Watchdog Uganda
However, Simbamanyo House is not the last property Mr Kamya is actually likely to lose as his accumulated debt deadlines catch up with him â€" and his court gymnastics not bearing much fruit.
Kamya’s woes got more publicity after property mogul Sudhir Ruparelia bought off Sibamanyo House property from Equity bank at sh18. 5billion in an auction deal. The bank wanted to recover an unpaid loan of $8.1 million from Simbamanyo Estates Limited owned by Mr Kamya.
Since the deal, Kamya not only went to court to stop the move, like he always does in other loan deals he has failed to honour, however, he has added an orchestrated smear attack targeting the person of Sudhir Ruparelia, blaming him for buying a building which the bank had put on sale.
If Mr Kamya had picked tips from Sudhir on how to grow and sustain a property empire, maybe, he would not be fighting a losing battle.
The architect of Ruparelia Group business empire, once warned about borrowing to expand business and it seems Mr Kamya fell into this trap.
“Avoid borrowing if you can,†Sudhir once told Billionaire Tomorrow media, advising instead, “First, try and grow according to the cash flow you have and are creating. It is probably the best option. Because the truth is said, opportunities come all the time, especially when you have good cash flow. Take those opportunities.â€
In that same statement, one can explain what befell Mr Kamya and also, why Sudhir, who keeps watching his cashflow, was able to buy off the building which is making headlines.
Kamya, then a civil servant working as a commissioner at the Ministry of Lands, grew an appetite for property. He wanted to expand his business interests in the hospitality industry.
Through his Simbamanyo estates, Peter Kamya borrowed a USD 6 million from Equity Bank â€" Kenya and its sister institution in Uganda.
The money was meant to finance the construction of a Hotel in Luzira, a Kampala suburb. He also wanted to freeze another loan he had taken out against his Shelter Afrique suites.
Among securities Mr Kamya’s company had offered were Simbamanyo Building and Afrique suites. Afrique Suites is a four-star hotel situated at Mutungo Hill in Kampala while Simbamanyo building is situated in the city center. No one however is talking about who bought Afrique Suites, Luwaluwa investments.
Simbamanyo building was auctioned to Dr Sudhir Ruparelia’s Meera Investments Limited â€" MIL while Afrique Suites was auctioned to Luwaluwa investments. Documents show that Luwaluwa Investments bought the property at $4,350,000 (more than Shs 16 billion) from the bank on the same day.
The little underscored fact is that Peter Kamya, the former proprietor of Simbamanyo Estates failed to pay his loans, ran out of options and Equity Bank through their lawyers, Sim Katende and Frederick Mpanga moved to auction the building legally â€" just as courts have ruled â€" because they were offered as securities and the bank had to recover the unpaid loan.
When Equity bank moved to recover its money, Kamya, through his Simbamanyo estates ran to court seeking the blockage of the execution of auctioning of both Afrique suites and Simbamanyo building.
However, High court judge Christopher Madrama asked him to pay 30% of the loan within 30 days as part of commitment that he was willing to pay back. The former Simbamanyo owner did not honor court until the mortgaged property was auctioned to Meera Investments Limited.
Meanwhile, Mr Kamya’s lawyers of Muwema and Co Advocates, advised him that he stil had a window of opportunity to repossess Simbamanyo. In August last year Kamya sued Equity Bank for breach of trust, unethical and illegal as well as predatory practices in auctioning the properties. However, the case has also been dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
More woes
With Simbamanyo gone, Peter Kamya’s woes continue. This website understands that he has two weeks to pay up or lose more properties due to accumulated loans.
Kamya owned several commercial properties in Kampala CBD and suburbs. However he has up to 7th September 2021 to pay up billions of shillings accumulated in bank loans or risk losing his entire estate and fortune, according to Kampala Bailiffs firm CL Risk Management Services.
The other properties being targeted for auctioning to recover bank’s money include multi-storied buildings, apartments and hotels in Nakawa Division particularized as Block 237 Mutungo; Plot 45 Block 237; Block 243 comprising of plots 2794, 957, 958, 1799 and 1800. Some of these are in the Luzira neighborhood.
It is not banks alone after Mr. Kamya. Among his creditors he has been playing include a group of Eritrean investors to whom he sold land that he never delivered despite receiving payment for the same. After taking their money, Mr Kamya now wants to turn against them by running court to stop them from recovering their money because they are non Ugandans.
Trading under Bahama Investments Ltd, the Eritreans also took Mr Kamya to the commercial division of the High Court to recover a two (2) acre piece of land n Munyonyo; Kyaddondo Block 255 Plots 126 and 213, for which they made partial payment.
This twist of events spans wayback in August 2015 when Kamya offered to sell the land to Bahamas at Shs5,090, 000,000 (Five billion and ninety million). He received the first installment of Shs1.3bn and was to get the balance of over Shs3.7bn after delivering the land titles to Bahamas’ bank, M/S Equity Bank in Kampala, according to news website Mulengera. Kamya however breached his contractual obligations and instead demanded the balance before surrendering the titles as agreed. Bahamas bosses rejected his demands arguing it wasn’t safe for them to act outside the sale agreement the two parties had signed at the start of the transaction.
It had been agreed that Kamya would originally transfer the land to lawyer Paul Muhimbura from whom the Eritrean firm would obtain a 99-year-leas. This was done to circumvent Constitutional provisions and the Land Act that prohibit non-Ugandan companies from outright ownership of land under the private Mailo tenure system.
For reasons better known to Kamya, refused to refund the money and turned around to accuse Eritreans of having tried to acquire the land illegally.
Eritreans filed a suit (No. 887 of 2016) in the High Court’s Commercial Division where Kamya had also filed his Defense (WSD) as required under Order 9 rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules. In a 4 page defense filed by his lawyers (Kahuma, Khalayi & Kaheeru Advocates), vowed not to refund the Shs1.3bn the Eritreans are demanding for on grounds the sale contract he willingly entered into was illegal and void since the Constitution prohibits non-Ugandan companies from purchasing Mailo land.
Kamya argued that court can’t give a remedy enforcing such prohibited contracts in favor of a non-Ugandan company. The Eritrean plaintiff company accused Kamya of acting fraudulently when he knowingly concealed information from them at the time of contracting that actually the same land was encumbered as he had previously surrendered it to satisfy security for costs requirements in a separate suit he was pursuing in Court of Appeal.
He is also accused of trying to dubiously resale the same land to Bank of Uganda months after purporting to sell the same to Bahamas, the plaintiff in the instant suit in the Commercial Court where it was filed in November 2016. Besides the Shs1.3bn, the plaintiff Eritrean Company is also asking for another Shs130m in interest arising from Kamya’s months’ long refusal to refund their Shs1.3bn.
Court records show that on 10th October 2016, Kamya shamelessly wrote to the Eritreans terminating the contract and declaring he wasn’t under any obligation to refund their Shs1.3bn on grounds this was a prohibited sale contract supposed to be illegal, null and void abnitio-and therefore incapable of enforcement in any court of law in Uganda. Court papers show Bahamas intended to erect modern apartments on the land.
]]> Gen Lokech might have killed himself due to Museveni’s criticism and ICC investigations in Somalia- Tamale Mirundi claims https://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210826/120115/gen-lokech-might-have-killed-himself-due-to-musevenis-criticism-and-icc-investigations-in-somalia-tamale-mirundi-claims.html Thu, 26 Aug 2021 16:08:00 +0000 https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=120115 Former Senior Presidential Press Secretary Joseph Tamale Mirundi has rubbished the doctor’s postmortem report on the death of Deputy Inspector General of Police Maj Gen Paul Lokech.A few days ago a team of pathologists confirmed that Gen Lokech’s death was caused by a blood clot.
However, Mirundi claims the senior army officer might have killed himself or died of depression following the criticisms by President Yoweri Museveni on the killing of suspects on the spot by security officers.
“I strongly suspect this man has either killed himself or has died from depression due to President Museveni’s recent security speech on Security where he msde it clear and talked about killing suspects and mentioned the case where Gen Lokech was directly involved. Lokech is not like Gen Peter Olwelu. This man has been knowledgeable and I am sure he knew what the president’s statement meant,â€Mirundi alleged while appearing on a loc Youtube channel on Thursday.
†Therefore, Gen Lokech knew what was awaiting him. Could this man risk going to Europe in International Criminal Court [ICC] and have 26 years in European jail? He might have committed suicide because the big man talked about his case and he has never been criticized by the President.â€
The political analyst added that the fallen general was not used to criticisms because everywhere he was deployed, he performed by 90 percent so if he was not used to criticism and he knows very well how the formers were treated, then that could have caused him depression.
“He knew what happened to powerful people like Kayihura, Gen Tumukunde, so Lokech may be did not want to go through the same humiliation. He might have killed himself.â€
He also noted :“Secondly, as much as I support the UPDF, Ugandan soldiers are under investigations in a nasty incident in Somalia where they are accused of killing farmers in Somalia and this man knew about it that the ICC was following the matter, he might have killed himself or died out of depression because, if the public gets to know their nasty deeds they lose public esteem or the public might pounce on their children. In my opinion, If we had people who can have a proper postmortem report, we may discover another cause of his death.â€
General Lockech died on Saturday morning and is to be buried on Friday in Pader district.
Addressing the media last Sunday, Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga said a post-mortem examination was carried out on the body of the deceased, by a team of 4 pathologists. Also present were; Brig. Gen. Dr Kusasira Stephen, the Director Medical Services in the UPDF, the personal Doctor of the late, Dr Khiingi Ben and two family representatives.
“The team of pathologists established that the victim got a fracture of the right ankle joint, around the end of July, 2021. It was a simple fracture which was being managed at RUBY Medical Centre, by an Orthopedic Surgeon. They put a POP cast at the victim’s leg and managed him as an outpatient, with regular reviews. They further encouraged him to do mild exercises while at home,†Enanga said.
†It was further established that the pain in the right leg started increasing in the last 2-3days, and the victim notified his Orthopedic Surgeon, who scheduled an appointment for him on the 21.08.2021, at around 8.30am -900am. Indeed at around 7:54, the victim called the Orthopedic Surgeon to reconfirm their appointment. It is unfortunate, that shortly after, the victim started facing breathing problems and called his personal Doctor, Dr. Ben Khiingi, who rushed to the home, but found the victim breathing his last and died.â€
During the autopsy, the police mouthpiece disclosed that the pathologists opened the right lower leg, which got injured, and found a very big blood clot, that had formed in one of the big blood vessels. They further opened his chest and found part of the blood clot had been carried into the lungs.
]]> Please eliminate importing,’ Museveni tells business community https://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210826/120107/please-eliminate-importing-museveni-tells-business-community.html Thu, 26 Aug 2021 15:06:11 +0000 https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=120107 President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday inaugurated the Presidential CEO Forum (PFC) with a call to the business community to adopt import substitution and export promotion if the country is to realise tangible economic progress.“If you want the country to grow, you need to look at what business you are doing. Does it bring blood here or does it suck blood and take it out? That is the problem I used to have with KACITA,â€Museveni said.
†Their business was importing. They even reached the extent of importing wigs. The main message is, please minimize and eliminate importing,†he said.â€
The ceremony took place at State House Entebbe.
The Presidential CEO Forum is a direct and adequate link between the private sector leadership, CEO’s from Corporate institutions and government executives with the aim of contributing to the National Development Agenda.
President Museveni noted that there are two economic actors in the economic history of the world.
“Among those economic actors, there are those who import, not importing raw materials or inputs but finished goods. Those people I would like to discourage them and gradually convert them to actors here who make things from here,†he said.
The President said he was happy they have agreed on paying scientists well.
“A scientist is not an observer but an actor in the economy. Science is the basis of modernisation. You must go to a higher-level technology so that we protect ourselves but also make money. Foreigners have been making money out of germs for a long time, we should get money from the pathogenic economy,†he said.
Mr. Museveni appreciated the value in having business forums like PCF which he said help government in policy formulation. He directed that government departments such as Prime Minister’s office and the Ministry of Finance to always consult them before formulating policies.
He said government will in turn facilitate the business community with the necessary infrastructure such as roads, cheap electricity, railway line and reduce in the cost of money through Uganda Development Bank to lower the cost of doing business in the country. He said that schools and technical colleges should also step in to provide necessary skills that are needed to do business.
The Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja urged the CEOs to share the challenges that affect them while doing their business. She said some young people want to get rich faster than the businesses that employ them.
“I would like to ask the CEOs to report the corrupt tendencies of government officers who deal with them,†she said.
The Chairperson Presidential CEO Forum, Ms. Barbra Mulwana said the inauguration of Presidential CEO Forum marks a significant milestone within the private sector fraternity to have access of championing government’s agenda towards fostering the social economic transformation and development of Uganda.
Ms. Mulwana said that the PCF will deliver on its vision through three key initiatives that include fostering the social economic transformation agenda in all policy conversations that are to administer private sector participation, develop a well profiled and vetted data Bank of Ugandan CEO’s and compliment government with practical interventions on economic recovery, entrepreneurship growth and value addition that will enhance home- engineered industrialisation.
The team assured the President of their commitment to soldier on in the war for economic prosperity. They said they are ready to join hands with the government to fully liberate Uganda on economic front.
The ceremony was also attended by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Hon. Mattia Kasaija and various CEOs from the public and private sector PCF is set on strict non-sectorial principles, that will provide a missing link between the public and private sector at both the decision making and implementation levels.
]]> Museveni Aide Wants Odonga Otto Dragged to Rehabilitation Center, Insists The Politician is Mentally Sick https://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210826/120102/museveni-aide-wants-odonga-otto-dragged-to-rehabilitation-center-insists-the-politician-is-mentally-sick.html Thu, 26 Aug 2021 14:03:06 +0000 https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=120102 President Yoweri Museveni’s Communications Assistant Joseph Ssewava is contemplating on launching a fundraising campaign to have former Aruu county MP Odonga Otto sent to rehabilitation to manage what he termed as “a deteriorating mental condition†following his election loss.Ssewava was responding to the troubled former lawmaker’s weekend dossier critiquing the deceased former Deputy Inspector General of Police Maj. Gen. Paul Lokech.
Otto, in the controversial dossier shamelessly tried to largely differ from the general public perception about the deceased as scandal-free military officials who served both police and the Army with an impeccable reputation.
Sewava now says he is contemplating on fundraising for the politician’s mental therapy in a mental rehabilitation center.
He also notes that Odonga Otto’s recent conduct clearly suggests he is undergoing some mental strife that could very soon escalate into real madness unless something is done.
Asked why as a cadre of the ruling NRM would be bothered about Otto who is an opposition stalwart, Museveni’s man retorted that gone were the days when one would wish another hell for simply subscribing to a different political ideology.
“Odonga Otto is an important citizen of this country. He has done a lot in his time as a member of Parliament. It would be shameful for us to look on as his mental health continues to degenerate. This is no longer the time to see political rivalry as enmity,†Ssewava told Watchdog on phone.
On the former MP’s confession that some people, including late Lokech, had reached out to Museveni to deploy embattled Otto, Ssewava’s answer was a cryptic one, insisting the politician’s mental health had better be sorted before talking about deployments.
Otto this week wrote a long dossier that castigated the fallen battle-hardened police boss of misusing his powers to frustrate his (Otto’s) parliamentary reelection bid in the January 14 polls.
He however said he had forgiven the deceased in death.
The issue of mental failure as a result of losing an election was first brought to light by former Kampala City Woman MP contestant Dr. Stella Nyanzi early this year.
Responding to an ugly scandal that rocked the family of former Kyadonho East MP Apollo Kantinti, Nyanzi highlighted the need for therapeutic outreach to election losers for it would graduate into real madness if not resolved early.
The former legislator was variously accused of irresponsible drug addiction and domestic violence, effects reported to have been caused by his ill-fated political experiences.
]]> They are back! Machete-wielding assailants strike again in Greater Masaka, kill 19 people in just 3 weeks https://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210826/120098/they-are-back-machete-wielding-assailants-strike-again-in-greater-masaka-kill-19-people-in-just-3-weeks.html Thu, 26 Aug 2021 13:13:46 +0000 https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=120098 In 2017 and 2018, a ferocious criminal gang led by Muhammad Kiddawalime attacked, robbed and killed locals in Greater Masaka. They attacked people after dropping letters with prior warning. After a serious engagement and interventions of Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Police and the local people, the group was dismantled and sanity was restored in the area.In the course of events, six suspects were caught, four of them were sentenced to death by the Makindye Court Martial while the two were sentenced to 43 and 44 years. However, it seems the remnants of the original group are back in another strong and serious wave since so far 19 people have been killed in a space of 3 weeks.
In these three weeks, Masaka is now a hotspot for gruesome murders due to the continuous attacks on the locals by unknown machete-wielding assailants who are killing several locals almost every day.
Last week in one night, 9 people were attacked and 5 were killed in the districts of Lwengo, Masaka, Sembabule, and Bukomansimbi.
According to local authorities, the new wave is not different from the first one because two weeks back they also dropped leaflets warning of their plot to launch more attacks on locals.
In one of the leaflets that were seen by local newspaper- Daily Monitor, the assailants pointed out a few names of local businessmen and informed them that they intend to rob millions of shillings from them in addition to recruiting locals into what they term as a rebel group.
“We beg forgiveness for the long delay to visit your area since we last notified you about our plans to come. We have been busy traversing many other areas. But we have to get money from the following for us to carry out our activities well: Siraje Shs5m, Zibairi Shs3m, Kyobe Shs2m, Mulindwa Shs2m,†leaflet stated.
These life-threatening leaflets were dropped in Misanvu Village, Kibinge Sub County, Bukomansimbi District.
“The people of Kibinge Sub-county area, I greet you! I am the chief rebel and leader of a new group that has come out to fight the Museveni evil. There are people among you that we have identified and who are fit to join us to fight this evil given the level of their determination and braveness. We are going to persuade them to join us, but if persuasion fails, we will force them to become part of us. Here is the list of their names.,†one letter, written in Luganda, reads in part.
According to authorities in the region, it seems before launching their deliberate attacks on the people mentioned in the leaflets, the assailants have started with attacking single individuals with the help of the curfew to impart fear in the entire region.
On Thursday, residents discovered another body of an individual hacked to death. Peter Mayanja, a 35-year-old commonly known as Yeye- was found at Bisanje near the area parish in Kimanya, Kabonera Division in Masaka City.
His body was found just less than 12 hours after a 70-year-old woman Annet Nampijja brutally killed from her home in Kasaali village by unidentified assailants on Wednesday night.
In the wee hours of Sunday, assailants raided a house of Richard Mbaziira, 61 a catechist attached to Kingo Catholic Parish in Lwengo District in Kyabbogo Village, Kkingo Sub-County and was murdered by unknown assailants in Masaka Sub Region who buried his body in his coffee plantation, leaving the abdomen uncovered.
]]> SWAIB K NSEREKO: Afghanistan; America far ahead of China, Iran, Russia https://www.watchdoguganda.com/op-ed/20210826/120094/swaib-k-nsereko-afghanistan-america-far-ahead-of-china-iran-russia.html Thu, 26 Aug 2021 12:48:54 +0000 https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=120094 In his first media interface after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, U.S President Joe Biden simply owned up responsibility of the events unfolding in Kabul. To the anger of journalists, he walked from the cameras without taking questions. I would do the same. Majority in the world settle for simple things. In Afghanistan they are concerned about the future of the leisure industry, worried for the bar owners and their clients, plus thinking of the rights for half-naked women walking the streets of Kabul. Now no president is going to explain hard strategic things in just under 10 minutes to the press. They are things of the boardroomâ€"of top heads.The only surprise in the way he reacted is ex-president Donald Trump. He seized the opportunity to question Biden’s judgment over the Taliban return to power. Does Mr Trump remember a single line he signed in the Doha-America-Taliban Agreement of February 29, 2020?
Key in that document, President Trump secured the Taliban commitment of preventing al-Qaeda and any other group from launching attacks against American interests from the Afghan territory. Practically, this was to squarely entrust the Taliban with the security responsibilities of Afghanistan, which implied taking the roles of executive authority. The instrument was also to undermine the future roles of the now ousted Ashraf Ghani government in the proposed new inclusive government.
If there is anything the American intelligence system will ever consider as a treasured gain from their 20-year presence in Afghanistan, it’s the first-hand understanding of the Taliban DNA that is not influenced by media frames. The Taliban commitment to professed values and promises is resilient and thus dependable. When they offered Osama bin Laden sanctuary from his American enemies they never flinched even in face of the American fire-power that threatened to throw them out of government. They lost power and have had to wait this long to regain it. In Kandahar and other operation bases inside Afghanistan in the last two decades, the Taliban stand against corruption has been remarkable and in utter contrast with the overthrown authorities in Kabul. In them, now America has discovered a new outfit of regional alliesâ€"whose main value systems coincidentally align with America’s current pursuits in that region.
Like about 70 other countries, Afghanistan under Ghani had in 2016 without blink of an eyelid signed an MoU with Beijing for China’s global flagship project, the Belt and Road Initiativeâ€"BRI. Now, despite Chinese embassy officials in Kabul being foremost in welcoming and embracing the Taliban, the new administration will take time to consider sustaining both the hard and soft components of BRI. To sustain these mechanisms will mean compromising treasured values such as accepting interest-based soft loans for the belt road infrastructure. This can never be with the Taliban and practically renders Afghanistan out of that Chinese initiativeâ€"a massive score for Washington and like-minded allies.
The new Sunni-Taliban government in Kabul-Afghanistan will not be enemies with Shia-dominant authorities in Tehran-Iran. But they certainly won’t be intimate to the extent of enabling Iran’s global security ambitions.
The old archenemy relationship between Taliban and Soviet Russia may not be rekindled; but Moscow will certainly never recover full appetite to pursue geo-strategic interests within the Afghan territory under the Taliban authority. That’s how America has, so far, outsmarted its trio-global foe of C.I.Râ€"for China, Iran and Russia.
The Author is an Assistant Lecturer, Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU)-
Mass Communication Dept.
The exercise is being championed by the National Medical Stores (NMS) at the Mayor’s Gardens in Katabi, Entebbe.
“Every Ugandan is encouraged to come and get vaccinated,†said NMS Senior Public Relations Officer, Sheila Nduhukire. She added, “Please come with your National Identity Card.â€
The event, which ends on August 30, 2021, has attracted thousands of residents of Entebbe and nearby suburbs.
Security personnel and NMS staff ensured the hundreds of people got vaccinated while observing Ministry of Health standard operating procedures to avoid spread of COVID-19.
Among people who took advantage of the free exercise, were soldiers, traders and medical personnel among others.
“I have saved Shs 130,000 which I would have spent on buying the yellow fever vaccine,†said Aldrine Kentaro, 43, a mother of four.
“All my children have been vaccinated. I will always be eternally grateful to NMS for its kind works,†she said.
Ms Nduhukire said the exercise was supposed to close on August 23.
“But we decided to extend it to August 30 due to high demand. We saw huge numbers which we didn’t anticipate,†she said.
“People have showed enthusiasm to receive the yellow fever vaccine.â€
The exercise is benefiting Ugandan nationals from the age of nine months to 59 years.
The agency’s spokesman said this is part of NMS’ Corporate Social Responsibility.
“For a long time, NMS has always been running annual corporate Social Responsibility activities and we have always elected Yellow fever vaccination as our CSR flagship campaign. This one is not different from the one we previously run,†she emphasised.
In March 2021, NMS held a free yellow fever vaccination in Arua which management said was a token of its commitment to consistently contribute towards positive social development and better quality of life of Ugandans.
Due to COVID-19 Pandemic, strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in the fight against the novel Covid-19 are being observed in Entebbe.
Uganda is considered a high-risk country for Yellow fever by a comprehensive global strategy to Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE).
Immunization remains the main strategic approach to prevent, contain and eliminate Yellow fever outbreaks.
Currently, NMS provides the necessary medicines and other medical supplies including Personal Protective Equipment to Government Health Facilities and other institutions that are at the frontline in the fight against Covid-19 as advised by Ministry of Health.
NMS’ mandate is to procure, store and distribute Essential Medicines and Medical Supplies (EMHS) to Public Health Facilities.
The institution has been distributing COVID-19 vaccines across Uganda, supporting efforts to combat the deadly pandemic.
Ms Nduhukire said over 20,000 people have been vaccinated so far. She expects more people will be vaccinated by August 30.
]]> Sheema Veterans Emyooga SACCO chairman, 2 others arrested over missing Shs15m, registering their wives as beneficiaries https://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210826/120078/sheema-veterans-emyooga-sacco-chairman-2-others-arrested-over-missing-shs15m-registering-their-wives-as-beneficiaries.html Thu, 26 Aug 2021 11:12:51 +0000 https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=120078 The Sheema District Army Veterans Emyooga SACCO chairperson and two others have been arrested for illegally withdrawing Shs15 million.The three include Onan Mwijukye the Chairman of the SACCO, a one Johnson the Sacco Secretary and James Asiimwe who’s the Treasurer.
Mwijukye’s arrest follows reports by some members of the SACCO that he and other executive members had registered their wives and children as members of the SACCO yet they are not veterans.
This prompted Frank Besigye Kyerere, the Sheema Resident District Commissioner (RDC) to swing into action.
Benard Muhairwe, the vice chairman Sheema North Veterans Association said the SACCO’s top leadership withdrew Shs12 million from the SACCO’s account in DFCU bank Ishaka Branch, later Shs11 million but were surprised when they found out that the Shs15 million they had left on the account had gone missing mysteriously.
The RDC Kyerere told journalists that the trio was arrested for questioning about the whereabouts of the said Sh15 million.
This week, police in Kabale district also arrested the chairperson of Kabale Municipality journalists Emyooga SACCO for misusing Shs30 million, which he allegedly shared with his mother and sister.
On May 1, Police in Kanungu District arrested two board members of Kinkizi West Journalists’ Emyooga for failing to account for emyooga funds worth Shs30m they received early that month.
The Kanungu deputy RDC, Gad Rugaju said the arrested included the chairman and treasurer of the group who withdrew the funds and failed to disburse it in accordance with the government laws and guidelines.
]]> Prosecutors up in the arms over poor pay, put their boss on notice over failure to push for their demands to government https://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210826/120083/prosecutors-up-in-the-arms-over-poor-pay-put-their-boss-on-notice-over-failure-to-push-for-their-demands-to-government.html Thu, 26 Aug 2021 09:56:49 +0000 https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=120083 Prosecutors have sent a protest note to the president of Uganda Association of Prosecutors (UAP) Batson Baguma over his failure to address their concerns.The complaints are prosecutors at the rank of State Attorney, who were admitted into the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2015.
In a 25th August 2021 letter, prosecutors say there are very pertinent and key issues that have affected them for a long time and for long these issues have been discussed at diverse Extra Ordinary and Annual General Meetings convened by UAP Executive. However, little or no success has been achieved overtime.
“The UAP members who serve in the Public Service of Uganda as Prosecutors ought to earn salaries in accordance with the government’s salary structure for legal professionals.Whereas these prosecutors are similarly skilled and perform roles generally identical to the rest of the legal professionals in the public service, the prosecutors earn wages that are unreasonably disparate and unjustly lower than the rest of their counterparts in the Judiciary, Kampala Capital City Authority, Uganda Registration Services Bureau, and Uganda Revenue Authority among others. It’s only logical that officers who do the same work in the JLOS institutions should be considered for remuneration in a uniform manner,â€Khaukha James and Akankwasa Andrew Kashaija said on behalf of other members of UAP.
“Different levels of remuneration of for example, prosecutors and judicial officers at the same level of seniority in the JLOS institutions, can only cause disharmony and destroy the unity, uniform performance and efficiency,â€they added.
In June 2017, prosecutors of the ODPP who were carrying out an industrial action then, acting under UAP requested Government to address a number of their concerns. A Cabinet Sub-committee was instituted to address the concerns of the prosecutors, comprising of the Minister of Justice & Constitutional Affairs, Attorney General, Minister of Finance Planning and Economic Development, Minister of Public Service, the Solicitor General, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Public Service, and Director of Public Prosecutions which culminated into a commitment letter dated 11th July 2017 signed by the then Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire.
The Government committed itself to waive tax on salaries of the Prosecutors; elevate the salaries of the Prosecutors to a level equivalent to salaries of employees in the Uganda Registration Services Bureau;l and fast track the ODPP Bill.
Government also said it would provide professional and Responsibility allowances to the ODPP staff in the following financial year; facilitate the ODPP to better carry out its functions and restructure and promote under the New Structure to fill all vacant positions.
However, according to prosecutors, from the time the industrial action was lifted, little has been done by their umbrella body to ensure that the government commitments are fulfilled to the core.
“There has not been any waiver of taxes off from our pay, our salaries have never been elevated to the level of Legal Officers in URSB, no progress has been made to effect the promulgation of the ODPP Bill, we have never received Professional and Responsibility allowances since 2018 to date. Save for the promotions of Assistant DPPs and Chief State Attorneys, all the other categories of State Attorneys who were admitted in 2010, 2011 and 2015 have not been promoted. We must point out though that we are grateful for the promotions of prosecutors to some of the afore mentioned positions,†Khaukha and Akankwasa noted.
†Government having failed to honour its commitment, we sought legal redress in court under our umbrella of UAP. In as much as the orders sought were not granted, the court gave a Declaratory Order that the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs was in violation of the our legitimate expectation on the commitments made in the letter dater 11th July 2017 and should ensure that the same is not frustrated. However, no progress has been registered to implement the Order of Court.â€
The prosecutors says UAP is a vehicle upon which they through its Executive should push government to fulfil its commitments. However, nothing is being done by the UAP Executive Committee to push towards attaining the complete fulfilment of the Commitment Letter.
“If anything is done at all, we are not informed.â€
The prosecutors further warned their boss Mr Baguma and his executive to pull up their socks to demand for the fulfillment of the commitments made by government.
“It’s upon this background that we write this protest note to you, demanding that you pull up your socks, strategize appropriately and push hardest until the Government fulfils its commitments as per its Commitment Letter. We are tired of the rhetoric that the government officials have the good will for our cause. What we demand is, for that purported good will to be implemented,†they asserted.
“We also demand that His Excellency the President of Uganda grants us an opportunity to meet and interact with him to share more about the concerns of the prosecutors and also demystify the negative attitude that some government officials have over time attached to prosecutors. It’s unfortunate that no effort to this endeavor has been taken with the seriousness it deserves.We have taken note of the fact that the UAP Executive has been passive to pursue these endeavors which inaction has caused a lot of frustration, demoralization, and demotivation amongst prosecutors across board.â€
]]> Medical experts ask government to institute policy regulating private health facilities https://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210826/120073/medical-experts-ask-government-to-institute-policy-regulating-private-health-facilities.html Thu, 26 Aug 2021 09:01:59 +0000 https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=120073 Health experts in Kabale district have asked the government through the National Drug Authority to institute a strict policy that will help to ensure accountability and medicine tracking in the medical private sector as a way of reducing antimicrobial resistance.This was raised during a two days training of stakeholders on the National Action Plan Antimicrobial resistance surveillance held at Cephas Inn hotel, Kabale municipality.
The training was organized by the Coalition for health promotion and social development (HEPS Uganda) in partnership with Infectious Disease Institute (IDI) aimed at creating awareness and sensitizing the public on ways of fighting antimicrobial resistance in Uganda.
The Kabale district surveillance officer Oren Aryeija said that due to free market and uncontrolled private clinics and pharmacies in the country, the rate of drug resistance and antimicrobial resistance has increased.
He noted that the government should institute a policy that will compel private dealers in the sale of drugs to stop selling drugs to people without prescription of qualified medical personnel.
A medical doctor and the coordinator of antimicrobial resistance surveillance at Kabale regional referral hospital Derrick Kakooza said that antimicrobial resistance is the biggest threat to human health in the country.
The Kabale district acting Health Officer Alfred Besigensi said that alongside strict policies, government need to cascade training and sensitisation strategies to understand the negative side of self medication as a key cause of antimicrobial resistance.
The HEPS Uganda programs manager Prima Kazoora said that health stakeholders need to engage the government through the office of Prime Minister and office of the President to ensure that activities of a National Health platform is cooperated in health activities.
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