Top Muslim cleric Hajji Nsereko Mutumba has accused the ministers who lost elections in the 2021 general elections of turning public offices given to them by the President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni into their private offices.

He also advised the president elect on how to win back the hearts of the voters in Buganda who overwhelmingly voted for Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine and candidates on the National Unity Platform (NUP) party.

Below is Hajji  Mutumba’s opinion.

Now that Ugandans have chosen their leaders, I believe congratulations are in order, not only to the winners, but to all Ugandans who turned up in large numbers to vote peacefully.

Congratulations also go to the Uganda Electoral Commission (EC) and the security forces that worked hand in hand to ensure that Ugandans exercise their constitution rights without fear.

Special congratulations go to Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni upon his re-election as the President of the Republic of Uganda.

Let the election results be a lesson to both winners and losers. To the losers, it is time to reflect on what went wrong and rectify it, so that you can do better in future. To the winners, the electorate expects better service delivery.

You have been chosen to serve not to eat. One of the reasons why a total of 26 ministers, including the Vice President were rejected by the electorate was due to their failure to deliver services.

They lost touch with the wananchi and turned public offices into private spaces. They resorted to eating instead of serving. They abandoned the President’s ongoing nationwide war against poverty and promoted their personal interests during the campaigns.

Their arrogance created a huge barrier between the wananchi and the President’s office, leading to NRM’s poor performance in most parts of Buganda.

The poor performance by both the President and NRM in Buganda should not be ignored or downplayed. Buganda remains central to Uganda, as the largest and most influential region especially in regard to its historical and key role in shaping the politics of Ugandan.

If Uganda was a person, Buganda would be the head. I therefore call upon the President to ignore elements that are downplaying NRM’s poor performance in Buganda. NRM needs Buganda and Buganda needs NRM.

There should therefore be concerted efforts to re-engage Buganda with the aim of covering the fault line that is developing between the two entities. The success of this initiative will depend on who the President picks in his next cabinet.

The President should also revive direct communication with wananchi through the PIN initiative that used to be headed by Maj. Samuel Kamya Ssebyatika.

Through PIN, it was easy for the wananchi to meet or pass on key information to the President. The channel was dropped after Hon. Karooro Okurut left the Security Ministry. This basically cut off the wananchi from the President, denying him valuable information from the grass-root.

It is therefore not surprising that NRM performed poorly in areas like Luwero where it needed to do better or even win. Therefore, going forward, the President should seriously consider meeting grass root cadres directly as he used to do in the past whenever he visited a particular place.

He should also instruct the Security Minister to revive and facilitate the PIN initiative. Many cadres and veterans are demoralized because some of his current handlers either deny them access or do not pass on their information to him.

Controversial city lawyer Hassan Male Mabirizi has challenged president Yoweri Museveni’s government in the East African Court of Justice for trying civilians supporting National Unity Platform (NUP) party presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine in the general Court Martial.

In his petition, Mabirizi claimed that it was unlawful and an infringement on the fundamental and operational principles of the East African Community to try civilians in a military court.

“Subjecting non-members of Uganda Peoples Defence Forces to military tribunals undermined their inherent right to fair hearing since as non-members of the Force, it is not possible to know the usages and practices of the tribunal to enable the accused properly follow the proceedings and to defend him/herself,” Mabirizi stated.

He insisted that Court Martial is not a Court of Judicature and was established to try military men and trying civilians in it undermines the principle of Rule of Law since the Uganda Constitution has never envisaged that non-members of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces should be subjected to martial law.

Early this month, 49 supporters of Bobi Wine who included his private body guard Eddy Mutwe and private assistant Nubian Li were charged with unlawful possession of an AK47 gun which violates military law under section 119(1)(h)(1) of the UPDF Act of 2005.

Mabirizi further challenged the deployment of the military during 2021 general elections and the switch off the internet and mobile money services.

He also wants the regional Court to declare Uganda’s 2021 general elections illegal because it was presided over by the illegal chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission.

He insisted that Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama didn’t resign as the Court of Appeal Justice before taking over the position of the chairperson of the electoral commission.

The Government of Uganda through the Attorney General is not yet put in his defence.

By Sengooba Alirabaki

Makerere University school of Economics don Dr. Joseph Wasswa has dragged city law firm to the law council for meddling with the properties of the late mayor’s properties.

In his petition, Dr. Wasswa, who claims to be legally appointed by Court to administer the estate of his father the late John Matovu Tebyasa, the former mayor of Masaka City accuses Ligomarc Advocates of acting unprofessional in dealing with their father’s estate.

He revealed that the law firm without his permission initiated a process of lease renewal of the deceased’s property on Buddu Block 321 plot 25 in Masaka city.

“Note also the fraudulent manner in which Ligomarc Advocates seek to state that on the appointment of Administrator, he or she should procure a special certificate of title for the same. It is my understanding that special titles are issued where an existing duplicate title cannot be found,” the petition reads in part.

He revealed that fraudulently, the law firm connived with Masaka district land board to obtain the duplicate title in the meeting held on 23 March, 2016.

Wasswa insisted that Ligomarc Advocates based on false documents to obtain the said special certificate of land title, he wants the law council to investigate the matter.

Before his death, Tebyasa was first declared a person of unsound mind in 2013, he died in 2018.

However, in their defense, Ligomarc Advocates described the petition as false, malicious and malafide and prayed that it is dismissed.

They stated that in 2016, they were hired by Adrona Nyindombi, the second wife to the late Tebyasa and her daughter to secure their interests in the said land whose lease was about to expire.

They explained that as lawyers, they based on documents presented to them by their clients which indicated that the late Tebyasa bought the said land in 1967 on lease which was to expire in 2016.

The law firm admitted that it was a mistake for them to secure a special certificate of a land title when there was an existing one.

By Sengooba Alirabaki