A Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) journalist, Deogratious Peter Otai accusing Rtd Maj Gen Matayo Kyaligonza and his guards of assaulting him, is seeking Shs 340 million in compensation.

Otai sued Kyaligonza and his bodyguards, corporal Peter Bushindiki and private John Robert Okurut. Also jointly sued is the attorney general. In his suit before the Civil Division of High court, Otai through his lawyers of Kiiza and Mugisha Advocates is seeking Shs 200 million for psychological torture, stress, inhumane treatment, humiliation and other human rights violations.

He also wants Shs 80 million as punitive damages and another Shs 60 million for aggravated damages. The incident stems from a February 24, 2019 incident in a Seeta in Mukono district. Otai explains that on the said date, he went to withdraw money from the Centenary bank automatic teller machine (ATM). 

In the suit, Otai explains that after making his transaction, he saw someone he suspected to be from Burundi (because of the vehicle number plate) assaulting a traffic police officer identified as Esther Namaganda. According to Otai, being a journalist, he naturally tried to find out what was happening so as to file a story thereafter. He says that he found Kyaligonza's guards; Bushindiki and Okurut manhandling Namaganda by the neck. 

Otai reportedly told the trio (Kyaligonza and his two guards) that what was happening couldn’t be tolerated in the country as it amounts to gender violence. He says that it is at this point that the guards dashed to their vehicle and picked up bayonets and attempted to cut him.

Otai took pictures of the incident prompting the military guards to attack him. The application is supported by Otai's affidavit and that of Arnold Mukose, the secretary for Human Rights in Uganda Journalist’s Association.     

"Currently I'm living in fear when I go to sleep, I get nightmares of torture from security operatives," reads Otai's affidavit in part. 

Adding that; “Even when I hear something hitting the wall, the door creaking, dogs barking and windows shuttering and screeching. I'm forced to sit awake on my bed almost the entire night engulfed by fear." 

Otai also alleges that he has received many calls from his relatives advising him to give up his quest for justice because they believe that, "military officers in Uganda are untouchable and not even Uganda's courts can hold them accountable." 

Both Bushindiki and Okurut were picked up by the military last month but have never been arraigned in any court. Kyaligonza simply recorded a statement at police Headquarters in Kampala. The director of public prosecutions, Mike Chibita has since returned Kyaligonza’s case file citing lack of crucial information from witnesses. 

Court has summoned Kyaligonza, his guards and attorney general to file their defense within two weeks before the matter is fixed for hearing.

Democratic Party (DP) president Norbert Mao has taken over the chairmanship of the Inter-party Organization for Dialogue (Ipod). Mao took over from Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) Jimmy Akena, ahead of the 2019 Ipod Summit to be held later this year.

The changes were announced at a media briefing at Protea Kampala hotel in the presence of representatives from other Ipod party members, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Justice Forum (JEEMA) and the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

Akena while handing over, said consultative meetings have been held by the Ipod council leading to the first ever Summit of Leaders in December 2018 where the presidents of DP, JEEMA, NRM and UPC met to adopt a four-point agenda committing their respective parties to work together to strengthen political parties.

“During the meeting, we agreed to promote constitutionalism and the rule of law, inclusion of women and youth in politics and work together on constitutional and electoral reforms to strengthen democratic governance in Uganda,” he said.

As the incoming chairman of Ipod, Mao is expected to chair the upcoming summit as the DP secretary general Gerald Black Siranda chairs the Ipod council. Frank Rusa, executive secretary of Ipod said, Mao’s leadership comes at a critical point in Uganda considering that some political parties have already declared candidates for the 2021 polls, calling out for the need to work together more than ever in the political space ahead of the elections.

“My hope is that these organs realise that only by working together to achieve one common goal, which is ultimately a fully functional and democratic Uganda will the country move forward. So, there is a need to unite, now more than ever,” Rusa said.

justuslyatuu08@gmail.com

The Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) has intercepted an armed South Sudanese soldier found roaming inside Uganda’s territorial boundaries.

UPDF soldiers attached to Bana Bana military detach in Madiopei sub-county, Lamwo district intercepted Lance Corporal James Onyango on Saturday last week. The suspect, who was found roaming with an AK-47 assault rifle and 59 rounds of ammunition, is attached to the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) Lion battalion.

He reportedly got lost from his unit. James Nabinson Kidega, the Lamwo resident district commissioner confirmed Onyango detention. Kidega says Onyango who only speaks Arabic was first detained at Bana Bana barracks and later transferred to Padibe police station.  

Kidega said that the soldier was spotted by civilians in the jungles of Ngomoromo in Lokung sub-county before he crossed to the neighbouring Paloga sub-county heading to Agoro, which borders South Sudan. 

Onyango was reportedly trailed by UPDF for two days before he was rounded up. He becomes the second armed South Sudanese national to be arrested in the country in less than four months. In December 2018, an armed local singer, Grace Samuel Rom alias Wajarasi was arrested by UPDF after straying into Uganda to carry out illegal poaching.  

He was nabbed with two dead antelopes and was remanded to Gulu Central prison. According to Kidega, investigations are still ongoing to ascertain what exactly caused Onyango to stray into Uganda’s territory armed. Local authorities note that the porous Uganda-South Sudan border has facilitated cross border crime that requires extra security vigilance.

The patron of vigilante-cum-militia outfit, Boda Boda 2010, Abdallah Kitatta has now been transferred from Makindye military barracks to Luzira Maximum prison allegedly for his own safety.       

The chairperson of the General Court Martial, Lt Gen Andrew Gutti took the decision after a request by army prosecutor Cpt Samuel Masereje on grounds that Kitatta’s detention in a military barracks was putting his life in danger. He did not divulge any other details.    

Kitatta's lawyer Shaban Sanywa had initially objected to the transfer, recalling that his client was brought into the military barracks for his own safety. But Gutti ruled that Kitatta should be remanded to Luzira until April 8.  

Kitatta was arrested in January 2018 together with 10 other Boda Boda 2010 members, among them, Matia Senfuka, Joel Kibirige, Hassan Ssemata, Jonathan Kayondo, Ssengooba Hassan, Sande Ssemwogerere, John Ssebandeke, Hussein Mugema, Fred Bwanika and Amon Twinomujuni. They were all charged with offences related to unlawful possession of military hardware.  

The prosecution alleges that on January 21, 2018, in Wakaliga, Rubaga division, Kitatta, Sowali Ngobi and Ibrahim Sekajja were found in unlawful possession of a sub-machine gun rifle with police registration numbers and a pistol without a valid firearm license, contrary to provisions of the Fire Arms Act.  

They are also accused of unlawful possession of 50 rounds of ammunition and military equipment including headgear and uniforms which are a monopoly of the defence forces.  

Meanwhile, the defence team has closed its case after three of their witnesses shunned witness summons issued to them. The witnesses included; Sgt Allan Matsiko, one of Kitatta’s bodyguards, Pvt Kenneth Okello who was reportedly in charge of the armory where guns were obtained from, and the manager of Vine hotel where Kitatta was arrested from.

President Museveni’s March 10 letter to his Rwanda counterpart Paul Kagame was the third attempt in less than a month for the two leaders to try to ease escalating tensions that are threatening the stability of the two neighbouring countries.

Government-owned New Vision last week published a copy of the letter dated March 10 to Kagame in which Museveni says he “accidentally met” members of the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), a group that Kigali says is planning to topple Kagame.

“I am writing to let you know that by accident, I, at last had a meeting with a Rwandan who admitted to being a member of the group you told me about – Rwanda National Congress (RNC). This lady is Mukankusi, whom I am sure you know, but I had never met before,” Museveni wrote.

The letter came exactly 30 days after the two presidents had a face-to-face meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where they had gone to attend the 32nd ordinary summit of the African Union. At the summit Kagame handed over the AU chairmanship to Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

According to knowledgeable sources, it was during the Addis Ababa meeting that Kagame first presented to Museveni a list of Rwandan nationals doing business in Uganda.

“He told Museveni that there are a number of people who had been part of the RPF [Rwanda Patriotic Front] who used their positions in government and the army, and stole public funds before they relocated to different parts of the world, including Uganda, and are now supporting people who want to wage war on Rwanda,” a source close to Uganda’s presidency told The Observer.

This newspaper on March 6 broke the story of Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa, a Rwandan tycoon who Kagame accuses of funding the RNC. (See: Rwanda asks Uganda to kick out top tycoon, The Observer, March 6).

On the list were owners of two bus companies which operate between Kigali and Kampala. One of the bus owners recently opened a high-end hotel in Kampala.

“Museveni told Kagame that he had no details about the people that he had issues with but promised that on return to Kampala, he would task the intelligence services to profile the people that Kagame is complaining about,” the source said.

That is how Museveni fixed meetings later with some of the businessmen on Kagame’s list. He also held a separate meeting with Maj Gen Frank Mugambagye, Rwanda’s high commissioner to Uganda. Mugambagye echoed Kagame’s call for the closure of businesses owned by people Kigali believes fund anti-establishment activities.

In his letter to Kagame, Museveni claims to have linked Mugambagye with the intelligence agencies and the minister of Foreign Affairs, Sam Kutesa. Rujugiro in an interview published by New Vision on March 17 denies funding RNC, and also confirms Museveni’s communication to Kagame that he is not willing to sell his businesses.

RWANDAN MINISTER

Rwanda’s February 28 closure of its borders with Uganda was a culmination of a decade-long suspicion between the two neighbours. Well-placed security sources have told The Observer that Rwanda has long been receiving briefs about Uganda’s security, leaked by people whom Kigali is alleged to have discreetly got placed in strategic positions in Kampala.

One such individual is Stella Ford Mugabo, a former Cabinet Affairs minister in the Rwandan government. Before she was appointed to the position in 2013, Mugabo had worked as a senior staff at Uganda’s External Security Organisation (ESO), in State House and at the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

The then ESO director general, David Pulkol, sacked her after he became suspicious that she was a double agent who was leaking information to Rwanda. At the time she was married to a Rwandese intelligence officer.

From ESO, she joined office of the president as a public policy analyst but would also give Museveni intelligence briefs filtered from reports filed by the country’s security chiefs. Masolo reportedly protested, and for a month, he did not file any reports until he met Museveni and told him about his suspicions against Mugabo.

She later joined URA before relocating to Rwanda. By press time, efforts to get comments from government officials about the feared presence of several such deep-cover Rwandan agents working in the highest echelons of the Ugandan establishment remained futile.

newseditor@observer.ug

A medical camp in the central district of Gomba was overwhelmed last week by an overflow of locals rushing to get free treatment.

The Mobile Medical Camp was set up in Kabulasoke village is an initiative of the Office of the Vice President and Xsabo Group promoting voluntarism among youths and making positive change agents out of them.

As early as 9am, a crowd had gathered around the tent for dental treatment. One early bird, Silvia Nakatte, a mother of a six-year-old girl, said she arrived at the camp by 7am. Her daughter suffers from tooth cavities.

“I come from Koome village that is roughly seven kilometres from here. I went to our government health centre but it does not have a dentist; so, we rely on private dentists or charity teams like this one.”

“The clinic will require you to pay Shs 50,000 for any consultations and that is too much for me.”

Yusufu Wassa, 51, said he has been to Gomba hospital several times but he has not been helped. If the doctor is not there, then there are no drugs or the dental clinic is crowded.

“I went there last week, there were over 1,000 people and there was only one person to attend to them. I stayed there the whole day but in the end, I did not see the doctor,” he said.

Hilton Nahabwe, the district focal person at the Gomba district dental unit, revealed that she is the only dentist in the district.

“It is true, I’m the only dentist in the district; we see people coming from far places but sometimes the work is too much for me. The challenge is that some people have lost hope and have resorted to traditional herbs (mumbwa),” she said.

“Someone was brought to me at Gomba hospital some time back with gingivitis and cavities. He was so swollen in the face and I could not handle and referred him to Mulago hospital but he died because he had been using herbs; he had lost hope in the dental unit.”

Nahabwe said that Gomba hospital receives about 200 dental cases. Most of them suffer from gingivitis and tooth cavities -- diseases attributed to poor oral hygiene. In Gomba there are about 30 private clinics specialising in dental illnesses where patients pay between Shs 50,000 and Shs 250,000.

Dr David Alobo, managing director of the Xsabo Group, said the medical camp also treated people for malaria. Other diseases treated included diabetes, high blood pressure and ulcers. Family planning and antenatal services, HIV/Aids testing and counselling, cancer screening and care; eye care services, nutrition education and haemophilia care were also provided.

justuslyatuu08@gmail.com

When two elephants fight, the grass suffers, so goes an old African adage.

This is probably true for the family of Pastor Deo Nyirigira, 67. A resident of Kakyeka in Mbarara municipality, the pastor’s family has paid a high price every time there is tension between the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni.

This time three of his daughters are being held incommunicado in Rwanda. Uganda and Rwanda are in the grip of yet another bout of tensions. Kagame recently told a meeting of his Rwanda Patriotic Front politburo that Uganda is not only sheltering dissidents who are plotting to overthrow his government, but is also actively supporting them.

One such dissident is Deo Nyirigira. Like many Rwandans running from government in Kigali, Nyirigira for so many years lived in Uganda as a refugee following the first exodus of Tutsis from Rwanda in 1959. After the NRM came to power with the help of  Rwandese who had formed the nucleus of Museveni’s rebel army, the refugees left Uganda in 1994.

Nyirigira was part of that group particularly close to the first leader of the RPF, Fred Rwigyema. After toppling Juvenal Habyarimana’s government, Nyirigira together with his family of six children was glad that finally he was going to have a place to call home.

Although Uganda had been kind and hospitable to them, life as a refugee is always very challenging. But he was wrong. His stay in Rwanda turned out to be short-lived as only five years later he had to sneak back to Uganda.

Fred Muzatsinda (not real name), his son who spoke to The Observer on behalf of the family, said in 2000, their father started being harassed by state security. He was accused of being part of a growing clique of RPF officials critical of the government.

But Nyirigira by this time was supposed to have left his job as a mobiliser for the RPF in favour of serving God. He was running more than 30 churches around Rwanda. The government, however, suspected that he was using them to spread anti-establishment sentiments; they closed them.

Then he was picked up for questioning by the Directorate of Military Intelligence [DMI]. He didn’t return before a full month was over. He was released without a charge. A few months later, Nyirigira was picked again and held incommunicado for two months but as usual no charges were brought against him.

“After some time, a friend of his gave him intelligence that they were about to arrest him again, this time forever. That’s when he took a decision to escape from Rwanda and that’s how we returned to Uganda in March 2001,” Muzatsinda said.

When they returned to Uganda, they settled at Kakyeka from where they applied to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for refugee status. They were stunned when their application was refused.

“They gave us three days to return to Rwanda, claiming that we had no justifiable reasons to ask for refugee status. It was bizarre how one would want you to return to a country you have run away from,” Muzatsinda said.

Being familiar with how the RPF operated, he knew somebody had influenced the decision. Nyirigira refused to return, arguing that they should give him time to organise and leave for another country where he would feel safe.

The pressure kept on mounting, climaxing into the storming of his home with the view of returning him back to the country by force. It was after the intervention of the then Ugandan army’s commander Maj Gen James Kazini (deceased) that he was let free.

“Another time they stormed our residence at around 3am. but the guards that Kazini had given us shot one of them. Before he died, he told us that they had been sent … to kidnap us; we have been living in fear all the time,” Muzatsinda says.

If there is one piece of news that excited the Nyirigiras, it was the sacking of Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura. Muzatsinda refers to the fact that Kayihura has been implicated in the alleged illegal repatriation of Rwandan refugees.

Sisters leave for Kigali

Downplaying the persona non grata status of their father, daughters Axelle Umutesi, 30, Lillian Umutoni, 32, and Jackline Umuhoza, 27 after completing Makerere University chose to return to Rwanda where there are more job opportunities for English speakers. They were lucky; Umutesi got a job at RT television and radio.

Lillian not only got a job in an information technology company but also a husband with whom they had two children; the first born being three years and the last one year.

Jackline too got a job at a solar company. Life seemed to be moving on pretty well. “When they got jobs, they were asked to renounce their Ugandan citizenship in return for Rwandan citizenship; they surrendered their passports,” Muzatsinda says. 

Falling out

Back in Uganda, Muzatsinda says his father continued to attract interest from Kigali security circles. His Agape Community church in Mbarara had become particularly popular with Rwandan refugees.

Nyirigira’s lawyer (names withheld in order not to attract attention to his relatives who live in Kigali) says all Nyirigira has done is to give spiritual support to whoever needs it.

“As a community leader, many people run to him to seek solace and for counselling; many Rwandans living in Uganda are part of those people. He cannot chase them surely. He is not interested in politics anymore. We wonder why the government of Rwanda is still interested in him after almost 20 years since he left,” he said.

The authorities in Rwanda then turned on the three girls. First it was Lillian’s husband who was intimidated into divorcing her; which he did. She was forced out of their house with the two little children. She moved in with her sisters.

Then the three were sacked from their jobs without clear reason. They were summoned by military intelligence for questioning about money their father was sending them for rent and upkeep. They were also asked why their father was fighting the government.

“They told them to write a letter denouncing their father if they wanted to regain their peace but they refused. They have tried to petition the police and the RPF on why they are being harassed but they have never received feedback. When they tried to leave the country at the beginning of March, they were arrested again and spent a week in prison with the children.

“Their Rwandan and Ugandan documents were confiscated. They have been restricted from receiving any calls or money from outside the country yet they are not working,” Muzatsinda says. The lawyer adds that they must also call the DMI two times every day at 11am and 11pm to confirm that they are in the country.

“They are desperate to leave but the security won’t allow them. We think that by speaking out about their situation somehow, the government will release them because they are innocent. We are very worried,” Muzatsinda says.

Efforts to speak to the Rwandan high commissioner in Uganda Maj Gen Frank Mugambage for this story were futile as he didn’t pick our calls or respond to our questions sent to him on his known telephone contact.

bakerbatte@observer.ug

Under a thin veil of normalcy, an organized gang of thieves clad in mechanics’ overalls prey each day on unsuspecting car owners looking for cheap car parts at Kisekka market, a busy stretch of road and shops in downtown Kampala.

Before thieves took over, the market was the go-to-place for cheap car parts. But todate, all one hears are horror stories. On a hot Wednesday afternoon, David Lukiiza’s friend noticed that the wheel cap on their car tyre was damaged and was hanging too loose.

Thinking that fixing it wouldn’t take up a lot of their time, they opted to get the repair job done fast. Their first instinct was to go to a place where they would have this remedied quickly and that is how Lukiiza and his friend ended up at Kisekka market in downtown Kampala.

Upon arrival, they were approached by a young man who offered to help them get a wheel cap at a reasonable fee. Within no time, their vehicle had been surrounded. A mob of mechanics started identifying one fault after another with their car with offers to repair. David and his colleague stood their ground until they heard activity under their car.

They got inquisitive only to realize that the wheel on their car had been removed. Without their permission, men began carrying out ‘repairs’ on their car at will.

Much to their dismay, they were then asked to pay for the ‘work’. To their shock, they were billed Shs 2.5 million amidst threats of further vandalism on the car if they did not comply.

They started making phone calls to a few friends and luckily one of them knew a security officer who liaised with the area local council defence secretary. Finally, the gang was calmed down and Lukiiza was asked to pay Shs 100,000 for the wheel cap. The LC official secured their safe exit from the area with mechanics threatening to throw stones at them.

“I can only imagine the number of people that have been fleeced in this manner and didn’t have as much luck as we did on that day,” Lukiiza said in an interview.

Many people have suffered a similar fate but have chosen to remain silent. One such victim who prefers anonymity says he once went to Kisekka for a window replacement. He was greeted warmly only to later realise that while he was speaking to the person he thought was going to help him, his tail lights were being vandalised.

When he inquired how and why his lights had been removed, he was told his car had come in that state. He was eventually forced to pay Shs 200,000 for his own lights. He left without the window. A key ingredient in the con is to make the vehicle immobile by removing tyres or even engines in some cases and once they are sure that you can’t leave, you are surrounded by an angry mob.

Replacing a wheel cap usually costs about Shs 40,000 within Kisekka and having it replaced should be a quick fix. Unfortunately for many people who drive there for fast solutions, it comes at unwanted costs. One is literally bullied into incurring costs that they have not planned for.

Police say they have done enough to try and curb the vice. Luke Owoyesigire, the deputy police spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan area, says police have been on a deliberate drive to rid the area of street mechanics through collaborative efforts with city authority enforcement teams.

Owoyesigire also argues that many of the victims don’t report their cases to police and prefer to stay silent, which allows this vicious cycle to continue.

“Why would someone opt to go to a place where they have heard people get fleeced off to work on their car?” Owoyesigire questions.

But a lot more needs to be done to sensitise the general public to stay alert. Kisekka market on any week day is a beehive of activity. Men in overalls are a common sight. Carrying one spare part or the other, they patrol the road while others sit idly on the terraces talking to each other.

It is a fairly noisy environment. A good number of mobile money points have been set up at the edges of the staircases to almost all the floors of the buildings, an indicator that the spare parts business is quite lucrative.

According to area LC-I chairman, Tadeo Mugerwa, the market was named after Samson Kisekka, the former vice president of Uganda, who had a hospital on that stretch. Kisekka market has since gained notoriety for suspect dealings and political activism fuelled by very many unemployed youths who loiter in the area.

“We receive many complaints about people being over-priced or conned but in most cases when you follow up, it’s not the traders with genuine businesses doing these things,” Mugerwa said.

Challenges

Among the challenges faced by the market management is recordkeeping, this is one of the loopholes that are being used by these masqueraders to act like they are Kisekka market employees.

Since management can’t control the number of people who loiter around, pretending to be mechanics, people should beware of whom they approach for help. It is also advisable for one not to park their vehicle in the area without supervision or leave it unattended to. Cars can sometimes get stripped for spare parts in broad daylight.

A mechanic who only identified himself as Ibrah says most of the dealers and traders at Kisekka are genuine but it is the boys they hire as helps who try to make extra cash as middlemen in dubious ways. This, according to Ibrah, has tainted the reputation of genuine dealers in the market.

“We pay taxes but the people in government call us criminals. We are very many genuine people here in Kisekka but people think all of us are bad.” says Ibrah.

Way forward

The market leadership is in the process of undertaking a mass registration through which they will issue identification to the actual traders in order to differentiate them from the conmen. This, according to Mugerwa, would help them easily identify the redundant youth and set up programmes to skill them in order to stop them from fleecing their own potential clients.

There has been collaboration between the market and law enforcement to try and bring offenders to book and arrests are made in some cases. The presence of law enforcement is vivid as there is a police post right next-door but Kisekka still continues to be associated with conmen.

aaronorena@gmail.com

The much-awaited revamped Uganda Airlines is 99.9 per cent privately owned by an undisclosed individual(s) - with government owning just 0.0001% of the airline's shares.

This revelation was disclosed by opposition MPs on the Budget committee who wrote a minority report following the approval of a Shs 280 billion supplementary budget for the purchase of the first two Bombardier planes from Canada. Like The Observer reported back in 2017, MPs were astonished to learn that an individual took out a patent on the Uganda Airlines company name.

In June 2016, President Museveni told his new cabinet in his first address that Uganda Airlines was to fly again because lack of a national airline is a ‘big shame.’  Then in 2017, the minister of state for Transport, Aggrey Bagiire, told The Observer that who owns the name is not a problem.

“It’s true the name was registered by someone [who] I also do not know. It's true the name was used in the Uganda Registration Services Bureau, but what is important is the revival of the national carrier, which we are working on,” Bagiire said then.

“The most important thing is that we shall get another name, which will show the planes are for Uganda,” he added.

Now, in his report to parliament today Tuesday, Budget committee chairperson Amos Lugoloobi said, that considering the urgency associated with the procurement of the two bombardier planes, his committee took a decision to prepare and present a separate report for the items while still in the process of scrutinizing other items on the total Shs 770.2 billion supplementary budget presented by government earlier this month.

Among the approved items off the multi-billion supplementary budget, were the Shs 280 billion for the purchase of the planes and the Shs 12 billion for the payment of ground rent arrears to Kampala Archdiocese for the land leased to Uganda Police Force at Nsambya police barracks. 

According to Lugoloobi, the approved supplementary expenditures for the aircraft and the Archdiocese shall be financed through the additional revenue release in the FY 2018/2019 and proceeds from the anticipated $60 MTN license renewal fees payment and capital gains tax resulting from the sale of Tullow Oil's assets to Total E&P Uganda at $15 million.    

Lugoloobi justified the approval of Shs 280 billion for Uganda Airlines, saying failure to pay, would result in severe penalties and damages against Uganda. Ministry of Works and Transport has been putting enormous pressure on parliament to approve the Shs 280 billion supplementary budget for the purchase of the planes, arguing that Uganda has already defaulted on its payment schedule. 

Last year, Uganda ordered for four CRJ900 regional jets with Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, as part of the much-anticipated plan for the revival of Uganda Airlines. The first jets were supposed to have been delivered in January and February this year, but government kept pushing forward the arrival time.

During her interactions with the Budget Committee last week, Works and Transport minister Monica Ntege Azuba, said the funds for the purchase ought to be availed as soon as possible because any further delays means that Uganda will have to incur costs of insurance and parking fees as the planes lie idle with the manufacturer.

Azuba warned that the required Shs 280 billion has to be made within the next 6 days by March 29 or else the manufacturer will push Uganda's aircraft orders aside to 2022. 

MINORITY REPORT

Two opposition MPs authored a minority report, appealing to parliament to reject the approved supplementary budget requests. Kasese Woman MP Winfred Kiiza and Lira Woman MP Joy Atim Ongom informed parliament of a number of irregularities that need to be addressed before the supplementary can be approved.   

Ongom demanded that government first tables before parliament, proof regarding ownership of Uganda Airlines as well as amending the MoU for government to be allocated majority shares that can be later floated to the public.   

“The share capital of Uganda National Airlines Company Limited is 200 million divided into 2 million shares. Of the 2 million shares, only 2 shares worth Shs 200 to minister of Works and Transport as well as ministry of Finance. This makes both ministries to be minority shareholders holding only 0.0001% of the shares. At the moment the owners of the 99.9% shares are unknown. The owners will only be determined when the directors decide to allocate the shores. It was asserted that the majority shares will be floated to the public,” said Ongom.   

She also questioned the appointment of Secretary to the Treasury Keith Muhakanizi and Bageya Waiswa as directors of Uganda National Airlines Limited in their individual capacity. Ongom further said that it would be illegal to utilise the funds from the MTN licence to finance the airlines and that it was not permissible to utilise funds that are ideally reserved for an underfunded sector. 

The deputy speaker, Jacob Oulanyah adjourned debate on both reports to Wednesday.

In a brief interview and later in a more elaborate statement sent to The Observer yesterday, state minister for ICT, Idah Erios Nantaba seems to challenge parts of the official police narrative of events before and after the killing of her would-be assassin.

In the same statement, the minister demands to know the commanding police officer who ordered the killing of Ronald Ssebulime, her would-be assassin. She, however, also suggested in an interview that Ssebulime could have been shot and killed probably to prevent him from talking.

Ronald Ssebulime was captured alive, the Kayunga woman MP said in an interview, before she sent The Observer a longer statement yesterday afternoon.

Nantaba also maintained that contrary to speculation in several media, Ssebulime cannot be said to have been entirely blameless.

“Under whose orders was this man shot dead…Why did he run away from police patrol vehicles as they pursued him...Why didn’t he stop and declare his harmlessness or innocence?” Nantaba wondered in her statement.

She pointed out that if Ssebulime was innocent, then why was he trailing her with others?

By last evening, the Sunday shooting along Kayunga-Mukono road near Ggavu was raising more questions. Nantaba played back a recording of a telephone conversation she had with David Ssali, the police officer who commanded the 999 police patrol involved in the chase which ended in the killing of Ssebulime.

Ssali can be heard insisting that Ssebulime and his accomplice were armed when they were engaged. Ssali, however, does not explain how the suspected assassin was shot dead, and who gave the order to kill him.

PISTOL

“When we fired at them, the guy who was sitting at the back of the bike also shot at us with a pistol. It was me commanding the 999; I saw what happened; whoever is denying this I’m ready to give evidence,” Ssali says in the recorded telephone conversation.

“How many people have been killed in this government and the assassins have never been got? People should appreciate us because this time we were lucky we were able to kill one person; surely he was going to kill you,” Ssali told Nantaba in the recorded conversation. 

Some media reported on Tuesday that Ssebulime was an innocent man, shot at close range moments after he had been arrested and bundled onto a police patrol truck. Quoting family members, it was also reported that Ssebulime was going to visit his children at St Andrew’s Kabimbiri SS before he was pursued, first by the minister and later by police, and later killed.

The suspected attempt on Nantaba’s life would seem to confirm her fears of a plan by unnamed people to eliminate her over her efforts to rid Kayunga of land grabbers.

Below is Nantaba’s statement, slightly abridged for clarity:

Account of my recent assassination attempt

“On March 12, I suspended my son and driver, Isaac who had been reported by residents of Kayunga that he was in company of people I had suspended from my political camp. I then requested the permanent secretary in the ministry of ICT [Vincent Bagiire] to allow Yasin, one of the drivers at the ministry, to drive me to Kyankwanzi [National Leadership Institute for the NRM caucus weeklong retreat].

But before the retreat ended, I had to leave for Kayunga to mobilise the residents to attend the Isimba hydropower dam commissioning.

By last Friday, Yasin was evidently tired. He then requested to go home which I allowed because Saturday is a Sabbath day [Nantaba is a Seventh Day Adventist.] On Sunday morning at around 10 a.m., I asked my bodyguard to drive me back to Kampala.

The fact is they attempted to finish us from a roadside grocery where I usually stop to buy my groceries and if God had not helped me to see the assassin fast enough before he got close to us, we would have been murdered.

Good enough, I quickly shouted on seeing a sports bike riding from Kabimbiri towards us and my bodyguard quickly cocked the gun and jumped out of the car. The assassin pretended as if he was heading to Kayunga/Sezibwa Bridge but then made a U-turn in a few metres, this time riding on the left side towards my vehicle I think to try his luck again.

At this time, Tugume (bodyguard) was on standby with his gun ready to shoot. The assassin got close to my car, passes by and parks right in front. Tugume moved very fast and stood just behind his bike. I quickly asked the woman at the grocery to go and ask this suspect what he wanted. She then reached out to this man and asked him, “oyagala ki?” [what do you want?], he replied, “where is Kabimbiri town?”, the woman responded, “yeyo town mwoyise Ssebo, [That is the town you have just passed.”

He then looked back only to see that my bodyguard was right behind him with a gun in his hands. He started the bike and rode off heading to Kampala. Tugume then asked me to drive and follow the bike, which I did. I drove off also and shortly reached him.

Here, Tugume waved his left hand prompting him to stop; he slowed down pretending as though he was parking by the roadside, again he took off at a very high speed. I then asked my bodyguard to shoot him or at least in the air or his tyres, but he replied that, “let’s wait to see whether he stops at Kabimbiri.”

To our surprise, the man just continued past Kabimbiri; that’s when Tugume advised that we follow him to Naggalama as he started calling his SFC [Special Forces Command] counterparts to contact Naggalama Police Station to cut off or mount a roadblock as we continued following him from a distance because he had to keep his eyes in all directions without losing track of this man.

After Nakifuma, he slowed down and branched off to the left just before Naggalama Police Station. I had taken a decision to follow him all through but Tugume shouted, stopping me, saying we may end up in their ambush. I stopped immediately and reversed to the main road and drove to Naggalama Police Station where the DPC [District Police Commander] responded very fast sending out police patrols to cut off all the routes. I was then advised to go back to the police station.

After two hours, the O.C station got information that they had arrested them. I then informed him that it was only one man who was riding the sports bike, the O.C replied... “Honourable, it’s true but he was later on joined by another person. It seems his accomplices were waiting for him from that same route; they are two but one has escaped and they are coming back with the other,” he said.

I then asked my bodyguard to rush to the scene to verify and confirm the O.C station’s report. Unfortunately, they found the suspect shot dead and they communicated accordingly.

But before all this, we had stopped right before the Sezibwa Bridge to greet Hon. Mutebi who was also heading to Kampala... as I was talking to him, a boda boda carrying two men riding towards Sezibwa bridge first passed by us and the two men waved at me.

Three minutes later, the same boda came back and stopped right next to us and they jumped off and greeted me and one of them asked me to visit Buyobe Village. They again took the direction of Kayunga; we did not mind about them.

As Tugume was standing behind this suspected assassin at Sinda market, the boda boda resurfaced again with the very two men and stopped a few metres ahead. As we were about to approach Kabimbiri town riding after the sports bike, we saw them again; one on the boda boda, the other standing on the roadside but did not get to see them again.

Questions:

1. If he (Ssebulime) was an innocent man, why didn’t he stop the bike when we first stopped him?

2. If he was going to visit his children at a school located in Kabimbiri, then how come he passed Kabimbiri and proceeded to Sinda where I had parked to buy my groceries?

3. Why did he again make a U-turn after passing by my vehicle at a very low speed; did he want to make another attempt?

4. Why run all the way to Naggalama from Sinda and then to Naggojje if he had reached his first destination?

5. “Why did he run away from police patrol vehicles as they pursued him; why didn’t he stop and declare his harmlessness or innocence?

6. When their bike hit a hump and [they] fell off, why again did they run to the bush as the patrol approached them; why not stop and declare your innocence?

7. Under whose orders was this man shot dead as eyewitnesses who told NTV yesterday narrated?

bakerbatte@observer.ug

The government has, in a remarkable snap, allegedly regained the full ownership of Uganda Airlines Company Limited from the 2 shares owned just a day before to 2 million (100%) shares.

During the plenary session chaired by deputy speaker Jacob Oulanyah today, minister of Works and Transport Monica Ntege Azuba said the 'error' in regards to the Uganda Airline's ownership, has now been 'corrected' from government owning just 0.0001% (2 shares worth Shs 200) of the airline's 2 million shares. 

During debate of parliament's Budget Committee report and a minority report yesterday, it was revealed that Uganda Airlines is 99.9 per cent privately owned by unknown individuals. The revelation became a national concern with several Ugandans on social media wondering who owns the rest of the 99.9% of the airline, and why taxpayers money was being used to revamp the airline where government is not the majority shareholder. 

Azuba thanked the MPs for highlighting the 'error' in the ownership, adding that as of today, Wednesday, the airline is fully-owned by the Ugandan government with ministry of Finance and ministry of Works owning 50 per cent shareholding each. She insisted that not once has the soon-to-be revamped airline ever been owned by private individuals as alleged.

Azuba tabled several documents including a letter in which, during a curious extra ordinary meeting on March 26, 2019 in the ministry of Works boardroom, the company's directors resolved to allot equal and full shares (2 million) to the founding members - ministry of Finance and ministry of Works. 

"The Uganda National Airlines Company we have a return of allotment of shares which I beg to lay on table. The number of shares allotted - payable in cash is Shs 2 million, nominal amount of shares allotted is Shs 200 million. Amount paid or due per share is Shs 100 and all the shares are allotted." Azuba told parliament. 

"As of when, as of when Hon minister? As of when? When was this done Hon minister?" asked Oulanyah. 

"This, Rt Hon speaker, I want to thank members of the committee for having highlighted this and this has been corrected as of today [Wednesday March 27]." Azuba answered. 

On Tuesday, the Budget Committee recommended the approval of Shs 280 billion supplementary budget being sought by government to purchase the first two Bombardier planes from Canada. However, opposition MPs Winfred Kiiza and Joy Atim Ongom, in their minority report, appealed to parliament not to approve the supplementary budget until government explains the ownership of Uganda Airlines.

“The share capital of Uganda National Airlines Company Limited is 200 million divided into 2 million shares. Of the 2 million shares, only 2 shares worth Shs 200 to minister of Works and Transport as well as ministry of Finance. This makes both ministries to be minority shareholders holding only 0.0001% of the shares. At the moment the owners of the 99.9% shares are unknown. The owners will only be determined when the directors decide to allocate the shores. It was asserted that the majority shares will be floated to the public,” Ongom’s report read.  

Ongom also questioned the appointment of Secretary to the Treasury Keith Muhakanizi and Bageya Waiswa as directors of Uganda National Airlines Limited in their individual capacity. 

Former Works and Transport minister Abraham Byandala warned that Uganda carries a huge risk in the national carrier unless it wields majority shareholding. The Katikamu North MP said only the Ethiopian Airways across the African continent has registered profits, emphasizing that majority ownership should be in the hands of the government.

Erute South MP Jonathan Odur also demanded for more information about the shareholders, alleging that there was conspiracy to commit fraud according to the information provided by the minister of Works.   

Kassanda County MP Patrick Nsamba said that it is incumbent upon parliament that the revival of Uganda Airlines is done in an organized way for the benefit of Ugandans. He urged government to pick a leaf from Rwanda that owns 99% shares in Rwanda Air, Ethiopian Airlines which is 100% owned by government adding that it would be desirable for Uganda to own 99% shares.    

"This is a new arrangement where agencies of government are owned by a ministries; that one ministry owns 50% and another ministry owns 50% when we have a fully fledged development company which caters for such. Uganda Development Corporation could be in better position to handle and manage this airline. We need explanations mr speaker. Why is it that at this point in time were preferring ministry of Works, we’re preferring ministry of Finance to be the shareholders in this company and above all, the directors are individual members in their own names." Nsamba said. 

Arua Municipality MP Kassiano Wadri said that the attempt to revive the Uganda Airline has been tainted with confusion. He contested the fresh documents tabled by Azuba saying information from the Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB) indicated that Uganda only has two shares worth Shs 200.   

"The minister has taken us by surprise, this is an investment which needs thorough scrutiny because at the end of the day, I look at it as a situation where the taxpayers of this country are being used to procure these planes over which we have no ownership. We have no ownership and not only that, even when you go to look at the business projection of this investment, the business projection is such that from 2019 - the year when we acquire this plane up to 2022, we’ll be registering losses." Wadri said. 

Adding; "And yet in transport business, when you have just bought a vehicle, the chances of this vehicle breaking down are minimal. Actually, you make more money in the first lifespan of this equipment than when it is old. And therefore the depreciation rate in the new years for these planes is so alarming. Are we really doing the right thing for this country?"

Oulanyah referred the new documents presented by Azuba to the Budget Committee for 'thorough' review. Committee chairperson Amos Lugoloobi asked for one day to review the documents and promised to report back to parliament on Thursday afternoon. 

"Hon members the crux of our debate, the crux of the centre of the debate on this request which is in the supplementary expenditure no.2, the debate hinges on this issue of shareholding to know whether the people of Uganda are being taken for a big ride. Yesterday the committee reported that out of the 2 million shares, only 2 were owned by the government…and now were being told something changed. I would like to handle it this way that we give the committee time to look at it. I sense how it impacts on the earlier report but now we proceed with this matter." said Oulanyah. 

Hong Kong's former Home Affairs secretary Patrick Ho Chi Ping was on Monday jailed for three years for a scheme to bribe African officials including Uganda's Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa to boost a top Chinese energy company that was part of Beijing's global Belt and Road initiative.

A Rwandan national has died moments after crossing into Uganda where she had reportedly come in search of food. The deceased has been identified as Elizabeth Mukarugwiza, 37. At the time of her death, she was reportedly running away from Rwandan security personnel, who wanted to stop her from crossing to Uganda.  

One of the Rwandan women who sought anonymity narrates that they were using the porous borders to stealthily cross to Uganda to get food for their starving families. But their plan was thwarted by Rwandan security officials who are deployed at the borderlines and block their movements. 

Mukarugwiza collapsed and died moments after running off and making it to Uganda according to Uganda Red Cross volunteers at Kyanika border.  

“We were approached by a police officer to run and give first aid to a woman who had collapsed at Kyanika boarder. When we reached the scene, she was unconscious. Few minutes in the process, she breathed her last.” Ronald Kanyerezi, the Uganda Red Cross branch manager at Kyanika border said.    

Kigezi region police spokesperson Elly Maate says that Mukarugwiza’s body has been taken to Kisoro hospital mortuary for postmortem as investigations into the matter continue.  

Rwanda closed its border in Kyanika and Katuna, a month ago, blocking traffic from Uganda. The country accused Ugandan authorities of harbouring Rwandan dissidents planning to topple the Kagame administration, oppressing Rwandans nationals in Uganda, illegally detaining and deporting others.    

As a result, the government of Rwanda cautioned its nationals against travelling to Uganda saying their safety is not guaranteed. Rwanda also deployed security officials and destroyed all temporary bridges on streams on all porous borders to bar Rwandans from crossing to Uganda. Rwandan students who were studying from Uganda have also been told to forget about Ugandan education and start afresh in Rwanda. 

Police has apologised and regretted the gunning down of a wrongly suspected assassin Ronald Ssebulime moments after he was captured alive.

Ssebulime was shot dead on Sunday along the Kayunga-Mukono road near Ggavu by a police officer who falsified the narrative to justify the shooting.

In a statement issued by police spokesperson Fred Enanga, police admits that Ssebulime was wrongly suspected of trailing and attempting to assassinate state minister for ICT Idah Nantaba.

Enanga says as a result, three police officers who were aboard a police patrol truck, registration number UP5745 during the incident have been arrested.

Enanga says Nantaba and her bodyguard twice chased after Ssebulime and his riding colleague in vain. And when the suspects got intercepted by a police patrol car following an emergency call from Nagalama police station, ”it is true that the deceased was removed from the police pickup and instantly shot dead by our officer.”

Enanga says the arrested officers deliberately ”concealed the true facts of the events surrounding the killing" of Ssebulime.

Ssebulime’s family insists that he was on his way to visit a boarding student at St Andrews Kaggwa school. Enanga said indeed exhibits found in Ssebulime’s bag were containing mostly of eats and drinks meant for school children.

Nantaba insists that Ssebulime is not as innocent as has been portrayed by the media. She said, she, more than anybody else wanted Ssebulime alive so he could answer the many questions regarding the other previous assassinations of prominent Ugandans and officials. 

Abraham Kansiime, a student of bachelor of Automotive and Power Engineering at Kyambogo University has lost hand after it was shattered by a teargas canister.

Kansiime sustained serious damage on his right hand when he tried to pick up the canister and haul it back at police officers during a violent student strike today morning.  

He was rushed to Kyambogo University Medical Centre, which transferred him to Nsambya hospital for further treatment. 

"He is lucky he has been managed early," a staff at the University Medical Centre said. Police was called in after students rose up in protest against a new tuition policy requiring them to have cleared tuition by the 12th week of the semester else they get a 'dead year.'  

The university academic registrar, Dr Anna Begumisa announced the policy changes recently. The students threw stones at vehicles, damaging windows of the university bus and university secretary’s vehicle. They also vandalized window panes of several university buildings. 

Police fired teargas and live bullets to drive the students outside the university to the neighbouring Banda trading centre, leaving empty classes. A student leader said management used the window of change in the student leadership to enforce the new policy.   

"We want soldiers and police out of Kyambogo University," the student leader said.

The ownership of Uganda Airlines has taken yet another twist today after government withdrew from parliament the documents presented yesterday because they had errors regarding the allotment of shares. 

Following Tuesday’s revelation that government only owned 0.0001% (2 shares) of the 2 million shareholding in the revived airline, minister of Works and Transport, Monicah Ntege Azuba laid on table documents she claimed proved that government owned 100% shareholding of the airline.

Appearing before the Budget Committee today chaired by Amos Lugoloobi, were officials from ministry of Finance, ministry of Works and Transport, Uganda National Airlines Company Limited and Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB).

URSB registrar general Bemanya Twebaze whose certified documents Azuba presented to parliament yesterday, admitted that there was a “clerical error” in the return of allotment of shares to ministers Matia Kasaija (Finance) and Azuba (Works) as individuals and not to the ministries. However, he said, this should be looked at in the context of all the documents presented.

Probed further, Bemanya told the committee that the new allotment of 100% shares to the two ministries is null and void and MPs should "ignore the document because it bears no legal consequence" since the allotment of shares can only be done once in a company’s history. Bemanya added that the names of shareholders (Azuba and Kasaija) should have been followed by their positions as members of cabinet in government.

“Even at your private companies if you come to register a company, you will always at the beginning allot one share then, subsequently you can allot all the shares. You can allot part of the shares, you can transfer even to people who were not. The owners of shares are two - the ministry of Works and Transport and the ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and it has never been individuals.” said Bemanya.

“Allotting all the shares, 2 million shares and one million shares go to, according to the allotment of shares form that is form no.10, they go to the owner who is minister of Finance but you’re right, chair [Lugoloobi] it is the company secretary recording this [document] put Matia Kasaija ministry of Finance…this is a clerical error, it doesn’t of go to the substance of the ownership because you’re reading the entire document from the owners…good enough the original document is very clear.” he said. 

“My opinion Hon chair is that it is subject to being corrected. Hon chair I'm saying this in context of the powers of the registrar. The law gives the registrar general powers to correct errors on the record. Actually it envisages that there will be errors and it gives you powers to correct the errors on the record.” he added.

Kasaija and Azuba both apologised for the "errors" in the documents, with the Finance minister asking to be given time to go and do a “neat job” because they are working for the nation. He also blamed people in government who are too quick to speak even when they are not armed with facts. 

"We can’t do things like this really, we’re doing a national thing. Through you mr chairman, would it offend the law if we said; lets go and correct this to read like this. Lets go change this so that we do things that are neat, nobody will challenge them tomorrow. We’re very intelligent people, we’re old people, mature people” said Kasaija. 

"I want to apologise on behalf of my ministry for anything that did not come out sparkly. My people should ensure that we do things smartly. If you are not sure, don’t speak," he added. 

Azuba also blamed her technical people in the ministry who presented her with the embarrassing documents that contained errors.

"First and foremost I would like to apologise for the errors that have been made on behalf of the technical people in my ministry. I do apologise." Azuba said. 

A new set of "corrected" documents were later tabled, but were also found to be defective with URSB saying they can't do much because the company, Uganda National Airlines Ltd is not ready.

Plane manufacturer, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft extended the final payment schedule to March 29 after government failed to honour its first payment commitment in December last year. The first jet was supposed to have been delivered in January this year and another in February, but with the MPs still questioning the ownership of the airline, it remains to be seen if parliament will approve the Shs 280 billion supplementary budget for the purchase of the two planes. 

At least 12 people were killed and more than 20 others injured when a car bomb exploded Thursday outside a restaurant in Somalia’s capital.

The state minister for Finance in charge of Planning, David Bahati has denied owning a company that benefitted from compensation over loss of business in South Sudan.   

Bahati was on Wednesday appearing before parliament’s Select Committee that is currently inquiring into a payment of Shs 40 billion to 10 Ugandan companies that supplied goods to South Sudan contrary to a 3rd April 2018 parliamentary resolution in which a bilateral agreement between South Sudan and Uganda approved payment to 33 Ugandan companies. 

Bahati told the committee that even if he owned a company in South Sudan, he wouldn’t accept to be part of the on-going compensation process.   

“So I would really request madam chair that those who are crying for me should leave me,” said Bahati.   

The payment is part of a request by the government through ministry of Finance seeking parliamentary approval, to clear a debt of Shs 151 billion owed to Ugandan traders and companies by the South Sudanese government. The traders supplied goods and services from 2008 but were never paid following a conflict that started in 2013.     

The statements by Bahati followed questions by the Select Committee chairperson Anna Maria Nankabirwa in which she said that her committee had received information alleging that Bahati’s companies were part of those defrauded in South Sudan and are in a process of being compensated.  

She named some of the companies allegedly owned by Bahati as M/S Kaimat Enterprises, M/S Jan Jang Company Limited and M/S Nile Site Company.       

"They are not saying that you did not supply, they are not saying that you’re listing for what you did not supply. They are actually listing you as the owner of those companies that had been defrauded in South Sudan and one of the companies is M/S Kaimat Enterprises - the proprietor and contact person said to be Hon Bahati David. The next one is M/S Jan Jang Company Limited whose proprietor is Hon Bahati and it also dealt in grain. The other one is M/S Nile Site company whose proprietor is also thought to be Hon Bahati. And these companies, nobody is complaining that they did not supply but they are listed among those that were defrauded. They are several of them, so we just wanted to know if you were also part of the casualties." Nakabirwa put it to Bahati. 

Nankabirwa then thought Bahati’s response to the claims that were presented in writing before her committee.   

"It came out, so we thought you could speak [about] it to clear, we can even sympathise with you. It is legitimate to do business and they even included who your partners are, maybe you were defrauded by your partners and they are saying that Hon Bahati’s companies disappeared from those claiming. Now you’re saying that even if you were, you wouldn’t want to be part of this process. Can we say that because indeed you’re saying so, you were and decided that let me not be part of this process. Maybe the way having appeared in the bilateral, maybe you found wrong how you managed to handle the issue so that you don’t appear." she added. 

However, Bahati maintained that he never transacted any business in South Sudan. Accusations against Bahati’s involvement in the compensation process date back to 2016 when a section of traders accused him of using his position to lobby for the compensation of certain companies and individuals. 

Patrick Ntege Walusimbi, the chairperson Uganda Traders Association of South Sudan (UTASS) then told the parliament’s Tourism and Trade Committee that Bahati was among those listed as individuals for compensation during the first verification exercise and they were concerned that he was going to use his position to receive compensation before other companies.    

The process for compensation of affected companies has so far seen ten companies paid. They are Rubya Investments, Kibungo Entreprises, Aponye (U) Ltd, Afro Kai ltd, Swift Commodities Establishment Ltd, Sunrise Commodities, Sophie Omari, Apo General Agencies, Ropani International and KK Travelers.   

Others whose compensation is still pending payment include; Roko Construction Company, Ake-jo General Enterprise, JB Traders, Odyek Ejang Company, Dott Services, Gunya Company Limited, Premier Company, MFK Company among others.

Meanwhile, the attorney general William Byaruhanga has assured the traders of payment. Byaruhanga appeared before the committee on Thursday together with lawyer John Bosco Suuza, the acting commissioner contracts and negotiations in the attorney general’s chambers.  Byaruhanga told the committee how his insistence on a sovereign guarantee had caused an impasse during a meeting in South Sudan. 

"Looking at the fluidity of regimes, the thinking was that if there's a new government, somebody might say I don’t know, what you’re talking about, who are these? That is why my concentration was on getting that sovereign guarantee. So I told the governor and minister of Finance of South Sudan that for me the agreement was not enough and they said no, the agreement is enough and I said, no. And I can tell you that the meeting adjourned, the next day they went to tell President Salva Kiir who rang my president to say I was being a stumbling block in the signing. And when he [Museveni] called me I said it is the truth, I said; sir we can sign the agreement but I will not advise the central bank to pay unless we get a sovereign guarantee." Byaruhanga said. 

Asked by Nankabirwa whether the unpaid 23 companies that were also approved by parliament still stand a chance, Byaruhanga noted if the all money guaranteed by South Sudan was available in the treasury, there would be no reason for not paying the remaining companies. He added that the main concern of the traders is on who should be paid next. Byaruhanga said even if the money is not enough to pay everybody fully, the available funds can be split for every company to get a share. 

Byaruhanga’s statement is a shift from Bahati who told the committee on Wednesday that the unpaid traders could only be paid after confirmation from the government of South Sudan and issuance of another sovereign guarantee.

Bahati also revealed that the government will next month send a delegation to South Sudan with a document of all claimants besides the 10 companies seeking compensation with a view of coming up with a solution.

Ruth Achimo, the Soroti University secretary is in trouble for alleged financial impropriety. She was picked up from her office on Thursday by detectives travelling in a white van believed to be attached to the State House Anti-corruption unit.

Our reporter couldn’t independently verify the claims as our repeated calls to Michael Odongo, the East Kyoga region police spokesperson went unanswered. The spokesperson of the inspectorate of government (IG), Ali Munira denied knowledge of the arrest and referred our reporter to the police. 

“It’s not us the IG please try to crosscheck with police,” she said.

URN has since learnt that the inspectorate of government office in Soroti and police have been investigating Achimo following an internal audit, which revealed misuse of Shs 1 billion last year. An internal audit report dated August 2, 2018 indicated that at least Shs 1 billion was grossly mismanaged in double payments to lawyers, contractors and university secretary in court damages. 

According to the report, the internal auditor of the university, James Odongo queried as to why over Shs 513 million was paid to M/S Okurut & Company Advocates between the months of April to June 2018 yet the firm was contracted on a retainer fee of Shs 15 million each month. 

The audit revealed other double payments of Shs 61 million and Shs 277 million respectively to the same law firm on June 22, 2018 and another Shs 58 million on July 5, 2018. The internal auditor also questioned how the accounting officer went ahead to pay herself Shs 172 million through M/S Alliance Advocates as compensation for damages for wrongful interdiction for abuse of office.    

Daniel Okalebo, an associate at Okurut & Company Advocates explained that the retainer, which the internal auditor raises in the report doesn’t involve the litigation costs. 

"We have had a number of cases in which we have represented the university in which land is involved and looking at the sum for the university it's more than Shs 30 billion," Okalebo explained.

Juma Hassan Nyene, the Soroti University communications officer denied knowledge of the arrest of Achimo. “I’m not aware of Achimo’s arrest. That must be a big rumour because you know now we really have so many rumours in regard to university operations,” said

According to Nyene, they had a meeting up to late on Wednesday evening and Thursday and all university staff were present. 

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting that the death toll from flash floods across the country has risen to 44 from 17.