The Uganda Police Force in actions yet again, they can’t help themselves! This here is a clip of how the Police blocked the procession in Kabalagala in Kampala. They are so Partisan-Police that they all could just wear Yellow and be hired to work in the new call-center to the NRM-Party. I am sure not alone feeling that.
Category: Law
The People’s President has massive campaigns in Iganga district today; also a brief look at the governance level in the district

Today have been a massive day for the FDC campaign convoy in the Iganga district, campaign rallies and travels through it and seen how the public of the district has reacted to Dr. Kizza Besigye campaigning there. The levels of appreciation towards him and his campaign team, take a look!

Hon. Abu Katuntu joins the campaign trail in Iganga, this morning we have rallied the people Kiwanyi as our second stop over.
Iganga: The Mamba is finally here Kizza Besigye campaign team’s security is tighter in Busoga region. This re enforcement is from bridged in Jinja town.

Message in Iganga Town:
“For the last 30 years Busoga region has been the champion of poverty in Uganda. We want to remove that poverty from you. FDC has got comprehensive programs to handle the problems of Busoga. First of all we are to get rid of grass thatched huts in the region by providing 10 iron sheets to each house hold as a quick short term measure for improving the quality of housing.” Besigye said to a big roar of approval from the tens of thousands of supporters in Iganga town.

Governance issues in Iganga:
Some information in the Iganga District, these different stories tell the level of money and how they have governed the area. Interesting, right?

Misuse of funds:
“Iganga district officials have been ordered to report to parliament by Minister Adolf Tumwesigye after they misused district funds” (NBS TV, 19.12.2013).

Paid loyalty in the district:
“Residents of Iganga town received shs 5,000 from MP Peter Mugema as an appreciation for supporting the NRM resolution that fronted President Museveni as the sole party candidate for the 2016 elections” (91.2 Crooze FM, 22.04.2014).
Push away from the market in town:
“Law enforcement personnel in Iganga have impounded merchandise belonging to 150 street vendors. The town clerk Iganga municipal council, Assy Tumwesigire says the street vendors had three months earlier been given a notice to vacate the streets of Iganga municipal council in vain. Tumwesigire says the vendors had earlier been instructed to take up gazetted areas like markets but have since become hesitant to comply. One of the traders whose merchandise was impounded, Janat Namukuve says she had borrowed 400,000 shillings from one of the microfinance institutions with a view of setting up a business of cooking food but now all her capital is no more and does not know how she will pay the loan” (Step FM/TV, 02.03.2015).
Hospital conditions:
“Residents of Iganga Municipality have expressed concern about the growing stench of dead bodies from Iganga Hospital. Dead bodies are dumped in a makeshift structure without a door leaving dogs and flies to feast on them. The structure also lacks a roof” (NBS TV, 11.03.2015).
Local Coffee program:
“The MP Kigulu South Milton Muwuma Kalulu has said that on Wednesday 15th April 2015 he will be distributing coffee seedlings to his constituents. Speaking from Iganga district headquarters, Muwuma said that this is a government program which is meant to be implemented by prepared farmers in the area. He said “that the government brought 50000 coffee seedlings plus eucalyptus trees, therefore farmers with prepared gardens are to benefit from this project” (Source: Ibrahim Ndogha, 14.04.2015).

Appreciation for a local NGO:
“Iganga District Local Government applauds ANPPCAN Uganda for the positive impact on the lives of Orphans and Vulnerable Children. Together along the path to ensure all children are protected, secure and cared for” (Anppcan Uganda Chapter, 24.06.2015).
Reactions after NRM Primaries in 2015:
“Court in Iganga has granted bail to the 4 suspects who were arrested yesterday in connection with abduction of NRM district registrar Kirunda Yazid. Toto Abdur Akimu Ali 40, Sserumbe Henry 25, Matende Beast 24, have been granted bail by the Chief Magistrate Iganga Court Komakech William after paying 250,000 cash each” (RFM Iganga Fans, 27.11.2015).
I think that was enough for today, hope you enjoyed it. Peace.
Rwomushana says: “Aine a Symbol of Violence in the Elections” (Youtube-Clip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2f2vo5ypcc
“Rwomushana says police does not have power to censure him. He says he is monitoring the Leopard” (NBS TV Uganda, 2016).
More tornmenting actions toward the Go-Forward campaign; IGP pays for damages after Besigye rally in Bukwo earlier this year

Just to show some of the actions done during the election period today, by the Calvary and this happening in Iganga, Sanga Town, Kazo County, Kiruhuru Disrict and in Bukwo. Go-Forward has had issues with Police and NRM-Regime, because of the newly appointed arch-nemesis Hon. Amama Mbabazi the former NRM big-man.
In Iganga town there was supposed to be a procession to happen unto the campaign rally venue in the town. While local police didn’t want that to happen and tried to block the main street; they did not succeed on the matter. Instead the locals were powerful enough to stop the block and walk in procession anyway. The Calvary did not win there today.
A man was certainly involved in tarnishing campaign posters in Sanga Town Council, destroying them and pinning them down. There been saying that he has been doing so since the campaigning started.

Planned reports on what the Police want to do to Go-Forward activists:
“Kazo county Go Forward coordinators to be arrested by state operatives any time from now” (…)“We are reliably informed on how security is planning to arrest all our Coordinators in Nkungu and Buremba subcounties in Kiruhura district today after their refusal to cross to NRM recently”.
Interesting police actions:
“GP Gen. Kayihura came to Bukwo yes to and paid Ush. 5m to the two victims shot during Besigye’s rally in Bukwo. And today he went to the IDP camp of Kapkwobor with UWA representative.
I thinks that is enough for today.
Andrew Mwenda’s flawed logic; He claims that Mzee is not the problem with Uganda; I beg to differ

Andrew Mwenda keeps with his flawed logic. Like he has lost the plot and forgotten his traits and his theories of old. But hey, he is hungry and wants to eat. Here is has ploy of arrogance on facebook:
“It is simplistic to argue that Uganda’s problem is Museveni. A better argument is Museveni has failed to solve the problems of Uganda” (…)”Museveni (with Besigye) once told us that getting rid of Obote would be a major step in improving anything. What happened?” (…)”Besigye’s weakness is to personalize Uganda’s problems to Museveni and argue that his removal is all we need. The problems of poverty, weak state, poor Government services and democracy deficit were there before Museveni” (…)“If we fail to diagnose Uganda’s problems, the solutions will always elude us” (Andrew Mwenda, 17.01.2016)
Well, in sum there has gone 29 years of the one-man rule since 1986. There have been many benefactors and Members of Parliament since them, but the main factor in the calculations have been President Museveni. Since he took rule he has marginalized or used tactics to get people loyal to Museveni and not directly to any state institution. Therefore he is a major problem, because if it didn’t really happen, then he didn’t sponsor the benedictional project or program. Museveni could only support a program if he could benefit from it.

That Mwenda has a problem with Besigye is that he is in stark contrast to Museveni. Besigye asks for accountability and transparency something that doesn’t fit the world of development and growth for the editor and creator of the Independent Magazine. Something that is weird considering his past at KFM Radio and trouble for blasting governmental cronyism.
It is true that Museveni isn’t the only problem, but he is the one that creates the problem and feeds the issues, instead of fixing them. He doesn’t mend or complement them. Instead he adds on the weight until he overpowers it; because he has to do what he can rule and control it. Therefore he is the problem, as he is the executive power and the man who has had the majority rule or even rigged himself the majority. So Mwenda must have forgotten that part of the issue, if not he is blind by his own ego.

It is true that all the issues that Mwenda mentioned in the government of Uganda as the bad governance, weak state-institutions and democratic deficit. This was inherited in 1986 from the Obote II and the short-term presidents in between like Yusuf Lule and Tito Okello. So there aren’t all Museveni faults, but he has had the time to fix many of the issues and defects in the governmental structures and democratic facilitation if he really cared about them. It is not like he was sitting for a hot minute and didn’t have the time to fix the corruption of UNRA, NSSF and other state-organizations.
When you see excellent record of higher and higher loan-rate on the government budget for any year, when the value of the currency falls and escalating inflations you can wonder if the government and economical institutions under the regime is for the people or the rich elite who is fed by the government. The Neo-Liberalization of Uganda has lead the government to expand the businesses into every part of society instead of governmental control as the Chicago School of Business wanted in 1970s, with the IMF and World Bank controlled Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) that demolished state-financed agricultural and subsidized industries that was supposed to be controlled by market-powers instead of supported by tax-money to sustain growth and higher employment rate. The result of inflicting this on the Ugandan economy as the NRM-Regime has done with such a passion is that the business that has no cut for the government has been left astray and the ones that is not strong enough has gone bankrupt. Now Uganda has to imports of finished products and stop of productions from industry and factories in former towns like Jinja. Also with the historical institution of the Uganda Development Corporations, who from the 1950s gave growth through state-funds, and not through direct market power!

That must have been forgotten by the Andrew Mwenda, that President Museveni sold everything to foreigners or liberated the economy to point that the URA can’t tax, or control to tax without losing the control over the sold merchandise. That is why Uganda has one of the lowest rates of taxation on products since the URA doesn’t have the manpower or the regulations to without taxes. They can’t keep up with citizens and movement of money, if they had then they might catch up with more of the embezzlement and corrupted agreements between liberated companies or new structures in the market own by the ruling elite. But that is not good is it? Send cases to the DPP and OAG to fix the matters together with Uganda Anti-Corruption Commission which is so meager that they can’t keep the state of affairs and make government institution accountable, something that President Museveni doesn’t really want them to do, unless he want to get rid of somebody who has the dream of succeeding him. Then they will find something on the man or woman show some of the dirty laundry.
You don’t need to be giant man with much knowledge to diagnose some of the issues that the government of Uganda has to tackle, some the state of affairs and some tangible structures that need to be fixed. The government needs taxation with representation, also need to re-focus the money and also be more accountable for their actions. Not have a one-big-man rule as they have had since 1986 that keeps to eating of the plate, instead of serving the people. That is a problem: a problem that knows that he is the problem, if he stills remember what he studied in the end of 1960s and beginning of 1970 at the University of Dar-Es-Salam in Tanzania. President Museveni should know the issues and know how he made them, or prepared them through his loyal cronies. As Andrew Mwenda seems more like one of his mouth-pieces more as the time goes, instead of pseudo-intellectual as he wishes to portray himself.

This is a direct address to the issue, as he can try to clean his slate, but he has lost the plot. The problem and the real man behind it is President Museveni is only leader and nearly the only one who has been there from the get-go and have ruled so long that he know what has been done differently than under his wings. The reign will not be remembered as the ones who follow the dream story of liberation, but also of eating the riches and wealth while forgetting to feed the public, or let the get opportunity to eat and earn a living.

So Mwenda has a flawed view on the matter, that he at the same time says Besigye is wrong. Besigye has also said that the institutions need accountability and transparency which is starch contrast to Museveni. Something that is vital to rebuild them and prove that the government institutions are for the people and not the Executive to eat of. So if that have to change then the public funds and public expenditure together with strengthen them, not in ownership of the executive but by giving the civil servants power to execute the necessary flows of technical assistance or regulations to let the teachers, policemen, judges and bureaucrats to do their initial service to the public; now they are handpicked men to serve the executive. That is problem because the paycheck from the executive is more important than doing their job to the public who need the men to secure their daily life and be there to safely govern the territories of the state.

As we can see Mwenda has judged the matter very easy without thinking it through, if he has then his logic is very flawed as President Museveni is a problem in state clogged with issues and the problems. There isn’t a way solution to it all, how to fix the economy is there many theories, though the stability of the currency and inflation should be the first, also secure low loans-rate so that the growth can be similar to the inflation rate. There is also the level of building trust between government institutions and people as they are supposed to be connected and for each other. Not letting the state and its institutions being on an island, and when they need the public hire a ferry to let the visit. That is not the idea of the state, the state is supposed to be mirrored in the people with transparency and accountability where the public can question the behavior of the rulers, governors and mayors, as they are set to represent the public, not just execute the laws and regulations without mercy, then the government is an totalitarian state, where justice will not prevail unless you are on good term with the head or executive power on the top. That is how the system is now with government of Uganda. We can easily see that he is one of the major factors, why President Museveni is the elephant in the room when you discuss progress and development issues in the country, since he can decide where to go or who to hire to fix it.
That is it. Peace.
In rememberence of Patrice Lumumba with his letter to the U.N. Special Representative on 4.1.1961

The first president after independence from Belgium in Democratic Republic of Congo was assainated on this day in 1961. That is why I have this post on him today as rememberence of him. Because we should not forget his contribution to equality and freedom in DRC. That is why I will add on his last letter written on 4th January 1961 from Thysville prison, the letter was sent to Special Representive A.M. Dayal, here it is:
Mr. Special Representative,
On December 27 last, I had the pleasure of receiving a visit from the Red Cross, which occupied itself with my plight and with the plight of the other parliamentarians imprisoned together with me. I told them of the inhuman conditions we are living in.
Briefly, the situation is as follows. I am here with seven other parliamentarians. In addition there are with us Mr. Okito, President of the Senate, a Senate employee and a driver. Altogether there are ten of us. We have been locked up in damp cells since December 2, 1960 and at no time have we been permitted to leave them. The meals that we are brought twice a day are very bad. For three or four days 1 ate nothing but a banana. I told this to the Red Cross medical officer sent to me. I spoke to him in the presence of a colonel from Thysville. I demanded that fruit be bought on my own money because the food that I am given here is atrocious. Although the medical officer gave his permission, the military authorities guarding me turned down my request, stating that they were following orders from Kasavubu and Colonel Mobutu. The medical officer from Thysville prescribed a short walk every evening so that I could leave my cell for at least a little while. But the colonel and the district commissioner denied me this. The clothes that I wear have not been washed for thirty-five days. I am forbidden to wear shoes.
In a word, the conditions we are living in are absolutely intolerable and run counter to all rules. Moreover, I receive no news of my wife and I do not even know where she is. Normally I should have had regular visits from her as is provided for by the prison regulations in force in the Congo. On the other hand, the prison regulations clearly state that not later than a day after his arrest a prisoner must be brought before the investigator handling his case. Five days after this a prisoner must again be arraigned before a judge, who must decide whether to remand him in custody or not. In any case, a prisoner must have a lawyer.
The criminal code provides that a prisoner is released from prison if five days after he is taken into custody the judge takes no decision on remanding him. The same happens in cases when the first decision (which is taken five days after a person is arrested) is not reaffirmed within fifteen days. Since our arrest on December 1 and to this day we have not been arraigned before a judge or visited by a judge. No arrest warrant has been shown to us. We are kept simply in a military camp and have been here for thirty-four days. We are kept in military detention cells. The criminal code is ignored as are the prison rules. Ours is purely a case of arbitrary imprisonment. I must add that we possess parliamentary immunity.
Such is the situation and I ask you to inform the United Nations Secretary-General of it. I remain calm and hope the United Nations will help us out of this situation. I stand for reconciliation between all the children of this country.
I am writing this letter secretly on bad paper. I have the honour to be, etc.
Patrice LUMUMBA,
Prime Minister
Source: Patrice Lumumba, The Truth about a Monstrous Crime of the Colonialists, Moscow, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1961, pp. 68-69.
Tamale Mirundi quote on the M7 absence on the #UGDebate16

Letter from NRM to IRCU – “Re: Presidential Debate” (16.01.2016)

Confidential: Note to the Security Council on Contigency Planning for Uniformed Personnel related to the Situation in Burundi (06.01.2016)







U.S. Mission Press Release: U.S. Hands over National Health Laboratory to Ministry of Health (15.01.2016)

KAMPALA–The U.S. Government, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), transferred the recently completed construction of the National Health Laboratory in Kampala to the Ministry of Health on Friday, January 15. U.S. Mission Uganda’s Chargé d’Affaires Trish Mahoney and Minister of State Chris Baryomunsi presided at the handover ceremony.
The National Health Laboratory project began in 2012 when the Ministry of Health requested the assistance of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support the construction of a laboratory to address critical gaps in Uganda’s health service delivery system. Funding for the National Health Laboratory construction came from CDC and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. Construction began in 2013, and the more than $8 million facility is now completed and has been transferred to the Ministry of Health.
The National Health Laboratory will strengthen all of Uganda’s health systems by providing a valuable resource for the detection, control and ongoing surveillance of the diseases which impact the health and productivity of Ugandans. While the priority of this new facility will be HIV diagnosis, prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV and viral load monitoring capacity, many other disease areas and health needs will benefit from this lab. The Ministry’s sickle cell and Hepatitis B virus screening and the WHO-supported meningitis, cholera and typhoid screening program will make use of this facility. The National Health Laboratory could also be used for confirmation of bacterial disease outbreaks and for malaria diagnostics.
At the handover ceremony, Chargé d’Affaires Trish Mahoney noted, “This building represents our partnership with the people of Uganda and our commitment to helping Uganda build its future. We will continue to work with the Government of Uganda and the Ministry of Health in the coming years to strengthen Uganda’s health infrastructure and ensure it becomes strong, efficient and self-sustaining.”
For additional information, please contact:
Dorothy Nanyonga
Information Assistant
U.S. Mission Uganda

