BAZUUKULU BA BUGANDA RADIO INTERNET.COM 88.8/89.2
MAY NGA 24 BULI MWAKA OMUGANDA ALINA OKUJJUKIRA OLUTALO LW'OBOTE OKUWAMBA OBUGANDA. OBWAKABAKA BWA BUGANDA BWAVAWO. ENSI REPUBLIC NEYIYIZIBWA.
 
Mmengo erabudde abawandiisa abantu abali ku Ttaka ly’Obwa
Kabaka:
Posted 5th May, 2015
 
By  Bukedde reporter, Uganda
 
Kyewalabye (ku ddyo) ng’ayogerera mu musomo.
 

AKULIRA ekitongole ky’ebyettaka mu bwakabaka ekya Buganda Land Board (BLB):

 

Kyewalabye Male, alabudde abaami ba Kabaka abagenda okwenyigira mu kuwandiisa ebibanja by’abasenze ku ttaka ly’Obwakabaka beewale obukumpanya n’emivuyo kuba bayinza okusibwa.

Yagambye nti wadde ng’enteekateeka eno egenderedde kuyamba bantu ba Ssaabasajja kufuna biwandiiko ebituufu mu mateeka ku bibajnja byabwe, wandibaawo bannakigwanyizi abayinza okukozesa omukisa guno okwenoonyeza ebyabwe.

Bino Male, eyabadde n’abakozi ba BLB ne katikkiro w’ebyalo bya Kabaka,  Lubega Mutunzi, yabyogedde   mu kuggalawo omusomo ogwetabiddwaamu Abaamagombolola, Abeemiruka n’Abatongole mu ssaza ly’e Kyaggwe ku mbuga ya Ssekiboobo e Mukono ogwategekeddwa okubabangula ku nkola gye bagenda okugoberera nga basomesa n’okuwandiisa abasenze ku ttaka ly’Obwakabaka. Enteekateeka eno yatandika nga May 4, 2015.

Ssekiboobo Benjamin Kigongo yagambye nti ebibanja ebitalambuddwa si bya kuwandiikibwa olw’okwewala enkaayana. Nb

Ekizibu ky'abaami ba Ssabasajja kyelaga kyoka. Baddidde abobuyinza babiri babateese mu kalo ka Buganda akedda. Ebyawandiikibwa bitugamba ki? Toyinza kuwuliriza bakama bo babiri. Oleka ko omu okumuwulira nowulira omulala. Tugambe ki? Mufumbiro bwemufumbiramu abafumbiro abangi Mmere kiki eyo evayo?

Genda mukalo kafe wano e Buganda. Owe Gombolola atuuka okubuuza ettaka lye kitebe kye werikoma. Bamugamba kimu. LC 1 yaliteekako ba Investor abava e Buyindi. Ate ekubo elyaffe eryedda elyayita wano ku Saza lya Kangawo. Olwo Kangawo abuuza: Bamugamba kimu. Disi yasibawo Sengenge ensonga zino ziri mu National Land Board. Okunsiba Sebo Mwami tekulimu. Tonda bwatakuuma abakuuma bakumira bwerere Jjajja. Kugwa mubunya bwewesimira nga olaba. Kitalo nyo.

 

Bazudde obulyazama

nyi bwe ttaka lya Buganda  mu ofiisi ze Wakiso:

 

By Rogers Kibirige

 

Added 30th September 2016

 

Ying. Sabiiti (owookubiri ku ddyo) ne babaka banne nga baliko bye babuuza omukozi mu minisitule y’ebyetta e Wakiso (ku ddyo).

 

EMIVUYO egiri mu ofiisi ya  minisitule y’ebyettaka esangibwa  e Wakiso ku kitebe kya disitulikiti  giwuniikirizza ababaka.

Ng’oggyeeko okuba ng’abakozi  abamu tebasobola kunnyonnyola  ngeri gye bakolamu emirimu,  bangi mu ofiisi zaabwe bawunyamu  mpunye. Batuuka kikeerezi  ate bwe ziwera 6:00 ez’omu  ttuntu ng’abamu bannyuka.

Bakozesa bboggo eri abatuuze  ate abalala empapula zaabwe  teziwera.  Ono ye kacica muyite cculugu  ababaka ba palamenti abaalambudde  ofiisi za minisitule  y’ebyettaka zino ku Lwokusatu  gwe baasanzeeyo.

Ababaka abaakulembeddwa  ssentebe w’akakiiko akalondola  enkola y’emirimu aka (Physical  infrastructure Committee) Ying.  Denis Sabiiti (Rubanda) baategeezezza  nti kyannaku okulaba  ng’abakozi ba Minisitule ab’e  Wakiso babonyabonya abantu ne  babatambuzanga okubakolera  ku nsonga z’ettaka kyokka bwe  bamala ne babamma ebyapa.

Sabiiti yayongeddeko nti baazudde  nti abakozi ba Minisitule  balina obutakkaanya n’abakola  mu ofiisi y’ebyettaka eya disitulikiti  y’e Wakiso ekireetedde entambuza  y’emirimu okuzingama.

Kwe kusaba minisitule  n’abakulembeze ba disitulikiti  okugonjoola ensonga eno mu  bwangu.

Yayongeddeko nti n’abakozi  abasangibwa mu kifo abantu we  batuukira, engeri gye bakwatamu  bakasitoma n’abagenyi eraga nti  si batendeke kimala era beetaaga  okuddamu okubangulwa mu  bwangu.

Yategeezezza nti byonna bye  baasanze e Wakiso, bagenda  kubikolamu lipooti bagitwale mu  palamenti y’eggwanga ekubaganyizibweko  ebirowoozo.

 Baalabudde nti ssinga minisitule  y’ebyettaka tetereeza bizibu biri  Wakiso, eggyibwewo kuba ebeera  tegasa Bannayuganda.

Ye ssentebe  wa disitulikiti  y’e Wakiso,  Matia Lwanga  Bwanika yategeezezza  nti ebbanga lyonna abadde  yeemulugunya ku ngeri abakozi ba  minisitule gye bakolamu emirimu  nga teri avaayo.

Yasabye nti ababaka bye bazudde  bireme kukoma mu lipooti,  wabula abavunaanyizibwa ku mivuyo  egiri mu minisitule ne ofiisi  y’e Wakiso, bakolweko.

Nb

Abakozi bano batukiriza mulimu gwa Bible ogwayogerwa ko Jjajja Isa Masiya 10/40 AD. E Buganda nakatono kolina nako kalikujjibwako nekaweebwa alina ekingi enyo.

  

EKIKA NJOVU.

 

OMUZIRO:NJOVU

 

AKABBIRO

NVUBU.

 

OMUTAKA

MUKALO

 

OBUTAKA

KAMBUGU

Buliji.

 

ESSAZA

BUSIRO

 

OMUBALA

Esimbye amasanga, Nakate ajja.

 

 

EKIKA MBWA

 

OMUZIRO:MBWA

 

AKABBIRO

Kyuuma kye basiba mu Mbwa.

 

OMUTAKA

MUTASINGWA.

 

OBUTAKA

KIGGWA

 

ESSAZA

BUSUJJU.

 

OMUBALA

Goba Omukazi oleete Embwa.

African Traditional Revenue and Taxation:

Money in dollar bills seized from a home of the Commissioner General of the Tanzania Revenue Authority is pictured down: Over 20 bags of it:

 

 

 

OLUKIIKO LWA BAZZUKULU BA BUGANDA

 

OBULANGO

 

Oluguudo Lwa Kabaka Njagala, Mubweenyi

bw'enju ya Kisingiri ewa Musolooza.

 

 

Telephone::

Ssentebe - 256 712845736 Kla

Muwanika -256

712 810415 Kla

UGANDA.

 

 

Email Links:

info.bazzukulu

babuganda

@gmail.

com.

 

 

 

OMUZIRO:

NKEREBWE

 

AKABBIRO

Kikirikisi-Mmese etera okuzimba mu kitooke.

 

OMUTAKA

KIDIMBO.

 

OBUTAKA

BUDIMBO.

 

ESSAZA

SSINGO

 

OMUBALA:

Nkerebwe nkulu esima nga eggalira

Olukiiko lwa Buganda lwanjudde embalirira ya buwumbi 7

 

 

The Kabaka of Buganda launches a book on Ssekabaka Muteesa II struggles:

Posted Friday, 27 May, 2016

 

By the Monitor, Uganda

 

Kabaka Mutebi (centre) with Mr Patrick Makumbi (right) and Dr Colin Sentongo (left) at the book launch at Bulange in Mengo, Kampala.

 

 
Kampala in the State Kingdom of Buganda:
Kabaka Ronald Mutebi on Wednesday, 25th May 2016,  launched a book about the struggles of his late father and former Buganda king, Edward Muteesa II, touching on Uganda’s history before and after independence.

The book titled The Brave King, revisits the stories of Muteesa’s exiling, first between 1953 and 1955, and again from 1966 to 1969 when he died in London. The author, Mr Patrick Makumbi, drew from the documents preserved by his father, 99-year-old Thomas Makumbi, who was an official at Mengo, Buganda’s power capital.

“I was very happy to write the preface to this book,” Kabaka Mutebi said, adding: “It will help the readers understand what Kabaka Muteesa went through in those days.”

When Mutesa was exiled in 1953, the older Makumbi, the father of the author, led a team of six Buganda officials to negotiate with the British about the king’s return to Buganda, which was secured in 1955. The other members of the team were Mr Apollo Kironde, Mr Matayo Mugwanya, Mr Amos Sempa, Mr Eridadi Mulira and Mr Ernest Kalibbala.

Kabaka Mutebi, while officiating at the function, called on more people to document what they saw during those days, saying “it is a good thing” that some of those who witnessed or participated in the events are still alive. Muteesa himself wrote about the period in question in his autobiography, The Desecration of my Kingdom, and Kabaka Mutebi’s endorsement of Mr Makumbi’s new book will be seen as an extension of the kingdom’s bid to manage the narrative.

Mr Apollo Makubuya, Buganda’s third deputy Katikkiro, at the launch held at Bulange-Mengo said there have been attempts to misrepresent history by “those who do not like us”.

Accusations and counter accusations of betrayal between Buganda Kingdom and Obote are rooted in a rather happy start, when Buganda’s party Kabaka Yekka (KY) teamed up with Obote’s Uganda People’s Congress to defeat the Democratic Party and form government at independence in 1962.

But the two centres of power soon quarrelled violently and were involved in what many have regarded as a critical turning point in Uganda’s history. The army, on Obote’s orders, stormed Muteesa’s palace on May 24, 1966, killing multitudes and forcing the king-president into exile.

Mr Makubuya said his grandfather was among those killed during the attack, an occasion the kingdom commemorates yearly on May 24. He said in addition to explaining how Buganda and Muteesa suffered during that period, Mr Makumbi’s book will clarify a number of other issues, including how colonialism thwarted Buganda’s development efforts.

He said Buganda stiffly resisted colonialism and the demands of colonial governor Andrew Cohen in particular, to the extent of winning a court case in London against the exiling of Muteesa. In all its efforts, Mr Makubuya said, Buganda was consistently seeking autonomy, and that the kingdom can “never” lose sight of this objective.

Mr Makumbi, the author, said his father could not attend the launch due to old age.

The publication of the book was financed by Dr Colin Sentongo, who said at the launch that KY, which ceased to exist in the 1960s, is the only political party he has ever belonged to.

The fathers of Mr Makumbi and Dr Sentongo met with Muteesa as students at Kings College Budo, from where, Mr Sentongo said, the three men forged a life-long friendship. It is probably much for this reason that Kabaka Mutebi warmed up to Mr Sentongo and Mr Makumbi at the launch.

emukiibi@ug.

nationmedia.com

 

Fiscal Budget y'Ensi Buganda ebiro bino:

Posted 7th July, 2014

 

By Dickson Kulumba

 

Omuwanika wa Buganda, Eve Nagawa Mukasa

 

Omukyala Eve asomye embalirira y’Obwakabaka bwa Buganda eya 2014/2015 nga ya buwumbi 7 (7,411,638,600/-) . 

Embalirira eno eri wansi w’omulamwa 'Okwolesebwa n’Ebigendererwa' egendereddwamu okutumbula enkulaakulana okuli; okumaliriza Amasiro g’e Kasubi ne Wamala, Masengere, okulongoosa Ennyanja ya Kabaka, okussawo etterekero ly’ebyedda, okukulaakulanya ettaka ly’e Kigo ne Makindye 'State Lodge', okuzimba olubiri lw’omulangira Juma Katebe, okuzimba olubiri lwa Namasole, okuddaabiriza embuga z’Amasaza wamu n’okuzimba eddwaliro ly’abakyala.

 

Nagawa yagambye nti ensimbi zino zisuubirwa okuva mu Buganda Land Board, Amasomero, Minisitule ez’enjawulo, mu bupangisa, amakampuni g’Obwakabaka, ebitongole ebigaba obuyambi n’obuwumbi buna okuva mu Gavumenti eya wakati.

 

Ng’ayogera mu lukiiko luno, Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga yasabye abantu okutambulira ku kiragiro kya Kabaka eky’abantu okujjumbiro ebifo by’obulambuzi era n'ategeza nti pulojekiti zonna Obwakabaka ze butandiseeko ssi zaakukoma mu kkubo, zirina okumalirizibwa n’olwekyo enkola y’okunoonya Ettoffaali ekyagenda mu maaso kubanga Kabaka ayitibwa mufumbya Gganda n'antabalirira batyabi- ensimbi zikyetaagisa.

 

Olukiiko luno lwetabiddwamu abakiise bangi ddala ne baminisita ba Kabaka nga lwakubiriziddwa, Sipiika Nelson Kawalya eyagambye nti embalirira eno abakiise basaanye okugenda n’ekiwandiiko kino, bwe banakomawo mu lukiiko luno basobole okugiyisa.

OBUZIBU ENYANJA NALUBAALE BWELIMU

Posted on 6th August, 2015

Biibino ebitundu ebirala ebyefudde mmo mu kumira amaato n’ennyonyi:

By Musasi wa Bukedde

 

Added 21st November 2019

 

NE WANKUBADDE ng’abantu abasinga Bermuda Triangle bamumanyi ng’ekifo ekibuzaawo abasaabaze ababeera mu nnyonyi ne ku mmeeri, ebifo ebirala bingi ebikakasiddwa okumira abantu ebirina okwewalibwa.

 

Bwakikola 703x422

‘Akazimu’ nga kasituse mu kitundu kye Bermuda weemirira amaato n’ennyonyi.

 

Bermuda Triangle kisangibwa mu liyanja lya Atlantic wakati w’essaza lya Amerika ery’e Florida n’ebizinga by’e Bahamas ne Puerto Rico. Ekitundu ekyo katukiyite ssebuufu bwa ngo obutasaalimbwamu mbwa.

Lwaki? Emmeeri n’ennyonyi byonna ebiyitawo ka kubeere okumpi n’ekitundu ekyo, bibbira mu mazzi obutaddamu kulabikako. Emu ku nsonga ennyingi ezivaako kino okubaawo g’emazzi mu kitundu ekyo obutazitowa ng’ebitundu ebirala ekigalemesa okuwanirira emmeeri enzito.

Kyokka bannassaayansi abamu kino bakiwakanya nga bagamba nti wadde amaato gonna gawanirirwa mazzi okusigala nga tegabbidde, n’agalimu omuntu omu nga gawewuka nnyo nago bagamira kasita gayita mu kitundu ekyo.

Bannassaayansi bongerako nti kibuyaga omungi mu kitundu ekyo y’asika ennyonyi ne zibulwa amakubo ne zikka ne zibbira.

Abaganda abamu ekyo bakiyita liiso lya nnyanja eryetooloola buli kadde nga bw’otabula sukaali mu kikopo nga bw’oggyamu ekijiiko caayi n’asigala nga yeetooloola bw’omusuulamu ekintu awetooloola wennyini we kitandikira okukka.

Bermuda Triangle yasooka kwogerwako omuvumbuzi Christopher Columbus bwe yali ava mu Bulaaya okuzuula Amerika mu 1492 n’awulira ekitundu ekyo nga si kya bulijjo.

kulabikako mu 1937 n’ennyonyi ya Northwest Flight 2501 mu 1950, bannassaayansi bagamba nti kyava ku mazzi kubimba ne gasukka we gaali gakoma. Nti emyaka nga 10,000 okudda emabega mu kitundu ekyo, amazzi gaali matono olw’omuzira ogwali omungi.

Abantu bwe baagendanga batema emiti n’okukola ebirala ebyonoona obutonde bw’ensi ekyayongera ebbugumu ku nsi, omuzira gwasaanuuka amazzi ne gabimba.

nnyonyi eri okumpi namazzi ngeno neri ewala zonna zisobola okumiribwaEnnyonyi eri okumpi n’amazzi ng’eno n’eri ewala zonna zisobola okumiribwa.

Waliwo ejjinja eddene abantu lye baakolerangako emirimu ng’okubumba, okuwagala ebissi, okwanika ebintu ng’ekyalo kyonna we kikung’aanira era gatandika okusongolerera.

Amaato agayitawo naddala amazito beekanga gakubye olwazi ne lyatika olwo amazzi ne gayingira n’ekyaddiriranga lyato kubbira.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 nnyonyi eri okumpi namazzi ngeno neri ewala zonna zisobola okumiribwa Ennyonyi eri okumpi n’amazzi ng’eno n’eri ewala zonna zisobola okumiribwa.

Nb

SSEBUUFU BWA NGO OBUTASAALIMBWAMU MBWA. Bukedde nawe otiisa abantu nokamala. Abakugu bangi munsi ekitundu kyenyanja eno eya Western Atlantic Ocean tebakikakasa nti kirina omutawana. Ekitundu ekyo ekyamazzi kiriko nga square miles million emu nomusobyo era enyonyi namaato mangi nyo ddala agakifuula ekkubo buli ssawa. Enyonyi n'Amaato biyitamu nga bidduka emisinde okukamala. Okukka wansi wa mazzi gano gakumira miles 2 nokka kuntobo ebyenyanja nelukwata nebikumira nga olalidde mubuwengula bwamazzi. Omuwendo gw'bantu abafudde bwebatyo kyenkana bebamu nga banaffe wano e Buganda abasiiba bafiira munyanja Nalubaale. Ate no Nalubaale okukka wansi mumazi fuuti ziri 130 zokka era Nalubaale talina zi Lukwaata ezisobola okukumira. Nebwobulira mu nyanja Nalubaale, abantubo bakusanga nebwewayitawo ennaku kubanga oli kumpi.

 

Era banaffe abafiira mulyaato wano omwaka oguwede mu November 2018, singa baali bambade life jackets, nga ekifo ekyo bwekitaliimu nyo Gonya, abantu baabwe bandibasanze nekumakya, nga balamu era nga baseeyeya kumazzi. Enfumo ya Bajajja egamba nti amazzi gakumira nawe ogamira technology emugyewo ebiro bino!

 

 

 

 

 

How the Lake Victoria environment project came to be dead in the water:

 

By Erst Lutz

 

FRIDAY OCTOBER 5 2018 and Reproduced 30 January, 2019

     

 

 

Fishermen at Lake Victoria in Homa Bay on September 11, 2018. Water hyacinth has chocked the lake and interfered with fishing and transport activities. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NMG 

In Summary

  • The water hyacinth harvester costing around $1m has been sitting unused in the harbour of Kisumu for three years.

More by this Author

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya recently “issued a directive freezing all new government projects until ongoing ones are completed… the directive is aimed at stopping wastage of resources and the habit of government agencies abandoning incomplete projects and starting others” (Daily Nation, July 20).

Using the example of the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase 2 (LVEMP2), this commentary suggests that projects not only need to be completed, but also need to be completed well. LVEMP2 did no baseline work and hardly any substantive monitoring.

Therefore, claims of satisfactory achievements in the five governments’ completion reports are not credible, given the limited factual basis.

Since international development loans must eventually be repaid, it would be in the countries’ best interest to make sure that there are good payoffs for the funds invested.

The Lake Victoria Programme started out in 1997 with good intentions. Phase 1 was assessed as marginally satisfactory, and in Phase 2, achievements were modest, considering the facts on the ground.

The project implementation performance between 2009 and 2012 was unsatisfactory as

(i) actions on pollution control, sustainable land management, and the fishery were marginal during the first three years,

(ii) none of the seven dated covenants were adhered to, and

(iii) fraud was committed in Uganda between 2010 and 2012, followed by a suspension of disbursements till September 2013.

There were also limited achievements between 2012 and 2017. During the 2012 restructuring, the results framework, along with its indicators, was revised and downgraded. Examples:

(i) The indicator for pollution was “hotspots addressed” but no measurements were taken on how much sewage was reduced or how water quality improved;

(ii) Another key indicator was “hectares of sustainable land management” but incremental productivity or environmental benefits were not monitored.

Also, with two extensions, this originally 4.5-year project became an 8.75-year project, implying low implementation efficiency. For Rwanda and Burundi – with a restructuring and a closing date extension – this was 6.5 years.

Progress on regional harmonisation work was unsatisfactory. Joint management of common resources would make sense. It would, however, require a common incentive framework so that individual countries would be persuaded to undertake jointly agreed work.

But such a framework was not agreed, the Lake Victoria Basin Commission was ineffective, and EAC procedures prevented acceptable progress, such as on adopting and implementing water and fisheries policies or a data-sharing protocol.

Other selected concerns include:

(a) The water hyacinth harvester costing around $1 million has been sitting unused in the harbour of Kisumu for three years now, representing a significant waste of funds;

(b) The combination of the World Bank emphasising disbursements, and the weak capacity of low-level teams in environment or water ministries to manage multi-sectoral work, has been a systemic issue under LVEMP2. One example of this is the purchase of goats in November 2017 and the associated goat disease outbreak in Burundi caused by the project, with losses of a large number of goats and sheep;

(c) The large Lake Victoria fishery was neglected and continues to decline; this may also be applicable for Lake Rweru;

(d) The Lake Victoria Programme is now in its 21st year, but there is limited clarity about which environmental issues should be addressed, how, and what specific productivity and environmental benefits can be expected;

(e) The emphasis on disbursements as compared with outputs, outcomes and estimated benefits to communities;

(f) Given the strain in relations, teams from Burundi and Rwanda are not collaborating or even communicating within the same WB project!;

(g) The negligible relevance of actions by upstream countries on Lake Victoria via the Kagera River. No measurements were taken, but even if these had been taken, one can hypothesise that specific project actions in the two upstream countries do not show up in terms of improved Kagera water quality; and

(h) Wastage of funds does not necessarily involve corruption since independent annual audits are undertaken.

But one can observe high travel and other operational costs by national and regional teams with limited results and little permanent institutional capacity built.

There are incentives at work in national teams for high-grading.

Therefore, aside from Rwanda’s action as good stewards of their International Development Assistance allocation, Kenya’s, Tanzania’s, Uganda’s, and Burundi’s ministries of finance should reconsider their preliminary commitments to Phase 3 in order to reduce inefficiency of IDA resources and invest these more effectively in single-sector projects where implementation capacities may be stronger and where better payoffs can be expected.

Ernst Lutz holds a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and is a former senior economist at the World Bank. E-mail: ernstlutz2@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

In Uganda, 905 billion Uganda shillings (240 million dollars) is a good budget every year to look after Lake Nalubaale (Victoria) existing in the middle of the African vast continent: 

 

Encroached. A man collects garbage at Lambu Landing Site in Bukakata Sub-county in Masaka District last Saturday. PHOTO BY ALI MAMBULE.

  

Dastan Onyango, 53, says: “I should have left this area long time ago. The conditions just keep getting worse. When it starts shining, it is like God is punishing us, and when it starts raining, it is a story of its own. But at this age where can I go? Where can I start from?”

A resident of Kowuor Village in Homa Bay County in Western Kenya, Onyango was still reeling from effects of the severe drought that affected parts of eastern and western Kenya between last November and June this year. From owning 35 head of cattle, he is down to six.

Homa Bay and the neighbouring Kisumu County, which ironically are on the shores of Lake Victoria, and parts of Vihiga and Kakamega counties in western Kenya, have since the beginning of the year been on a drought alert — with little or no rain at all, leading to rivers, boreholes and ponds drying up, and no pastures for animals.

This year’s drought was, ostensibly, an extension of last year’s dry spell which the Food and Agriculture’s Organisation (FAO) declared a “national disaster”. It put some 2.7 million people in dire need — the most vulnerable being the elderly, sick, mothers and children under five.

For Onyango, the rain even did worse. As soon as it started, he turned focus to tilling his 5-acre farm but the floods nearly swept away everything. In October, he was not so sure of what to do next. 

“You cannot plant during the dry season. You cannot plant during the rainy season. It is like some of us are cursed,” he says as we walk around his shattered farm.

Officials say for rivers such as Mirui, Kuja, Awach, Mirui, and Nyando that run across the Kisumu and Homa Bay counties and other parts of western and central/rift valley regions of Kenya, some of which drain into Lake Victoria, drying up has become an annual routine.

“…but it is increasingly becoming complex and generating confusion,” says Leonard Omondi Akwany, a coordinator at Ecofinder Kenya, a civil society organisation trying to drum up advocacy to save part of Dunga beach wetland in Kisumu.

“If the rivers are not drying up, they are flooding,” Mr Akwany says, adding: “Extreme weather events such as floods and drought have become prevalent. Previously, communities thought that floods were the most serious but now, the drought is.”

Mr Akwany says when the rivers draining into the lake dry up, the focus turns to the lake.

The causes of the rivers drying up range from encroachment of the river catchment areas for crop cultivation or human settlement to massive deforestation, and changing weather patterns.

Fifteen years ago, 45-year-old Adam Kidega recalls returning to the lake shores at Dunga, a longtime fishing village south of Kisumu Town, after a night fishing with his boat full of fish. 

“It was always a bonanza. Today, it is a very different story,” he recalls.

Despite spending a whole night out there on the lake, Kidega says like several other fishermen, one returns to the shore, with a handful of fish if lucky. If you want to be very lucky with the catch, you have to wander a little deeper into the lake, which is problematic, especially at night.

Both Onyango and Kidega’s accounts point to one thing — human activity is squarely to blame for the ever-changing climate. 

The Dunga Beach area, like most parts of Kisumu Town bordering Lake Victoria, is heavily colonised by water hyacinth, putrid algae and other invasive aquatic plant that won’t let the fish breed. And they flourish due to the organic pollutant material that are carried by the rivers draining into the lake from near and far in western and central Kenya.

Removing, controlling or even killing the water hyacinth is not an easy process. In fact, in Kavirondo Gulf, which neighbours Dunga Beach to the north, the expanse colonised by water weeds can be easily mistaken for a green park.

The invasive water weeds form a thick green carpet-like layer covering a wider area crippling every activity around, from fishing to transportation.

Uganda has tried to manage its spread over the years, including through the previous LVEMP project in areas such as Kasensero in Rakai District and Port Bell in Luzira in Kampala, which were said to be the worst affected but other menacing activities such as sand mining that also threatens the lake materialised.

Wider water woes

Lake Victoria is considered one of the most important shared natural resources by regional countries; draining an expanse estimated at 194,200 square miles. The lake’s basin is home to more than 40 million people who draw livelihoods directly from the lake, according to the World Bank.

The lake is the main source of water for domestic, industrial, and hydro power generation. It is a climate regulator, a reservoir of biodiversity and a medium for transport across three main basin countries — Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

Lake Victoria is also the main surface outflow for the world’s longest river, the Nile. According to the 2017 Lake Victoria Basin Atlas, the largest portion of the lake basin, 44 per cent, lies in Tanzania, followed by Kenya with 22 per cent, while Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi make 16 per cent, 11 per cent, and 7 per cent, respectively. However, only Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania share the lake’s 3,460 km shoreline.

Of the 40 million people estimated by the World Bank to be living in the basin, Kenya, according to the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), has the highest population of 15 million in the lake’s catchment area, followed by Tanzania with the main portion of the basin with 7.5 million, and Uganda with 7 million.

The LVBC is an organ of the regional grouping, East African Community, mandated to coordinate sustainable development and management of the Lake Victoria basin.

“The higher the number of people you have in a catchment area, the more the pollution and the more problems you get,” Dr Ally Said Matano, the LVBC executive secretary, says.

“Kenya, with 6 per cent of the lake and a catchment area of 22 per cent, has a population of 15 million. If you take the size of the catchment area, then take the size of the population therein and the extent of socio-economic activities, and also look at the topography of Kenya (mainly hilly catchment areas) and several rivers draining into the lake, which come with a lot of drainage and sewerage, that is why you find that this part of the lake on the Kenyan side is highly polluted,” he says.

Dr Matano reveals that degradation, especially on the lake’s catchment areas and riparian zones, and pollution are the two main challenges threatening the lake, throwing in others such as climate variability, which he said has been materialising intermittently.

“99 per cent of the challenges the lake’s basin face are not lake-based problems. They are problems in the catchment areas, and the drivers of those problems are people — whether the red soils flowing into the lake as a result of improper family methods, sewerage being drained into the lake, open defecating on river banks, name it,” Dr Matano says.

Effects on the lake

In Kavirondo Gulf, for example, studies show that the levels of oxygen in the water is about 3.5 per cent against the normal oxygen levels of 8.6 per cent for fish to breed and survive.

The primary reason is the high concentration of pollutants, including sewerage of all substances carried into area by Kisati river stream that stretches through Ubungo slum, thus making the area highly conducive for water hyacinth.

“So really, there is a big connection between the catchment area and the lake. If we are to save the lake we cannot save the lake from the lake; we have to save the lake from the catchment area,” Dr Matano adds.

According to the atlas, the basin consists of rivers, streams and wetlands. River Kagera, stretching from Burundi and Rwanda, provides the largest inflow into the lake, contributing up to 33 per cent of surface water inflow.

Other major rivers draining into the lake include Bukora and Katonga in Uganda; the Nzoia, Sio Mara, Yala, Awach, Gucha, Migori and Sondu, in Kenya; and the Mori, Simiyu, Grumeti, Mbalageti and Magogo-Moame in Tanzania.

According to the UN Environment Programme, inland freshwater ecosystems or terrestrial water ecosystems provide our water for drinking, food, industry and energy. In addition to their productive uses, freshwater bodies are also essential habitats for biodiversity. Although freshwater makes up only 0.01 per cent of the world’s water, it supports almost 6 per cent of all of its described species.

“Their essential role in society and multiple uses mean freshwater ecosystems are disproportionately important,” says Lis Mullin Bernhardt, freshwater ecosystems expert at UN Environment Programme. 

“But unfortunately, they are also disproportionately under threat in that they bear the brunt of human activity, climate changes and a number of other factors,” she says.

Over the past 40 years, freshwater species populations, according to the UN, have declined by 81 per cent – more than double the rates seen in species both on land and in the oceans. At the same time, it is estimated that since 1900, around 70 per cent of inland water bodies have disappeared, with even higher numbers in some regions such as Asia.

The Lake Victoria basin atlas indicates that the entire basin’s ecosystem continues to undergo substantial changes as a result of pollution from industry and agriculture, the proliferation of waterweeds, over-fishing, the introduction of invasive alien species and land degradation.

“Algal blooms are prevalent in the lake to the extent that water transparency declined from five metres in the 1930s to less than one metre in the 1990s. The proliferation of the water hyacinth weed impedes the flow of water for irrigation, hinders navigation and interferes with hydropower schemes. The introduction of the Nile Perch is blamed for the decline in the number of fish species from more than 400 to about 200,” the atlas report notes.

Highly threatened

The Swiss-based International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in a 2018 study titled Freshwater biodiversity in the Lake Victoria basin shows that freshwater ecosystems within the region are highly threatened, with current safeguards proving inadequate. The focus of much past and ongoing conservation work in the region is on terrestrial ecosystems.

“Freshwater biodiversity in the Lake Victoria Basin is in decline and the risk of species extinctions is increasing, with the major drivers of threat identified as pollution, biological resource use, primarily overfishing, agriculture, and invasive species, particularly Nile Perch and water hyacinth,” the IUCN study notes.

Climate change is an ongoing and future threat to freshwater species, especially fish, which are shown to be particularly vulnerable, the report indicates.

On the Ugandan side of the lake, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Water and Environment, Mr Alfred Okot Okidi, says the Katonga and Kagera swamps are the most degraded and urgent efforts are needed to “save the situation”.

Out of the $240m (Shs905b), at least $60m (Shs226b) is earmarked for interventions in Uganda, including among others, evicting people from the lake’s key catchment areas and giving them alternative livelihoods in part of south western and eastern Uganda.

The programme is expected to kick off next year in September. However, Mr Okidi reveals that current projections show the situation is worse on the Kenyan side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uganda has again lost more of its people dead in Lake Nalubaale (Victoria)due to a boat accident:

Modern marine investment and management on this Lake is still lacking in this country:

 

November 25, 2018

Written by The Observer Team

 

The ill-fated boat that capsized

 

The ill-fated boat that capsized

 

Several people have perished in a Saturday ferry accident that occurred in the waters of Lake Victoria in Mpatta sub-county, Mukono district. 

Although police spokesperson Emilian Kayima yesterday said marine police had rescued 40 people who were on board, deputy army spokesperson Lt Col. Deo Akiki today said only 27 people were rescued alive. 30 bodies have so far been retrieved from the waters. Police has indeed revised its figures and confirmed that only 27 people were rescued last night. 

Akiiki said the chances of finding any more survivors are diminishing after being in the waters for over 12 hours and counting. The ferry reportedly had more than than 100 people on board according to some of the survivors. 

Approximately 120 people are said to have been on the boat and some survivors said it was overloaded although the registration list had only 104 names. It's possible that some passengers may not have registered while boarding. According to police sources, more than 70 people are still missing.

The blue boat that capsized belongs to the management of KK Palm beach on Mpatta island in Mukono district. The boat usually docks at Ggaba landing site to take partiers to KK Palm beach every weekend. This particular cruise had been marketed as an end of year boat cruise and attracted several middle class passengers, socialites and celebrities including Buganda kingdom prince David Wasajja, artists Iryn Namubiru, The Mith among others.

Among the dead are local fishermen who rushed to rescue people from the sinking ferry that was reportedly taking in water through a hole at the base after it was perforated by the tractor that was used to 'push' the ferry into the waters from it's repair centre. One rescue boat reportedly got overloaded by the survivors who were by now fighting for the few available life jackets. The rescue boat also sank, drowning more people.  

According to accounts by some of the survivors, the ferry started sipping in water through  hole and although passengers were told to spread out so as to 'balance' the ferry, they were too drunk and in party mood to listen to the warnings. Also, videos and pictures posted on social media by the revelers before the accident show several people without life jackets.

According to some survivors, the captain of the ship reportedly warned the passengers that the boat had a mechanical fault and wanted to cancel the cruise and dock near a rock for the passengers to get as they waited for rescuers. Rescue boats were reportedly dispatched but turned back after seeing that the ferry was continuing with its voyage after passengers insisted on first getting to their destination.

  

The celebration of the passengers as they enjoyed sailing on the Ancient African Lake before the tragic end of it all, Saturday, 24 November, 2018.
 

Meanwhile, the police and the army marine units have located the wreckage of the ferry and Akiiki said some nine bodies have been retrieved with many more still trapped inside the old fashioned wooden boat. 

Nb

Of recent in this paper 22 September, 2018, some of us warned this Great Lake region that the Uganda Revenue Authority policy of taxation was discouraging formal investment in the public use of this lake. Such single bow wooden boats are very much out of use. It is two strong plastic boats that are adjacent to each other that are joined up to make some sort of a raft that would make an economic passenger load with better health and safety controls. There were not enough life jackets because they are expensive in Uganda and passengers are encouraged to board the boats anyhow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lack of modern international investment in the great inland lake of Nalubaale(Victoria):

That sinking feeling; More African citizens are dead in one of the largest fresh water Lakes in the world, Lake Nalubaale(Victoria):

 

 

A picture of MV Nyerere at the dock in Bugolora, Ukerewe Island, taken in October 2015 before it sank.

mv nyerere

The uncomplicated Search and rescue after the Tanzanian MV Nyerere ferry capsized in Lake Victoria. PHOTO | COURTESY 

 

By The EastAfrican

More by this Author

For a fleeting few days, perhaps even weeks, the mounting body count from the MV Nyerere disaster – officially more than 200 – is likely to focus attention of the lack of maritime safety in East Africa.

Because of their carrying capacity – which means shocking numbers of dead – vessels such as MV Nyerere, which capsized off Mwanza on September 20 and the MV Bukoba, which went down with more than 800 people in May 1996, draw attention to the reality that death is routine in East Africa’s inland waters.

At one point, Lake Rescue, a volunteer group that has been trying to promote a safety culture on Lake Victoria, put the annual loss of life there in excess of 5,000.

Most of these deaths occur on small passenger and fishing vessels that barely make a headline, perhaps because they are so frequent that they are no longer seen as an abnormal event.

But death on regulated water transport such as happened in the MV Nyerere and MV Bukoba cases, reveals disturbing gaps in the region’s maritime regime.

One area of weakness is search and rescue, the other is regulation. In both events, the number of victims remained fluid to the extent that the final toll figures are mere estimates. This is because is no robust system for ensuring that operators stay faithful to the manufacturer’s recommended carrying capacity, hence the routine overloading.

The question of numbers featured prominently in this past week’s tragedy as the death toll quickly passed the vessel’s design capacity and yet there were survivors.

Designed to carry just 430 passengers, when the counting stopped, 894 passengers died when MV Bukoba went down in 25 metres of water within sight of the shore. Yet despite remaining buoyant for more than 24 hours, all those lives were lost because there was no way to achieve a safe rescue.

Although it did not involve loss of life, the loss of MV Kabalega, a Uganda wagon ferry, after a collision with sister ship MV Kaawa in May 2005, offers insights into what ails maritime management in East Africa.

An inquiry later established that both Ugandan vessels were at the time of the incident being manned by untrained crew, lacked working communication gear and valid marine insurance.

Regional governments obviously place a higher value on money than human life. Hence while they all jealously guard their fishing zones in the lake, there is no comparable lifeguard service active in any of the three countries.

The colonial-era navigation infrastructure has long been non-functional and moving about the lake is largely a matter of trial and error.

The latest tragedy is an appropriate starting point for the search for accountability for what happens in the lake. At some point, the Lake Victoria Basin Commission said it had secured a $35.8 million grant to improve safety.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are supposed to establish a Lake Victoria Maritime Communications and Transport System that would include regional maritime rescue communication centres in Mwanza, Kisumu and Entebbe.

The centres are to be supported by 22 emergency search and rescue stations distributed around the lake, equipped with fast rescue boats and trained crews. What progress has been made towards this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


City dwellers of Kampala, Uganda have been asked to store water ahead of a planned shutdown of Ggaba plant for engineering maintainance: 

Ggaba water treatment plant. Courtesy photo

Ggaba water treatment plant. Courtesy photo 

Residents of Kampala and surrounding areas have been cautioned to store enough water and use it sparingly ahead of the planned plant shut down at Ggaba water works.

The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) said on Thursday that it would shut down the plant on Saturday, July 28, 2018 from 8am to 7pm.

The NWSC Water production manager, Mr Andrew Muhwezi said all machinery, heavy duty water pumps and the various water treatment stages will be shutdown down to allow UMEME Engineers carry out routine maintenance works at the Ggaba Power Substation.

Kampala water general manager, Eng Andrew Sekayizzi said the works when completed will improve power supply at the treatment plant and subsequently improve water production and supply reliability in Kampala city.

“The works will affect customers in Kampala Service area, Mukono, Wakiso and the surroundings,” he said before listing some of the areas to be affected as;

City centre, Rubaga, Mengo, Nakulabye, Kasubi, Nansana, Nateete, Bulenga, Buloba, Kyengera, Nsanji, Nalumunye, Nyanama, Namasuba, Lubowa, Seguku, Bunamwaya, Makindye, Lukuli, Gaba, Buziga, Salaama, Munyonyo, Bunga, Kawuku, Muyenga, Bugolobi, Mutungo, Nakawa, Ntinda, Kireka, Seeta, Bweyogere, Mukono, Kyaliwajjala and Mbalwa.

Others are; Mulaawa, Namugongo, Kiira, Nsasa, Buwaate, Kungu, Kyanja, Kisaasi, Najeera, Kiwatule, Naguru, Kololo, Bwaise, Kawempe, Maganjo, Matuga, Kawanda, Kasangati, Makerere, Kasubi, Kawaala, Masanafu,

Kalerwe, Kyebando, Mpererwe, Nammere, Kiteezi Gayaza, Kungu, Kulambiro, Komamboga, Luteete, Masooli, Kiteetika and the surrounding areas.

 

An ariel view of part of the water treatment system on Lake Nalubaale(Victoria), Uganda

 

"It takes time for the system/pipe network to stabilise after a total plant shutdown. Customers are therefore advised to store water and use it sparingly during this time," he added

NWSC director engineering services, Eng Alex Gisagara said that the water supply interruptions during system upgrade works will be mitigated upon completion of the new Katosi water works.

He noted that the new 240million litres per day (design capacity) water treatment plant will push over 160million litres of water per day to Kampala and supplement Ggaba water works.

The additional 160 million litres of water from the Katosi plant will serve the growing clean safe water needs of more than 7.5million people in Kampala Metropolitan up to 2040.

 

 

 

 

 

Rakai forests supervisor suspended in Uganda:

TUESDAY OCTOBER 25 2016

 

Minister Cheptoris (left) supervises the loading of illegal timber impounded from Malabigambo Forest last weekend. Photo by Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa 

By AL-MAHDI SSENKABIRWA

RAKAI- Minister for Water and Environment Sam Cheptoris has suspended the National Forest Authority supervisor in charge of Maramagambo Forest Reserve, Kyebe Sub-county, in Rakai District, over allegedly abetting illegal logging activities in the area.

The ministerial directive followed complaints from residents that Mr Richard Ssentulo was colluding with local police officials to clear truck-loads of illegal timber, with some crossing to neighbouring Tanzania.

“Our forests are disappearing and the President is bitter. These are the people who are letting us down,” he said

The minister issued the directive while meeting residents of Minziro village near Mutukula border last weekend. The minister had rushed to the area on the orders of President Museveni to assess the extent of the destruction in the forest.

While meeting victims of the September 10 earthquake which shook parts of Rakai last month, residents complained to Mr Museveni that the forest reserve was being cut down and NFA officials and police were doing nothing to address the problem.

The minister also tasked the district police commander, Mr Julius Gobolo, to take action against all police officers accused of providing security to trucks ferrying illegal timber out of the forest reserve.

“The district CIID department should investigate and find out the culprits behind the forest destruction and submit a report to my office in one week,” Mr Cheptoris said.

The minister said if NFA officials and police have failed to protect the forest reserve, he will ask the President to deploy soldiers.

Mr Cheptoris later visited the forest and impounded 200 pieces of illegal timber. However, no one was arrested from the forest. The minister donated the impounded timber to Kapangi Primary School which was affected by the earthquake.

NFA executive director Michael Mugisha said no timber dealer was licensed to cut trees in the forest and halted all the activities in the forest.

Mr Reuben Arinaitwe, the NFA manager in charge of Sango Bay Range, said most of the timber is cut at night and smuggled to Tanzania through porous border points.

The 11,173-hectare Maramagambo Forest Reserve borders Kyebe and Kakuuto sub-counties. It is endowed with tree species like measopsis emini (Musizi) and podo which have high demand both in Uganda and Tanzania.

Recent data estimates Uganda’s current forest cover to be at 10 per cent which is worrying and recently Mr Cheptoris revealed that the depletion level had reached 120,000 hectares up from 90,000 in the recent past.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

 

In Uganda President Museveni's unfulfilled pledges need Shs 13 trillion for his 2016 General Election:

 

As President Yoweri Museveni traverses the country seeking a fifth elective term in office, he is making many promises to the voters. But there are some unfulfilled promises that date as far back as 1986 when he assumed office. Government spokesman Ofwono Opondo says corruption and failure by State House officials to have a proper monitoring system have left many these promises unattended to. President Museveni has made 12.9 trillion shillings worth of pledges and promises.

 

What Rwanda war cost Uganda

Written by JUSTUS MUHANGUZI
Last Updated: 01 November 2015

RPA fighters in Gishuro commune of northern Rwanda in 1991

Although it has never been officially admitted, the RPA war had a very big financial impact on the Ugandan government coffers, especially on the part of its military budget.

It is suspected that the National Resistance Army’s arsenal of guns nearly got depleted when thousands of men and officers of Rwandese origin ‘abandoned ship’ and carried along the NRA’s army ware and vehicles.

But the apparent silence on the part of the Ugandan government has since, according to military and political pundits, given credence to the suspicion that the government may have been rewarding the Rwandese  men and officers who formerly formed the rank and file of the NRA for their contribution during the bush war.

Be as it may, the RPA invasion of Rwanda created a number of problems for the Kampala establishment. Uganda’s international and diplomatic relations became a subject of debate when President Habyarimana insisted that his enemy had a command centre in Uganda.

And when the RPA adopted a guerrilla war fare, the Rwandan troops pointed their artillery guns into Uganda, where they claimed their enemy had bases and camps. The sad bit about this was that it was the innocent Ugandan villages that were turned into cannon fodder.

The spilling of the war into Uganda was another indirect cost to the Ugandan government. The affected districts (Kisoro, Kabale and Ntungamo) had to contend with the subsequent problems of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) and security issues of abductions and killings by the Rwandan troops.

On November 13, 1990, I got a telephone call from a local contact in Kisoro, who told me that the place was under heavy shelling from Rwanda.

He sounded very worried and I could tell from the way he was heaving that there were, indeed, intermittent thunderbolts, which I suspect to be sound from artillery shells exploding.

“Kisoro town and the surrounding areas have since last night been under heavy artillery bombing. Most people’s lives and properties have been destroyed and people are fleeing with whatever they can pick,” he said.

After replacing my telephone receiver, I decided  to rush to the office/residence  of the then NRA 2nd  division commander,  Col Geoffrey Taban in Kamukuzi to get more information about the Kisoro attack by Rwandan troops.

It was coming to midday when I arrived at Col Taban’s gate which was manned like a quarter guard of sorts and I was told to wait as he was still in an urgent security meeting. I came to learn later that particular meeting was about what was happening in Kisoro.

I finally met him after another hour of waiting; before I could say anything, he said: “If you want any news about the Kisoro attack from me, you will be disappointed because I cannot talk about something I have not personally verified.”

Taban, who is by character  soft-spoken and had been known to me since the NRA bush war days, looked me in the face and read the disappointment I had registered.

To my relief, he added: “If you cannot wait for me to travel to Kisoro first before I give you the updates, let us go together now and you get first-hand information.  Let us meet at the Boma ground in the next 30 minutes and we go to Kisoro.”

Within twenty minutes, I had rushed to my home and picked a few belongings before I went to office and picked my pinhole camera and rushed to the RDC’s building thinking that we were travelling by road. I knew I was  going to spend  several days away but on arrival at the  RDC’s office I noticed that a military helicopter was ‘perching’ on the golf course pitch, on standby to fly us to Kisoro.

I had to abandon my bag at the district information office after being told that we were going to return after all. Our first stop was in Kabale where our chopper landed at the golf course near the administration buildings where Taban had a briefing from the then district internal security officer, Hannington Kakura.

Although I never heard what the discussion was all about, I suspect it was about what was happening in Kisoro, given the body language and movement of their pointing fingers.

When we finally reached Kisoro, we landed at Nyakabande airstrip where we noticed an IDP was in the making. At the airstrip, we were received by Lt Col Anthony Kyakabale who was then second-in-command (NRA 2nd division) to Col Taban and was in charge of operations. When the war broke out in Rwanda, it was Lt Kyakabale who was responsible for the respective deployment and establishment of NRA detaches along the border areas with Rwanda.

Flanked by the then Kisoro district administrator (now known as RDC), Hajji Assad Lutare, Lt Kyakabale later briefed his boss (Col Taban) behind closed doors. It was after that meeting that I was called to join the group for a guided tour of the areas which had been affected by the indiscriminate artillery shelling.

As we drove in a convoy of three four-wheel-drive vehicles around Kisoro town towards the border area of Chanika, we were cautioned about the likelihood of becoming targets of artillery guns. We quickly heeded and with the assistance of a local council official, we abandoned the cars and started walking using  footpaths.

As we walked on, we started to witness the wanton destruction of property (houses and gardens) caused by the shelling. We also got harrowing accounts from the victims and witnesses of the attack.

We visited a primary school where one of the buildings had been shelled but we were told nobody had been injured except for shock and fear that sent the pupils stampeding for safety. The unfortunate thing was that on the fateful day, the primary seven pupils were sitting their primary leaving examinations.

A few minutes later, our tour was abruptly interrupted when one of the military escorts in our group whispered to his boss  that he had heard a sound of gunfire from across the border.

It was at this point that Hajji Assad Lutare advised the group to hurriedly return to Kisoro town for safety in case the Rwandan troops resumed the shelling. On arrival in Kisoro, it was reported that two Ugandan male adults had been abducted by armed Rwandan troops from the border village of Chahafi, just a few kilometres from where we were.

A brief impromptu security meeting in the district administrator’s office was the last business we had in Kisoro before our helicopter returned to Mbarara after another brief stopover in Kabale.

As we flew back to Mbarara, I asked Col Taban what they had resolved to do in respect of the attack during that closed-door security meeting with his commanders and the RDC. Speaking with confidence, he said: “We are going to handle the situation decisively. This will not happen again.”

But as things turned out later, these incursions by the Rwandese troops into Uganda became a common occurrence as the Ugandan government, just like the case of Rwanda, started ‘crying foul’ although no one listened or sympathized.

Interestingly, it was Rwanda’s allegations about Uganda’s complicity in RPA that attracted the attention of the international community. Several days after the Kisoro attack, a high-powered delegation of co-presidents of the then ACP/EEC joint assembly jetted into Uganda and headed to Kisoro to verify the Rwandan allegations that the RPA were operating from bases located within.

This put the Uganda government on the defensive. When he met the team, Kisoro administrator Lutale roundly dismissed Rwanda’s allegations as ‘wild and baseless.’

He instead told the verification team that it was Ugandan civilian population that was bearing the brunt of Rwanda’s ‘unprovoked’ incursions into Uganda. 

He presented documentary evidence to prove his case in a voluminous report in which he reported more than 80 civilian deaths and 125 serious injuries (maimed).

Lutale’s report also said that more than 60 per cent of the residents living in the six counties in Kisoro were affected by the war and  a total of 1,145 homes had been destroyed, leaving about 1,000 people in dire need of resettlement.

But the most intriguing revelation I personally found in Lutale’s report was the adverse effect on   Kisoro district administration’s budget. Later on, as I was writing the story about the ACP/EEC delegation visit to Kisoro, it again dawned on me how costly the RPA war was becoming on the part of Ugandan government.

It  lost trillions of shillings in terms of the military equipment and army ware that the RPA took with them at the time of the invasion. But what was more intriguing was that on top of the financial loss, Uganda  lost innocent lives and properties.

muhanguzijust@yahoo.com 

0772 504 920

The author is a public relations practitioner.

Make A Comment

Characters left: 2000

Comments (0)

89.2