HRCU WEEKLY UPDATES ISSUE NO_13 OF 2021
HRCU WEEKLY UPDATE: ISSUE NO.13 OF 2021
THE HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE UGANDA (HRCU)
WEEKLY UPDATE ON
HUMAN RIGHTS AND KEY EMERGING ISSUES WITHIN THE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS' WORKING
ENVIRONMENT
ISSUE NO.13 of
2021 |The Week of April 5- April 11, 2021
THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN
UGANDA
Results of COVID-19 tests done on 10 April 2021 confirm 34 new cases. The cumulative confirmed cases are 41,174. Total vaccinated persons against COVID-19: 180,969.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eyw41pQXEAAak-A?format=jpg&name=small
A group of 450 ruling National Resistance Movement party flag bearers who
lost in the just concluded elections have each asked for a shs50 million
bailout from President Museveni.
On Saturday, the group that included
councilors, chairpersons and other independent but NRM-leaning candidates met
with the president, who also doubles as the ruling party national chairman at
Kololo independence groups and sought assistance through a memorandum read on
their behalf by Singh Katongole, the NRM Vice-chairman for Kampala.
https://nilepost.co.ug/2021/04/11/nrm-losers-in-kampala-ask-museveni-for-shs22-5bn-bailout/
Uganda, Tanzania and the two oil companies of Total E&P, and China’s
CNOOC have finally signed the East African Crude Oil Pipeline deal to ensure
oil production begins.
The signing ceremony at State House,
Entebbe was done by Energy minister Mary Goretti Kitutu on behalf of Uganda and
whereas her Tanzanian counterpart did the job on the other side while the Total
E&P vice president for Africa also appended signature.
https://nilepost.co.ug/2021/04/11/uganda-tanzania-sign-pipeline-deal-to-kick-off-oil-production/
WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE ORGANIZED A FREE AND FAIR 2021 ELECTION
–EC’S JUSTICE BYABAKAMA TELLS PARLIAMENT
The Electoral Commission chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama has said
they are satisfied with the organization and outcome of the 2021 election that
he said was successful.
Appearing before the Human Rights
Committee of parliament on Friday, Byabakama said despite a few incidents, the
process and outcome were satisfying.
The EC chairperson insisted that the
few unavoidable incidents cannot be a basis for branding the 2021 election as
not free and fair. https://nilepost.co.ug/2021/04/10/we-are-proud-to-have-organized-a-free-and-fair-2021-election-ecs-justice-byabakama-tells-parliament/
JUDICIARY BUDGET TO JUMP FOUR-FOLD TO SHS800B
The Judiciary is readying a proposal
for a four-fold increase in its funding, which they say is the only way to
improve the dispensing of justice to Ugandans.
In the new proposal, the Judiciary’s
draft budget for the coming financial year is Shs800 billion, up from about
Shs200b it received for this financial year.
Top Judiciary officials, including
Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, say the huge jump in funding for the
Judiciary has been agreed upon with President Museveni, although Ministry of Finance
officials are asking the Judiciary to trim its proposed budget a bit.
https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/judiciary-budget-to-jump-four-fold-to-shs800b-3357002
CARETAKER BISHOP SPEAKS OUT ON PLAN
Bishop Paul Ssemogerere of
Kasana-Luweero, who Pope Francis appointed this week as caretaker of Kampala
Archdiocese following the death of Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, has said
he will not introduce radical changes to what the deceased archbishop has been
doing.
After his sudden death last Saturday,
Archbishop Lwanga was hailed as a development-oriented administrator of the
Kampala Archdiocese during the 16 years he was in-charge.
https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/caretaker-bishop-speaks-out-on-plan-3356946
Bishop Paul Ssemogerere PHOTO/DAN
WANDERA
UGANDA, SOUTH SUDAN IN TALKS TO SECURE KEY TRADE ROUTE
Kampala has called for enhanced
security on the Nimule-Juba road in South Sudan where attacks in the last week
of March resulted in the killing of eight Ugandan drivers.
Uganda’s Director for Regional and
International Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Kafeero said the
Elegu-Nimule-Juba route is a major transport corridor for Uganda and South
Sudan.
The death of the eight drivers sparked
protests at Elegu, a major crossing point from Uganda to South Sudan,
paralysing flow of exports and travel of passengers to Juba. Drivers parked
their trucks at Elegu on March 27 and by Friday, had not called off the
protest.
The drivers, who are transporting
goods to Juba, refused to cross into South Sudan, demanding that authorities
address the incidents of violent crimes such as hijackings, shootings,
ambushes, assaults, kidnapping and looting.
SHS7BN MEDICAL EQUIPMENT BURNT IN JOINT MEDICAL STORES FIRE-
MANAGEMENT
The Management of Joint Medical Stores has said they have lost medical
equipment worth shs7 billion in the fire that gutted one of their stores in
Industrial Area in Kampala.
Fire that started at around 11:30am on
Friday gutted ware house stores for Star Pharmaceuticals Limited, Joint Medical
Stores (JMS) and Mi-Tech, an electronics assembling company in Industrial Area.
According to the JMS Executive
Director, Bildard Baguma, whereas they have not yet ascertained the exact loss
occasioned to them, they suspect medical equipment worth shs7 billion lost in
the inferno. https://nilepost.co.ug/2021/04/09/shs7bn-medical-equipment-burnt-in-joint-medical-stores-fire-management/
KENYAN JOURNALIST SHOT DEAD AT HER HOME
A journalist working with Kenya’s
state broadcaster was shot dead at her home in the outskirts of the capital
Nairobi.
Two gunmen entered Betty Barasa’s home
as she was driving in from work on Wednesday evening.
They ordered her husband and children
to lie on the ground and one of the gunmen took Ms Barasa to her bedroom.
The family later heard two gunshots
and the gunman walked out of the bedroom and left with the other one.
Police in Ngong area say Ms Barasa
succumbed to injuries to her head.
The motive for her killing remains
unclear.
The media council has condemned the
killing and called for a speedy investigation:
https://nilepost.co.ug/2021/04/09/kenyan-journalist-shot-dead-at-her-home/
CONCLUDING REMARK
The Human Rights Centre Uganda (HRCU) wishes
HRD a fruitful week. HCRU further reminds HRDs that it’s our duty to empower
each individual to know his or her rights but also to share information that
relates to laws, policies and regulations pertaining their work.
Thank you so much for the updates, HRCU
ReplyDelete