Maverick Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Junior Minister Joseph Christopher Kabuye Kyofatogabye has narrated how he survived being humiliated by angry traders at State House before his boss President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni last week.

Minister Kabuye was part of the team that organised the meeting between President Museveni and traders to solve their tax grievances with Uganda Revenue Authority  (URA) after they closed their shops for a week.

The angry traders were protesting against the high tax levies slapped on them and the use of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS) as a mechanism to collect taxes.

Minister Kabuye revealed that he chickened out of the meeting at the last moment because his intelligence briefed him at the last hour before the meeting that there was a group of traders who had strategised to humiliate him before the President like they tried to do to URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi Rujoki.

theGrapevine recently reported how a female trader, a one Doreen Nakirya shocked the meeting when she told the President that Rujoki’s men sexually harass female traders when collecting taxes and the president directed his Special Forces Command (SFC) detectives to record statements from both from Nakirya and the male taxman who she accused of sexual harassment. They were later released.

Kabuye said that a section of traders were not happy when he told them not to first consult National Unity Platform (NUP) boss Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) on what to tell Museveni yet others were planning to ‘Kulabisa’ Museveni as Bobi Wine encouraged them to do by exposing and humiliating leaders.

“Those people who were stopped at the State House gate were not traders but they were taken to State House to humiliate me. Never joke with the government, it has intelligence,” Kabuye boasted.

Sources within the traders associations confirmed the allegation adding that they wanted to tell the president that Kabuye was using government’s money to bribe a section of traders to withdraw from the strike so that he is praised as an influential minister in the city.

The sources added that when Kabuye invited the traders at Africana Hotel to discuss their issues before meeting the president, he came with people who they didn’t know in the trader’s circle and his plan was to declare before the media that they are ready to open the shops.

“We identified them before the meeting and we started grilling them to tell us where they operate business from and their shop numbers. When they failed, we forced them out of the meeting and we frustrated Kabuye’s meeting,” one of the leaders in the trader association said.

He divulged that they wanted to tell the President that Kabuye is very arrogant and doesn’t listen to them and like former KCCA Executive Director Jenniffer Musisi, he runs the city on orders.

He added that they know that political leaders are mobilizing non traders to be taken to President Museveni’s meeting on 7^th May 2024 at Kololo Independent grounds to tell lies to the big man.

On that date, Museveni is expected to make a final announcement on the issue of EFRIS.

By Hadijjah Namagembe

The Commercial Division of the High Court Judge Patricia Kahigi Asiimwe has directed Brookside Company Limited’s Vincent Omoth the company’s marketing manager and Atii and Kati company limited to compensate Gloria Akech with Shs50m plus 15% interest annually from the date of the judgment for violation of her copyright work.

The judge further with immediate effect stopped the defendants from using the plaintiff’s work for marketing their products without her consent.

According to Court records, Akech through her lawyers of Citadel Advocates told Court that in December 2021, she approached Brookside Company with an idea to run a campaign aimed at marketing their products like fresh dairy milk.

In her proposal, Akech’s idea involved assuring the public that when you take a Brookside product, it extends your life.

Through her affidavit, she explained to Court that her marketing concept was that Brookside would sell its milk products by gathering women in Uganda to discuss different topics and during the discussions, the women would be enjoying taking milk as a means of publicizing the milk brand.

Her marketing concept was submitted in form of demonstration videos and a document that contained a proposal.

She gave them to Omoth and explained to him her vision of the campaign and that the goal of the campaign was detailed in the plan.He proposed a monthly budget of Shs7,500,000.

Akech stated that Omoth assigned her to work with Atii and Kati Company which is an events and marketing company and Monica Kulabako Ineza was assigned to coordinate the campaign.

Omoth further instructed Akech and Kulabako to coordinate and look for the venues, snack suppliers, and women to whom the brand will be marketed.

Akech stated that, Omoth asked for a budget which she submitted in an email dated June 2022 but she was surprised when he started becoming elusive and later discovered that he conspired with Kulabako’s company to bring on board another person in the names of Bahati Hilda Sabiti to run her fresh dairy campaign using her work.

She insisted that she never consented to Bahati using her demonstration videos and proposals claiming that she together with other defendants illegally used her work.

However, the defendants through their lawyers of M/S Ntwali & Co. Advocates pleaded with court to dismiss Akech’s claim adding that her budget did not align with their marketing strategy which they used to target their audience and she was informed.

In his affidavit, Omoth insisted that him and his company never signed any agreement with Akech and they even denied ever naming her as their brand ambassador given that in their company, there are clear processes followed for approval of a supplier which commences with the issuance of a Local Purchase Order which they never issued to her.

He challenged Akech to provide court with evidence showing that she was contracted by their company as a brand ambassador.

Omoth stated that Akech adopted the material aspects for her proposal from him therefore, she cannot claim novelty and originality regarding the proposal and demonstration videos presented to court as evidence.

After examining the evidence before her, the presiding judge discovered that the demonstrated video and documented proposal passed the originality test for copyright protection.

He thus declared that the work under contestation originated from Akech.

One of the witnesses testified that prior to receiving Akech’s work, Omoth had not previously received any similar proposal which means that her works were the first proposal that he received.

The witnesses further told Court that Omoth received Akech’s proposal and that of Bahati which means that it is possible that the proposal submitted to Atii and Kati Limited could have gotten into the hands of Bahati. He added that it is also possible that Omoth passed Akech’s proposal to Bahati given that there is substantial similarity in the two proposals.

The judge found out that Bahati had access to Akech’s works which resulted into infringement of her copyright.

The judge explained that Akech proved to court that she generated her content with the aim of benefiting from it and it is the reason why she took it to Brookside so that they pay her, but instead they decided to violate her copyright and handed it over to Bahati.

Bahati is a known television personality who previously worked with Dr. Kin Kariisa’s Next media.

By Sengooba Alirabaki

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was forced to direct Special Forces Command (SFC) detectives to with immediate effect kickoff investigations and report to him their findings concerning allegations that a number of male tax collectors sent by Uganda Revenue Authority Commissioner General John Musinguzi Rujoki sexually harass women during the exercise.

Last week, Rujoki was accompanied by some of his staff who are enforcing the exercise of collecting tax from the city center to the State House to meet the president over the recent traders’ strike.

President Museveni summoned the meeting to listen to both the traders and URA over the enforcement of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS) and tempers were very high from all sides.

Security in State House was on alert because of the sharp misunderstanding between traders, especially from those behind Dr. Thadeus Musoke Nagenda’s Kampala Capital Traders Association (KACITA) and David Kabanda’s Federation of Uganda Traders Association (FUTA).

Both Kabanda and Musoke were fighting to make sure that their people are accredited to attend the meeting. The total number who took Covid-19 test were more than 200 and they all traveled to Entebbe State House to meet the president.

By 10am, traders pitched camp at State House Entebbe gate prepared to give moral supporter to their respective leaders as they were arguing out their grievances against Rujoki’s URA before the President.

However, they were surprised when State House security informed them that it will be only their leaders who will be allowed to enter.

They tried to explain to the SFC Commandos how Kampala Senior Minister Hajjat Minsa Kabanda and her State Minister Joseph Christopher Kabuye Kyofatogabye assured them that they wereall going to meet Museveni and the only condition was to take Covid-19 test.

“Many of us tried to make phone calls to minister Kabuye but he was not picking and Kabanda told us that she was still engaged with the President in Kitebi and she was not in position to talk to us, after that, she hung up,” one of the traders told Grapevine.

Only 25 leaders were allowed to enter State House and others decided to camp in one of the compounds near State House waiting for the President. When he entered State House from Kitebi, he just waved at them.

The meeting started by 10pm and a number of ministers whoincluded: Francis Mwebesa the senior trade minister, his deputy David Bahati, Evelyn Anite the state minister for finance in charge of investment, Kampala Minister Minsa Kabanda and other government officials.

The traders were allowed first to submit their grievances against URA before the big man. However, KACITA suffered a setback when President Museveni wondered what they wanted from him because he had just met them a few days back and asked them to talk to the traders not to strike.

Before the President finished his statement, Kabanda and his team clapped their hands in surprise wondering why Musoke and his team met the President secretly without informing them. Kabanda has his team immediately started accusing Musoke’s team of betraying the traders.

The President then gave Musoke and Isa Ssekito the KACITA spokesperson the green light to continue with their submission.

Meanwhile, Kabanda’s people were panicking fearing that their man (Kabanda) might fail to submit properly their issues before the president because their issues were in writing (and he struggles with reading documents) and he was supposed to follow the document since the President also had a copy.

“Kabanda shocked all of us, we don’t where he got the confidence from because he was on spot and was even given a standing ovation,” a source who attended the meeting said.

However, before Rujoki was given the opportunity to respond to the complaints made against him and his team, a one Doreen Nakirya was given a chance to also raise her complaint and the entire meeting was shocked when she reported to the President that Rujoki’s men in the field sexually harass them.

One of the businessmen who attended the meeting told theGrapevine that Museveni was shocked, to the extent that when Nakirya talked about URA men sexually harassing female Traders, the President, who was writing every submission paused.

He asked her whether she knew the names of the men who sexually harassed them because the NRM government does not believe and associate with men who don’t respect women.

Nakirya told the president that Rujoki’s men touch and feel women trader’s bums, breasts and make sexual signs after waylaying them in their shops and sometimes their children and workers see them.

While the president wasasking Rujoki to respond to the allegations, Nakirya pointed out a one Godfrey (who was also in the meeting) and a colleague.

Immediately, the president directed SFC detectives to take both of them to record statements so that investigations can kick off.

The president was also told that URA men have a vice of asking for bribes from them so as not to close their shops after accusing them of delaying to pay their taxes to URA.

In his defense, Rujoki informed the President that URA on several occasions has always interacted with the business community and a number of trainings and workshops concerning EFRIS were carried out.

One of the businessmen confirmed to theGrapevine that it is true URA has always conducted meetings and trainings with traders.

The President was briefed that businessmen and women who are complaining have been hiding the correct record of sales they make every day.

He gave examples with evidence that traders have two books, one which is submitted to URA and another one in which they record the actual sales which they don’t submit to URA.

Fred Bamwine the Commissioner in the Office of the Presidency confirmed that nothing is going to change in the way URA collects taxes especially on EFRIS even if Museveni meets traders again in May at Kololo strip.

By Sengooba Alirabaki