The General court-martial led by Lt Gen Andrew Gutti has convicted the leader of “Boda-Boda 2010” Abdallah Kitatta of multiple offences including unlawful possession of firearms.

Court has also convicted Ngoobi Sowali of unlawful possession of firearms

Meanwhile, the same court has acquitted seven others that have been remanded together with Kitatta of offences of unlawful possession of firearms and military supplies.

The acquitted include Joel Kibirige, Matia Senfuka, Hassan Sebatta, John Sebandeke, Hussein Mugema, Amon Twinomujuni, and Fred Bwanika.

Lt Gen Gutti adjourned the case for tomorrow 14th May when he will deliver the sentence

Kitatta together with his co-accused have been on remand for 16 months since they were arrested at the start of 2018.

The lawyer who represented Kitatta and Ngoobi, Mr. Shaban Sanya defended his clients by pointing out several factors before the court-martial to be considered before handing them the final sentence. They included the following;

That Kitatta has not been involved in any likely case before and this was the first of such offences he has been convicted

That convicts have got families and other people they take care of and therefore their lives would be miserable if the convicts are given a long sentence

That Kitatta has for a long time been suffering from diabetes which would worsen his health condition if sentenced in prison

That Kitatta has been a loyal member of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), the ruling party which he serves as its chairman in Lubaga division and in the process serving his country.

That Ngobi Sewali had a clean record as a policeman and served with discipline before he was arrested and remanded, something court should consider.

That the convicts have learned a lot during the time they have spent on remand of about 16 months and they are ready to change

That the pistol which Kitatta was found with, was given to him by police officials and besides, it was found that it had not fired any bullet by the time he was arrested

That the convicts have exhibited a high level of discipline during their time on remand which should be considered by the court

That Kitatta was not guided well by the police authorities on how to handle the firearms given to him

The lawyer asked the court to consider all the above factors and be lenient when handing the sentence to the convicts

The two leading opposition political figures in Uganda, Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine and former presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye have agreed to join forces towards the 2021 presidential elections in order to oust president Yoweri Museveni.

Both Bobi Wine and Dr. Kiiza Besigye signed a joint statement on May 6 during their meeting in which they indicated that they have concluded discussions on key issues including joining their political forces together against Mr. Museveni who has been in power since 1986.

“We took note that we are on the same mission to free Uganda from dictatorship and oppression. We agreed that despite belonging to different formations/ fronts, we must work together as partners on the same mission,” read part of the statement.

While addressing the media at Fairway Hotel in Kampala on Wednesday, Mukono Municipality MP and Spokesperson of Dr. Besigye’s “People’s Government” Betty Nambooze and Mr. Joel Ssenyonyi, the Spokesperson of People Power under Bobi Wine said that the two movements will carry out joint activities in order to defeat Mr. Museveni.

Mr. Ssenyonyi was quoted saying “The two groups have different activities and we shall continue to work on them but once in a while, we shall hold joint activities”.

Ms. Nambooze said the issue of fielding one candidate as opposition in the 2021 presidential election has been shelved in order to first concentrate on getting back their freedoms taken away by Museveni and his NRM government.

“As we have always stated, our main aim is to oust Museveni even before 2021. However, if the struggle takes us till then, then we shall choose one person from amongst us to go in one force. For now, we are fighting for the freedom Mr. Museveni has denied us. That is why we are not tackling the question as of now,” said Ms. Nambooze.

On Tuesday Bobi Wine said that they have been having several meetings with a number of political parties including the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), the newly formed Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), the DP bloc and lastly with the People’s Government.

The announcement of the joint effort by the two opposition leaders will come as a relief to the supporters of the two camps who have been at loggerheads with each other over the strategy to be used as we head into presidential election in 2021.

Supporters of pressure group “People Power” under Bobi Wine and other opposition political parties have been accusing Dr. Kizza Besigye of having hidden ambitions for failing to come together with other opposition leaders to negotiate the question of a joint candidate.

On the other hand, supporters from Dr. Besigye’s camp have also been accusing Bobi Wine of leading people without a clear strategy compared to Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) that has got supports and representatives almost in all parts of the country.

As the opposition parties are trying to devise means on how to take over power in 2021, the ruling NRM party under president Museveni has already endorsed him as the party’s flag bearer in the 2021 presidential election.

The removal of the age-limit clause from the constitution by parliament in 2017 allowed president Museveni to seek re-election when his current term expires in 2021. Article 102 (b) of the constitution was preventing anyone above 75 years and below 35 to stand for the presidency before it was scrapped out. President Museveni, currently 74, will be 76 in 2021.

English football giants Liverpool made one of the greatest comebacks in football history after beating Spanish giants Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield winning 4-3 on aggregate to Champions League final for a second consecutive season.

Liverpool came into the game with pressure to overturn a 3-goal deficit against Barcelona and the absence of key players like Mohammad Salah and Roberto Fermino made the much-needed comeback almost look impossible.

But the story started to change early in the game when Belgian striker Divock Origi gave Liverpool an early lead after tapping in the ball when the Barcelona goalkeeper failed to deal with Jordan Henderson’s shot.

The first half ended when Liverpool were still leading 1-0 thanks to the collective teamwork of Liverpool players that denied Lionel Messi and his teammates penetration into their defence to find an equalizer.

Liverpool started the second half on high with substitute Giorginio Wijnaldum who replaced the injured Andrew Roberson at half time converting Trent Alexander Arnold’s cross to put Liverpool 2-0 up.

Liverpool scored their second and third goal in a space of 122 seconds to go level on goal aggregate after Wijnaldum jumped high to head home Xherdan Shaqiri’s cross scoring his second goal of the night and a very crucial one for Liverpool.

Liverpool’s comeback story was completed 11 minutes from time following some intelligent action from Alexander Arnold caught Barcelona defenders off guard to pass a cheeky corner to Divock Origi to tap home the fourth goal which but all sealed the Reds place in the final.

Amazing stats

The incredible comeback saw Liverpool becoming the fourth team in the history of the competition to overturn a 3+ goal deficit from the first leg to progress in knockouts.

Tuesday progress means that Liverpool will be playing in a second consecutive champions league final and this time they will be hoping to triumph having lost last year 3-1 to Real Madrid. Liverpool will face either Ajax or Tottenham in the final that will be played on June 1st in Madrid.

Liverpool will be playing their ninth European Cup/Champions League final with only Real Madrid (16) and Bayern Munich (10) playing more.

Barcelona frustration?

Tuesday’s loss to Liverpool saw Barcelona repeat the same fate like last year when they were knocked out by AS Roma beating them 3-0 having led the first leg 4-1 from Nou Camp.

Since 2015, when the Catalan giants last reached the final, they have been knocked out 3 times out of four semifinal ties.

Tuesday’s loss saw Barcelona suffer their heaviest defeat against an English side in all European competitions.

No Salah no problem

Very few people gave Liverpool a chance to advance past Barcelona given their heavy defeat in the first leg in Spain. The injuries that ruled out Mohammad Salah and Roberto Fermino in this return leg just erased even the little hope of any progress in people’s minds.

However, the impressive teamwork and the charisma shown by the Liverpool players that coach Jurgen Klopp fielded for the mission made many forget the pair’s absentia in the game.

What next?

After Tuesday’s historic victory at Anfield, Liverpool will return to action this Sunday to play their final game of the season at home against Wolves. Liverpool will be hoping that the results in this match and the one between Manchester City and Burnley go in their favor in order to clinch the title ahead of Manchester City who are a point ahead of the Reds.

On Wednesday Liverpool will learn their opponents in the Champions League final after the second leg of the other semifinal between Ajax and Tottenham. Ajax won the first leg in London 1-0.

Uganda Airlines has announced that they have already acquired seven planned regional routes two weeks after the acquisition of two new Bombardier planes by the carrier.

The seven new regional routes include Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Bujumbura in Burundi, Khartoum in Sudan, Juba in South Sudan, and Mogadishu in Somalia.

Further routes like Johannesburg (South Africa) will start at a later time as announced by the Airline.

According to Uganda Airlines, the first flights are expected to kick off by at least July and the business is expected to be profitable with estimations of between 1.6 million to 2 million passengers per year.

Background

Two weeks back Uganda received two Bombardier planes from Canada as part of the six aircrafts the government ordered for last year in July. The acquisition of the new planes is an effort by the government of Uganda to revive Uganda Airlines, a national carrier that had collapsed in 2001.

The revival of the Uganda Airlines will allow the national carrier to share in the region’s aviation business that has been largely dominated by Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, and RwandAir.

History

Uganda Airlines was founded by former President Idi Amin in 1976 and was in operation until 2001 when it was liquidated by President Museveni as part of his plan to privatize the economy by privatizing troubled state enterprises.

Need for revival?

Earlier last year, the government started pursuing plans to revive the airline after noticing the growth in the region’s aviation business.

The government paid up to Ushs280 billion ($74.8 million) for the two planes acquired so far through a supplementary budget that was approved by parliament shortly before the final purchase.

Uganda Airlines is also planning to launch direct long-haul routes to destinations like China and other Asian countries in a bid to attract more tourists from there.

President Museveni said that the national carrier would help Uganda retain the $400 million spent by Ugandans on international travel each year.
“By starting an airline we are going to reduce on the foreign exchange expenditure. Ugandans will be spending money but spending it on our airline,” said the president.

There have been complaints from Ugandan travelers about high ticket costs attributed to the limited competition in the aviation market dominated majorly by Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.

Journalists in Uganda have joined their counterparts worldwide to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day which is marked on 3rd May each year.

The celebration will include matching of journalists along the streets in the capital Kampala together with other programs. several programs have been arranged by journalist groups in different parts of the country including donation to the needy, community cleaning and sensitization.

The president of UJA, Mr. Kazibwe Bashir Mbazira said that the journalists will use this day to call upon the government to respect press freedom and allow journalists to do their work without interference.

The World Press Freedom Day comes just days after the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC), a body that regulates the operations of all media houses in Uganda had instructed several media houses to suspend some of their workers over alleged breach of minimum broadcasting standards.

A statement published by the Commission on Wednesday this week directed media houses to suspend some producers, head of news and head of programs.

“The Uganda Communications Commission (The Commission) has directed the suspension of Producers, Head of News and Head of Programmes in the following broadcasting stations; Akaboozi FM, BBS TV, Beat FM, Bukedde TV, Capital FM, CBS FM, Kingdom TV, NBS TV, NTV, Pearl FM, Salt FM, Sapientia FM and FM”. Read part of the statement.

It added, “This follows concerns over the nature of content aired on these broadcast stations particularly during live programmes, breaking news, and main news bulletins which do not comply with the minimum broadcasting standards.”

The press freedom in Uganda has for long been a matter of debate with several cases of journalists being beaten, arrested and tortured by security personnel as they try to do their job. Other cases involve the government ordering the closure of several media houses while others have been on several occasions switched off air.

Journalists also view the introduction of the Over The Counter tax (OTT) on all social media users in Uganda as another way the government has suppressed press freedom because it prevents free movement of information.

The 2019 World Press Freedom Index that was compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recently shows that Uganda has declined in terms of press freedom since last year. Uganda was ranked number 125 out of 180 countries with an index of 39.42. the report ranks countries in terms of observing press freedom in descending order. Last year Uganda was ranked 117 by the same report.

According to the report, “RSF shows how hatred of journalists as degenerated into violence contributing to an increase in fear. The number of countries recorded as safe, where journalists can work in complete security, continues to decline, while authoritarian regimes continue to tighten their grip on the media”.

The new report ranks Norway in the first position for a third consecutive year with Finland, Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark occupying the first five position in that order. The worst performing countries include Vietnam, China, Eritrea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan ranked as the last five.

The ranked Namibia as the top country in Africa to respect press freedom and number 23 worldwide followed by Ghana and South Africa ranked 27th and 31st worldwide respectively. The worst performing countries in Africa include Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, and Somalia.

Kyadondo East Member of Parliament, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine has been granted bail after spending four days at Luzira Prison.

Mr. Kyagulanyi was ordered to pay a cash bail of Shs1 million as one of the bail conditions. Buganda Road Court One Magistrate, Ms. Esther Nahirya was in charge of the case. Following the bail, court fixed May 23rd as the hearing date of Kyagulanyi’s case.

In addition to the cash bail, the three sureties of Bobi Wine were each charged a non-cash bond of Shs10 million. The three included former ethics Minister, Ms. Miria Matembe, Kasanda North MP, Patrick Nsamba and Kasanda County MP, Gafa Mbwatekamwa.

Unlike the previous cases where Kyagulanyi had appearing in court for hearing, Thursday’s case was conducted under video conferencing. Bobi Wine was placed in the virtue court at Luzira that was connected to the Buganda Road Court via video conferencing. Proceedings were followed on the large flat screens installed in court.

The technology of using video conferencing in courts was launched last week to allow suspects attend court proceedings while in prison.

A number of people including several members of parliament had assembled in the court at Buganda Road early this morning waiting for the case to kickoff.

Bobi Wine was arrested on Monday as he was heading to Kibuli police where he had been summoned for interrogation. Although the initial cause of Monday’s interrogation was believed to be concerning the MP’s clash with police on Easter Monday, he was rather charged with offenses he committed in July 2018.

After his arrest on Monday, Bobi Wine was sent to Luzira prison until today (Thursday)

According to prosecution, Bobi Wine together with several others still at large including his brother Mr. Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu held an illegal protest contrary to section 116 of the Penal Code Act. The said protests were organized to challenge the Mobile Money and Social media taxes that had been introduced by the government.

Earlier on Thursday, security was heightened in Kampala as the MP was expected to be brought from Luzira to Buganda Road Magistrate Court to face charges.

President Museveni has today received two Bombardier CRJ900 jets at Entebbe International Airport.

The two aircraft first went through the common tradition of water canoeing that is performed when a country or company receives new planes.

There were ululations from guest present and those in the company of the president as they celebrated the revival of Uganda’s national carrier that has been grounded for over 18 years.

Both planes are labeled Uganda Airlines on their sides, which confirms that finally, Uganda has got herself a national carrier once again. The two aircraft have registration number 5X-KOB and 5X-EQU.

Among the dignitaries that attended the event included Works and Transport Minister, Monica Azuba Ntege, Uganda National Roads Authority boss Allen Kagina, among others.

Before the bombardiers were finally sent to Uganda, they were first tested at Montreal Mirabel International Airport in Canada. The 8-minute video clip showing the test flight caused excitement among Ugandans as they watched it on YouTube.

On their way to Entebbe, the two bombardiers flew out of Canada on Friday heading to Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. From here they headed to the Netherlands in the Southern city of Maastricht before connecting to Cairo in Egypt and then straight to Entebbe.

As part of the plan to revive the Uganda Airlines, Uganda ordered four CRJ900 regional jets last year with today’s two arrivals part of that package. According to the manufacture’s, Uganda’s revived airline will be the first carrier to use the new CJR-series atmosphere cabin in Africa. The new model atmosphere cabin sets new standards of passenger experience in the regional jet market segment.

This new atmosphere cabin design enables passengers to carry and store an oversized roller bag within the aircraft cabin bins, which reduces the need for checking of bags at entry points.

The arrival of the first two planes comes after the government has spent Shs280 billion through a supplementary budget that was approved by parliament recently. The CJR900 will be managed by the Uganda National Airline Company on a dual-class configuration with their 88 seating capacity divided as 76 for economy class and 12 for business class.

Some of the key features of the CRJ900 new interior include larger passenger living space, more spacious lavatory, wheel-first roller bag capability and increases cabin connectivity options.

There have been divided opinions on the revival of the national carrier with opposition from some of government departments like the Central Bank. However, the government insisted that there was need for a national carrier to promote tourism and build the national image.

What is Good Friday?

Good Friday is Christian-celebrated day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, his death and the redemption of Christians. It is the Friday that precedes the resurrection Sunday and falls within the holy week in Christianity. Some Christian Communities refer to Good Friday as Holy Friday or Great Friday. Christians celebrate Good Friday to remember the pain and persecution that Jesus went through in order to redeem them from their sins. It is used as a day for Christians to renew their faith in Jesus and follow Him as a way of showing gratefulness for what He did.

What happened on Good Friday?

Good Friday is hugely earmarked as the day that Jesus was crucified on the cross for the redemption of Christians from their sins. However, before the crucifixion, several events happened on the same day that include the betrayal and handing over of Jesus to the soldiers by Judas Iscariot, the persecution of Jesus, denial of Jesus by His disciple Simon Peter, the trial of Jesus by the governor and chief priests, among others.

Who observes/celebrates Good Friday?

Good Friday is celebrated by many members of several Christian denominations. These include Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostals, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, and Reformed traditions.

How is Good Friday Celebrated?

The various Christian denominations that observe Good Friday celebrate it with fasting and Church services. The Catholic also perform the “way of the cross”, in addition to the Church service by selecting some members to carry the cross to different points in the demarcated journey as a way of imitating how Jesus carried His cross. During the Church service, holy communion is shared by eating the bread and drinking wine, which represent the body of Christ that was bruised and His blood that was shed for people respectively. Priests and Pastors also use the Good Friday Church service to call and encourage people (altar call) who have not yet confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior to do so.

When is Good Friday celebrated?

The date of Good Friday changes each year on both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. The variation in the dates is a result of the disagreement between Eastern and Western Christianity over the computation of the date of Easter.

What about Easter Sunday?

Easter Sunday, also called Resurrection Sunday among Christian communities is a day that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. According to the Bible in the New Testament, the resurrection happened on the third day after the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus. Easter Sunday is the climax of the 40-day fasting period (Lent) among Christians which is coupled with prayer and penance. Christians believe that the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday marked the final event of their redemption from their sins and acquiring of eternal freedom and peace from God. This explains why the day is heavily celebrated with joy and feasting coupled with praising and worshipping in Churches worldwide among the Christian communities.

What happened on Easter Sunday?

According to the Bible, early in the morning of the third day after the burial of Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus went to the tomb where he had been buried to take there some fragrance and other items of honor. However, upon reaching, Mary found the tomb open and the stone rolled away. She saw an Angel sitting on one of the stones in the tomb who told her that Jesus whom she was looking had resurrected from the dead. She ran and told Jesus’ disciple who also ran to the tomb to confirm the news. Later on, Jesus appeared to them and confirmed His resurrection from the dead and the news started spreading everywhere.

What about Easter Monday?

Easter Monday is the following day after Easter Sunday. Christians observe Easter Monday as a continuation of the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

How is Easter celebrated in Uganda?

Uganda, being largely dominated by Christianity (85%), all the Easter events starting from the beginning of the Lent period, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are widely observed. All the three days are observed as public holidays in Uganda. There are Church services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday all Church across the country to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus respectively. There are several entertainment events including music concerts, sport competitions, and festivals organized across the country to celebrate Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Uganda’s Supreme Court has upheld the removal of the 75-year age limit allowing President Museveni to run for presidency in 2021.

President Museveni, currently at 74 years can now seek re-election 1n 2021 following the decision of the Supreme Court to uphold the ruling given by the constitutional court on the amendment of the constitution.

With the panel of 7 judges, 4 judges ruled in favor of upholding the amendment while 3 ruled against.

The decision from the Supreme Court ruling dismissed the challenge from the petitioners who had appealed against the ruling from the constitutional court to remove the age cap of 75 years for presidential aspirants.

In 2017, Article 102(b) of the Ugandan Constitution that barred anyone below 35 years and above 75 years to stand for presidency was amended by the Parliament amidst stiff challenge from the opposition MPs and moderates from the ruling NRM party. The Members of Parliament from the two opposing sides were involved in brawls on the floor of Parliament as the amendment was achieved having been backed by 317 MPS that satisfied the three quarters required.

President Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since seizing power as a rebel leader in 1986, is now free to seek re-election in 2021 presidential elections and as many times as he wants thereafter following the Thursday ruling.

Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana described the ruling as “a big win for Uganda”.

“On behalf of myself and all the people of Uganda, I am highly indebted. This was the most reasoned judgment, well balanced. Their Lordships expressed their views and we respect all the views and at the end of the day, we are extremely happy that justice has been done. I want to congratulate the people of Uganda and I want to congratulate the members of the NRM,” he said. “We are elated. This is a sign of how democracy has taken root in the country,” he added.

Kampala Mayor, and a lawyer for the petitioners, Erias Lukwago while commenting on the ruling said: “it is democracy that suffers”.
“It is a disappointment, but in Africa, it is a miracle to win against a sitting government,” he said.

Many observers had expected the ruling to in Museveni’s favor but they were surprised by the narrow margin of the decision as described by Kasen Male Mabirizi, who was one of the petitioners and an activist from Uganda Law Society. “The ruling was so close. Museveni will take a lesson from it,” he said.

Museveni’s Life Presidency?

In 2005, the constitution was amended and a two-term limit was scrapped to allow president Museveni to stand for re-election and he went on to claim the third term. This was followed by the recent removal of the age-limit that could prevent Museveni from running once he reaches 75 years. All these moves have been described by his critics as a way of opening up the possibility for him to rule for life.

Contradiction?

President Museveni was quoted to have once said that leaders who “overstayed” were the root of Africa’s problems. However, in 2016, while contesting for the fifth term, the president said it was not the right time for him to leave since he still had work to do.

Overstay?

There has been growing discontent among Ugandans especially the youth of which majority Museveni is the only Ugandan president they have seen in their lifetime. This has been evident as these young Ugandans have rallied behind the pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine who has taken the front in challenging Museveni’s government recently.

Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu and the MP for Kyadondo East, speared headed recent protests in Uganda including against the age-limit amendment, mobile money and social media tax, among others. He recently told CNN in an interview that he was “seriously considering” challenging