Veteran radio presenter Alex Ndawula dies at 59

 By:Admin

Veteran radio presenter and disc jockey, Alex Ndawula has died.
Ndawula who graced the airwaves of private FM stations in Uganda- starting with Sanyu FM before moving to Capital FM- which swept in by the early 90s liberalization is said to have died Monday evening at Nsambya hospital in Kampala at the age of 59.

Capital FM's producer and news anchor, Patricia Osman, confirmed Ndawula's death Monday evening.

"A  legend has gone to sleep. Rest in Peace Radio Legend. Sleep well. We shall forever celebrate you  Alexander Ndawula," she wrote on social media.

He retired from Capital FM in May 2017 after over 20 years of service.

Legend eulogised 

He’s been eulogized by his former work colleagues, friends and other Ugandans who grew up listening to his shows as a true legend.

“A true legend has signed out. He set the FM waves on fire in the morning and even more, during his Dance Force mixes. At the peak of FM radio, the dance weekend space belonged to Alex Ndawula. Fare thee well Alex Ndawula,” Allan Ssenyonga tweeted.
“Rest in Peace Radio Legendary Alex Ndawula. You paved a way for many. Rest in Power” tweeted TV presenter, Douglas Lwanga.

To Allan Tashobya, Ndawula was "A unique voice, legend, and one of the larger-than-life Media Personalities on Capital FM Uganda who made us fall in love with this whole thing we now call a career."

Court of Appeal Kicks out two NRM MPs

The Court of Appeal has thrown out two Members of Parliament subscribing to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), thus ordering fresh elections.

The two legislators are; Eddie Kwizeera Wagahungu (Bukimbiri County) in Kisoro District and Derrick Orone (Gogonyo County) in Paliisa District.

Justices Frederick Egonda-Ntende and Eva Luswata have ruled that the ballot papers that were used in the elections for Bukimbiri County MP were defective.

"The use of defective ballot papers in the elections amounted to non-compliance with the constitution and electoral laws that govern a free and fair election," the justices ruled.

"The judgment and orders of the learned judge from which this appeal arose are hereby set aside. The election of Kwizera Eddie the first respondent as MP for Bukimbiri is nullified and accordingly set aside," they added.

Court also condemned the EC for failing to take an essential step to detect an anomaly on the ballot papers used in Bukimbiri County when candidates’ names were substituted with unknown names.

The justices further explained that such a mistake is inexcusable yet it would be rectified during the preparation of the ballot papers as a candidate's name goes to the root of his or her identity.

China brands US democracy 'weapon of mass destruction'

BY:ADMIN China branded US democracy a "weapon of mass destruction" on Saturday, following the US-organised Summit for Democracy which aimed to shore up like-minded allies in the face of autocratic regimes. China was left out of the two-day virtual summit -- along with countries including Russia and Hungary -- and responded by angrily accusing US President Joe Biden of stoking Cold War-era ideological divides. "'Democracy' has long become a 'weapon of mass destruction' used by the US to interfere in other countries," a foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement, which also accused the US of having "instigated 'colour revolutions'" overseas. The ministry also claimed the summit was organised by the US to "draw lines of ideological prejudice, instrumentalise and weaponise democracy... (and) incite division and confrontation." Instead, Beijing vowed to "resolutely resist and oppose all kinds of pseudo-democracies". Ahead of the summit, China ramped up a propaganda blitz criticising US democracy as corrupt and a failure. Instead, it touted its own version of "whole-process people's democracy" in a white paper released last week that aimed to shore up legitimacy for the ruling Communist Party, which has become increasingly authoritarian under President Xi Jinping. While the US has repeatedly denied there will be another Cold War with China, tensions between the world's two largest economies have spiralled in recent years over issues including trade and technological competition, human rights, Xinjiang and Taiwan. The US Treasury on Friday sanctioned two high-level Chinese officials for human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region and placed Chinese AI surveillance firm SenseTime on a blacklist for its facial recognition technology targeting the Uyghur minority.

Uganda, DR Congo pledge transparency in war against ADF

BY:ADMIN Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have responded to public concerns about the safety of the joint operations against terrorists with a pledge of transparency. They said, in fact, that they will elevate their cooperation to target all armed groups, not just the Allied Democratic Forces. The Ugandan and Congolese ministers of defence, after a two-day field tour of Bunia, in Ituri eastern DRC say they will coordinate operations to ensure they are within the law. The Ministers, Vincent Ssempijja (Uganda) and Gilbert Kabanda Kurhenga (DRC) were accompanied by senior officers from both countries as well as parliamentarians from the Defence Committee of the National Assembly and MPs from North Kivu and Ituri. Although the two armies have assured of legal operations, they have not yet made a human toll of the operations. Earlier, and accompanied by the lawmakers of Ituri and North Kivu, Gilbert Kabanda had organised a series of consultations with the local authorities. At the end of these consultations, the president of the customary chiefs of Ituri, Innocent Matukadala, on behalf of his peers, gave his "unwavering support to the joint DRC-Uganda military operation".

Govt should probe Lokech's death -Acholi leaders

DIGP-LOKECH

  By:Admin

  ACHOLI

Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo yesterday joined the chorus of voices to task government to undertake a wider and deeper inquiry into the sudden death of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Lt Gen Paul Lokech.

The calls come a week after pathologists concluded that Lt Gen Lokech had succumbed to blood clots in his lungs.

Justice Owiny-Dollo said the government owed it to the people to exhaustively answer their doubts about what had led to the sudden death of the general.

The Chief Justice said the inquiry should look into all possible causes of death, including at his place of work, where he could have had some conflict with interested parties in the line of his duty.

But Justice Owiny-Dollo also quickly counselled that the community should respect the privacy and wishes of the family and leave it to them to decide the best course of action in the matter.

Several local leaders, one after another, have raised questions as to what could have caused the death of the fearless and ever combat-ready general, who had fought fierce battles in and outside Uganda, including in South Sudan, DR Congo, and the restive Somalia, where he battled militant Islamists, the al-Shabaab.

But Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire, the Internal Affairs minister, who represented President Museveni at the funeral, said it was disastrous to make the matter political as Acholi leaders portrayed it.

“Countrymen, much as we are entitled to be inquisitive about unknown phenomenon, let’s be philosophical about our approach to life. Uganda was here without us, Uganda was here with us and Uganda will be here long after we are gone,” Gen Otaffire said.

Despite the demands of the Acholi leaders, in his speech, Gen Otafiire said government would not wish to delve much into the circumstances surrounding the death of Gen Lokech since it is a private matter.

“I want to put to you that a postmortem was done and a postmortem report was handed over to the family, and I am not at liberty to disclose that report unless I have the permission of his family and the police,” he said.

Gen Otafiire asked the police to consult with the family and make public the report of the fallen general’s postmortem.

“I would like the police together with the family to put this report at the disposal of the public because people want to know what the legitimate cause of Gen Lokech’s death is and the case is put to rest,” he added.

Gen Otafiire expressed disappointment in the utterances of Acholi leaders, saying their demands were political and meant to cause panic in the public.

“Why did we invest in them, why did we invest in getting many Acholi sons and daughters into powerful positions in government and at the end kill them? Who do you think will protect me when tomorrow, I am no longer the minister of Internal Affairs? The people I don’t know or the people I have raised?”

“I can’t say there might not be people or a group of people who want to replace them and, therefore, would be interested in destroying them, but I’m saying those of us who raised them would not be the same people to destroy them,” he said.

President Museveni, in his speech, said: “Given Lt Gen Lokech’s exemplary contribution for the last 30 years in the armed forces, I hereby...promote Major General Paul Lokech, posthumously, to the rank of Lieutenant General.”

Postmortem

Police statement on postmortem

“…..We want to further inform the public that a postmortem examination was carried out on the body of the deceased, by a team of four pathologists.

Also present were Brig Gen Dr Stephen Kusasira, the Director of Medical Services in the UPDF, the personal doctor of the late, Dr Ben Khiingi, 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.

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.

During the autopsy, 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.

As a result, both vessels in the lungs were blocked, thus leading to the shortage in breath and subsequent death. It was thus concluded as death due to natural causes.”

Medics list options to fight Covid third wave

 

By:Admin

Kampala

As the country gears up for partial reopening after 42 days of lockdown, doctors under their umbrella organisation, the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), have listed six options that government should undertake to prepare for the third wave of Covid-19, which is expected to hit the country within the next three to six months.

The doctors say the government should make it a point to complete the vaccination of the targeted 21.9 million Ugandans in the next six months.

“Without Covid vaccination, another round of mass cases and deaths will be inevitable, investment in strict observance of the standard operating procedures (SOPs), infection prevention and control measures and cases will help reduce this,” the doctors said in a statement issued on Friday by the President of UMA, Dr Richard Idro.

Uganda has administered at least 1.1 million doses of vaccines. However, the country has been depending on donations, citing global shortage of vaccines which has delayed the vaccination process.

According to UMA, there is need to boost the health system capacity such as provision of enough personal protective equipment (PPE), establish Intensive Care Units (ICU) and High Dependency  Unit (HDU) in all regional referral hospitals.

The medics noted that during this second wave, some patients died due to lack of oxygen, HDU and ICU beds as ambulances queued in hospital parking lots.

UMA states that the only functional public ICUs with the ability to offer ventilation to critically-ill patients are in Mulago and Mbarara hospitals. That, he says, explains why a highly trained paediatrician, Dr Milly Grace Arach, died after failing to get admitted into an ICU in Gulu.

Recommendations

1. Vaccinate 21.9 in next six months

2. Build treatment capacity-Establish ICUs and HDUs in regional referrals, provision of enough PPEs and oxygen, etc.

3. Employ, care for and pay health workers well

4. Educate the public on home-based care.

5. Improve health infrastructure to manage other illnesses as well, assent to the National Health Insurance scheme.

6. Establish discussions on school reopening, restructuring of learning.

Buganda will not stop demanding for property, federal - Kabaka

 

By:Admin

Kampala

Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II has said Buganda Kingdom will not relent in its push for a federal system of governance and demand for property still being held by the central government.

Speaking at his 28th coronation anniversary ceremony at Nkoni Palace in Lwengo District Saturday, the Kabaka said both his cabinet and Lukiiko (Parliament) have  been consistent in demanding for what belongs to the kingdom through negotiations and will continue to use the same avenue to achieve their goal.
“For the last 28 years, we have been at the forefront of demanding for justice, federal, land and our buildings. These and other things, we call them Ebyaffe,” he said.
“Í want to emphasize this, we shall not relent in our quest for Ebyaffe through negotiations as we have done in the past.”

In 2013, government and Buganda Kingdom signed a Memorandum of Understanding which the former agreed to return all kingdom property which were confiscated after the 1966 Buganda crisis but a year later when handing over some of the title deeds to Buganda Kingdom officials, President Museveni warned the kingdom against evicting tenants who have over the years occupied her land and buildings. Although some of the properties like Bulange (official kingdom seat), Mengo Palace, have since been returned to the kingdom others such as land occupied by Makindye Military Barracks, Kigo Prison, Mengo Court are yet to be handed over by government whose rent arrears had accumulated to Shs215.8 billion by April.

The Kabaka also castigated people who are pushing for the abolition of Mailo land tenure system, which is mainly in Buganda, saying they are bent on weakening the kingdom.
He said some kingdom critics were portraying Buganda as an institution that is not accommodative yet all people regardless of their cultural backgrounds, have peacefully settled in Buganda over the years. 

“For those who want to scrap Mailo land their goal is to weaken Buganda. This prompts us to ask, why land in other parts of Uganda is not talked about. Why Buganda land?” he said 
Mr Charles Peter Mayiga, the kingdom Katikkiro (prime minister), said prior to the enactment of the Land Act  1998, Buganda had advised that government implements the Busuulu and Envujjo law of 1928 which protected rights of both landlords and tenants but their proposal was never considered.

“When Mailo land is abolished as being suggested in some quarters, one of the key pillars on which this kingdom was built will be destroyed. You parliamentarians who are here should know this; Buganda has never failed to discuss this (land) issue. We are ready to sit and show you how best land wrangles can better be resolved,” he said 
The head of clan leaders (Bataka), Mr Augustine Kizito Mutumba had earlier reported to the Kabaka that there was rampant duplication of land titles which he said has deprived many people in Buganda of their land rights.