News analysis Health Business

POA’s token of WHO lists snake bites Battle for Firms lose land in
appreciation amongst top 20 killers telecom market industrial parks

Issue No. 533 Aug 10 - 16, 2018 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Fresh storm at
Bank of Uganda
Mutebile, Kasekende fight
cited in Mobile Money tax saga
Finance summons Mutebile
Staff up in arms over mess in
hiring process

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Issue No. 533 Aug 10 - 16, 2018

News analysis Business Health Arts Motoring

Incumbents

MTN Airtel
Challengers

Africell UTL
Struggling

Smile Smart
Quitting
Vodafone

Cover story
Fresh storm at BoU

4 The Week
39 Comments
Mnangagwa in talks with
Chamisa after narrow win Funding Family Planning: Pallisa
district should be commended
9 The Last Word
Uganda’s incompetence paradox II:
How Uganda performs well in spite 36 Health
of corruption and incompetence and WHO lists Snake bites
what it teaches us amongst top 20 killers: In
Uganda, many antivenoms
do not work, all snakebite
14 Analysis first aid information is wrong
Search for Abiriga successor takes shape:
Politics of tribe and religion in Arua
Municipality by-election
39 Arts & Culture
29 Business
Sustainable careers and decent
Battle for telecom market: Bigger firms livelihoods for artists
choke smaller and new telcos

STRATEGY & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Andrew M. Mwenda WRITERS:Ronald Musoke, Flavia Nassaka, Ian Katusiime,
MANAGING EDITOR: Joseph Were Agnes Nantaba, Julius Businge.
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BUSINESS EDITOR: Isaac Khisa CARTOONIST: Harriet Jamwa
PHOTOGRAPHER: Jimmy Siya

PUBLISHER: Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
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2 Aug 10 - 16, 2018

 Offline

Regional Heads of
State (L-R) President
Uhuru Kenyatta, of
Kenya, President
Museveni of Uganda
and President
Omar al-Bashir of
Sudan witnessing
the South Sudan
Peace agreement “We may disagree politically but the
signing ceremony association we have is not affected. This is
in Khartoum on what I call maturity in leadership.”Amama
August 5.
Mbabazi, former Prime Minister during the
giveaway ceremony of his niece

Anslem Wandega, the

country director for Build
Africa talking to journalists
at Grand Imperial Hotel on
August 2 after releasing a
report titled: Improving UPE
through social accountability
approaches –experiences “When we begin to break the
from Build Africa
Uganda Model. He urged
rules of the game, abrogating the
government to strengthen constitution even before we get
monitoring of teachers as into power, then there is a lot to
a measure of preventing be desired.”Winnie Kiiza, Leader of
teacher’s absenteeism in
schools.  INDEPENDENT/ Opposition in Parliament
JIMMY SIYA

President Museveni,(M)
with Ashanti King,
Asantehene Otumfou Nana
Osei Tutu II from Ghana,
the Kabaka of Buganda
Ronald Muwenda Mutebi
at State House, Entebbe
on August 1. Asantehene
visited Uganda in honor “I hope that this time, the
of the 25th coronation respective parties in South
anniversary of the Sudan are serious and they do
Kabaka.
not use the ceasefire as tactical
instruments of preparing for
war”President Museveni on the new
peace deal for South Sudan

Community health

23 900
Traffic commanders who
were reshuffled by the
Inspector General of
Police Okoth Ochola
15000
The first batch of
CCTV cameras to extension workers
be used for security the government is
in Kampala going to recruit
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 3
week
Museveni wins global peace award
President Yoweri Kaguta
Museveni was on Aug.02
awarded a Global Peace
Prize for his work in
ensuring the return of
peace in countries of the
great lakes region. Handing
him the award during a
conference held at Speke
Resort in Munyonyo, the
President of the Global
Peace Foundation, Dr.
Moon Hyun Jin thanked
the President for taking
part in the reconciliation
talks in the neighboring
South Sudan and also the
contribution he continues
President Museveni with the award
to make in Somalia where
the army has been deployed
under the peace keeping
mission – AMISOM.
Museveni addressed
delegates on the drivers of
conflict in Africa and the
World where he pointed
out that greed for natural
resources like minerals and
oil as the leading cause of
war. He also said Africa
has been a target by greedy
elements because of its
approach of sitting back
other than defending what
belongs to them.
The sixth Global Peace
Leadership Conference
(GPLC) held under
the theme, “Moral and
Innovative Leadership,
New Models for Sustainable
Peace and Development”
was aimed at promoting
innovative values-based
approach to peace building.

Mnangagwa in talks with Chamisa after narrow win Rwabogo’s tormentor

The Zimbabwe the law to release the
Isiko released
Electoral results, the opposition Brain Isiko, Kabarole woman MP Sylivia
Commission was caused about Rwabogo’s tormentor was released from
announced on why presidential prison on Aug.03 after court granted him
Aug.03 that results were counted bail. He had been in prison for 28 days
Emmerson first but were being after court him of cyber harassment and
Mnangagwa, Robert released last after the offensive communication.
Mugabe’s former parliamentary ones. Justice Jane Francis Abodo ordered him
confidant who then However, to pay cash Shs500, 000 and Shs5million
ousted him, had Mnangagwa told non cash for his two sureties. He was then
won the presidential Emmerson Mnangagwa Nelson Chamisa journalists that he asked to report to the Deputy Registrar of
race by a slim was in constant the High court every third Friday of the
margin of 50.8% of the he wrote. communication with month starting from August 17, 2018 and
vote. Immediately after Supporters of his Chamisa to forge away to never contact MP Rwabwogo.
the announcement came close competitor Nelson forward for the return Isiko a student of YMCA was arrested
through, Mnangagwa Chamisa of the Movement of peace especially after the MP run to court complaining of
took to his twitter to for Democratic Change in the capital Harare the 25 year old sexually harassing her and
thank his voters and also party had started where some protesting causing her emotional torture by sending
call for calm. “Though we protesting the results on people were shot at by her endless love messages and videos on
may have been divided at the streets citing electoral soldiers, something that social media. His bail comes after interven-
the polls, we are united fraud and the fact that has been condemned by tion of several organizations and individu-
in our dreams. This is a the commission had human rights activists als who left his two years sentence was too
harsh. But, according to court, the bail was
new beginning. Let us delayed to announce the as one of the acts that
granted on grounds that he is a first offend-
join hands, in peace, unity results. Even though the characterized the fallen
er and presented substantial sureties.
& love, & together build commission had up to government of Robert
a new Zimbabwe for all”, five days according to Mugabe.

*terms and conditions apply

4 Aug 10 - 16, 2018


Dealers petition speaker over new regulations on drug shops
Drug shop owners in the
country have petitioned the
Speaker of Parliament Rebecca
Kadaga to prevail over National
Drug Authority (NDA) in
regard to the planned phasing
out of drug shops. Under their
umbrella National Drug Shop
Advocacy Initiative-NDSAI, the
owners who convened meeting
on Aug.02 unanimously opposed
the recently issued guidelines by
NDA on streamlining regulation
of drug shops.
According to the guidelines
issued last month, all drug shops
US spent Shs3.6trillion on Uganda in 2017-report
A report released on Aug.02
at the US embassy shows
that the biggest bunch of US
funding to Uganda goes to
health. Dubbed, report to the
Ugandan people, it shows
of the Shs3.6trillion that they
spent on Uganda, Shs1.9trillion
went to health, Shs1.3trillion to
security, sh215.7b to promote a
prosperous Uganda, sh48.8b to
enhance a just and democratic
Uganda and sh72.5b to promote
an inclusive, educated and
empowered Uganda. “We
are required to comply with
regulation nine of the National
Drug Policy and Authority
(Licensing) Regulations, Statuary
instrument No. 35 of 2014, with
effect from January 1, 2019. The
regulation directs that any drug
shop located in a distance not
less than 1.5Kms from a phar-
macy shall be required to either
apply for a license to operate a
pharmacy – meaning they have
fulfill all requirements for oper-
ating a pharmacy or relocate the
business to an underserved loca-
tion. In their petition, the drug
produced this book to once
again explain to Ugandans
what the U.S. government does
in Uganda, why we do it, and
how it improves the lives of
Ugandan” said Ambassador
Deborah Malac at the launch
noting that the report also
contains stories of people whose
lives have been improved by
the US programmes. According
to the report, more than 993,000
people living with HIV were
provided with Anti-Retroviral
(ARV) drugs through the
shop owners state that through
the national drug policy, drug
shops and pharmacies were both
designed to serve Ugandans and
eliminating one will be oppress-
ing none other than the locals.
Denis Ssenyonjo, the NDSAI
chairperson, says the regulations
are intended to see them out of
business. He explains that drug
shops are easily accessed and the
cost of drugs is affordable.
Currently, there are over 9,000
licensed drug shops and 1398
licensed pharmacies across the
country.
President’s Emergency Plan
for AIDs Relief (PEPFAR)
programme where up to 60%
of the people have achieved
viral suppression, a thing that
shows they have taken their
drugs sustainably and have
now reduced the chances of
transmission by 96%. However,
Malac said Uganda faces some
major challenges that will
continue for the foreseeable
future. “Uganda’s people and
government will chart their
own destiny”, she said.
Week
Nambooze asks for
more time to rest
after treatment
On a wheel chair,
Mukono municipality
legislator Betty Nambooze
Bakireke was wheeled
out of Entebbe airport
on Aug.04. She had just
returned from a month
long treatment at India’s
Manipal hospital.
Nambooze who could
hardly walk without
support told journalists
that she had been given
strict recommendation to
have enough rest if she is to
recover fully.
The MP who has been
suffering back problems
which were worsened when
she was arrested to help
in investigations into the
death of Arua Municipality
legislator Ibrahim Abiriga
returned when they
had just appointed her
representative of Uganda
to the Common Wealth
Parliamentary Association
in a reshuffle of opposition
leadership in parliament.

Uganda on notice after another Ebola outbreak in Congo

An Aug.01 announcement by the
government of Democratic Republic of
Congo that four people had tested positive
for the Ebola Viral hemorrhagic fever has
Uganda on guard. Following this outbreak,
Health Minister in charge of General Duties
Sarah Opendi said they are refreshing the
46 health workers at the national isolation
center and the 55 members of the national
rapid response team on how to manage
cases. She warned people living along the
border to beware and immediately report
any suspected cases as the province of
North Kivu where the cases have been
detected is along the border and is among
the most populated with up to eight million
people. So far, nine suspected ebola patients
have been isolated at a facility in Beni
territory, North Kivu province.
Since the beginning of the epidemic
early this year, 26 cases have been reported
including 4 confirmed and 20 community
deaths. This however is happening when
the country is experiencing a measles and
cholera outbreak, where some people have
been reported to have spread it – cholera to
Uganda especially in the refugee camps.

Aug 10 - 16, 2018 5

Week
Chaos marred
Bryan White’s anti-
poverty fund launch
On Aug.03, the police used
teargas and live bullets to dis-
perse a group of youths who had
gathered at Arua Hill Grounds
in west Nile for the launch of
an anti- poverty fund after they
turned rowdy.
The group that had been
invited by city socialite Brian
Kirumira commonly known as
Bryan White for the event started
hurling insults and stones at each
other at the time of money dis-
tribution as they demanded that
each one of them gets an equal
share. Amidst the chaos, Bryan
White who had planned for a one
week tour in Arua was whisked
away to an unknown destination.
Though Bryan White has been
popularly known for helping
musicians with money, he in 2016
established a foundation funding
activities in the field of agricul-
ture, education and health. For
the projects in Arua, the founda-
tion announced they would fund
activities to the tunes of Shs7bil-
lion that will include extending
interest free loans to organized
youth and women groups.
6 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
South Sudan foes sign final power-sharing deal
South Sudanese
arch-foes signed a final
power-sharing deal
Sunday as President
Salva Kiir called for
unity in a country torn
by a civil war that has
killed tens of thousands
of people.
Kiir and his bitter
rival Riek Machar were Riek Machar
in neighbouring Sudan
to sign the deal, under which
the rebel leader is set to return
to a unity government as the
first of five vice presidents,
an AFP correspondent at the
signing ceremony said. The
deal, which paves the way to
a final peace accord aimed at
ending the war in the world’s
youngest country, was signed
in the presence of Sudanese
President Omar al-Bashir and
his counterparts from Kenya,
Uganda and Djibouti, along
Ugandan scoops region’s top job to fight gender based violence
The International Confer-
ence on the Great Lakes
Region (ICGLR) has appoint-
ed Nathan Mwesigye Byamu-
kama as the Regional Direc-
tor for the Kampala-based
Regional Training Facility on
Prevention and Suppression
of Sexual and Gender Based
Violence in the Great Lakes
Region. His appointment
was directed by Ministers of
Foreign Affairs from the 12
Member states of ICGLR.
The Executive Secretary
of ICGLR, Amb. Zachary
Muburi-Muita will formally
appoint Byamukama, who
Salva Kiir
with foreign diplomats.
Once a final peace deal
is signed, the foes will have
three months to form a
transitional government
which will then hold power
for three years. The talks
come as part of a regional
push aimed at achieving
peace in South Sudan, which
plunged into a devastating
conflict just two years after its
independence from Sudan.
“The agreement we have
has been acting in that posi-
tion for more than four
years, as Regional Direc-
tor. The member states of
ICGLR are Angola, Burundi,
CAR, DRC, Republic of
Congo, Kenya, Rwanda,
South Sudan, Sudan, Tan-
zania, Uganda and Zambia.
The Ugandan delegation
was headed by Philemon
Mateke, the Minister of State
for Regional Cooperation
representing Minister Sam
Kutesa, Minister of Foreign
affairs. The mandate of the
ICGLR-RTF is to train and
sensitize judicial officers,
just signed today must map
the end of conflict and war
in our country,” Kiir said
in a speech in English after
signing the deal.
“We should … rededicate
ourselves to unite our people
and work for peaceful transfer
of power through the ballot
boxes rather than through
bullets.”
Machar urged the
regional east African bloc
Intergovernmental Authority
on Development (IGAD),
which is pushing the latest
peace talks, to ensure that the
deal is implemented.
“I would urge … IGAD
to focus after this on the
implementation of the
agreement,” Machar said
in his address. “Somebody
said that the devil
sometimes is embedded in
the implementation.” AFP.
social workers, medical offi-
cers, police units and all those
individuals handling cases of
sexual violence in the Great
Lakes Region. It is established
in line with ICGLR Protocol
on Prevention and suppres-
sion of Sexual and Gender
based Violence against
Women and Children in the
Great Lakes Region (2006)
and the Kampala Declaration
on Sexual Violence of 2011
which passed a decision for
Uganda to host the ICGLR-
RTFand the Center has been
in existence since 2014.
Humour Did you know?

Did you know an egg

contains all vitamins
except vitamin C?
Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe’s ruling party ZANU-PF was This is one of the many
declared winner of the first post-Robert Mugabe elections
questions we usually
ask ourselves every
day. It is true that eggs
have a high cholesterol
content that is com-
pared with other foods,
but not all the choles-
terol we eat affects the
levels of cholesterol in
our blood.
What really increases
the cholesterol in the
blood is the consump-
tion of saturated fats,
The Sheema North MP Elioda Tumwesigye is also the
Member of Parliament–elect for Sheema Municipality.
and this type of fats
is found mostly in the
masses used in confec-
tionery such as marga-
rines or hydrogenated
vegetable oils.
Another thing to consid-
er is that, each person
processes cholesterol
differently. People with
genetic disorders, such
as familial hypercho-
lesterolemia or a type
of gene called ApoE4,
The Age Limit battle has gone to the Supreme Court with six opposition
should minimize or
members of parliament listing 11 grounds to support their appeal. avoid eggs altogether.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 7
South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa’s son, Andile, and his
Ugandan fiancée, Bridget Birungi,
recieve a gift from President
Yoweri Museveni at their traditional
marriage ceremony known as
“Kuhingira” on Aug.4 in Kampala.

Uganda’s incompetence paradox II
By Andrew M. Mwenda
How Uganda performs well in spite of corruption
and incompetence and what it teaches us
I
n 2013 I wrote an article with exactly
this headline, the reason this is named
“II". It was about how the state in
Uganda exhibits gross corruption and
incompetence and yet in many aspects the
country performs well. What explains this?
I want to suggest that the state in Uganda
has been successful in large part because
it divested itself of the responsibility to do
many things leaving individuals in our so-
ciety the freedom to pursue their talents in
the market.
I argued in this column last week that the
main factor behind economically successful
countries is the rate of growth in the value
of their exports relative to the rate of growth
in the cost of her imports – or what econo-
mists call “terms of trade”. Uganda still has
a huge trade deficit. However, the deficit
has been declining in relative terms even
though the absolute figure has grown over
the years.
In 1991, Uganda exported goods worth
$184m. In 2017, it was $3.35 billion i.e. it had
grown 18 fold at an annual average rate of
65%, an impressive performance by historic
standards. Meanwhile, in 1991 Uganda’s
import bill was $522m. In 2017 it was $5
billion. So our imports have grown 10 fold
at an annual average rate 33%. Uganda’s
export earnings have grown twice as fast
as her import bill. Until I researched this, I
thought the reverse was the case.
To appreciate Uganda’s success we need
to remember that the biggest challenge
poor countries have historically faced is
reliance on a few products for a huge share
of their export earnings. Thus, whenever
there was a sudden fall in the price of this
single commodity, the country’s economy
would buckle. In 2015, this is exactly what
happened to Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial
Guinea and Chad, which depend on oil
for a huge share of their export earnings
(as Zambia does on copper): international
prices of oil and copper fell causing huge
revenue losses.
I used to think, on the basis of a large
body of development economics litera-
ture, that the only effective way a country
can successfully diversity her exports, is
through manufacturing. Over the last 25
years, Uganda has remained a producer
and exporter of unprocessed products.
However, in spite of this, it has successfully
The Last Word
diversified her exports across a large basket
of goods.
For example, in 1990 coffee was the
leading foreign exchange earner and con-
tributed 80.3% of total export receipts.
Today coffee is still the leading foreign
exchange earner but in 2017 it contributed
only 15% of total export receipts, followed
by gold at 13%. None of the other export
commodities contributes more than 4%
of our export revenue. This means that
the prices of individual commodities in
the basket of our exports can fall without
inflicting any significant harm on our
overall export earnings.
This export performance is most manifest
in Uganda’s trade with her neighbors. In
1995, Uganda exported goods worth $16m
to Kenya and imported goods worth $280m
from there. In 2016, this figure was $483m
to $485m. In twenty years, Uganda has
closed her trade deficit with Kenya that was
18 times larger. In 1996, Uganda exported
$38m to DRC, $24m to Rwanda, $4.5m to
Tanzania and $23.3m to Sudan. Then things
went bad. By 2003, Uganda’s exports to
Kenya had grown to $78m, for Tanzania
stagnated at $5m, while they declined for
Rwanda to $20m, DRC to $12m and Sudan
to $13m.
I do not recall government of Uganda
doing anything to reverse this trend. How-
ever, in 2016, Uganda exported goods
worth $400m to DRC, $226m to Rwanda
(down from $270m in 2014), $112m to Tan-
zania, $281m to South Sudan (down from
$400m in 2014). In 2016, Uganda imported
goods worth $72m from Tanzania, $22m
from DRC, $12.6m from Rwanda and
$157,000 from South Sudan.
Thus, Uganda has cut her trade deficit
with Kenya to a miniscule $2m and enjoys
a trade surplus with the rest of her neigh-
bors. Actually in real terms (after adjusting
to inflation), Kenya has grown her exports
to Uganda by only 4% in 23 years, while
Uganda has grown hers to Kenya by 1,800%
over the same period.
Many Ugandan elites believe Uganda is
grossly mismanaged! I share this sentiment.
But facts like these only show that our senti-
ments are wrong. So why are Ugandans
angry with a government that outperforms
her peers? Some of my friends argue that
Ugandans are frustrated because they
Opinion
are not informed. They claim that this is
because government and President Yoweri
Museveni make no effort to publicize their
achievements. I am inclined to believe that
this is a small part of a bigger story.
I meet many Uganda government officials
and share these success stories with them.
However, hardly anyone feels proud of
them including officials of the ministry of
trade who should claim the credit. Often
they express disbelief and move on. Why is
this the case?
I think the answer lies in how Uganda has
achieved its export performance. Govern-
ment liberalized trade and for the most part
did very little else. And this may be a good
thing – to do nothing. Where a particular
government regulation obstructs them,
businesspeople just bribe their way out of
it. So officials in government are right not to
be elated by Uganda’s export performance
because they have done nothing to facilitate
it. Ugandans are frustrated perhaps because
they do not see their government doing
much to promote trade. However, they are
wrong to think such handoff approach is a
wrong policy. It is a winner.
There is an even bigger argument to make
regarding Uganda’s attitude towards her
international trade. For example, Kampala
has recently developed a frosty relationship
with Kigali over issues we should devote
our best diplomatic efforts to solve. Why?
Rwanda is the 4th largest destination for our
exports and we enjoy a trade surplus with
her worth $212m. It is, therefore, in our
interests to consistently court Kigali as any
businessman would his good customer.
Yet I often meet Ugandan officials who
argue that Rwanda should be fought or
ignored, an attitude that is destructive
to our national interest. It should be the
policy of Kampala to ensure Kigali never
turns her gaze towards Tanzania and/or
elsewhere for her imports because that
would hurt our country. I suspect we do
not value trade with Rwanda because our
exports to it have not grown out of our
hard work whose benefits we would be
careful not to undermine.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 9
cover story

Fresh storm at BoU

Mutebile, Kasekende fight
cited in Mobile Money tax saga
Finance summons Mutebile
Staff up in arms over mess in
hiring process

BOU POWER STRUCTURE

GOVERNOR DEPUTY GOVERNOR

Executive Executive Executive Executive Executive Bank

Director Executive Personal
Research & Director Assistant to Director Director Director Director Secretary
Supervision Governor IT Administration Finance Operations
Policy

Director Director Economic

Director Director Chief Director Director
Economic Commercial Advisor to Operations & Human Accountant Banking Legal
Research Banking Governor Infrastructure Resource Affairs

Director Director Non- Director Director Director Director National Director

Petroleum Director
Statistics Bank Financial Business Administrative Payment Currency
Communications
Institutions Investment Fund Systems
Automation Services

Director Director Director

Financial Procurement and Director Financial Director Board
Stability Disposal Security Markets Affairs

10 Aug 10 - 16, 2018


O
By Haggai Matsiko
n Aug.3, at exactly
8:45am, Central Bank
Governor, Emmanuel
Tumusiime Mutebile
arrived at the Finance
Ministry, where he had
been summoned for a meeting at exactly
9:00am.
Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija, had
asked him to come and explain why his
team had criticized the mobile money
tax on Aug.1 while appearing before
parliament’s finance committee.
Bank of Uganda’s Dr. Charles Abuka,
the Director, Statistics Department,
had told the parliamentary committee
that the tax on mobile money was
“discriminative”, “unfair”, and a threat
to growth of financial inclusion.
Aomu Mackay, the Director National
Payments, Ivan Setimba, Deputy
Director, National Payments in charge
of financial inclusion, and Christine
Namanya, the deputy director research
escorted Abuka to parliament.
Abuka’s statements sparked outrage
in some quarters at BoU, the Finance
Ministry and State House. The comments
appeared a major slap in the face of
officials at Finance and President
Museveni who have intensively labored
to explain and get Ugandans to accept
the tax.
As part of the budget, the Finance
Ministry levied a one percent tax on the
value of mobile money transactions but
following intense public backlash, the
president directed that it be whittled
down to 0.5 percent. Telecom companies
and mobile money dealers have been
lobbying to have the tax scrapped or
reduced again. Instead of making a case
for government, Abuka appeared to bat
for the other side.
Enraged, President Museveni called
Mutebile expressing concerns about the
statements, sources at State House told
The Independent. The following day,
Kasaija summoned Mutebile. Mutebile
was also furious. He had already ordered
Abuka to explain his statements at
parliament. Later, the Governor’s office
informed the officials that they had been
summoned by Finance because of the
remarks they had made.
While the governor arrived at Finance
15 minutes to 9:00 am, Abuka and his
team arrived late—several minutes past
9:00 am, sources at the Finance Ministry
told The Independent.
State Minister for Planning, David
Bahati chaired the meeting, which took
place in the Minister’s Boardroom.
At the meeting Bahati asked Mutebile
to explain why the BoU team while in
parliament had criticised the mobile
money tax yet they (BoU) had been part
of a string of meetings that had agreed
that the tax was critical for government
to fund the budget—the mobile money
tax was expected to raise some Shs. 115
billion.
Mutebile responded that his office
had communicated the BoU position to
the team that appeared in parliament,
however, he did not know where they
got the position they presented. He said
he had not cleared that position and that
it was not the BoU position.
Then the Governor turned to Dr.
Charles Abuka and asked him to explain
where the position he presented had
come from. Abuka also distanced himself
from his own position, according to
sources at the Finance Ministry, who are
knowledgeable about what transpired.
Abuka said that the media had
misquoted him. They only reported the
bit where he was discussing elements
that make a good tax and how the tax
affected financial inclusion. The media,
he said, just picked that.
cover story
However, Abuka later apologized. At
one point, the Secretary to the Treasury,
Keith Muhakanizi, who also attended the
meeting, came to Abuka’s rescue.
He said that when some of these
civil servants go to parliament, they get
intimidated and end up saying what they
are not supposed to say.
What Muhakanizi did not know is
that when Abuka made the remarks in
parliament, they kicked off an informal
investigation within the walls of BoU.
How could these officials present
a position contrary to that of the
Governor? Officials wondered. Phone
calls were made. Then word started
circulating that Abuka passed by the
Deputy Governor’s office before he
went to parliament. The conclusion was
that the position changed between the
Governor’s office and that of his deputy.
At the central bank, Abuka’s position
was seen as part of the simmering
institutional politics, which some say are
aimed at undermining the authority of
the Governor.
In the past, The Independent has
reported about a power struggle between
the Governor and his deputy. When The
Independent revealed this in a series
of articles early this year, the Governor
dismissed the reports.
The two officials have even had lunch
dates to try and bury the hatchet. But
tensions have remained mostly amongst
their proxies. The central bank is
divided into two camps—those loyal to
Kasekende and those loyal to Mutebile.
While Mutebile heads the bank, the
way his roles and those of his deputy
are structured give the latter immense
powers.
Most importantly, as Deputy
Governor, Kasekende is directly in
charge of Finance and Administration,
and by extension the day to day running
of the bank. This has given him a vantage
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 11
cover story
point and influence over
many senior officials at the
bank.
As Governor, Mutebile
mostly keeps tabs on Banking
supervision and Research.
He was nicknamed “policy”
because he deals mainly with
policy. Mutebile is also not
known to be a micro-manager
and as result had ceded many
of the day to day activities to
senior management headed
by Kasekende.
Indeed, the mobile money
crisis emerged at the time
Kasekende was dealing with
other crises under his docket.
For over a week, the bank’s
power system had been
facing challenges. Almost on
a daily basis, electricity was
going off—affecting bank
operations.
Several years ago, the bank
spent hundreds of millions
procuring two power lines,
from different directions. The
idea was to ensure that if one
of the lines was off, the other
one would be on to ensure
that bank systems kept
working.
However, it has been
discovered that the two lines,
in fact, were from the same
source—the reason they have
all been going off at the same
time.
Even the bank’s
Uninterruptible Power Source
(UPS), which is supposed to
provide emergency power in
case of an outage, is faulty.
Initially, officials thought
the power outage was a
usual problem. However,
suspicions of sabotage
emerged when they decided
to use the generator.
Those in charge left the
generator running. However,
insiders say, at about 6:00
am in the morning, the
generator was switched off
too, plunging the bank’s
system into darkness. This
was baffling.
Fuel was not the problem—
the bank has a steady reserve.
As a result, many felt that
someone had intentionally
switched it off.
With power off, critical
bank operations are hindered.
Systems that rely on the
Internet cannot function. The
bank has systems officials
12 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
use to communicate with
local and international banks.
Without power and the
Internet, these systems cannot
work. Even the email system
has been on and off.
To get to the bottom of the
crisis, Kasekende chaired
several fire-fighting meetings.
The situation was too bad
that in one of these meetings,
he said;
“Me and you our jobs
are on the line if this power
problem is not resolved,”
Kasekende said referring
to Solomon Oketcho, the
Executive Director for
Administration.
A source in intelligence
told The Independent that
State House heard already
learnt about these incidents
and was not amused.
BoU Ranks
Executive Director
Director
Deputy Director/
Assistant Director
Senior Banking officer
Principal Banking Officer
Senior Banking Officer I
Senior Banking Officer II
Banking Officer I
Banking Officer II
Part of the reason there
are suspicions of sabotage is
that since the Governor made
a staff reshuffle on Feb.7,
there has been a cold war
between two camps. Some
of those opposed to the new
team have been trying to
expose them as incompetent
or trying to sabotage them,
insiders say.
Meanwhile, the new
team, which is keen to be
confirmed, has been going
out of its way to expose the
rot left behind by the old
team. An official jokingly told
The Independent that the
bank had become some sort
of “theatre of war”.
Amidst all this, a new
controversial recruitment
process, has stirred another
storm.
Creating new problems
Isaac Bonny Teko, the
deputy legal counsel, in
a scathing memo to the
Chairperson Interviewing
Committee, Richard Mayebo,
raised concerns about the
interviews held on July 27 at
the level 7 Boardroom.
The interviews were meant
for the bank to hire a legal
clerk. In Teko’s view, while
all candidates had performed
excellently well, one of them
stood out. Yet one of the
interviewers gave him a very
poor and highly suspicious
score.
“I have conscientiously
decided to withdraw my
signature from the interview
Some of the staff
seconded to the DPF
Moses Apell Odongo, was a Senior
Principal Banking Officer but was
seconded as an Assistant Director
Moses Tamale, was a Senior
Banking Officer I but was seconded
as a Principal Banking Officer
James Mbanda Byamukama, was
a Senior Banking Officer but was
seconded as an Assistant Director
Justine Komukama, a Senior
Banking Officer II, was seconded
as a Principal Banking Officer
results for legal clerks,” Teko
wrote, “I don’t want to be
party to an overt injury to
an innocent person. We keep
creating new problems from
the debris of old problems.
We have postponed taking
courageous steps to restore
honour to our systems.”
It was not just Teko.
Another panelist refused
to append his signature
on what he described as
an “embarrassment”. As
The Independent went to
press, BoU’s internal audit
department was already
investigating the matter.
Yet this is not all. Another
controversy has emerged over
another recruitment process.
The bank was recruiting for
13 positions in the currency
department. In an October
20 memo, Jan Tibamwenda,
the Director HR advertised
the jobs internally. When
the names of the shortlisted
candidates emerged this July,
it nearly sparked a revolt.
Of the 23 shortlisted
candidates, 8 have been
security officers and over
four have been serving as
secretaries at the bank. The
minimum rank for these
positions was Banking
Officer II (BOII) and two
years of experience at the
bank. However, on Oct.24,
the Executive Director
Administration, Solomon
Oketcho, opened the process
to support staff, who had
the requisite qualifications,
under an arrangement called
conversion.
The bank’s policy for
conversion notes that support
staff can only be converted
to BOII. The advertised jobs
were at the level of Senior
Banking Officer II (SBOII),
which is a higher rank.
“How can you convert
a security guard/note
examiner/office attendant/
secretary to handle work they
have never handled before in
such a sensitive department?”
wondered one official at BoU.
“How can senior secretaries
compete with security guards
for the same jobs? Some of
the senior secretaries even
have second degrees.”
Questions also emerged
about why senior secretaries
earning over Shs. 10 million
were applying for jobs where
the salary is Shs. 5 million.
Concerns emerged that once
the secretaries got these jobs,
they would maintain their
salaries.
As a result, they would
be earning much more than
most of their bosses. Despite
concerns both Kasekende
and Oketcho approved the
process. Offended officials
petitioned the bank’s
internal audit office and the
Governor. By press time,
The Independent learnt that
the internal audit office had
punched holes in the process.
The Governor was also
expected to follow suit.
This particular recruitment

process exposes a major crisis at the Bank.
A former BoU official, who has since retired
from the bank told The Independent that
in the past, BoU always recruited 20 staff
every year, who would enter the bank
at the lowest rank. This was meant to
ensure that whoever the bank recruited
started from scratch and acquired requisite
experience as they went up in ranks. This
system always ensured that the bank
had a solid foundation of staff and also
offered continuity and a proper succession
mechanism. However, along the way, this
mechanism was abandoned and the chaos
started.
The chaos is not just with in the bank,
those in charge have spread it to the newly
established Deposit Protection Fund.
This is a fund to which commercial banks
contribute one percent of customers’
deposits. As its name suggests, the fund is
insurance for customer deposits should a
bank fold. As of June 2017, the fund was
valued at Shs. 460bn. While it has always
been part of BoU, recently, the bank’s
management took a decision to have it
managed independently. The fund is
still housed at BoU but now has separate
management headed by Julia Clare Olima
Oyet.
Because it is still new, BoU seconded its
staff to occupy some of the positions at the
fund before a formal process of recruiting
staff for it starts.
“This is to inform you that after
consultations with the respective Heads
of Department and Directorates as well
as the Deputy Governor, the following
staff members have been identified for
secondment to the DPF,” EDA Oketcho
wrote to Governor Mutebile on Jan. 13.
Following this, BoU has since seconded
some eleven staff to DPF. However, officials
flouted the laws guiding secondment.
According to the Bank’s policy on
secondment, only employees at the rank
of Principal Banking Officer (PBO) may be
available for secondment. However four
of those seconded were below the rank of
PBO. One particular one skipped two ranks
to become PBO.
All the others except one were promoted
contrary to the law. And as a result, their
salaries increased. Again, BoU policy notes
that during secondment, the salary and all
the benefits of the concerned staff shall
be frozen. But all the seconded staff have
benefited from salary increments.
This development has sparked intense
anger at the Bank amongst staff. To
make matters worse, because some the
beneficiaries lack the requisite skills for
the jobs they have been assigned, insiders
claim.
As already noted, this is not the
first time botched up recruitments are
happening at BoU.
Mid-last year, staff raised concerns
President Museveni
David Bahati
about several appointments and petitioned
Mutebile and the board of directors.
While the board, which had participated
in interviewing these appointees, ignored
the complaints, Mutebile paid attention,
ordered an investigation and on the
basis of its conclusions, cancelled the
appointments.
The appointments Mutebile cancelled
had been done and approved by Oketcho,
Kasekende and the board. Mutebile had
not been around. When he returned,
he found a tonne of complaints about
the entire process. The board had also
been petitioned but had ignored the
complaints. Mutebile was concerned that
he had not been consulted.
Owing to the controversy surrounding
the process, the governor declined to
ratify the appointment of assistant
directors. He instead directed that the
Internal Audit investigate the entire
process.
The Chief Internal Auditor, Deborah
Kabahweza, now Executive Director
Finance, concluded that the process had
issues and called for its termination.
But the Executive Director
Administration, Oketcho advised
Mutebile to ignore the recommendations,
go ahead and approve the appointments.
“We have to respect internal audit and
cover story
cancel,” Mutebile insisted.
Amidst all this, on July 28, Mutebile
wrote to the Oketcho asking him to
propose a rotation and transfter schedule
for staff from the rank of Assistant
Director to Executive Directors by Aug. 4.
“Please note that in future, the transfer
and rotation of staff in the category
mentioned above shall be approved by
me,” Mutebile wrote in a letter copied to
Kasekende.
Insiders say by this directive, the
governor had cut off Kasekende who
had been overseeing the rotations while
working with the EDA.
The EDA, Solomon Oketcho had not
replied by Aug.4. He replied on Aug.6. In
his reply, Oketcho proposed rotation and
transfer of staff for Assistant Director
and Director. He attached a list of only 22
staff. But even amongst these, Oketcho
proposed that many are not transferred
because either; they had been in the
position for “below five years”, there was
“no one to swap with”, “on-going Crane
Bank issues” or “newly transferred”.
“It is proposed that the transfer of
Executive Directors be stayed because of
the on-going Crane Bank legal issues,”
Oketcho wrote, “transfers affecting this
category might be misinterpreted.”
In effect, insiders say, Oketcho
proposed no changes at all. Some
insiders saw this as a move intended to
keep people in certain jobs.
However, between September 2017
and January this year, Mutebile came
up with a fresh list and in a Feb.7 memo
announced changes. Oketcho, Kasekende
and some board members opposed these
changes.
One of the board members even
petitioned the Inspector General of
Government to investigate the changes—
sparking a war of words between the
latter and the Governor.
To settle the crisis, President Museveni
in a March 26 meeting asked the IGG to
back off insisting that staff rotation was
an internal matter under the dominion of
the Governor.
The president also appointed a
committee led by Abdu Katuntu, the
former chairman for parliament’s
committee on Commissions, Statutory
Authorities and State Enterprises
(COSASE) to probe the matter.
The committee concluded its
investigations at the end of July. But
even as investigations went, one of the
board members, Judy Obitre-Gama, had
insisted that none of the new appointees
appears before the board to make any
presentations. The new controversies
show that the mess in BoU’s recruitment
process still needs serious attention.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 13
news analysis

Search for Abiriga

successor takes shape
Politics of tribe and religion in
Arua Municipality by-election
By Flavia Nassaka

H
ospital Road, in Arua town, is
a heavily canvassed street. The
residents of the street are used to
endless processions of supporters
walking on foot and others in trucks using
loud public address systems convincing
voters to vote for particular politicians.
In June, the street was the center of chaos
when the body of slain Arua Municipality
Member of Parliament Col. Ibrahim Abiriga
arrived from Kampala.
Now, as locals prepare to vote for his
replacement in parliament, in a by-election
scheduled for Aug.15, the street is witness-
ing another round of intense electioneering
action as 12 candidates compete for the slot.
Apart from four candidates standing as
flag bearers for political parties – NRM,
JEEMA, FDC and DP, the rest are Inde-
pendents. FDC has two strong candidates
– Bruce Mudhafir Musema the flag bearer
who came second in the 2016 race and
former Terego County MP Kasiano Wadri,
who lost his seat in 2016. There are fears
this might divide the opposition vote come
Wednesday.
However, for the acting chairman of the
FDC Electoral Commission, Hajji Abdul
Hakim Moli, this is ‘a minor issue’ in the
politics of Arua. What shapes politics here,
Moli says, are always tribe and religion
and recently the politics of the elite and the
illiterates.
“Most of the candidates have set their
campaign basing on tribe”, he said. For
instance, he says that when Kasiano arrived
here, other than coming to the party, he
called a meeting of Terego leaders across
the political divide. Apparently, the Terego
have some good population in the munici-
pality.
Other candidates are following the same
trend.
When The Independent asked Musema
about his plan for victory, he was quick
to mention that he has already won the
race since he is a son of the land. “I am an
Aringa. I have so many supporters here.
These others come from the neighboring
constituencies, Koboko, Terego,” Musema
said referring to the NRM candidate Nusra
Tiperu and Kasiano, his biggest competi-
A campaign procession along hospital road in Arua Town   INDEPENDENT/flavia nassaka
tors.

14 Aug 10 - 16, 2018


When The Independent asked Indepen-
dent candidate Robert Ejuku and Tiperu
the same question, the response was quite
similar. “We cannot let other people come
here and tell us what is good for us”, Ejuku
said.
“I am campaigning among my people. I
am an Aringa. My family has lived here for
over 30 years,” Tiperu said.
The Aringa tribe is the majority in the
municipality and most of them are Mus-
lim. Observers say the same reasons partly
explain Abiriga’s win in 2016 as voters
combined this with his generosity and the
reputation he created while still Resident
District Commissioner (RDC).
Moli who is also Abiriga’s relative said
the deceased was a unique politician who
garnered votes from across the political
divide because during his time as RDC, he
helped every one irrespective of their politi-
cal affiliations and religion.
According to him, even as many espe-
cially the political elite despised him as a
joker, he became West Nile’s most influen-
tial politician belonging to the NRM party.
Before him, Arua Municipality was largely
an opposition stronghold with the likes of
imprisoned FDC strongman Hussein Akbar
Godi representing the constituency in par-
liament. Even at the level of RDC, Abiriga
scored highly. He was the longest serving
having attained office in 2007. Those who
came before him only lasted one or two
years before being frustrated or kicked out.
People knowledgeable about Arua poli-
tics say it would be a blunder for Tiperu to
bank on Abiriga’s legacy as the NRM flag
bearer as one of her strategies to win this
vote. Mustafa Agotre, a 54-year old sup-
porter of Musema, who does petty business
along Hospital Road, told The Independent
that in this poll, there is nothing like a sym-
pathy vote because the two individuals
– Tiperu and the late Abiriga are the exact
opposite.
He voted for Abiriga in 2016.
“Abiriga treated us as people. He was a
practicing Muslim and was our own. He
understood us,” Agotre said.
Like Agotre, a lot of people in this munic-
ipality are engaged in petty trade. Analysts
say the voters of Arua are divided into two
categories – the affluent and the low-end
illiterates, the likes of Agotre.
Wadri Sam Nyakua, the district’s LC5
chairperson agrees. He says understand-
ing and strategizing on which side to focus
on as a candidate will earn you victory or
make you lose the election. Already he says
the NRM, which he belongs to, is winning
on this front. His candidate is focusing on
improving people’s livelihoods just as has
been the focus of the previous candidates.
Abiriga is said to have introduced this
strategy into the politics of Arua, which is
now seen to be hitting the local political
elite hard.
To win over this group, Tiperu started
news analysis
with visiting Abiriga’s widow at their home
in Anyafiyo and then started assuring sup-
porters at rallies that she would ensure that
government investigates their darling’s
assassination until they find the criminals.
This, however, seems to have not wowed
many.
After her visit, Moli said, the family held
a meeting and resolved that they will not
involve themselves fully in this election in
as far as campaigning for a particular candi-
date is concerned.
“The death was too painful. When
Tiperu came home, people were not happy.
We have even talked to the widow not to
involve herself,” Moli said, “According to
Sharia, she has to be away from the public
for four months and ten days. It was wrong
for her to speak and we have advised her
not to do that again”.
But, Tiperu is still counting on the Abiriga
vote.
When we spoke on Aug.02, she said one
of her biggest tasks when she gets to parlia-
ment is ensuring that the women Abiriga
had mobilized into groups to do projects for
economic development keep having access
to credit. She spoke of many other unfin-
ished businesses of her slain colleague that
she will finish once voted including push-
ing for the district to be connected on the
national electricity grid. Currently, they get
power from a small dam in Zombo district
that is not reliable.
Other candidates are also campaigning
on the same.
Musema, for instance, told the Independent
that Abiriga had lobbied for power to the
extent that president Museveni went there
and officiated at a false launch. He said he
now wants to carry on from where Abiriga
stopped and ensure that the municipality
gets consistent power.
“Denying us power is declaring an eco-
nomic war on us. We would be having
factories. Businesses like ozuu enterprises
would be booming”, Musema who was
Abiriga’s closest competitor said. In the
2016 polls, he garnered 7227 votes against
Abiriga’s 8000, a win he protested up to the
Appeals court from where his petition was
thrown out.
He believes he would have won the 2016
if there were not irregularities at some poll-
ing stations. He now says it is time for him
to win because he ticks most of the boxes of
winning an election in Arua – being Aringa
and a Muslim and most recently under-
standing the lines between the elite and the
illiterates.
Moli says the victorious candidate will
come from the two Muslims – Musema and
Tiperu and the two Christians – Wadri and
Ejuku. He however adds that in Arua, it is
the last two days of an election that deter-
mine the winner.
“You either win or lose in the last two
days to voting”.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 15
news analysis
FDC President Patrick Amuriat at the party delegates conference in November 2017.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
POA’s token of appreciation
FDC changes in parliament spark fury in Muntu’s camp
By Ian Katusiime and Flavia Nassaka
O
f all the reasons Patrick Oboi Am-
uriat, the president of Forum for
Democratic Change (FDC), has
given to explain the changes he
has made with the opposition leadership in
parliament, one is most believable at least
according to party insiders.
“The changes were informed by a num-
ber of factors including loyalty to the party
and contribution to the party financially,”
Amuriat told The Independent.
In these changes, Betty Aol Ochan,
emerged the new Leader of Opposition,
Francis Mwijukye, Buhweju County MP, a
parliamentary Commissioner, Roland Kag-
inda, a former deputy LOP became a mem-
ber of the global Inter Parliamentary Union
(IPU), Mubarak Munyagwa, the Kawempe
16 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
South MP, the new chairman Committee
on Statutory Authorities and State Entre-
prises (COSASE), and Moses Kasibante, the
Lubaga North MP, his vice.
Budadiri West MP Nandala Mafabi
bounced back at the Public Accounts Com-
mittee (PAC), William Nzoghu, Busongora
County North, a representative in the Pan-
African Parliament, Franka Akello, Agago
Woman MP, the new head of the committee
on Local Government, Gilbert Olanya of
Kilak South, became her deputy and Kaps
Hassan Fungaroo, Obongi County MP, the
new head of the Government Assurances
committee.
Ibrahim Semujju of Kira Municipality
became the Opposition Chief Whip. That
Nganda was on the list surprised many
given that unlike all the other appointees,
he is a supporter of the organization camp,
which pays allegiance to former party presi-
dent Mugisha Muntu, who lost the presi-
dency to Amuriat.
Generally, Amuriat’s changes are being
seen as a token of appreciation to his loyal-
ists and a purge of those that are loyal to
the rival group. Some insiders say these
changes might be the final push that kicks
Muntu’s camp out of FDC.
Most notably, Amuriat fired Winnie
Kiiza, who was the LOP and Abdu Katuntu,
who headed COSASE.
This was not surprising. Amuriat’s camp,
the defiance camp, has been criticized for
being highly intolerant. Indeed, when
Amuriat said that he was guided by party
loyalty in picking the new group, some
interpreted his statement to mean that he
didn’t consider those he fired loyal to the
party.

Even this might not be far from the truth
from where Amuriat sits especially given
that the group he fired has not participated
actively in his activities and have continued
to stand with Muntu whom he defeated late
last year.
On financial contributions, the group
he fired has contributed more towards
Muntu’s countrywide consultations than
they have towards Amuriat’s day to day
running of the party. Given the fact that
FDC has limited resources, every coin mat-
ters. And given the opportunity to appoint
a LoP, few politicians in Amuriat’s position
would hesitate to appoint their own. Muntu
did it when he appointed Wafula Oguttu
as LoP after defeating Mafabi in 2012. But
later, he replaced him with his supporter,
Winnie Kizza and appointed Katuntu,
his campaign manager, as the head of
COSASE.
The main difference between Muntu’s
appointments and those of Amuriat is that
some of the latter’s appointments can be
questioned on grounds of competence.
Many critics have singled out the
appointment of Munyagwa and Kasi-
bante as merely driven by tokenism. This
is Munyagwa’s first term in parliament
and he hadn’t headed a single committee.
Kasibante is serving his second term but
has never headed a committee and yet they
have now been handed COSASE, a critical
committee scrutinizes the work of statutory
authorities and state enterprises. Matters
are not helped by the fact that COSASE
was right in the middle of one of the most
important investigations in many years—
the investigation of Bank of Uganda.
But Amuriat doesn’t buy any of this. The
former Kumi County MP said all members
of parliament qualify to head committees
because they have academic qualifications
that made them make it to parliament.
He particularly passionately defended his
appointment of Munyagwa, who is known
for his comic antics than legislative perfor-
mance.
“Munyagwa is an honest person,” he
said, “He was a chairman of a division in
the city for five years. He is an intelligent
man. The public is being unfair to him by
judging him even before seeing what he can
do. Let’s give him time.”
Amuriat says the only quality of a chair-
person is to play a stewardship role and
adds that the chairperson is not the alpha
and omega of the committee..
“People are attaching emotions to this
but if I was a reactionary leader I should
have caused change in December when
members said you can do what you want. I
understood that they were acting because of
the political injury they had just suffered,”
he hits back.
Commenting on Ochan’s appointment as
new Leader of Opposition, Amuriat says his
own story tells a lot about how useless the
notion of ‘little known’ is.
“Recently I was being referred to as a
villager. They did not know whether I can
express myself but here I am. The party
is running effectively. We are attracting
people from other groups to the FDC,”
Amuriat adds.
Amuriat says Ochan made her name at
the time of Reform Agenda, the precursor
to FDC. “She is in her third term in parlia-
ment” the FDC president explains, “I have
confidence of the people I have appointed.
This team can push our agenda in parlia-
ment.”
Amuriat also says those angered by his
decision should know that change is inevi-
table.
Mubarak Munyagwa Ogenga Latigo
Changes illegal
However, some FDC members say some
of the changes he has made are illegal.
Prof. Ogenga Latigo, Agago County MP,
and a former Leader of Opposition told
The Independent that his team is on notice
and will take action. “The LOP is not a
party leader,” Latigo noted, “He or she is
a leader of those in parliament. As the first
LOP, I was elected because we contested.”
He adds: “We are going to raise the
issue of LOP. We cannot accuse NRM of
committing illegalities and then we do the
same. This appointment is illegal.”
However, by press time, Latigo had
told The Independent that his team had not
received any official communication for
them to go ahead and examine the rules of
procedure of parliament.
“We do not have anything like
minority leader in the laws of Uganda,”
Latigo noted, “That is meaningless
communication.”
As one of the moderates in FDC, Latigo
nonetheless summed up his frustration
with the changes. “Any change which is
intended not to improve the situation but
a reaction to the existing circumstances is
unfortunate,” he told The Independent in a
phone interview on Aug.6.
“For every action,” he warned, “there is
an equal and opposite reaction. So we will
not take this lying down.”
news analysis
Role of committee chairperson
According to Hippo Twebaze, who has
researched parliament over the years, head-
ing a committee requires the chairperson to
have substantive knowledge to be able to
scrutinize government business as some of
the reports are written in the language that
an ordinary MP may not understand.
He also says that an MP who is not
knowledgeable is likely to underperform
because some of the accountability requires
one to do extensive research and investiga-
tions into matters.
According to Twebaze, while there is an
argument that committees have technical
staff who are supposed to research and
enable MPs understand the issues, it is not
enough because a leader must be able to
understand things at a different level.
He says the inability of MPs to under-
stand issues explains why some MPs
choose to discontinue ongoing investiga-
tions that are already before committee
simply because the chairperson has the
liberty to lose interest in an issue. Twebaze
also says it would be a good thing if leaders
were chosen from committees where they
have been members, so that they do not
start from scratch.
Apart from this, Twebaze commended
the outgoing LoP, Winnie Kiiza for succeed-
ing in coordinating the opposition MPs and
articulating issues on the floor of parlia-
ment.
Despite this, he noted that one you can-
not analyze the performance of LOP as an
individual. “It always has to do with the
collective performance of all members of
the opposition,” Twebaze noted, “However
good a LOP may be, his/her effort may not
be easily recognized if there is no coopera-
tion with other members of the team.”
For observers, however, the biggest issue
for Amuriat might not be over the perfor-
mance of his new appointees but over the
impact his decision might have over the
party.
Muntu who came before him was able to
contain the rifts within the party by tolerat-
ing the group opposed to him. By firing the
group opposed to him, Amuriat might have
confirmed concerns that his group is not
keen on working with those with divergent
views.
Outside the FDC, some say, Amuriat
might have done himself a favour by
looking at how President Museveni has
continued to reach out to those opposed to
him and even appointed some like Betty
Amongi, the wife of Jimmy Akena, the
party president of Uganda People’s Con-
gress (UPC) and the son of his erstwhile foe,
former President Apollo Milton Obote.
However, the same way only Amuriat
knows what stakes he was dealing with by
the time he chose to make the controversial
changes, only time will tell whether he was
right or wrong.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 17
news analysis
Former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi hands over the daughter to the family of the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Glamour and pomp
Ramaphosa son marries Amama Mbabazi’s niece
By Ronald Musoke
G
lamour, pomp, colour and a
seamless fusion of two African
traditions were on show as
South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa’s son, Andile, got introduced
by his Ugandan fiancée, Bridget Birungi,
at a traditional marriage ceremony
known as “Kuhingira” on Aug.4 in
Kampala.
The ceremony attended by high-profile
guests was held at the residence of the
bride’s uncle, John Patrick Amama
Mbabazi, a former Prime Minister of
Uganda in the leafy upscale Kololo
suburb.
Birungi was born to the late Shadrack
Rwakairu and Peace Ruhindi but Amama
took over the raising of Birungi after her
father’s death in the early 1980s.
Political rivalries were shoved aside as
President Yoweri Museveni and his long-
term friend-cum-political rival; Amama
Mbabazi met and reminisced about the
18 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
good times.
Museveni’s wife, Janet and Mbabazi
sat next to each other and chatted away
as the ceremony went on, occasionally
smiling and nodding.
The guest list read like a “who is
who” of Uganda’s political aristocracy.
Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, the
Bank of Uganda Governor, Chief Justice
Bart Katureebe and former information
minister, Jim Muhwezi, as well as
business moguls, Gordon Wavamunno
and Sudhir Ruparelia, were some of the
guests.
Other high-profile dignitaries
included; the Archbishop Stanley
Ntagali, Prince Kassim Nakibinge,
businessman Martin Aliker, former FDC
President Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu
and Buganda Katikkiro, Charles Peter
Mayiga.
Amos Nzeyi, Prime Minister
Ruhakana Rugunda, Mathew Rukikaire,
Hope Mwesigye and Brig. Timothy
Mutebile, the brother to the BoU
Andile and Birungi in a group photo with
Governor were part of the insiders
organizing the function.
Not even the early morning gloomy
weather could dampen the thrilling
ceremony which normally precedes the
wedding in western Ugandan tradition.
As the day grew on and the overcast
clouds cleared, business and public
transport got interrupted, security
tightened and some roads were closed as
a 150 strong Ramaphosa-led entourage
and host, President Yoweri Museveni,
made way to Amama Mbabazi’s home to
attend the traditional ceremony. Ex-wife,
Hope and First Lady, Dr. Tshepo
Ramaphosa, escorted the South African
president.
Ramaphosa’s son, Andile, had been to
Mbabazi’s home in May this year when
Bridget introduced him for the first
time. But that ceremony is usually low
key as it only serves to make the man’s
intentions known to the girl’s parents.
That ceremony also gives both families to
negotiate the bride price.

their families and other guests.
This time round, it became clear
Ramaphosa’s entourage had finally been
accepted into the Mbabazi household,
when the leader of their entourage, a
middle-aged lady was offered a drink.
She had a gulp of the traditional beer
served from a long-necked gourd as a
cacophony of drums, traditional music
and the vigorous Kigezi dance engulfed
the home.
Andile and Bridget, both in their late
thirties, reportedly met in China while
studying at the Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology. Andile currently
works with Blue Crane, a Johannesburg-
based financial advisory and investment
firm.
“We met almost ten years ago. I was
in Beijing where I worked as an expert
while she was finishing her studies in
engineering. Then she went on to do her
Masters. We went on to live in South
Africa.,” said Andile.
Mbabazi who handed over Birungi to
the father of the groom, expressed joy
that Ramaphosa’s family had met all the
set conditions.
“We are very happy to fulfill part of
the handing over to you the hand of our
daughter, Bridget Birungi,” Mbabazi
said.
On receiving his daughter-in-law,
Ramaphosa said, “We accept her as our
President Ramaphosa gives a speech at the ceremony
daughter firstly and we also accept her as
our son’s beloved wife and I can assure
you that the two of them are deeply in
love.”
Ramaphosa challenged his daughter-
in-law to hold tight to her husband.
“Many girls in South Africa are envious
of you, even on social media, they were
saying, why did he go so far when we
are here?” “They don’t know that you
fell in love in China. Hold onto your man
and never let him go.”
Ramaphosa also said weddings are a
consolidation of relationships not only
between families but also people and
communities. “In this case, we believe
it is a consolidation of the relations
between South Africa and Uganda and
this is going to cement us even more.”
Ramaphosa had touched down at
Entebbe International Airport a day
earlier, on Aug. 3, and held a brief
meeting with his counterpart, Yoweri
Museveni, at State House Entebbe.
Museveni and Ramaphosa discussed
issues related to the socio-economic and
political affairs affecting the two sister
countries and Africa at large.
Ramaphosa applauded the leadership
of Uganda for making the relationship
meaningful and supporting South Africa
in its earlier days of the struggle against
Apartheid.
news analysis
On his part, Museveni welcomed
Ramaphosa who he described as a
freedom fighter and sharp businessman.
He also applauded him for being
appreciative of the African heritage.
This was in reference to Ramaphosa’s
visit to one of Museveni’s farms, years
back, where he reportedly picked
interest in the long-horned Ankole cattle.
He would later return and acquire 43
of them for his farm. At the function,
both men talked about the cattle and
Museveni joked that Rwamaphosa under
paid him for the cattle.
Ramaphosa said the cattle had since
multiplied into a huge herd both in
Kenya and South Africa. Ramaphosa also
revealed that he had since become the
president of the South African Ankole
Cattle Association.
The ceremony presented an
opportunity for Mbabazi to catch-up
with his erstwhile colleagues in the
ruling NRM government where he
served in various capacities for decades
until he was fired three years ago.
Mbabazi went on to contest against
Museveni in the 2016 presidential
election, emerged third and
unsuccessfully challenged the results in
the Supreme Court. He has since kept a
low profile.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 19
 feature

By Amy Hawkins
China’s Big Brother
D
aily life in China is gated by

tech for Africa

security technology, from
the body scanners and X-ray
machines at every urban
metro station to the demand for ID
numbers on social media platforms so
that dangerous speech can be traced Developing countries to be used as
and punished. Technologies once seen
as potentially empowering the public
have become tools for an increasingly
laboratory to improve its surveillance
dictatorial government—tools that technological industries. This was these ambitions. But China doesn’t
Beijing is now determined to sell to followed up last year for plans for the just want to dominate these markets.
the developing world. country to be a world leader in the It wants to use developing countries
In 2015, the Chinese government field of artificial intelligence by 2030 as a laboratory to improve its own
launched its Made in China 2025 and to build a $150 billion industry. surveillance technologies.
plan to dominate cutting-edge The developing world is a big part of Many parts of Africa are now

20 Aug 10 - 16, 2018


essentially reliant on Chinese
companies for their telecoms and
digital services. Transsion Holdings,
a Shenzhen-based company, was the
No. 1 smartphone company in Africa
in 2017. ZTE, a Chinese telecoms giant,
provides the infrastructure for the
Ethiopian government to monitor its
citizens’ communications. Hikvision,
the world’s leading surveillance
camera manufacturer, has just opened
an office in Johannesburg.
The latest is CloudWalk Technology,
a Guangzhou-based start-up that has
signed a deal with the Zimbabwean
government to provide a mass
facial recognition program. The
agreement was put on hold until after
Zimbabwe’s elections on July 30.
CloudWalk
provides
facial
recognition
technologies
to the
Chinese
police
But if it goes through, it will enable
Zimbabwe, a country with a bleak
record on human rights, to replicate
parts of the surveillance infrastructure
that have made freedoms so limited
in China. And by gaining access to
a population with a racial mix far
different from China’s, CloudWalk
will be better able to train racial biases
out of its facial recognition systems—a
problem that has beleaguered facial
recognition companies around the
world and which could give China a
vital edge.
The CloudWalk deal is built on the
back of a long-standing relationship
between former Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe’s regime,
seen by China as an ideological ally,
and Beijing. His successor, President
Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn
into office in November 2017 after
a military coup forced Mugabe to
resign after 37 years of increasingly
repressive rule. Activists feared
that Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former
consigliere, would continue the
patterns of his predecessor, especially
if his regime is backed up with new
security technology.
The deal between CloudWalk and
the Zimbabwean government will not
cover just CCTV cameras. According
to a report in the Chinese state
newspaper Science and Technology
Daily, smart financial systems, airport,
railway, and bus station security, and
a national facial database will all be
part of the project. The deal—along
with dozens of other cooperation
agreements between Harare and
Chinese technology and biotech
firms—was signed in April. Like every
feature
other foreign deal done by a Chinese
firm of late, it has been wrapped into
China’s increasingly all-encompassing
Belt and Road Initiative.
The CloudWalk deal is the first
Chinese AI project in Africa. Google
is opening its first Africa AI research
center in Ghana this year, but Eric
Olander, founder of the China Africa
Project—a podcast and online resource
that examines the relationship
between China and Africa—noted
that many Western companies “aren’t
willing to make that step that the
Chinese are willing to do. … (The
Chinese) are willing to make an
investment in a market as volatile as
Zimbabwe, where companies from
other countries are not.”
Indeed, with massive state and
private backing for AI projects—
according to a CB Insights report,
nearly half of global investment in AI
went to Chinese start-ups last year,
surpassing the United States for the
first time—Chinese companies can
afford to take risks. CloudWalk itself
was the recipient of a $301 million
grant from the Guangzhou municipal
government.
“We are concerned about the deal,
given how CloudWalk provides
facial recognition technologies to the
Chinese police,” said Maya Wang, a
senior China researcher for Human
Rights Watch. “We have previously
documented (the Chinese) Ministry
of Public Security’s use of AI-enabled
technologies for mass surveillance
that targets particular social groups,
such as ethnic minorities and those
who pose political threats to the
government.”
Some Zimbabweans are concerned
about how their data will fare in
China. Andy, who asked that only his
first name be used, is studying for a
Ph.D. at Beijing Normal University.
For him, “the question is what the
Chinese company will do with our
identities. … It sounds like a spy
game.” He also says that he “know(s)
for a fact” that “the Zimbabwe
government will use this tech to try
and control people’s freedom.”
In Zimbabwe, freedom of expression
has long been curtailed or monitored
by various means. In 2015, Mugabe
accepted a gift of cybersurveillance
software from the Iranian government,
including IMSI catchers, which are
used to eavesdrop on telephone
conversations. In 2016, he cited
China as an example of social media
regulation that he hoped Zimbabwe
could emulate.
Source: FP magazine
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 21
feature

Japanese-funded water
facility saves lives in Rubirizi
Shs240m water pump aids 3000 households in 3 sub counties
By Ian Katusiime

R
ubirizi is a little known district
located in western Uganda with
rolling hills and 32 crater lakes.
Part of the district has sections
of the famous Queen Elizabeth National
Park. Away from these attractive features,
however, is a dark past. Rubirizi has
grappled with a water crisis and lost lives
over the years as residents struggled to fetch
water from Lake Kako, one of the many
crater lakes in the area.
Residents of Ryeru Sub-County drowned
in the lake uncontrollably. “What hurt
us most is that these people were dying
of something preventable,” says John
Mubangizi, the vice chairman of Rubirizi
district. “On average, six people were dying
per year especially women and children.”
The steep to Lake Kako is 500metres long,
which made the entire exercise of fetching
water more arduous. The acute water
shortage also spread dysentery, cholera
and had other undesirable effects such as
children reporting late to school.
After so much agony and helplessness,
Mubangizi and residents brainstormed
on how to find a lasting solution to the
tragedy. They wrote to so many donors
requesting that they fund a water project
and luckily, the Japanese International
Cooperation Agency (JICA), heard their
plea and donated Shs.241million. As a
result, Mushumba water production project
was established. Construction started in
2011 and ended in 2013. Later, the Ugandan
government provided Shs145million for
completion of the works. The government
was initially skeptical on the viability of the
project in spite of the pressing need for safe
water use.
Water production in Mushumba village
is a community effort where residents dug
trenches, constructed access roads and is
managed through water use committees,
which are made up of three women and
two men.
The production facility comprises
a pump house, reservoir tanks, and a
sand filtration system. “There is a user
fee of Shs100,” says Mubangizi, now the
coordinator of the project. The fee is for
maintenance such as the diesel-powered
pump. Water has now been extended
further and there are 30 distribution points
in total that serve 3000 households. When
Journalists at the water pump in Mushumba village in Rubirizi on July 26.   COURTESY PHOTO
The Independent visited Mushumba village
on July 26 as part of a press tour organised
by JICA for its projects in western Uganda,
residents could not hide the excitement
brought by the water facility. It was a far
cry from when they could not even have a
borehole because the rocks in the area are
permeable.
Irrigation boosts Kasese farmers
Nyabubale Community Irrigation
scheme in Kasandaara sub-county, Kasese
is another venture where the government
of Japan is involved in livelihood
improvement in Uganda. Teaming up with
Save The Children, an international NGO
focused on children’s rights, and the local
government of Kasese, JICA has enabled
100 farmers to graduate from just growing
maize to take on high value crops like water
melons, onions and tomatoes.
Sam Kahiigwa is one of the farmers
reaping from the irrigation scheme. When
The Independent visited his farm on July
26, he said he would be selling off two full
trucks of water melon in two weeks’ time.
His farm is on 14 acres and is responsible
for the new lease of life Kahiigwa and others
have got. He has built a two bedroomed
house and says he is comfortable knowing
he can support the education of his
children. “The environment of the child is
the focus,” says Vian Musika, the Program
Manager of Disaster Risk Reduction and
Climate Change Adaptation at Save The
Children in Kasese.
As a result, the organization empowers
parents so they can take care of their
children. “Previously the farmers were
depending on rain-fed agriculture and
now they can plant off- season thanks to
irrigation,” Musika adds. He says most
climate change efforts are aimed at tree
planting but the one by Save The Children
is aimed at livelihood improvement.
After it conducted vulnerability
assessments with the Kasese district local
government, Save The Children decided
to help “last mile farmers” in Kasese. The
farmers are referred to as such because
they hardly receive any focus yet they
are affected by disasters like flash floods,
landslides and prolonged dry spells.
The aim of the scheme is to strengthen
the resilience of the communities through
good agronomical practices. A poor parent
means the child will lack basic needs,
Musika explains.
Other interventions by JICA in western
Uganda include a girls’ dormitory built
for Kahinju Secondary School in Kabarole
district. The dormitory contains 200 beds
with mattresses and will be opened for
the third term, which starts in September.
Lillian Asiimwe Olimi, the head teacher
of Kahinju SS, says 25 girls dropped out
of the school this year due to walking
long distances among other challenges
associated with staying away from school.
The dormitory appears a major step at
preventing such situations.

22 Aug 10 - 16, 2018

 rwanda

Searching for new markets

Rwanda explores new apparel markets as US
suspends duty-free benefits under AGOA
By John Mbaraga and Daniel C. Ntwari

G
overnment is now focusing on ex-
porting its textiles to Europe after
U.S. President Donald Trump is-
sued a decree suspending Rwanda
from exporting apparels to the US market
duty-free under the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) scheme.
The ban was announced in a statement
released last week by U.S.’s deputy trade
representative, C.J. Mahoney. The move is a
reaction to Rwanda’s stand against importa-
tion of secondhand clothes and shoes into
the country.
The Rwandan government imposed an
import levy on secondhand garments of $4
per kilogramme this fiscal year, up from
$2.5 last year and a $5 per kilo on used
shoes, up from $0.4, last year to support it
nascent textiles and leather industries.
The country earned $1.5 million in 2017
from apparel and shoe exports to the US,
which accounts for only about 3% of Rwan-
da’s total exports to the country. Rwanda
remains eligible to export non-apparel
products under AGOA despite this suspen-
sion.
Rwanda to enter new markets
But Rwandan government says it will
not be bullied into reversing its position on
secondhand clothes, opting to seek new
markets in Europe, Asia and within the
region. Speaking to The Independent, Min-
ister of Trade and Industry Vincent Munye-
shyaka said that the companies, which used
to export apparel and footwear products
under the AGOA arrangement have already
started entering new international markets.
“For example, C&H Garments has a
secure market in the United Kingdom and
German,” he said, adding that the firm and
other textile makers are being encouraged
to explore the big opportunities in the local
market.
Munyeshyaka assured sector players
of government’s support in case the ban
affects production and threatens jobs. “In
case industries reduce or stop production
and people lose jobs, government will
decide on some kind of intervention to sup-
port them,” he said.
The minister said that the $1.5 million
from apparel and footwear exports record-
ed last year under AGOA was by the eight
companies that have been exporting apparel
and footwear products to the US market,
C&H Garments workers at the firm's Kigali Special Economic Zone plant
with C&H Garments contributing 90%.  think the impact is not something we can
Munyeshyaka explained that other
Rwandan products would enter the US
market under other agreements like Gen-
eralized System of Preferences (GSP) that is
also tax exempt.
He explained that Rwanda could, how-
ever, export apparels to the US subject to
taxation. “We were not banned from export-
ing apparel and footwear products to the
US, we were only denied duty-free exporta-
tion,” he clarified.
EAC countries had all proposed to gradu-
ally ban importation of secondhand clothes
and shoes, but later other countries – Kenya,
Uganda and Tanzania - balked under heavy
pressure from US.
A 2017 petition by the Secondary Mate-
rials and Recycled Textiles Association
(SMART), to the US government assert-
ing that the EAC’s decision undermined
the AGOA criteria and their investments,
sparked off the suspension.
While commenting on the suspension last
week, Rwanda Development Board (RDB)
chief executive officer Clare Akamanzi said
the decision on who benefits from AGOA is
up to the United States government.
Akamanzi said some companies had
already sent product samples to some Euro-
pean countries as the suspension loomed
over the past many months.
“We have a plan to maintain people who
have been employed in those companies; I
not manage” she said.
“We expect some Rwandan companies to
be affected and we have a plan for them. We
have engaged them and we will be helping
with the transition to new markets.”
Textile sector players speak out
As local textile players wait to see this
assistance, Rwanda Clothing’s
production manager, Antoinette Twa-
girayesu, says that the firm is focusing on
growing locally, adding that it already
serves a growing clientele from US and
Europe who order for the clothes directly.
Twagirayesu said; “We are going to focus
on promoting Made-in-Rwanda clothing,
which still has huge growth potential.”
Expert commends Rwanda’s decision
Amir Ben Yahmed, the chief executive
officer of the Africa CEO Forum, hailed
Rwanda’s decision, saying that the suspen-
sion “should not be regarded as a business
issue but as politically motivated”.
“Africans should be proud of the decision
taken by Rwanda,” Amir said, “No country
in the World should accept secondhand
clothes at the expense of its own industries.”
Africa CEO Forum organizes the annual
meeting of African CEOs and business lead-
ers to find ways to address the continent’s
challenge and enable it to achieve target
development and economic prosperity.

Aug 10 - 16, 2018 23

rwanda
President Kagame , the Prime Minister and the speakers of senate and Parliament pose for a group photo with the recently appointed judges
Timely justice for Rwandans
New Court of Appeal raises hope for faster case handling,
President Kagame calls for judicial independence
By Francis Byaruhanga
I
mpartiality, independence and ensuring
that citizens get justice in shortest time
possible should be cardinal principles
of the judicial system, President Paul
Kagame has said.
President Kagame made the comments
while presiding over the swearing in cer-
emony of 17 judges of the newly established
Court of Appeal.
“This is what Rwandans want our justice
system to be defined by because we know
that justice delayed is justice denied,” Presi-
dent Kagame said. The establishment of this
court means that some of the cases from the
High court, which were hitherto handled
by the Supreme Court, will now instead go
to the Court of Appeal. Among the cases to
proceed to Supreme Court are those related
to the applications of review on grounds of
injustices, those involving high ranking offi-
cials, jurisdiction on the constitutionality of
the organic laws and decisions on the prec-
edents and presidential election petitions.
The new judges sworn in by the Presi-
dent include; Cyanzayire Aloysie, the presi-
dent of the Supreme Court, Aimé Karimun-
da Muyoboke, the president of the Court of
Appeal, Xavier Ndahayo, president of the
High Court, who is deputized by Berna-
dette Kanzayire, and Angeline Rutazana,
the vice-president of the Commercial High
Court.
The establishment of the new appellant
court has created optimism and enthusiasm
among the public, civil society and experts.
24 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
Many say that it will improve delivery of
justice as grieved parties now have more
options to seek justice.
Experts, Rwandans welcome the court
Prof. Dennis Bikesha, the dean of School
of Law at University of Rwanda, said these
reforms in the judicial system are crucial to
“stardandise the country’s judiciary”.
He said in other countries, the Supreme
Court not only handle cases but also gives
legal advice to the government, explain-
ing that the top court will be counseling
the state on the matters concerning the
judiciary.“As a result, the Court of Appeal
will now handle most of the cases that used
to go to the last appellant court,” Prof. Bike-
sha told The Independent.
Tom Mulisa, the executive director of
the Great Lakes Initiative for Development,
a non-profit organization that advocates
for the rights of the unprivileged, said the
Court of Appeal, will help justice to be
served faster compared to previous period.
Silver Mugabo, a resident in Kigali, said
the judicial restructuring is for the “better
functioning and delivery of justice to the
Rwandan people”. Mugabo also added that
the court will ease the load that remained
pending in the Supreme Court for a long
time.
Harrison Mutabazi, the spokesperson
of the judiciary, explained that the judicial
reform is aimed at impacting efficiency of
the judicial services in Rwanda.
“Before cases would begin from inter-
mediate courts to Supreme Court, but
now they will stop at the Court of Appeal,
which will reduce the case backlog and the
delays in the delivery of justice,” Mutabazi
explained.
Mutabazi noted that before the establish-
ment of the court, it would take up to three
years for the litigants to get the final court
decision from the Supreme Court. Cases,
he explained, will now be heard quickly in
reasonable time instead of taking years.
Mutabazi also added that due to the
single judge system that will be applied in
the Court of Appeal, cases are going to be
handled faster compared to the duo system
in the Supreme Court, which has also been
blamed for delays.
As recently as 2012, it would take at least
66 months for a case to start being heard
in the Supreme Court. This has since been
reduced to 20 months. In the High Court,
this has dropped from 11 months to three
months in the same period, as a result of
judicial reforms.
According to this year’s judicial report,
1,038 cases were pending at the beginning
of April 2018 but these had dropped to only
723 by the end of April.
Berth Murora, the secretary general of
the Supreme Court told The Independent
that although gaps remain, the court
has put in place mechanisms that have
helped reduce the backlog. The Court of
Appeal, she said will also help. Murora
also explained that while the restructuring
of courts started in the primary courts
this year, the establishment of the court of
appeal was the major target.

Improving public transport
Challenges persist but city authorities
and operators remain optimistic
By Emmanuel R. Karake
U
wizeyimana, a resident of Remera
in Gasabo district is a regular user
of commuter buses that ply differ-
ent roads in Kigali city. But many
times, he says, he has had to wait in long
queues for up to 30 minutes at both Remera
and city bus terminals for buses. Because
of this, he often delays to attend to critical
business commitments.
Long queues for buses are a common
sight mostly during the rush hours in the
mornings and evenings. Yet when the
City of Kigali and Rwanda Utility Regula-
tory Agency (RURA) awarded three firms
contracts to companies to operate public
transport in Kigali in August, 2013, that was
expected to put an end to the long queues.
Kigali Bus Services (KBS), Rwanda Feder-
ation of Transport Cooperatives (RFTC) and
Royal Express, which won the contracts,
were supposed to operate from 5am to
11pm, migrate from of 18-seater to 30-seater
omnibuses, and then to big buses of 50-seat-
ers for mass transport. This was was envis-
aged to reduce waiting time at bus stops to
around five minutes.
The move was also expected to eliminate
the tendency of abandoning passengers
before reaching their destination and ease
on the traffic jam as it would deal away
with smaller omnibuses, which were about
800. One city bus has capacity to replace
three omnibuses.
Generally, according to Rwagatore Eti-
enne, a public transport inspection officer,
the major target was to “bring efficiency in
the sector to improve service delivery”. But
users like Uwizeyimana are yet to see this
efficiency.
Public transport operators speak out
Part of the reason is that migration from
smaller to bigger buses delayed. Some bus
companies acquired bigger buses only a few
months ago, when their contracts are about
to expire. In 2013, only KBS owned big city
buses.
“There are two problems,” says Nilla
Murenzi, the manager of Royal Express,
“One, buses are not enough currently.
The other issue is that the City of Kigali
is upgrading most of the main city roads,
which causes diversion of traffic and, in
turn, leads to delays with passengers wait-
ing for long periods at bus stops. But this is
temporary.”
Murenzi explains that the delay to transi-
tion to the bigger buses was partly occa-
sioned by the nature of the contracts.
“The contracts are very short,” Murenzi
says, “Five years is a short time. Remember
we acquire buses through bank loans and
we do not get tax breaks from government
like other investments do. Today, one city
bus costs around 100 million. This is not a
small capital outlay.”
The other challenge, he said, is deprecia-
tion of the franc against dollar. “In 2013, one
dollar was equivalent to Rwf520, today it’s
at 881, almost 63% increase,” Murenzi says.
Despite these challenges, there has been
significant improvement.
When the companies got the contracts in
2013, omnibuses of 18-seater capacity were
servicing 99% of the public transport system
in Kigali. Today, 70% of Murenzi’s com-
pany buses are high capacity.
Sources say, RFTC, the biggest operator
has only 20 big buses, brought in some-
time late year and around January 2018.
RFTC plies routes like Zindiro-Kimironko-
Nyabugogo; Kimironko-Kigali; Nyabugo-
go-Kinamba-Gisozi; Nyabugogo-Batsinda,
andRemera-Kigali, among others, and intra
roads.
Deo Muvunyi, the manager of Kigali Bus
Services, says some of the challenges are
infrastructural in nature. For instance, he
explains that the promised special lanes for
buses are not yet established, adding that
this will take time “because expansion of
roads is a costly and takes time”.
He also remains positive noting that
apart from these challenges, there have been
improvements.
rwanda
Government scrapped taxes on importa-
tion of big buses in the current budget and
now importation of buses with capacity to
transport 50 passengers and above is zero-
rated compared to 25% previously. How-
ever, those importing 25-seater buses will
pay 10% tax down from 25%.
What sector regulator says about
delays
According to Aaron Ndagijimana, the
deputy of transport at sector regulator,
Rwanda Regulatory Agency, the wait-
ing time did not reduce to the targeted
level “because improved city transport has
encouraged many people to opt for public
means of transport, thus demand has sur-
passed supply”.
Ndagijimana explains that the number of
passengers doubled compared to when the
system was rollout five years ago. “Today,
we are talking of 420,000 passengers
against 200,000 in 2013. We want to balance
demand and supply,” he says.
However, this increase in the number of
commuters could also be attributed to the
growth in Rwanda’s and the city’s popu-
lation. Government figures indicate that
population size of Rwanda was 10.5 million
in 2012, just a year before the reforms, and is
presently at over 12.08 million.
Ndagijimana adds that there are ongo-
ing discussions to find ways of addressing
increasing traffic jam in Kigali, including
expansion of city roads that is ongoing and
discouraging use of private cars.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 25
rwanda
Showgoers at the expo
Rwanda trade fair
exhibitors hit 400
Innovations dominate as over 23 countries showcase
By Stephen Nuwagira
T
he annual Rwanda
International Trade Fair (RITF)
organised by the Private Sector
Federation (PSF) and the
Ministry of Trade and Industry is this
year bigger and better.
The event organized at Gikondo
Showgrounds in Kicukiro district
will this year run for three weeks
compared to two weeks previously
from July 26 to August 15.
The event has also grown from
80 exhibitors in 1997 to over 400
companies this year.
26 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
Participants are from 23 countries
from all corners of the globe; including
Asia, Africa, and Europe. They are from
different sectors; including construction
and housing, ICT, textile, tourism,
mining, banking, agriculture and agro-
processing, and general trade among
others.
Countries like The Gambia, Benin,
Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Japan, Nepal,
Togo and the Republic of Congo are
participating for the first time.
Cashless entrance fees
Meanwhile, the trade fair has gone
digital with visitor paying entrance fees
using Tap & Go cards. This is a shift
from the paper money payments during
the previously expos.
Sharon Munyana, the marketing
manager at AC Group, the tech start-
up behind the Tap & Go payment
innovation, says the move supports
government push to use digital facilities
in all sectors of the economy.
Munyana says that of the 1.8 million
people with Tap & Go cards, 80% are
potential expo-goers.
“This was the biggest motivation for
us to venture into this cashless mode of
paying expo entrance charges. So, we
approached PSF and they agreed to

partner with us,” she adds.
Tap & Go is the firm
behind the e-payment of
bus fares in the City of
Kigali, and show goers use
the same cards to enter the
trade fair.
To enter the fair, a person
must have a Tap & Go card
loaded with at least Rwf500
and then tap it on one of the
card readers mounted at the
showgrounds entry points.
The innovation has been
hailed for reducing the long
queues that characterised
previous shows.
Speaking during the
official opening on July
27, Rwanda’s Prime
Minister;Dr. Edouard
Ngirente, advised Rwandan
manufacturers to use the
fair to create new market
linkages and partnerships
that will build their
capacities and produce
PM Ngirente (second left) examines shoes
made by Kigali Leather Ltd. By Stephen Nuwagira.
best quality to drive export
growth.
He said the fair also
gives local manufacturers
a huge opportunity to
learn best practices from
other exhibitors which will
support their growth and
competitiveness.
Ngirente said that
manufacturers and
exporters of different
products must work harder
to drive up export volumes
of Rwandan brands if
government is to achieve its
targets.
He said although
Rwanda’s exports earnings
have been increasing
over the past decade,
government targets a 17%
annual growth rate by 2022
and this must be driven
by expanding markets of
Made-in-Rwanda products.
He challenged PSF and
manufacturers to improve
quality of local products.
“This is the only way
to be competitive and
penetrate new markets.
Government is behind you
and will support you,”
Ngirente said.
Rwanda has already
scrapped taxes on imported
raw materials and industrial
equipment to support
local manufacturers. Raw
materials needed by the
country’s nascent textiles
and leather sectors are
now zero rated from 25%
taxes in the last fiscal year
2017/18.
During the period
January-March 2018,
exports increased by 20%
on account of the Made-
in-Rwanda drive, while
imports rose 17%.
Speaking on the sidelines
of the launch of the fair,
Aug 10 - 16, 2018
rwanda
Robert Bafakulera; the
chairman of Rwanda’s
Private Sector Federation
(PSF), said it will support
the Made-in-Rwanda
initiative by helping local
manufacturers to network
and find new markets.
“This also gives us a great
opportunity to evaluate
products against those of
foreign exhibitors, besides
networking and forming
linkages and partnerships that
could ease market entry and
spur Rwanda’s exports and,
therefore, reduce the country’s
trade deficit,” he said.
He adds that is the only
way that Rwanda can reduce
dependence on imports as
well as improve its balance of
trade, and create the much-
needed jobs for young people.
Kigali Leather is one of
the Rwandan firms anxious
to enter into more regional
markets. The firm currently
exports some of leather
products, mainly shoes, to
Tanzania but is eyeing other
East African Community
(EAC) countries, according
to Wang Yuan, the firm’s
manager.
He says a supportive tax
regime in EAC could ease
their entry into new regional
markets.
But even firms Safintra
Rwanda which makes
versatile roofing materials,
among others, for the local
market say they want support.
Boris Shema, a marketing
officer says their products are
important as they are designed
to help cut on the import bill
as Rwandans can now get
them locally.
Trade fairs typically
facilitate firms to showcase
their products and play a
big role in the marketing
of products as they bring
sellers and buyers together
under one roof trade.
They also create avenues
for firms to reach new
clients and form rewarding
partnerships.
According to Bafakulera,
however, the Kigali fair is also a
job maker. The fair is expected
to attract close to 400,000 show-
goers over the three week of the
annual event.
27
rwanda
Tea pickers at worker. The beverage raked in Rwf77.4 billion last fiscal year
Rwanda’s tea export
revenue rises to Rwf77.4b
By Elias Hakizimana
R
wanda’s tea exports rose by 15
percent during the financial
year 2017/18 on the back of
increased Rwanda Tea brand
promotional activities, experts say.
Issa Nkurunziza, the head of the tea
division at the National Agriculture
Export Board (NAEB), says that
Rwanda exported 27,824 tonnes of
tea during the period under review
generating $88 million (about Rwf77.4
billion), which is higher than what was
recorded in the previous year.
The country shipped out 25,128
tonnes of tea during fiscal year 2016/17.
Nkurunziza said that the decision to
market the tea under the “Rwanda Tea,
a Natural Reawakening” brand that
was launched last year was now paying
dividends. He noted that the campaign
has boosted the interest and attracted
28 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
the attention of tea buyers locally and
on the regional and global markets.
NAEB projects the country to fetch
$92 million from a targeted 21,000
metric tonnes of tea exports this fiscal
year. Different teas are marketed under
the Rwanda Tea brand, including black
tea, green tea, organic tea and spicy
teas.
The NAEB official said that 75% of
Rwanda’s tea was sold through the
Mombasa auction, while between
23 and 24% was bought through
the export body’s memoranda of
understanding with buyers, and only
1.7% was sold on the local market.
The beverage is sold to 48 countries
in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and
Europe, according to NAEB. The tea
sector supports 42,840 farmers in
Rwanda’s 12 districts, mainly from
Northern, Western and Southern
provinces, and whole tea value chain
employs 69,811 workers including;
casual and permanent staff.
Support Tour du Rwanda
Rwanda Tea is in one of the sponsors
of the annual Tour du Rwanda. Amb.
George William Kayonga, the chief
executive officer of NAEB, says that the
event provides NAEB an opportunity
to further market Rwanda’s tea to the
world.
“We are happy to work with
Rwanda Cycling Federation in making
this competition. Apart from the
competition, the participants will be
able to enjoy Rwanda’s breathtaking
greenery, including tea plantations and
other tourism attractions,” Kayonga
said on August 4. The brand will
reward the best combative rider at
each stage. The international cycling
competition started on August 5 and
ends this weekend.

Quitting
Vodafone
Battle for telecom market
Bigger firms choke smaller and new telcos
A
By Julius Businge
few days to implementation
of the social media tax,
commonly referred to as
Over the Top (OTT) on July
1, 2018, three largest telecom
firms – MTN, Airtel and
Africell issued a joint statement to guide its
customers on how to pay the levy.
The statement that carried a rather plain
message signaled the changing dynamics
in the telecom sector that had seven telecom
firms prior to the recent exit of Vodafone
Uganda Limited.
Vodafone, which started operations in
2015, was the latest entrant in the country’s
telecom industry.
Other telecoms such as Smart, owned
by the Aga Khan Development Network
(AKDN) and Smile Telecom, were forced to
drop voice service to concentrate on data.
K2 on the other hand, which launched
Challengers
Africell
Struggling
Smile Smart
operations in 2012, has been closed twice
over tax arrears. On July 27, it announced
that it had signed a brand endorsement
agreement with Airtel where its customers
would access all telecommunication
services on the latter’s infrastructure.
The government owned Uganda
Telecom, and one of the oldest telecom
firms in the country, is currently under
statutory management and continues to
grapple with old infrastructure and the
hustle of finding investors to jump-start its
operations.
This scenario has reignited debate on the
future of the sector that seems to be slowly
going into the hands of a few players. This,
to some analysts could easily see these
players form cartels – which would distort
the market.
In addition, the disappearance of small
players means less competition in the
sector, loss of jobs and related economic
opportunities.
Incumbents
MTN Airtel
UTL
Telecom market race
The Independent sought views from sector
experts, telecom firms and the regulator in
regards to the current fears and likely future
performance of the sector.
“In the beginning the market was all
about voice, it is now data and next it might
be services,” Badru Ntege, the chairman
of the East African Science and Technology
Commission (EASTECO) and group
CEO of consultancy firm, NFT told The
Independent on August 07.
He said the legal regime that allows
incumbents (Airtel and MTN) to rent out
infrastructure only enriches big players and
makes small ones uncompetitive.
But Godfrey Mutabazi, the executive
director at Uganda Communications
Commission (UCC), the regulator, told The
Independent on August 06 that failure of
small players in the market is not because of
the current legal regime.
First, he said, Uganda is a liberalised
economy and that the sector has terms and
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 29
business
K2 CEO Godfrey Kisekka (L), Katikkiro Peter Mayiga (M) and Airtel MD V.G Somashekar display
partnership agreements at Bulange, Mengo on July 27.   Independent/Julius Businge
conditions before a company is licensed to
offer services.
He said most small players entered the
country’s telecom market at a time when
the big players, which he referred to as
incumbents, had moved on, invested a
lot in infrastructure and captured many
customers thus making it difficult for new
players to snatch some from them.
Mutabazi said some players like Africell
have survived because they bought an
already existing player and have tried to
establish its niche market – data.
With regard to possibilities of the big
three firms forming a cartel, Mutabazi said:
“The law is clear. We do a lot of studies
to ensure there is fair competition; we
have systems in place to monitor each and
every transaction taking place in telecom
companies.”
K2, Airtel partnership
The Buganda Kingdom-owned telecom
firm prior to its problems last year and
some parts of this year had close to 100,000
customers but had failed to break-even.
Officials at the two firms (Airtel and K2)
said K2 customers would buy lines and
use the 0708 code instead of the old 0730
and that they would be registered as K2
customers.
The firms will share revenue accruing
from the transactions, Godfrey Kisekka,
K2’s chief executive officer said.
V.G Somashekar, the managing director
of Airtel told The Independent in an email
response that the partnership reflects Airtel’s
commitment to Uganda and its willingness
30 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
to invest more.
“This one is respect for relationship;
collaboration with competitors and finding
meaningful and purposeful partnerships
creating win-win solutions,” Somashekar
said.
He said the Airtel-K2 partnership is not a
takeover but a ‘brand endorsement deal.’
Commenting on what it means for being
one of the dominant players, Somashekar
said as the telecom sector matures, it leads
to industry consolidation and that the
consumer benefits from higher investment,
modernised networks and affordable
products and services.
“We are investing ahead of the curve in
Uganda,” he said adding, “That assures
consumers will get unmatched coverage
and high speed internet everywhere.”
He, however, said growth and
penetration remains a big challenge. He
said the introduction of the new OTT tax is
a barrier to digital inclusion and access to
internet for all to achieve socio economic
transformation.
Similarly, Kisekka (K2’s CEO) who
previously worked at Africell as Chief
Technical Officer said the local excise duty
(12% on airtime) and value added tax (18%)
is already too high and that adding the new
OTT (Shs200 per day) and 0.5% on mobile
money transactions makes the situation
even worse for uptake of telecom services.
Charles Abuka, the director for statistics
at the Bank of Uganda told Parliament
recently that: “…the value of Mobile Money
transactions declined by Shs672 billion in
the first two weeks of July 2018, compared
to the first two weeks of June 2018, in part,
following the announcement of the Excise
Duty Amendment Act, 2018.”
Olivier Prentout, the chief marketing
officer at MTN told The Independent in
an email response on August 06 that
competition in the telecom sector will
always see bigger companies that constantly
invest in improving the coverage and
quality of their network innovating more
on their services, aggressively acquiring
new sales and distribution channels and
further investing in their brand to survive
and grow.
“It requires a countrywide network to
break even and remain in business plus
a strong leadership and well thought out
strategy,” Prentout said.
He said the telecoms that bridge the
digital world will continue to do so to keep
up pace with the needs of customers.
Prentout said all industries and
consumers are now using internet and that
40% of the new jobs related to the digital
economy envisaged in the next 10 years are
not yet created.
Amidst these reports, the sector remains
profitable for the big players.
Last year, MTN Uganda recorded a 10.7%
growth in revenue from Shs 1.5trillion in
2016 to Shs 1.68 trillion in 2017, supported
by growth in demand for data and digital
services.
The data revenue increased by 41.4%
underpinned by an increase in data traffic
and good growth in data bundle adoption,
the company reported.
Similarly, digital revenue increased
by 16.1% supported mainly by Mobile
Financial Services (MFS). MFS contributed
23% of the company’s total revenue, with
the mobile money customers increasing by
27.6% to 5.2million.
MTN had 10.7million subscribers as at
the end of the first quarter of 2018. This
was 700,000 more customer subscribers
compared with its closest rival, Airtel
that had 10 million in a market of about
23 million subscribers. The rest of the
customers were shared by Africell and
Uganda Telecom.
Going forward
Mutabazi said new players that intend to
enter the country’s telecom industry would
require heavy investments in infrastructure
and promotional campaigns to attract
customers to their network.
He also said focusing on data service
which many players are doing, might not
be economically viable given that it is a
narrow market and very competitive.
For a country with 40 million people like
Uganda, Mutabazi said it is normal to have
at least a maximum of 3-4 players “beyond
that it would be a waste of time and cannot
be sustainable for small players.”

Drug production at Quality Chemicals in Luzira.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
Cipla to list on USE
Analysts anticipate some buzz on
market that last had listing in 2012
By Julius Businge
U
ganda’s Securities Exchange mar-
ket is set to experience some new
buzz again as the long awaited
drug maker, Cipla Quality Chemi-
cal Industries Ltd (CiplaQCIL), makes an
Initial Public Offering this month.
The company said in a statement dated
August 02 that its shareholders will be
reducing their stake as part of its growth
strategy.
“Each of the shareholders will be selling a
minority of their stakes to enable sufficient
free float and liquidity; Cipla Group, rep-
resented through a subsidiary will retain a
majority stake,” the notice reads in part.
The Indian-based Cipla Group owns a
62.3% stake in the company, followed up
with Capital Works Investment Partners
and TLG Capital that owns 14.4% and
12.5% respectively.
Local investors – Emmanuel Katongole,
Frederick Mutebi Kitaka and George Bagu-
ma – hold a stake of 3.6% each.
The company said the listing has received
relevant approvals required and that it
plans to provide further details soon.
Though the company could not divulge
further details of the planned IPO, available
information indicates that it plans to sell
31% stake through the sale of 657million
shares. This is intended to raise at least
Shs100bn.
Renowned market firms, Renaissance
Capital is acting as the lead transaction
advisor and book runner while Crested
Capital (Uganda) is the lead sponsoring
stockbroker to the listing.
This announcement comes amidst several
calls amongst market experts to have a care-
fully designed campaign aimed at sensitis-
ing members of the public and investors on
the benefits of listing and trading in com-
pany shares.
It also comes at a time, the capital markets
regulator, the Capital Markets Authority
(CMA) current master plan is recommend-
ing to government to engage companies in
key sectors of oil and gas and services sector
to list so that Ugandans can have a share
in them in addition to having them attract
high profile investors from oversees to ben-
efit the entire economy.
Currently the USE has 16 local and
regional companies listed and few counters
record market activity during days of trad-
ing. Power distributor Umeme Limited was
the last to list on the market in 2012.
Company strength
business
Market analysts are not predicting yet
on whether or not the company would be a
good buy with many waiting to look at the
performance of the company detailed in a
technical document referred to as a prospec-
tus. However, available information shows
that the company that started in 2005, with
more than US$200million worth of invest-
ment, sits on 12 acres of land with a factory
area of 11,800 square meters. The company
focuses on the production of World Health
Organisation (WHO) pre-qualified anti-
malarials, anti-retrovirals and Hepatitis B
drugs for the Sub-Saharan African region
including Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tan-
zania, Namibia, Ivory Coast, Zambia, Zim-
babwe, Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique,
Ghana, Ethiopia, Angola and South Sudan.
Although the company has the capacity
to produce 70 million tablets a month, it
is currently producing at 65-70 % capacity
due to instability in demand for drugs.
The Capital Markets Authority
remained tight lipped on the planned
offer. USE Chief Executive Officer, Paul
Bwiso, said, “ It is an exciting time for the
Uganda capital markets that last had an
IPO in 2012 and we applaud CiplaQCIL
for taking this important step in its
growth story.”
Joseph Kibuuka, the head of invest-
ment banking at Crested Capital told The
Independenton Aug. 04 that he was not
authorised to talk about the transaction
but said, any new listing that is of good
quality on the USE is a good addition and
would boost market activity.
He said there is need to run aggressive
sensitisation campaigns with messages on
the benefits of investors taking part in the
capital markets.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 31
business
Namanve industrial park.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
By Isaac Khisa
U
ganda Investment Authority has
withdrawn land allocated to 164
firms in the industrial and busi-
ness parks over the last five years
due to non-compliance to the set terms.
The Authority’s Acting Executive Direc-
tor, Basil Ajer, told The Independent in an
interview that the firms lost land for failure
to develop it within the stipulated period.
“Once a firm has been allocated land in
these industrial parks, there are activities
that need to be carried out to show that it is
committed to its goal,” he said.
“The firm, for instance, should ensure
that the allocated land has been surveyed,
plans approved, perimeter walls construct-
ed, among others within 18 months. How-
ever, this was not fulfilled.”
This comes exactly a year since the UIA
gave firms that had been allocated land in
the seven industrial parks up to 18 months
to prove that they are able to develop the
land or lose it.
Last year, the investment promotion
agency revealed that it withdrew 52.4 acres
from 10 companies that failed to utilise their
land in the Kampala Business and Indus-
trial Park, Namanve, while 7.5 acres were
repossessed from four companies in Soroti
Industrial & Business Park.
The government has in the past years
courted prospective local and foreign inves-
tors especially those in manufacturing to set
up investments in the industrial parks.
However, a section of investors have been
reluctant to set investments there citing
limited extension of utilities such as water,
roads and electricity.
Meanwhile, UIA released a report on the
level of investment licenced last year, with
32 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
Firms lose land in
industrial parks
Limited access to water, electricity & roads
remains a big headache in these parks
statistics indicating a more than 50% drop
in licenced projects from 512 during the FY
2016/17 to 247 during the FY 2017/18 citing a
drop in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).
“The way we attract FDI is not unique
from other countries, so if the global trends
are declining, you expect that we shall
attract less,” said Joseph Kiggundu, a con-
sultant director at UIA.
Available data shows that FDI inflow
declined from US$1.05million during
2016/17 to US$701.76million last financial
year.
In terms of sector contribution, manufac-
turing sector registered the biggest number
of licenced projects (125), accounting for
over 50% of all the licenced projects in
20217/18.
This is attributed to the government pol-
icy towards value addition and incentives
such as free land in Namamve and the 10
year tax holiday for foreign investors.
This was followed up closely with the
mining and quarrying sector that accounted
for 11%, finance, insurance, real estate and
business services at 9.3% and electricity, gas
and water account for 9.1%
The sectors that registered the lowest
number licenced firm included wholesale &
retail, catering & accommodation services
that recorded only 1% followed up with
transport, storage and communication as
well as community and social services that
each registered 3%.
Central region registered the highest
number of licenced projects (201), repre-
senting 81% of all the licenced projects in
2017/18. This has been driven by economic
infrastructure, financial services, markets
and skilled manpower which are abundant
in this region.
Eastern and western region accounted for
8.1% each for the licenced firms and the rest
taken up by the northern region.
Current status
A total of 33 industries are currently in
operation within the Namamve, directly
employing 15,000 Ugandans within the
park, 87 commenced constructions whereas
121 companies are still in the pre-stage –
surveying, processing of title deed plans
and titles, environmental impact assessment
among others.

Kampala’s surging
residential properties
Supply of residential apartments in prime suburbs
could exceed demand over the next two years
By Isaac Khisa
D
emand for residential proper-
ties in the secondary residential
surburbs of greater Kampala has
risen up on the back of increased
stock of newly constructed properties, ac-
cording to the latest report from the prop-
erty agency Knight Frank.
The 2018 half year report shows that
demand for residential properties in the
middle income segment grew by 9% par-
ticularly in Kira, Najjera, Kyanja, Namu-
gongo and Naalya, with selling and renting
ranging between Shs 100m –Shs 200 million
and Shs 400,000 – Shs 800,000 per month,
respectively.
“It is also interesting to note that approxi-
mately 80% of the new stocks of apartment
blocks available on the market in these areas
were sold during first half of 2018,” the
report says.
There has also been a 5% year on year
increase in occupancy rates for prime
residential suburbs of Nakasero, Kololo,
Naguru and Bugolobi owed to the comple-
tion of pipeline projects in the second half of
last year.
The government, which has brought
forward its final investment decision for a
planned 1,445-kilometer (900-mile) crude-
export pipeline to the end of 2018 from June
2019 via Tanzania, plans to start oil produc-
tion by 2022, two years later than earlier
planned.
The report, however, projects that the
supply of residential apartments in the
prime suburbs of Nakasero, Kololo, Naguru
and Bugolobi could exceed demand over
the next two years, if the existing and newly
completed developments are not absorbed
by the market over the next six months.
This was the same trend with the office
space. Demand for office space registered
an increase, with Grade A office space over
the last 12 months currently standing at 92%
compared with Grade B space at 78%.
This is a 2% year on year growth in Grade
A occupancy compared to the 90% recorded
in the first half of 2017.
Currently, there’s limited vacant Grade
A space in the core Central Business District
and secondary office locations available on
the market.
National Housing Estate Naalya
Demand for Grade B office space decline
On the contrary, the Grade B office space
saw occupancy rates register a 7% decline
during the first half of 2018 from 85%
recorded during the same period last year
as organisations moved either to acquire
their properties or relocated to properties
with better facilities and amenities. This
has in turn increased the available stock of
Grade B space by approximately 2%.
This increase in space of older Grade
B stock coupled with the relatively low
demand for the same has put further down-
ward pressure on rental rates with Grade
B gross rents (excl. taxes) now ranging
between $10 and $12 per square metre per
month depending on the specific attributes
of the properties.
On the same note, the industrial property
sector saw a 10% decline in demand for
space over the first half of 2018 in line with
the slowdown in economic activity with
some corporate organizations and private
businesses downsizing, and opting to take
up smaller and or cheaper warehouses.
There was also a lot of speculative devel-
opment of logistics and storage facilities on
the back of anticipated demand from the oil
and gas sector, but this has not quite mate-
rialized.
“It is also likely that the oil and gas sector
will have specific needs and requirements
which will have to be built to suit and not
speculative,” the report states.
The traditional industrial areas, (1st – 8th
business
Street), Ntinda, Nakawa and Luzira Indus-
trial areas continue to remain the preferred
locations for businesses requiring only stor-
age space as opposed to the manufacturers
who have built owner occupied premises in
the Namanve Industrial Park and or along
Jinja Road.
Likewise, a lot of the older stock in the
traditional industrial areas is being exten-
sively renovated or plots redeveloped with
more modern storage and showroom space.
This trend, the report says, will continue
as owner occupiers relocate to designated
industrial and business parks.
This new development comes at the time
the Bank of Uganda projects the economic
growth prospects to remain favourable in
the medium term buoyed by multiplier
effects of public infrastructure investments,
higher agricultural productivity, increase
in household consumption and the overall
strengthening of the global economy.
Outlook
Looking forward, the supply gap in
Grade A office space is expected to narrow
in the medium term given the number of
good quality developments in the pipeline.
“Approximately 65,000 m2 of Grade A
space is expected on the market during the
next 12 months with at least 50% of it being
built for owner occupation by organizations
such as law firms and government parastat-
als,” the report says.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 33
business
CSR Banking

Coca-Cola’s Kampala UBA to unveil mobile, agent banking

P
festival set an-African lender, United Bank for “We have also made progress with the agent

O
n August19, Ugandans
will enjoy their favorite
rolex combos at the
Coca-Cola sponsored
2018 Kampala Rolex Festival.
The festival that returns for a
third edition will be held at The
Uganda Museum. The festive is
organised by the Rolex initiative
together with the Ministry of
Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities.
Coca-cola officials said the fes-
tival is just another example of the
company’s continued association
with food and celebrated rituals
among families and friends.
In addition, the festival pres-
ents a unique opportunity for
Ugandan rolex vendors, consum-
ers, corporate companies and
tourism institutions to celebrate
Uganda’s most popular dining
offering and the country’s rich
and original food culture. Coca-
Cola Uganda’s Brand Manager,
Miriam Limo said: “This festival
Africa, plans to roll out its mobile bank-
ing platform mid this month and later
agent banking to facilitate customer
convenience and also tap into the unbanked
population.
UBA Uganda CEO Johnson Agoreyo said the
lender is in the final stage of preparations and
testing of the system.“We are currently testing
the platform and should be up running in the
mid of this month,” he told media at the Kam-
pala Serena Hotel on August 02.
Banking
Equity Bank enters Church House
Equity Bank officials welcome Deputy
Governor for BoU, Louis Kasekende
banking and you should be able to see some-
thing at the end of this month.”
Launching the two services will put the Nige-
rian-owned lender into the par with a section
of other banks such as Stanbic, Centenary and
Equity that have already done so.
The Nigerian-owned lender, which entered
Uganda’s banking industry in 2008, made its
first profit in 2016. The bank recorded a modest
net profit of Shs 2.6bn in 2016 from a net loss of
Shs 4.3bn in 2015.
investment through rent reconciliations with
Church of Uganda, the owner of the building.
Church House is a 16 floor commercial office
building, with Equity Bank occupying three
floors.
“This magnificent building is testimony of
what partnerships can give you,” said James
Mwangi, the Equity Group managing director
and CEO. The Deputy Governor, Bank of Ugan-
da, Louis Kasekende applauded Equity and

gives us an opportunity to offer
our consumers a unique moment
and experience of pairing their
favorite rolex with an ice cold
Coca-Cola. We remain committed
to offering our consumers unique
moments and experiences.”
E
quity Bank has relocated its Uganda’s
head office from Katwe to Church House
in the middle of city on Kampala Road
as it marked 10 years of operation.
The bank funded the construction of the
Shs US$17million building and will recoup its
Church of Uganda for putting up the building.
He said that Equity bank’s business model
of reaching out to large and small consumers
through digital tools and agency banking was
critical in promoting financial inclusion and eco-
nomic development.

Banking Economy

NC Bank launches its first Visa Debit Card PMI signals successive
Ntulume said. improvement in
He said that the Bank
is constantly looking business conditions

for solutions to ease the
financial services offer-
ing and would go ahead
to roll out more new
products.
He said a cashless
economy and techno-
logical advancement is
encouraging more peo-
ple to seek easier ways
of making payments
Officials addressing the media during the Visa launch without necessarily vis-
T
he private sector has continued to register
positive growth with the eighteenth suc-
cessive improvement in business condi-
tions, according to the latest Purchase
Managers Index (PMI) for July.
At 53.2 recorded in July, the private sector
maintained the same positive performance score
card that was seen in June and remaining above
the average since the survey began in June 2016.
The latest statistics released for July, shows that
there was a further improvement in business con-
ditions across the Ugandan private sector, reflect-

N
C Bank Ugan-
da Limited
has launched
its first Visa
enabled debit Card.
Launching the product
on Aug.02, the Bank’s
Managing Director, Sam
Ntulume, said the card
would give its custom-
ers convenient payment
solutions across the
world.
“This launch marks
an important step for
NC Bank as we continue
to offer our customers a
wide-range of services,”
iting banking halls.
Cardholders will
be able to access
money internationally
with comprehensive
security and protection
with its chip and pin
technology. Customers
can also shop online
using the card.
ing ongoing expansions in output and new orders
amid reports of strengthening client demand.
Commenting on July’s survey findings, Jibran
Qureishi, Regional Economist E.A at Stanbic Bank
said: “Private sector activity remains solid and
could further benefit from the ongoing public
investment in infrastructure, in addition to the
government’s intentions to clear domestic arrears
over the course of the fiscal year.”

34 Aug 10 - 16, 2018

 business

Over-regulation could
suppress bancassurance
By Independent staff maximum of four insurance

O
ver regulation of ban-
cassurance services in
Uganda could limit
the growth of the
segment, according to the Julia
Shisia, executive director at the
Nairobi-based Stanbic Insur-
ance Agency.
Shisia, who spoke during the
fourth Bancassurance Annual
Forum in Kampala on August
Badru Kiggundu, the presidential adviser on infrastructure touring Roofing 01 said designing relaxed regu-
Rolling Mills Namanve during the engineers visit of the plant on August 4. lation like it is in Kenya could
Kiggundu urged the engineers in uganda to be innovative in order to address stir growth of the bancassur-
challenges of steel production in Uganda.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA ance.
“For instance, in Kenya, a
bank is allowed to be an agent
for all insurance firms and it is
not necessarily that one must
have a certificate of proficient to
sale insurance,” he said.
“I believe Uganda’s insur-
ance industry can also use this
model to grow the bancassur-
ance business segment.”
She said insurance firms can
carry out advertisement for a
specific bancassurance product
jointly with a commercial bank.
This came in the wake that
commercial banks in Uganda
are allowed to partner with a
Cissy Kagaba, the Executive Director of the Anti- Corruption Coalition
Uganda (ACCU) addressing the press after the release of a validation
report on environmental audit on forestry activities in Uganda for 2017
at Hotel Africana on August 2.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
firms to sale insurance. Also, an
individual willing to sale insur-
ance should possess a certificate
of proficiency.
Bernard Obel, the acting
director, supervision at the
Insurance Regulatory Authority
of Uganda, said the regulator
will look into the guidelines
and possibly made possible
readjustments.
IRA-U started issuing ban-
cassurance licences to com-
mercial banks in December
last year, a step intended to
boost the country’s insurance
penetration now lowest in East
Africa.
So far, 12 banks have been
given ago a head to be insur-
ance agents. Uganda’s insur-
ance penetration currently
stands at 0.73 % compared with
Rwanda’s 1% and Tanzania’s
2.3%. Kenya has the highest
insurance penetration at 3.4%.
Last year, the country’s
insurance industry recorded
a 16% growth in insurance
premiums to Shs737billion last
year, up from Shs 634billion
2016. In 2015 premiums were
recorded at Shs611billion.

Weekly share price movement (August 06)

Security August 06 July 31 Movement
BATU 30,000 30000 00
BOBU 140 140 00
CENT 1,253 1,218 2.9
DFCU 900 950 5.3
EABL 8,440 8,307 1.6
EBL 1,815 1,846 3.0
JHL 18,577 18,460 0.6
KA 366 374 2.1
KCB 1,769 1,753 0.9
NIC 17 17 00
NMG 3,335 3,304 0.9
NVL 450 450 00
SBU 32 32 00
Vivo Energy Uganda MD Gilbert Assi (R), listening to the Minister of State UCHM 51 64 20.3
for Environment Mary Goretti Kitutu during the launch of an environment UCL 21 23 8.7
campaign dubbed “Tuve Ku Kaveera” in partnership with NEMA at Shell UMEME 320 330 3.1
Bugolobi on August 3.  INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA ALSI -- -- --

Aug 10 - 16, 2018 35

I
By Flavia Nassaka

n 2002, James Ntulume developed

a keen interest in snakes. Then an
owner of a farm – Snakes Uganda—
located in an upscale Kampala
suburb, Muyenga, Ntulume
immersed himself into studying the
reptiles.
By 2015, he had completed sets of short
courses in handling and conserving the
reptiles. Last year, he abandoned his full
time IT job and officially registered a charity
that now offers snake rescue services,

WHO lists Snake bites

sensitization and guides tourists who go
deep in forests searching for snakes. Given
his reputation, it was only a matter of time
that people started reporting to him with
festering snakebites.
“Many times people call me that they
have been bitten by a snake and do
not know what to do,” Ntulume told
The Independent, “Others come here.
They come weeks or months after failed
treatments”.
While at a conference in South Africa,
Ntulume was given some antivenom – a
chemical that reverse or neutralize the
effects of a snakes’ poison. He offers these
free of charge.
He told The Independent that the
antivenom is manufactured in South Africa
and works well for Ugandan snakebites.
According to experts, antivenoms work
depending on the type of snake that bit
you and where it is found. The science of
producing antivenom, according to experts,
involves extracting venom from snakes and
injecting it into animals, such as horses.
The injected animals’ immune systems
produce antibodies that neutralize the
venom. These can be extracted and stored
for later use on human victims who are
bitten by that particular snake species.
Currently however, the most popular
antivenom in Uganda is from India and,
therefore, supposed to treat injuries caused
by Indian snakes.
“You just can’t have Indian Antivenom
in the hospital. There is a lot of ignorance
in treatment here”, said Royjan Taylor an
expert from the Kenya based James Ashe
Antivenom Trust, an entity set up to help
snake bite victims.
Like Uganda, he says Kenya has a
number of venomous snakes like the Puff
adder, the East African Gaboon viper, Black
mamba, the forest cobra and the Egyptian
Cobra, among others, which health workers
should be aware of in order to offer effective
treatments.
“To be able to help, health workers need
amongst top 20 killers
In Uganda, many antivenoms do not work,
all snakebite first aid information is wrong
to know what snake bit a person depending
on the symptoms that they show. We are
not telling them to go to the jungle and start
searching for snakes,” he says,” but they
need to know that for some bites you do not
need any treatment because it was a dry bite
or they are just not poisonous”.
Meanwhile, snakebite envenoming is
becoming a major threat. While the World
Health Organisation (WHO) had in 2013
removed it from the list of the priority
Neglected Tropical Diseases(NTDs), it has
now put it back as one of the top 20 diseases
claiming many lives especially in the sub-
Saharan Africa.
At the World Health Assembly meeting
held in May a resolution was passed for the
organization to develop a comprehensive
plan to support countries in implementing
measures for increased access to effective
treatment by people who get bitten by
venomous snakes.
It is estimated that 2.7million bites
happen annually, a fifth of these in Sub-
Saharan Africa. Apart from this, a quarter
of the world’s 400,000 bite-related fatalities
occur in the region. These figures are likely
conservative as a few snakebite victims
make it to statistic-reporting hospitals.
In fact, figures by an NGO – Health
Action International (HAI)—show that 70%
of the cases go unreported. At the Ministry
of Health, for instance, snakebites are not
categorized in the Health Management
Information System (HMIS), which
captures data collected during provision of
health services at health facilities across the
country.
It is only now after WHO put it on the
list of priority diseases that officials are
considering getting a focal point person to
cater for issues associated with envenoming.
Betty Nabatte of the Vector Control
Division at the ministry says that while
the 2016 clinical guidelines give guidance
on how to deal with cases, many health
workers are not trained on how to deliver
treatments.
“The first aid tips they give are wrong,”
she told The Independent, “For instance,
they tell people to tie the bitten area which
is wrong. The black stone that they say sips
out the venom is also a lie.” Nabatte added
that the ministry is now planning to ensure
government procures antivenom through
the National Medical Stores (NMS).
Results of the study conducted local
NGO – Coalition for Health Promotion
and Social Development (HEPs Uganda)—
between October last year and March,
showed that only 4 percent of the 144 health
facilities studied, stock antivenom even as
they recorded 593 cases of envenoming
within the six months. They also found that
in 92% of the facilities, health workers were
not trained in delivering treatment.
According to Sophie Von Bernus, a
Programme Officer, Snakebite at HAI,

36 Aug 10 - 16, 2018


that is not the only challenge. The biggest
problem with Uganda, she said, is these
figures are just estimates. Most of the cases
are treated from home or run to traditional
healers for help, she explained adding that
even though, some would have chosen to go
the health facilities; they would be cut off by
the high costs of treatment.
Treatment with the Indian antivenom
costs up to Shs400, 000 yet the more effective
South African vail dose, which is able to treat
bites by several snake species in Africa goes
for Shs800, 000 in private health facilities.
Yet, this does not even include the cost for
supportive treatment that complements
it. The patient will need other treatment
interventions like wound care, pain relief
and, in extreme cases, reconstructive surgery
because snake venom tends to kill tissue
cells whose only treatment is amputating the
limb.
There is another catch. The South African
brand, which is the best on the market now
requires a cold chain and yet the Indian one
that doesn’t require that is not effective.
Royjan who is also a self -taught snake
handler and snake farm owner, says that
while some countries have monovalent
antivenoms which treat bites by a specific
snake species, the best option for countries
like Uganda who have many cases, many
snake species and yet with little resources,
are the polyvalent antivenoms, which treat a
number of snake bites with one antivenom
cocktail.
“Research is also ongoing to develop
rapid diagnostic tests to quickly identify
which kind of snake attacked someone,”
Royjan told The Independent, “When this is
done, we will be able to provide treatments
quickly.”
But before this happens, Royjan says,
people should try as much as possible to
avoid bites first by changing their attitude of
attacking and killing snakes when they spot
them. He explains that most of the snakes,
even the most poisonous, are peaceful and
will not strike unless disturbed.
He recommends that people move away
once they spot a snake. If it spits venom in
one’s eyes, he adds, they should be rinsed
immediately with water. He says once bitten,
all tight items on one’s body should be
removed and the wounded area left alone.
Then, he adds, the patient should also be
made to lay on the ground with the side that
has not been beaten to limit movement of the
affected area.
He warns against lying on the back or use
of traditional unsafe treatments. Protecting
against bites according to him is as simple as
closing all holes in one’s house, cutting grass
around the house and watching your steps
when in the bush.
For Sophie, however, with comprehensive
sensitization, most of the injuries caused by
snakes will be avoided.
By Kilande Esther Joan
Funding Family Planning
Pallisa district should be commended
F
or the first time, Pallisa
district Local Government
gave a budget-line to Family
Planning (FP) services in its
annual budget for Financial Year (FY)
2018/2019 to reduce the high teenage
pregnancies and FP unmet need. This
is commendable and the rest of the
districts should borrow a leaf if we,
as a country are to make strides in
improving FP services, achieving the
FP2020 global targets and Uganda’s
Development Vision 2040.
Pallisa has a Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
estimated at six to seven children
per woman (6.1), teenage pregnancy
at 25%, contraceptive prevalence at
31%; FP use among married women
at 20%; and the unmet need at 69%.
This is mainly attributed to persistent
stock-outs of FP commodities as
well as lack of information on sexual
reproductive health among the young
population in Pallisa district (Lot
Quality Assurance Sample - LQS
results - 2015). At national level,
contraceptive prevalence (modern
and traditional methods) stands at
39% among married women, and at
51% among sexually active unmarried
women; the unmet need for FP stands
at 28%; while the TFR is as high as
5.4 (Uganda Bureau of Statistics
(UBOS), 2017 and Uganda Health and
Demographic Survey 2016).
Nearly one in five married women
and two in four teenagers do not
want to have a child but are not
using contraceptives. It is against this
background that the district allocated
2% of the Primary Health Care (PHC)
funding to FP programming. This
means that all health facilities will
have FP activities in the FY2018/19.
The district further allocated UGX10
million to training of health workers
on FP service provision.
This was achieved through the
development of an Extended Family
comment
Planning Working Group that
advocated for FP programing at
district level. Coalition for Health
Promotion and Social Development
(HEPS-Uganda) a local NGO
supported the district using a
modeling tool known as ImpactNow
to predict the short-term future
health and economic benefits of FP
investments on behalf of the district.
Through the evidence gathered, the
district leaders were convinced that
the status quo of the district is bound
to change if investment is made in FP
services.
Ensuring universal access to Family
Planning (FP) has been identified
as a key priority for realizing the
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), achieving the FP2020 global
targets and Uganda’s Development
Vision 2040. High quality FP
can help curb rapid population
growth, improve health, and drive
development.
Uganda recognizes universal access
to Family Planning (FP) as a key
priority for realizing the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), achieving
the FP2020 global targets and
Uganda’s Development Vision 2040
and as a country, Uganda has made
significant progress towards fulfilling
the right to family planning, funding
is however, not enough. There is need
for a concerted approach such as that
of Pallisa to improve quality of family
planning services.
If all districts are committed to
increase funding to family planning just
like Pallisa has done, the country will
move faster in achieving the FP2020
goals and Vision 2020 set targets.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 37
comment
By Yoga Adhola
The 1966 revolution
and the Constitution
I
n an article published under the title,
“Court has sanctioned the return of
violent Constitutionalism in Uganda”,
Professor Onyango-Oloka asserts that
the Constitutional Court that sat in Mbale
has “…plunged our constitutional regime
into a quagmire not seen since the infamous
decision in the case of ex parte Matovu”.
“Decided in 1966, Matovu’s decision
affirmed that the judiciary would look aside
when the Executive arm of government
(in that case the government of President
Apollo Milton Obote) used force to change
the Constitution”.
Far from creating a constitutional quag-
mire, the events of 1966 actually removed
a constitutional quagmire, which had
obtained in the federal constitution of 1962.
The 1962 contained the following clause:
“7(1) Subject to provisions of the Constitu-
tion of Uganda (including the provisions
of the Constitutions of Buganda included
therein), the Legislature of Uganda and the
Legislature of Buganda shall have concur-
rent power to make laws for the peace.”  that Binaisa, the Attorney General at the
This provision became a serious quag-
mire when it came to dealing with Edward
Mutesa’s transgression.
Mutesa once went to ‘the lost counties’
and shot people dead.  Professor Mamdani
tells us on page 244 of his book, “Politics
and Class formation” that: “One Sunday,
Edward Mutesa went on an expedition to
the lost counties with 8,000 ex-servicemen,
demonstrated his royal prerogative of being
above the law by one morning shooting
nine Banyoro peasants gathered in a market
place...” This was murder, which would
have required his trial; however, one could
not take him to court as long as he was head
of state.
Secondly, none other than Professor
Mutibwa, himself a Muganda, a member of
the 1995 Constitutional Commission and a
retired professor of history, has written in
his book, “Uganda since Independence: a
story of unfulfilled hopes.” thus:
 «The political dispute between Obote and
Ibingira and his supporters centered around
the control of UPC and ultimately the very
leadership of the country in terms of the
political and economic ideologies that were
to be followed. Obote claimed - not without
justification - that Ibingira’s group, which,
included the President, Sir Edward Mutesa,
and the Buganda government at Mengo
and which also counted on the support
38 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
and assistance of the Army Commander,
Brigadier Opolot, wanted to remove
him from power and that plans to this end
were in an advanced stage by the end of
1965. No one, let alone Ibingira and his sup-
porters, has denied that they wanted to see
Milton Obote and those who believed in
socialist philosophies removed. Their only
regret is that they failed.”
Mutesa’s involvement in plots to illegally
overthrow the government was of course
treason for which he should have been pros-
ecuted in a court of law. However, Mutesa
was a sitting president of the country with
immunity against prosecution. To pros-
ecute him would have required that he be
impeached. As provided for in the 1962 con-
stitution, such a move by Parliament would
have required concurrence with a vote of
two thirds of the Lukiiko (parliament) of
Buganda.
There is no way such a move would have
been approved by the Lukiiko. It was to
resolve this constitutional contradiction
time advised Obote, the Prime Minister to
abrogate the 1962 Constitution and replace
it with the 1966 Constitution.
The validity of this constitution was to
become an issue when on September 6,
1966, Michael Matovu filed, through his
advocate, a writ of habeas corpus under
Section 349 of the Criminal Procedure Code
of Uganda.
Following the revolution, there was
some resistance, and some of those who
were leading the resistance got arrested.
Among those who were arrested was
Michael Matovu, the Saza Chief of Buddu
in Buganda. Matovu was detained on May
26 1966.
Matovu’s application for a writ of habeas
corpus led to various questions requiring
constitutional interpretation and so the
presiding judge, Jeffreys Jones, J, referred
the matter to a 3-member bench of the High
Court (Udo Udoma, Chief Justice; Sheridan
and Jeffreys Jones, JJ) for hearing and deter-
mination of the Constitutional questions
(not the application for the writ of habeas
corpus per se).
The issues for determination revolved
around the constitutional validity of the
emergency powers laws by which Matovu
was detained and therefore by extension,
the constitutionality or legal validity of
Michael Matovu’s detention. The most
important issue, however, and the core of
this precedent, turned out to be the question
of the 1966 Constitution’s validity.
No doubt, the roots of this 1966 Constitu-
tion lay in an extra-constitutional act to wit,
revolution carried out by Apollo Milton
Obote when he seized all powers of govern-
ment on 22nd February 1966.
The Attorney General submitted that
under International Law, an independent
and sovereign nation may have its govern-
ment or Constitution changed by way of
a revolution, where an abrupt political
change destroys a pre-existing legal order
and effectively replaces it in a manner that
pre-existing legal order did not itself con-
template.
It was thus argued that the suspension
of the 1962 Constitution and seizure of all
powers of government by Apollo Milton
Obote in February 1962 constituted a revo-
lution. It was put to the Court that a revolu-
tion had occurred in Uganda, destroying
the legal order underlying the 1962 Consti-
tution and establishing the new legal order
under which the 1966 Constitution was
validly established.
Further reliance was sought from the Paki-
stani Supreme Court decision of the state v.
Dosso where the Kelsen theory was applied
in a similar circumstance. In the case of
Pakistan, the declaration of martial law by
President Iskandar Mirza on October 7th
1958 abrogated the 1956 Constitution.
Kelsen theorized: ″No jurist would main-
tain that even after a successful revolution
the old constitution and the laws based
thereupon remain in force, on the ground
that they have not been nullified in a
manner anticipated by the old order itself.
Every jurist will presume that the old order
– to which no political reality any longer
corresponds – has ceased to be valid, and
that all norms, which are valid within the
new order, receive their validity exclusively
from the new constitution. It follows that,
from this juristic point of view the norms of
the old order can no longer be recognized as
valid norms.″
The three member bench (in ex parte
Matovu) concluded that the Kelsenian prin-
ciple was equally applicable in the Uganda
case and held that the 1966 Constitution
was thus valid because it was the product
of a successful revolution which had led to
a new legal order, ousting that of the 1962
Constitution.
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE

T Livelihoods for artists

he creative sector in the East
African region is undoubtedly
still struggling. The sector
employs many youth but
government has made
noticeable efforts to streamline Ensuring sustainable careers
it. It is against this backdrop that Dr.
Andrew Burton and a team of academics
from Newcastle University and Makerere
in the creative sector
University art school have been conducting
workshops at 32⁰ East to enhance careers
and livelihoods of artists working on the
Kampala art scene. The workshops are part
of the KLA ART 018 program. Dominic
Muwanguzi talked to him to find more
about these workshops.

What are these workshops you’re

conducting in Uganda about?
The workshops are part of a bigger
project that seeks to address the issues of
sustainable careers and decent livelihoods
in the creative sector.
We appreciate that the creative industries
are key areas of growth in East Africa, but
little investment in the creative sector has
been made by local governments in the
region to achieve the desired development.
More so, the creative sector has been
identified as the biggest employer of the
youth who form a greater percentage of
the overall population of the East African
region. Ironically, there’s already the East
African community Creative and Cultural
Industries Bill 2015, intended to boost
opportunities for artists but so far little has How sustainable are these workshops? set up at Makerere Art gallery, tell me
been heard from it. These workshops serve
as an “intervention” in this pursuit, through Through this engagement, we are not more about this?
engaging art managers, art organizations concerned with sustainability of workshops The installation is my personal idea and
and artists to acquire the necessary skills because we are not trying to impose a not connected to this project. I have always
and knowledge to improve on their artistic particular model or system on the local felt the need to construct installations that
practice. art community. The approach for these respond to the social or economic landscape
workshops is to work collaboratively with of the places I visit. I have done this in
What skills and knowledge are you local institutions to identify what works for different countries like India, China and
passing on to your audience? artists. Is it professional development or Korea where I have been inspired to work
networking? In Nairobi-Kenya, where we with available material in the community
The workshops seek to identify those had the first workshop, the first publication (found objects) to build artworks that
key areas that can benefit artists and all on Kenya contemporary art scene, Nairobi respond or reflect to the nature of
stakeholders in the creative industry Contemporary, was launched recently and environment they are constructed. This
to develop their artistic practice like it is an artist-led publication. installation I am working on at Makerere
networking, which is crucial in building Similarly, to achieve local ownership of Art School “The Pop-up Petrol station” is a
a sustainable art career and livelihood; any possible outcome of these workshops, response to the many petrol stations that are
entrepreneurship skills for artists and art we are working with a team of local art found in Kampala, There is a petrol station
managers in order for them to compete managers and institutions like Margaret for every 100 metres and this has both
favourably in the growing art market Trowel School of Industrial and Fine Art negative and positive connotations for the
within the region; opportunities offered and 32⁰ East who have the experience to population.
by new modes art production, potential work with artists and understandably know The project is funded by Arts Humanities
benefits for collaborations and professional what they need. Research Council, the British Institute East
development in form of writing portfolio Africa and Margaret Trowel School of
and C.Vs for their art. You are building an installation to be Industrial and Fine Art. Images courtesy of
Joel Tugaineyo.

Aug 10 - 16, 2018 39

British Airways staff fired for having ‘girly’ hair
A British Airways worker
has accused the airline of
sexism after he was sacked
for having a ‘man bun.’ Sid
Ouared, 26, claims his contract
was terminated after bosses
demanded he cut his locks
because it breached uniform
policy. The former Heathrow
customer service worker said
one of his bosses even pulled
him aside and told him:
“Your hair is like a girl’s hair.”
Ouared said: “They basically
said, ‘cut it, put it in a turban
like a Sikh, or turn it into
dreadlocks like a Rastafarian’.
I am not any of those things
and I can’t believe that they
would make me wear my
hair like something that I am
not.” The Londoner, who had
his contract terminated last
month after just two weeks in
the job, criticized British Air-
ways for being “stuck in the
1970s.””So because I’m not a
female, I wasn’t permitted to
have my hair in that style. It
was absolute sexism.”

New Zealand,
Australia
bicker over flag
Winston Peters, New Zea-
land’s acting prime minister has
claimed Australia stole New
Zealand’s design saying his
country “got there first.” New
Zealand adopted its flag in
1902, while Australia’s was not
officially recognised until 1954. ing to prove to authorities that
The two countries’ flags are both
dark blue with the Union Jack
emblem in the top left corner.
The only distinct variation is
that the Australian version also
has six white stars, while New
Zealand’s has a constellation
of four red stars. Peters who is
temporarily leading the country
while Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern is on maternity leave
raised the issue recently and
complained: “We got there first
with this design.” “We designed
it and they borrowed it and if we
wanted to clear the matter up
they should change their flag.”
“It must be patently obvious that
all over the world people are
confused. I’ve been in places like
Turkey and elsewhere where
they’ve confused our countries
on the basis of those flags. It’s
not helpful.” But Opposition
leader, Simon Bridges, mocked
Peters’ flag pre-occupation,
accusing him of populism and
labeling him “a poor man’s Don-
ald Trump.”
Romanian court rejects man’s claim that he is, in fact, alive
After more than 20 years of was filed “too late.”The deci- in December, last year, Turkish
working as a cook in Turkey,
63-year-old Constantin Reliu
sion, the court said, is final. “I
am a living ghost,” said Reliu,
authorities detained him over
expired papers and in Janu-
returned home to Romania “I am officially dead, although ary deported him to Romania.
to discover that his wife had I’m alive,” he told The Associ- Upon landing at Bucharest
had him officially registered as ated Press early this year, “I airport, he was informed by
dead. Apparently, she wanted have no income and because border officials that he had been
to remarry and now lives in I am listed as dead, I can’t do officially declared dead and
Italy. Reliu has since been living anything.” Reliu explained underwent six hours of ques-
a legalistic nightmare of try- that he first went to work in tioning and tests. Reliu said he
Turkey in 1992 and returned has been banned for life from
he is, in fact, alive. A court in in 1995 to the first big shock returning to Turkey but would
the northeastern city of Vaslui of his marriage — his wife’s like to write to Turkish Presi-
refused to overturn his death infidelity. In 1999, he decided to dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan to
certificate because his request return to Turkey for good. But appeal the decision.
Bermuda Triangle mystery solved?
It appears the reason
behind the Bermuda Tri-
angle’s threatening pow-
ers to sailors may be down
to the rocks underwater,
according to a new docu-
mentary. The Bermuda
Triangle is a large area of
East Fife 4, Forfar 5 soccer the North Atlantic Ocean
between Bermuda, Florida
tary, called “Secrets of
the Bermuda Triangle,”
result finally happens and Puerto-Rico. It is cov-
ered in shipping lanes as
explains why this could
happen. Nick Hutchings
For many years, the late British come- large vessels cross ports in
a mineral prospector
dian, Eric Morecambe (pictured), dreamt the Americas, Europe and
suggests the geology of
of this tongue-twister of a Scottish League the Caribbean. The area
Bermuda is unusual. “Ber-
football result happening. Morecambe used also known as “Devil’s
muda’s basically a sea
the tongue-twister East Fife 4, Forfar 5, as a Triangle,” has been linked
mountain – it’s an under-
greeting to his friend James Alexander Gor- with several unexplainable
water volcano,” says Nick. 
don, who read the classified football results incidents over the years. 
“30 million years ago, it
on BBC radio for 40 years.”Whenever I saw But the reason for these
was sticking up above sea
him over a 20-year period, he would say disappearances may be
level. It has now eroded
‘East Fife 4, Forfar 5’. I’ve got a tape of that.” lurking beneath the sur-
away and we’re left with
And finally “East Fife 4, Forfar 5” came to face. Rocks which form the
the top of a volcano,” he
pass on July 22, this year. The teams were bed of the Atlantic Ocean
said, “We have a few core
locked at 1-1 during their match trigger- may have interfered with
samples, which have mag-
ing a penalty shootout. East 4, Forfar 5 is captains’ compasses, send-
netite in them. It’s the most
regarded by some as the perfect football ing them in the wrong
magnetic naturally occur-
scoreline due to its rhyming nature and direction. Footage from
ring material on Earth.”
rhythmic intonation when spoken out load. Channel 5’s documen-

40 Aug 10 - 16, 2018

You can drive safely
in heavy rains
Simple tips to beat harsh weather on bad roads
By Agencies 
T
he rainy season is underway and
since roads in Kampala and the rest
of the country tend to have potholes,
driving can be a tricky exercise.
Since some of the roads are not tarmacked,
it may be helpful to follow a few rules since
the rainy season will go on for the next four
months. 
In addition to the potentially poor visibil-
ity that accompanies most heavy rain, driv-
ers should be ready to protect themselves
against hydroplaning. Hydroplaning can
occur when a vehicle is traveling too fast in 
heavy rain conditions, causing the vehicle’s
tires to travel on a thin layer of water rather
than grip the surface of the road. This has
the potential to make steering and brak-
ing difficult and could even lead to losing
control of your vehicle. These are additional
tips to help you.
Take your time. Slowing down is the
only way to keep your vehicle from
hydroplaning. Also remember that one
of the most dangerous times to drive
is soon after it begins to rain, as oils
on roadway make for slick conditions.
Waiting a few minutes, rather than
rushing to your destination, can be a
safer plan when it is raining. 
Turn your lights on. Turn your head-
lights on to help other vehicles see
you. Many states require the use of
headlights during rain, even in broad
daylight. 
Give other vehicles more space. Add
1-2 extra seconds of following time in
the rain, which gives you and the cars
behind you more time to react to traffic.
4 Driving in the rain can be both scary
and dangerous, and it’s important to
take wet weather seriously when you’re
on the road. There are lots of things you
can do to make driving in the rain safer,
including being prepared by making
sure your car is ready and ensuring
you can always see properly. But most
importantly, you have to drive accord-
ing to the conditions, and adjust a few
of your habits to avoid sliding, skid-
ding, or being involved in a collision.
Keep your windows clean and clear.
Being able to see properly is key to driv-
ing safely any time, especially when
visibility is already reduced because of
rain. To improve your visibility.
Clean the inside and outside of the
windows regularly to remove dirt, dust,
mud, smoke, fingerprints, grime, and
other materials. If your windows fog
up, turn on the air conditioning or cold
air in the car and aim the vents at the
windows. Turn on the rear defroster,
and open the windows if necessary to
increase the airflow.
Aug 10 - 16, 2018 41
Profile
Justine Nabbosa on her
miraculous musical journey
By Agnes E Nantaba she says, remains one of her happiest

J
in life. It was not long before she made
ustine Nabbosa is a renowned gospel headway to stay and study in Kampala
artiste, lead worshiper and co- at Lubiri Secondary School. This opened
pastor with Wilson Bugembe at the more doors to meet and interact with
Worship House. The vocal dynamo Bugembe through the school exchange
is also president of Next Girl Champion, fellowship meetings.
an annual conference that empowers girls About the same time, Bugembe spotted
and women in Uganda. the singing talent in her and when he
Many in the gospel music circles first chose to start a church in Nansana,
knew her as a back-up voice in Wilson Nabbosa was made one of the founder
Bugembe’s music. Although it remains the members.
podium that brought her to the limelight, “I started singing with pastor
her first album featuring ‘Oli Katonda’ has Bugembe on his third album of ‘Kani’
since its release in 2016, broken barriers and God used me miraculously to
and performed beyond her expectations. touch lives of many people,” she says.
“I am grateful to God for the far he has On April 24, 2017, Nabbosa held
brought me with that song,” Nabbosa her maiden solo concert and has
says, “I realized that it was time for me to since travelled the world ministering
shine and no one could stop me”. thorough music.
Featuring in Bugembe’s music made She is the middle child of the nine
her voice popular and the audience started children of James and Tappi Kiyingi
demanding for solo music but Nabbosa born and raised in Kamuli-
was not about to take on a solo career. Eastern Uganda.
Three years ago, she emerged out of She is a graduate
the comfort zone and started singing of Industrial and
compositions by different people starting Organizational Psychology
her solo music journey. The start of the from Makerere University
journey would seem tough as her first with several awards in the
songs were scarcely received not until ministry. She is yet to get
she released ‘Oli Katonda’ that shook married to the love of her life.
airwaves.
Perhaps her music journey has not been
a tough one since it is where her passion
lies but also because she never saw music
as a source of income but as a part from
ministry work.
Bugembe, who she considers to be
the right person, has always been her
stepping-stone, she says.
“Backing him made my voice popular
and came with so many favours of
recording for free so by the time I chose to
go solo,” Nabbosa says, “the industry was
ready and willing to take on my music.”
She recalls meeting Bugembe in 2002
during her Senior Four long holiday at
his first concert. She was only a visitor
at Christian Life Church in Bwaise,
while she stayed at her uncle’s home in
Kampala. On the fateful day, Nabbosa
landed on a poster announcing
Bugembe’s forthcoming concert to
which she vowed to attend even when
her pockets wouldn’t support the urge.
She would later make it inside the
performance room, which opportunity,

42 Aug 10 - 16, 2018


Justine Nabbosa’s Liteside
Any three things that we
H
do not know about you?
onesty is me. I
love God and
always trust in
him for my next
move. I love to serve him
and the best thing that
has ever happened to me
is for God to let me serve
Him. It is only God that
has brought me thus far.
I am also a smiley person
who loves laughing and
being around happy
people.
What is your idea of
perfect happiness?
Honestly, I don’t know
of another thing that
brings joy and happiness
other than to serve God
and be in His presence
always. I draw my perfect
happiness from serving
God.
What is your greatest
fear?
In the presence of God,
I am fearless.
What is the trait you
most deplore in yourself?
Sometimes, I
procrastinate. But also,
being a smiley and simple
person often, its gets hard
to prove to people around
me when I am serious
about an issue. As for my
patience, some people
misuse it and take me for
granted.
What is the trait you
most deplore in others?
Being too serious about
life.
Which living person do
you most admire?
I admire Osinachi Kalu
Joseph aka ‘Sinach’ the
gospel music singer and
worship leader. I love
her passion for God and
that is my dream. I aim
to be an international What is the quality you
worshipper and keep in most like in a man?
that space to my grave. We should all be
prayerful.
What is your greatest
extravagance? What or who is the
I feel tempted all the greatest love of your life?
time to buy more shoes I love my pastor, my
and clothes even when I parents and Jean Peace
may not need them.
When and where were
What is the greatest thing you happiest?
you have ever done? There have been so
Releasing my solo many happy moments
music. in my life but the most
recent one was being
What is your current given a Visa to USA. I had
state of mind? tried several times and
I am happy. was denied until recently
when God answered my
What do you consider the prayers.
most overrated virtue? I was very happy
I think we waste more the day I met Pastor
time talking than taking Wilson Bugembe in
action. The leaders 2002 for the first time. I
and the followers talk was also happy singing
too much with little or in the presence of
nothing being put to thousands of Christians
action. in 77 days of Glory and
being appreciated with
What does being Shs5million.
powerful mean to you?
I know that money If you could change one
can never bring joy and thing about yourself,
power to someone but the what would it be?
peace in God does. The Sometimes I am slow
ultimate happiness and to act, which not only
power comes from God. bothers other people
around me but also
On what occasion do you myself. I would love to be
lie? faster.
I am not a liar.
Where would you most
What do you most dislike like to live?
about your appearance? Here is home though
I struggle to keep in I believe that it’s a team
shape because I gain a lot effort to make it better.
of weight easily.
What is your most
Which living person do treasured possession?
you most despise? I love my bible; it is
I don’t despise God’s the bible that I have read
creations. over time and made
myself familiar with
What is the quality you it. It is the first thing
most like in a woman? that I take along with
Every straight me everywhere. It is
human being should be something that I can get
prayerful. hold of anywhere and
Aug 10 - 16, 2018
Q&A
advertorial
keep encouraged.
What do you regard
as the lowest depth of
misery?
My heart really goes
out to women who don’t
have children and yet
they desire to have.
What is your favorite
occupation?
I am very passionate
about ministering
through music.
What do you most value
in your friends?
I make friends with
different people for
different reasons but I get
along so fast with people
who serve God and pray
endlessly. I also love
those who think big.
Who are your favorite
writers?
I am attracted to
content not writers.
Which historical figure
do you most identify
with?
Billy Graham lived a
test of time and left a
legacy. He preached the
word of God all over the
world and is one person
who died respectfully of
old age. I want to live like
him.
What is your greatest
regret?
Not any that I can recall
at the moment.
How would you like to
die?
Naturally, in old age
while in the middle of
service to God.
What is your motto?
Trust in the Lord
with all your heart and
lean not on your own
understating.
43
Global comment
By Joseph E. Stiglit
The US is at risk of losing
trade war with China
W
hat was at first a trade skirmish
– with US President Donald
Trump imposing tariffs on steel
and aluminum – appears to be
quickly morphing into a full-scale trade war
with China.
If the truce agreed by Europe and the US
holds, the US will be doing battle mainly
with China, rather than the world (of
course, the trade conflict with Canada and
Mexico will continue to simmer, given US
demands that neither country can or should
accept).
Beyond the true, but by now platitudi-
nous, assertion that everyone will lose, what
can we say about the possible outcomes of
Trump’s trade war? First, macro-economics
always prevails: if the United States’
domestic investment continues to exceed its
savings, it will have to import capital and
have a large trade deficit.
Worse, because of the tax cuts enacted at
the end of last year, the US fiscal deficit is
reaching new records – recently projected
to exceed $1 trillion by 2020 – which means
that the trade deficit almost surely will
increase, whatever the outcome of the trade
war. The only way that won’t happen is if
Trump leads the US into a recession, with
incomes declining so much that investment
and imports plummet.
The US might sell more natural gas to
China and buy fewer washing machines;
but it will sell less natural gas to other coun-
tries and buy washing machines or some-
thing else from Thailand or another country
that has avoided the irascible Trump’s
wrath.
But, because the US interfered with
the market, it will be paying more for its
imports and getting less for its exports than
otherwise would have been the case. In
short, the best outcome means that the US
will be worse off than it is today.
The US has a problem, but it’s not with
China. It’s at home: America has been
saving too little. Trump, like so many of his
compatriots, is immensely shortsighted.
If he had a whit of understanding of eco-
nomics and a long-term vision, he would
have done what he could to increase
national savings. That would have reduced
the multilateral trade deficit.
There are obvious quick fixes: China could
buy more American oil and then sell it on to
others. This would not make an iota of dif-
44 Aug 10 - 16, 2018
ference, beyond perhaps a slight increase in
transaction costs. But Trump could trumpet
that he had eliminated the bilateral trade
deficit.
In fact, significantly reducing the bilateral
trade deficit in a meaningful way will prove
difficult. As demand for Chinese goods
decreases, the renminbi’s exchange rate will
weaken – even without any government
intervention.
This will partly offset the effect of US tar-
iffs; at the same time, it will increase China’s
competitiveness with other countries—and
this will be true even if China doesn’t use
other instruments in its possession, like
wage and price controls, or push strongly
for productivity increases. China’s overall
trade balance, like that of the US, is deter-
mined by its macro-economics.
If China intervenes more actively and
retaliates more aggressively, the change in
the US-China trade balance could be even
smaller. The relative pain each will inflict
on the other is difficult to ascertain. China
has more control of its economy, and has
wanted to shift toward a growth model
based on domestic demand rather than
investment and exports.
The US is simply helping China do what
it has already been trying to do. On the
other hand, US actions come at a time when
China is trying to manage excess leverage
and excess capacity; at least in some sectors,
the US will make these tasks all the more
difficult.
This much is clear: if Trump’s objective
is to stop China from pursuing its “Made
in China 2025” policy – adopted in 2015
to further its 40-year goal of narrowing
the income gap between China and the
advanced countries – he will almost surely
fail.
On the contrary, Trump’s actions will
only strengthen Chinese leaders’ resolve to
boost innovation and achieve technological
supremacy, as they realize that they can’t
rely on others, and that the US is actively
hostile.
If a country enters a war, trade or oth-
erwise, it should be sure that good gen-
erals – with clearly defined objectives, a
viable strategy, and popular support – are
in charge. It is here that the differences
between China and the US appear so great.
No country could have a more unquali-
fied economic team than Trump’s, and a
majority of Americans are not behind the
trade war.
Public support will wane even further as
Americans realize that they lose doubly
from this war: jobs will disappear, not only
because of China’s retaliatory measures, but
also because US tariffs increase the price of
US exports and make them less competitive;
and the prices of the goods they buy will
rise.
This may force the dollar’s exchange rate
to fall, increasing inflation in the US even
more – giving rise to still more opposition.
The Fed is likely then to raise interest rates,
leading to weaker investment and growth
and more unemployment.
Trump has shown how he responds
when his lies are exposed or his policies are
failing: he doubles down. China has repeat-
edly offered face-saving ways for Trump to
leave the battlefield and declare victory. But
he refuses to take them up. Perhaps hope
can be found in three of his other traits: his
focus on appearance over substance, his
unpredictability, and his love of “big man”
politics.
Perhaps in a grand meeting with Presi-
dent Xi Jinping, he can declare the problem
solved, with some minor adjustments of
tariffs here and there, and some new ges-
ture toward market opening that China had
already planned to announce, and everyone
can go home happy.
In this scenario, Trump will have
“solved,” imperfectly, a problem that he
created. But the world following his foolish
trade war will still be different: more uncer-
tain, less confident in the international rule
of law, and with harder borders.
Trump has changed the world, perma-
nently, for the worse. Even with the best
possible outcomes, the only winner is
Trump – with his outsize ego pumped up
just a little more.
Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in
economics, is University Professor at
Columbia University and Chief Economist
at the Roosevelt Institute. His most recent
book is Globalization and Its Discontents
Revisited: Anti-Globalization in the Era of
Trump.
 Live
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