Watchdog Uganda
This has been revealed by Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake, one of the top leaders at the Kamwokya based political party.
In a Facebook live video on Monday, Zaake said the required amount is to be paid to Lumbuye’s lawyer in turkey who is working around the clock to block his deportation to Uganda.
The legislator also disclosed that so far $20,000 (over Shs70m) has been collected through fundraising by NUP supporters in Uganda and abroad.
Meanwhile, today, Uganda Police disclosed that Lumbuye was not in their custody.
While addressing the media, the force’s spokesperson Fred Enanga said that they however have 15 cases that they will bring against the controversial blogger once he is handed over to them.
“We don’t have Lumbuye but what we have are 15 case files against him. Don’t ask us if he is here or not because we don’t know but as soon as he is handed over to us we are ready, †Enanga said.
“When he is handed over to us, we shall come out with the full statement. Whether he is in the country or not, as police once he is handed over to us we shall process him with the 15 file cases we have on him,†he added.
The prepared charges he said, include among others spreading harmful propaganda and terrorism videos, inciting violence and other cyber crimes.
Lumbuye was allegedly arrested last Wednesday in Turkey.
Following the development, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem, confirmed to journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices in Kampala last Friday that the plane transporting Lumbuye was expected to land the following day at Entebbe International Airport before he is charged with promoting sectarianism and instigating violence.
However, despite the Minister’s confirmation about Lumbuye’s deportation, the blogger is yet to be seen anywhere in Uganda.
Earlier today, NUP’s Spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi put government on spot to account for the whereabouts of controversial blogger.
“Three days ago, Foreign Affairs State Minister Henry Okello Oryem at a press conference said that political activist Fred Lumbuye was on a flight to Uganda having been deported by Turkey, and that on arrival, Uganda police would hold him and produce him in court to answer certain charges which charges he didn’t mention. It’s been three days since Fred was expected in the country but he hasn’t surfaced anywhere. Now that Uganda government officials were aware of the trip and said they would hold him for questioning on return, they should account for his whereabouts,†Ssenyonyi who is also the Nakawa West legislator said in a Facebook post.
He also explained why NUP leaders and supporters have been speaking out loud demanding for Lumbuye’s freedom.
†Some people have wondered why our leaders and supporters have spoken out loudly about Lumbuye. As NUP, we’re duty bound to speak out whenever anyone’s rights are violated. We even demanded that the rights of Sipapa be respected when he was arrested and detained incommunicado for days, even when last year he fired bullets at the gate of NUP offices in Kamwokya and injured one of our guards.We shall not tire until the rights of all Ugandans are respected.â€
]]>MICHAEL WOIRA: The Lumbuye ideology and how our opposition thinks https://www.watchdoguganda.com/op-ed/20210809/118927/michael-woira-the-lumbuye-ideology-and-how-our-opposition-thinks.html Mon, 09 Aug 2021 13:34:16 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118927We are now in August and our elections were held in February and the swearing ceremony for the rightfully elected president was also concluded some few months ago. This means the election period was concluded and now is the time for the country to have the peace it requires and also is the time for the leaders we elected to do their work and stop the politicking.Of course some leaders that got voted understand why they were voted for but some few have never understood why they were voted according to what we keep seeing on social media and on News. Without any fear of contradiction, I would openly want to say that many of the members of parliament in our opposition are just excited about joining parliament or their populism will never cease to be since many of them are still acting in the same way they did during campaigns.
All throughout the campaigns, there came some human beings who they always said were abroad but became daily commentators of the politics in the country and surprisingly many of our opposition leaders believed in these so called bloggers who could always give misleading information to many of the Ugandans who followed them. The information these bloggers used to give to their audiences was what is sometimes referred to as Propaganda.
Propaganda is no longer just an instrument for changing opinions. Now, in our digitally facilitated world, propaganda is a corridor to prompt participation in political conflicts from the safety and comfort of your living room chair. It is also, ironically, now a tool for immediately breaking connections between friends and relatives whose thoughts differ.
On many occasions, this kind of Propaganda by the opposition bloggers is intentional and it mainly relies on influence, specifically through the use of misleading information and its purpose is to support political goals and catch attention of those few people who are easily being misled by the statements and information from these bloggers and politicians in the opposition.
The Lumbuye ideology that many of the opposition supporters and leaders use mainly traffics in lies, misinformation, provocative language, and other negative communication to achieve an objective related to a cause, goal or political agenda of which can’t be easily achieved here in Uganda because the wise and straight thinking Ugandans differentiate between propaganda and the truth so they know where to find true information.
I have been looking at the trend of information dissemination from the time of elections but most of the information from THE National Unity Platform has been based on speculations and propaganda and even these senior leaders have always relied on social media for information that they keep propagating without getting facts. During elections, on many occasions during campaigns, the main page that was used by people power could announce at least two or three people as dead and they thought that doing that would enable them sympathy votes, Lumbuye their chief ideologist could also back them up by disseminating falsehoods and I am so sure this is the reason they miserably lost because no sane thinking Ugandan could allow to be under a government of deceitful leaders and propagandists.
Among the main actors and fake news disseminators was Segirinya but I forgave him for the falsehoods that he traded around, at some point he had to say that someone was pierced in the stomach and all the intestines were out. Maybe as usual he did this to capture attention of everyone so he is voted into power and now that he got what he wanted, he never does propaganda, and he is the only People Power Member of Parliament who is performing which is very okay.
The Lumbuye ideology technique that our opposition is using has been used to convince the public to think, speak, and act in a particular way simply because their leaders are also acting that way.
The public has always been invited by these people to jump on the Bandwagon and not be left behind or left out as the rest of society engages in what they perceive to be correct behavior.
But what I have observed in all this, since populist parties and politicians generally lack both internal party structures and discipline, and ideological reason they are prone to changes in their overall profile. Their radicalism might upsurge or decline not only during elections, but also while in office and this can be observed by how some of them have started acting games. Someone travelled on government money to go to some country but he announced himself to be in another country doing his political party business, that’s how far the populism card is being used by these opposition leaders of ours.
Right now the National Unity platform (NUP) has been stripped naked but because of its populism tendencies, it’s not ashamed at all, it has gone as far as considering the Lumbuye issue as a party issue and from the top leadership to the last person in the party, all their energies are on rescuing the person they claimed wasn’t belonging to their party, a person who announced one of the cultural leaders dead and a person who has not once or twice announced the President dead. Imagine a whole party considering Lumbuye as their communications person, this is laughable but anyway from the top leadership is where comedy starts.
MICHAEL WOIRA
PATRIOTIC UGANDAN
The government has unceasingly blamed the Christian leaders for meddling into politics. On the other hand, these religious bodies have also accused the state for suppressing and wanting to dictate over what should be done. Isn’t it possible to find a level ground?
Why should the state recognize the roles of particularly the church only during hard times then in times of prosperity, the church is warned to stay on her lane? Surprisingly, most governments only see one role of the church-preaching and no other.
Should the church and the state be distinct or should they work in harmony? Picking a leaf from the Apostolic church, we see lots of control exerted over the church by the then ruling authority. They feared losing their authority to the proclaimed coming savior who was thought to be king. The church got perplexed asking who to listen to; the people or God? (Acts 4;17-19) but Christ categorically put it, “My kingdom is not of this world….†(John 1:36). The whole church/state problem stems from two issues: authority and the execution of that authority.
According to Oxford Dictionary, authority is the power or right to enforce obedience; moral or legal supremacy; the right to command or give an ultimate decision. While the church has spiritual authority vested in spiritual leaders, the state has civil or political authority vested in political leaders.
Mathematically, the LCM, or in sets concept, the intersecting elements between the two parties (church and the state) are authority and the subjects of that authority- the people.
The distinction is in the mode of administration. While the church administers authority through the Bible as the yardstick, the state does it through the Constitution for justice / equity. If God is the supreme moral giver, the best constitution should be an excerpt of the Holy book-the Bible.
Human beings are not only physical but also spiritual beings; from President to a common shamba boy. All human beings have spiritual affiliations with a vacuum that can only be filled by the creator. Whether you have religious affiliations or not, the fact that you’re God’s handiwork (Eph. 2:10), you’re a spiritual being. Therefore, church ministry must be to all because all were created by God in His image (Gen.1:26-27).
The Lord Jesus’ growth as a child and his early ministry demonstrates a lot for the church to have all aspects of life attended to. Physical, personal, economic and social (Mt. 25:35-40) very similar to what the state should offer to her citizens.
Precisely the duties of the church to community can be deduced from Christ’s ministry envisioned in Luke’s Gospel. “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.†(Lk. 2:52) reminds us of four aspects of life that the church has focus on;
Growth in wisdom: Is the mental or cognitive development. Through teaching, we transform the society.
Teaching creates change and brings new mind set. Knowledge is got from learning and this the reason the Bible says people are lost due to lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6). Consider the first schools in this country built by the missionaries to reach the population and deal with ignorance levels. As they teach obedience to God’s law, corrupt governance should also be rebuked as long as they don’t promote justice, the rule of law and fear of God.
Growth in Stature: Is the physical aspect of life, the figure, physique or the buildup of the body. Christ as our model fed people (Lk. 9:15), healed the sick (John 5:58) for their welfare. A church that doesn’t meet the people’s needs forfeits her call. Unhealth bodies are a hazard to development. Churches not only do exorcism but also have to set up health facilities to medically treat sickness. Early missionaries pioneered it.
Growth in favor with God: Is the vertical relationship with the creator God, which is spiritual growth. As vehicles are taken to the garage to be fixed, spiritual fix is done in Churchâ€" all have sinned (Rom. 3:23) and are welcome to Church. Preaching to soul gives hope for destiny. Even enemies can sit in one church under one sermon, reconciled, with hope to meet the creator, supreme judge.
Growth in favor with men: highlights the horizontal relationship of man with man which is social life or responsibility. There is no prison in church for errant believers yet transformation affects the entire society. The Church guides and counsels for moral uprightness.
Christ fulfilled the citizenry responsibility by giving taxes to the authority. Believers are not canned in order to give tithes, offertories and other social responsibilities. The church takes the upper hand in teaching moral uprightness in society of decadence. Today the highest percentage of learning institutions in Uganda are not state run but church founded.
The church is a key stakeholder in the transformation of the society and a strong partner in development. Where the services of the church are halted, then ignorance covers population, moral decadence rises, poverty strikes, families break and hell opens wider.
In normal setting, the church is a one stop Centre for transformation and a public service Centre: many people have learned to behave in public, speak, and even had their talents kick started in church. Ask most singers where their talents began from if not in the churches.
It is not a sin for a spiritual leader to guide believers on who to vote since the purpose is to serve and transform the society, for new world view, obedience to state and above all to God. Old Testament kings enquired of God through priests and prophets and the latter would warn the former of impending judgment from God. (I Chronicles 10:14). Heed Church counsel. The church isn’t limited to preaching!
mumbej@yahoo.com
The author is a Theologian, Educator and Pastor
In H1, Huawei generated CNY320.4 billion in revenue, with its net profit margin reaching 9.8%.
“We’ve set our strategic goals for the next five years,†said Eric Xu, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman. “Our aim is to survive, and to do so sustainably. We’ll do this by creating practical value for our customers and partners. Despite a decline in revenue from our consumer business caused by external factors, we are confident that our carrier and enterprise businesses will continue to grow steadily.â€
Xu continued, “These have been challenging times, and all of our employees have been pushing forward with extraordinary determination and strength. I want to thank every single member of the Huawei team for their incredible effort. Going forward, we continue to believe deeply in the power of digital technology to provide fresh solutions to the problems the world is facing right now. We will keep on innovating to help build a low-carbon, intelligent world.â€
The financial data disclosed here are unaudited figures compiled in compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards; exchange rate at the end of June 2021: US$1 = CNY6.4576 (source: external agencies)
About Huawei
Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have more than 197,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world.
Our vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will drive ubiquitous connectivity and promote equal access to networks; bring cloud and artificial intelligence to all four corners of the earth to provide superior computing power where you need it, when you need it; build digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; redefine user experience with AI, making it more personalized for people in all aspects of their life, whether they’re at home, in the office, or on the go. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on:
http://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei
http://www.twitter.com/Huawei
http://www.facebook.com/Huawei
http://www.youtube.com/Huawei
]]>Museveni has used corruption, state security apparatus to cling to power-Gen Mugisha Muntuhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210809/118905/museveni-has-used-corruption-state-security-apparatus-to-cling-to-power-gen-mugisha-muntu.html Mon, 09 Aug 2021 10:31:33 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118905Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) leader Gen Mugisha Muntu has claimed that corruption is one of the tools President Yoweri Museveni is using to cling onto power.Delivering his speech during the Alliance for Campaign Finance Monitoring (ACFIM) webinar conference last week, Gen Muntu said that the present regime under the stewardship of the Gen Museveni has used two tools; Corruption and state security apparatus to overstay in power.
“However good any individual is as far as I am concerned nobody is going to succeed in fighting corruption. Even the current Premier is going to fail like many others because that is the tool President Museveni is using to stay in Power, therefore to anybody hoping to win this war I can conclusively inform you that this is a dead war,†the former presidential candidate said.
“Gen Museveni’s government is surviving on using two main tools; one the use of state security apparatus, two the use of money to claim support. We can see this clearly how they use the money to buy people and compromise them.â€
Muntu added that the longer the regime stays in power the more it becomes expensive in terms of buying whoever comes out to oppose its evil leadership.
“It’s a conflict of interest to those who want to hang onto power and at the same time wanting to fight corruption because they will be conflicting. On one side they will need the money and if they need the money there is no way they are going to weed out those who are the source of the money because fighting corruption in this regime is like fighting the regime its self.â€
He also noted that the only way to solve such problem is for the figures behind the escalating virus of corruption to bow down and obey the rules of democracy with an aim of restructuring a new Uganda.
Gen Muntu’s statement comes at the time when the State House Anti-Corruption Unit recently launched an investigation on officials in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) over procurement and supply of substandard relief items to Kasese District.
This followed Prime Minister Robinah Nabanja’s rejection of an assortment of relief items meant for flood victims in Kasese District, saying they were low quality.
]]>Uganda Police: Don’t ask us where Lumbuye is because we don’t have him in custodyhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210809/118915/uganda-police-dont-ask-us-where-lumbuye-is-because-we-dont-have-him-in-custody.html Mon, 09 Aug 2021 09:34:46 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118915Uganda Police have revealed that Turkey-based Ugandan blogger Fred Lumbuye is not in their custody.While addressing the media on Monday, the force’s spokesperson Fred Enanga said that they however have 15 cases that they will bring against the controversial blogger once he is handed over to them.
“We don’t have Lumbuye but what we have are 15 case files against him. Don’t ask us if he is here or not because we don’t know but as soon as he is handed over to us we are ready, †Enanga said.
“When he is handed over to us, we shall come out with the full statement. Whether he is in the country or not, as police once he is handed over to us we shall process him with the 15 file cases we have on him,†he added.
The prepared charges he said, include among others spreading harmful propaganda and terrorism videos, inciting violence and other cyber crimes.
Lumbuye was allegedly arrested last Wednesday in Turkey.
Following the development, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem, confirmed to journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices in Kampala last Friday that the plane transporting Lumbuye was expected to land the following day at Entebbe International Airport before he is charged with promoting sectarianism and instigating violence.
However, despite the Minister’s confirmation about Lumbuye’s deportation, the blogger is yet to be seen anywhere in Uganda.
]]>ARTHUR D. MUSINGUZI: Uganda’s Startup Ecosystem has Potential for Growthhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/op-ed/20210809/118910/arthur-d-musinguzi-ugandas-startup-ecosystem-has-potential-for-growth.html Mon, 09 Aug 2021 09:08:39 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118910Ugandans are positively aggressive and have a determined nature for entrepreneurship. With the right investment and partnership opportunities I strongly believe Ugandans will be able to grow and scale their businesses.In fact I was very happy when I closely followed a promising program dubbed Next Innovation with Japan (NINJA) Accelerator Uganda meant to take high growth startups to the next level of business growth to attract investment worth US$0.5m that will be implemented by The Innovation Village, Hive Collab and Outbox launched on 6th August, 2021.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2019/2020 ranked Uganda one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world with 30% of Ugandans starting businesses annually. In the United States of America and Japan, that figure stands at 7% and 11%.
In 2020, the President of Uganda, H.E Yoweri Museveni took off time and listed fish farming, shoe making, vegetable oil extraction, and maize milling as the top areas youth should engage in to get themselves out of poverty. He added that government has played its role of creating a number of initiatives aimed at giving youth loans and startup capital to get them out of poverty, but most of them are lazy and want free things. So to transform this narrative, we the youth have to embrace risks and be part of the startup owners.
Knowing the struggles these startups face, we must collaborate with one another and work together with the government, private sector, investors and customers for whom we are innovating. Let’s put in place incentives for startups to thrive, facilitate one another to refine their business model, tackle the actual market challenges, put in place the right teams of expertise to grow cash flow and raise capital.
I believe With this, the sky will certainly not even be the limit towards the growth of Uganda’s ecosystem.
]]>Government should account for Lumbuye’s whereabouts since they claim to have him- NUP’s Joel Ssenyonyihttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210809/118900/government-should-account-for-lumbuyes-whereabouts-since-they-claim-to-have-him-nups-joel-ssenyonyi.html Mon, 09 Aug 2021 08:27:37 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118900National Unity Platform (NUP) Spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi has put government on spot to account for the whereabouts of controversial blogger Fred Lumbuye.Lumbuye was allegedly arrested last Wednesday in Turkey.
Following the development, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem, confirmed to journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices in Kampala last Friday that the plane transporting Lumbuye was expected to land the following day at Entebbe International Airport before he is charged with promoting sectarianism and instigating violence.
However, despite the Minister’s confirmation about Lumbuye’s deportation, the blogger is yet to be seen in Uganda.
Now Ssenyonyi says since Uganda government officials were aware of Lumbuye’s trip back to the East African country and said they would hold him for questioning on return, they should account for his whereabouts.
“Three days ago, Foreign Affairs State Minister Henry Okello Oryem at a press conference said that political activist Fred Lumbuye was on a flight to Uganda having been deported by Turkey, and that on arrival, Uganda police would hold him and produce him in court to answer certain charges which charges he didn’t mention. It’s been three days since Fred was expected in the country but he hasn’t surfaced anywhere. Now that Uganda government officials were aware of the trip and said they would hold him for questioning on return, they should account for his whereabouts,†Ssenyonyi who is also the Nakawa West legislator said in a Facebook post on Monday.
He also explained why NUP leaders and supporters have been speaking out loud demanding for Lumbuye’s freedom.
†Some people have wondered why our leaders and supporters have spoken out loudly about Lumbuye. As NUP, we’re duty bound to speak out whenever anyone’s rights are violated. We even demanded that the rights of Sipapa be respected when he was arrested and detained incommunicado for days, even when last year he fired bullets at the gate of NUP offices in Kamwokya and injured one of our guards.We shall not tire until the rights of all Ugandans are respected.â€
]]>Minisita Babalanda aweze okukwata abakozesa elinnya lye okufera abantu okubafunira emirimu mu offiisi ya Pulezidentihttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210809/118889/minisita-babalanda-aweze-okukwata-abakozesa-elinnya-lye-okufera-abantu-okubafunira-emirimu-mu-offiisi-ya-pulezidenti.html Mon, 09 Aug 2021 08:00:30 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118889MINISITA we nsonga z’obwaPulezidenti Milly Babirye Babalanda alidde mu ttama n’awera okufafagaana n’ekibinja kyabantu bagamba nti bano beefunyiridde okunyaga bannaUganda nga babasuubiza okubafunira emirimu mu offiisi y’obwaPulezidenti.Babalanda agamba nti kino kiddiridde ye kenyini okufuna obubaka obuyitirivu okuva mu bantu nga bamutegeeza nga bwe waliwo ekibinja kya bantu abeeyita abakola mu offiisi ye nga bano bagenda bajja ku banaabwe ensimbi mu lukujjukujju nga babalimba nti bagenda kubafunira emirimu emisava omuli obwa RDC ne milala.
Asuubira nti abagenda okwetoloolerako obunyazi buno mulimu abakunzi be kibiina kya NRM okwetoloola e Ggwanga, Bannabyabufuzi abaagwa mu kalulu akaggwa, Abakozi ba Gavumenti abawummula ne bannaby’abusuubuzi.
Bano abalabudde obutagwa mu katego k’ababbi mu kiseera kino baanoonya okukwata nga tebannanyaga nnyo.
Ono era ataddewo e nnamba za masimu ge eri oyo yenna alina kyamanyi ku muntu eyamusaba ensimbi wakati mu kumusuubiza ekifo kyonna mu offiisi ye 0772342782 ne 0754269719.
“Essimu ezo zonna zange era nze nekwatira teri mulala munkubire tulwanyise obuyaye obwagala okuyingira mu Offiisi y’omukulembeze we Ggwanga, kubanga teri mulimu gwe tugaba nga omuntu amaze kuwaayo nguzi tugoberera busobozi, era abo bonna bajjiddwako ensimbi mujje mumbuulire baani abazibajjako tubakwate bavunanibwe†Babalanda bwe yategezezza.
Era Minisita yatongozza e Nnamba ye ssimu 0800320320 etali yakusasulira eri oyo yenna eyetaaga obuyambi okuva mu offiisi ye naddala abalina kye baagala okwogerako naye ku nsonga z’okutuusa obuwereza obulungi mu bantu ba wansi.
]]>EXPOSED: Former MPs accused of asking for bribes from owners of Departed Asians propertieshttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210809/118886/exposed-former-mps-accused-of-asking-for-bribes-from-owners-of-departed-asians-properties.html Mon, 09 Aug 2021 07:57:03 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118886Former Members of Parliament on committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) are being accused by city landlords of witch-hunt in the ongoing row involving properties of Departed Asians.According to Eagle Online news website, the new MPs are finding it hard in implementing some of the resolutions passed by the former legislators as some have allegedly asked for money from current owners of the properties in order to be removed from the list of those they claim acquired buildings fraudulently.
The local news outlet says the current COSASE leadership is supposed to carry on from where their colleagues stopped but it is becoming hard to do so because the former legislators are a hindrance to any move.
COSASE is one of the four accountability committees of parliament mandated to examine the audited accounts by the auditor general detailing the appropriation of government funds to different commissions, authorities and enterprises.
COSASE instituted a sub-committee led by the committee vice chairman (former Makindye East MP) Ibrahim Kasozi. Kasozi’s sub-committee was supposed to investigate allegations that several properties of departed Asians had been repossessed despite their full compensation by the government. However, the owners of the properties protested the allegations saying they are the rightful owners as they have genuine documents.
The Kasozi sub-committee in their report indicated that some Asians have reclaimed properties that were fully compensated by the government, while other Asians claim that they weren’t paid.
However, allegations have surfaced indicating that the former COSASE sub-committee legislators that was headed by Kasozi has continued to interest themselves in the probe with allegations that they are using the report to extort money from the owners of the properties across the country.
Another entity that has been drawn into the allegations of extortion is the Departed Asian Property Custodian Board (DAPCB) that sources say is using their last chance in office to reclaim some of the cleared properties.
“These chaps are trying to claim what isn’t theirs and this can been seen from the speed at which they are claiming cleared properties. However, we are glad that we have a sane Attorney General this time who won’t allow fraudsters to torture genuine owners of the properties†said a source.
Recently the Solicitor General warned DAPCB Executive Secretary George Bizibu and Finance Minister Matia Kasaija not to interfere in matters regarding Asian properties.
Early this year, Parliament learnt that there had been fraud in the management of the properties of the Asians who were expelled from Uganda in 1972 by the late President Idi Amin.
In a report presented by Kasozi, it was discovered that there were irregularities in management, compensation and repossession of properties owned by the departed Asians.
The Asians, after their expulsion left behind property, which included businesses, stock and real estate. Some of the property was repossessed yet owners had been fully compensated by the government of Uganda.
The Committee established that in 1977, talks between the Uganda government and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees were held in Entebbe to discuss compensation of property left behind by departed Asians.
“In this meeting, it was agreed that land was not compensable under Ugandan law since it was owned by Ugandans. Buildings over 10 years were regarded as amortized and only buildings five years or newer were to be valued and compensated at the 1972 market value,†Kasozi said.
He added that it was therefore, established that part of the compensation to the departed Asians had been paid by the government in 1976 with shs13.4 million paid to the Indian government.
Kasozi noted that through the UNHCR, Uganda agreed to pay shs40.4 million as compensation to persons of undetermined nationality for assets left in Uganda. According to the Committee, for years, the board has had issues ranging from failure to effectively supervise the activities of the secretariat to outright corruption and negligence.
“Although Section 5 (1) of the Assets of Departed Asians Act mandates the board to sit at least once every month, the six ministers on the board are always too busy to meet and have not done so for 10 years,†the report stated in part.
The committee report added that some properties had ended up in the hands of unscrupulous individuals who had then transferred the same to bona-fide purchasers for value without notice.
“At compilation of the report, a total of 119 former Asian owners had been compensated to a tune shs1.765 billion,†the report adds.
Kasozi said that most fraud relating to expropriated properties was propagated through the powers of attorney with certain individuals being at the centre of such fraudulent dealings.
“People like Mohammed Alibhai went to countries like Canada where these Asians are, obtained generic powers of attorney, processed repossessions, fraudulently obtained certificates of repossession from the Board and went on to manage or even owned the properties in issue to the determent of the real owners who would never enjoy the benefit or repossession,†he said.
The Committee recommended among others that fraudulently acquired repossession certificates be cancelled and reverted to the government.
â€The perpetrators should be prosecuted and repossessions whose former owners did not physically return to manage the properties as required by law should be cancelled,†Kasozi added.
Theodore Ssekikubo (NRM, Lwemiyaga County) concurred with the report saying that the fraudsters must be arrested.
“The late Idi Amin paid for these properties fully. These fraudsters however forged the documents and took the properties.The Custodian Board has outlived its usefulness and those culpable should be charged,†Ssekikubo said.
Budadiri West MP, Nathan Mafabi backed that the Board should be dissolved.
“We should direct that the Board is closed, the people working in it are arrested and taken to Luzira Maximum Prison because they are stealing public property,†he stated.
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