Opinion: How many agents does Mzee need to combat himself?

“Mr Museveni announced his latest anti-graft plans in a Labour Day speech delivered in the rural eastern Uganda district of Namutumba yesterday afternoon. “I am using this Labour Day to tell everybody that we are going to have a big fight. I am going to set up another small unit in my office where the investors can ring directly if anybody asks them for a bribe or delays decisions,” Mr Museveni said” (Philip Wafula – ‘Museveni to set up new anti-corruption unit’ 02.05.2023, Daily Monitor).

The battle against grand corruption, graft, bribes and other siphoning of funds is getting ridiculous, as the Government of Uganda is not lacking offices or units, which are focused on the matter. It isn’t like the State House – Anti-Corruption Unit is the sole organization working with it under the Office of the Presidency.

No, there are several others like the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). In addition to that you have the Judiciary and Law Enforcement itself that works or have jurisdiction to follow up on cases concerning this sort of crime. Therefore, the State has several of units or organizations combatting this already.

There are already 6 Offices that has various of roles in concern with the battle against corruption. That’s without adding the Uganda Police Force or any of their entities who also investigate corruption. The Judiciary is also handling these affairs and the ones that are judging the matters. Therefore, there is already plenty of hands involved and have the ability too combat this.

The President is only creating another busy-body and another separate Unit in his residence. It is just a nice headline and looking like his really working against it. When the other ones are enshrined in law and are based on legislation. That’s why the IGG, FIA, PPDA, OAG and others are there to work and have a mandate. Alas, the Units created out of the Office of the Presidency is just on the whim and whatever guidance the President felt at that very day. Instead of boosting the ones who exists. He creates another possible entity who will be controlled and close proximity of him.

However, this will not solve it or combat it. No, this is just another “cat and mouse” chase where they will only capture small-fish and leave the big-ones alone. There is no way the ones in association or have had a handshake with the President will be captured. No, this is just to cause some good vibes and call it a night. Peace.

Commends Fox Odoi MP for his bravery [and quoting his Minority Report on the Anti-Gay Bill]

Yesterday, it was a National Resistance Movement (NRM) Member of Parliament that made his own Minority Report on the amended version of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023. This was Hon. Fox Odoi of Budama North East County. He was the only voice of reason, as the 11th Parliament for the second time passed the Anti-Gay law and did so with the blessing of the President.

I am amazed that Odoi was alone in this. Because his assessment is right. The law will be used as a tool and people can easily be deemed “gay” and therefore be in legal jeopardy. That’s the sort of play and this law is directly targeting on outcasted group of society. This is the LGBTQ+ community. I would have never thought a NRM MP would write a dissenting Report and be the only signatory of it. However, yesterday was such a day and its baffling.

Just read these parts of the Minority Report and you should be concerned to about the usage and the limitations of the law. It shows the disregard of justice and impunity of which it possibly serves. The law itself is draconian and can be a tool of oppression. Not only against actual gays or LGBTQ+ people, but also people who can be accused as such.

Just read these parts, which I have taken from the Report itself…

“The proposal of the President to the extent that it saves the criminalization of consensual same sex relations in clause 2 is self-defeating since on one hand it recognizes their existence and on the other, it punishes their acts. Like the Bill, the proposal by the President will still leave room for the abuse of the rights and freedoms of LGBTQI+ community by legislating the discrimination of such persons, the perpetuation of inhuman and degrading punishments, the invasion of their privacy, the denial of their right to health, housing as well as the right to seek and obtain justice and remedies at law for wrongs committed against such persons. The proposal by the President does not protect, in a comprehensive manner, any of the rights and freedoms enshrined and protected in chapter four of the Constitution” (Minority Report P:4, 02.05.2023).

“The minority fear that this provision will be abused by law enforcement agencies who may label persons homosexuals, without being denied by courts of law. The will require such persons to defend themselves, thereby reversing the burden of proof from the prosecution to the accused person. It is trite criminal law that the prosecution bears the burden to prove the offence against the accused. This burden of proof does not shift to the accused to prove their innocence as the Bill proposes. The burden of proof always rests on the prosecution. The prosecution must adduce evidence to discharge its burden of proof” (Minority Report, P: 5, 02.05.2023).

“The minority has examined the proposals by the President and is of the considered opinion that they are insufficient to salvage the Bill. The unconstitutionality of the Bill cannot be remedied through a partial and ineffective recognition of the existence of LGBTQI+ community while at the same time criminalizing the enjoyment of their constitutional right and freedoms” (Minority Report, 02.05.2023).

Hope to God that after the President accents the law and it goes into effect. That someone petition the Courts and tests its true limitations. Because, the Minority Report even states that its unconstitutional, meaning it goes against the cornerstone of the laws in the Republic. You cannot create new laws, which are in disregard of the Constitution. That makes the law “void” or unredeemable. Therefore, the Anti-Homosexual Act of 2023 could be dismissed or ruled against. If someone would petition it and if so… they would return the favour, which happened to a similar law in 2014.

The NRM and the MPs are apparently going in circle and never learning. The 11th Parliament repeating the sins of the 9th Parliament. When they can write a law like this against one Minority of Society. They can easily do the same against others. That’s what I fear and what people should be worried about. The Minority Report itself states another worry on the implementation and usage of it, which are despicable and a possibility. No one should be shocked if an opposition figure or activists is deemed “gay” and thrown in prison. That is just a given in the current state of affairs. Peace.

Oyam North By-Election: Who will takeover after the late Charles Okello Engola?

The unfortunate death of the State Minister and MP of Oyam North, Charles Okello Engola has some consequences. First it is opening up a seat in Parliament and a Ministerial post. What will happen in the first few day, there will be plans for burial and proceedings concerning the later Minister. That is just the way these things goes, and as early as the burial is over. The plans for the seats and the offices are getting prepared. Meaning a By-Election and an appointment of a new State Minister in his stead.

Just like he goes from being a minister, he is becoming a former minister and ex-MP in the afterlife. That’s why someone will takeover his office in the cabinet and another person will takeover the seat in Parliament. This is why because of the unfortunate there will be a new By-Election.

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) would do whatever it takes to retain the seat and command dominance of the North. They want to have a grand majority and want to win By-Elections. The NRM will use the state machinery and all of their tools. This means the army, police and all the intimidation will be in order. Also, in addition voter tourism, bribes and other means to prepare a victory for themselves. They would also “pre-tick” ballots and toy around Returning Forms just to “win”. So, don’t expect fair game.

What I do expect now is that the Independent Charles Krispus Ayena might vie for the NRM seat. As he was the biggest independent candidate in 2021 elections. He also came in second in the 2016 elections as a UPC candidate. Maybe even Dilla Benson would like to try and get ahead. Since he has tried to get elected as LC5 in the 2021 elections.

The Uganda People’s Congress should field a candidate in this race and should have a fair chance here. They are already elected in other parts Oyam District and UPC has a stronghold in the North. That is not only historically, but also by default in the recent elections. We can wonder if Eunice Apio wants to be the UPC candidate again.

In the last two general elections the other parties didn’t field candidates. There was only other independents. These didn’t fare well in the races. They only got scraps or bare minimum. Therefore, the ideas that an Independent candidate will get the cake is ridiculous. Especially, knowing how heavy artillery and machinery the NRM puts forward in a By-Election.

The UPC is the only party here who has a shot. The others are only fools hope. The NRM wants to retain it, but will they go for the likes of former UPC like Ayena or go for a leader like Benson.

The UPC will have it hard, but this one would be possible to crack. Especially, if they field someone within reason and maybe even the same as in 2021. Apio might have a shot, but we never know. She got 17,000 and Engola got 22,000. Time will tell, but this is now mere speculations.

As a By-Election is coming and it will be between the NRM and the UPC. Peace.

Uganda: Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development – Statement on the Tragic Incident Involving the Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations Col. Charles Okello Engola Macodwogo (02.05.2023)

Opinion: Speaker Among acts as if she’s above the Constitutional Order…

“Hon Kafuuzi, there is only one Speaker.. and you will never disrespect the Speaker. You cannot report this house and say we made a mistake. From today onwards, you will not come to this House and defend any Bill, you will not do it as long as I am still the Speaker” – Rt. Hon. Anita Among (02.05.2023).

The idea that a Speaker of the House, that the Speaker of Parliament can and is barring Members of Parliament is outrageous. Especially, when it is done so childishly or without proper cause. Speak Among is just showing that her emotions and her temperament isn’t fit for her duty.

The Speaker is way out of line. She is not only braking protocol, but procedures, which are written in law. She is barring Deputy Attorney General Jackson Kafuuzi, because he looked into the Anti-Homosexual Law and deemed it unfit. That’s all he did and gave the President his advice after looking at the bill. The Deputy Attorney General did his duty, as described in the Constitution.

Article 94 of the Constitution says:

“(d) the office of the Attorney-General shall afford the member moving the private member’s bill professional assistance in the drafting of the bill” (1995 Constitution).

The Deputy Attorney General followed Article 94 of the Constitution. He gave professional assistance and advice in drafting of a bill. The Speak might not accept that or grasp that reality. As her power trip and hubris is stopping her from reflecting soundly on the matter.

The speaker might disagree with the reasoning or the legal ramifications of the bill, which is what the Deputy Attorney General wrote in his advice to the President. Kafuuzi MP did only his duty and did the bid of the Office of the Attorney General. He didn’t renegade or be a partisan in the matter. No, he just did his job and so should the Speaker.

She needs to go on her knees now and do what she begged Hon. Francis Zaake to do. Because she broke protocol and acted out of line in the Plenary Session. She is going against Constitutional Order and doing so as Speaker of the House. Hon. Among has no rights in doing so. She should start to behave and be righteous. Though I know that’s too much to ask…

The Speaker needs to assert her role and abide by it. Now she’s acting as a vicious kingpin and a power hungry individual who puts herself above the rest. That’s how it sounds like. People should ask and wonder if this woman can contain herself and her pride. She acts like a Queen and a Dictator. Instead of serving her role as Speaker with honour. Certainly, she could need some mentorship by Kadaga. Because this is not cutting it. This is beneath her office, and she should know better. Peace.

A Minister died for a lack of paying his bills…

“A military bodyguard has run ‘amok’ and shot dead a boss, a State Minister at that, in Kyanja, Nakawa Division, Kampala this morning. The guard later fired several rounds of ammunition in the air and later shot himself (dead). All this happened this morning” (Red Pepper Uganda, 02.05.2023)

“Initial reports indicate that Charles Okello Engola was stepping out of his home, heading to work when one of his bodyguards shot him dead. The bodyguard then started roaming the neighbourhood while continuing to shoot in the air. He eventually retreated to a nearby salon, ordered the people cowering inside to leave before he turned the gun on himself. Witnesses claim that the soldier was yelling that he had not been paid for a long time despite working for a minister” (Kenneth Kazibwe – ‘Bodyguard shoots Minister Engola dead, turns gun on self’ 02.05.2023, Nile Post).

Today was the final day of State Minister Charles Engola. A man who has been a Member of Parliament since 2016 and been a Junior or State Minister ever since. The man who Represented Oyam North has been a loyal National Resistance Movement (NRM) MP and served the government over the years.

In his last term he was appointed as the State Minister for Labour, Employment and Industrial relations. Before that he was the State Minister of Defence in the 10th Parliament. Therefore, he was a well-versed person and had connections to the high above.

That’s why it’s tragic that a man who was an elected official for all these years. He has been elected to local government, all the way back to 2006 and only aimed for Parliament in 2016. This man had achieved a lot and gotten ahead over the years.

When you know all of this and see what is happening. You just know it’s tragic. A man who had the world and who ate from the finer things. A man who had connections and held a high office. He just got greedy and stopped paying the ones surrounding him.

The State Minister could most likely not phantom this or consider this to happen to him. He thought it would have no consequences, as a high ranking official and respected individual could get away with it. It was a decision he made and ensured the troubles of his body-guard. A man who had weapons and knew about his whereabouts. That was the man that he decided not to pay.

It is like the State Minister didn’t learn from history. The hired guns turn on you… when you don’t pay them. That what happened to Rome and now happened to Charles Engola.

Just read this statement from Uganda Police Force:

“The territorial police in Kampala Metropolitan, is actively investigating the tragic murder by shooting of the Hon. Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations, Hon. Rtd. Col. Charles Okello Engola, by his home bodyguard, identified as Pte. Wilson Sabiiti, which occurred at the Minister’s home in Kyanja, on the 2.05.2023 at around 9am. The bodyguard fired multiple shots at close range and killed the Hon. Minister as he was entering in his official vehicle. He died at the scene. The suspect also shot and wounded the ADC, Lt. Ronald Otim, before fleeing to Kyanja trading center on foot, where he entered into a salon and shot himself dead” (UPF, 02.05.2023).

Just imagine, as the State Minister was about to go about his day and do his duties. His guard came to him and shot him. That’s how brutal and how hopeless the situation is. As a man only see it fit to kill someone, because your in a dire situation. The guard has gone for a long time without pay and certainly needs to pay to live. While he see the lavishness and the riches of the State Minister. The man he guards who is living large cannot pay the shillings it costs to take care of his security. Than you know there is misgivings and trouble ahead. The man who carried arms and secured your whereabouts. That man you decided not to pay.

It is just tragic. An unfortunate incident and manslaughter. A death that could have been avoided. An unnecessary one, that could have been stopped and the State Minister could have ensured payments on time. However, that wasn’t a priority and it cost his life. Peace.

Uganda: Uganda Freedom Activists – Press Statement (01.05.2023)

Opinion: Museveni – “Get ideas, please”

A man who has run the nation since January 1986. A man who fought and took over power. That man is asking his civil servants and appointed leadership to “get ideas, please”. It is embarrassing and beneath his office, but it shows how he has failed as a leader, statesman and Head of State. When he has to resort to this.

The Executive Order No. 2 of 2023 dated the 9th April 2023 shouldn’t have been written. It should have been left in the drafts. A President shouldn’t be concerned about skips, garbage collection or the lack of garbage collecting in the cities or municipalities. No, he should be worried about grander things.

Get Ideas, Please” is what is sticking with me. His begging the civil servants and the appointed leadership to get a grip over the collection of old clothes and bottles. His begging them to figure out a way to recycle certain trash and collect it properly. This from the guy who has ruled supreme for over 3 decades.

That’s just beyond comprehension. It is telling how the state has become rotten to the core. How the “high above” has destroyed all protocol and all means of communications between the various state institutions. When a President has to write an Executive Order the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the other agencies to clean up the streets. It just shows that the man has no vision and no clue on how to run things.

He came as the “only man with a vision”. However, it is obvious that he got none. His running in circles and doing the same old schemes. The old man is running out of time and he got nothing to show from it. Only utter disgrace and mediocrity. The grand corruption and looting in combination of a bloated state with lack of domestic revenue. That isn’t a case of achievement but a proof of a heavy patronage that is begging their knees to his every whim. It is a proof of prestige but a system of beggars. They are dressed neat and has fancy vehicles, but beyond that… they are just asking for their next meal like everyone else.

Get Ideas, Please”. Think that he wrote this and stood by these words. A man who has written about “What is Africa’s Problem” and where he had remedies for it. Nevertheless, the man who had all the answers couldn’t’ implement them himself. That’s because of his own greed and lust for endless power. A man who never wanted to go and never wanted succession. Museveni knew about the problems and bottlenecks, but has chosen to take another path.

That’s why his asking for ideas to solve benign problems. Small problems that should be concerned with by a Ministry and by civil servants in local government. The problem of skips and garbage collection shouldn’t be a national issue or a troublesome affair for an Executive Order. However, here we are and it shows the epic failure of a leader he is.

Maybe he should “get ideas, please”. I think Museveni need to get ideas and get a grip. He should look himself in the mirror and understand where he is at. The “yes-men” won’t say it and neither the patronage who is benefiting of his whims. The Presidential Advisors are awaiting their next pay-check and hoping to be promoted in the next cabinet re-shuffle. Therefore, they won’t dare to question him or doubt his brilliance.

However, he needs to get some wisdom and direct his leadership differently. This is just tragic and shows how man has to much control. A President shouldn’t worry about the trash on Nile Avenue. No, that is for someone else to concerned about. Peace.

Uganda Law Society (ULS): Persistent Unlawful Interference by the Uganda Polcie with Citizens’ Rights to Peacefully Assemble and Demonstrate together (25.04.2023)

Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC): Statement on Police Brutality against Peaceful and Lawful Gatherings (27.04.2023)