UNHCR working with Government of Uganda and emergency response partners to contain cholera outbreak amongst the newly arrived South Sudanese refugees in Adjumani district, Uganda (18.08.2016)

uganda_ssudan2

49 South Sudanese refugees and one Ugandan national have been confirmed to have contracted the disease. 

GENEVA, Switzerland, August 18, 2016 – The Government of Uganda and United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) are implementing containment measures in the recently-opened Pagirinya settlement in Adjumani district following confirmation of an outbreak of cholera.49 South Sudanese refugees and one Ugandan national have been confirmed to have contracted the disease. 44 have been provided with treatment and subsequently discharged from health facilities having fully recovered, while two patients remain in quarantine.

Additional measures are being taken to ensure the outbreak doesn’t spread further. Those who have contracted the disease are having their houses disinfected and their water supply drained while a door to door awareness-raising campaign takes place. The sale of fresh produce at markets and on the road side has been restricted. Other sanitation strengthening activities, such as chlorination of water points, garbage cleaning, strengthening of hand-washing facilities and the distribution of water guards, have been intensified. As a result, the number of new cases continues to be small but health teams continue to pay close attention to individuals displaying any potential symptoms.

Cholera is an acute infectious disease, usually shared through the consumption of contaminated food and water, which can potentially prove fatal. Sufferers endure symptoms that include acute watery diarrhea and vomiting.

The majority of people found to be suffering from the outbreak are located in reception centres in Pagirinya settlement, with smaller numbers found to be suffering in the settlement itself and at Elegu collection point. Pagirinya is currently hosting more than 30,000 South Sudanese refugees, all of whom arrived in the last 6 weeks.

“We have received a large number of young children as refugees over the last month or so, who are particularly vulnerable to this possibly lethal disease,” said acting Representative to Uganda Bornwell Kantande.  “Together with the Ministry of Health and our health partners, we’ve rapidly implemented response measures to contain its spread. We’re continuing to do our best to reduce the number of people living in these reception centres as quickly as possible, not only to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks, but so that these people can begin to rebuild their lives as soon as possible.”

Decongestion of transit and reception centres remain a top priority. Refugees are being relocated to the recently-opened Bidibidi settlement in Yumbe district where, in line with Uganda’s generous settlement approach, they will be provided with plots of land on which to build new homes and to grow agricultural crops.

More than 80,000 South Sudanese refugees have fled to Uganda since the outbreak of violence in Juba on 8 July. Over 85% of the new arrivals are women and children, with children comprising 64 percent of new arrivals. They report that armed groups are attacking villages, killing civilians, sexually assaulting women and girls and forcibly recruiting young men and boys in to their ranks.

South Sudan Conflict: Interview with David Lomuria from Juba (Youtube-Clip)

Press Release: The Successful Evacuation of the Legitimate First Vice President of South Sudan (17.08.2016)

SPLM-IO 17.08.2016

Machar warned onslaught against Kiir will be crushed (Youtube-Clip)

“Newly appointed South Sudan Vice President Taban Deng Gai on Wednesday warned his predecessor Dr Riek Machar that he will be stopped at all costs if he attempts to go on the offensive. Gai who was in Kenya to brief President Uhuru Kenyatta on the progress of implementing the peace agreement warned that President Salva Kiir’s government would not allow Machar to interfere with peace and security of South Sudan” (Capital FM Kenya, 2016)

37,200 South Sudanese Sheltering in UN House Protection Site in Juba (17.08.2016)

UN House Juba

Facing insecurity and hunger, more than 190,000 people continue to seek protection at PoC sites across the country, in Juba, Bentiu, Malakal, Wau, Bor and Melut. 

JUBA, South Sudan, August 17, 2016 – An estimated 37,200 displaced persons are currently seeking protection at one of the two UN peacekeeping bases in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, according to a population count held at the UN House protection of civilians (PoC) site on 13 August.

Renewed violence and instability have generated new displacement in South Sudan in recent months. Facing insecurity and hunger, more than 190,000 people continue to seek protection at PoC sites across the country, in Juba, Bentiu, Malakal, Wau, Bor and Melut.

The majority of the 37,200 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living at the UN House PoC site fled the violence that erupted in Juba on 15 December 2013 and quickly spread throughout the country. Thousands more fled to the base when fighting resumed in the capital between government and opposition forces in July 2016.

To determine the current size of the IDP population in the site, IOM joined ACTED, camp manager of the UN House PoC site, and other UN and non-governmental organizations to conduct the population count. The exercise began before dawn to ensure accuracy, with a house-to-house operation.

The population count is important for the delivery of services, particularly food assistance. The exercise will improve planning for humanitarian assistance and enable the UN World Food Programme to provide food for the full population registered at the site.

“Interagency cooperation was essential to the success of the exercise. Staff from 15 agencies participated in the population count, from planning to logistics to implementation,” said Andrea Paiato, IOM Camp Coordination and Camp Management Programme Coordinator.

UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeeping troops and UN Police provided security, while camp management and partners conducted a messaging campaign before registration.

The fighting in Juba in July displaced at least 15,000 people, of which more than 12,500 remain displaced at the UN House PoC site, UNMISS peacekeeping base in Tong Ping and collective centres.

IOM is coordinating with relief agencies to provide emergency assistance to IDPs at the Tong Ping site, managing an emergency health care clinic, providing shelter and ensuring access to safe drinking water. ACTED continues to facilitate humanitarian operations at the UN House PoC site.

Government of Uganda, UNHCR and WFP forced to revise Food Rations for Refugees Amid Funding Crisis (17.08.2016)

Adjumani Refugee Camp

Around 200,000 refugees who arrived in Uganda prior to July 2015 will have their food rations or cash assistance reduced by 50 percent from this week. 

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, August 17, 2016 –  The Government of Uganda – Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have appealed to donors to urgently speed contributions to the humanitarian response to refugees in Uganda to end a funding shortage that has forced a revision of survival rations.

Around 200,000 refugees who arrived in Uganda prior to July 2015 will have their food rations or cash assistance reduced by 50 percent from this week. Low levels of funding, together with a large number of new arrivals fleeing to Uganda from South Sudan since 7 July, has left the refugee response with no choice but to re-prioritize their focus on those refugees in greatest need. Refugees who arrived in Uganda after July 2015, as well as those who have been identified as particularly vulnerable, such as the elderly, orphans, the chronically ill and those in need of treatment for malnutrition, will continue to receive a full ration.

Refugees receiving full rations are provided with 2,122 calories of food per person per day, in line with the minimum recommended daily allowance, during their first year, decreasing as they become increasingly self-reliant during their time in Uganda. Other refugees receive cash assistance in place of food rations, which also provides them with the opportunity to exercise greater personal choice.

“We are grateful to donors for their unwavering support so far but we appeal to the international community to do more,” said OPM Commissioner for Refugees David Apollo Kazungu.  “People are fleeing because they are afraid for their lives. Our communities are welcoming them and giving them what we can: land and hope for a better future. But our message to the international community is this: we need your help to meet their basic needs until they are able to stand on their own two feet.”

WFP requires approximately US$7 million every month to provide life-saving food assistance to refugees in Uganda. Despite the generous support of donors, the humanitarian response requires an additional US$20million to restore full food rations to refugees for the rest of the year.

“We have done everything we can to avoid this, but we have been left with no option but to reduce food assistance for many of the refugees in Uganda, in order to stretch available resources and prioritize the most vulnerable new arrivals,” said Mike Sackett, WFP’s acting Country Director for Uganda. “We hope that this is temporary, and we are working as hard as we can to raise the resources needed to restore the full level of food assistance for as many refugees as possible.”

The humanitarian response to South Sudanese refugees in Uganda was already severely underfunded before the outbreak of violence in Juba on 8 July, which has since prompted more than 70,000 people to cross the border in to Uganda. New arrivals have spoken of armed groups operating across various parts of South Sudan, attacking villages, burning down houses, murdering civilians, sexually assaulting women and girls and forcibly recruiting young men and boys in to their ranks.

“Never has the international community been more generous in its donations towards refugees,” said acting UNHCR Representative to Uganda Bornwell Kantande. “At the same time, never has the gap between what is being provided and what is needed been larger. We thank the donors for their continued generosity and support, while urging them to further fund humanitarian organizations in order that we may continue providing refugees in Uganda with the life-saving assistance they critically need.”

OPM and UNHCR lead and co-coordinate the response to the roughly 600,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Uganda, and collaborate together with the World Food Programme to provide new arrivals with life-saving food assistance. By the end of 2015, Uganda was the third-largest refugee hosting country in Africa and the eighth-largest refugee hosting country in the world.

Press Statement: Nine Ugandan soldiers serving under AMISOM sentenced to prison for misconduct (16.08.2016)

AMISOM 32

Mogadishu, August 16, 2016Nine Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) soldiers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have been sentenced to prison for misconduct.

The soldiers were found guilty of pursuing personal interest and endangering operational efficiency of the UPDF, contrary to section 124 of the UPDF Act. The nine were part of a group of soldiers implicated in a fuel racket that was busted by AMISOM officials in June.

The UPDF Divisional Court Martial sitting in Mogadishu, yesterday, handed sentences ranging from one year to three years after finding the soldiers, who included both senior and junior ranking officers, guilty of misconduct and violating the rules and regulations of peacekeeping.

The sentences were read to the soldiers by the Chairman of the Court Martial, Brig. Gen. Dick Olum, who warned that UPDF will not tolerate any incident of misconduct among its officers serving in peacekeeping missions.

“The prosecution has proved all the accusations of pursuing personal interest and endangering operational efficiency beyond reasonable doubt. The accused persons are hereby convicted of the charges against them and this conviction is given under my hand and seal this 15th day of August 2016. You are convicted as charged,” Gen. Olum told the soldiers.

In addition to imprisonment at Luzira prison, Uganda, three of the soldiers were dismissed with disgrace from the army. It means that they will leave the army without any benefits, unlike many of their colleagues who have served the Mission with diligence and upheld high standards of discipline as required by the Ugandan government.

Those convicted are: Maj. Sulait, 50, who was sentenced to three years imprisonment and dismissed with disgrace from the UPDF; Maj. Kundu Weyaula, one year and demoted to the rank of Captain; Warrant Officer II Kakooza Mathew, 18 months imprisonment; Staff Sergeant Abwot Richard, 18 months in prison and demoted to Sergeant, and Cpl. Sekandi Ronald was handed a two-year prison term and also dismissed with disgrace from the army.

Others are Lance Corporals Kasule Budala and Atugiriire Dennis, both sentenced to 18 months in prison and demoted to the rank of Private; Private Tibaijuka Expedito, two years imprisonment and dismissed with disgrace and Private Mwanja Noah, 18 months in prison.

Prior to the sentencing, the Judge Advocate, Maj. Harry Lully Lulecera, informed the court that the charges were within the ambit of the UPDF Act, adding that the Court Martial had the powers to sentence the accused soldiers. However, the Defence counsel Lt. Lilian Tugume, pleaded for a lighter sentence on the grounds that all the nine were first time offenders and had shown remorse.

Gen. Olum defended the penalties, saying the soldiers had not only damaged the image of the UPDF and AMISOM but had also endangered the lives of others.

“The sentence that military courts give out to soldiers who have committed a crime is a deterrent sentence. It is a sentence that sends out a message to the rest of military personnel whether back at home or in any other mission out of the country. It is a message that goes out to soldiers and officers of the UPDF that if you commit an offence, you will face the law and face it very harshly,” Gen. Olum said.

Both Major Saifu and Weyaula were stripped of their ranks and together with the rest of the convicts, will stay in custody until they return to Uganda to begin serving jail terms.

The nine are part of 18 soldiers who were earlier arraigned before the same court for selling fuel belonging to the Mission. They were charged after five soldiers were arrested in June, in connection with the illicit sale of fuel in a scam involving civilians in Mogadishu.

However, out of the 18, two pleaded guilty and were immediately charged, six were acquitted and one turned into a state witness, leaving the nine, who had denied any wrongdoing, to face trial.

The Divisional Court Martial is constituted by the UPDF high command and is charged with the trial of cases of misconduct committed by soldiers serving in missions out of the country.

Press Statement: Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces expresses confidence in Somalia’s stabilisation efforts, urges the media to focus on success stories (14.08.2016)

Gen Katumba Wamala

Kampala, 14 August – Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Katumba Wamala, has expressed confidence in Somalia’s stabilization efforts.

General Wamala described the African Union Mission in Somalia as one of the continent’s success stories, saying it actualises the African dream of having African solutions to African problems.

He was speaking in Kampala, Uganda, last week, where he officially closed a 4-day AU-UN Mandatory Media and Communication Trainer of Trainers (TOT) course. The course was attended by military and police public communication officers from the Troop and Police Contributing Countries to AMISOM, Somali National Army and Somali Police Force.

“We need to aggressively communicate where Somalia was before the war and where it is now. We need to aggressively communicate the positive developments taking place in Somalia” General Wamala challenged the media, during his address to participants at the TOT course.

The training was organized by United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) Training Unit in-conjunction with AMISOM Public Information Unit through the AU-UN Information Support Team (AU-UN IST).

The aim of the TOT is to increase the pool of trainers for the media and communication component of the AU/UN Mandatory pre-deployment training.

Troop Contributing Countries (TCC’s) comprise Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Burundi. Police Contributing Countries (PCC’s), on the other hand, consist of Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana.

Budget Financing Lies in Balance – Besigye (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbk3H2-A1gU

“Former Forum for Democratic President retired Col Dr. Kizza Besigye casts doubt on government hopes to raise 26 trillion shillings to finance the 2016/2017 national budget. Besigye says the majority Ugandans can’t afford to spend on commodities that result in revenues for government, arguing that some have already cut their expenditure” (NBS TV Uganda, 2016)

FDC Not Divided, Insists Gen. Muntu (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OwlnkLhiek

“Forum for Democratic Change Party President General Mugisha Muntu has rubbished reports that divisions in strategy to oust president Museveni are splitting Uganda’s leading opposition party. General Muntu explains that he is not opposed to Dr. Besigye’s street activism approach, insisting that the FDC can still claim power with strong and vibrant grassroot structures. Remmy Bahati talked to FDC’s party boss” (NBS TV Uganda, 2016)