salaries.

The students were seen pleading with examination supervisors who could tell the students to go and get permission from the bursars or finance department.

Most of the students who have failed to clear their tuition to zero balance are because their parents/ guardians lost jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic as Patrick  Labongo also a finalist says that he has managed to do his first paper because a relative who is a staff stood in for him as a surety.

Obadiah Eloba the head of coordinators in the department of economics and statistics revealed that he has been on several occasions approached by many students seeking advice from him on how they can handle the situation.

Other students have been sent out of the examination rooms because they had examination permits which were forged in order to access examination rooms.

Kyambogo University reopened for over 11,943 finalists on 15th October for a period of only four weeks that ended on 13th November. The exams that started today 16th will run for two weeks up to 29th November.

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#Covid-19: Relief as Moderna vaccine shows nearly 95% protection

By
Agencies
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Moderna doctors involved in the research at the laboratories.

A new vaccine that protects against Covid-19 is nearly 95% effective, early data from US company Moderna shows.

The results come hot on the heels of similar results from Pfizer, and add to growing confidence that vaccines can help end the pandemic.

Both companies used a highly innovative and experimental approach to designing their vaccines.

Moderna says it is a “great day” and they plan to apply for approval to use the vaccine in the next few weeks.

However, this is still early data and key questions remain unanswered.

How good is it?

The trial involved 30,000 people in the US with half being given two doses of the vaccine, four weeks apart. The rest had dummy injections.

The analysis was based on the first 95 to develop #Covid-19 symptoms.

Only five of the Covid cases were in people given the vaccine, 90 were in those given the dummy treatment. The company says the vaccine is protecting 94.5 per cent of people.

The data also shows there were 11 cases of severe #Covid-19 in the trial, but none happened in people who were immunised.

“The overall effectiveness has been remarkable… it’s a great day,” Tal Zaks, the chief medical officer at Moderna, told BBC News.

Dr Stephen Hoge, the company’s president, said he “grinned ear to ear for a minute” when the results came in.

He told BBC News: “I don’t think any of us really hoped that the vaccine would be 94 per cent effective at preventing #Covid-19 disease, that was really a stunning realisation.”

When will I get it?

That depends on where you are in the world and how old you are.

Moderna says it will apply to regulators in the US in the coming weeks. It expects to have 20 million doses available in the country.

The company hopes to have up to one billion doses available for use around the world next year and is planning to seek approval in other countries too.

The UK government is still negotiating with Moderna as their vaccine is not one of the six already ordered. It says Moderna’s will not be available before spring next year.

The UK has outlined plans that prioritise the oldest people for immunisation.

What don’t we know?

We still do not know how long immunity will last as volunteers will have to be followed for much longer before that can be answered.

There are hints it offers some protection in older age groups, who are most at risk of dying from Covid, but there is not full data.

Mr Zaks told the BBC their data so far suggests the vaccine “does not appear to lose its potency” with age.

And it is not known whether the vaccine just stops people becoming severely ill, or if it stops them spreading the virus too.

All these questions will affect how a coronavirus vaccine is used.

Is it safe?

No significant safety concerns have been reported, but nothing, including paracetamol, is 100 per cent safe.

Short lived fatigue, headache and pain were reported after the injection in some patients.

“These effects are what we would expect with a vaccine that is working and inducing a good immune response,” said Prof Peter Openshaw, from Imperial College London.

How does this compare to the Pfizer vaccine?

Both vaccines use the same approach of injecting part of the virus’s genetic code in order to provoke an immune response.

The preliminary data we have seen so far is very similar – around 90% protection for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and around 95 per cent for Moderna’s.

However, both trials are still taking place and the final numbers could change.

Moderna’s vaccine appears to be easier to store as it remains stable at minus 20C for up to six months and can be kept in a standard fridge for up to a month.

Pfizer’s vaccine needs ultra-cold storage at around minus 75C, but it can be kept in the fridge for five days.

The Sputnik V vaccine, developed in Russia, has also released very early data which suggests it is 92% effective.

How does it work?

Moderna has developed an “RNA vaccine” – it means part of the Coronavirus’s genetic code is injected into the body.

This starts making viral proteins, but not the whole virus, which is enough to train the immune system to attack.

It should train the body to make both antibodies – and another part of the immune system called T-cells to fight the coronavirus

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TIGRAY CONFLICT: Ethiopia turns around says they haven’t involved Museveni to mediate

By
Our Reporter and Agencies
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President Museveni and the Ethiopian delegation that met him in Gulu state lodge. The team was led by Deputy PM Demeke Mekonnen Hassen.

 

The Ethiopian government on Monday refuted claims of planned talks with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, mediated by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala.

A statement from the Emergency Task Force on Tigray, a team put together by the Ethiopian government to manage the crackdown on the TPLF, said the reports were “inaccurate and not substantiated”.

Redwan Hussein, the spokesperson for the task force, said Addis Ababa will continue with the crackdown on errant TPLF members to ensure they face the law.

“The federal government is committed to upholding the rule of law in Tigray Region,” he said

The Ethiopian government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has repeatedly said it will not negotiate with TPLF “criminals”, whom it accuses of atrocities on civilians, corruption and other crimes including treason.

On November 4, Dr Abiy ordered a military operation on the TPLF, accusing the erstwhile ruling party of attacking and looting weapons from the northern command of the Ethiopian National Defence Force.

The incident seemed to cement hostilities between the TPLF, which ruled Ethiopia for three decades to April 2018, and Abiy, whose radical reforms, including a proposal to dissolve TPLF into a common, non-ethnic party,  have been opposed sabotaged by the TPLF.

International pressure

But Abiy has also faced pressure from other international players to sue for dialogue, especially after it emerged 26,000 people have fled to Sudan seeking refuge.

Amnesty International also revealed on Thursday that some hundreds of unarmed civilians had been massacred by the militia in Tigray, although it could not determine whether those fighters were allied to the government or the TPLF.

Abiy, however, said the TPLF had killed civilians and cited the AI report as part of the proof.

“Such horrendous attacks on civilians perpetrated by the TPLF is an abominable transgression that the international community not only needs to take note of, but also condemns in the strongest terms possible.

“The international community should also support the federal government in its efforts to bring the perpetrators of such gruesome crimes to justice,” the PM said on Sunday, arguing his government will not desire an external intervention in the conflict.

Ethnic tensions

The TPLF led Ethiopia for three decades, helping improve its economy, but also left in its wake ethnic tensions and claims of atrocities especially on those who did not toe the line.

Abiy, an ethnic Oromo (born of an Amhara mother), came to power largely as a consensus candidate following protests especially in his native Oromo region.

But he has been at loggerheads with the TPLF, who now see him as an illegitimate leader.

TPLF unaware

Claims of mediation emerged on Sunday after some Ugandan officials told AFP news agency that President Museveni had planned to host the two sides for a possible dialogue.

In fact, TPLF President Debretsion Gebremichael also indicated on Monday that he was not aware of an invitation to dialogue in Kampala, although the TPLF itself has not said if it will reject such an offer.

On Sunday, the US criticised the TPLF for launching rockets on Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.

Tibor Nagy, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, said the front was attempting to “internationalise” the conflict in Ethiopia.

However, Debretsion had accused Eritrea of launching attacks on Tigray and offering Ethiopian jets a launchpad for attacks on Tigray. Eritrea has denied involvement.

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