Government officials in Uganda have reportedly been told by the US that they must hold a "better managed" election next year that respects human rights and the rule of law.

According to reports on the Daily Monitor website today, officials were told by Maria Otero, the US under secretary for democracy and global affairs, who visited east Africa last week, that she wanted to see an "organised electoral process".

The minister for international affairs, Oryem-Okello, reportedly assured Otero that elections scheduled for 2011 would be credible, free and fair.

A statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry read: "Ms Maria Otero reiterated the need for building a strong democratic country and commended the efforts of Ugandan government in fighting the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency and hoped that the country now focuses on developmental programmes."

Observers of the February 2006 election, the first multi-party elections under president Yoweri Museveni, which saw him returned to office for a third term, reported "some serious irregularities and significant shortcomings" in the process. A departure statement made by the Commonwealth Secretariat, published in March 2006, reported that the elections had "several negative features", which meant candidates couldn't compete on a level playing field.

More money needed for regional commitments

Lawmakers in the East African Community (EAC), a regional intergovernmental organisation, have called on their own governments to increase funding to the group to reduce its reliance on foreign donors.

Some 48% of the EAC budget comes from donor partners, reported the New Times. A large bulk of this money is spent on implementing programmes, infrastructure, monitoring and evaluating.

But the deputy secretary general for planning and infrastructure, Alloys Mutabingwa, said it was dangerous for the EAC to rely so heavily on outside funding. "This is a dangerous undertaking because we are subjected to having to bargain with donors to have this community integrate," he said.

The EAC represents five states - Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi – and its aim is to promote regional cooperation. It is currently introducing a Common Market Protocol, due to come into force in July, which will allow for the free movement of goods and services between the five countries.

A communiqué published by EAC members yesterday read: "Partner states are urged to allocate adequate resources for EAC organs and institutions in particular the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) to discharge its duties."

A major problem for the EAC is informing people in each of the five countries about the protocol.

The New Times reported that the majority of east Africans did not know enough about the protocol and the EAC needed to create "a robust strategy" to raise awareness.

Medical research celebrations

The Medical Research Council today marked two decades of work in Uganda with a commemorative scientific symposium in Entebbe.

The first clinical diagnosis of Aids in Uganda occurred in 1982. By the late 1980s, Uganda was immersed in an HIV/Aids epidemic. In some areas, up to 30% of the population was affected. In 1988, calls for research support were made from Uganda to the MRC, which eventually led to the creation of the MRC/UVRI Research Unit on Aids. The unit was charged with tackling issues about the prevention, spread and treatment of the disease to support the Ugandan government. Uganda has been hailed a success story in sub-Saharan Africa for its work to tackle the disease. Prevalence rates have now fallen to around 6% among adults.

Stephen Mallinga, Uganda's health minister, added: "Uganda has been highly successful in reducing the spread of the HIV epidemic in the country and in improving the care for people with HIV/Aids. This success has been the result of the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Health and many partners who worked together with the Ugandan government over the last two decades on this important health problem. We are very grateful to the UK government for its support in the field of medical research through the MRC/UVRI unit.

"This remarkable 20-year collaboration between the MRC and the Ugandan government has made a tremendous contribution to the body of knowledge on HIV and Aids, and to the development of effective strategies in preventing and treating HIV infection. Our work to understand the virus needs continued support not just from the MRC and the UK and Ugandan governments, but from wider stakeholders and donors," said the unit's director, Prof Heiner Grosskurth.

Museveni chalks up record reign

The Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, has earned himself a place in the history books as Uganda's longest serving leader and east Africa's longest serving head of state.

Last Tuesday, Museveni celebrated 24 years in power after overthrowing Tito Okello Lutwa in 1986.

National celebrations to mark NRM Liberation Day were focused on the district of Mbale, which the trade minister, Kahinda Otafiire, said was "reflective of the district's historic contribution to the 1981-85 bush war struggle" which brought Museveni to power.

But the the length of Museveni's term in office re-opened the debate about his performance and achievements while in power. Commentators have said his early achievements have been overshadowed in recent years by his determination to hang on to power. In 2006 he changed the constitution to allow him to run for a third term in office. He has also been endorsed by his party, the NRM, as its candidate for presidential elections expected next year.

An opinion piece in the Daily Monitor drew comparisons with the former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi, who held power for more than two decades and whose party crumbled after he left in 2002. Moi was the only official guest to the NRM day celebrations.

Meanwhile opposition parties branded the day's celebrations a waste of money.

The national chairman of the Uganda People's Congress, Yonasani Kanyomozi, told the paper: "A lot has not been achieved. We are the only country in this region that has not stabilised financially; we still depend on donors' money. Moreover, 60% of the country's income is in the hands of only 10% of our population while the 90% live in sheer poverty."

Italian billion dollar oil pledge

The Italian oil company ENI has pledged to invest $13bn into building a refinery and power plant in Uganda if it wins control of two oil blocks in the Lake Albert basin.

The chief executive of ENI, Paolo Scaroni, reportedly told La Reppublica newspaper that the company will also rebuild an old railway line between Kampala and the Kenyan port of Mombasa and build a new pipeline to Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

ENI is expected to acquire the half ownership of the two sites from Canadian company Heritage Oil. Tullow Oil owns the other half.

But Maggie Kigozi, the executive director of Uganda Investments Authority, indicated that ENI's acquisition of the oil blocks was not definite. She told the Daily Monitor: "It is a good thing that ENI has the capacity to build a refinery, but there are many other companies that are interested in building the refinery. It will have to compete with other companies when we invite them to bid, to ensure that there's transparency," she said.

Ten companies, including China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Total and Exxon-Mobil, are said to be interested in constructing a refinery in Uganda.

Universal education 'a success'

Uganda's universal primary education (UPE) programme is finally reaping rewards, with the latest results showing that UPE schools were performing better than ever, according to the Daily Monitor.

The programme was introduced in Uganda in January 1997 as part of a government's policy to provide free education to children.

Primary school results released last month showed a year on improvement in performance. After a decade of sustained criticism UPE schools finally posted good results.

Of the 513,219 candidates who sat their primary leaving exams last year, more than 400,000 were from UPE schools. The education minister, Namirembe Bitamazire, says the strict monitoring of schools under the Education Standards Agency had led to the improved performance over the years.

At the time UPE was introduced, only about one third of school age children were in school. Enrolment figures are now up from 2.5 million in 1997 to 7.5 million now.

"UPE is an excellent policy that could transform this society," Mike Mukula, a former health minister told the Daily Monitor. "As long as the tools of production are in place, development can take shape."

TWO Ugandan African Union (AU) peacekeepers have been killed in a militant attack in Somali capital Mogadishu.

According to reports from Somalia, heavy mortar rounds killed the two peacekeepers, as they matched past the presidential compound, Villa Somali, during celebrations to mark one year since Somalia’s president, Sheikh Shariff Ahmed took office.

However, when contacted yesterday, the army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye confirmed that only one Ugandan peacekeeper was killed but did not mention the name.

“It is true one of our peace keepers has been killed while several others were injured in Mogadishu,” Kulayigye said.

Recently, the Government welcomed the UN sanctions slapped on Eritrea for supporting Somali insurgencies and destabilising its neighbour, Djibouti.
At least 11 other people, including civilians, are reported to have been killed in the violence in Mogadishu.

According to reports from Somalia, as over 200 officials were listening to a poetry reading to mark the president’s anniversary, Islamist group al-Shabab attacked on the peacekeepers.

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected president after the UN sponsored talks in neighbouring Djibouti and declared winner in January 2009.

Al-Shabab fighters used mortars and machine-guns to attack government and AU forces in the overnight shelling.
The Somali president has been criticised for failing to extend his authority over the country, which gave the attackers chance to fight the government.

Also two fighters of the Islamist group were killed in the fire exchange.
The attack comes a day after Djibouti confirmed that it would send 450 troops to reinforce the 5,000 AU force from Uganda and Burundi.

The body of the dead Ugandan was flown to a Nairobi hospital, together with other injured survivors.

“We are determined as Pan African peace keepers to pursue the cause for democratic governance and take charge of peace in the region,” Kulayigye said.

KAMPALA — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has pardoned one of former leader Idi Amin Dada's top lieutenants who had been on death row since 1987, a spokesman said Friday.

Museveni, who has been at the helm of the east African nation since 1986, even shook hands with Ali Fadhul, a man he claims to have nearly killed almost four decades ago.

"It is part of our healing process," presidential spokesman Tamale Mirundi told AFP. "The president knows that at one point in our history certain things happened, but he's not afraid to deal with such people from the past."

Fadhul was Amin's right-hand man in Museveni's home area. He was pardoned earlier this week and the two men met on Thursday when Fadhul turned up at a presidential rally outside the capital Kampala, Mirundi said.

"I am happy to meet Fadhul here. He should go slaughter a chicken and devour it," Museveni told the crowd after seeing his former foe, according to the government-controlled New Vision newspaper.

In many Ugandan families chickens are eaten exclusively on special occasions like Christmas and New Year.

Museveni and Fadhul clashed in 1972, when the young rebel leader launched a failed invasion through the Tanzanian border. Museveni claimed his fighters nearly shot Fadhul before they were forced to retreat.

"God still wanted him to live," Museveni said at the rally. "I said if God protected him, who am I to oppose his plans for Fadhul?"

Fadhul was arrested for murder shortly after Museveni took power in 1986.

Museveni has a proven track record of pardoning or offering amnesty to former fierce rivals. Last year he pardoned a notoriously brutal spy chief from the regime of former president Milton Obote.

KAMPALA — A Ugandan minister on Friday opposed a bill which could see homosexuals punished with death, throwing doubt over the legislation which has drawn widespread international condemnation.

Investment Minister Aston Kajara said the country already had sufficient legislation against homosexuality and the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was not needed.

"The government's position is that the existing provisions in our penal code against homosexuality are strong enough and that this new bill is not necessary," Kajara told AFP.

"The penal code already sufficiently covers this issue."

But Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo, a staunch supporter of the bill who has in the past said "homosexuals can forget about human rights," dismissed Kajara as not representing the government on the issue.

The bill, already before parliament, would impose the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," applicable in cases of rape of a minor by a person of the same sex, or where one partner is HIV positive.

It would also criminalise public discussion of homosexuality and could penalise an individual who knowingly rented property to a homosexual.

Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, punishable by life imprisonment in some instances and is an offence of "carnal knowledge against the order of nature" under the penal code.

Widespread condemnation by rights groups and western nations have been heaped on the legislation.

The United States and the European Union have called on Kampala to scrap the bill, criticising is as a setback to human rights.

The bill's sponsor, David Bahati, said consultations were ongoing over the draft law.

"Every single day we are in consultation with different stakeholders. At the moment it is premature to say whether the bill will be adjusted or won't be adjusted," he told AFP.

But Angelo Izama, an analyst with Kampala-based think-tank Fanaka Kwa Wote, said a watered-down version of the bill may be adopted.

"I suspect that if it comes for discussion it will be a greatly watered down version, where the death penalty will be removed. That seems to have been the early consensus," he wotld AFP.

Last month, Buturo said concerns over the death penalty could force changes.

"That?s one of the issues that has concerned not only our friends, but some Ugandans," he told reporters. "May be parliament should consider life sentence as opposed to death penalty."

Izama said the bill has damaged President Yoweri Museveni government's image "as the accusation in the 70s that Idi Amin kept the skull of his enemies in the fridge," referring to Ugandan dictator's ruthless 1971-1979 rule.

But Buturo also last month stressed Uganda's sovereignty.

"Nobody, nobody, nobody has the right to think for Ugandans. Nobody has the right to impose their values on a sovereign state," he said.

Okello Oryem, a junior foreign minister, said on Friday that Uganda would not bow to external pressure.

"We are not going to accept intimidation from anybody. If any country who claims to be one of Uganda's friends threatens to withdraw aid we will tell them they can keep their aid," he told AFP.

"The time of threatening to give aid or not give aid is over."

Other observers said that Uganda has failed to acknowledge the diplomatic repercussions of the legislation.

"I think generally there has been a serious failure to appreciate the foreign policy implications of this bill," said Busingye Kabumba, a law lecturer at Kampala's Makerere University.

"In Uganda we have a semblance of democracy, not a full democracy. So all sorts of ministers can shout about how foreigners should stay out of Uganda's business.

"At the end of the day everyone knows it all comes down to one man, the president."

KAMPALA — Uganda police on Monday barred a planned demonstration by five opposition parties demanding a new electoral commission and the lifting of a ban on a radio station.

Police chief Kale Kayihura told AFP the organisers had not notified the authorities and that the planned march was aimed at destabilising the country.

"The demonstration was planned with sinister motives. It was designed to cause confusion and, ultimately, disorder in Kampala city," he said. "No one should expect to wake up and within hours say I'm marching on the city."

A newly-formed coalition of five main opposition parties bent on ousting long-serving President Yoweri Museveni from power in 2011 polls announced on December 31 they would step up civil action.

Their immediate demands are the establishment of a new electoral commission, charging that the current one is biased towards the ruling party, and the re-opening of a radio station closed in September.

Salaamu Musumba, the vice chairman of the Forum for Democratic Change, complained that the demonstration ban was undemocratic.

"Police was aware that we planned a demonstration in Kampala but they decided to use dictatorial means to stop it," she told AFP. "We have decided to call it off today but we're going to have another one soon."

The Ugandan authorities shut down CBS radio in September, accusing it of inciting violence by encouraging people to protest against a travel ban slapped on the traditional leader of the Buganda kingdom.

The ensuing riots left close to 30 people dead and marked the beginning of a drive by opposition forces to mount a serious campaign against Museveni, who has ruled the central African nation with iron fist since 1986.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says he will intervene to soften a anti-gay legislation that proposes homosexuals should be imprisoned or put to death. This comes after much international criticism over the bill.

 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has also criticized the bill, saying it would run against basic Christian teaching by promoting hatred.

"From the experience of many nations, it is very clear that if such a bill is enacted into law, it will leave a lot of room for manipulation, abuse, blackmail and oppression of people" said WCC chief Samuel Kobia.

A top Anglican cleric of Ugandan decent in the UK, Archbishop of York John Sentamu, said he was "totally opposed to the death sentence" and found the language being used to describe homosexuals "upsetting".

Uganda denies bowing to the West

Uganda's ethics and integrity minister Nsaba Buturo said the revised law would most likely make life in prison the maximum penalty for offenders. "There have been a lot of discussions in government regarding the proposed law, but we now think a life sentence could be better because it gives room for offenders to be rehabilitated," he said. "Killing them might not be helpful," he added.

However, Buturo denied the change in government attitude was forced by Western pressure. "It's really out of our consultation with various groups, including religious leaders. It has nothing to do with external forces," he said.

Buturo also added that Uganda had not changed its view that homosexuality is a "moral perversion that must not be allowed to spread".

Uganda has long benefitted from Western aid and investment due to its stable economy and widespread economic reforms.

GENEVA — The U.N. on Monday accused the Ugandan-based Lord's Resistance Army of killing, mutilating and raping villagers in Sudan and Congo in what may have been crimes against humanity.

The rebels killed at least 1,200 people and abducted 1,400, including children and women, in northeastern Congo from September 2008 to June 2009, said a report by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

A separate report by the U.N.'s rights office said that, in at least 27 attacks on villages in southern Sudan, the Lord's Resistance Army killed more than 80 civilians and kidnapped many others to use as child soldiers, sex slaves and spies.

The report called the attacks in Sudan, which it said took place between December 2008 and March 2009, deliberate and brutal.

Both reports were based on hundreds of interviews with survivors and several field trips to the remote areas by U.N. employees, said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the high commissioner.

One survivor in Sudan told U.N. employees that he found the mutilated body of a fellow villager.

"The villager's leg had been chopped off, his jaws had been dislocated and his teeth had been pulled out," the report said.

The rebels frequently cross into Congo and Sudan and are notorious for mutilating and murdering civilians and kidnapping children to use as fighters.

Survivors in Sudan told U.N. investigators that armed Lord's Resistance Army rebels arrived in groups of between five and 20, and attacked people with axes, bayonets, hoes, knives and machetes. They reserved the use of firearms for those who tried to flee, the report said.

The LRA attacks in Sudan may amount to crimes against humanity, while the widespread abuses in Congo may have been war crimes as well, it said.

A spokesman for the rebel group, David Matsanga, denied the allegations in the U.N. reports and called it false and malicious. He said that most of the civilian deaths were caused by the Uganda People's Defense Force, of UPDF, the government's army.

"On many occasions the UPDF and troops from southern Sudan and Congo killed civilians thinking that they were the LRA rebels they were hunting for," he told The Associated Press. "We should not be held responsible for killings made by UPDF and other forces."

Matsanga said the group is tired of fighting and looking for lasting peace.

But, a Sudanese woman who escaped after being abducted by LRA rebels said female captives were regularly mistreated and raped.

"At night the fighters used to tie the abducted men one to another, make them lie on the ground and cover them with a plastic sheet," she was quoted as saying in the report. "They would then take all the women to the bush and rape us. They barely gave us any food and would beat us on a regular basis with sticks, the butts of the guns and their fists."

The report on Congo said thousands of homes, dozens of shops, hospitals, churches and at least 30 schools were looted and set on fire in various parts of Orientale Province. Villagers were mutilated, tortured and raped, the report said.

The LRA has been fighting the Ugandan government for over 20 years, accusing it of discriminating against the country's northern tribes.

The Ugandan military, along with forces from Congo and southern Sudan, launched a joint operation against LRA rebels in Congo from December 2008 to March 2009. The offensive came after rebel leader Joseph Kony failed to turn up last year to sign a peace agreement.

Kony and other top LRA members are accused by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kony is still at large, as are many of his commanders, although the rebels have splintered into several smaller groups.

The U.N. urged the Congolese government and the international community to step up efforts to arrest Kony and other rebel leaders. Kony is believed to be hiding in Garamba Park — a vast area in northeastern Congo near the Sudanese border that is covered with thick forest and difficult to access, said Elisabeth Da Costa, an expert on Congo with the U.N. rights office.

In some attacks, the Congolese army helped the LRA, the report said, adding that the country's security forces terrorized some of those who fled.

MAKINDYE West MP, Hussein Kyanjo, has warned that the Baganda would take up arms if the Government refuses to adhere to democracy and the rule of law.

He said democracy was the rule of the wishes of the majority and the majority of Ugandans want federalism.

“Museveni always said if a jigger is in the foot the best solution is to remove it. Some people in my constituency keep suggesting that if the Government has failed to adhere to democratic rules, we should fight them and overthrow them,” Kyanjo said.

He was addressing over 1,000 participants during the highly charged second Buganda conference at Hotel Africana on Thursday evening.

Calling for Buganda secession as an alternative to war, Kyanjo repeated that the NRM fought for democracy and that if it has failed to abide by the rules of the democratic game, they would resort to war.

“When you oppress people, you tempt them to resort to violence. We do not want to become like Somalia where violence is the order of the day. I want to be frank that if we fail to get power through democracy, we shall use force,” he said.

Earlier, Kyanjo clashed with Maj. Kakooza Mutale, who rubbished the conference, saying power cannot be discussed.

“How can someone come here and insult us that power is not discussed? Power belongs to the people. There is a difference between power and force. What your Government has is force, not power,” said Kyanjo.

Closing the conference, the Kabaka, Ronald Mutebi, renewed his demand for federo, despite repeated warnings by President Yoweri Museveni that cultural leaders should stay out of politics.

“The findings of the Odoki Commission were that the majority of the people of Buganda and over 60% of the rest of Ugandans wanted federalism. This is the authentic voice of Ugandans. So why deny them that right?” the Kabaka said, attracting ululations.

He called for federalism not only for Buganda but for all parts of Uganda. “The 1962 Constitution had not fully addressed the federal question because the system had been denied to other parts of Uganda.”

He explained that by the time colonialists came to Uganda, there were established nations which, he said, must be respected.

Calling Buganda a multi-tribal nation, the Kabaka in an unusually long speech, said they welcomed and incorporated people from all backgrounds.

“We are people of one family. For peace and harmony, we need to talk to each other honestly and with mutual respect. This costs nothing. Members of our family have concerns which must be adhered to.”

Excitement and emotions ran so high that some of the participants kept chanting praises like nnyini nsi (owner of Buganda), landlord and nyanja temanyirwa (the one who can make you sink).

These emotions were fueled by both Hussein Kyanjo’s hard attacks on the NRM government and a cultural dance group, Tebifanana Abifuna.

The group, which greatly excited the congregation, sang advocacy songs like tulwanirira Buganda naye abalala batulyamu olukwe (we are fighting for Buganda but some are betraying us) and Akanyomonyomo zikusanje bwonyoma nnyinimu ng’ebibyo bibi (If you despise the king, then you have lost it).

Earlier, DP presidential candidate Norbert Mao, PPP party leader Bidandi Ssali and former judge, George Kanyeihamba, all declared their support for federo.

“Federalism will deal with corruption, restore the prestige of Government institutions and bring redress for imbalances in economic prosperity,” Mao said.

Kanyeihamba blasted powerful Baganda personalities who failed to defend the federal system of governance to protect their ‘status, survival and personal aggrandizement’.

In their resolution, the participants stressed that Buganda is not seeking special status but wants federalism for all Ugandans.

It also called for a convention for all the communities of Uganda to have dialogue on the federal system of government.