

Burundi: UPRONA recommande que l’amendement de la Constitution respecte l’esprit de l’accord d’Arusha”





NEW YORK, United States of America, December 29, 2016 – The Secretary-General welcomes the inauguration of the new Federal Parliament of Somalia on 27 December 2016 and warmly congratulates the people of Somalia on this historic achievement in their quest for universal suffrage by 2020.
The Secretary-General urges the new Parliament to now maintain the momentum by moving swiftly to complete the electoral process, with the election of the Speakers of both houses and the Federal President. The Parliament should tackle urgent legislative priorities, including establishing a permanent Constitution of Somalia, in the larger interest of the people of Somalia.
The Secretary-General calls on the authorities to fill all remaining vacant seats in the Parliament expeditiously, while fulfilling their obligation to ensure that the seats reserved for women are filled by women. He emphasizes that any irregularity, abuse, or malpractice reported by the federal and state electoral bodies should be fully addressed to preserve the credibility of the process.
The Secretary-General commends the hard work of the Somali security forces and the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in providing a secure environment for the 2016 electoral process in Mogadishu and in the regional capitals. The successful inauguration of the Parliament marks further progress in ensuring political stability and security in Somalia.




I find it weird that the Facebook posts on Facebook are addressing the sexual preferences of Independent Magazine editor and owner Andew Mwenda, the man who has gone from a lone voice for the citizens to suddenly sounding like a regime imposter. Still, that is a another discussion than what has been on the web of late. Whatever sort of love-life he has is in my opinion his business, unless he marries and get wedded to the daughters of President Museveni or related to his kin. If so, than he is part of the Movement elite and the discussion of his “free” mind would be more in question, than it is already is after the revelations of late about his economic transgression with Rwandan Government and other questionable clientele.
Still, the bum-fun and the dirty dozen is the questions that are trying to figure out, instead of discussion needed political transgression that needs to be addressed, as of all of sudden in Masaka where there only green area that is saved the Masaka Golf Club, but the rest of land is grabbed by rich Chinese investors in haste that seems more like a heist than a power move from the buyers of the land. As they have sealed of land for banking business without proper titles or informed the other Central Government and not even the Local Government; the Local Council seems also boggled as much as the Masaka Golf Club who even written a letter to Central Government on the 27th December.

This is interesting enough as the trial and imprisoned soldiers that came from the UPDF garrison in the AMISOM mission, that has already leaked pictures of torture where the fellow who are alleged for selling weapons and ammunition to Al-Shabaab warlords that the AMISOM mission tries to squash and get rid of, apparently have been mistreated by their own before a trial and proof of evidence. Soldiers and men who are serving the military and one apparent wrong to selling equipment while being on tour; still, the reason for these activities is that the UPDF and Ugandan Government haven’t paid steady salaries and the hungry fighting soldiers has to get funds to sustain themselves. Even stealing and selling ammunition to the ones they are trying to fight. That shows how wrong the systematic eating of the Central Government towards their own, how forgotten and how the mismanagement of funds from African Union and United Nation in the AMISOM army. They even torture their own who has done the last resort to pay themselves as the soldiers needs to eat food and send their family needed funds. That is why they signed up in the first place, not because all of them loves to shoot-to-kill. We already has seen during the years that the Ugandan Garrisons has sold gasoline and other equipment to sustain themselves, so that the soldiers goes to these extend says something about the arranged maladministration from the top to the bottom of the food-chain.
These two cases alone should be put on blast, more than the Mwenda’s troubles and that he cannot keep his house in order. That the land-grabbing happens as rampant that the commercial golf-course in Masaka reacts by the Chinese land-grab should put the fear in the locals and the ones who feels that the state shouldn’t just move people and take away land for a simple dime without consideration of the Local Council and Local Government, because the Central Government really needs funds. That is evident with the recent case of soon starting to print own monies that even the Bank of Uganda, fearing the inflation and devalued currency that could make the hyper-inflation as pure case for Uganda. So that President Museveni can follow the suits and shades of President Robert Mugabe who made it possible in 2007-2008. So the 50,000 note wouldn’t be biggest anymore after the start of printing. The Ugandan Citizens might have use 300,000 to buy a hand of tomatoes at the market and pay for a short ride on a boda-boda 100,000 instead of the about for instance 3,000 now. So the biggest note from the Central Government of Museveni will be after the deal is sealed is 500,000 or even a 1,000,000. That is if his business partners are lucky and get their hands in the cookie-jar while the citizens will struggle more to pay for ordinary products. That is the worst case scenario, but not far away from the regulated funds and monies in the market might be juked and fixed to the moment of brilliance of Museveni instead of technocrats that can keep the inflation at bay.
Still, people are more worried if the Mwenda has a gay-lover or more, if he has a girlfriend or even if has land overseas, as the editor is that special and needs to be discussed in this matter. Like Tamale Mirundi needs to explain how he orders tires to his taxis, buses and how make his wife happy. Instead of us hearing and understanding their machine mouths of ignorance, brilliance or nonsense depending on their day.
We should be worried of the debate, the level of what is important when the national dialogue goes on this while we haven’t gotten answers for the apparent violation of movement and religious activity as the Police Force and the other Security Organizations went into the Nakasero Mosque in the middle of the night without any pre-warning and raided the holy-house on non-existent intelligence during the Christmas Season.

We are not to may days ago since the UPDF and Special Force Command burned the Bukihari Royal Palace in Kasese. The Kasese clashes and the deaths of several guards, police officers and soldiers during the bloody days of November 2016; this together with the aftermath where the Ombusinga bwa Rwenzuururu Charles Wesley Mumbere are lingering on treason charge at Luzira Prison while the state and security organization isn’t delivering any profile or case worth talking about. But they could pull the trigger and delete the existence of Royal Guards, kids and other bystanders as the UPDF, UPF and Special Force Command had no issues killing hundreds of people during 48 hours.
Still, a month after this we have no answers, a silent President Museveni who couldn’t care less about the killed and slaughtered citizens in Kasese and in the sub-counties close to Royal Palace. This done without precautions and done with purpose to unsettle the area and also keep people afraid of the Central Government as they can go in with all weapons and guns on civilians without any warrant. Just like they did at the Nakasero Mosque, we will see more of this as the NRM Regime doesn’t care about the loss of life and the viable aftermath after the violence. They are trying to shade over the deaths and move-on. Like they families of the dead can get a new father or mother. They just vanished in the middle of no time and without any charges except the bullets from security organizations from the NRM regime.

When we have all of this, as much as we have a Parliament who are just thinking about themselves and not the public, why can I say that because the MPs are more important that the rest of the ordinary paying citizens who pays taxes on their salaries; something the MPs in Uganda doesn’t have to care about. While that is happening after all the newly created districts and new levels of MPs the old Parliament in Kampala is to small and doesn’t have enough facilities to the loyalist of Museveni. They need bigger space and that cost, so they can divert funds to fix the building and chambers to be filled with all of them, even if they are not always there and instead fixing suits, fixing fresh posh cars and other casual business. Like a MP who we’re caught during December that he wanted to pay over 1,5 million shillings for a three-some with two female Makererere Students while their University we’re closed. The disgraced MP has not answered after the leaked conversation came unto the web. Still, that discussion is more interesting than the bumping movements of Mwenda.
People shouldn’t dance easy just because these men are Honourable, they are MPs because they are “elected” by the people and they are paying for their existence. Still, they are fist eating without any courtesy and now their workplace get upgraded, while schools are falling apart, teachers payments are inadequate and they even has small farms to feed themselves; while the same teachers are seeing ghosts being paid to secure the local government needed funds to their post cars. Still, the MPs let them walk because the allocations are happening slow and never as much as the budget. They claim there trouble in the system, but not the people who are doing this to eat of it in the Central Government so that the ones in districts has less or nothing to eat off. That is the current state and in this state the MPs decided they doesn’t deserve to pay tax and secondly deserves a better working condition. This is disgraceful to all the diligent civil servants who doesn’t get their salary on time or getting needed funds to keep their buildings, schools and police station that are falling apart.
This is the reality of Steady progress, the proof that the Yellow Movement is a poof, it’s a created manufactured design to divert attention while the President is having a splendid time. Let you forget the torture, the mismanagement and the greed of the MPs. While the system are led by a party where the NRM EC Dr. Tanga Odoi has also been going unpaid and even Justine Kasule Lumumba had to go public and tell that the Movement we’re broke. So dope the Party running the country, the steady progress has let their men and woman go without payments for 6 months. As fresh funds has dwindled. NRM are like Central Government very broke and out of bound with reality. They are spending stupid and not caring about the consequences. Therefore the solution in the silence to print own currency together with a company that is inter-connected with the Museveni clan; that is double payment for the Executive while the citizens pays to pay for their money. A brilliant idea, but also a way of certify the inflation, if they are actually going through with this arrangement.

Still, people care more about the donuts that Mwenda is eating. So beautiful way of spending Christmas season discussing the dumping grounds of a editor, instead of torture, ghost-salaries, land-grab or Parliamentary Mismanagement where the systemic idiocrasy of Museveni gets into the same speed as Lewis Hamilton on the Formula 1 race track in Dubai. That speed is so fast we cannot follow all of the curves as the track is burning after the wheels leave stains on the tarmac.
The same is happening with real news when the Editor is in focus for his love-life and not all of these government acts. The Ugandan President Museveni should be happy his family and elite can run their Wild West show and let a egocentric writer get all the attention. Still, the people and citizen should react to the UPDF; question the acts of Kasese and not forget together with all the other current events. Peace!

The United Nations, African Union, European Union, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States are gravely concerned over a number of decisions announced by the National Leadership Forum (NLF) in its communiqué dated 24 December 2016.
Today’s inauguration of the Federal Parliament represents a step forward in the electoral process. However, international partners wish to see the electoral process go forward with the existing 54 seats in the Upper House as stipulated under Somalia’s Provisional Constitution. Any further expansion of the Upper House should only be contemplated after the presidential vote has been held in the new federal parliament and implemented through a proper constitutional process.
International partners acknowledge the NLF’s communiqué of 26 December 2016 that designates five seats in the House of the People for undergoing a fresh round of voting. But this fails to address a number of other egregious cases of abuse of the electoral process, including seats reserved for women candidates only that were ultimately taken by male candidates.
The NLF’s decision to revoke all disqualifications of candidates made by the country’s electoral bodies for allegedly committing abuses and malpractices represents a blanket amnesty for some of the most blatant irregularities witnessed during this electoral process. It also contravenes the Federal Government’s solemn commitment to respect the rule of law.
If these candidates are allowed to take their seats in Somalia’s tenth parliament, it will bring into question the NLF’s expressed commitment to the principles of accountability and credibility that underpin the entire process. It will also undermine the electoral code of conduct signed by all parliamentary candidates in the spirit of leveling the playing field and ensuring the delivery of a credible process.
International partners strongly believe that elections must be re-run for seats where the voting outcomes were clearly distorted by violence, corruption, intimidation, the unauthorized substitution of electoral college delegates and a failure to set aside one of every three seats for exclusively female candidates.
International partners call on the federal parliament to issue as soon as possible a timeline for the completion of the process in order to elect the Speakers and Deputy Speakers of the new federal parliament and the Federal President. This timeline should be strictly enforced to avoid yet another postponement in an electoral process that was supposed to have finished earlier this year. There is a particular need to conclude the process swiftly in light of the UN Security Council’s upcoming meeting on Somalia that is scheduled for 19 January 2017.
International partners believe that the integrity of the 2016 electoral process hangs in the balance. More delays and a failure to hold accountable those parties who have committed serious abuses and malpractices will compromise the international community’s ability and willingness to engage with Somalia’s next federal government.








