2 weeks into 2023 - the new year is taking Uganda and its people soo fast. The social scene has been awash with big stories that took it by storm. This week kicked off with a one Pretty Nicole - an 14 year old girl that was severely "disciplined" by her friends for allegedly stirring a romantic relationship with one of their lover!
On a positive note, events promoter Abbey Musinguzi, popularly known as Abtex was also released from prison following charges relating to a stampede that claimed 11 lives at Freedom City during a concert that he had organized.
The same week saw a recorded voice call between social political commentator Frank Gashumba and a one Diana expressing his disappointment in Daughter Sheila Gashumba. That one took a toll on the father and daughter whose relationship had always been painted as a perfect one in the public domain.
In this compilation, we look at the top stories that transpired this entire week in the National, Political and Current Affairs spaces. Take a look!
Uganda Cancer Institute Staff strike over delayed Salaries.
Health workers, mostly those on government payroll at the Uganda Cancer Institute kicked off a sit-down strike, protesting the Institute's failure to pay their salaries. The strike slowed down the services delivery leaving many patients' lives in peril.
The few health workers that reported for duty were overwhelmed by the long queues from the patients. The health workers agreed to resume work after the institute's management agreed to pay the arrears in the course of the week.
Court Nullifies Section 25 of Computer Misuse Act
Constitutional Court ruled that the section contravenes Article 29(I) of the constitution on the freedom of Speech and expression. The section which relates to using electronic devices to willfully disturb the peace of another constituted a charge of offensive communication that carried a maximum penalty of 5 years upon conviction.
It was agreed by a panel of 5 justices led by Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera that "Section 25" of the Computer Misuse act be scrapped off for not only being vague but also overly broad to define the actual offense committed"
The petitioners Andrew Karamagi and Robert Shaka were awarded costs after the court declared the section Ambiguous and irrelevant.
Uganda declared Ebola Free
The World Health Organization declared Uganda Ebola free after 42 consecutive days with no case. The disease that was first detected in September in Mubende would later spread to other parts of the country including the capital Kampala.
In a bid to curb the epidemic, Mubende and Kassanda, the two districts at the epicenter of Ebola were placed under lockdown for two months. During its outbreak, 142 cases were confirmed, 55 deaths registered and 87 recovered patients.
"Uganda put a swift end to the Ebola outbreak by ramping up key control measures such as surveillance, contact tracing and infection, prevention and control," the WHO statement quoted the minister as saying.
Government Commits Shs. 6.4t to fund its programmes.
The start of the third-quarter (Q3) of the 2022-2023 Financial Year will see a whooping shs. 6.4 trillion infused into the flagging economy. The release of the funds by the Treasury means the government's Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) will have money at their disposal to discharge their duties, including implementing development programmes.
The money will further move into the economy through salaries, pensions and gratuity. Taken together with the release for the first two quarters, the latest disbursement brings up to 77.16 percent what has been shelled out on the approved discretionary budget for FY 2022-2023.
UNEB Seeks to Raise fees for Candidates
In a bid to raise more revenue to render quality services, Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) seeks to increase Examination registration fees for all levels - the Board's Executive Director Mr. Daniel Odong informed the Parliamentary Education Committee.
According to sources in Parliament, UNEB has proposed to increase registration fees for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) from Shs34,000 to Shs40,000; Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) from Shs164,000 to at least Shs190,000; and Uganda advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) from Shs 186,000 to at least Shs230,000.
In an interview with the Daily Monitor, Odong said that the national fees have been the same since 2016 yet the costs of examination materials have gone up in the industry. He added that they are going to follow the necessary stages of how to go about their tabled proposal and a final decision will be made to the public.
Government to borrow Shs. 1 trillion from NSSF.
Government has long wanted to build a "government campus" that would house Ministries. Its move to borrow from the Fund aims at building this campus that will reduce the amounts of money spent on clearing rent in premises where government Ministries call home. With lots of fears abound that the government may take forever to service the debt, a carefully crafted clause in the NSSF Amendment act enables the transaction.
According to Mr. Jim Mugunga, the Finance Ministry Spokesperson - There is nothing irregular about what is being done and money is yet to be approved for the project. If the funds for the campus are approved, this project will be built on what used to be J&M airport hotel.
UPDF Deploy troops on Congo Border as M23 make inroads
In the wake of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) chaos, Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) deployed its troops along the Uganda-Congo border in the western districts of Kanungu and Rukungiri to protect Ugandans who stay around the Ishasha border from the armed conflict's spillover effect .
Lt Col Robert Nahamya, the commander of the 307 Brigade confirmed the deployment calling for vigilance amongst Ugandans in the border communities.
