ELSIE EYAKUZE

Elsie Eyakuze is an independent consultant and blogger for The Mikocheni Report.

Uganda’s 204kg rolex sets Guinness World Record

Tuesday January 25 2022

A screengrab obtained from a video circulated by the Guinness World Record showing people preparing the 204.6 kg (451 lb) rolex in Uganda. PHOTO | COURTESY | TWITTER

By DAILY MONITOR

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A locally made rolex weighing 204.6kg has set a new Guinness World Record for the “largest Ugandan rolex”.

Rolex is a popular street food in Uganda, mainly in urban areas, and is made from fried eggs and vegetables rolled inside a chapati.

Guinness World Records shared a 3-minute video of how the giant rolex was made.

In the video, rolex-chapati egg roll is collectively done by more than 15 Ugandans, including some women, from a seemingly remote location.

“Wow it's really epic but the hygiene is lacking. People were stepping on the flampen with their boots as they moved from the ground,” Ugandan Shafiq O’Mis said on Twitter.

“That's what makes a Rolex delicious,” Mariano Lokoru responded.

Going by the Guinness World Record-released video, the process leading to making the giant rolex started during the day and extended into the night.

Commenting on processes leading to making Uganda’s largest known rolex, Twitter user Bersen Dennio said, “It looks like a construction site. Anyways, they have to make sure they get rid of that press-up merchant.”

East African media personality Joy Doreen Biira said, “nothing beats the Ugandan rolex, albeit, in manageable sizes.”

In Uganda, the rolex that goes for as low as Ush1,000 ($0.28) is largely consumed in urban areas as a fast food and was very recently promoted by authorities as a global tourist attraction.

Locally advanced stereotypes associate the activity of rolex frying with the Basoga, an ethnic group in Eastern Uganda that comprises about 8% of the nation’s 46 million population.

In the headlines

Ugandan author Kakwenza 'picked up' shortly after being freed

Ugandan novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija.

Men in plain clothes forced him into a tinted double cabin vehicle that had no number plate, before driving off.

Uganda’s military spy boss, Kandiho, moved from post

He will be replaced by Maj Gen James Birungi.

Kenya: Ethiopia’s peace vital for development

Ugandan novelist Kakwenza granted bail

Kenya, Uganda speed up clearance of trucks at Malaba border

Kenya lifts ban on flights from Dubai

Soldiers take over government in Burkina Faso

African Union chair Tshisekedi demands release of ousted Burkinabe leader

Tuesday January 25 2022

Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore in Ouagadougou on December 2, 2015. PHOTO | AFP

Summary

By PARTICK ILUNGA

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The African Union has denounced the coup d'état in Burkina Faso and demanded for the release of detained President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Chairman of the continental bloc, President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, said on Tuesday President Kabore was illegally arrested and he should be freed without condition.

Tshisekedi called on "Ecowas, (the west African bloc), the African Union and the international community to work together for a peaceful and non-violent solution to the political crisis in Burkina Faso.”

Kabore, first elected in 2015 and later re-elected in 2020 on a promise to prioritise the fight against insurgency, has faced growing public anger at the state’s failure to stop the bloodshed.

On Sunday, he was arrested and detained by the junta under the banner of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration.

The Burkinabe leader came to office following the ouster of Blaise Compaoré, who is now accused of being behind the assassination of the country’s transformative leader Thomas Sankara in October 1987.

The intensity and frequency of jihadist attacks on Burkinabe soil have increased over the years, placing Kabore’s leadership in sharp focus.

The junta said they will “put the country back on the right track” and “fight for territorial integrity.”

They shut all land borders and suspended the constitution, even though they promised to shortly oversee a transition back to civilian rule.

In the headlines

Ugandan author Kakwenza 'picked up' shortly after being freed

Men in plain clothes forced him into a tinted double cabin vehicle that had no number plate, before driving off.

Uganda’s military spy boss, Kandiho, moved from post

He will be replaced by Maj Gen James Birungi.

Kenya: Ethiopia’s peace vital for development

Ugandan novelist Kakwenza granted bail

Kenya, Uganda speed up clearance of trucks at Malaba border

Kenya lifts ban on flights from Dubai

Soldiers take over government in Burkina Faso

Ugandan author Kakwenza 'picked up' shortly after being freed on bail

Tuesday January 25 2022

Ugandan award-winning novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was bundled into a vehicle by unknown people shortly after being released from prison on bail. PHOTO | COURTESY

By JONATHAN KAMOGA

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Ugandan author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was picked up Tuesday by unknown people suspected to be plain clothes security operatives, moments after being freed.

A court granted him bail earlier in the day on medical grounds.

But shortly after being freed from Kitalya prison at 2.30pm, men dressed in plain clothes, forced him into a tinted double cabin vehicle that had no number plate and then drove off, his lawyer Erin Kiiza said.

In the headlines

Uganda’s military spy boss, Kandiho, moved from post

He will be replaced by Maj Gen James Birungi.

Kenya: Ethiopia’s peace vital for development

Ugandan novelist Kakwenza granted bail

Kenya, Uganda speed up clearance of trucks at Malaba border

Kenya lifts ban on flights from Dubai

Soldiers take over government in Burkina Faso

Uganda’s military intelligence boss, Gen Kandiho, removed from post

Tuesday January 25 2022

Uganda's Maj Gen Abel Kandiho. PHOTO | DAILY MONITOR | NMG

Summary

Analysts say the development, coming hot on the heels of two emissaries meeting President Paul Kagame, means President Yoweri Museveni is ceding more ground on the conditions that Rwanda tabled before the two countries’ relations can be restored.

By JULIUS BARIGABA

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Uganda’s head of Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, Maj Gen Abel Kandiho, has been removed from his position and posted to South Sudan in a yet to be named position, army sources said on Tuesday.

Gen Kandiho will be replaced by Maj Gen James Birungi.

Gen Birungi has been on a special assignment to monitor the guarantors of the South Sudan peace process, and previously has served as Chief of Air Force Staff of the Uganda Peoples Defense Air Force and also as commander of the Special Forces Command.

Analysts say the development, coming hot on the heels of two emissaries meeting President Paul Kagame, means President Yoweri Museveni is ceding more ground on the conditions that Rwanda tabled before the two countries’ relations can be restored.

Rwanda had demanded that Gen Kandiho be removed from the CMI post.

The Rwanda leader first met President Museveni’s special envoy who is also Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Adonia Ayebare, on January 18. The envoy delivered a special message from the Ugandan leader to President Kagame.

Four days later, President Kagame received Uganda’s first son and UPDF Commander Land Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, at Urugwiro in Kigali.

Details of these visits remain unknown but revolve around the thawing of relations between Rwanda and Uganda. The sour relations led to Rwanda closing the Katuna/Gatuna border in February 2019, which remains closed to date.

Kigali cited and demanded the removal of Maj Gen Kandiho. It claimed that under his watch, CMI operatives engaged in human rights abuses, including kidnap, torture and imprisonment of hundreds of Rwandans in Uganda. This is one of the issues that led to the countries’ falling out.

Who is Gen. Kandiho

Major General Abel Kandiho, who has worked at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence for the bigger part of his military career as an officer and later heading it, also worked at the Ugandan High Commission in Kigali in the early 2000s.

Previously, before May 2014, he served as the Commander of Makindye Military Barracks – the headquarters of the UPDF Military Police.

On May 30, 2014, he was replaced in that position by Colonel Emmanuel Kanyesigye. Kandiho stayed on as Deputy Commander.

In December 2021, the United States placed sanctions on Kandiho over his alleged involvement in cases of human rights violations, which he denied.

In the headlines

Ugandan author Kakwenza 'picked up' shortly after being freed

Men in plain clothes forced him into a tinted double cabin vehicle that had no number plate, before driving off.

Kenya: Ethiopia’s peace vital for development

Ugandan novelist Kakwenza granted bail

Kenya, Uganda speed up clearance of trucks at Malaba border

Kenya lifts ban on flights from Dubai

Soldiers take over government in Burkina Faso

China accuses Zimbabwean NGOs of xenophobia

Tuesday January 25 2022

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The Chinese embassy lashed out at some NGOs in Zimbabwe, accusing them of being “superfluous” and xenophobic. PHOTO | FILE

Summary

Twenty-seven NGOs recently published a statement calling for an end to the displacement of villagers by Chinese companies scouting for gold, coal, chrome, diamonds and other minerals.
Since President Emmerson Mnangagwa came to power in 2017, Chinese companies have been scrambling to invest in the southern African country, mainly in the mining sector.
The investors have poured in at least $2.5 billion in recent years, but some of them have been accused of rampant labour rights violations and causing damage to the environment.

By KITSEPILE NYATHI

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China has accused some Zimbabwean non-governmental organisations of pushing a xenophobic agenda following protests against the displacements of locals by mining companies from the Asian country.

Twenty-seven NGOs recently published a statement calling for an end to the displacement of villagers by Chinese companies scouting for gold, coal, chrome, diamonds and other minerals.

Since President Emmerson Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 following a military coup, Chinese companies have been scrambling to invest in the southern African country, mainly in the mining sector.

The investors have poured in at least $2.5 billion in recent years, but some of them have been accused of rampant labour rights violations and causing damage to the environment.

A number of disputes have been reported between Chinese companies and villagers, who accuse investors of not consulting them before embarking on projects, prompting protests from NGOs.

The Chinese embassy, however, lashed out at the NGOs, accusing them of being “superfluous” and xenophobic.

“The overwhelming majority of Chinese companies in Zimbabwe are law-abiding, conscientious corporate citizens,” the embassy said in a statement.

“We take exception to the attempt to pounce on questions from interactions to which a Chinese company is only one party out of several and stretch the questions to indict the entire Chinese business community and even Chinese policy towards Africa.

“The concoction of nebulous language slanting against Chinese investments, one-sided arguments, unqualified assertions and fake stories smells of a recipe frequently used to stir up xenophobic sentiments.

“This is organised political manipulation.”

The embassy accused the NGO of being tools of external forces.

It said that instead of demonising Chinese companies, the NGOs should be speaking against sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West.

Candle-lit room

The embassy said without Chinese investments, Zimbabwe would have fallen far behind on development because of the sanctions.

“Were it not for China’s funding support and the work of Chinese companies in ICT and power generation, even the statement in question would perhaps have to be scribbled on a piece of paper, in a candle-lit room, and never find its way on a functioning internet,” it said.

“How can a few unsubstantiated stories be used to negate China’s real, enormous contribution to the development of Zimbabwe…and the improvement of the wellbeing of ordinary citizens?”

The embassy added: “Suffice to say that they are significantly outnumbered by the Zimbabwean employees working in companies established with Chinese investment and outnumbered by the ordinary Zimbabwean citizens who are benefiting from China-Zimbabwe cooperation."

“Chinese State-owned and private businesses have been making (a) great contribution to the improvement of local people’s livelihoods."

“Dragging Chinese investors into political sideshows or making them victims of domestic political vendettas hurts the people of Zimbabwe and the development of the country.”

Earlier, the Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe (CCEZ), which represents some of China’s big corporations operating in Zimbabwe, said the accusations by the NGOs were false and xenophobic.

“We strongly deplore and oppose groundless accusations that are malicious and driven by falsehoods,” CCEZ said.

“Our member companies employ more than 100,000 local people throughout different sectors, worth billions in US dollars of investment.

“Instead of engaging in microphone diplomacy and manipulation of public opinion, anyone or any civil society can resort to legal means if any of our member companies do anything illegal. People who engage in microphone diplomacy always have their clandestine political agendas.”

Chinese companies are behind several ongoing big infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe that include a new parliament building, expansion of the country’s main thermal and hydropower stations and Robert Mugabe International Airport.

In the headlines

Ugandan author Kakwenza 'picked up' shortly after being freed

Men in plain clothes forced him into a tinted double cabin vehicle that had no number plate, before driving off.

Uganda’s military spy boss, Kandiho, moved from post

He will be replaced by Maj Gen James Birungi.

Kenya: Ethiopia’s peace vital for development

Ugandan novelist Kakwenza granted bail

Kenya, Uganda speed up clearance of trucks at Malaba border

Kenya lifts ban on flights from Dubai

Soldiers take over government in Burkina Faso

Malawi's President Chakwera dissolves cabinet over graft row

Tuesday January 25 2022

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera. PHOTO | AFP

Summary

The decision follows meetings last week with two influential groups, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi and the Public Affairs Committee, which comprises church groups that act as a government watchdog.
Both groups expressed concern over the president's indecisiveness in fighting corruption.

By AFP

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Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera on Monday sacked his entire cabinet over graft concerns, vowing to "confront all forms of lawless conduct by public officials".

"I have dissolved my entire cabinet effective immediately, and all the functions of cabinet revert to my office until I announce a reconfigured cabinet in two days," Chakwera said in a national address.

He added that the reconfigured cabinet will exclude Minister of Lands Kezzie Msukwa, who was arrested last month in a bribery case.

"This is to allow him to answer the corruption charges he is facing in court and clear his name there," Chakwera said.

The decision follows meetings last week with two influential groups, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi and the Public Affairs Committee, which comprises church groups that act as a government watchdog.

Both groups expressed concern over the president's indecisiveness in fighting corruption.

ECM, an assembly of Malawi's Catholic bishops, said authorities must ensure that no one is "pressurised, intimidated or influenced" in the pursuit for justice.

"Let no suspect, however powerful, wealthy or who their connections are, be shielded or protected," the bishops said in a statement.

Chakwera won 2020 elections by campaigning on promises to fight corruption in the poor southern African country.

The land minister's arrest was the second corruption scandal to erupt in less than a month.

Earlier in December, a corruption probe saw Malawi's former finance minister and an ex-central bank governor arrested on allegations they manipulated accounts to obtain loans from the International Monetary Fund.

In the headlines

Ugandan author Kakwenza 'picked up' shortly after being freed

Men in plain clothes forced him into a tinted double cabin vehicle that had no number plate, before driving off.

Uganda’s military spy boss, Kandiho, moved from post

He will be replaced by Maj Gen James Birungi.

Kenya: Ethiopia’s peace vital for development

Ugandan novelist Kakwenza granted bail

Kenya, Uganda speed up clearance of trucks at Malaba border

Kenya lifts ban on flights from Dubai

Soldiers take over government in Burkina Faso

Ugandan novelist Kakwenza granted bail on medical grounds

Tuesday January 25 2022

Ugandan award-winning novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has been released on bail. PHOTO | COURTESY

Summary

Mr Rukirabashaija has been released by the Buganda Road Court on a cash bail of Ush500,000 ($142), and Ush10 million ($2,839) for his sureties.
He and his lawyers have been barred from discussing the case in public or with the media.
Mr Rukirabashaija had asked to be released on bail on grounds that he had been tortured during detention and needed medical attention from a facility of his choice.

By JONATHAN KAMOGA

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A court in Kampala has Tuesday released Ugandan award-winning novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija on bail after nearly a month under detention, according to his lawyer Eron Kiiza.

Mr Rukirabashaija has been released by the Buganda Road Court on a cash bail of Ush500,000 ($142), and Ush10 million ($2,839) for his sureties.

He and his lawyers have been barred from discussing the case in public or with the media.

Mr Rukirabashaija had asked to be released on bail on grounds that he had been tortured during detention and needed medical attention from a facility of his choice. His lawyers Eron Kiiza and Samuel Wanda had submitted a letter from prison authorities, indicating that he was remanded with complaints of healing wounds and scars.

Mr Rukirabashaija was arrested on December 28, 2021, from his home in Kisaasi, by a joint security team from police and the Special Forces, following tweets he posted that were seen as an attack on the first son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. He told family that he was being detained by the Special Forces in Entebbe.

On January 11, he was charged for disturbing the peace of President Yoweri Museveni and his son Gen. Kainerugaba.

The court heard that on December 24, 2021, in Kampala district, Kakwenza wilfully and repeatedly used his Twitter handle, @KakwenzaRukira, to “disturb the peace” of President Museveni with no purpose of legitimate communication.

The court was further told that between December 26 and 28, 2021, Kakwenza used the same Twitter handle to disturb the peace of Museveni's son Gen. Kainerugaba.

On January 4, 2022, a court in Makindye, presided over by Magistrate Irene Nambatya, issued an order directing the government to release Kakwenza unconditionally. But the government ignored the order.

Rukirabashaija, a satirical novelist, was named International Writer of Courage by PEN last year and is best known for his novel The Greedy Barbarian, which tackles corruption in a fictional country.

He was arrested in April 2020 and held for seven days and tortured, then detained again in September of that year.

He wrote about what he went through in detention in another book, Banana Republic: Where Writing Is Treasonous.

In the headlines

Ugandan author Kakwenza 'picked up' shortly after being freed

Men in plain clothes forced him into a tinted double cabin vehicle that had no number plate, before driving off.

Uganda’s military spy boss, Kandiho, moved from post

He will be replaced by Maj Gen James Birungi.

Kenya: Ethiopia’s peace vital for development

Kenya, Uganda speed up clearance of trucks at Malaba border

Kenya lifts ban on flights from Dubai

Soldiers take over government in Burkina Faso

Police in Uganda ask citizens to remain vigilant as curfew is lifted

Tuesday January 25 2022

Police and firefighters put out fire after a bomb explosion on Parliament Avenue in Kampala, Uganda, on November 16, 2021. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

Summary

Last year, Uganda was attacked by terrorists who bombed different places including a bar in Komamboga, a Kampala suburb, and a western region bound bus.
The country had previously targeted to vaccinate 22 million people, of which less than half have been vaccinated so far.
The police further said that “There is a high demand for night clubs, and social entertainment, bars and saunas as well as unrestricted movement for motorists. Everyone is excited. However, we should be keen to adhere to the health and safety protocols required to reduce the spread of the virus.”

By NELSON NATURINDA

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Ugandan police on Tuesday evening urged citizens to remain vigilant after a 20-month curfew was lifted in the wake of terrorist attacks that have been witnessed in the country in the past few months.

In a statement, the police said: “We wish to remind all the reopened sectors about the threat of terrorism, posed by individual actors and small groups inspired primarily by ADF (Allied Democratic Forces). Some of these hangout places are soft targets. Although we have greatly disrupted some of the real threats posed by these terrorists, they still remain determined on causing harm to citizens in the country, which calls for extra vigilance as we go about our daily activities.”

Last year, Uganda was attacked by terrorists who bombed different places including a bar in Komamboga, a Kampala suburb, and a western region-bound bus. There were also twin bomb blasts around the Central Police Station in Kampala and Parliament Avenue on November 16, 2021. In the four incidents, seven people died, including the two suspected suicide bombers.

On October 20, 2021, when President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the end of curfew in Kenya, ending the nationwide night curfew that had been in effect since March 2020 at the onset of coronavirus pandemic in the country, the news was received with excitement in Uganda and the video of Kenyatta speaking was widely circulated on social media.

In Uganda, the lovers of night life started preparing for the lifting of the curfew. However, it was to be a three-month wait.

Their relief came when President Yoweri Museveni said in his New Year speech that the economy would be fully opened.

President Museveni confirmed two days ago that the night life, which is largely defined by opening night operations for bars, pubs, clubs, cafes, restaurants, retail shops, cinemas, theatres, concerts and transport, would resume on Monday, January 24, except boda boda transport , which he said security agencies were still scrutinising, given the number of murders blamed on criminals on motorcycles.

At the beginning of the year, President Museveni said the economy would be opened, whether the Covid vaccination targets would be achieved or not. The country had targeted to vaccinate 22 million people, half of whom have been inoculated so far.

On Tuesday, the police noted that there was a high demand for night clubs, and social entertainment, bars and saunas as well as unrestricted movement for motorists.

"Everyone is excited. However, we should be keen to adhere to the health and safety protocols required to reduce the spread of the virus,” t said the statement signed by Police spokesperson Fred Enanga.

The reopening of the country comes with an increase in the number of Covid-19 infections.

"Therefore, it is important that we carefully manage the reopening in the safest possible way. These include installing ventilation systems in all venues, sanitation stations in all clubs, increased frequency of cleaning schedules and the deployment of highly trained staff,” said the statement.

Uganda has seen a spike in the number of cases of Covid-19, with the entry of Omicron in November last year. However, the numbers began going down a week before Christmas and have remained low, which experts attribute to the efforts by people to seriously take the safety measures.

Uganda had recorded 160,352 Covid cases, with 3,474 deaths and 99,079 recoveries by Monday.

In the headlines

Ugandan author Kakwenza 'picked up' shortly after being freed

Men in plain clothes forced him into a tinted double cabin vehicle that had no number plate, before driving off.

Uganda’s military spy boss, Kandiho, moved from post

He will be replaced by Maj Gen James Birungi.

Kenya: Ethiopia’s peace vital for development

Ugandan novelist Kakwenza granted bail

Kenya, Uganda speed up clearance of trucks at Malaba border

Kenya lifts ban on flights from Dubai

Soldiers take over government in Burkina Faso

Shanta Gold records rise in throughput, expects higher production in 2022

Tuesday January 25 2022

Gold mining and processing in Tanzania. Shanta Gold has announced a 7 percent higher annual throughput last year than was expected. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

By BEATRICE MATERU

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Shanta Gold has announced a 7 percent higher annual throughput than its prior budget and expects much higher production in 2022.

The gold producer recorded an annual throughput of 834,607 tonnes milled.

“Despite some challenges in 2021, we are pleased to have exited the year in line with our revised guidance and forecasted production growth for 2022. Our robust fundamentals that underpin our business continued to strengthen with an exceptional safety record, strong balance sheet and a self-funded exploration and development programme,” commented Eric Zurrin, Chief Executive Officer.

With its African assets, including New Luika Gold Mine and Singida Project in Tanzania, and West Kenya Project in Kenya, the gold miner’s quarterly gold production went down to 12,244 oz during the last quarter of 2021 from 14,194 oz in the previous quarter.

Gold sales over the year were at an average price of $1,801/oz compared to operating cash costs of $1,081 /oz and sustaining costs per ounce of $1,439 /oz.

Shanta Gold expects an annual gold production between 68,000 and 76,000 oz this year

“Looking ahead to 2022, we’ve announced increased production guidance of 68,000 – 76,000 oz, with production weighted towards the second half of the year once mining of the high grade Bauhinia Creek crown pillar has commenced,” added Mr Zurrin.

Current throughput averaged 2,380 tonnes per day during the last quarter of 2021 with the plant exceeding targeted throughput of 2,300.

The miner affirms that Singida’s construction remains on track for its planned first production in early 2023, which will add a second revenue stream and further strengthen its diversified portfolio of assets in the region.

While Shanta Gold’s three mining licences at Singida’s Gold Mine was extended for 10 years, the licence for New Luika mine was extended to 2026.

The low-cost New Luika Gold Mine, which is located in the Songwe District of southwestern Tanzania approximately 700km south-west of Dar es Salaam, started operations in May last year.

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