Besigye, Lukwago snub police summons

Rugunda Backs Besigye On Walk To Work

SOURCE: THE RED PEPPER, 31 JANUARY 2012
http://redpepper.co.ug/welcome/?p=28122

Rugunda's thoughts might cause ripples in government circles

ICT Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has said Forum for Democratic Change leader Kizza Besigye has the right to walk-to-work. Rugunda said police should let the opposition leader hold rallies and also participate in the walk-to-work demonstrations that have rocked the nation.

“Besigye, like any other person has the right to demonstrate as long as he does not breach the peace,” Rugunda told Red Pepper in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the National Consultative Forum for Political Parties last Friday at Protea Hotel, Kampala.

“Every Ugandan has a right to demonstrate and it must be respected,” Rugunda said. The statement could send shockwaves since security chiefs have insisted Besigye must not be allowed to walk-to-work. IGP Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura has insisted that Besigye’s walk-to-work demonstrations are aimed at overthrowing President Museveni’s government.

The consultative meeting brought together different members from political parties in Uganda. It’s chaired by Rugunda who was deputized by FDC strongman Col. Amanya Mushega. Electoral commission was represented by Sam Rwakoojo and Badru Kiggundu while opposition was represented by Abed Bwanika among others.

The meeting, which kicked off at 11am ended late in the evening. Journalists were kicked out of the meeting after tempers flared among the politicians from the rival parties as they discussed the code of conduct of political parties.

Rugunda was a few years ago sent to United Nations as Uganda’s representative to the Security Council in what many thought was a move to cripple the liberal politician’s attempts to form a political base in Uganda. On his return, he was deployed at the less influential ICT ministry.

Police Deliberately Wanted To Kill Me – Nabilah

SOURCE: THE RED PEPPER, 30 JANUARY 2012
http://redpepper.co.ug/welcome/?p=27914

Besigye attends to Nabilah at IHK

Kampala Woman Member of Parliament Nabilah Nagayi has claimed that police deliberately wanted to kill her on Friday night when she was involved in an accident in Rubaga.

The MP miraculously survived death along Namirembe Road in Kampala where her vehicle was knocked by police trucks following a rally held by Activists for Change (A4C).

We caught up with her last evening at IHK where she was rushed by Col Kizza Besigye and FDC youth.  The following is how she recounted the dramatic Friday events:

Police vehicle knocks baby to death, mourners tear-gassed

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1317088/-/b1dbj1z/-/index.html

SOURCE: THE DAILY MONITOR, 31 JANUARY 2012

In Summary

Police crime. A resident says police cars, which are driven recklessly in the congested area, frequent the place to have fuel siphoned off them.

Police officers on Sunday fired tear gas canisters and bullets to disperse mourners at the home of a two-year-old baby who was knocked by a speeding police car in the congested Kitoro West Zone, Nsambya in Kampala.

The officers wanted to forcefully take the body of the baby, Solomon Saava Ssebagala, to Mulago Referral Hospital for a postmortem which parents and their relatives declined on grounds that they could not afford to spend more money on the process.

Amid the tear gas, the parents of the deceased locked the body of the boy in the house when everybody scampered away for their dear lives as clouds of tear gas filled the atmosphere.

Police attempts to access the body succeeded when they opted for negotiations with the bereaved family and residents several hours later.

Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Ibin Ssenkumbi confirmed the incident and regretted it.

Officer arrested
“The officer attached to the Canine Unit who was driving the car has been arrested on charges of reckless driving and causing death. We are also investigating whether he had been authorised to use the car,” Mr Ssenkumbi said yesterday.

Mr Ssenkindu Mutebi, a resident, said many police cars are driven to the area to siphon off fuel out of them.

He said: “He was speeding in this congested area. I think he wanted to siphon off fuel before going for other trips. We had kept calm throughout the incident. We even took their driver to the Local Council chairperson to forward him to police. Soon afterwards, other police officers came and just started tear-gassing and shooting at us after some people expressed their grievances.”

The deceased‘s father, Mr Frederick Makubuya said: “I left home after my son had returned from church with the mother but I was shocked to receive a call in the evening that he had been knocked by a speeding car.”

He added: “When I reached home, teargas was all over the place. They had taken the body for postmortem and we had to wait up to 3pm when they gave us transport.”

Meanwhile, a tear gas canister landed into a nearby salon where one resident, Ms Rose Namutebi, who had taken cover with her child, suffocated and later fainted.

Amid a heavy shootout, brave residents managed to rescue the lady from the salon.
Similar incidents have happened in Ndejje Lubugumu village near Entebbe Road, and in Mabanda Village in Matugga, Wakiso District recently.

In both incidents police had to fire tear gas to disperse the irate mourners.
At least 3,000 police officers are under investigation over different crimes by the Police Professional Standards Unit.

FDC Asks Gov’t To Check “Hit Men”

http://redpepper.co.ug/welcome/?p=27506

SOURCE: THE RED PEPPER, 29 JANUARY 2012

FDC President Kiiza Besigye

The Forum for Democratic Change is calling on government to control its security agents in civilian clothes.

Santos Komakech, a body guard to Kampala Capital City Authority Director for Physical planning, George Agaba, on Sunday shot at irate residents of Luzira, killing one person and injuring five others during an eviction exercise.

The body of John Onyango was on Monday transported to his home in Bugiri.

Those injured include Florence Nalwadda 18, Twaili Kalibatala, Denis Agaba, Twaibu Bagala and 27-year-old Hakim Kalumba.

At the shooting, 20 families had been evicted from Railway Zone, Port Bell in Luzira.
FDC Deputy Spokesperson Toterebuka Bamwenda says the habit has been ongoing since February 16th 2006 when Lt. Ramathan Magara killed Vincent Kavuma and Gideon Makabayi injuring scores more at Bulange Mengo.

He adds that six years later, the media remains awash with images of unidentified armed men in plain clothes.
Bamwenda says the party is concerned that these actions are causing public anxiety as they point to the loss of control on the part of government.
Bamwenda demands that the police institutes strict rules on the use of fire arms and cease the deployment of plain clothed officers in overt operations.
Lt Gen Kale Kayihura, the Inspector General of Police on Monday visited the scene of Sunday’s shooting said Komakech is a police constable attached to the VIP protection unit.

MP Nabilah, police in accident

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1315558/-/b1elbqz/-/index.html

SOURCE: THE DAILY MONITOR, 29 JANUARY 2012

 

FDC leader Kizza Besigye (L) and other supporters visit Ms Sempala at IHK on Friday. 

A traffic police officer apologises to the legislator, saying “to error is human” as Nabilah was taken to a city hospital.

Kampala

 Kampala Woman MP Nabilah Nagayi Sempala was on Friday admitted to Kampala International Hospital after she suffered chest injuries when her car got involved in accident along Namirembe Road.

The MP’s car hit a police mobile van Reg No UP 1982 at around 7pm which had suddenly stopped while Nabilah’s driver did not break in time. It is said the speeding police van was trying to overtake Ms Sempala’s car. She and other members of pressure group Activists for Change (A4C) were travelling from Kabowa where they had held a public rally.

Ms Sempala, who was waving through the open roof, hit her chest on the edge. She fainted and was immediately rushed to hospital where she was taken for a scan.
However, the police officer at the scene apologised to the MP and her driver, saying “to error is human.”

Meanwhile, the A4C rally that was set for yesterday afternoon at Kololo Airstrip has been temporarily called off after the group said it was still consulting other members of the group on the way forward.

Rally deferred?
“There are many of our members that are upcountry that would like to participate in this rally but they wanted us to first talk to the people they represent so that we explain to them as to why we are having such a rally,” A4C coordinator Mathias Mpuuga told Sunday Monitor. According to Mr Mpuuga, the pressure group plans to first hold several rallies in upcountry towns before climaxing at Kololo.

They also warned the police against aiding goons to attack them with stones, a claim the police denies. The A4C has also issued an ultimatum to police to have suspended KCCA City Planner George Agaba arrested for his role in the bloody Luzira eviction. And failure to do that, the activists said they will hold a demonstration in protest on Tuesday.

Power cuts cause 150 hospital deaths

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1315534/-/b1eldmz/-/index.html

SOURCE: THE DAILY MONITOR, 29 JANUARY 2012

A cross section of Jinja Hospital Children’s ward. Doctors are grappling with the challenge of keeping patients alive against constant power cuts. 

In Summary

A patient on life support may only survive for five minutes in case of severe infection after the supply goes off.

Jinja

More than one hundred fifty people have died in Jinja Referral Hospital in the last six month due to unstable power supply and load shedding, hospital authority have said.

This comes as the country continues to suffered inadequate power supply resulting into a 12-hour load shedding schedule over several months now; the hospital experiences at least three days a week of power cuts.

Hospital authority said the unstable power supply has affected mainly patients in children’s ward, intensive care unit, emergency wards and the operating theatre. But with adverse effects in the Nalufenya Children’s Ward.

“As doctors we get caught at a crossroads to refer patients you are sure won’t reach Mulago (National Referral Hospital) alive or keep them and rely on chance. A patient on life support may only survive for five minutes in case of severe infection after the supply goes off,” a doctor at the children’s ward, who asked not to be named, said.

He added: “Children that we subject to life support (oxygen) are in most cases diagnosed with pneumonia, birth asphyxia in premature babies, heart condition, and asthmatic attacks, among others. Many of them are brought in critical condition. This means they can’t survive without it (electricity).”

Doctors who spoke on condition of anonymity said whenever there is load-shedding there must be mortalities. Perusing through the documents with Sunday Monitor, the medics put the death toll at the children’s ward due to load-shedding at more than 100. However, the Hospital Director, Dr Michael Osinde Odongo, sais the figure is “ridiculously low.”

“You are talking about the children’s ward, how about the Intensive Care Unit? What of the mortalities in the operating theatre? These are sections of the hospital where patients are in critical condition. You may be transfusing or trying to keep a patient breathing and then power goes off,” he said.

Dr Osinde added: “You could possibly put that figure at 150. Children die and they die in big numbers, especially premature babies. What those doctors are telling you are not rumours.” He said there is no money to buy fuel for the generators that supply power to the hospital in case of a power black-out.

“We are given Shs7 million for everything; cars, ambulances and generators. Generators take Shs2.5 million per month. The generators we have consume 20 litres per hour, yet sometimes you have it running the whole night,” Dr Osinde said.

When water marries power
Efforts to get comments from the ministry failed. The spokesperson asked for more time to find the responsible people to comment. Matters get only worse for the hospital that admits 400 patients, including 150 to 200 children, daily when water taps run dry due to load-shedding.

“When there is no electricity, there won’t be water running the next day, so water is rationed as there are no reserve tanks. All sterilisation has to be halted until power is back, meaning operations are postponed which creates a backlog impacting on hospital targets,” said one of the doctors.

Another doctor said, because of lack of electricity vaccines die and considering their cost, the hospital runs big expenses. “At emergency cases, doctors just look on as people die because it is against government regulation for a patient or their attendants to buy fuel,” the medic said.