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    How About You Just Donate Your Armoured Car To Gov’t? – Prof. Ndebesa Advises Bobi…

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    Makerere University lecturer, Prof. Mwambutsya Ndebesa has advised National Unity Platform (NUP) principal Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine to “give up” up his armoured car to the government as another way of freeing himself from witch-hunt.

    Ndebesa made the remarks today, following Uganda Revenue Authority’s (URA) directive that Bobi Wine pays over 300 million Uganda shillings to secure his controversial car.

    “If I were Kyagulanyi I would simply make a pronouncement at a press conference that I have “donated” my new controversial new car to government,” Ndebesa said adding that otherwise, the whole saga about URA re-evaluation of the car’s tax is nothing but political witch-hunt.

    He queried; “If NRM government was serious about following up on tax justice why didn’t it follow up on taxes that Danze the NRM business company had evaded and recovered the money in public interest?”

    Bobi Wine termed the while process “another shameful move” by government to frustrate him.

    “URA wants me to pay for the vehicle which came into the country legally and was cleared by all relevant agencies,” Bobi Wine ranted before further arguing that;

    “The vehicle was taken to the Directorate of Interpol in Kololo and they cleared it. It was then taken  to the forensics department of Police in Naguru, and they too cleared it. Then we took it to URA and they did their own independent verification and levied the relevant tax which we paid.”

    Bobi Wine states that the whole clearance process was entirely smooth for one reason that his name hadn’t come into the picture, citing that for several months no authority did raise any concern about the same car. He insinuated that indeed, if the car belonged to any other citizen, there wouldn’t be any issue.

    “It was only when we transferred the car into my name that they began looking for fault and did not find any. At first they claimed that armoured vehicles require clearance by the Ministry of Defence. But there was no law to back their outrageous claim,” Bobi Wine said.

    “That is how they said it was undervalued. We understand they quickly moved and sacked, demoted or persecuted all URA, Interpol and Police staff who did their job and cleared this vehicle. For no reason whatsoever, they punished them for not knowing that the car would end up in Bobi Wine’s name! Others were summoned by CMI for interrogation,” he added.

    Bobi Wine blamed the “irregularity” on the incumbent government presided over by Yoweri Museveni. The opposition leader strongly believes he is being witch-hunted by the state.

    He said; “All public institutions are personalized by Gen. Museveni who does with them whatsoever he pleases. As I have consistently said, when you take on Museveni, you have taken on all government institutions and they will gang up against you. The God who defends the weak against the strong is on our side. In the end, we shall look back to these trials and tribulations and make a pledge never to repeat the same mistakes.”

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    NEWS

    NUP Lead Lawyer Wameli Laid To Rest

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    Members of the leading opposition party National Unity Platform (NUP) gathered at Namisidwa district March 5th to send off their fallen lead lawyer Anthony Wameli.

    Wameli, former NUP head of legal, succumbed to colon cancer and his body was returned last week from the United States where he died to be accorded a descent burial.

    Wameli’s body was returned nearly a month after his death amidst rumours that NUP had failed to aid his family return his body. Speaking to mourners on Friday March 3rd at NUP secretariate at Makerere Kavule, party president Robert Kyagulanyi cautioned members to desist from commenting before knowing the facts on ground.

    Wameli was a bold legal scholar who took up risky cases such as one of former head of the ADF terror group Jamil Mukulu. He was last year  recognized as the best human rights lawyer in Uganda by the Uganda Law Society.

    Mathias Mpuuga, the leader of Opposition (LOP) eulogised Wameli as one who withstood abuse in court to ensure justice does prevail.

    “We send-off a fine lawyer who calmly withstood the abuse in the general court martial to save innocent Ugandans whose rights were being violated,”Mpuuga said.

    NUP Lead Lawyer Counsel Anthony Wameli was announced dead on February 8th, 2023.

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    NEWS

    DPP Pushes For Amendment Of 48 Hour Rule, Capital Offenders To Spend More Time In Jail Before Prosecution

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    The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is pushing for constitutional amendment of the 48 hour rule in order to buy more time for investigation of capital offences like terrorism.

    DPP Jane Frances Abodo, while speaking at the 10th annual conference of the East Africa Association of Prosecutors (EAAP), said that 48 hours are not enough to investigate offences like terrrorism and that the time should be enlarged  or else they will have no one arraigned before the courts of law.

    “You cannot say that within 48 hours, you can be able to actually do a meaningful investigation of a terrorism case and have someone in court…. otherwise we shall not have anyone in court. The 48 hour rule should be there but we are asking….can the time be enlarged in some cases, that we go to court and ask for enlargement of time…that we have ABCD to handle…we are not saying all offences but it will be a case by case basis and not generally,” Abodo said.

    DPP Abodo added that the 48 hours are impractible in some cases and can only be applicable when there are enough prosecutors to quickly investigate the cases.

    “The 48 hours is constitutional but it is impractible for us who are on ground. It is really impractible to do that in some cases…these are cases we are saying that we should be able to go to court and make an application for more hours to cover some ground investigations. We can keep the person beyond the 48 hours,” Abodo added.

    The minister of justice and constitutional affairs Nobert Mao said DPP is challenged with low pay of prosecutors and that arrangements to ament the 48 hour rule were ongoing.

    “The prosecutors are not well paid here in Uganda. We have tried to enhance the pay…Justice Abado has been pushing us concerning the 48 hour law because in Uganda we are not suppossed to keep you in custody for more than 48 hours. The minister of justice in me wants to amend the law but the human activist in me doesn’t want to amend the law,”Mao said.

    Article 23(4) (b) of the Constitution provides that “a person arrested or detained upon reasonable suspicion of his or her having committed or being about to commit a criminal offense, shall, if not earlier released, be brought to court as soon as possible but in any case not later than 48 hours from the time of hie or her arrest”.

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    POLITICS

    M7 Vows To Deal With Leaders Mismanaging PDM Funds

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    President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has vowed to deal with leaders that are mismanaging funds meant for the Parish Development Model (PDM).

    Museveni told a gathering at Kaunda grounds in Gulu city that he will be in direct contact with them incase their leaders are compromised.

    “In case the elected local leaders are compromised, I can meet with you directly like today. Therefore, the truth will come out, that’s why I came,” Museveni said.

    Museveni also noted that most of the farmers in the district had not yet benefitted from the Parish Development Model and that he had got reliable information which he will use to clean up the mess in PDM.

    “I’m very happy today. I have got some information which I wanted and I’m going to follow up and sweep the whole garbage. You have helped me to do my work. Thank you for being members of National Resistance Movement,” he said.

    Museveni also vowed to deal with pastoralists grazing livestock without  authorization.

    “Those Balalo are in disciplined. I’m going to write an executive order to deal with them. What they are doing is illegal and I will handle them decisively,” Museveni said.

    On his comment about the Apaa land disputes between Amuru and Adjumani Districts, Museveni said a judicial commission of inquiry will come and make recommendations.

    “The judicial commission will come and get facts, make a recommendations which will guide us. That is the latest position of the government,” he said.

    Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja had recently told all Apaa land residents to vacate and prised that government would compensate them.

     

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