KAMPALA- Earlier this week, government in its newly tabled electoral reforms sought to increase the time for lodging an election petition from the current 10 to 15 days.
Details of the proposal are contained in the five bills that were tabled last week by Attorney General (AG)William Byaruhanga in fulfilment of Supreme Court recommendations following the election petition filed by former Premier Amama Mbabazi after the 2016 general elections.
The Attorney-General tabled a number of proposed amendments including; The Presidential Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Electoral Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Political Parties and Organisation (Amendment) Bill, 2019, Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill and the Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
However, the National NGO Forum described it as misguided and urged the State to follow the recommendations of the Supreme Court and table new ones.
Mr Richard Ssewakiryanga, the Executive Director NGO Forum, said the proposals will lead to anarchy since they target-independent candidates, pressure groups and voting by security forces but leave out the recommendations by the Supreme Court.
On Wednesday, the Dokolo Woman MP, Cecilia Ogwal accused the Security Minister, Gen. Elly Tumwine of using his position in the army and security circles to doctor the CCTV footage that was submitted to the Committee of Rules, Discipline and Privileges.
During the hearing, Hon. Ogwal told the committee that she has known Gen. Tumwine since the 6th Parliament and the two were together in the Constituency Assembly as framers of the 1995 constitution and that she had no special interest in contributing to the debate raised by Bukonzo West MP, Atkins Katusabe but felt compelled to make a contribution with the aim of redirecting the attention of the General to the gravity of the matter.
According to Hon Ogwal, Gen Tumwine struck an arrogant tone when he started bragging about his long stay in Parliament, boasting of being one of the champions of discipline within the NRM.
Meanwhile, legislators on the Rules, Discipline and Privileges Committee on Thursday warned Gen. Tumwine to desist from reminding the country of how they fought in the Luwero triangle saying that the country is well versed with the matter and it shouldn’t be turned into a second national anthem.
The MPs made the remarks while interfacing with Tumwine during investigations into allegations that the Security Minister threatened to harm the Dokolo Woman MP, Cecilia Ogwal last week.
The allegations described are in contempt of Parliament for trying to attack a fellow MP for remarks made on the floor the previous week.
In the same week, the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, used his 26th coronation celebrations to call for the revival of cooperatives as an avenue to fight poverty in the country.
Speaking at the colourful ceremony that was also graced by traditional leaders from Nigeria, Niger and Ethiopia, Kabaka Mutebi decried what he called the loss of values that have been the pillars of food security in the country since colonial days.
“The Protectorate government supported their government from wealth accrued from coffee and cotton production…. Cooperatives are owned by people and their members are not paid by government, they don’t need government funding,” he said.
On the same day, Kabaka invited Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, the titular ruler of Sokoto in northern Nigeria as the chief guest who praised him for promoting good health and education of his people.
“Those are the most important things any leader must ensure (that) people possess at any time,” he said.
“Place people first. Serve them. As a leader, you are a servant of your people. Kabaka is serving the people that’s why we see mammoth crowds here,” he said.
On Friday, August 2, there was a lot of chaos at the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s court as Makerere University Researcher Dr Stella Nyanzi was sentenced to 9 months in jail.
She was handed the sentence due to an offence of cyber harassment in which she insulted the person of the President and his late mother Esteri Kokundeka.
Dr Nyanzi was convicted by a one magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu who ruled that the suggestions she made on her Facebook page were immoral according to the standards of an African community.
However, Nyanzi was sentenced in absentia after she was whisked away from the teleconferencing screen at Luzira prison after she flashed her breasts on the screen and kept on insulting the magistrate while showing her middle finger in disrespect.
Before she was whisked away, Nyanzi was so bitter saying that she was not notified that she would not physically appear in court for her sentencing.
In entertainment news, a popular city nightspot, Club Amnesia closed shop on Thursday, August 1, 2019 night after 8 years of serving Kampala’s nightlife.
Dr. Innocent Nahabwe, one of the Club’s proprietors said in a Facebook post that business trends had forced a rethink of the model forcing the closure.
“We have realised that in the nightclub business, everyone is drinking from near their homes – mostly in open spaces,” Dr. Nahabwe, who has authored a book “Treating Small Businesses,” said.
“Closed bars are phasing out. We have, therefore, taken the step to close Club Amnesia with effect from Friday 2nd August 2019 with the party on Thursday 1st August 2019 is our last,” he wrote.
When it comes to sports news, Abdu Lumala is the new darling of Ugandan football after his display in the Africa Cup of Nations 2019 in Egypt.
The 21-year-old, who made his competitive debut for the Uganda Cranes at the above-mentioned tournament, won over hearts of Ugandans with his direct running as he created several goal-scoring opportunities.
After the show in Egypt, Lumala is now understood to be on his way to Pyramids FC, one of the top Egyptian football clubs currently.
Pyramids FC is the same side that took-on former Cranes head coach Sebastien Desabre following Uganda’s elimination form AFCON 2019 in the second round at the hands of Senegal.
In the same news, Uganda Cranes striker Emmanuel Okwi sealed a move to Egyptian top tier side Al Ittihad Alexandria Club.
Okwi who impressed at the just concluded AFCON 2019 finals in Egypt has been a free agent ever since his deal with Tanzania’s Simba SC expired a couple of months ago.
He was linked to South African-Soweto Giants Kaizer Chiefs but will instead play in Egypt.
Okwi is understood to have signed a two-year deal at Alexandria based side.
