Kizza Besigye addresses press at FDC’s headquarters in Najjanankumbi (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm55l9j3yaA

“Kizza Besigye: Before my arrest, I had been under illegal detention at my house in Kasangati for quite a while. He says police is “incompetent” despite the resources they “waste”. Says he defied acts of impunity when he escaped to town

Kizza Besigye narrates his arrest ordeal:

– I was taken first to Nalufenya in Jinja from where I was removed and taken to Moroto.

– In Moroto, strange things happened. All inmates were transferred to other police stations. I was the only inmate at the CPS.

– Counter-terrorism unit officers (the ones who wear black uniforms) were in charge of the Moroto CPS while I was there.

– I was in Moroto CPS for two nights before being charged on the third day.

– At Moroto CPS, the cell door was left open. At night, I noticed some movements. The fellow was masked but he rushed out.

– Charging me in Moroto was irregular. When I was brought to Nakawa, that is why I was charged again for the same case.

Kizza Besigye: Those of us who chose to oppose must know the dictator’s wrath will be directed towards us. Arrest. Torture. And sometimes death. Whenever I am arrested, I am at ease with myself. I am always psychologically prepared for arrest and torture. I am never stressed.

Dr. Kizza Besigye: Biggest challenge is when you are still in police custody. Police is a direct extension of the dictator. It’s his arm.

I was relieved when I was taken from Moroto CPS and taken to the prison. Biggest challenge with our prisons is overcrowding. Besigye: At Moroto Prison, we were 174 inmates in a not-very-sizeable ward. At night, every space was occupied

Kizza Besigye: Prison orders for prisoners on remand aren’t fault of prison officials but fault of the law which dates back to the colonial times. These prison orders dating back to colonial times are unconstitutional. They must change.

Kizza Besigye: Prison orders for prisoners on remand aren’t fault of prison officials but fault of the law which dates back to the colonial times. These prison orders dating back to colonial times are unconstitutional. They must change.

Kizza Besigye: In Moroto where I was held, there hadn’t been a hearing for any criminal case in over 2 years. This is serious and it needs to change. The judiciary is underfunded. The money is spent by these Kifeesi you see running and bludgeoning citizens

Kizza Besigye: I commend the Uganda Red Cross, especially the International Red Cross. They have made the lives of inmates bearable by providing basics

Kizza Besigye: There are those remanded on minister’s orders; you are on remand until the minister orders your release or commits you to be tried. Some people have been in prison on minister’s orders for 20 years. This needs to stop.

Kizza Besigye: Sometimes, police go to prisons and take out suspects illegally for interrogation. Some are taken up country

Kizza Besigye: I thank all those who came to visit me in prison. Going to visit any prisoner in Luzira is not an easy matter. You pass through five check points. At some, you are undressed and deprived of basic dignity. You must set aside a whole day

Kizza Besigye: Some people are saying I have put on weight. I have been eating a lot without doing much. I tried doing some exercises

KIzza Besigye: The struggle we are in is not to simply get a new government i.e. replace NRM with FDC. We want to change our country. We want to change our country from a country where leaders are masters and the would-be masters, the citizens, are subjects

Kizza Besigye: We have criminals masquerading under the police. The institution of the police must be a different institution. Greatest of our policemen, soldiers are very unhappy with what’s happening. That is why we won at polling stations where they voted

Kizza Besigye: We want a country of masters, not subjects. We want a country where leaders are servants. In the country we’re working for, government institutions must be of the people not of the master/dictator.

Kizza Besigye: Ugandan citizens who are masters of this country are just being given handouts. There is a war between the rulers and the citizens. That is why they beat up the citizens. The regime sees citizens as enemies

Kizza Besigye: What happened in the last election wasn’t mere stealing of votes but a coup d’etat against the voters. People who want us to join the government in the name of serving Ugandans, serve them under which framework?” (NBS Live, 13.07.2016)

Aftermath of Brexit: the Leadership quests in the United Kingdom and what Theresa May have to fix as PM!

Theresa May Front Cover

As the Brexit vote changed the United Kingdoms and the atmosphere amongst the Politicians, today’s result of Theresa May instead of David Cameron in Downing Street Number 10; might not be too surprising as the events unfolded. The other parties in Opposition also have current leadership malfunctions as they thrive on. The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) continues to undermine their leader Jeremy Corbyn, to an extent that is flabbergasting. While the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) is trying to find another flamboyant leader to excel after Nigel Farage; who by his own mind has done his duty, rubberstamp the ‘leaving the EU’ but not planning how to finish it.

There been wide speculations after the resignation of David Cameron, as both Prime Minister and Conservative Party Leader, who would follow, would it be Andrea Leadsome who nobody nearly was sure who is? Than the backbencher Stephen Crabb who just wished he didn’t text dirty and might had a shot for the being the ring-bearer. The sudden fall from grace and the giant backstabber of the Conservative Party was Boris Johnson who worked against Party Lines for the Brexit and we’re after the Election, decapitated and disillusioned to where his seat where or where he could bike in London, so therefore he said clearly he wasn’t the man to become the next PM. But that didn’t stop the ally in the battle for leaving Michael Gove to throw his gloves into the skirmish of becoming it, as the insight trades and tricks starting with the rational and cynical politician Gove started to raise levels of both discontent with Boris Johnson and also other candidates, but at some point it faulted as the pick of trade we’re Theresa May, a Blairite of the Conservative Party and might be hardliner by the quest of power. She will have her issues as PM and Conservative leader as the Party is still divided over Brexit in-or-out.

jeremycorbyn-1442168478

The Labour Party have been in disarray since the vote, they have been in shambles, and the recent months leading up to the vote have been with questions of racial remarks and other blunders making the opposition weak instead of strong, combined with mixed efforts to sustain people to vote for ‘Remain’ as the quest was for the Party. The Labour Party have had to reshuffle the Shadow Cabinet a few times during the June 2016, as many have resigned and asked for their leader to step down, as many as 20 MPs and Shadow Cabinet ministers. This happens not only because of Brexit, but because of the coming Iraqi report – Chilcot report who we’re damaging of Blair agenda going to war against the Saddam Hussain Government. Something Jeremy Corbyn have addressed against with passions since before the war and was even inside leaks that his works against was an internal issue in the United Kingdom transcripts between US-UK letters in early 2000s. With that in mind, seems a little suspicious that they want him down right before the report and also in time to concede his position and power to push the grand-issue of using the ammunition against Blair and getting him indicted or getting him to court over the injustice for the maladministration that lead to the war.

The Other grand issue with the PLP or the Labour Party, they had a vote in Parliament on the leadership role of Corbyn, they voted for no-confidence in him in the end of June 2016, just days after the Brexit vote. That have continued since that the Party have continued to undermine their leader as the newly election rounds is coming where the Labour NEC have complied with the rules and let Corbyn have a new ticket on the election, even as Tom Watson and Angela Eagle who wants be the boss instead of Corbyn. This happens just months after Jeremy Corbyn won over the former leader Ed Miliband; who didn’t reignite the party after the fall of grace after Tony Blair. Therefore the situation with the leadership squabble and the internal struggle, that doesn’t show strength of unity towards any election. The Labour Party seems more divided between too fractions the Conservative MPs who are Blairites and the Corbyn who are more socialistic. That must be also part of the friction between the meager alliances inside the party.

UKIP

While the two parties are doing their business, the UKIP have also change of leader, as Nigel Farage, the most loud and obnoxious leader in British politics stepped down after succeeding the Brexit election and making ready for the United Kingdom to leave Brussels and EU behind. One man that is supposed next man in line is the UKIP MEP Stephen Woolfe, another is Jonathan Arnott and Paul Nuttall. Who will be lucky duck to quack the drill of Article 50 and be addressing grievances of the ignorant Englishmen, is likely one of the three. Who it would be, hopefully a fellow with little charisma and little standing in public, as the people then might lose interest in a party who thrives of xenophobia and fear of the unknown.

This all will lead into an uncertain future, what will happen with Liberal-Democrats is not easy to know, as the men and woman there have been content or not outspoken after the Brexit. A rare vindication in amass of speculation following the vote… What is surely there will be cake-walk for Theresa May as the PM, as the Conservative Party MPs might int the end agree with her bargain, but will the whole Parliament accept a candidate for PM without a general election?

The other grander issue following the leadership squabble and mediocre display of character by the men leading up to the vote, the little planning of how to execute and create a dialogue with Brussels. The other standing issue is the Scotland wish for a solution towards their grievances with England and Wales, as they want another path, even vote out of the Union with the British Islands, so they can become a part of European Union as a Separate State, and the role of Nicola Sturgeon might not be easy Theresa May, as she is pro-EU, but need grace to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom. As the Irish question also comes as Dublin and other parties are asking for all Irish men to be in the European Union, as the Northern Ireland secession into a United Ireland, not two different states, but one Island State. That would also be countering dilemma in the waiting for the next government and No.10. The last straw of the ballad of Brexit is the Gibraltar sovereignty and if it is still to be British or to become part of Spain. That is not something the UK or England’s government can brush under the rug, though the bigger question is if they still can keep City of London pumping with foreign cash exchange and the imported Virgin-Olive Oil from Spain and Italy without any considerable added-tax and regulation as they leave the EU.

David-Cameron-Resigns-As-UK-Votes-To-Leave

This with the issue that Theresa May will have on the question of legitimacy of her leadership and as a Prime Minister. She might be legally “elected” as PM through the Parliamentary group of elected men and woman in the UK Parliament under the Conservative Party Group decided for her. That might be just by law and such; still the British people can question her legit place and role as leader of the Nation. So if she really wants to run as a democratically elected leader of the British people, than she should schedule a new General Election. There the clean-up and the new leaders who could be ready to set up committees and negotiations with Brussels, in speed and quality of industry, business and people’s will. There many questions and many ones that needs to be addressed while the other political parties are interrupted by this Brexit. So the reality of the aftermath is what the outcome will be in the end. What the European Union will do and how the other member states will agree upon the actions by the EU. That is something we have to look at. Peace.

Besigye Excites Crowds on His Way to Najjanankumbi (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CzAKVs6278

South Sudan ceasefire ‘largely holding;’ UN urges safe passage for fleeing civilians (13.07.2016)

Machar Kiir

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 13, 2016 –  The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has reported that the ceasefire in the crisis-gripped country appears to be “largely holding, barring sporadic gunfire,” while the UN refugee agency has urged countries to keep their borders open for people fleeing tensions in Juba, where the human rights wing has warned the situation is “deteriorating rapidly.”

According to a UN spokesperson, UNMISS today welcomed the ceasefire announced [by President Salva Kiir and endorsed by First Vice President Riek Machar] yesterday, and Mission chief Ellen Margrethe Løj, strongly urged all parties to adhere to the ceasefire and called on South Sudanese leaders to ensure the order is conveyed through all security forces’ chains of command so that soldiers return to their barracks.

The ceasefire comes after days of clashes between soldiers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition, in an around the South Sudanese capital of Juba. The UN human rights office has said that since Thursday, 7 July, according to Government figures, at least 272 people had been killed, including 33 civilians.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at UN Headquarters this afternoon that Ms. Løj has urged security forces in Juba to allow unhindered access to UNMISS patrols to protect the civilian population and called on the parties to allow civilians to move freely to places of refuge.

“She urged the Government to open up corridors to allow UN and humanitarian actors to provide vital supplies and other assistance to the affected civilians, as well as access for medical evacuations,” Mr. Dujarric added.

UNMISS also reported that the airport in the capital has been reopened, although commercial flights remain suspended. Peacekeepers were able to conduct a limited number of short patrols in Juba today.

Displaced civilians taking refuge at the Tomping base of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), in the wake of fresh clashes in Juba between soldiers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition (SPLA-IO). UN Photo/Beatrice Mategwa

Since the fighting began on Friday, some 5,000 additional internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought protection in the UN’s Tomping compound in the capital. Another 3,000 IDPs who arrived at the UN House premise have been relocated to the protection of civilians’ site nearby, the Spokesperson explained, referring to the situation at some of the protection of civilians (PoC) sites UMISS has been operating since the political face-off between President Kiir and Mr. Machar erupted into full-blown conflict in 2013.

Human rights situation ‘deteriorating rapidly’ UN warns

Meanwhile at the regular press briefing in Geneva, spokesperson Cécile Pouilly of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) told reporters: “We are extremely concerned at the rapid deterioration of the security and human rights situation in South Sudan.”

Preliminary estimates indicated that at least 36,000 people had been displaced by the fighting and were seeking shelter in the UNMISS civilian protection sites and many other locations across the city. Most of the affected people were women and children.

Ms. Pouilly noted that OHCHR is also deeply concerned at reports of civilians being prevented from seeking refuge in the premises of the UNMISS and, in some cases, being shot at while trying to do so, as well as reports that UN compounds and PoC sites have been directly caught in the fighting and apparently at times directly targeted.

She said that there are indications the violence has started to spread to other parts of the country. Armed clashes reportedly erupted yesterday in Mundri, Lainya, Kajo-Keji and Yei, in Central Equatoria state, as well as in Torit, in Eastern Equatoria state.

Welcoming the ceasefire declared by the leaders of the two sides, OHCHR called on both leaders to exercise their leadership and make a concerted and genuine effort to stop their respective forces from fighting each other, as well as to do their utmost to ensure the protection of the civilian population.

UN refugee agency calls for safe passage for people fleeing Juba

The UN refugee agency is calling on all armed parties to ensure safe passage for people fleeing the fighting in Juba, urging neighbouring countries to keep borders open to people seeking asylum.

“Emergency preparedness is in progress in Kenya, Sudan and other neighbouring countries in case of a major influx,” said Spokesperson Leo Dobbs of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Some borders have been affected, such as the Uganda-South Sudan crossing, where security is tightened on the South Sudan side, he said. This has led to a significant decrease in the number of new arrivals coming into Uganda over the weekend.

He said that just 95 people crossed on Saturday, dropping to 36 on Sunday, compared with a daily average of 167 for July and 171 for June.

Also at the briefing, Tarik Jašarevic, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said the movement of WHO staff in Juba was being restricted by military forces. Mothers carrying children had been seen fleeing and trying to reach protection of civilians compounds.

Several days earlier, the WHO had managed to supply the Juba Teaching Hospital with essential medicine and body bags. Medical kits would be distributed to partners on protection of civilians sites, and the WHO was mobilizing additional human and financial resources.

Out of the $7.5 million which the WHO needs for health interventions in South Sudan, only $4.3 million had been received thus far. The health cluster as a whole was only 28 per cent funded, stated Mr. Jašarevic.

Press Statement by the Minister of Home Affairs Dr. IMC. Chombo on Protest Scheduled for the 13th and 14th July 2016 (12.07.2016)

Chombo PR 12.07.2016 P1Chombo PR 12.07.2016 P2

#ThisFlag Message to Zimbabweans; also internal messages from Econet and Delta Beverages (12.07.2016)

This Flag 12.07.2016 P2

Corporation Number 1:

Econet 12.07.2016

Corporation Number 2:

Zim Delta 12.07 PR

Statement from #ThisFlag Citizens Movement on the Arrest and Detention of Pastor Evan Mawarire (12.07.2016)

This Flag 12.07.2016

Statement by Adama Dieng. United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide on the situation in South Sudan (12.07.2016)

Dieng 12.07.2016

Dr. Kizza Besigye statement after release on bail from Luzira (12.07.2016)

Besigye Kasangati 12.07.2016

Praise be to God! I am glad to be back home after two months in detention! I am free for now but I can never be really free until our country is free.

I am grateful to all of you who braved the war-like atmosphere around High Court to attend the court proceedings.

I am grateful to all who enthusiastically welcomed me back along the way home & at our home, the unprecedented police brutality towards you notwithstanding.

I’d like to thank greatly all who visited me in prison; all who have been praying for me; and all who’ve courageously sustained the struggle for a free Uganda.

I am grateful to the excellent legal team that fights hard to ensure my freedom.

I’ll be appearing at Nakawa Court at 9am tomorrow, Wednesday 11th July as required. Thereafter, I’ll address the press at the FDC Hqs, Najjanankumbi, at 11am.

The struggle continues and, without any doubt, we shall overcome!

UNMISS urges parties to deescalate tensions and lift movement restrictions (12.07.2016)

UNMISS 12.07.2016