The Monitor (Uganda) articles from July 2011

The Monitor (Uganda) archives from July 2011

How Kampala Tycoons Steal Water.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Stephen Otage The urban rich and city business are the biggest defaulters and pilfer piped water by bypassing or manipulating water meters. Reports from the ongoing clampdown on defaulters or those with illegal connection of piped...

Feeling the Economic Pinch.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Edgar R. Batte The economic meltdown continues to take its toll and it doesn't matter which economic divide you fall, you must be spending a lot more on items and services than you did four months ago. The boda boda Peter...

Ssekandi, MPs Fight Over Vehicle.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Yasiin Mugerwa Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi is facing accusations that he forcefully took a vehicle belonging to the Parliamentary Commission. An investigation by the Sunday Monitor has revealed that at one time, the...

SKLPS Look to Maintain Momentum.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Innocent Ndawula Shree Kutch Leva Patel Samaj (SKLPS) are the runaway grooms in the Second Division of the National Men's League. With 47 points and boasting of a 100% record from eight outings, things have really been swinging SKLPS'...

Maternal Deaths - A Harsh Spotlight.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Cellaw Dugger Jennifer Anguko was slowly bleeding to death in the maternity ward of a major public hospital. Only a lone midwife was on duty, the hospital later admitted her without any doctor examining her for 12 hours. An...

U.S. Military to Take Part in Hunt for Kony.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Gerald Bareebe The United States Military has pledged to join the imminent hunt for Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony, by providing logistics and surveillance support to the militaries of Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo...

Simba - Soldiers Have Guns Cocked.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Andrew Mwanguhya Travel to Ndejje University football grounds, Luwero District, and the cliché "hard as nails" will make some sense. This is where army side Simba Football Club are having their pre-season preparations....

Woman Accuses Professor Baryamureeba of Rape As Teachers Lay Down Chalk.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Jacobs Odongo Seaman Sounds like that time when people say enough is enough and want to settle one score or another. A woman, whose identity ethics does not allow us to divulge for now, said she had repeatedly called Makerere...

Musisi Snubs ISO Boss, Onek.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Isaac Imaka The Kampala Capital City Authority boss Jennifer Musisi, has snubbed an invitation to attend a meeting called by the National Security Council and Internal Security Organisation to solve the controversy surrounding the...

Grapevine - East African Legislative Assembly Splits Gishu Women.
July 31, 2011... A row has allegedly erupted in Bugisuland between the outgoing East African Legislative Assembly Eastern Uganda representative Lydia Wanyoto and former Bududa District Woman MP Olive Wonekha. Grapevine has learnt that though the EALA...

Police Block Access to BCU Premises.
July 31, 2011... Byline: David Kazungu Police on Friday blocked farmers from cooperative societies affiliated to Bugisu cooperative union from accessing the facility where they were scheduled to hold a special delegates meeting to discuss the state of affairs...

We Need a Lasting Solution to Teachers Plight.
July 31, 2011... It is not yet late for the government to fix the pending explosion from teachers. We all seek to inspire each other. To be straight, teachers do a lot to inspire enthusiasm, knowledge, and above all, they are the makers of what we become in...

Alweny Absence Clouds Falcons Loss.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo and Jacinta Odongo The pain of losing 80-69 to UCU Canons in the MTN-Fuba League on Friday night may not be the last 7UP Falcons may have to endure if making the play-offs remains a realistic target. Falcons...

Nation's Rising Debt Burden Shows Government Insensitivity.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Isaac Imaka As the US is struggles to pay her debts and Greece is struggles to look for money to save its crumbling economy, Uganda is busy accumulating debts yet almost half of the loans are lying idle with the Ministry of Finance....

Teachers' Agony is a Pain of a Nation Desperate for Deliverance.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Fredrick M. Masiga In a Letter to the Editor sent this week, a reader cautioned striking teachers not to lose their ground to the government over their wage demands. The reader, who put in a disclaimer that he is not a teacher,...

Patidar Primed for Title, Tornado B Stare At Drop.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Innocent Ndawula Patidar Samaj have been likened to the defunct Premier Cricket Club. Just to reinvigorate some memories - Premier swept all silverware last season romping to five trophies. At the halfway mark of the league,...

Bukenya Video Evidence Screening Hits a Snag.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Anthony Wesaka The video evidence to prove the allegations that former Vice President Gilbert Baalibaseka Bukenya, engaged in electoral malpractices in the February 18 general elections hit a snag on Friday, after the petitioner...

Corruption Has Brought Nation to Its Knees.
July 31, 2011... Uganda has in the recent past witnessed a moody economic environment characterised by a weak shilling and rising food and fuel prices. The public mood has also changed with various groups of disgruntled Ugandans taking to industrial action, the...

U.S. Commando Advises Government On Declaring Somalia a No-Fly Zone.
July 31, 2011... President Museveni has proposed a no-fly zone over Somalia to limit the inflow of weapons into that country. How come the USA was quick to respond to a no-fly zone in Libya but has ignored a similar call over Somalia. The situation in Somalia...

DPP Drops Murder Case Against South Sudan Man.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Andrew Bagala The Director of Public Prosecution has reduced the murder charges of a school girl against the son of the Southern Sudan police chief to rash and negligent causing death. Mr Tong Tito was charged with two counts of...

Beware of This Technology Craze, for No One is Safe Any More.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Nafha Maani Ebrahimi There is a sickness in our society, an epidemic with mammoth proportions, a disease that is eating away everything good that we had, a bug that is feeding on our common sense, a virus that is attacking all our...

The Next President of Sierra Leone?
July 31, 2011... Last week, Sierra Leone's biggest opposition party, the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), breathed a sigh of relief after the Supreme Court threw out a protracted case brought against it by one of its own members. That ruling paved the way...

Finding Unity in Music and Dance.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Dennis D. Muhumuza A resolve to make it against all the odds is never in vain. That's the conviction you get after hearing Milton Wabyona's life story. It's a story of a boy who lost his parents as a child and whose struggles made him...

Emojong for World Event.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Abdu Wasike East African Chess champion Elijah Emojong flies to Chennai, India to represent Uganda at the World Junior Chess from August 1-16 today. The 19-year-old performed admirably at the Zone 4.2 Chess Championship in Khartoum,...

Ganda Professional Golfers Association Ushers in New Crop of Pros.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Innocent Ndawula Five elite golfers turned their dreams into a reality when as they made the six-over cut to become professionals. Entebbe-based ace Stephen Odong led the new crop of professionals with a decisive round of three-under...

We Should All Applaud URA Tax Clearance Innovation.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Nina Mbabazi Rukikaire It is quite interesting that traders and politicians this week have raised their voices to criticise the policy decision by Uganda Revenue Authority to require all Ugandans buying land or real estate of Shs50...

Police to Get Free ICT Training.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Abdu Kiyaga Police officers in Kampala are to get free Information Technology training in a new arrangement provided by a technology institute, Learnit Institute of Business and Technology. The Kampala centre manager, Ms Gita...

NRM MPs Query Speaker Kadaga's Neutrality.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Mercy Nalugo Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga's neutrality venerated by the opposition and independents, has apparently caused a stir within the NRM circles. Information coming from the NRM Caucus meeting on Thursday indicated...

'We Will Not Open Schools Next Term If Government Does Not Meet Our Demands'.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Risdel Kasasira Teachers in Uganda under their umbrella organisation, Uganda National Teachers Union (Unatu), last week laid down their tools demanding salary increment of 100 per cent as well as improved working conditions. They also...

Just Like Other Gods, Abraham's God Can Die.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Allan Tacca Isis lies dead. Jupiter lies dead. Zeus....Apollo....Eros....Cupid... Venus... Aphrodite... The roll-call goes on, and in their silence we forget that, in different great civilisations, these gods once answered man's quest...

Fire Destroys Country's Biggest Market.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Stephen Otage Property worth billions of shillings is estimated to have been lost when the Kampala downtown Nakivubo park-yard market, part of the popular Owino market, also known as St Balikudembe Market, went up in flames on Sunday...

Traders Angered As Police Use Teargas Against Them.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Mercy Nalugo, Abdu Kiyaga And Stephen Otage Desperate and angry traders who lost their merchandise in Sunday night's mysterious fire that razed Owino, Uganda's biggest market, have chased away senior police officers accusing them of...

Tomato Prices Reduce Amid Increased Supply.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Othman Semakula The continued improvement in the supply of tomatoes is causing prices to fall in markets around Kampala and those beyond. This has made farmers and vendors in most markets to register a drop in profits and a general...

Thermal Power Generation Should End Soon - Muloni.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Chris Obore Energy Minister Irene Muloni has said that thermal energy generation that was adopted in 2005 as an emergency response to the energy crisis will continue to hurt power consumers as it swallows huge tax payers money in...

'Land Grabbing Threatens Reform in North'.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Risdel Kasasira A Ugandan researcher on land ownership and usage based in Germany has warned that failure to address "land grabbing" in northern Uganda will bog down efforts for the reconstruction of the region. Mr Samuel Mabikke,...

Islam Goes Trendy.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Edgar R. Batte Hijab is traditionally known to be the black dress worn by Muslim women, covering almost every part of their body. Black is just about the only colour known, but designer Aisha Muwonge says that this should not be the...

Maroons Will Not Compromise Flair.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Andrew Mwanguhya A mention of Luzira - the place - is often associated with the prison. Images of would-be life at the correction facility habitually do their reflections in your mind. Actually, uneasy calm welcomes you straight...

Oketcho Dribbles Family, Motherhood and Hoops.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo On arrival for this interview, Flavia Oketcho, in faded blue jeans and a matching top, emerges without any make-up and promises to return in exactly 10 minutes. "You know I am not the make-up type. Wait here...

She Became Lame After Circumcision.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Steven Ariong Not very far from Kapchorwa town, 53-year-old Judith Yamangusho gently removes her beans from the pods. Looking at her sitting on a stool, it is easy to imagine that she is in good health. Not until you see her...

Bemba Presidency Bid Stirs DRC Politics.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Juakali Kimbale The political landscape of the Democratic Republic of Congo is becoming more and more nebulous as the dates of the election approach. Jean-Pierre Bemba, who supposedly was out of the race due to his ongoing case at the...

Madagascar Loses Shs419 Billion Due to Lack of Latrines - World Bank.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Rivonala Razafison Madagascar still falls below the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target in sanitation, a new report says. According to the report by the World Bank, defecation in the open costs the country an annual loss...

Two Million At Risk of Starving After Rains Fail.
July 30, 2011... Byline: David Mafabi, James Eriku and Sarah Tumwebaze International agencies have warned of severe famine in Africa and Uganda has not been spared of the fatal natural disaster. So far a number of people have succumbed to hunger and as...

A1 Attentive As Nyambogo Flirts With Falcons.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo Hamza Nyambogo is likely to take on extra responsibility as soon as the MTN-Fuba League second round starts by assuming the coaching role at 7UP Falcons. For now, his current employers, women's league giants,...

Why the Sabiny Are Gritty to Female Circumcision.
July 30, 2011... Byline: David Mafabi Changing the life style of the people living in Kween, Kapchorwa and Bukwo districts at the slopes of Mt Elgon in order to end the traditional Female Genital Mutilation FGM is proving a headache to local leadership in the...

Teachers Temporarily Call Off Strike.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Gerald Bareebe The national Executive of the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) yesterday agreed to temporarily call off the sit down strike to allow room for negotiations with the government over their salary demands. Teachers...

Contenders for Women's Play-Offs.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo The return of Flavia Oketcho to KCC Leopards has clearly brought the missing championship feeling they haven't had in a long time. The Leopards are yet to lose a game but are aware they must step up gear to...

11 Million Locals At Risk of Sleeping Sickness.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Martin Ssebuyira At least 11 million Ugandans are at risk of catching tsetse fly-related diseases that researchers say kill up to 40,000 people and 2 million heads of cattle annually, a government official has said. Mr Fredrick...

Police Fraud Fails Fight On Narcotics.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Tabu Butagira Trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs is thriving in Uganda in part because powerful people in government and police allegedly shield perpetrators from prosecution, our investigations show. It has emerged that...

Drought to Push Sugar Prices Higher.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Dalton Wanyera Ugandans might be paying an average Shs5,000 for a kilo of sugar but manufacturers are now warning that the prices could even go higher due to the prolonged drought. According to Mr Mayur Madhvani, the managing...

Books They Read - Emmanuel Sigauke.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Beatrice Lamwaka Emmanuel Sigauke teaches college composition, literature and creative writing at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, US. He is a co-editor of the annual short fiction series, African Roar. He has published short...

Digging Deep - Premiership's 'Best' Imports So Far.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Mark Ssali You have got to be brave to declare home cooking over-rated, because that would be a direct attack on your mother, wife or the fiercely loyal, scandalously overworked and yet shamefully underpaid maid. When it is not...

Book Reviews - Shelton Island and the One I Love.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Bamuturaki Musinguzi Robert Muwereza, Uganda's promising young writer and poet seems to be gaining more literary energy with the release of his latest fictional novel carrying two short stories, Shelton Island and The One I Love. ...

Not Up to the Mark.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Edwin Nuwagaba Aloysius Matovu Joy, has been in the theatre industry for a long time, but his recent play Lulenti Mumatigga, which is currently showing at the Royal Theater, tells otherwise. The production comes off as the work of an...

Chameleon, Nema in Wetland Clash.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Martin Ssebuyira Musician Joseph Mayanja a.k.a Jose Chameleon has defied the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) restoration order to construct a beach at Kyanvumbu Landing Site, Nsazi-Lulongo Zone in Kasanjje Sub-county...

41 Hostages Escape As Amisom Forces Hit Al-Shabaab Insurgents.
July 30, 2011... Byline: John Njoroge At least 41 civilian hostages held by Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab managed to escape to freedom on Thursday as the African Union Mission to Somalia and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces hit the...

Nation's Isegawa for the Jahazi Festival in Zanzibar.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Edgar R. Batte Ugandan-born author, Moses Isegawa will be headlining writes at the inaugural literary and jazz festival in Zanzibar. Isegawa, famed for his two novels Abyssinian Chronicles (Abessijnekronieken) and Snakepit, will be...

Researchers Find Clue to Male Infertility.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Robert Kalumba According to a medical journal entitled, Science Translational Medicine researchers could have discovered the reason why some couples take long to father a child and unlike the traditional thinking in most African...

Our Man On Spain - Lean Times Lying in Wait for Atletico Madrid And Villarreal.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Mark Namanya The writing was on the wall the moment Atletico Madrid finished outside the top four. Sergio Kun Aguero knew his time at the Vicente Calderon had come to a close. He had been, after the departure of Fernando Torres, the...

Ministers Stranded On Lake Victoria.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Stephen Otage Two state ministers Stephen Chebrot and John Byandala for transport and works respectively on Thursday spent close to three hours stranded on Lake Victoria. Test drive The duo were inspecting MV Amani, a...

2012 Census Plan Faces Financial Drawback.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Isaac Imaka With only five days left to the start of preliminary activities, the planned 2012 national population and household census could hit a snag after the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Executive Director told MPs that there is no...

Mangat Resumes Hunt for Honours.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Fredrick Musisi Kiyingi Jas Mangat will this morning resume his quest for the Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC). The Ugandan driver, in a Subaru N12B, will leave the ramp fourth as the KCB S &L Mortgages Rally gets underway...

ACC Host Gayaza in League Opener.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Innocent Ndawula Africa Cricket Club (ACC) captain Mackenzie Ayato and Tornado skipper Franklyn Najjumba intend to avoid an early slump as the National Women's League gets underway today. Like last year, six clubs will be in the...

Mother-to-Child HIV Infections High in Cameroon.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Bisong Etahoben 7,300 babies were born seropositive in Cameroon last year, making the country one of only 22 nations worldwide with a 90 per cent mother-to-child HIV-Aids transmission prevalence. These figures were revealed July 25...

WFP Airlifts Aid to Somalia, Prime Minister Demands Accountability.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Abdulkadir Khalif A plane hired by the World Food Programme Wednesday landed at Mogadishu's Aden Abdulle International Airport as the UN begun relief airlifts to Somalia. According to sources close to the airport, the plane carried...

U.S. Freezes U.S. $350 Million Aid Deal With Malawi.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Rex Chikoko The United States has put on hold its $350 million aid agreement with Malawi over what is said was its "deep concern" over recent events in the southern Africa country. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US...

U-19s Make Last Attempt.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo Failure to defeat Tunisia today in the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) U-19 Cup in Harare, Zimbabwe might mean one of three things to the Uganda Baby Cranes. A third defeat in a week will leave Baby Cranes...

City Lawyer Held Over Attempted Murder.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Andrew Bagala A city lawyer has been arrested after a month in hiding on charges of attempted murder and assault of a construction worker and a businessman over a land wrangle. Mr David Mayinja, a former Mawokota North MP...

Sharon O All the Way.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Rafsanjan Abbey Tatya Nerves must be at an all-time high in the Big Brother Africa house now. It is a day left to the finale of Africa's biggest reality TV show. There are six housemates left in the house and only two of them will...

Finally URA Has the Rabbit in Its Hold!
July 29, 2011... On Thursday, Uganda Revenue Authority was forced to go on the defensive over what some people believe is a 'new law' aimed at introducing a new tax that will affect land transactions in the country. Those contesting the idea of a 'new land...

Rift Valley Railways Posts Improved Quarterly Performance.(Financial report)
July 29, 2011... Byline: Monitor Reporter Rift Valley Railways has recorded improved performance in freight and passenger volumes. In its 2011 fourth quarter, the operators of the Uganda-Kenya railway network posted an 8.6 per cent and 8.5 per cent increase...

Cool, Kalule in Hoima.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Francis Mugerwa Music fans in Hoima District will crown July in style after songbird Angela Kalule, and Pam Award winner Bebe Cool agreed to perform in the sleepy town. The two musicians are set to perform at Riviera Hotel on...

Maize Growth Gets U.S.$170 Million Boost Amid Huge Scarcity.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Martin Luther Oketch The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research has approved a $170 million (about Shs443.7 billion) global programme to expand maize research in developing countries. The donation comes in handy...

Britam Initial Public Offer Nears End.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Walter Wafula Ugandans have a week to buy into one of Kenya's largest insurance companies following the public sale of shares of British American Investments Company, which ends on August 5. The company, which started its...

Miss Uganda Search On.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Sharon M. Omurungi Miss Uganda beauty pageant returns but with a message from its organisers promising a better event than the past ones. During the 2011 Miss Uganda launch in Kampala this week, Ms Brenda Nanyonjo, the director of...

Fans Bag Millions At Local Play.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Edgar Batte Four lucky fans of The Ebonies got to watch a play- Enslaved by Love- and were rewarded for their loyalty. Salima Namusoke, a tailor, Muhammad Kakwesi, a businessman, Aisha Namayanja, a cosmetologist, walked home a million...

Scrap Tax Incentives, Civil Society Urges Governments.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Emmanuel Mulondo Civil society organisations want East African governments to scrap tax incentives as a stimulus for investment inflows and development accelerator. Speaking during a roundtable discussion in Nairobi, Kenya on...

Heaters Get First Win, Falcons Face Canons.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Jacinta Odongo and Ismail D. Kigongo Youth Heaters stunned KIU Titans 63-60 on Wednesday to record their first win in this season's MTN-Fuba League. In front of a paltry crowd, the Makerere-based side, showed little respect for the...

UN Appoints New Chief At Entebbe Base.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Martin Ssebuyira The United Nations has appointed a new chief to head the UN regional service centre in Entebbe. David Plinke was appointed head of the centre that will house the human resource, finance, data and communication...

Defence Budget Raised By Sh44 Billion.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Risdel Kasasira The defence budget has increased by Shs44b with the increment attributed to increased costs of operations and maintenance of aircrafts, fuel, food and uniforms. Out of Shs667b total defence budget, Shs412b will be...

Muwonge is Fourth.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Fredrick Musisi Kiyingi Susan 'Super Lady' Muwonge is fourth in the International Rally Drivers Association (IRDA) female world rankings after seven months of races globally. There are 23 female drivers in the rankings coming from...

Nation, Rwanda Rebuild Bridges As Museveni Visits.
July 29, 2011... When President Museveni last visited Kigali in July 2009 to receive a medal for his contribution to ending the 1994 genocide, many observers felt that relations between the two countries, which had been tested by battle in DR Congo, allegations...

Human Rights Commission Fails to Locate City Torture Chambers.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Sheila Naturinda After failing to locate torture chambers in various parts of Kampala, the Uganda Human Rights Commission yesterday told Parliament that it had given up on the chase. However, MPs said abandoning the search may give...

Auditor General Wants Sh140 Billion Pay to Basajjabalaba Stopped.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Yasiin Mugerwa The Auditor General has stopped payment of more than Shs142 billion in compensation to city businessman, Hassan Basajjabalaba, for lack of reasonability, legal basis and supporting documents to the claims. Instead of...

Nation Seeded for 2014 World Cup Draw.
July 29, 2011... Byline: Fredrick Musisi Kiyingi Uganda Cranes' good displays over the past two years have been rewarded. Cranes have avoided the burden of playing in preliminary round after being placed in Pot Two of the group stage for the 2014 World Cup...