Tag: GreatLakesNews

{Mr Wagwa said that research compiled by his office discovered that one of the reasons that have led to failure of cooperatives especially in Mpigi and its neighbourhood districts is having politicians managing cooperative societies in finance and human resource.}

Mpigi District Commercial Officer Mr Ronald Kazibwe and RDC Hajji Swaibu Lubega Wagwa have asked government to implement the Cooperative Societies Act, 1991 and block politicians from taking up administrative positions in cooperative organizations, blaming them to interfere with technical planning, decision making and day-to-day activities.
Mr Wagwa said that research compiled by his office discovered that one of the reasons that have led to failure of cooperatives especially in Mpigi and its neighbourhood districts is having politicians managing cooperative societies in finance and human resource.

They were speaking at a grand opening of a coffee processing plant for coffee farmers in Kamengo Sub-county under their umbrella body; “Kamengo Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited” at the weekend.
The facility was constructed by the government of Uganda with support from African Development Bank (ADB) under the Community Agricultural Infrastructure Improvement Programme (CAIIP).
“Instead of raising decisions that are developmental for the growth of cooperatives, they bring in their political interests because they always want to attract attention and impress their voters. Many cooperatives have collapsed simply because they were managed by such political figures. Government should stop them immediately by reviving and implementing the Cooperatives Act,” Mr Kazibwe said.

He added: “There is a lot of political interference whereby you find local leaders like district chairpersons, MPs and councilors borrowing from SACCOs and later default.”
Ms Teddy Nambooze, the project coordinator for Central Archdiocesan Province, Caritas Association (CAPCA) said that in order to promote cooperatives, their organization has embarked on empowering farmers with capacity on group dynamics, leadership, record keeping and collective marketing.

In her message read by RDC Wagwa, Minister of Trade, Industries and Cooperatives Amelia Kyambadde urged people to “always” add value to coffee and emphasized the purchase of locally made products to widen the market base.
“Buy Uganda, build Uganda. Take our coffee everywhere but after processing it basing on international standards. Make sure that storage, packaging, branding, to mention is okay. Don’t rush for quick money,” she said.

{African Union (AU) issues yesterday featured prominently in the talks between President John Magufuli and former South African President Thabo Mbeki.}

Mr Mbeki served as the inaugural chairman of the union in 2002 and was succeeded by former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano.

President Magufuli met his guest at the State House in Dar es Salaam, but a statement from the Presidential Communication Directorate could not go into details over which areas of the union the two leaders delved into.

The former South African President also congratulated Dr Magufuli for his victory in last year’s general elections, commending his concerted efforts shown in leading the country for just a year in power.

President Magufuli thanked the visitor for the constructive talks, and congratulated him for the honoris causa doctorate degree award by the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).

The degree is always conferred as an honorary degree to people who have distinguished themselves in areas other than science, government, literature or religion.

During the graduation ceremony at which the degree was bestowed upon him, Mr Mbeki challenged African higher learning institutions to provide solutions to the development challenges and opportunities before Africans across the continent.

He argued that African higher education research agenda tends to dwell on purely academic and scientific objectives to ensure publication in refereed journals with little regard to developmental needs.

{BUJUMBURA – After having been detained for two weeks in the national intelligence office in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura, the former boss of the anti-riot brigade Lieutenant Colonel Desiré Uwamahoro appeared in front of the prosecutor of the Bujumbura Court of Appeal.
}
He was auditioned for more than seven hours and afterwards was transferred to the central jail of Bubanza 46km northwest of Bujumbura, according to police sources.

Uwamahoro is accused of a vast illegal gold swindle. The case is delicate and no official has dared to publicly talk about his arrest.

According to police sources, Uwamahoro was arrested on October 29 by a group of heavily armed Special Brigade for the Protection of the Institutions (BSPI) commandos. According to the same sources, he worked with five other people, including three Congolese and two Somalis.

The suspected crooks allegedly swindled Syrian businessman Issa Ahmad out of money. Ahmad currently lives in Kuwait. The six allegedly told Ahmad they had a quantity of gold for sale from the Democratic Republic of Congo, but the loading of the gold had to take place in Bujumbura.

Ahmad was interested in the offer and travelled to Burundi to conclude the delivery, staying a month. According to some reports, Uwamahoro took charge of obtaining false document and a visa allowing Ahmad to freely export merchandise, telling Burundian officials that Ahmad wanted to invest in Burundi.

Ahmad spent $155,000(R2.2 million) on all the formalities. The suspicions in the security forces and administration were aroused when Ahmad ordered a private aircraft to transport the merchandise. When the aircraft landed at Bujumbura international airport, officials who were unaware of the aircraft’s purpose at the airport called security forces and the fraud was uncovered. Ahmad allegedly lost more than $220,000 during his month in Burundi.

Before his arrest, Uwamahoro headed the anti-riot brigade, commanding the operations aimed at crushing protests in Bujumbura after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in April 2015 he would run for a third term.

Uwamahoro’s name appeared in many reports of the United Nations and human rights organisations. He was mentioned for his direct involvement in extra judicial killings, torture, and disappearances of people opposed to Nkurunziza’s third term, which sparked Burundi’s current political crisis. More than 600 people have been killed and more than 300,000 have fled to neighbouring countries.

The international community has appealed to the Burundi government and opposition to negotiate a solution to the crisis, but the government has repeatedly said it would not negotiate with those it considered to be coup plotters, calling them terrorists.

{13 November 2016 – Visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), members of the United Nations Security Council called on Congolese political and social actors to take greater responsibility to adopt a consensual and inclusive electoral calendar and asked that the ban on public demonstrations be lifted.}

The delegation, co-led by French Ambassador Francois Delattre and Angolan Ambassador Ismael Abrao Gaspar, arrived in Kinshasa, the country’s capital, Friday night.

The delegation has so far met with various political figures, including President Joseph Kabila and opposition leaders, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations.

President Kabila’s term ends on 19 December this year. A presidential vote, originally scheduled for 27 November, continues to be a deeply divisive issue in the DRC.

Last month, the Constitutional Court granted a petition of the National Electoral Commission (CENI) to postpone the elections to 2018. Meanwhile, on 18 October, participants in the national dialogue on elections signed an agreement to hold the elections in April 2018. However, the dialogue is being boycotted by several of the main opposition groups, which have formed a coalition called “Rassemblement.” The group has been staging popular protests on the 19th every month to pressure President Kabila to step down.

In Kinshasa, Mr. Delattre, said that the delegation highlighted the need for “a broad inclusive framework in order to reach a broad consensus on a specific electoral timetable, accompanied by confidence-building measures.”

“In this context I would like to stress that we emphasized how freedom of opinion and assembly must be guaranteed, and fair access to the media ensured in order to have a free and constructive political debate,” he said.

On Saturday, the UN-backed Radio Okapi signal was blurred momentarily, but Radio France International’s signal is still cut.

He said UN Security Council members called on the Congolese authorities to re-establish Radio France International’s signal and to lift the ban on demonstrations.

Earlier this month, Mr. Delattre told the press that the Council’s visit to DRC “will be a very important exercise of preventive diplomacy.”

“We want to seize this opportunity to talk to all Congolese stakeholders to ensure that they fully realize the responsibility that they have in preserving peace in their country and show the necessary spirit of compromise and openness in order to prepare for the elections as soon as possible and, this is a key word, in full respect of the constitution,” he said.

The Council delegation will visit Beni on Sunday before traveling to Luanda in Angola.

{Mr Ssempijja said at least Shs200 billion released to buy seedlings, inputs and other agricultural related items has been lost because of the drought that has hit the country.}

Government has lost more than 85 percent of the agricultural inputs supplied to farmers in 50 districts according to Agriculture minister Vincent Ssempijja.

This financial year, the ministry used Shs360 billion to finance the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) and Youths Livelihood Programme (YLP).

Mr Ssempijja said at least Shs200 billion released to buy seedlings, inputs and other agricultural related items has been lost because of the drought that has hit the country.

READ: Prime minister’s visit leaves residents frustrated

Some of the most affected districts are Rakai, Bukomansimbi, Masaka, Kalungu, Gomba, Isingiro, Lwengo, Sembabule and Butambala among others.

Mr Ssempijja made this revelation last Saturday at Lukaya Town Council in Kalungu District, where he met some of the farmers affected by the drought.

The prolonged drought has triggered crop failures in many districts around the country causing food shortages.

The government estimates about 1.3 million people face starvation in Karamoja sub-region, parts of Teso, central and western Uganda.

Mr Ronald Kibuule, the State minister for Water Resources says the government is to start irrigation around the country. He added that President Museveni has directed that small scale irrigation be started around the most affected regions as one of the strategies to mitigate effects of drought.

Recently, the President spent days working with farmers in Luweero District to irrigate their crops using water bottles.

{Kenya has assured South Sudan that it will not abandon its obligation to restore peace even after pulling troops out of the troubled county following a row with the United Nations.}

State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu on Sunday said that although Kenya would no longer work as part of the UN mission in Juba (UNMISS), Nairobi would continue with its peace efforts on other fronts.

Kenya pulled its troops out of South Sudan last week following the sacking of Lt-Gen Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

{{Protested sacking }}

Nairobi furiously protested the sacking, pulled out its troops from South Sudan, deported one of the aides of rebel leader Riek Machar and warned the UN not to take her for granted.

“Kenya will keep its obligation to South Sudan. We will work with them bilaterally, in Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Eat African Community, which we worked hard to get them there, and the African Union. What we will not do is work with them on UNMISS,” said Mr Esipisu at State House during his weekly press briefings.

Mr Esipisu also dismissed as “bad ignorance” opposition by Cord leader Raila Odinga of Kenya’s move to pull its troops out of the country.

{{Kenya’s image}}

Mr Odinga said that the action had dented Kenya’s image in international circles.

“If someone is going to take a decision against a Kenyan commander without involving Kenya, that person must know that there will be consequences,” Mr Esipisu said.

“And if there were no consequences, people will ask where the Republic of Kenya is.”

On Mr Odinga, Mr Esipisu said: “I think those of us who do not understand basic diplomacy, in my view, have a problem.”

Mr Esipisu said Kenya’s international standing had grown huge, saying “all key world leaders have come to Kenya, maybe except the Russian president.”

{{6PC Growth }}

He said that Kenya was respected in the international circles like never before.

Meanwhile, Mr Esipisu said Kenya was on its way to achieve the projected six per cent growth.

The bullish State House spokesman said the country had its house in order, and that it was doing better than its continental peers South Africa (with a projected 0.5 percent economic growth), and Nigeria that is projected to decline by the same percentage.

Mr Esipisu also dismissed as premature questions of why Kenyans were not seeing jobs as the economy grew.

{{Land Summit }}

“Growth takes time and it is not like a football match where it is 90 minutes and there is a goal. But there are things we can see. Like SGR, the rail is being laid and there are 30,000 jobs besides the subcontracted ones,’ explained Mr Esipisu.

Mr Esipisu also announced that State House will on Monday host a lands summit.

At the summit, he said, Kenyans will get answers on historical land injustices (who owns the largest tracts of land, land reports and their implementation), land grabbing, corruption in the sector, as well as malpractices in land control boards.

{A pastoralist has been lynched while another one sustained severe injuries as eight herders have been arrested for interrogation following the fighting that erupted between the farmers and pastoralists at Mwimbi Village in Kalambo District in Rukwa Region.}

This comes as the Court of Appeal confirmed the 30-year imprisonment imposed on Bishop Edson Mwombeki of the Tanzania Evangelism Field (TEF) Church in Shinyanga Region for raping a member of his congregation (16) years in a hotel within Mwanza City.

Meanwhile, two village chairmen and village executive officer have been arrested for allowing herds of cattle to their areas of jurisdiction without the permission of Kalambo District Commissioner, Ms Julieth Binyura.

This resurfaced when the Rukwa Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Zelothe Steven, recently visited Mwimbi Village where he ordered civil leaders from village, ward, district and region to stop from receiving herds of cattle from other areas without approval from relevant organs in an effort to permanently address land dispute between the two communities.

He said he has been prompted to issue such a directive following the lynching of a pastoralist while the other sustained severe injuries on head and legs after the later managed to flee from the hands of irate farmers.

Mr Steven was briefed that the wounded pastoralist was briefly admitted at Mwimbi Health Centre before taken to Rukwa Regional Referral Hospital in Sumbawanga Town for further treatment.

Mwimbi Ward Executive Officer, Mr Tamali Mwakajinga, told the RC that the grisly incident took place at around 5:30 pm in the fight that involved four pastoralists and eight farmers.

Earlier in her welcoming note, Ms Binyura told Mr Steven that she had ordered for the arrest of two village chairmen and a village executive officer for receiving herds of cattle to their areas with her approval.

“I have already arrested the local functionaries for receiving herds of cattle without following proper procedures … I urge the other leaders to refrain from committing similar mistakes; those who will defy they will face the consequences.

You must seek my authorisation before receiving them,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal has confirmed the 30-year jail sentence imposed on Bishop Mwombeki for raping a congregation member.

Justices Edward Rutakangwa, Salum Massati and Stella Mugasha ruled against Bishop Mwombeki, the appellant, after dismissing the appeal he had lodged to fault findings of the High Court given on December 14, last year.

“We are satisfied that the charge of rape was proved against the appellant beyond reasonable doubt.

Therefore, the appeal is without merit and it is dismissed in its entirety,” they declared in their judgment delivered in Mwanza recently.

During hearing the appeal, the appellant had contended, among others, that the evidence on record and the law applicable does not support his conviction and that the age of the victim of rape, who was a student at Kassa Secondary School was not proved.

In their judgment dated October 18, 2016, however, the justices of the appeals court said they were satisfied that the victim (name withheld) was a cred-ible witness whose testimonial account revealed how she was ravished by the appellant at Sumayi Hotel instead of being taken to school as promised.

The victim’s evidence shows that she recalled that while in Shinyanga Region with her par-ents she was once possessed by demonic attacks and the appellant prayed for her in his church and she was eventually healed.

Sometimes in December 2013 when she was on school va-cation, the appellant agreed that she reside at his home until the school reopened on January 13, 2014.

During that time, the victim was given tuition lessons by the daughter of the appellant.On January 13, 2014, the ap-pellant called the mother of the victim and told her that he would take the girl to school in Mwanza on January 17, 2014.

On that as-surance, the mother informed her brother on the scheduled arrival of the daughter on that day and she gave him the number of the appellant.

However, despite the brother making follow-ups, the appellant kept on promising that the daugh-ter will be arriving on January 17, 2014.

On the same day, the brother inquired and the headmis-tress of Kassa School confirmed that the daughter did not sleep at the school.

The brother did not see the daughter until the following day with breaking news that she was raped by the appellant.

She re-counted to have left Shinyanga for Mwanza together with the ap-pellant and his two sons.

The ap-pellant initially dropped the two boys at their school.

He promised that he would take her to the school on the same day.

However, the appellant in-stead diverted the route to Sumayi Hotel and left the daughter there.

At around 23.00 hours, the appel-lant resurfaced, carrying food for her.

The appellant then went to the bathroom, which was in the same room.

He came out shortly later wearing a white singlet and yellow shorts and he proposed to make love with the daughter, who declined.

Thereafter, the ap-pellant forced the daughter to un-dress before he raped her.

The victim did not raise any alarm because the appellant had threatened to kill her.

She slept in the same room with the appellant until the following morning when he advised her to tell her parents that she had slept at Kassa Sec-ondary School.

From the predicament she found herself in, the victim trav-elled to Magu where she told her uncle that she slept at Sumayi Hotel where Bishop Mwombeki forced her to have sexual in-tercourse with him.

The uncle directed her to go back to her mother in Shinyanga where she revealed the episode.

The matter was reported to the police, leading to the arrest of the appellant and his prosecution.

In his defence, the appellant had denied the charge, alleging that he knew the victim as he is the one who prayed for her when she was possessed by demons.

{Congo has stepped up army patrols in its volatile east after the former military chief of a once-powerful rebel group vanished from a camp for demobilized fighters in neighboring Uganda and gunfire erupted outside an important border town.}

Julien Paluku, governor of Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province, said Ugandan authorities no longer knew the whereabouts of Sultani Makenga, who was the military chief of the M23 rebellion.

“We were in contact with the Ugandan intelligence services who confirmed that, since Friday, ex-Colonel Makenga may have fled and the Ugandan services have not been able to locate him,” Paluku told Reuters on Saturday.

An official with M23’s political wing declined to comment and referred questions about Makenga to the Ugandan authorities. A Ugandan army spokesman said he did not know whether Makenga had disappeared but would seek to confirm his whereabouts.

A Congolese customs official in Bunagana said gunfire had erupted overnight in the hills around the town, an important border crossing to Uganda that was once an M23 stronghold. Shooting continued sporadically into Saturday morning.

“We didn’t know where it was coming from. We woke up in panic,” said the official. “We don’t know what’s happening, the military is telling us nothing.”

The official, who declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak to the media, said there was increased military activity in Bunagana as well as a growing presence of Ugandan soldiers across the border in the town of Kisoro.

Paluku said there was no confirmation Makenga had returned to Congo but added that there had been reports of unidentified troops in North Kivu’s Sarambwe Nature Reserve, adjacent to the border.

“There’s a maximum alert. Our troops are carrying out combat patrols so that, if it turns out it’s true, they will proceed to neutralize (Makenga) along with any allies who might be accompanying him on this adventure,” the governor said.

Until its defeat in 2013, M23 was the strongest of dozens of armed groups that have continued to control large swaths of mineral-rich eastern Congo despite the end of the 1998-2003 war.

The area remains a tinder box of ethnic and political divisions.

At its peak, M23 seized North Kivu’s capital Goma but following its defeat by U.N. and Congolese troops, many of its fighters fled into Uganda and Rwanda. They have since lived in military-run camps awaiting amnesties promised under a peace deal.

Uganda said in 2014 that it was hosting 1,430 former M23 fighters. However, many have since left the camps and there have been persistent rumors that the rebels were seeking to regroup.

U.N. investigators said the group, accused of war crimes by rights campaigners, was supported by Rwanda – a charge Kigali has repeatedly denied.