News analysis Health Business

GMO law fight Designer babies Coke unveils more Uganda’s pili pili
not over yet not likely soon sugar-free soda exports risk ban

Issue No. 551 Dec. 14 - 20 2018 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Kutesa, Museveni
America bribe case
How the fight against corruption was lost

www.independent.co.ug
 YOU BUY THE
TRUTH
WE PAY THE
PRICE

Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256-312-637-391/ 2/ 3/ 4 Fax: +256-312-637-396
E-mail: editorial@independent.co.ug, advertising@independent.co.ug, circulation@independent.co.ug Website: www.independent.co.ug
Dec. 14 - 20 2018
INBOX

Issue No. 551 Dec. 14 - 20 2018

News analysis Business Health Arts Motoring

Cover story
Kutesa, Museveni America bribe case
How the fight against corruption was lost

4 The Week
30 Comments
FDC drops Wadri,
Alaso in NEC reshuffle The feminization of African
politics: Evidence shows that
women’s political leadership
9 The Last Word
strengthens governance capacity
Uganda’s painful truths: Why and cooperation with allies
the always-blame-government-
for-every-problem mantra is
32 Health
popular but destructive
Designer babies:
Why what everyone is
14 Analysis freaking out about is not
likely to happen
Edith Nakalema: What can
Museveni’s new anti-corruption tsar
do where others have failed?
35 Arts & Culture
27 Business
Kamya wows with wood:
Coke unveils sugar-free soda How a child’s curiosity
created international celebrity

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

PUBLISHER: Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256-312-637-391/ 2/ 3/ 4 | Fax: +256-312-637-396 E-mail: editor@independent.co.ug | advertising@independent.co.ug
circulation@independent.co.ug | Website: www.independent.co.ug

2 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
 Offline

Miss Uganda Quiin

Abenakyo was on
Dec.08 named Miss
World Africa at the
Miss World finals on
the tropical Chinese
island of Hainan.
Abenakyo,22, was the
only African in the final
five as a Mexican model “What I can tell you is that
and volunteer, Vanessa a number of big people in
Ponce de Leon, 26 was
crowned Miss World. government own labour export
Abanakyo also emerged companies.”Speaker Rebecca Kadaga
second overall runner
up to Miss World.

Yichun, China:
Participant
takes part in
a chilli-eating
competition at a
hot spring

“Importing Cuban doctors has

been put on hold because we
thought salary enhancement
would improve efficiency. But
what we are hearing is not the
case.” Ruth Aceng, Minister for Health

“It is not enough to say you are

going to have a concert or gathering
in Mityana without indicating the
venue and plan for people you expect
to attend. You have to have agreed
with owners of the venue for your
meeting.” Emilian Kayima on Bobi Wine
claims that Police blocked his concerts
Hefei, China: Urban officers deliver a fresh addition to a pile of bicycles from a bike-sharing service

Gov’t officials who

72 1000 460m
Residents in Mityana Condoms Uganda needs
received allowances for annually according to
two years from UNHCR who face eviction
health experts

Dec. 14 - 20 2018 3
 week
Uganda’s Quinn Abenakyo crowned Miss World Africa
FDC drops Wadri, Musisi's suprise visit to Lukwago
Alaso in NEC reshuffle Council
On Dec.05, Kampala City
Authority (KCCA)
The Opposition Forum
for Democratic Change
(FDC) on Dec.07 shuffled its
National Executive Commit-
tee dropping former Serere
woman MP Alice Alaso as its
deputy president for Eastern
region and Arua Municipal-
ity legislator Kasiano Wadri
as the party Deputy mobil-
iser for Northern Uganda.
The two who are known
to belong to ex-party Presi-
dent Gen. Mugisha Muntu
faction have lost their posi-
tions to former Busia Munic-
ipality legislator Taaka
Kevinah Wanaha as the new
deputy President Eastern
and Obongi county MP Kaps
Fungaroo as deputy mobil-
iser for Northern.
Miss Uganda Quiin Abenakyo has
been crowned Miss World Africa at
the 2018 Miss World finale in China.
Quinn is the first Miss Uganda to
make it to the top 5 finalists. The Miss
world title went to Mexico’s Vanessa
Ponce de Leon with Thailand’s
Nicolene Limsnukan as first runner
up. Abenakyo was second runner
up with Belarus’ Maria Vasilevich in
fourth place while Jamaica’s Kadija
Robinson came fifth.
Abenakyo who presented her
beauty with a purpose project on
teenage pregnancies in Uganda sway
supporters with her own story of
being born prematurely and how
she considers her survival a miracle.
Abenakyo, 22, holds a Bachelors
degree in Business Computing.
that one of her biggest challenge
while at the helm of the author-
Executive Director Jennifer ity has been the irreconcilable
Musisi paid a rare courtesy visit differences between the politi-
to Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago’s cal strategists and the technical
office at City Hall in Kampala. team.
Musisi who has tendered in her However, when Lukwago
resignation from office effec- heard about her resignation
tive Dec.15 has since 2011 been earlier he sang on camera in
in endless fights with the lord jubilation her departure but on
mayor over city affairs. Wednesday the two were seen
In her resignation letter to in photos smiling and exchang-
the president, Musisi had noted ing pleasantries.
Police defends
action on blocked
Bobi Wine concerts
As part of his festive season
programme, Kyaddondo MP
and singer Robert Kyagulanyi
aka Bobiwine had planned to
hold music concerts in Mityana
and Gulu among other places.
But soon news made rounds
that the concerts have been
cancelled something that
attracted even the attention of
members of parliament.
With piling pressure
on the police as sections
started questioning why
the musician’s concerts
are being cancelled,
Police on Dec.06 said they
hadn’t been cancelled but
only asked that the right
procedures are followed.
Police spokesperson, Emilian
Kayima, said Police had held
a meeting with the singer
and told him that he did not
provide enough supporting
documents including
agreements with owners of
places where he intended to
hold his concerts.
“He didn’t provide us with a
plan of how he will handle the
revelers. It is not enough to say
you are going to have a concert
or gathering in Mityana
without indicating the venue
and plan for people you expect
to attend ” Kayima said.
This however is not the first
time that police is attempted to
cancel the legislator’s concerts.
The previous attempt was with
his Kyarenga concert where
they kept tossing him but he
finally held the show at his
One Love beach in Busabala.

eye Care Centre

VillaGe Mall
Bugolobi (On the 1st Floor)
+256 (0)41-4505 566
+256 (0)393 888 833
downtown
KaMpala BranCh
(Plot 3 Johnstone Street)
+256 (0)41- 4257 759 / +256 (0)393 264 400
Opticians
luGoGo Mall Garden City Mall
(Next to Game) (Next to Stanbic Bank)
+256 (0) 41-4220 780 Ground floor
+256 (0) 392 264 422 +256 (0) 41-4237 700
Also open on Sundays 10:00am -2:00pm
+256 (0)392 265 500
ViCtoria Mall enteBBe
+256 (0)717 227 066 / +256 (0)392 203 023
Also open on Sundays 11:00am-4:00pm
Free
Eye examination

Call: 0701/0712/0752/0772-786 400 E-mail: sales@eyecareug.com Website: www.eyecareug.com

4 Dec. 14 - 20 2018

Parliament questions new e-pass port
After government
announced recently that
they are phasing out the
current passport in favor of
the East African Community
(EAC) e-passport, parliament
received it with mixed
feelings. When Internal
Affairs Minister, Obiga Kania
presented a statement on it, a
slew of questions followed.
Obiga who told legislators
that government had already
signed a contract with a foreign
firm to supply it with the new
booklets said Presidents of the
EAC had in 2016 agreed that
issuing of the new passports
starts in 2017 and the old ones
FDC opts out of IPOD meeting
A week before the an Inter –
Party Organisation for Dailogue
(IPOD) summit scheduled for
Dec.12 could be held, the main
opposition Forum for Demo-
cratic Change (FDC) party
announced that they would not
participate in the event.
While speaking to journal-
ists on Dec.07, former FDC
presidential candidate Dr.
Kizza Besigye said they had
no basis of going into dialogue
with a government that is not
genuinely in power and has
frustrated all opposing parties
from conducting their activities
without interference.
In a statement released on
Dec.06, Secretary General of
JEEMA party, Mohammed
Katerega said all parties harmo-
niously agreed to the holding of
the event and dismissed allega-
tions that FDC and the Demo-
cratic Party were opting out.
be phased in a period of two
years. He said the move is not
just an EAC affair as about 150
other countries have migrated
from the paper type passports
to a more superior e-passport
that is fitted with microchips to
store personal data, and can’t be
easily manipulated.
For him, the event was helpful
to every party especially those
that are represented in parlia-
ment since its meant to harmo-
nise their differences.
“It should be noted that
before JEEMA’s brief exit from
the IPOD, we had decried the
lack of meeting of the Summit
as the NRM Chairman Mr.
Yoweri Museveni was never
available for IPOD issues. It’s
that position we found on the
table when we were readmit-
ted to the platform this year
and our efforts were geared
at seeing all IPOD internal
processes are actualized”,
Kateregga said in a statement
saying it would be inappropri-
ate for other parties to opt out
now when the NRM and Presi-
dent Museveni have agreed to
take part.
It should be
remembered
However, after his
presentation several members
of parliament queried the
timing, deadlines and the
price of Shs250, 000 and
Shs500, 000 – for diplomats
that the new document is
to go for. Speaker Rebecca
Kadaga asked why
government had chosen
an EAC passport yet it’s not
sovereign state and whether the
law won’t need to be amended
to accommodate the changes.
Others wondered what would
happen to citizens who have
just incurred an expense of a
passport and now need to pay
for an electronic one.
that even in 2016, FDC threat-
ened to quit IPOD over gov-
ernment’s failure to pursue
electoral reforms.
Week
Apaa land talks
held in Gulu
A meeting chaired by Prime
Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugun-
da was held in Gulu on Dec.07
whereby he met elders from
Acholi and Adjumani to dis-
cuss the Apaa land question.
The third formal negotiation
meeting of its kind attended by
eight elders was proposed by
President Museveni in August
to discuss how settlers can
be relocated, land owners be
compensated and where those
that are to stay will be operat-
ing from.
Rugunda told the meeting
that government had reached
final stages of consultations
as they have heard the views
of the two groups which will
help them in another discus-
sion they were to have with
the president aimed at draw-
ing a conclusion.
The previous two meetings
were held on the September
06th and 20th but both the
Acholi and Adjumani elders
failed to agree on Museveni’s
proposals. Now, while the
Acholi team endorsed the pro-
posal to allow for genuine land
owners to stay on the land,
the Adjumani group called for
relocating all the settlers.
While meeting Apaa locals
in August, Museveni had
called for a speedy resolution
to end this fight between the
two communities over bound-
aries saying all Ugandans have
a right to stay where they want
as long as they are there legal-
ly. He said some people had
settled on this land while well
knowing that it’s a gazzetted
land reserve.

eye Care Centre

Opticians
aCaCia Mall KiseMenti KaMpala (u)
Tel: +256 (0)41-4581 458 / +256 (0)392 267 700
Also open on Sundays 11:00 am -6:00 Pm
Free
Eye examination

For: Sun Glasses

Free Eye examination Eye Pressure Examination
Large selection of frames Frame Repairs
Contact lenses & Solutions All optical Accessories

Call: 071/0712/0752/0772-786 400 E-mail: sales@eyecareug.com Kampala-Uganda

Dec. 14 - 20 2018 5
Week
ACME’s Harriet Anena wins a Minister in Congo to strategize on ending Ebola
Wole Soyinka prize for Literature Health Minister Jane Ruth
Aceng was on Dec.05 in the
neighboring Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) to deliberate
with officials there on how to
end Ebola hemorrhagic fever that
has so far claimed more than 200.
The Minister said Uganda has
had 5 outbreaks mostly along its
western regions close to the DRC
but all of them were controlled at
Source with very limited spread
beyond the localities of original
incidence. She however said
Uganda is currently a high risk
country due to its proximity to meeting was vital to ensure that
Congo that has for most of the the two countries agree on high
year struggled to control the level coordination mechanisms
disease. and common platform to
“Uganda has not confirmed a address common challenges in
case but the scale of the ongoing containing the outbreak. She
outbreak in the Democratic said the issues agreed on include
Republic of Congo presents mapping common crossing points
a formidable risk of spread and ensure that there is joint
Harriet Anena a programmes officer at the African Center beyond the current epicenter monitoring and screening.
for Media Excellence (ACME) jointly won the award with due to challenges related to case The outbreak is now the second
Nigeria’s Prof Tanure Ojaide who authored Songs of containment and large numbers highest, after the 2014 outbreak in
Myself. Anena’s winning book, A Nation in Labour was of people who cross the border West Africa.
launched in 2015. She was handed her prize at an awards daily”, she said that’s why the
gala held in Lagos Nigeria on Dec.09.

Ultimark (U) Ltd Urgent

Stamps &
Authorized Dealer: Trodat Stamps & Trotec Laser Machines

trodat
Seals within

Introducing in Uganda
30 min

Stamps & seals

Made in Europe
Simple Steady Clean

Plot No.17,Shop No.NS 13/2 Madhvani Bldg, Nkrumah Road, Opp.Post Bank Kampala-Uganda | Tel:0754-262707,0757-777400 | Email:sales@ultimark.co

6 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
Humour Did you know?
Why men lie up and
women lie down
Both men and women lie, but
they lie about different (and
predictable) things.
Whether in personal ads or in
face-to-face conversations, men
tend to lie about their earnings
and their height. In contrast,
women tend to lie about their age
and their weight. And both men
and women often lie about the
number of sexual partners they
have had in their lives.
On all of these dimensions,
men typically lie upwards and
women typically lie downwards.
President Yoweri Museveni has assured Ugandans that he can still fight and defeat corruption. Men pretend that they make more
money than they actually do,
they pretend that they are taller
than they actually are, and they
pretend that they have had more
sexual partners than they actually
have. In contrast, women pretend
that they are younger than they
actually are, they pretend that
they are lighter than they actually
are, and they pretend that they
have had fewer sexual partners
than they actually have.
Of all these dimensions, height
is the only one that stays more or
less the same throughout adult
life. All the other dimensions
only increase with time. Age by
definition increases uniformly and
equally with time. Most people’s
earnings increase with age and
The outgoing KCCA boss Jennifer Musisi paid Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago experience. Because metabolism
a courtesy visit in his office 10 days before her departure from office. slows down with age, most people
become heavier as they get older.
And the lifetime number of sexual
partners cannot decrease and
usually increases with time.
In other words, women lie and
pretend to be what they used to
be before in the past, whereas men
lie and pretend to be what they
will be in the future (or what they
hope to become in an alternate
universe or in their fantasy).
But no matter how much they
wish, women cannot reverse
the course of time; they have
to get older, heavier, and have
more sexual partners as time
progresses. In contrast, men can
at least hope and dream of making
more money and having more
The Government is to introduce regulations on ownership and sexual partners (if not getting
management of church resources to ensure transparency. taller) in the future.

Dec. 14 - 20 2018 7
Ocuilan, Mexico: Pilgrims visit the Virgin of Guadalupe statue

Uganda’s painful truths
By Andrew M. Mwenda
Why the always-blame-government-for-every-
problem mantra is popular but destructive
M
any Ugandans are angry feeling
the country is not going in the
right direction. This is especially
so among those who feel they
can do better, which is understandable.
However, they always attribute their frus-
trations to factors that are politically conve-
nient and emotionally satisfying to them. I
have learnt over the years that the pursuit
of accurate knowledge and the pursuit of
ideological or emotional satisfaction are
inherently conflicting goals. Many people
want information that gives them emotional
satisfaction, like pundits who attribute
every failure to the government; especially
the person of President Yoweri Museveni.
There is no doubt that many routine
functions of government in Uganda are
characterised by corruption, incompetence,
absenteeism, laziness, apathy and indiffer-
ence. However, morally important issues
like these are not necessarily decisive causal
factors of Uganda’s poverty and misery but
merely characteristics of it. This is not to say
such moral issues are not important. Rather
it is to underline the fact that confusing
one with the other and imagining they can
be combined into one politically attractive
package is not an approach that leads to
understanding.
For example, most of the discussion about
“development” in Uganda focuses on the
state. While I think the state is important
to economic development, I also believe its
actions are limited to the capacity inherent
in people that make up that state – their
skills, values, norms, work ethics and social
attitudes i.e. human capital. The standard
of living of a nation depends more on
its output per person than on the money
received as income for producing that
output. Otherwise the government could
make everyone rich by just printing money.
The challenge of low income earners is not
because government has not created well-
paying jobs for them but because they have
low levels of productivity.
A Chinese textile worker produces output
six times higher than her counterpart in
Kenya, nine times higher than a Ugandan.
That explains the differences in incomes of
workers in these three countries. Sadly this
has little to do with government policy. In
the face of low labour productivity, Chinese
investors in Uganda seek to increase the
output of Ugandans by making them work
long hours. This is inhumane and Ugan-
The Last Word
dans will organise politically to reign in
Chinese investors. However, I am inclined
to believe this inhumanity is necessary for
our development – the short term cost to
our long-term prosperity.
In the heated and often bitter debates
over Uganda’s development, we forget
that progress comes as much from public
policy as it does from shared mentalities.
Our country is suffering from the legacy of
indoctrination in the nanny state ideology.
From home to school to traditional and
social media, people are taught that their
misery is because of government not doing
things for them. No one tells young people
that personal advancement comes from
having the right social attitudes and mar-
ketable skills, not from government baby-
sitting people.
At Makerere and other universities,
lecturers pump students with socially dys-
functional ideologies about government
being responsible for people’s wellbeing.
Meanwhile they impart students with
skills not demanded by the market. When
I need a plumber, a carpenter, a gardener,
a mason, an electrician or a mechanic I can
hardly find a Ugandan who speaks English;
meaning these vital jobs have been left to
“jua kali” who speak only Luganda, the
proxy for low education achievement.
Uganda’s education system and our coun-
try’s intellectual climate are not conducive
to progress. Academics, journalists, intellec-
tuals, civil society and social media activists
pump our people with a sickening sense
of entitlement. Ugandans think they are
entitled to a well-paying job simply because
they have a university degree. When this
expectation is not met, it gives them an even
more insidious sense of grievance that gov-
ernment is responsible. This explains why
they rally around demagogues in the naive
and blind hope that they can deliver them
salvation.
Ugandan elites tow this politically correct
line because it makes them look and feel
“cool” as pro “the down-trodden”. This
non-judgmental leniency towards indi-
viduals and groups that are always sitting
idle and blaming everyone else for their
misery is the problem. Take the example
of Kyadondo East Member of Parliament
Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine: he grew
up in the ghetto but became prosperous by
exploiting his talents. The current system
that he is so keen to criticise did not block
Opinion
his journey from poverty to prosperity. Yet
he keeps telling his followers that their own
journey from misery to fortune is somehow
blocked by the government, not their lack of
marketable skills.
This sense of victimhood is dysfunctional.
A dependent voting constituency is valu-
able for politicians to exploit for their own
ends. This is especially so when a politician
has a captive constituency indoctrinated
with the belief that they are surrounded by
enemies who are keeping them down. This
is because the politicians who do this posi-
tion themselves as the defenders of the poor
in exchange for their votes.
When someone wants to help you, they
tell you what you need to hear; what you
must hear. And that is what I do in this
column. But when someone wants to help
himself, often at your expense, they tell you
what you want to hear. Those politicians
who want to use poor Ugandans as ladders
to power will massage the egos of popular
classes. This is the reason demagogues are
loved. Yet while these arguments make the
poor feel a sense of gratification (someone
is helping me fight the enemy keeping me
down) they do not help them deal with the
real challenge of their personal progress
i.e. investment in developing the requisite
skills.
For many Ugandans, political activities
such as demonstrations, rallies, marches,
protests and posting insults on social media
offer instant gratification and solidarity with
like-minded people. Many urban Ugandans
use such events to present their grievances
as a righteous crusade against presumed
enemies (Museveni and his corrupt confed-
erates in power) ostensibly responsible for
the bad situation. They do this because it is
easy to do even though not productive.
The solution to the plight of many unem-
ployed or underemployed Ugandans
would be to invest in personal development
by putting all their energies in acquiring the
requisite education, skills and self-discipline
vital for success. But this path to success can
be a lonely process of unromantic drudgery
with no immediate gratification as soli-
darity with others voicing opposition to pre-
sumed enemies. Moreover this alternative
to political protest can produce a painful
sense of one’s own inadequacies. That is the
challenge for Uganda’s youths.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 9
 cover story
Kutesa, Museveni
America bribe case
How the fight against corruption was lost
By Independent Reporters
W
hen on Dec.05, an American
court convicted Patrick Ho
Chi Ping on charges of bribing
foreign leaders in Chad and
Uganda in a bid to corruptly secure unfair
business advantages for his multi-billion-
dollar Chinese energy company, news
media in Uganda picked interest. How
would the government of President Yoweri
Museveni react this time?
Kutesa served as president of the UN
General Assembly from 2014 to 2015 and
was specifically named as the recipient of a
US$500,000 (Approx. Shs1.8 billion) bribe,
while President Yoweri Museveni was said
to have received an equal sum plus gifts
Patrick Ho Chi Ping
10 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
and from the convicted man.
The timing of the Chinese man’s convic-
tion appeared well set as Uganda, like the
rest of the world, was marking the Anti-
Corruption Week that started on Dec.03 to
climax in major celebrations of the Interna-
tional Anti-Corruption Day on Dec.10 at the
Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala.
As the day approached, interest heightened.
What would Museveni say at Kololo about
the Kutesa Chinese bribe saga?
Before Museveni spoke at the Kololo
event, a slew of government officials spoke
in angry, determined tones and vowed to
stamp out corruption and deal firmly with
the corrupt. Speakers included the Inspector
General of Government, Justice Irene Muly-
agonja, and Minister of Ethics and Integrity
Simon Lokodo who are avowed fighters of
corruption. But none mentioned the Kutesa
bribe saga.
Finally Museveni spoke. He had earlier
promised to unveil a new strategy to battle
corruption in public office. Museveni also
did not mention the Kutesa bribe saga on
the podium. It was an anti-climax even
when he announced what would ordinarily
be a tough new measure; the confiscation of
property of corrupt officials, and the forma-
tion of a major anti-corruption in President’s
Office under his trusted aide, Lt. Col. Edith
Nakalema. Kutesa’s case puts Museveni
in a tight spot because he and Kutesa are
related by marriage.
Still, while commissioning the offices
of Nakalema’s unit, Museveni was prod-
Sam Kutesa

ded by journalist to comment on the alleged
bribes he and Kutesa allegedly received from
the convicted Chinese man. Museveni did not
Past corruption cases
comment about himself. But he said the Kutesa
case was being investigated internally, through
the Attorney General William Byaruhanga. The
against Sam Kutesa
President appeared to be mulling two impor- 
tant considerations; first whether there was any
wrong-doing, especially if Kutesa received the
money for himself or a charity, and secondly;
what actions to take. Museveni told journalists
that “obviously it was a crime for Kutesa to
take money from a foreign company.
“What were they paying you for?” he said.
But in case of action to be taken, he said vague- 
ly that Kutesa “is answerable”.
Comparing earlier Kute\sa cases
It is a far cry from 2011 when Kutesa was
once again in trouble over a bribe. At the time,
Kutesa and then Government Chief Whip
John Nasasira and Minister of State for Labour 
Mwesigwa Rukutana faced accusations of
corruption over procurements for the 2007
Commonwealth Heads of State and Govern-
ment Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala. But even
before the matter proceeded, the trio “stepped 
aside” to enable investigations to proceed.
But this time, Museveni, Mulyagonja, Loko-
do and others are not the only public officials 
charged with fighting corruption who have this
time reacted lukewarmly to the bribery allega-
tions against a top government official.
Earlier on Dec. 04, the head of the global
anti-corruption body, Transparency Interna-
tional Uganda, Delia Ferreira Rubio, awarded
President Museveni also received an award in
recognition for his efforts of curbing corrup-
tion through setting an anti-corruption office, 
setting up legal frameworks to fight corruption
and constantly denouncing corruption. She did
not mention the Kutesa saga.
When the Chinese bribery allegations first
broke as the case took off in the U.S in Decem-
ber 2017, MPs across the aisle petitioned the
Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga to get
Kutesa to offer an official explanation on the
floor of the House. Ntungamo Municipality
MP Gerald Karuhanga described Kutesa’s
alleged act as “a shame to the country” and
Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo
said Kutesa is “a shark who no one is touch-
ing”. MPs Medard Ssegona (Busiro East) and
Ssemujju Nganda (Kira Municipality) piled on
the pressure without tangible results as Deputy
Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana cau-
tioned that parliament should not be moved
basing on media reports. This time the MPs
are more muted. Does the court ruling in New
York change anything now?
It is a far cry from March 1999, when Kutesa 
who was then the Minister of State for Finance,
was censured for alleged misuse of office and
influence peddling over his purchase of Enteb-
be Handling Services, the ground-handling 
company at Entebbe International Airport,
which was supervised by his ministry.
This time, it is only the Executive Director
2017: The leaked so-called Paradise
Papers reveal that Kutesa in 2012
hired Appleby, a company renowned
for creating offshore account for the
rich and powerful, to form a company
for him in the tax haven of Seychelles
in an attempt to hide his money and
dodge taxes.
2014: He is accused of corruption in
a battle over his candidature for UN
General Assembly presidency. More
than 9,000 people signed an online
petition urging the U.S. to block him. 
Despite the campaign, Kutesa was
elected.
2012: Kutesa, through his son-in-law,
Albert Muganga, was cited in a fight 
to secure a deal for the construction of
the Standard Gauge Railway for the
Chinese company called CCECC.
2012: Kutesa is mentioned in the deals
surrounding the construction of Karu-
ma and Isimba power dams. 
2009: Kutesa is mentioned in elec- 
tions related deal worth $15 million to
update the voters register by the Elec-
toral Commission. A US firm which
had been pre-qualified for the deal
attributed suspension of the award
to competing interests of presidential
insiders. Kutesa was connected to a
competing firm from Bangladesh. 
2005: Kutesa is named in a deal
described by Bright Rwamirama,
who at the time was the privatisation
committee chairman, as “outright
robbery”. The deal involved the priva-
tisation of Uganda Diary Cooperation
Ltd (UDCL). While the entity was val-
ued at $9 million with an annual turn-
over of $12 million, President Musev-
eni blocked a process by the privati-
sation unit to have the entity’s 70 % 
sold to the best bidder, and instead
decided to offer it to a Malaysian
company called Malee Sampran PCL
for three years at a nominal fee of $ 1.
It emerged that Malee was to incor-
porate a company named Pan African
Foods Ltd (PAFL), which would take
over DCL. It later emerged that Malee
was a smokescreen for PAFL, which 
despite being unregistered was con-
nected to Kutesa.
2001: President Museveni re-appoint-
ed him after elections because he
allegedly financed that election with
$500,000.
2001: Kutesa is named among
members of President Museveni’s
campaign task force that was front-
ing Lithotec, a South African com-
Dec. 14 - 20 2018
cover story
pany to bag a tender to supply ballot
papers. The others were his nephew,
Sam Rwakoojo, who is the Secretary
to the Electoral Commission and
Enos Tumusiime, a high-flying city
lawyer. IGG investigations revealed
that Lithotec’s competitor—Skipco
Property Limited– had been wrongly
disqualified from the tender and the
contract was cancelled. Nevertheless,
Lithotec got the contract to supply
ballots for the presidential elections.
2001 November: Lithotec gets another
contract to supply ballots for the local
government elections. The govern-
ment “loses” US$ 1 million in deal.
2000: Kutesa mentioned in the deal to
procure a technology, called an Intel-
ligent Network Monitoring/verifica-
tion System (INMS), estimated to cost
the Ugandan taxpayer about Shs100
billion.
1999: Parliament censures Kutesa.
1998: A parliamentary committee
investigating the privatisation of
Uganda Airlines Corporation con-
cludes that it had been “manipulated
and taken advantage of by Kutesa
and “a few politically powerful
people who sacrifice the people’s
interests.”
1997: During privatization of 80% of
Sheraton Hotel, Kutesa, then minister
for Investment and Planning is named
by a parliamentary committee for
soliciting a bribe of between $2-6 mil-
lion together with Mayanja Nkanji,
who was Justice Minister, Mathew
Rukikaire, who was the minister
of state for privatization and Salim
Saleh. The IGG found that three min-
isters had influenced the award.
1995: Kutesa, as board chairman,
used an accounting firm close to him
to undervalue the ENHAS shares,
which he later sold to himself and
Salim Saleh cheaply. Saleh acquired
45% shares for $3.75 million and sold
them at $9.45 million. Kutesa was the
minister of state for Investment and
Planning.
1993: Kutesa’s first publicly known
corruption deal. In 1993, when
ground handling at Entebbe Interna-
tional Airport was privatised, a com-
pany called Effortes, a subsidiary of
Caleb International owned by Presi-
dent Museveni’s brother, Caleb Akan-
dwanaho aka Salim Saleh and Global
Airlink owned by Kutesa unfairly
took 40% according to a parliament
investigation.
11
cover story
of the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda
(ACCU), Cissy Kagaba, who is speaking
out against Kutesa. But she is increasingly
sounding like a stuck record since she has
been making corruption allegations against
Kutesa long before he was named President
of the UN General Assembly and went on
the commit the alleged crimes between 2014
and 2015.
How Kutesa was netted
As part of the case against the Chinese
man HO, the American government
accused him of bribing Kutesa and Musev-
eni which are categorised under corrupt
practices and international money launder-
ing in the U.S. The case involved two diplo-
mats; a Senegalese and a Chinese who faced
eight charges of violating the U.S. Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Kutesa was not charged or called to
testify because the FCPA and American
money laundering law snares only U.S.
based persons making payments to foreign
government officials to assist in obtaining
or retaining business. Kutesa is not a repre-
sentative of a U.S-based company accused
of violating FCPA and he did not make the
payment.
That means that as long as Kutesa is not
pursued by any anticorruption entity in
Uganda, he is most likely to remain free at
home. But his freedom from prosecution in
America may not be guaranteed, according
to sources.
It should be recalled that the FBI picked
interest in Kutesa after his wife was
appointed as “a major member of the
Board” of an NGO called the Global Sus-
tainability Foundation (GSF) of Sheri Yan;
another Chinese national, who was known
for arranging meetings between diplomats
and millionaire business executives and
socialites. The appointment was significant
to the FBI because Edith Kutesa was listed
with the former 68th president of the UN
General Assembly, John Ashe as GSF’s
only two advisers. The FBI had Yan on their
watch list and, therefore took interest in
12 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
Ashe and the Kutesas. Yan was arrested by
FBI agents in October 2015 and is accused of
bribing John Ashe. Yan allegedly appoint-
ment of Ashe as a GSF adviser to enable
her to pay him a monthly bribe of $20,000,
supplemented by larger kickbacks.
It is not clear what, if any thing, was in it
for the Kutesas. But tapping their phones
and intercepting their emails gave away the
Kutesas dealings with their alleged Chinese
briber, Patrick Ho of China Energy Fund
Committee (CEFC).
The CEFC Chairman is Ye Jianming, the
powerful Chairman and Executive Direc-
tor of CEFC China Energy Company Ltd,
which is the parent company of CEFC and
one of the 250 richest companies in the
world.
Ye Jianming founded the CEFC and nur-
tured it into a think tank with consultative
status with the UN. That is how Kutesa met
Ho. The CEFC patronises former heads of
states and hundreds of political leaders as
its advisers and researchers. Kutesa, while
he was President of the UN General Assem-
bly, appointed Ye Jianming as “Special Hon-
orary Advisor to the UN” in what is being
seen as making a pass to himself as he used
the same occasion to solicit the US$500,000
bribe.
Kutesa accepts soliciting and getting the
money. But he denies that the money was a
bribe and insisted it was a donation towards
his foundation. But, according to the FBI,
the NGO is fictitious. Kutesa allegedly used
a fake organisation, forged letter heads, fake
emails, addresses, and dates and dragged in
the President’s name, and abused his office
at the UN and Uganda Foreign Affairs for
personal gain.
The FBI agent who investigated the case
writes that: “Based on my review of email,
I know, in substance and in part, that in or
about February 2016, the Ugandan Foreign
Minister (aided by his wife) solicited from
defendant Chi Ping Patrick Ho aka “Patrick
C.P. Ho”, a bribe which he characterised as
a “donation/contribution” for a “founda-
tion” that the Ugandan Foreign Minister
wished to launch”.
“In reality,” the FBI notes elsewhere, “this
payment was a bribe to obtain business
advantages for the Energy Company in its
efforts to secure contracts and ventures in
Uganda’s financial and energy sectors.”
The document further reveals that Ho
also provided the Ugandan Foreign Minis-
ter, as well as the President of Uganda, with
promises of future benefits, including pro-
posing to partner with both officials’ fami-
lies in potentially lucrative joint ventures.
In the case of the alleged Museveni bribe,
according to the FBI, Kutesa asked the
Chinese for the money as a contribution to
the election campaign of the President. It
remains unclear if indeed he gave Museveni
the money as a campaign donation from the
Chinese.
In their book, `The politics of Elite Cor-
ruption in Africa; Uganda in Comparative
African Perspective’, Prof. Roger Tangri of
Stanford University, USA, and Andrew
Mwenda of The Independent magazine,
describe how Museveni solicits foreign
money contributions during elections. They
name past contributors as former Nigerian
president Olusegun Obasanjo, the late
Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, former
Kenyan president Daniel Arap Moi, and for-
mer Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa.
They also point out that, under Uganda
law, it is not illegal to seek such foreign
contributions. However, the Political Parties
and Organisations Act limits the contribu-
tion to maximum US$200,000 per year. So if
Museveni, through Kutesa, got US$500,000
from the Chinese, it would be illegal.
Previously, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs issued a statement defending Kute-
sa. It noted that the interaction and engage-
ment Kutesa had with Ho was in fulfillment
of his official functions as president of the
U.N. General Assembly.
“It is therefore erroneous to insinuate or
infer that Hon. Sam Kutesa, from references
made to him and CEFC…is linked to the
bribery allegations,” a statement said. And
that might be the end of the story.

Edith Nakalema
What can Museveni’s new anti-corruption
tsar do where others have failed?
By Flavia Nassaka
P
resident Yoweri Museveni has
unveiled Lt. Col. Edith Naka-
lema to the public as the newest
anti-corruption tsar in State House.
Nakalema, a trusted Museveni aide, was
named to the task soon after she returned to
Uganda in September after a one-year stint
at the Shrivenham Defence Academy in
London, UK on a senior command and staff
course. Before her departure she had been a
Personal Assistant to Museveni and the go-
to person in State House.
Museveni commissioned offices for
Nakalema’s unit at the President’s Office
buildings in Kampala and told journalists
the he appointed Nakalema because she is
fearless, upright, and likely not to conceal
corruption.
Her posting follows another one in June,
when Museveni appointed one James
Tweheyo; a former secretary general of the
Uganda National Teachers Union, Capt.
Martha Asiimwe, and one Sister Mary
Grace Akiror to head an anti-corruption
unit in State House. But in October Musev-
eni abruptly removed Tweheyo and
appointed him RDC. With Nakalema’s
appointment, the fate of the other two on
the Tweheyo team remains unclear.
While explaining Nakalema’s appoint-
ment on Dec.10, as Uganda joined the rest
of the world to mark the United Nations set
annual Anti-corruption Day usually com-
memorated on December 09, Museveni said
Nakalema was part of additional fuel he
was adding to the fight against corruption.
In any case, he said the existing agencies;
from the Inspectorate of Government, the
Auditor General, Parliament, and the Judi-
ciary have all become infested by corrupt
people he called ‘weevils’.
Museveni said his government has faced
seven challenges related to corruption and
defeated three, namely army killing people,
poaching in the national parks, and army
extortion at road blocks where they were
killing people. He said officials who extort
money from people, illegal operations in
wetlands, and embezzlement and bribery,
and nepotism remain.
Before the Dec.10 announcement, Musev-
eni had on Dec.05 excited the country, when
he promised to make major pronounce-
ments on tackling corruption. Museveni
was receiving an award for fighting corrup-
tion from a global accountability and anti-
corruption NGO, Transparency Internation-
al that was marking 25 years of operation
in Uganda. Several speakers highlighted
rising corruption levels despite numerous
institutions and laws in place to fight it.
Former leader of opposition in Parlia-
ment Wafula Oguttu who was also awarded
at the event for his anti-corruption efforts
news analysis
said whereas many corrupt people are
being exposed, the number of corruption
cases being recorded also keeps going up,
an indicator that something is not being
done right.
In some of the major corruption cases this
year, one Apollo Ssenketto was jailed for
10 years by the Anti- Corruption Court for
stealing up to shs24.7billion meant for the
Mukono – Katosi road project. He formed
a fictitious company that was dubiously
awarded the contract.
The commission of Inquiry into land
matters led by Justice Catherine Bamuge-
mereire also exposed rackets of business-
men, religious leaders, ministers, and other
prominent people involved in land and
property theft. The Minister of Lands Betty
Amongi and Minister of State for Lands
Ronald Kibuule have been implicated in
possible wrongdoing but no action has been
taken.
Also, the Financial Intelligence Authority
launched an investigation into former Bank
of Uganda Executive Director for Commer-
cial Banks Supervision Justine Bagyenda
over alleged illegitimate accumulation of
wealth. This was shortly after the Inspector-
ate of Government (IG) had quizzed her
over acquisition of assets in different areas
of Kampala and accumulation of money on
different fixed deposit bank accounts.
The on-going hearings by the parliamen-
tary Committee on Commissions, Statutory
Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE)
into how Bank of Uganda sold and allowed
takeover of several commercial banks, has
exposed more corruption.
More action needed
Wafula was joined by anti-corruption
activist Cissy Kagaba to demand more
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 13
news analysis
action against the corrupt. Kagaba wanted
illicitly gained wealth to be recovered from
the corrupt and government officials impli-
cated in scandals to leave office.
According to the latest 2017 Corruption
Perception Index (CPI), Uganda ranks 151
out of the 180 countries ranked by Trans-
parency International. It was at the same
rank in 2016 out of 176 countries, meaning
only 25 countries were perceived to be more
corrupt. A year before in 2015, it had ranked
139 out of the same number of countries
ranked. In terms of CPI, the higher the cor-
ruption, the higher the ranking.
While Uganda rated to the highs of 151
in 2017, Rwanda performed best at 48 fol-
lowed by Tanzania at 103. Kenya came
143rd of the 180 countries ranked. Burundi
and South Sudan were worse than Uganda
at 157 and 179 respectively.
The CPI does not measure actual inci-
dents of corruption but the extent to which
citizens think corruption takes place. Ugan-
da’s worsening perception figures could be
Uganda’s CPI viz-a-viz East Africa region in the last five years
Country 2017/ 180 2016/ 176
countries countries
ranked ranked
Uganda 151 151
Rwanda 48 50
Tanzania 106 116
Kenya 143 145
Burundi 157 159
South Sudan 179 175
due to increased reports in the media influ-
encing perception. But the World Bank,
in its 11th edition of the Uganda Economic
Update released in May, noted that because
of endemic delays in implementation, cost
overruns and corruption, project costs in
Uganda tend to escalate or double.
In the State of the Nation Address in
June, President Museveni said Uganda was
struggling economically partly because cor-
rupt officials make it difficult for investors
to establish businesses. He said he knew the
culprits and that he would expose and kick
them out of office.
“What happened to the IGG? Why don’t
the victims of corruption report those inci-
dents to the office of the IGG? That was the
purpose of that office; to protect the public
from corrupt officials; to protect investors
against corrupt officials. The IGG should
reflect on this. Are her staff credible? Why
does the public not trust that institution? We
need answers,” Museveni said.
He said it is wrong for people to expect
money for every little task.
“We could not have liberated this country
14 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
if we did not have a high degree of altruism.
This attitude of altruism must come back,”
he said and blamed the public for failing to
report criminals. He said there is no crimi-
nal his government cannot handle.
Museveni the problem
An official in the IG who preferred
anonymity told The Independent that the
President has on many occasions blocked
investigations into corruption. According
to the official, that makes Museveni part of
the reason anticorruption institutions and
laws fail.
“He has told us to back off some cases
mid-way investigations, some when we are
about to finish. He himself protects some
people. How do you expect us to move?
Fighting corruption is not speaking and
threatening; it’s action,” the official said.
The official predicted that the 2018 rank-
ings will show Uganda has worsened. He
said even when the amended Leadership
Code Act comes into force in March, the
2015/ 168 2014/ 175 2013/ 177
countries countries countries
ranked ranked ranked
139 142 140
43 55 49
117 119 111
139 145 136
150 159 157
163 171 173
tribunals needed for it to bite have not been
formed.
According to the 2017 amendment, in
addition to key civil servants and Members
of Parliament declaring their wealth in
terms of buildings, companies, land and
others, they will this time have to declare
their cash at hand from Shs5million and
above. But many are expected not to com-
ply. And the IGG is toothless without tribu-
nals, according to a 2010 ruling by court in
which former MP Ken Lukyamuzi defeated
the IGG. Court ruled that the IGG had
thrown him out of parliament wrongly over
failure to declare his wealth in 2005 because
the IGG is not the tribunal.
“We will ask them to declare the money
but some will want to hide. How are we
expected to verify that with utmost accu-
racy? As you know Uganda is a cash econ-
omy. Big monies exchange hands without
signing any document or going to the bank.
We don’t use credit cards,” the official said.
Kagaba of ACCU told The Independent on
Nov. 06 that Museveni’s pledge to pay legal
fees for then jailed Junior Health Minister
Mike Mukula who had been found guilty
of embezzling GAVI funds to be freed was
wrong.
“He also said he knows the corrupt offi-
cials who solicit money from investors. Six
months later, no names have been exposed
yet. All they say is that there is political will
but this will should be about people seeing
corruption levels going down,”Kagaba said.
Kagaba says Museveni rides on political
patronage and “mafias” will thrive since
they run to the President for protection. She
says Museveni’s hands are tied and he can-
not afford annoying them.
“We would expect ministers implicated
in these commissions and investigations to
step aside. That’s what happens in countries
like Denmark, Finland and Switzerland
whose CPIs are good,” Kagaba said.
“When they are investigated by the IGG,
the president comes in to block. Their (IG)
hands are tied too,” she said and pointed at
countries in the region that are beating cor-
ruption.
Kagaba says Museveni comes up with
new laws and amendments not to curb cor-
ruption but to make it hard for the big wigs
to be implicated. She said the amendment
of the Leadership Code Act last year weak-
ened it when they exempted spousal prop-
erties from being considered when auditing
the assets of public officials.
She said the government would be recov-
ering big monies if legally established insti-
tutions like the IG, the Office of the Auditor
General, PPDA and the Anti-Corruption
Court were allowed to conduct their man-
dates independently and allocated enough
resources instead of setting up units with
unclear departments that duplicate respon-
sibilities and waste taxpayers’ money.
Beyond the big monies
The IGG has been criticized for pursuing
small cases instead of going for the big wigs.
But an official at the IG told The Independent
that it is a deliberate strategy because they
might never bring the big wigs to book.
Instead, the IGG believes, it is important to
make people understand the true cost of
corruption so that they can report culprits
right from the grassroots. That strategy
was behind this year’s anti-corruption day
theme of `Winning the fight against corrup-
tion; a sustainable path to Uganda’s trans-
formation”.
The official said that it is a mistake to
limit assessment of the cost of corruption on
big monies and big names. Take the case of
the recent tragedy on Lake Victoria where
over 30 lives were lost because someone
was allowing an unlicensed boat on the
water or when a nurse gives a child half a
dose of vaccine so she can use one for two
children and sell the other. What are the
health outcomes and the life-long impact
that may have?

Museveni’s plan for
BoU after COSASE
President will shake up central bank, insiders say
W
hen the committee
investigating the central
bank over closed banks
starts querying the process
surrounding the sale of Crane Bank, one
particular question will arise again: How
did you zero on dfcu Bank as the buyer?
The question will be directed at
President Museveni.  FILE PHOTO
By Haggai Matsiko
Justine Bagyenda, the former Executive
Director Banking Supervision (EDS).
But the quizzing process will rope in the
BoU Governor Tumusiime Mutebile,
his deputy; Louis Kasekende, and
others. Abdul Katuntu, the chairman of
parliament’s committee on Commissions,
Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises
news analysis
(COSASE), recently put a similar question
to Bagyenda as the committee grilled
her over the sale of Global Trust Bank to
DFCU in 2014. Bagyenda fumbled and was
pinned by Mutebile who was backed by
BoU Secretary Susan Kanyemibwa.
Insiders say this is a ploy to expose BoU
officials for corruption, incompetence, and
ineptness or all three and more. And that it
has President Museveni’s nod.
The president’s plan is to let COSASE
strip bare BoU officials to a point where
they are beyond redemption in the eyes
of the public. The President is also doing
his bit. By hinting at where he prefers the
COSASE investigators to look.
During a recent Cabinet meeting,
sources tell The Independent, President
Museveni told his ministers that he tried
to advise BoU officials on how to deal with
the closure of Crane Bank and COSASE
but they ignored his advice claiming that
BoU is an independent body.
Museveni had come under pressure
by some ministers to end the public
undressing of COSASE in public. The
President was reportedly explaining that
he would not now attempt to block the
on-going investigation by COSASE even
amidst fears that the committee’s exercise
could severely erode BoU’s integrity and
hurt the economy.
But the President Museveni went a
step further during celebrations to mark
the 25th anniversary of Transparency
International Uganda (TIU) at Imperial
Royale Hotel in the capital Kampala on
Dec.04 when he listed BoU amongst the
most corrupt institutions.
“We have given enough time for
civil servants to expose themselves,”
Museveni said, “had we moved against
them, we would have been politically
isolated, people would have thought we
are persecuting them but I can tell you
today, the whole population is fed up with
these corrupt people. Civil servants can
no longer blackmail us politically that if
you touch me, people in my area will vote
against the NRM, no.”
The two actions are a break from the
past when the President has sought to
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 15
news analysis
BoU Governor Tumusiime Mutebile at a Crane Bank branch before it was closed in 2016.
Abdu Katuntu.  FILE PHOTO
shield BoU from the kind of scrutiny and
exposure that the institution currently
faces.
In March this year, for instance,
President Museveni warned officials at
BoU and the Inspectorate of Government
(IGG) that he was tired of seeing BoU
matters in the press.
At the time, IGG Irene Mulyagonja was
pushing to start investigating BoU over
a controversial February staff reshuffle.
President Museveni blocked her effort and
instead appointed a committee consisting
of some members of COSASE, some BoU
board members and representatives from
the IGG’s office. President Museveni
directed the team to work quietly and
make recommendations to him.
It speaks volumes that several months
later, he now wants BoU officials to get
even more exposed even if that might
involve hurting the central bank and the
entire economy.
Indeed as COSASE’s investigation into
BoU’s closure and sale of seven defunct
banks nears its end, this appears at the
heart of its current strategy. It has become
clear that while BoU can justify why it
closed the seven banks, the manner in
which it sold these banks is the biggest
thorn in their flesh.
While appearing before the committee,
BoU officials have severally failed to
explain how they arrived at who they
sold to and cannot provide minutes for
negotiations of the sales they made. In the
case of some of the banks, the committee
has heard that the companies BoU dealt
with have since disappeared in thin air,
and that critical documents regarding
the sale of some of the banks’ assets like
16 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
Emmanuel Mutebile.  FILE PHOTO
records on the transfer of assets, and
records on sale of assets, among others, are
missing.
Because of this, many are looking for all
possible explanations. Some like President
Yoweri Museveni have already pointed
to corruption. And in the case of GTB
and Crane Bank, some are pointing to the
relationship between BoU and dfcu, which
bought these banks under controversial
circumstances.
When Katuntu asked Bagyenda how she
zeroed in on dfcu as the buyer for GTB,
the former EDS said that they looked at
the potential of other banks. But given that
she admitted that there was no bidding
process for the transaction, this response
did not fly.
BoU, dfcu bank links
Other critics have pointed out that the
fact that BoU staff are shareholders in
dfcu and that this could be the reason the
bank got these deals. The Independent has
seen a copy of dfcu 2017 financial results.
Among others, the document lists two BoU
retirement benefit schemes amongst the
top shareholders of DFCU bank. These are;
Bank of Uganda Staff Retirement Benefit
Scheme-SIMS and Bank of Uganda Staff
Retirement Benefit Scheme-AIG. For
some, this raises a question of conflict of
interest.
The other Ugandan shareholders
include; National Social Security Fund,
Parliamentary Pension Scheme, Uganda
Revenue Authority Staff Retirement Benefit
Scheme, Centenary Bank Staff Defined
Contributory Scheme, Makerere University
Retirement Benefit Scheme, and Crane
Bank.
Justine Bagyenda.  FILE PHOTO
Former Crane Bank proprietor, Sudhir
Ruparelia and Secretary to the Treasury
Keith Muhakanizi are also named
amongst the top 29 biggest shareholders.
Muhakanizi sits on the board of BoU.
Until recently, the most controversial
transaction between BoU and dfcu has
been over Crane Bank.
Tycoon Sudhir’s lawyers have described
the deal between DFCU and BoU as a
“sweetheart” deal. They claim that BoU
blocked all other potential buyers and
made sure dfcu bought it a paltry Shs 200
billion. Sudhir valued the bank at Shs. 1.3
trillion. dfcu then made a profit of Shs 127
billion in just a year of acquiring the bank.
But in the latest case, COSASE has heard
that BoU sold assets of Global Trust Bank
in even more controversial circumstances.
It emerged that Bagyenda disclosed the
financial situation of GTB to DFCU before
the bank was closed.
Apparently, BoU entered a confidential
purchase agreement to sell GTB to Dfcu
two weeks before Global Trust bank was
eventually closed on July 25, 2014.
It also emerged that BoU does not
have the required documents for such
transactions; including minutes of the
negotiation of the sale, bidding documents
or evaluation reports of the assets of GTB.
Bagyenda told the committee that BoU did
not follow any procurement process.
Apart from this, it also emerged that
Bagyenda single-handedly signed and
witnessed the agreement.
Bagyenda first told the committee that
she had consulted with the respective
authorities before signing the agreement
but both central Bank Governor
Tumusiime Mutebile and BoU Board

Secretary, Susan Kanyemibwa, denied
having been aware of the decision.
“I doubt that that’s the case,” Mutebile
told the committee, “I want to know from
Board Affairs if this matter was discussed
in the board meeting because that would
be where that authority could have been
obtained.”
Kanyemibwa responded that from
the minutes of the board for the period
January 2014 to December 2014 before her,
the matter of the agreement being referred
to was never discussed.
BoU revoked GTB’s licence in July
2014 because of under-capitalisation and
corporate governance weaknesses.
The case of GTB is interesting because it
almost cost Bagyenda her job. When BoU
decided to close the bank, former Nigerian
President General Yakubu Gowon, who
had interests in the bank, visited Uganda.
While here, he visited the President at
State House Nakasero and told him that
he had been capitalising the bank but the
Central Bank had decided to close it.
President Museveni drove his car from
State House and came to Yakubu’s Hotel
suite at Serena Hotel. While there, he
called Mutebile and Bagyenda to come to
the Hotel.
While at the meeting, President
Museveni told the officials what the
owner of the bank had told him. Mutebile
tried to explain but the president was so
angry, he could not let him explain.
Mutebile kept quiet. When Bagyenda
also tried to explain, Museveni cut
her off and called her the enemy of
development. He said he was going to
fire them for what they had done.
Unhappy with how they had been
treated by the president, Mutebile and
Bagyenda, decided to resign before the
president could fire them.
Insiders say that Bagyenda had already
typed out and signed her resignation
letter. However, before she could resign,
the president was presented with new
evidence from among others a Ugandan
investor who was working closely with the
GTB owner.
The Nigerian co-owned NiC, GTB
and an insurance company in Rwanda.
It turned out that he was in the habit
of moving money around the three
companies whenever the regulators of
these sectors raised concerns.
Officials at the Central Bank were armed
with data showing that he had only been
compliant six times out of eighteen. When
this data was presented to the president,
he was convinced. The meeting took
place at the State Lodge in Fort Portal.
For a number of times, Bagyenda would
go to the president’s seat, kneel and the
president would say; “now you are my
friend”.
Insiders say this could have emboldened
Bagyenda to act single-handedly in selling
GTB. However, for critics, this does not
explain how she could sell a bank without
Mutebile or the board’s knowledge and
approval.
Three years later, President Museveni
found himself in almost a similar situation
this time over Crane Bank.
In a meeting attended by tycoon
Sudhir Ruparelia and officials from Bank
of Uganda (BoU), President Museveni
listened attentively as the central bank
accused Sudhir of fraud at Crane Bank.
Sudhir had also detailed how BoU’s
mistakes were to blame for the closure of
Crane Bank.
Sudhir hoped the president would
restrain the central bank officials from
proceeding to sue him. On the other
hand, the central bank officials hoped the
president would get Sudhir to submit
to their demands or give them a nod to
proceed with the suit.
The central bank had launched a suit
against Sudhir who it also accused of
Sudhir Ruparelia Louis Kasekende
breaching a March 20 agreement that
offered the tycoon immunity from
prosecution as long as he paid BoU some $
60 million to cover for the losses allegedly
registered under Crane Bank.
In countering, Sudhir said he had
met his end of the bargain as per that
agreement by paying BoU some $8 million
and giving them some 32 properties. But,
he said, rather than also meet their end,
BoU was now threatening to sue him.
“ But isn’t your role to ensure a healthy
financial sector and that businesses grow?”
Museveni asked the BoU camp at some
point, “So if that is your role, why don’t
you find a way to resolve this?”
In response, BoU officials reiterated the
fraud allegations against Sudhir like how
he had allegedly extracted $ 80 million
from the bank.
As the two sided argued, President
Museveni got frustrated and said that
in Runyankole they say that when two
parties fail to agree, they are left to fight.
news analysis
He warned that if the matter was
not handled well, there would be
consequences.
Up until this point, however, BoU still
appeared on firm ground, according to
insiders. But as is the case with GTB and
other banks, the central bank appeared to
falter when it came to selling Crane Bank.
BoU officials blocked several investors,
some of who met President Museveni in a
bid to buy assets of Crane Bank.
As all these scandals continue to emerge,
the questions many observers following
the central bank saga is: how will President
Museveni deal with the bank’s leadership
crisis? Insiders say President Yoweri
Museveni has toyed with the idea of firing
the senior leadership, considered names
of potential successors, and even used
his handlers to guide the officials to step
down and make his work easier. As these
reports have continued to circulate and
fuel speculation, President Museveni has
avoided publicly commenting about the
central bank saga.
But his recent comments about BoU
and his decision to let parliament’s
committee continue grilling central bank
officials over the seven banks amidst
growing concerns this exercise is eroding
BoU integrity, might have lifted a lid on
his plan for BoU officials.
Insiders say Museveni is now ready
to pounce on BoU officials since they
have been exposed publicly. According
to this version, this is a trick in the
President’s book that he has explained
using an analogy of a disease that makes
a person’s mouth stink.
In the president’s local language—
Runyankore—the disease is called
‘omuhembe’. The president has in
the past reportedly told those close to
him that when a person close to you is
suffering from this problem—omuhembe–,
you do not chase them right away.
Instead, you first let the mouth stink for
everybody else such that by the time you
act, everybody is wondering what took
you so long.
The President has used this approach
to fire former Prime Minister Amama
Mbabazi, who he did not fire until there
was a near revolt against him over his
management of the ruling party secretariat.
President Museveni also used it with
for Police Chief Kale Kayihura. He started
publicly talking about how Kayihura had
allowed criminals to infiltrate the police.
Indeed, by the time he fired Kayihura,
the police chief’s image had been badly
tarnished by failures or the crisis in police.
President Museveni also applied the
same on Lt.Gen. Henry Tumukunde. He
kept Tumukunde on the job until days
before he fired him; he was being avoided
by among others the Presidents handlers
for being too controversial.
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 17
news analysis

GMO law
fight not over
Civil society excited but frustrated
scientists pin hope on Museveni
By Ronald Musoke

U
gandan civil society is
celebrating a new law
that seeks to regulate the
development and application
of biotechnology. But it is cautious
celebration – until President Yoweri
Museveni signs it into law.
The objective of the new regulatory
framework is to ensure safe
development and application of
biotechnology. It will regulate research,
development and general release of
the controversial Genetically Modified
Organisms (GMOs).
Parliament passed the law on
Nov. 28 and on Dec.03, civil society
organisations, farmers’ organisations,
faith-based, women and trade policy
organisations, consumer groups and
environmentalists issued a joint
communiqué praising Parliament “for
addressing their long standing concerns
in the Bill.”
The Bill, which started out six years
ago as the National Biotechnology and
Bio-safety Bill, 2012 and was passed
on October 04, 2017, as the Bio-safety
Bill, 2017, had just jumped over another
hurdle; imposed by President Yoweri
Museveni who declined to assent to
it until the legislators included a slew
of additional safeguards and a name
change. The passed form is now called
the Genetic Engineering Regulatory Bill,
2018.
Actually, the civil society consortium
was celebrating the inclusion in the new
law of several aspects that its framers
had initially rejected but which are
now included; some on Museveni’s
insistence.
The civil society consortium says the
previous bill threatened people’s right
to food, right to a clean environment,
sustainable development, sustainable
diets and biodiversity of crop, animal,
fisheries and insects and the growing
economic market potential of organic
products in the global market.
In a letter to the Speaker of
A Ugandan farmer harvests a bunch of bananas on his farm. The new genetic engineering law seeks
Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, on to protect local farmers like him from the proliferation of GMO technology.   COURTESY PHOTO
18 Dec. 14 - 20 2018

December 21, 2017, Museveni insisted
on a change in the Bill’s title, patent
rights on indigenous farming products,
and sanctions for scientists who mix
GMOs with indigenous crops and
animals.
Agnes Kirabo, the executive director
of Food Rights Alliance, a Kampala-
based non-profit, told The Independent
on Dec. 07 that the current version of
the law is a much better one than the
one which President Museveni rejected
in December, last year.
“We know that biotechnology
is a risky science and all along we
have been negotiating with our
science friends telling them that this
technology is hazardous and they have
been responding saying we just have a
phobia for science.”
“We needed safeguards and
a redress mechanism such that
Ugandans are aware that whoever is
doing these things is going to be held
accountable in case anything goes
wrong.”
Charles Ogang, the immediate
former president of the Uganda
National Farmers Federation (UNFF)
told The Independent that the passing
of the bill in the new form is good
news because Ugandan farmers need
a law that protects them from getting
exposed to GMO products.
Some of the critical clauses in the
law include the liability and redress
mechanism clauses which stipulate
that the advancement of modern
biotechnology requires a precautionary
approach in addressing safety issues.
Within it is the strict liability provision
which places legal liability on whoever
introduces a GMO product for any
damage caused as a result of the
product or process of developing it.
The new law also covers “benefit
sharing” which seeks to protects the
rights of the communities because,
the civil society say, Africa is facing
an onslaught of GMO developers
who take indigenous seed and patent
them without recognizing the rights of
farmers.
Civil society is also happy with the
clause that calls for a comprehensive
labelling and liability traceability
system. This clause demands the
promoter of GMO products to label
them sufficiently; including their
relevant traits and characteristics to
enable traceability.
All genetically engineered material
will also have to be labelled with
the phrase: “Contains genetically
engineered material,” to help
consumers exercise their right to
choose products free from GMOs.
A provision on co-existence of
news analysis
farming practices has also been
included in the law. It essentially
notes that a person who cultivates any
GMO shall prevent contamination
or co-mingling of GMO crop with
indigenous crops.
Also, any person who keeps or
owns genetically modified livestock
shall prevent cross breeding between
genetically modified and non-
genetically modified livestock.
Finally, a provision that provides
for an independent board known as
the “National Genetic Engineering
Council” which will be housed at
the discretion of the president has
also been welcomed since it ensures
that promoters of GMOs are not the
same people who will regulate the
development of genetic engineering in
the country.
Lawrence Akugizibwe, the vice
chairperson of the Committee on
Agriculture, Animal Husbandry
and Fisheries in Parliament told The
Independent on Dec. 06 that the new
law is meant to protect the country
from irresponsible introduction, use,
and production of GMO products.
Lee Denis Oguze, the MP for
Maracha County in northwestern
Uganda sat on the Science and
Technology Committee that drafted the
law which the president rejected last
December.
Oguze who is now the Shadow
Minister of Science, Innovation and
Communication Technology wrote
a minority report opposing it. On
Dec.05, he told The Independent that he
is happy because President Museveni
possibly considered his minority
report in rejecting it.
Oguze says he was mainly
concerned that in Africa, farmers
have for thousands of years depended
on inherited seed yet biotechnology
is capable of wiping out all the
indigenous seeds.
“Biotechnology is a selfish
technology in the sense that it goes
against the social norms of Africans
who believe in sharing,” he said.
Sad Ugandan scientists
But just like the law passed in
October, last year, left civil society
bitter; this one has also unsettled many
scientists who over the last 20 years
have been engaging in crop and animal
improvement research and have
always felt handicapped by a lack of an
enabling law to test their innovations.
For years, they have been conducting
confined field trials on bananas, maize,
cotton, potatoes and rice at Namulonge
and Kawanda research institutes with
the hope that an enabling law would
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 19
news analysis
help Uganda join the four African
countries—Egypt, South Africa,
Burkina Faso and Sudan—where the
growing of genetically engineered
crops is legal.
But, according to Clet Wandui
Masiga, a conservation biologist and
geneticist, the law in its current form
might constrain Ugandan scientists.
Masiga, a GMO developer, promoter
and advocate, has been deeply
involved in cobbling the GMO law and
he wanted one that clearly liberates
scientists.
He says he has reviewed GMO
laws and associated regulations in 45
countries and, therefore, he says he
has good knowledge of what a good
biotechnology law is and what a bad
law could be.
“We, at the moment, are trying to
have a legal understanding of what
this entire law means,” he told The
Independent.
But according to him, a good law is
one which regulates the industry; “it
does not seek to promote and it does
not constrain it.”
He adds: “In countries that have
strict liability clauses, you will never
find GMO work taking place, not even
research”.
He told The Independent that the law
which the president rejected was a
much better version because it neither
promoted nor stopped the science; all
that was needed was to try to clarify a
few issues that the president raised in
his letter.
“What happened is that some
people misunderstood the letter and
instead saw it as an opportunity to add
incriminating clauses.”
Dr. Michael Ssekaayi Mbogga, a
lecturer at the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences at
Makerere University told The
Independent that it is also wrong to
reduce biotechnology to agriculture
practices. “It is more than that,” he
said, “We could use biotechnology to
treat, for instance, diseases like Sickle
cell anaemia.”
Dr. Ssekaayi says it is high time
the country reclaimed its position in
biotechnology research which it held
20 years ago but seems to have lost
thanks to the damaging debate that
has polarized scientists, politicians,
civil society and the public over the six
years.
Ogang also told The Independent that
Ugandans should look at biotechnology
with favour because the country’s
food production techniques are not
keeping pace with the rapidly growing
population.
“We need to look at how best we
20 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
can step up food production besides
the conventional and indigenous
methods if we are to cope with the food
demands in the country.”
Arthur Makara, the Commissioner
in charge of Science Advancement and
Outreach at the Ministry of Science,
Technology and Innovation told
The Independent on Dec. 07 that he is
unhappy with the strict liability clause.
Like many other scientists The
Independent has spoken to, he says
this clause might end up acting as a
deterrent to innovation in the country
because, “a researcher is already
declared guilty even before any
investigation is done.”
Makara hopes President Museveni
will again seek legal advice on these
clauses that are likely to curtail
innovation in Uganda.
President Museveni Agnes Kirabo
Phillip Chemonges, the national
coordinator of the Open Forum on
Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa
(OFAB) told The Independent that if
President Museveni goes ahead to sign
this Bill in its present form, it will be
“unfortunate.”
“Uganda wants a law that regulates
the science but unfortunately we have
some people whose intent is to ban this
science,” he says, “The entire Bill apart
from some clauses which are key have
been hijacked by people who strongly
think the country should not have these
biotechnology innovations.”
But Dr. Giregon Olupot, a lecturer
in the College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences at Makerere
University told The Independent
that he is neither for nor against
biotechnology. He only wants Uganda
to tow the precautionary line.
“Our only problem is that by the
time we rose up, the kind of law in
place was not meant to regulate but to
facilitate the proliferation of GMOs,”
he told The Independent, “I am for
a law that regulates biotechnology
as provided for by the Cartagena
Protocol.”
Cautious optimism
Meanwhile, Kirabo says much as
they have succeeded in having the
safeguard clauses in the law, until the
president assents to the law, nothing is
guaranteed.
“We know that a lot of politics
happens in between Parliament up to
the point when the law is gazetted,”
she says, “We have experience where
things are agreed on the floor of
Parliament and by the time the actual
Act is gazetted, some of the clauses
have been thrown out of the window.”
“At the moment, we believe it is a
very good step forward because this
law has a strict liability and redress
mechanism.”
Kirabo insists that if she had
an option, she would convince
Ugandans not to open the
biotechnology door.
“We don’t have institutions;
we don’t have systems or ethics
in the country,” she says, “We
insist that this technology is
risky and it puts our farming
system and economy at risk.”
Kirabo also thinks Uganda is
missing out on the opportunity
of cutting out a niche as an
organic food-exporting country
in the world.
She says around the globe,
countries have consolidated
their niches and considering
that Ugandan organic food has
been selling at a premium in Europe,
North America and Japan, this should
have been an opportunity for the
government.
“The rich economies have
demonstrated that they are capable of
buying our food at a premium; this is
something we needed to consolidate,”
she says.
Kirabo also quickly dismisses the
idea that biotechnology is meant to
save the country from the ever rising
incidents of hunger. She says Uganda
does not have a problem of food
insecurity; instead, it has a challenge of
managing the food system.
“It would be interesting to find
out why most of the bumper maize
harvest the country registered has been
allowed to rot yet just months ago,
the government was asking for help
to stem a food crisis,” Kirabo told The
Independent, “If we get hungry in the
next couple of months, are we going to
claim that it is because we don’t have
GM technology?”

Business and motor rally ace
Charles Muhangi dies at 61
By Ian Katusiime
Two things stood out
in the life of Charles
Muhangi; doing business
and motor racing. He
developed a love for fast
cars as his business was
growing. Muhangi under-
stood the dynamic world
of business since he had
ventured into trade as a
young man in the turbu-
lent 1970s. Twenty years
later, he was dabbling in
motorsport when it was at
the peak of its popularity
in Uganda.
T
hat was the era of the
motoring big names like
Karim Hirji, Chipper
Adams, Charlie Lubega,
Emma Katto, and Moses
Lumala. Muhangi soon showed
that he was not afraid to make
bold moves even in an already
dare devil sport. He famously
cruised to many podium fin-
ishes in his favourite Subaru
Impreza 555 that he branded
‘Ekitaguriro’. But his first major
break was when he won his
first major title; the National
Rally Championship in 1998.
He went on to win the Africa
Rally Championship (ARC) in
1999 - a record he still holds as
the only Ugandan driver who
has won it. He was also the first
black African to claim the title.
Still, some were taken back
when he made a splash on a
rally car; a Subaru, he bought
from fellow businessman and
rally star Karim Hirji in 2000. A
national championship event
was drawing close and his
Ekitaguriro had broken down.
The spare parts he had ordered
were delaying to come into
the country and some people
thought he would lie low. But
Muhangi was not one to allow
such mishaps make him miss
an opportunity to be part of the
action.
“At the time only Karim’s
(Hirji) car was available,”
says Yusuf Yiga, a motorsport
driver whose father Wycliffe
Bukenya was a contemporary
of Muhangi in the sport. “And
Muhangi liked Subarus.”
When news broke on Dec.06
that Muhangi was dead, Hirji
recalled those days in his
eulogy.
“He was my good friend. We
met as rally drivers,” Hirji said,
“I even sold him a car.”
Hirji added that to those who
watched motorsport in its hey-
days, Muhangi exhibited a rare
poise behind the wheels and
described how the Ekitaguriro
charmed motor rally enthusi-
asts whenever and wherever it
made rounds.
Muhangi, however, quit
regular racing in 2003 when
a resolution by FIA; a global
organisation that promotes
safety in motorsport, banned
turbo charged cars in regional
championship rallies.
Muhangi was mulling a
comeback as is wont with many
sports figures, by the time he
was found dead at his home in
Buziga, a residential suburb in
Kampala.
Business appears to have
been in his blood. He was born
into a business family Septem-
ber 20, 1957 in Bushenyi. His
father was a trader who owned
trucks and earned from trans-
port dealings. Unfortunately
Muhangi’s father was killed in
the clashes of 1972 when forces
of then President Idi Amin,
repulsed a group of Ugandan
exiles who had attacked from
Tanzania with the intention of
capturing Mbarara.
Muhangi then at St Mary’s
College Rushoroza followed in
his father’s footsteps and joined
business. From the 1970s when
he joined business, he concen-
trated on the transport sector
and by 1984 he had two buses
Dec. 14 - 20 2018
obituary
trading under the name Hori-
zon Coaches. He had grown
the number of buses to over
20 by the early 1990s. Horizon
Coaches were plying the Kam-
pala- Kabale route and ventur-
ing as far as Kigali, Rwanda
and Bujumbura in Burundi.
So he was an established busi-
nessman by the time he joined
motorsport in the mid-1990s
and the Horizon Coaches brand
would always be emblazoned
on his racing Subaru.
Business rivalry
At the time of death,
Muhangi was embroiled in
ownership wrangles over busi-
ness properties in the city. He
was battling two prominent
businessmen Drake Lubega
and Mansur Matovu over
ownership of prime property;
Qualicel Bus Terminal, Qualicel
building, and Nabukera Plaza,
in the city centre. The court
had given him reprieve a few
months ago when it ruled in his
favour.
Then matters escalated
when a number of buildings
were closed over tensions in
November as Muhangi moved
in to enforce his claim. There
was heavy police deployment
and business was paralysed.
President Museveni was also
involved in mediating the con-
flict.
“Those men should just sur-
render as quickly as possible
because if they don’t quit, their
destination is Luzira prison. I
have suffered with them going
through court for 13 years.
I defeated them in the High
Court, the Court of Appeal and
also in the Supreme Court,”
Muhangi was quoted by Daily
Monitor last month. But the
tension was not yet over by
the time Muhangi breathed his
last. According to Muhangi’s
mother, Angella Rwankore, the
former rally ace left behind a
wife and seven children.
21
feature
Parenting styles across cultures shape the behavior and personality of children.
I’m because I’m from here
How where you’re born influences the person you become
By Samuel Putnam & Masha A. Gartstein
A
s early as the fifth century, the
Greek historian Thucydides
contrasted the self-control
and stoicism of Spartans with
the more indulgent and free-thinking
citizens of Athens.
Today, unique behaviors and
characteristics seem ingrained in certain
cultures.
Italians wildly gesticulate when
they talk. Dutch children are notably
easygoing and less fussy. Russians rarely
smile in public.
As developmental psychologists, we
are fascinated by these differences, how
they take shape and how they get passed
along from one generation to the next.
Our new book, `Toddlers, Parents and
Culture’, explores the way a society’s
22 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
values influences the choices parents
make – and how this, in turn, influences
who their kids become.
The enduring influence of cultural
values
Although genetics certainly matter, the
way you behave is not hardwired.
Over the past two decades, researchers
have shown how culture can shape your
personality.
In 2005, psychologist Robert McCrae
and his colleagues were able to
document pronounced differences in
the personalities of people living in
different parts of the world. For example,
adults from European cultures tended
to be more outgoing and open to new
experiences than those from Asian
cultures. Within Europe, they found
that people from Northern Europe were
more conscientious than their peers in
Southern Europe.
Recently, we were able to trace some of
these differences to early childhood.
Parenting – perhaps not surprisingly –
played a role.
To conduct the research for our book,
we worked with colleagues from 14
different countries. Our goal was to
explore the way broad societal values
influenced how parents raise their
children. We then studied how these
different parenting styles shaped the
behavior and personality of kids.
We did this primarily by administering
questionnaires to parents around the
world, asking them to describe their
daily routines, hopes for their kids and
methods of discipline. We then asked
them to detail the behaviors of their
children.
We also relied on the work of Dutch

social psychologist Geert Hofstede,
who, in the 1970s, asked IBM employees
around the world about factors that led
to work satisfaction.
We were able to compare his findings
to ours, and we were surprised to see
that his results correlated with our own.
The cultural values that were revealed
through work preferences in the 1970s
could be seen in parenting practices and
child temperament 40 years later.
This is important: It shows cultural
values are relatively enduring, and seem
to have an effect on how kids develop
over time.
To think about yourself, or to think
of others?
Perhaps the most well-known of these
broad cultural values are individualism
and collectivism.
In some societies, such as the U.S. and
Netherlands, people are largely driven
by pursuits that benefit themselves.
They’re expected to seek personal
recognition and boost their own social or
financial status.
In more collectivist societies, such as
South Korea and Chile, high value is
placed on the well-being of the larger
group – typically their family, but also
their workplace or country.
We found that the way parents
discipline their children is strongly
influenced by these social values, and
likely serves to perpetuate these values
from one generation to the next.
For example, compared to parents
in individualist cultures, collectivist
parents are much more likely, when
reprimanding their kids, to direct them
to “think about” their misbehavior, and
how it might negatively impact those
around them.
This seems to promote group harmony
and prepare a child to thrive in a
collectivist society. At the same time,
if you’re constantly being told to think
about how your actions impact others,
you might also be more likely to feel
anxiety, guilt and shame.
Indeed, we’ve found that kids in
collectivist cultures tend to express
higher levels of sadness, fear and
discomfort than children growing up in
individualist societies.
feature
Free to pursue happiness?
A second set of values we studied was
indulgence versus restraint.
Some cultures, such as the U.S.,
Mexico and Chile, tend to permit and
promote self-gratification. Others –
like South Korea, Belgium and Russia
– encourage restraint in the face of
temptation.
These values seem to be connected to
a specific set of parenting goals.
In particular, parents in indulgent
societies tend to emphasise the
importance of developing self-esteem
and independence. For example, they
expect children to entertain themselves
and fall asleep on their own. When
one of their kids misbehaves, they’ll
often suggest ways he or she can make
amends and try to repair the damage.
The message kids may get from this
kind of treatment is that they’re the
ones in control of their happiness, and
that they should be able to fix their own
mistakes. At the same time, when kids
are expected to pursue gratification,
they may be more likely to impulsively
seek immediate rewards – whether it’s
eating candy before dinner or grabbing a
toy off a shelf at a store – before getting
permission.
Meanwhile, in societies that prioritise
restraint, parents were more likely to
shout or swear when disciplining their
children.
This might make them more obedient.
But it might also cause children to be
less optimistic and less likely to enjoy
themselves.
Is individualism the future?
Parents seem to be motivated to best
prepare their kids for the world they’re
likely to inhabit, and what works in one
culture might not necessarily work well
in another.
But as our world becomes more
interconnected, this diversity of
parenting approaches may dwindle. In
fact, most countries have become more
individualistic over the last 50 years – a
shift that’s most pronounced in countries
that have experienced the most economic
development.
Nonetheless, there’s still a huge
difference in parenting styles and
childhood development across cultures –
a testament to the enduring influence of
societal values.
Samuel Putnam is Professor of Psychology,
Bowdoin College and Masha A. Gartstein is
Professor of Psychology, Washington State
University
Source: theconversation
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 23
Coca Cola production line at CCBA Uganda   Courtesy/ Photo.
Coke unveils sugar-free soda
By Isaac Khisa
C
oca-Cola Beverage Africa has
expanded its sugar-free drink in
the Ugandan market as it seeks
to tap into the increasing health-
consciousness consumers.
The company says it has unveiled Stoney
Zero Sugar, Fanta Zero Sugar, Coca Cola
Zero Sugar and Sprite Zero Sugar as well
as a wide range of Spar-lettas with reduced
sugar quantities on the market.
“The major driver (for product diversi-
fication) is the changing consumer habits,
tastes and preferences...(and) the increased
consciousness of health – and that is why
we present more healthy options for the
more health-conscious consumer to choose
from when they need refreshment,” Simon
Kahereu, the Corporate Affairs Director at
CCBA Uganda told The Independent in an
email.
Coca cola has since this year increased
momentum on product diversification
including milk production known as Climb
Up, Fuze Tea and a cocktail of juices.
This development is in response to the
12-years of declining company sales of full
calorie soda worldwide as the population
become more health conscious and switches
to drinking water instead.
Also, a number of countries including
U.K., U.S. and South Africa have imposed
taxes on the beverage to reduce consump-
tion on sugar and raise revenue that can be
used to prevent and control diabetes, obe-
sity and other non-communicable diseases.
For instance, sales of soda drinks
dropped 1.2 % in the U.S. in 2016, falling for
24 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
the 12th year in a row, according to Bever-
age Digest as demand was hit by consumers
choosing healthier options and a slew of
sugar taxes aimed at stemming lifestyle-
related diseases.
The per capita consumption of soda
drinks, including energy drinks, fell to
about 154 litres servings during the year, the
lowest level since 1985 when the Beverage
Digest began tracking consumption trends.
This situation triggered the US-headquar-
tered beverage company to embrace pro-
duction of low-sugar soda varieties across
the globe starting with Coca Cola Zero
Sugar in the U.K. in 2016 and later the rest
of the world.
Last year, the company unveiled the soda
brand as “Coca-Cola No Sugar” but had
trouble gaining initial acceptance. Despite
that, the company went ahead with a
rebrand from Coke Zero to Coca Cola No
Sugar.
However, in New Zealand, reports indi-
cate that there are no plans to phase out the
original Coca-Cola Zero formula, and that
it will co-exist on the market alongside the
reformulation, which is marketed under the
name Coca-Cola No Sugar.
These new developments have seen Coca
Cola record a slight growth in revenue. The
company, for instance, recorded second-
quarter earnings and revenue that beat
analysts’ expectations in July this year, bol-
stered by its efforts to bring its diet drinks
on the market.
Coca Cola recorded a net income of
$2.32 billion up from earnings of $1.37 bil-
lion, during the same quarter a year ago.
However, its revenue fell 8% to $8.9 billion
from the previous year, but sales surpassed
expectations.
The company said its volume grew 2%,
driven in part by double-digit growth for
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. Its water and sports
drinks grew 4 %.
Status of Uganda’s soda consumption
Kaheru said though soda consumption is
no luxury to the local population due to the
growing middle class it has caused changes
in consumer behaviour.
He said more consumers are now more
informed and more health conscious and as
such are now opting for less sugary drinks.
“So far, these (sugar free) drinks have
been very well-received by our soda con-
sumers – because they know what they
want and express their happiness if we give
them what they want,” he said.
“We will see even more activity towards
consumption during the months ahead as
we roll out more innovations – not just in
the soda category but with water, juice and
nutritional drinks as well.”
Coca Cola’s new product portfolio
Fuze Tea in two variants –
Apple & Lemongrass flavoured
Sprite Zero Sugar
Stoney Zero Sugar
Spar-Letta range –
Climb Up milk
Schweppes Dark Malt
Minute Maid ‘Pulpy’ Orange
Fanta Zero Sugar
Schweppes +C

By Patricia Akankwatsa
U
ganda’s horticulture sector re-
mains one of the top earners for
the East African nation but the
recent European Union (EU)
warning over quality related issues could
hurt the sector if it is not addressed.
Paul Mwambu, the Commissioner for
Crop Inspection and Certification at the
Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry
and Fisheries, told The Independent in an
interview that most of the country’s hor-
ticulture products are falling short of the
EU recommended standards and thus risk
being denied access to the 27-nation market.
He said EU’s concerns revolve around
presence of pests, poor storage, packag-
ing and high levels of unwanted pesticide
residues.
Uganda’s horticulture exports mainly
to the EU have been growing over the
past years, with the flower export vol-
umes increasing from 6,047 million tonnes
worth US$52.99million in the financial
year 2012/13 to 7,191 million tonnes worth
US$61.88million.
Similarly, the volume of vegetable and
fruit exports have increased from 16.5mil-
lion tonnes worth US$16million to 135.2
million tonnes worth US$45million during
the same period under review.
This is the second time that the EU is
issuing a warning over horticultural exports
in three years. In 2015, several EU member
countries raised a red flag on Ugandan
products due to poor standards and exces-
sive chemicals.
This prompted the Minister for Trade,
Industry and Cooperatives, Amelia Kyam-
badde, to ban a section of horticultural
products including hot pepper for a month
to address the issue.
This was followed up with the setting up
a technical team to train Ugandan farmers
on quality compliance and pest control.
Exporters speak out
Benon Biziirah, the quality manager of
FFP Uganda Ltd, which exports mainly
hot pepper to the EU told The Independent
that government’s failure to enact stringent
regulations on who and how to export is
to blame for the persistence of poor quality
products and exports.
“You hear that an individual is exporting
a fresh fruit and vegetable but you can’t
even locate their address,” he said. “The
industry is basically too open, many export-
ers are not registered.”
He said the high costs for testing residue
levels in the crops has also contributed to
the mess.
James Kanyije, the CEO of KK Foods,
an exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables,
re-echoed Biziirah’s view saying the gov-
ernment is yet to come up with strong
regulation.
Uganda’s horticulture
exports risk ban
Stakeholders blame absence of
regulation for low quality products
“We have weak authorities. They know
the problem but they not tackling it,” he
said.
He said the EU wrote to the Ugandan
government giving it a number of options
but the government has not put any of the
options in place.
What needs to be done?
Going forward, Biziirah says the govern-
ment should give exporters loans to enable
them afford costs of laboratory testing.
But Henry Kimera, the team leader at the
Consumer Education Trust, wants parlia-
ment to pass new laws that among others
will ensure production of high quality
agricultural products through registration
of all agro-chemical producing companies,
food safety and consumer protection.
He said exporting low quality horticul-
ture products has been worsened as traders
shun buying their products from organised
farmers in favour of middle men.
“These Bills have been there for a long
time but are not being passed in parlia-
ment,” he said.
“We normally tell producers and farmers
to come and report about counterfeit prod-
ucts but how can you report to a system and
institution that is weak?” he wondered.
Anna Anyango of Bukalasa, the head of
Department Human Nutrition at Bukalasa Agri-
business
cultural College said the government needs to
create awareness especially about danger of
poor quality as well as carry out research on
high quality agricultural products.
Some of the EU requirements for
horticulture export
 Fruits and vegetables exported to the
EU must comply with the European
legislation on plant health. The EU has
laid down phytosanitary requirements
to prevent the introduction and spread
of harmful organisms (pests) to plants
and plant products in Europe. These
requirements are managed by the
competent food safety authorities in the
importing and exporting countries.
 The European legislation sets general
and specific marketing standards for
the minimum quality and minimum
maturity of all fresh fruits and vegeta-
bles. A market standard determines the
characteristics of “Extra class”, “Class
I” and “Class II” products, the different
size codes and the allowed tolerances in
quality size. The sizes vary between dif-
ferent European markets but the quality
is generally, “Extra class” or Class I.
 Packaging marketed within Europe
must comply with the general require-
ments which aim at protecting the envi-
ronment, as well as with the specific
provisions designed to prevent any
risk to the health of the consumers. The
packaging must protect the product
from contamination, leakage, and dehy-
dration.
 To avoid health and environmental
risks, the EU has set maximum
residue levels for pesticides. Products
containing more pesticides than
allowed will be withdrawn from the
European market.
 The EU has set limits for several
contaminants. Contaminants are
substances that have not been added to
food intentionally but may be present
as a result of various stages of its
production, packaging, transportation
and holding. For most fresh fruits
and vegetables, the limit for lead
contamination is 01.10mg/kg.
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 25
business
By Julius Businge
There is an opportunity for private
sector players to invest in Uganda’s
power sector as government
moves to connect more people to
the national grid.
Z
iria Tibalwa Waako, the Chief
Executive Officer at the Electricity
Regulatory Authority told The
Independent on the sidelines of a
two-day symposium organised by ERA
at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel on Dec.5-
7, that the government is considering
the possibility of investing up to US$4bn
(Shs14.8tn) in the electricity transmission
network and up to US$1.7bn (Shs6.3tn)
in the distribution network for the period
2018-2027.
She said part of this money will be
invested in the form of public-private
partnerships as demand for electricity
increases.
At the moment, the electricity network
serves 1.2million customers, up from
merely 756,577 customers, three years
ago.
Tibalwa also revealed that there is
an opportunity in the sector for those
interested in investing in solar home
systems as well as mini-grids. The move
is to boost electricity generation that
currently stands at about 950MW.
ERA’s Communication Manager,
Julius Wandera, said it is time for the
local population to reap from the new
initiative through supply of electricity
poles and related materials in the network
expansion.
Themed “Accelerating Access to
affordable and Reliable Electricity
Supply”, the symposium was part of the
ERA’s regular consultation process and
information sharing on pertinent issues
in the electricity supply industry with key
stakeholders.
The symposium attracted around 10
Members of Parliament from the Natural
Resources Committee, executives from
power distributor, Umeme, Uganda
Electricity Transmission Company
Limited and Uganda Manufacturers
Association.
Enter minister Muloni
Irene Muloni, the minister for Energy
and Mineral Development,said it is time
for the players in the energy sector to seize
opportunities available.
“We have to keep our eyes on the ball
because demand for electricity is growing,”
she said.
“Access to electricity is at 23% meaning
that 78% of the population has no access
26 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
Muloni (on the right) talking to Kiwanuka during the symposium.   INDEPENDENT/JULIUS BUSINGE
US$5.7bn power
sector opportunity
yet Vision 2040 demands that everyone
must have access to modern energy.”
She said engagements of such nature
were important for sharing knowledge and
expertise to achieve sustainable, modern,
reliable and affordable electricity for the
population.
Muloni told participants that power
connectivity and reliability is important
for meeting sustainable development
goals regarding health, water, education,
food, poverty reduction as well as
industrialization for the country’s
development agenda.
She said the government is on course
to implement the President Yoweri
Museveni’s directive of offering US$5 cents
as tariff to boost industrial growth.
Already in July this year, government
reduced the tariff for the extra-large
industrial consumers by 15% with the off-
peak tariff reducing to US cents 5/kWh.
With more power coming onboard,
Muloni said that the overall tariff is
expected to reduce through free power
connection policy by government, waiving
import duty on electric equipment, foreign
currency hedging and fast-tracking of rural
electrification through electrification of the
491 Sub-counties.
She also said that upgrading and
extending of high voltage interconnections
within the East African region for power
trade purposes will come in handy. In
addition, 25 industrial parks have been
earmarked for development to increase on
the power demand.
For instance, electrification of Namanve
South sub-station, Luzira sub-station,
Iganga and Mukono are ongoing.
Also several transmission lines have
been earmarked to support efforts of
evacuation of power. These include
Tororo-Opuyo-Lira 132Kv, Mbarara-
Nkenda 132Kv, Bujagali-Tororo – Lessos
220Kv, Karuma-Kawanda 400Kv,
GuluAgago 132kv, Lira-Gulu-Nebbi
132kv, Masaka-Mbarara 400Kv among
others.
The future
Tibalwa said more electricity plants
are expected to be commissioned with
242MW and 640MW by end of 2018 and
2019 respectively.
She said large hydro power plants
generates 68% of the country’s electricity
generation, with thermal power and
co-generation contribution 11% each
respectively. Small hydropower and
solar plants account for 8% and 2%,
respectively.
She added that 18 more projects are
currently under feasibility study and that
2800MW are to be commissioned by 2024.
Going forward, she said by 2040,
electricity generation is expected to
be 41,738MW, electricity per capita
consumption 3,668kWh and national grid
access over 80%.
In the short term (National
Development Plan II 2019/2020), power
generation is expected to be 2,500MW,
national electricity access 30% and
electricity per capita of 578kWh up from
the current 215kWh.
Executive Style
NSSF to focus on stalled projects
What do you make of this
I
new development?
t is gratifying to see that
six out of the nine direc-
tors from the 10th Board
have been reappointed
to serve on the 11-Board. To
me this is a confidence vote
and indeed a testimony that
the minister found our per-
formance satisfactory.
What is your general as-
sessment of the three years
that you have served as
BOD chair for the slightly
over Shs10trillion Fund?
We delivered on
most of our promises.
The Fund grew by 79%
from Shs5.5trillion in the
financial year 2014/15 to
Shs9.98trillion in the finan-
cial year 2017/18.In terms of
staff recruitment and reten-
tion, the Fund witnessed
stability under our tenure.
We recruited competent
and experienced top man-
agement who have deliv-
ered impressive results over
the years. Our emphasis on
merit-based recruitment
has permeated the Fund, as
evidenced by consistently
good performance through-
out the Fund. As a Board, we
have supported and rewarded
good performance and pro-
moted harmony at all levels
in the Fund. Staff satisfaction
index has also improved from
84.3% in FY2015/16 to 90% in
the FY2017/18. On real estate
development, a number of
stalled real estate projects were
unlocked. The Fund recovered
440 acres of Nsimbe land, com-
pleted the construction of an
Ultra Office Complex in Jinja,
commenced development of
Lubowa project and Pension
Towers, and is on course to
complete another office com-
plex in Mbarara and 40 apart-
ments in Mbuya.We have also
consistently paid a good return
on member’s savings during
our three-year tenure. This has
been consistently above two
percentage points above the
10-year average rate of infla-
tion. I am happy to note that
growing the economy. We are
part of the private sector and
believe we are doing a very
good job.
Now that the liberalisation
bill was withdrawn from Par-
liament and there are plans
to amend the NSSF Act to in-
corporate the earlier proposed
sector reforms…what does
this mean to you?
True the bill was withdrawn
because we argued to govern-
ment that NSSF was doing a
good job and it is a national
institution. When we get prof-
its and surplus it is distributed
internally. If you bring the
‘guys’ from out they will get
the money here and take it
out. At cabinet level govern-
ment decided that NSSF stays.
I think they are making a
separate law to ensure there is
Patrick Byabakama Kaberenge, a seasoned banker a special and similar arrange-
and retired auditor has been re-appointed as the 11th ment to the one of NSSF
Chairman Board of Directors for the National Social regarding the about half a mil-
Security Fund. His new contract, alongside other lion public sector employees.
nine members runs for the next three years. The According to URBRA and the
laws we are operating under,
Independent’s Julius Businge spoke to him upon we can only invest in the East
getting a new term in Kampala on Dec.04. African region and our wish
is to allow us invest further
like in South Africa, America
the highest interest rate of 15% that will be better. However, and UK. However, the govern-
declared for the last financial if they find difficulty to pay ment’s idea is keep the money
year was paid to members dur- us back, then, we will see near because we are short of
ing the stewardship of the 10th what follows. We don’t want capital.
Board. It is therefore no sur- them pressured and getting
prise that customer satisfaction them liquidated. Actually, it is What are the projections for
ratings currently stand at 85%. Uganda Clays that is going to the next three years?
benefit from our stalled proj- We will continue to focus on
What is your urgent next ects because they are the ones growing our balance sheet size
move? going to supply us with some to Shs15trillion. This projected
We are going to do more of the raw materials. growth requires that the man-
outreach; getting closer to the datory cap is extended from
members and be in position to Would you say the image of the current threshold of five
respond faster to the member’s the Fund as improved and it is employees to one employee,
needs. We are going to finish time to forget the past? so that even self-employed
these stalled projects especially The image is much bet- people are required to remit
the houses. ter. Everybody wants to deal social security contributions.
with NSSF at the moment. We will go for the right tech-
How far are the plans that The Board is collaborating nology for pension administra-
you had regarding converting well with the management tion, unlocking the value of
debt to equity in the case of and the Ministry of Finance is real estate projects of Pension
Uganda Clays? doing a fantastic job as a top Towers, completion of the first
So far, nothing has changed. supervisor. We also have good phase of Lubowa, Nsimbe and
Uganda Clays was running political support. We have Temangalo developments. We
badly in the past but it has invested Shs7trillion in govern- will continuously improve
recorded improvement. If ment paper and most of it is staff capabilities, remuneration
they can pay us back without being used to do development and reward schemes.
changing our debt into equity projects which are critical in
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 27
Business
aviation
Deputy President William Ruto (3rd R) welcomes the inaugural Kenya Airways direct flight
from New York to Nairobi at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.   Courtesy Photo.
Kenya Airways reduces US flights
K
enya’s national carrier, Kenya Air-
ways, has reduced the number of
flights on the newly launched New
York route from the current seven
to five a week.
The airline said the new decision that
becomes effective January 15 will see the
airlines fly to US on Tuesday, Thursday,
Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“As the only airline that offers a non-stop
flight between East Africa and the USA,
economy
Private sector healthy
T O
he health of Uganda’s Private
Sector continues to improve on
the back of a rise in output in
several sectors of the economy.
The latest Stanbic Purchasing Man-
agers’ Index for the month of Novem-
ber shows that the private sector stood
at 55.7 above the 50.0 reading signalling
improvement in business conditions.
Though this latest figure declined
from 56.6 in October, it still points to a
healthy Private Sector being above the
two-and-a-half year survey average of
53.1. Four of the five broad sectors cov-
ered by the survey saw output rise, the
exception being construction.
Jibran Qureishi, the Regional Econo-
mist E.A at Stanbic Bank said a com-
bination of stable exchange rate and
improving agricultural productivity
contributed to the performance.
Companies increased their staffing
levels in response to the increasing
orders for goods and services.
The PMI is a composite index, calcu-
lated as a weighted average of five indi-
vidual sub-components: New Orders,
Output, Employment, Suppliers’ Deliv-
ery Times, and Stocks of Purchases.
28 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
this route remains significant to us because
of the role it plays in opening more eco-
nomic and tourism growth opportunities
for Kenya and East Africa,” said KQ chief
executive, Sebastian Mikosz.
“The decision to adjust our schedule is to
cater for seasonality in line with global prac-
tices that allows airlines to reduce or add
frequencies based on low or high seasons.”
Kenya Airways started its direct non-stop
flights to the United States on Oct. 28.
banking
CBA, NIC in merger talks
n Dec.06, Commercial Bank of
Africa Limited and NIC Group
PLC announced that they are
in talks for a potential merger, a
situation that would create the third largest
bank in Kenya.
Based on the third quarter financial
results of the two companies, CBA asset
base is Ksh 227 billion while NIC asset base
is Ksh187 billion according to media reports.
A combination of the two would put the
total assets at Ksh414 billion.
Kenya Commercial Bank which is the
ict
Jumia partners with Buganda Kingdom
O
nline shop Jumia and Buganda
Kingdom’s official investment
arm, Majestic Brands Limited
has partnered to sell all Kingdom
merchandise to customers. The products
include portraits of His Majesty - the King
and those of Nnabegereka, marriage cer-
tificates, totems and memorabilia. Officials
said on December 04 that the items can be
purchased online via the Jumia app.  All
sales revenue will go to support the king-
dom development projects. The partnership
csr
Airtel in an annual 12-Day
Christmas Initiative
O
n Dec.05, Airtel Uganda staff
members visited Bless A Child
Foundation in Makerere as part of
their ongoing annual Christmas
Initiative – 12 Days of Christmas.
Named after a popular Christmas song
that breaks down a series of grand gifts
given on each of the twelve days of Christ-
mas, the 12 Days of Christmas Initiative aims
at reaching out to less fortunate members
of society as well as to individuals and
organizations that have made a remarkable
difference in the lives of their community
members.
The Initiative that started on Dec.01with
a visit to Nakaseke-based ACCESS Uganda
continued with the telco’s staff visiting
Raphael Children’s Charity and Center for
the Visually Impaired Children of Uganda,
and Noah’s Ark Home of kids with Dis-
abilities.
Others sect to benefit from the Initiative
includes; Kapalaga Heart Foundation in
Bunga, Tusome Africa - Game our Schools in
Iganga, Ursula School of the Disabled in Jin-
ja, Angel’s Center in Wakiso and a 7-year old
girl named Emmanuella who needs financial
assistance to go for a heart surgery in India.
largest bank by assets base is at Kshh594
billion followed by Equity Bank at Ksh424
billion.
CBA is majority-owned by the
Kenyatta family while the Nairobi
Securities Exchange- listed NIC Group
is partly owned by the billionaire
businessman James Ndegwa’s family.
If successful, the planned merger of
NIC Bank and CBA Bank would create
one of the largest financial services
groups in the region.
was announced at a press event in Bulange,
Mengo attended by Charles Peter Mayiga,
the Katikkiro of Buganda, Majestic Brands
CEO Ronald Kawaddwa, and Jumia CEO
Ron Kawamara. “The Buganda cultural and
brand products are highly appreciated by
millions of consumers globally. Today we
are pleased to offer a new distribution chan-
nel for our customers to own the symbols
and memorabilia that make up the norms
and culture of this great kingdom”, Jumia
CEO, Ron Kawamara said.
 Business

NBL expands capacity

By Isaac Khisa of 140 million litres per annum.

N
ile Breweries Limited,
a subsidiary of the
Belgium based AB
InBev, has boosted
its production capacity to meet
the growing beer demand.
Onapito Ekomoloit, the
Director Legal and Corporate
Affairs at NBL confirmed to
The Independent that the beer
company has added 250,000
hectoliters (25million litres)
to its production, boosting its
capacity to 205million litres
of beer per annum at its Jinja
Airtel Uganda in partnership with FUFA reward Uganda’s players from various Plant, eastern Uganda.
teams at Speke Resort, Munyonyo, on Dec.08. More than 10 winners walked This is the second time that
away with awards, cash prizes, and cars.   Courtesy photo. the company is expanding
the plant to meet the growing
beer consumption since its
establishment more than six
decades ago.
In 2009, the plant underwent
a US$29million expansion,
effectively doubling the brewer
capacity to 180million litres.
This new expansion means
that NBL has a production
capacity of 270 million litres
of beer per annum with the
inclusion of the 65-million litre
production plant in Mbarara,
western Uganda. However, its
rival, Uganda Breweries Lim-
Eng Monica Azuba Ntege, Minister of Works and Transport flags off the ited, has a production capacity
2nd Edition of Tweddeko Road Safety Caravan organized by Vivo Energy
Uganda in partnership with National Road Safety Council, Uganda Police,
NTV Uganda and Uganda Red Cross Society.   Courtesy Photo.
This development comes
in as many months since the
new NBL’s Country Direc-
tor, Thomas Kamphuis, said in
April this year that AB InBev
was investing US$22million
through its subsidiary NBL in
upgrading its two plants – in
Jinja and Mbarara – as the
world’s biggest beer-maker
steps up investment on the
African continent to meet
booming beer demand.
Meanwhile, Ekomoloit
has asked whoever claims to
possess any of their adulter-
ated products to report to the
relevant authorities including
Police and Uganda National
Bureau of Standards.
He said the company, has
lately, been receiving unsub-
stantiated claims that their
products contain impurities.
“To us, anything going into
the human body must meet
the highest quality,” he said,
adding, “It is one thing testing
our products in the laboratory
and another thing seeing our
product in the glass.”
He said the company
adheres to the highest stan-
dards in its beer production to
ensure that consumer’s health
isn’t compromised.

Weekly share price movement (Dec.03, 2018)

Security Dec. 03 Nov. 19 Movement
BATU 30,000 30000 00
BOBU 139 139 00
CENT 980 1,015 3.4
QCL 249 255 2.3
DFCU 845 845 00
EABL 6,862 6,017 14
EBL 1,434 1,422 0.8
JHL 13,507 15,225 11.3
KA 347 349 0.5
KCB 1,434 1,413 1.5
NIC 15 15 00
NMG 2,487 2,519 1.3
NVL 337 340 0.9
Nile Brewries Limited Employee shows Assistant Inspector of Police,
SBU 31 32 3.1
Andrew Sorowen, UNBS, URA and Ministry of Health executive during
UCHM 24 23 52
the plant tour on Dec .05. The plant has a production capacity of 205
million litres per annum.  Courtesy photo. UCL 20 20 20
UMEME 321 340 5.5
ALSI -- -- --

Dec. 14 - 20 2018 29
 Picking the trait and writing the genetic
code is a scenario that has been forecast
since the birth of the first test tube baby.
W
By A Cecile JW Janssens
hen Adam Nash was
still an embryo, living
in a dish in the lab,
scientists tested his
DNA to make sure it
was free of Fanconi
anemia, the rare inherited blood disease
from which his sister Molly suffered. They
also checked his DNA for a marker that
would reveal whether he shared the same
tissue type. Molly needed a donor match
for stem cell therapy, and her parents
were determined to find one. Adam was
conceived so the stem cells in his umbilical
cord could be the lifesaving treatment for
his sister.
Adam Nash is considered to be the first
designer baby, born in 2000 using in vitro
fertilizaton with pre-implantation genetic
diagnosis, a technique used to choose
desired characteristics. The media covered
the story with empathy for the parents’
motives but not without reminding the
reader that “eye color, athletic ability,
beauty, intelligence, height, stopping a
propensity towards obesity, guaranteeing
freedom from certain mental and physical
30 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
Designer babies
Why what everyone is freaking out
about is not likely to happen
illnesses, all of these could in the future
be available to parents deciding to have a
designer baby.”
The designer babies have thus been
called the “future-we-should-not-want”
for each new reproductive technology or
intervention. But the babies never came
and are nowhere close. I am not surprised.
I study the prediction of complex
diseases and human traits that result from
interactions between multiple genes and
lifestyle factors. This research shows that
geneticists cannot read the genetic code
and know who will be above average in
intelligence and athleticism. Such traits and
diseases that result from multiple genes
and lifestyle factors cannot be predicted
using just DNA, and cannot be designed.
Not now. And very unlikely ever.
Designer babies are next
The inevitable rise of designer babies
was proclaimed in 1978 after the birth of
Louise Brown, the first IVF baby, as the
next step toward “a brave world where
parents can select their child’s gender and
traits.” The same situation occurred in
1994 when a 59-year-old British woman
stretched the limits of nature by giving
birth to twins using donated eggs that
were implanted in her womb at a fertility
clinic in Italy.
The response was the same in 1999,
when a fertility clinic in Fairfax, Virginia,
offered sex selection of embryos to screen
against diseases that only happen in boys.
In 2013, when 23andMe was granted a
patent for a tool that predicts the likelihood

of traits in babies based on DNA of
two parents, the question of patenting
designer babies was raised. In 2016, when
the U.K. permitted a woman to donate
her healthy mitochondria to a couple
using IVF to conceive a child, raising
the number of parents to three, fears of
unnatural children rose again. Last month,
when Genomic Prediction, a New Jersey
company, announced its DNA screening
panel for embryos would also assess the
risk for complex diseases such as Type 2
diabetes and heart disease that are caused
by multiple genes, fears of engineering
babies with high IQ or athletic prowess
emerged.
The same issues arose on Nov. 26
when He Jiankui reported at the Second
International Summit on Human Genome
Editing in Hong Kong that he had
successfully edited the DNA of twin baby
girls born the previous month.
The designer baby doom scenarios have
not evolved with the technology. It’s been
the same story for decades. It’s the same
“desirable” traits and the same assumption
that parents want to select these traits if
technology allowed. But no one seems to
be questioning whether these traits are
solely a product of our genes such that
they can be selected or edited in embryos.
Wondering about designer babies was
understandable in the early days, but
repetition of these supposed fears now
suggests lack of understanding of how
DNA, and the genes they encode, work.
Designing favorable traits in babies is
not simple
Although there are exceptions, DNA
generally differs between people in two
ways: There are DNA mutations and DNA
variations.
Mutations cause rare diseases like
Huntington’s disease and cystic fibrosis,
which are caused by a single gene.
Mutations in the BRCA genes substantially
increase the risk of breast and ovarian
cancer. Selecting embryos that do not have
these mutations removes the entire or
main cause of disease – women who don’t
have BRCA mutations can still develop
breast cancer through other causes, like all
women.
Variations are changes in the genetic
code that are more common than
mutations and associated with common
traits and diseases. DNA variants increase
the likelihood that you may have a trait or
develop a disease but do not determine or
cause it. Association means that in several
large study populations, a DNA variant
was more frequent among people with the
trait than those without, often only slightly
more frequent.
These variants don’t determine a trait,
but increase its likelihood by interacting
with other DNA variants and nongenetic
influences such as upbringing, lifestyle
and environment. To design such traits
in embryos would require multiple
DNA changes in multiple genes and
orchestrating or controlling relevant
environment and lifestyle influences too.
Let’s compare it to driving a car. DNA
mutations are like the flat tires and the
failing brakes: technical problems that
make driving problematic, no matter
where you drive. DNA variations are
like the color and the type of car, or
other features of the car that may affect
the driving experience and even might
create problems over time. For example,
a convertible is a delight when driving on
Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard on a breezy
summer evening, but cruel when crossing
a high mountain pass in midwinter.
Whether features of the car are an asset or
a liability depends on the context and that
context might change — they are never
ideal all the time.
Another hurdle
Most DNA mutations do nothing
else other than cause the disease, but
DNA variations may play a role in many
diseases and traits. Take variations in the
MC1R “red hair” gene, which not only
increases the chance that your child will
health
have red hair, but also increases their risk
of skin cancer. Or variations in the OCA2
and HERC2 “eye color” genes that are also
associated with the risk of various cancers,
Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. To
be sure, these are statistical associations,
reported in the scientific literature, some
may be confirmed; others may not. But the
message is clear: Editing DNA variations
for “desirable” traits may have adverse
consequences, including many that
scientists don’t know about yet.
We can see this in the analysis of He
Jiankui’s gene-edited babies. By trying to
make the babies resistant to HIV, he might
have greatly increased susceptibility to
infections by West Nile virus or influenza.
To be sure, even though complex
traits such as intelligence, athletics and
musicality cannot be selected or designed,
there will be opportunists who will try to
offer these traits, even if totally premature
and unsupported by science. Like Stephen
Hsu, the co-founder of Genomic Prediction
who said about his offer to test embryos
for polygenic risk, the risk of a disease
based on multiple genes, “I think people
are going to demand that. If we don’t do
it, some other company will.” And also He
said: “There will be someone, somewhere,
who is doing this. If it’s not me, it’s
someone else.” People need to be protected
against this irresponsible and unethical use
of DNA testing and editing.
Science brought incredible progress
in reproductive technology, but didn’t
bring designer babies one step closer. The
creation of designer babies is not limited by
technology, but by biology: The origins of
common traits and diseases are too complex
and intertwined to modify the DNA
without introducing unwanted effects.
A Cecile JW Janssens is Research Professor of
Epidemiology, Emory University
Source:theconversation
*terms and conditions apply
AfricellUG @AfricellUG
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 31
COMMENT
By Alexandra Borchardt
Assault on news media
These five mundane dangers confronting the profession
could be more dangerous than the physical attacks
T
he brutal torture and murder of
the US-based Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi has focused
attention on Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, who is widely
believed to have ordered the killing.
It also highlights the hazards of the
news business. When the final numbers
are tallied, 2018 could be the most
dangerous year on record for journalists
worldwide.
But while physical attacks on
journalists have become frighteningly
bold – and Khashoggi’s killing may be
the most audacious yet – most dangers
confronting the profession are much
more mundane. Five stand out.
First, the number of job opportunities
is dwindling, and positions are
characterised by low pay, perpetual job
insecurity, and limited opportunities
for advancement. In the United States,
for example, newsroom employment
has dropped nearly one-quarter in less
than ten years, while enrollment in top
journalism schools has tapered off more
recently.
Second, “Big Tech” is outcompeting
news organisations in the race to
attract limited talent. Journalism needs
people skilled in technology to lead
investigative reporting projects and to
manage the industry’s digital transition.
But at the moment, most computer
engineers see a brighter future with
platform companies like Facebook and
Google, which can offer higher pay,
more job security, and better work-life
balance than even the biggest media
outlets.
Third, journalism is a lot less
glamorous than it once was. Years ago,
weather-beaten foreign correspondents
on television or the front pages of major
newspapers lured young reporters to
the craft. And, although most of us who
took the bait never ventured farther
than city hall, we were nonetheless
driven by the noble mission of holding
the powerful to account. But in today’s
distributed social-media environment,
foreign correspondents are rare, and
media “influencers” are more likely to
be pop stars than policy wonks.
32 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
Fourth, even as pay and prestige
diminish, newsroom pressures are
intensifying. When a “cub” reporter
joins a media organisation today, the
ability to write great copy is no longer
sufficient; young journalists must also
possess audio and video skills, data
journalism capabilities, and social-
media savvy. These skills might lead
to better news products, but nobody
is good at everything. To demand that
they are and place endless demands on
them might encourage reporters to leave
the profession.
Finally, the relentless rhetorical attacks
on members of the mainstream media
by leaders like U.S. President Donald
Trump – whose “fake news” narrative
targets the credibility of the profession
itself – is having an effect. Although
confidence in the news media has been
rising in recent surveys, the constant
vilification of journalists’ integrity
and intelligence threatens to erode the
profession.
Together, these five challenges
are taking a heavy toll on the news
business, and this poses a risk to
democracy itself. Without free and
Governments
could offer
subsidies, give
tax breaks,
and sponsor
initiatives that
offer training
in journalism
and new media
independent media, citizens cannot
make informed decisions. In fact, when
professional journalism is absent,
people can easily become lost in a
maze of often-unreliable information,
or even fall prey to self-proclaimed,
interest-driven experts and propaganda.
Journalism is democracy’s compass; we
must find a way to recalibrate it.
First and foremost, journalists need
protection. That means ensuring not
only their safety, but also their ability
to access information and report their
findings without fear of reprisal. At a
minimum, attacks on journalists like
Khashoggi must be fully investigated,
and their perpetrators must be held
to account and condemned by the
international community.
And yet, support for the media must
go beyond punishing those with the
audacity to kill a reporter. For example,
more programs are needed to help
nurture young talent. Governments
could offer subsidies, give tax breaks,
and sponsor initiatives that offer
training in journalism and new media.
Future journalists need role models,
but they also need the technical skills to
become role models themselves.
Perhaps most important, media
advocates everywhere must work to
increase the public’s media literacy.
News consumers must understand
how journalism works, how journalists
do their jobs, and why professional
media outlets are essential components
of a well-functioning democracy.
Until the public values the output that
professional journalists produce, a
shortage of talent will be the next big
challenge for journalism. It could turn
out to be its biggest yet.
Alexandra Borchardt is Director of
Leadership Programs at the Reuters
Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
www.project-syndicate.org

By Fatima Al Ansar and Shona Bezanson
The feminisation of African politics
Evidence shows that women’s political leadership
strengthens governance capacity and cooperation
L
ast month, Ethiopian Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed
a new cabinet; ten of the 20
positions went to women. One
week later, the country’s parliament
unanimously elected Sahle-Work
Zewde to become Ethiopia’s first
female president, and a week after that,
lawmakers appointed Meaza Ashenafi
to serve as the first female Supreme
Court president.
Ethiopia is not alone. Rwandan
President Paul Kagame installed a new
gender-balanced cabinet last month.
Rwanda already had the world’s
highest percentage of women in a
national parliament; now, the country
will have even more female leaders.
While Ethiopia and Rwanda are
at the forefront of Africa’s push for
gender parity in politics, other African
countries are not far behind. Six of
the world’s 20 top countries in terms
of the share of legislative seats held
by women are in Sub-Saharan Africa,
and in two African countries toward
the bottom of the global list – Nigeria
and Mali – politicians are currently
discussing ways to increase female
representation.
This shift is as inspiring as it is
historic. By appointing so many
young, energetic female leaders – like
Paula Ingabire, Rwanda’s minister
of information and communications
technology and innovation, Kamissa
Camara, Mali’s foreign affairs minister,
or Bogolo Kenewendo, Botswana’s
trade minister – African countries are
demonstrating that young women can
aspire to, and achieve, impactful goals.
These changes are essential not only
for the sake of fairness, but also for
Africa’s long-term prosperity. On a
continent where the average age of
presidents is 62, Africa needs more
young women in power to reflect
the talent and desires of its youthful
population. To sustain Africa’s
socioeconomic progress, young women
must be in leadership positions.
Women experience the world
differently than men. We grow
up navigating cultural norms and
expectations that, while certainly
constraining, give us insights that are
essential for inclusive policymaking.
A growing body of evidence shows
that women’s political leadership
strengthens governance capacity,
improves cooperation with allies and
across parties, and advances issues like
parental leave and childcare, access
to pensions, and the elimination of
gender-based violence.
While it is unreasonable – and indeed
undesirable – to expect that women
will agree on all issues or be equally
gender-sensitive in their politics, it is
fair to assume that a female leader’s
ideas will be informed by her unique
experiences. As leaders everywhere
strive to build more equitable societies,
they must not underestimate the
importance of giving political voice to
gendered expertise.
In much of the world, and in many
African countries, a woman’s place
is widely believed to be in the home;
public space is regarded as a male
domain. When governments in Africa
boldly and intentionally crowd women
into decision-making bodies, and
entrust them with power, they are
directly challenging these outdated
While Ethiopia
and Rwanda
are at the
forefront of
Africa’s push for
gender parity
in politics,
other African
countries are
not far behind
COMMENT
assumptions. With more female role
models, young women and girls
will be able to imagine new career
possibilities; parents will chart new
paths of success for their daughters;
teachers will teach girls differently; and
social and cultural barriers will fall.
Some critics argue that gender quotas
in government are condescending and
unnecessary. But in many parts of
the world, they are essential. In some
societies, for example, women cannot
easily vote, meaning that even when
female candidates are on the ballot,
it can be difficult for them to garner
electoral support.
Ethiopia and Rwanda have recognised
this challenge and have moved to
address it. Moreover, by appointing
gender-balanced cabinets, leaders are
intentionally addressing a common
experience for women in politics:
being vastly outnumbered by male
counterparts. These two governments
now have the opportunity to bring
women’s perspective to bear on the
challenges their countries face.
The creation of gender-equal cabinets
reinforces the message that progress is
about more than building individual
capacity. Rather, it also requires
transforming the structures and
institutions that govern society. For
young African women, the last few
weeks of political change represents
a milestone in the continuing push
for gender equality, marking the
beginning of a new era of progress for
the continent.
Fatima Al Ansar, an alumna of the African
Leadership Academy, is Head of Mission
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation in Mali, founder
of Tilwalte Girls Peace Network, a 2017
Oxford Consortium on Human Rights
Fellow, and a Mastercard Foundation
Scholar. Shona Bezanson is Associate
Director of the Mastercard Foundation
Scholars Program.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 33
COMMENT
By Attilio Pacifici
European Union and Human Rights
70 years after the Universal Declaration, the European
Union has chosen seven priority areas to support
S
eventy years ago, when global
leaders came together to agree
on the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the world was
just beginning its slow and painful
recovery from a devastating World
War. Tens of millions of people had
died, millions of them systematically
killed because of their ethnicity,
religion, political beliefs or sexual
orientation.
The beginning of the first article of
the Declaration, “All human beings
are born free and equal in dignity and
rights”, sounds indisputable today.
Yet, at the time of the signature of the
convention in 1948, African countries
were yet to be liberated, and a vast
number of Europeans would still be
denied fundamental freedoms for
decades to come.
Europe’s own painful history of
human rights violations, war and
non-democratic regimes causes the
European Union and its Member States
to value the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) even more
today. Even though the world has
changed significantly in the past 70
years, the UDHR remains morally,
politically and legally just as relevant –
or even more so – as it was in 1948.
The UDHR has prompted dozens of
international human rights treaties
and declarations, regional conventions,
and national human rights legislation.
It also inspired European states to
agree on the European Convention on
Human Rights in 1950.
Today, this international treaty
protects human rights and political
freedoms of 830 million European
citizens in 47 countries. The European
Convention established the European
Court of Human Rights, which may
hand down legally binding judgements
in response to claims taken to the
Court by any person or state party.
Over decades, its decisions have forced
many European countries to change
their legislation to better ensure the
human rights of their citizens, and
obliged the payment of sometimes
sizeable compensation to those found
to have had their rights violated.
In Uganda, the constitution stipulates
34 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
non-discrimination and equality for
all citizens, with specific provisions to
ensure the human rights of women,
people with disabilities and children.
However, as in many other countries,
ensuring that laws and policies that
guarantee the enjoyment of human
rights are fully implemented and
respected is a continuous effort. For
this, national and local authorities,
including government, parliament and
courts, carry the main responsibility.
In the European experience, civil
society actors – non-governmental
organisations, religious and cultural
institutions, individual human
rights defenders – and a free media
play a pivotal role in building
citizens’ awareness of their rights
and persistently reminding duty
bearers of their responsibilities.
Development partners can support
both governmental and non-
governmental actors to help them play
their respective roles in ensuring that
all people are fully able to enjoy their
human rights.
The European Union and its Member
States have chosen seven priority
areas for action in support of human
rights and democracy in Uganda for
Today, this
international
treaty protects
human rights
and political
freedoms of 830
million European
citizens in 47
countries
the period 2016-2020: 1) Freedom of
Assembly, Freedom of Association,
Freedom of Expression and Press
Freedom; 2) Accountability and Anti-
corruption; 3) Children’s Rights; 4)
Women’s Rights and Gender Equality;
5) Transitional Justice; 6) Human
Rights Defenders and Abolition
of Death Penalty; and 7) Anti-
discrimination.
Support to these areas is provided
through cooperation with the
Government of Uganda; especially in
support to the Justice, Law and Order
Sector (JLOS), and through cooperation
with civil society organisations (CSOs).
The EU supports reforms of the
JLOS sector, aimed at strengthening
equitable access to justice and
increasing accountability, by providing
assistance to the government worth
66 million euros or Shs280 billion
over three years. The European Union
and its Member States also provide
financial support to CSOs in Uganda to
protect and promote human rights, on
the basis of initiatives from Ugandan
organisations. The areas of support
are as broad in scope as human rights
themselves: EU-funded projects
promote transitional justice in areas
that have suffered from violent conflict,
ensure children’s rights, facilitate
accountability of public officials to their
constituencies, etc.
It is our joint responsibility to ensure
that what was agreed on 70 years
ago still becomes alive today. The
European Union and its Member States
are committed to continue working
together with the Government of
Uganda and all Ugandans to ensure
that all women and men, girls and boys
can fully enjoy all the rights they are
entitled to.
Attilio Pacifici is the Ambassador of the
European Union to Uganda. He wrote this
article on the occasion to mark Human
Rights Day 2018.
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE
Kamya wows
with wood
How a child’s
curiosity created
international celebrity
C
By Dominic Muwanguzi
harles
Kamya is a
self-taught
Uganda
artist who
has found a
spot among the masters.
He recently emerged
overall winner in a global
sculpture competition;
the Holzbildhauer
Symposium Brienz
in Switzerland, after
beating over one hundred
sculptors from around the
world. One of his works is
a statuette, `Going Home’,
which has been collected
by Kenyan First Lady,
Margaret Kenyatta.
The 230cmx80cm
sculpture conveys a rural
African woman going
home after work in the
garden. She is a towering
figurine in abstract style,
combining elements of
double and plain curved
surfaces and the regular
sphere motif. In Kamya’s
work, these symbolise the
concept of the origin of
human life- the embryo-
and the globe, planet
earth on which mankind
inhabit. It is a subtle
comment on human life,
identity, and spirituality.
Kamya works
specifically with albizia
hardwood (Mugavu); a
genus subtropical and
tropical tree that grows
in Asia, Africa, and
Madagascar.
His art is playful and
cheerful as he carefully
preserves intricate
details as he juxtaposes
nature and art. His
sculptures meander
like the root stumps
they are curved from
in their natural form.
But the artist adeptly
exaggerates shapes within
his figurines to create a
sense of wild- growth. He
is continuously exploring
concepts and integrates
studio ingenuity and
craftiness.
The lineal artwork
carries variant textures
and patterns that are
evocative of the organic
character of the medium
used. To preserve that
natural quality is central
to the artist’s work and
instinctively reverberates
with the African
traditional approach to
wood curving where
wood carvers approached
the subject of sculpture
with intent to preserve
the vegetation. In fact
most of the hardwood
sculptures from ancient
times are an archive of
the trees that are now
extinct.
Dec. 14 - 20 2018
But Kamya’s pieces take a
more contemporary approach
to sculpture construction.
They are inspired by
contemporary themes.
Stylistically, they are sleek and
understated in approach to
wood, and employ modernistic
concepts like working with
found -objects (aluminum or
copper plates.
But Kamya likes to explore
new forms and dimensions
in his art. So, although his
figurines typically feature
double and plain curved
surfaces, he uses spaces to
create interesting variations.
The abstract sculptures
are thematically narratives
of contemporary society
issues; like the position of
the African woman in society
as a mother, worker and a
symbol of beauty. He will also
tackle themes of everyday
struggle and the futility of
life that confound him as an
individual. It is a curiosity
that began when Kamya was
a child.
At one point he did not
have money to pay school
fees and was on the brink of
dropping out. But he chanced
on the curious idea to collect
root stumps that had always
fascinated him from the
family garden and sell them
as sculptures. He quickly
discovered that although they
were functional and preserved
the natural forms of the roots,
they had an aesthetic that
appealed to the public. Later he
was to discover that the craft
of root carving is an ancient
one and is visible in many
cultures across the world. That
is what provides his essential
inspiration and ingenuity.
35
Gambling nuns embezzled $500,000 from impoverished school to fund casino trips
Two nuns who worked as teachers will school funds.’ Both nuns were former that they had a pattern of going on trips,
not be charged over claims they embezzled school employees – Kreuper was the we do know they had a pattern of going
$500,000 from an impoverished school principal and Change was a teacher – to casinos, and the reality is, they used
to fund casino trips. Last week, St. James with the pair telling parents the school the account as their personal account.”
Catholic School in Torrance, California was operating on a shoestring budget. Auditors discovered a ‘long forgotten’
announced Sister Margaret Kreuper and But an attorney for the school claimed the church bank account that only Kreuper
Sister Lana Chang ‘were involved in the sisters had blown some of the huge sum and Chang knew about.
personal use of a substantial amount of on gambling trips, saying: ‘We do know

Police spends
$600 to catch$2
yogurt bottle thief
Sharing a fridge with room-
mates in college usually means
accepting that, from time to
time, some of your treats will
mysteriously disappear. But for
one Taiwanese woman sharing
a house with five other women
studying at the Chinese Culture
University in Taipei, a missing $2
yogurt bottle was a serious crime
that had to be solved at any
cost. She brought in the police,
demanded that they carry out an
official investigation, and bring
the criminal to justice. The police
conducted DNA tests worth
hundreds of dollars to find out
who drank the $2 yogurt bottle.
The police have been accused
of wasting taxpayers’ money on
solving stupid cases.
Can you lick your forehead like this man?
While most people can
barely reach their nose with their
tongue, one man can actually
lick his own forehead. Yagya
Bahadur Katuwal, 35, works on
a local school bus and his amaz-
ing ability has made him a celeb-
rity in his country after his friend
posted a video of him on social
media. Yagya claims he has the
world’s longest tongue – but
he tries not to show it off often
because “it scares the children”.
The bus driver from Nepal,
said he is the only person in the
world that can lick their fore-
head. “I think I look great like
this. I can cover my nose with
my lips, lick my forehead and
make the sound of bullet bike.
“If I got to act in a horror movie,
I wouldn’t need makeup like
other actors to scare people.”
Man accidentally
declares himself a
terrorist, kicked out
A 70-year-old man from
Scotland ruined his holiday
and got himself banned from
the United States forever after
accidentally declaring himself
a terrorist on an online visa
form. John Stevenson and his
wife, Marion, were supposed
to vacation in New York this
month, but they ended up los-
ing both their flight tickets and
their advance for accommoda-
tion in The Big Apple, after
John got permanently banned
from entering the United States
for declaring himself a terrorist
on an online visa form. Despite
several attempts to convince US
officials that he had just made a
mistake, he remains banned.

Homeless man finds Odd job: Shop owners hiring thieves!

millions, gives it away The owner of a clothing did it, so she can prevent come off as strange, the
store in the UK is taking an it from happening again. woman explained that
Kevin Booth is poor and homeless and unconventional approach The witty entrepreneur, she is simply taking a
frequents a Food Bank in Washington, to preventing theft. She who prefers to remain different approach to theft
where he picks up donated items to help is paying £50 to any thief anonymous, says any thief prevention after years of
him survive on a day-to-day basis. He could who comes to her shop, who steals three items suffering significant loses
never have anticipated what he would steals something, and can keep one of them. during the holiday season.
come across one morning when he found a returns to tell her how they Realising that her job may
suspicious paper bag on the building’s front
step with US$17,000 (Approx.Shs64 million)
in it. Booth had a difficult decision to make
but handed it over to the food bank employ-
ees who called the police, prompting an
investigation of the money, where it came
from and who exactly handed it in. When
nobody claimed it, the food bank took it.
The police honoured Booth for his inspiring
display of generosity. “Not every citizen
would be as honest as you in this situation,”
Police Chief Brad Moericke. He said Booth
told him he knew that the money would
benefit more people than just himself.

36 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
 2019 Honda CR-V
Check out its new standard safety technology
By Agencies
H
ONDA has dramatically increased
the level of standard safety
technology for the 2019 Honda
CR-V VTi-S all-wheel drive
model (AWD), which will be available in
dealerships from January 1, 2019.
Previously the suite of tech dubbed
HondaSensing – incorporating forward
collision warning autonomous emergency
braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control,
and lane-departure warning with active
0783 614 601 / 0753 614 601
lane-keep assistance – was reserved for the
range-topping CR-V VTi-LX AWD priced
from $44,290+ORC.
Now, however, Honda has added all of
the above extras as standard on the CR-V
VTi-S AWD.
The CR-V VTi-S still gets Honda’s
LaneWatch version of a blind-spot monitor,
which uses a passenger-side mirror-
mounted camera to project traffic beside the
vehicle onto the centre screen.
It also still includes 18-inch alloy wheels,
keyless auto-entry with push-button
The Largest 7 seater 4x4 In Uganda
Only available at spear Motors Limited
Mercedes Benz GLS
sales@spearmotors.co.ug
start, dual-zone climate control air-
conditioning, a touchscreen with Apple
CarPlay/Android Auto and satellite
navigation, and even an electric tailgate
that is extremely rare for this price
point.
With a huge 556-litre boot volume,
and full-sized spare wheel underfloor,
the 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder,
automatic-equipped model now rates
as one of the best and best-value buys
in the segment.
Driving you into the Future
www.spearmotors.co.ug
Dec. 14 - 20 2018 37
Charles Rwomushana
was named after guitarist
By Agnes E Nantaba the ambition to become guild president of 1996.

C
the oldest university in Uganda; Makerere President Museveni appointed him
harles Rwomushana has often University. DRC for Pader district after which he was
times been named a controversial “It’s at this school that I became deployed back to State House.
political analyst for his contentious politically active,” he says. “I was handling political issues that
remarks and analysis of political He later joined Mbarara High School would culminate into overthrowing of
issues in the country. He is a former Guild because the school always engaged in the constitution,” he says, “I also handled
President of Makerere University, RDC of student fights with Ntare School and he monitoring government systems.”
Pader district and Head of Economics and wanted to take part in the next school war. Rwomushana is one of the many
Research at Internal Security Organisation Unfortunately it did not happen while he children of Winnie Safira Tumubwine
(ISO). It’s because of his remarks for and was there. Two years later, Rwomushana and Joseph Rwakinwa (RIP) of Rukungiri
against the current government; one that joined Makerere University and a month district. He was named Charles after a one
he once served that has led many to refer into the system realised that many students Charles Sonko, a guitarist who played a
to him as controversial. But Rwomushana had difficulty getting transport and welcoming song after his birth in the bush.
maintains his impartiality. writing materials even when they were on
“I don’t support or oppose anybody but government sponsorship. He convinced the
I relate with state power and its dynamics,” government to provide Shs10 million as a
says Rwomushana, also adding, “Therefore pilot project to help students. For this cause,
this notion of supporting this and that is for the students named him “chairman of the
part-time thinkers.” needy students” something that grew his
Perhaps his relationship with power popularity at the university. A year later,
dates to as young as only six years. he was elected guild president. His political
Rwomushana recalls mobilising about 100 ambitions kept growing and Rwomushana
very young boys about his age and training campaigned to represent Rujumbura
them in military formation. At the age of constituency in Rukungiri in the 1994
six, he says, he was the leader of the young Constituent Assembly race.
boys group, “very organised and never “I campaigned using door to door and
threatened by external forces”. was the first youth and very poor to win
At the time, his home was near a landing a free and fair general election,” he says.
site in Rukungiri district and by the time But his winning streak did not last. He was
Tanzanian forces extended to the area, they defeated when he tried to join parliament in
found the young boys ready in military
formation. The group would then join the
force to patrol the area; guiding the soldiers
on the direction of wild animals in the area.
“We would go with them, hunt and
shoot and as the leader, I would be given
some parts of the animals in appreciation,”
he recalls.
He recalls when one of the children was
shot as the soldiers battled hippos that had
come to rescue their mate. That was before
Rwomushana even started Primary one.
He later joined Bugangari Primary School.
He recalls that although he should have
been Anglican, he was baptized Catholic
in a hurried process because there was
a cholera outbreak and a fear of dying
without the First Holy Sacrament. Many
people died. As other priests fled the area,
one of them braved the deadly outbreak to
stay behind and baptize as many people
as possible such that at the time of death,
they would pass on as believers in Jesus
Christ. Rwomushana and his mother
survived and he resumed school. He later
joined Bugangari Secondary School where,
hesays, as early as senior two, he developed

38 Dec. 14 - 20 2018

Charles Rwomushana’s Liteside
Any three things that we
I
don’t know about you?
don’t know about the
volumes of heat that
would melt me. I can
be anywhere and some
stage if there is a problem,
I will generate some force
to destroy or push you
away. I am water and my
word is fire. There is no
capacity to stop the fire
because God has baptised
me with fire and water.
What is your idea of
perfect happiness?
Any moment with God
What is your greatest
fear?
Betraying a value for
materialism.
What is the trait you most
deplore in others?
Idiots and impervious;
I struggle with idiots who
have and those without
power.
Which living person do
you most admire?
I only admire Jesus
Christ and no other
compares to him.
What is your greatest
extravagance?
Other than donating,
even if I had a trillion,
it would evaporate in
a second to get into the
dynamics of power.
What is the greatest thing
you have ever done?
I consciously
contributed in bringing
someone on earth who
wouldn’t be there without
that decision.
What do you consider the
most overrated virtue?
Worshiping material;
most of the young
people worship material
something that will cause
many to perish.
What does being
powerful mean to you?
Being powerful is
defined by outcomes. It’s
about imposing a behavior
on others to make them
believe in your line and
live it.
On what occasion do you
lie?
I hate to tell lies
and therefore cannot
consciously construct a lie.
It also consumes a lot of
energy.
Which living person do
you most despise?
I despise anyone who
kills innocent people. How
do you promise someone
to renounce violence,
become part of you and
receive amnesty but end
up killing them? I despise
such people.
What is the quality you
most like in a woman?
Individual’s characters
are determined by
conditions.
What is the quality you
most like in a man?
There is no permanent
character or trait to
describe an individual.
People change depending
on circumstances.
What or who is the
greatest love of your life?
I don’t have capacity
and time to love too much.
When and where were
you happiest?
Every time I have a
conversation with God
is a happy moment for
me. Others that would
be victories, like being
elected guild president,
turned out to be
challenges because the
voters entrusted me with
the power and expected
me to battle for them.
Which talent would you
most like to have?
The talent to fight either
through machines or
physically.
What do you consider
your greatest
achievement?
During my first year
at Makerere University,
I gave myself a
responsibility to look after
thousands of students
some of whom had their
families displaced by the
war. For some reason, I
fought Amama Mbabazi
with a passion but we
were able to reconcile and
I still feel at ease.
Where would you most
like to live?
I never determined
coming here and will
therefore remain here
as an individual. I am a
shareholder in Uganda
and don’t know what
would be good outside it.
What is your most
treasured possession?
I don’t put my mind on
material things. I treasure
spiritual power.
What do you regard as the
lowest depth of misery?
I have no problem with
any human being going
through any level of
pain if it’s a sacrifice. If
someone’s death is meant
to save others after the
failure of other forces, the
pain is worth it.
What is your favorite
occupation?
Impacting behavior
Dec. 14 - 20 2018
Q&A
through force, persuasion,
and education or spiritual
means. I am made by God
to make and perpetuate
life.
What do you most value
in your friends?
I crave for a comrade
because I have no capacity
to know someone at the
level of a friend.
Who are your favorite
writers?
I don’t have any yet
because many writers
exaggerate just one idea
into hundreds of pages. I
don’t want to read for fun
but to acquire knowledge
so I haven’t come across
my favourite writer.
Which historical figure
do you most identify
with?
There is no other
individual who can come
near Christ; he had a lot of
power, was able to restrain
it and was violent where
necessary. He was also
very knowledgeable and
had a very good doctrine
of movement of resources
through love.
What is your greatest
regret?
I have not made
conscious mistakes. There
have only been accidents
imposed on me by
situations so I don’t have
regrets.
How would you like to
die?
I don’t think about
death because I am
beyond it.
What is your motto?
‘There is victory in
death’ and ‘I can’t be
impeded by souls that eat
food’
39
Global comment
By Cobus van Staden
The G20’s Africa problem
Rather than include Africa in discussions about trade,
the G20 addresses narrower development issues
T
his has not been an easy year
for the G20. The 2018 summit
of the leaders of the world’s
largest economies was held in
Buenos Aires, a city still reeling from
a currency collapse. More broadly, the
summit took place amid a fracturing
of the multilateral order. Everything
from NATO to the consensus on climate
change appears to be coming apart at
the seams.
Still, the G20 has long positioned itself
as a global problem solver, having been
conceived after the 1997 Asian financial
crisis and then emerging as the primary
global forum for addressing the crash
of 2008. A decade later, a global crisis is
on the agenda once again, only this time
it has assumed the form of a mounting
trade war between the United States and
China.
Unlike in 2008, however, the world’s
capacity for multilateral decision-
making is deteriorating. The European
Union remains preoccupied with its
own internal disputes, and the United
States, under President Donald Trump,
has abandoned multilateralism and
weakened the institutions needed to
solve complex challenges such as the
threat of technological unemployment
from automation. And the effects of the
Trump administration’s protectionism
are already being felt. The World Trade
Organisation recently reported that in
response to U.S. tariffs, G20 countries
have imposed around 40 new import
restrictions, affecting $481 billion in
global trade – a sixfold increase from
the year before.
But while the world’s economic
giants have been withdrawing from
multilateralism, Africa has been quietly
moving in the opposite direction. Earlier
this year, the continent’s countries
agreed on a new African Continental
Free Trade Agreement, and committed
to pursuing deeper cross-border
economic and infrastructure integration
within the framework of the African
Union, as outlined in the AU’s Agenda
2063.
But, despite its embrace of
multilateralism, Africa has struggled
to get the G20’s attention. South Africa
is the only African country in the G20,
40 Dec. 14 - 20 2018
and it must constantly walk the fine
line of speaking for the continent’s
interests without imposing its voice on
its neighbours. True, representatives
from the AU and the New Partnership
for Africa’s Development do attend G20
summits. But the countries occupying
each institution’s rotating leadership
do not always have the capacity to
advocate forcefully on the continent’s
behalf.
Moreover, this problem is
compounded by the limited scope
of the G20’s interactions with Africa.
Rather than including Africa in
wider discussions about global trade
architecture, climate change, and the
future of work, the G20 has largely
limited its engagement with the
continent to addressing narrower
development issues.
To be sure, Africa’s large infrastructure
gap, slow regional integration, and
high levels of unemployment all stem
from underdevelopment. No one is
saying that development should be
ignored; but nor should it be the only
focus. When international engagement
with Africa is confined to the silo of
development, the continent is effectively
reduced to a set of problems for external
actors to solve. This tendency prevents
Africa from participating as a legitimate
and coequal member of the global
community. If one lacks a seat at the
table, then one is probably on the menu.
As matters stand, most of the G20’s
engagement with Africa happens
through its Development Working
Group, which focuses on the basic
building blocks of development,
like poverty eradication. This means
that Africa has no say in a host of
other issues relating to development,
including infrastructure, the shape of
the digital economy, and the global
banking system. As a result, key
problems such as Africa’s structural
exclusion from global markets – which
is due in large part to G20 member
states’ own domestic agricultural
subsidies – go unexamined.
This isn’t just unfair to Africa; it
also poses risks for the G20. Africa
represents the world’s demographic
future, and its development trajectory
will increasingly affect the global
economy. By 2050, Nigeria will have
the world’s third-largest population,
and by 2100, one-third of all people will
be African. Clearly, any plan that the
G20 makes for the future will have to
put Africa at the forefront. Diminishing
the region to a set of development
challenges will no longer do.
To its credit, the G20 has started
paying more attention to Africa in recent
years. Under the Chinese presidency in
2016, the body made industrialisation
in Africa a high priority. And this was
followed by the Compact with Africa
under the German presidency in 2017.
For its part, Argentina has not launched
an Africa initiative of its own; but it
has devoted attention to improving
cooperation with the continent via
people-to-people diplomacy.
The Compact with Africa is designed
to facilitate economic reforms across
the continent, and to attract investment
from pools of private-sector funds in
the global North. But though it has been
well received among African leaders,
the compact nonetheless perpetuates the
trend of restricting African engagement
to development issues.
Looking ahead, Africa must be
afforded a greater role in setting the
G20’s agenda. The continent will be
disproportionally affected by climate
change and transnational migration.
Yet it will not be able to meet those
challenges if its development is being
hindered by an unequal global trade
system.
These issues were on the agenda in
Buenos Aires, but discussion of them
was largely deprived of an African
perspective. This must change. It is time
for creative solutions to make the G20
more representative and more effective
in its engagement with the world. Our
collective future depends on it.
Cobus van Staden is a senior foreign policy
researcher at the South African Institute of
International Affairs.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
www.project-syndicate.org
 LIVE AT 9
We tell the story beyond the story.

#NBSLiveAt9