News Headlines
Libya's Tripoli gov't quits UN talks after Haftar forces attack
February 25, 2020 by VOA
Libya's Tripoli-based, UN-backed "national unity" government says that it has suspended talks with forces under the command of General Khalifa...
Chaos in the city as Bobi Wine supporter is knocked dead
February 24, 2020 by URN
There was chaos in different city suburbs on Monday after as police battled People Power activists protesting the death of...
Police battles Bobi Wine supporters in Ndeeba, Mulago
February 24, 2020 by URN
Business grounded to a halt in Ndeeba, a suburb of Kampala following running battles between police and People Power pressure...
Africa 66% ready to tackle coronavirus - WHO
February 24, 2020 by urn
Only 66 per cent of countries in Africa have put in place preparedness mechanisms to handle a case of coronavirus...
Couple sues Church, demands Shs 600m over cancelled wedding
A couple has run to court seeking compensation of Shs 600 million from Church of Uganda and Kampala Diocesan Secretary for alleged financial loss and mental breakdown they incurred as a result of the cancellation of their wedding, 48 hours to the event. Through their lawyers of Mujurizi, Alinatwe & Byamukama…
Three Ugandan businessmen arrested in Rwanda
Three Ugandan businessmen have been arrested and detained in Rwanda. The three include Bosco Nkwasiibwe, a resident of Kamwezi sub-county in Rukiga district, Dauliano Orikurungi from Kabale district and Siliaco Orishaba from Rubanda district. Peninah Karungi, a wife to Nkwasiibwe told our reporter on Sunday that the victims were arrested…
Museveni directs installation of security lights around UCU
President Yoweri Museveni has directed security agencies to install security lights along all roads surrounding the Uganda Christian University (UCU) campus in Mukono, to curtail attacks against students. The directive followed a request by the UCU guild president Timothy Kadaga on the basis of cumulative cases of thefts taking place…
Uganda's newest and 'coolest' prison ready for inmates
Uganda's newest and biggest correctional facility, Kitalya mini-max prison is now ready to receive inmates, Dr Johnson Byabashaija, the commissioner-general of Uganda Prisons Service has said. The Shs 25 billion facility sits on 5-acres of land and is situated about 55 kilometers northwest of Kampala, in Wakiso district. Construction of the state-of-the-art…
Uganda won't hand over Rwandan spies - Museveni
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has said Rwandan spies arrested in Uganda will not be handed over to Rwandan government. Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, met at the Katuna/Gatuna border at the fourth quadripartite summit to attempt to resolve the soured diplomatic issues between the two neighbouring states. Rwanda closed…
Gold exporters decry extortion by Entebbe Aviation Police
A whistleblower has petitioned the police chief, Martins Okoth Ochola, to investigate officers attached to Entebbe airport over extortion and illegal detention of gold traders. In the dossier dated February 20 seen by The Observer, the whistleblower, who says is a concerned police officer, claims top police officials have made it…
Kanyamunyu trial adjourned indefinitely
The trial of murder key suspect Mathew Kanyamunyu and his girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari has been adjourned indefinitely after presiding judge Stephen Mubiru returned back to his duty station as Gulu resident judge. Kanyamunyu and Munwangari are accused of shooting dead child rights activist, Kenneth Akena in 2016 after he reportedly scratched…
Two charged for attacking parliament, sent to Luzira
Two youth activists who attacked MPs on Wednesday have been remanded to Luzira prison. The strangers, later identified as Darfala Ssenjako and Charles Mutaasa Kafeero jumped into the chamber from the public gallery and disrupted parliamentary business as MPs debated a ministerial statement on the Land Information Systems conference.
Locusts not safe for human consumption - minister
The state minister for Agriculture Aggrey Bagiire has cautioned Ugandans against eating of desert locusts, saying they have been sprayed with poisonous chemicals capable of causing health complications and even death in humans. The minister issued the warning during an interface with the media in Nakapiripirit in northern Uganda following reports…
Rwanda sets more demands for Uganda before border reopening
The Rwanda-Uganda border will not be reopened until at least after 45 days when Uganda has taken steps and effort to verify Rwanda’s allegation that it is harbouring dissidents plotting to overthrow President Paul Kagame. Since February 2019, Rwanda closed its borders with Uganda and also blocked its citizens from crossing…
Body of missing Rwandan national buried in Kampala cemetery
The body of Emmanuel Magezi, a Rwandan national who had reportedly been in military custody for ten months before his death at Butabika hospital was buried in Kampala city cemetery, URN has learnt. According to records at the City Mortuary, Magezi was buried on January 23, 2020, two days after his…
New curriculum: MPs, Kadaga clash over Janet's statement
A parliamentary statement by the minister of Education and Sports to clear controversies on the new lower secondary curriculum created even more controversy as MPs and the speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga disagreed on its legality. Kadaga had earlier this week threatened to send the Education ministry officials including the first…
Bullets as Dr Stella Nyanzi is released from prison
Makerere University researcher Stella Nyanzi's release from prison was marked by commotion and firing of live ammunition by prison officials as prison authorities insisted on driving back to Luzira so she could be formally signed out. Today, the High court quashed the August 2019 judgment by Buganda Road court magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu in…
South Korea reports first coronavirus death
South Korea confirmed its first death from the new coronavirus, local media reported Thursday, as the number of infections in the country tripled within two days. The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement the exact cause of death is being investigated. The report came as the…
Harassing the president: Court orders immediate release of Stella Nyanzi
The High court has quashed the conviction and the 18-month sentence that was handed to Dr Stella Nyanzi by Buganda Road court magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu last year in August. Kamasanyu convicted and sentenced Nyanzi of cyber harassment after she published a birthday poem on September 16, 2016 for President Yoweri Museveni's 74th…
Gen Tumwine censure collapses as only 39 of 153 MPs sign
A motion to censure Gen Elly Tumwine has collapsed after the mover failed to garner at least 153 mandatory signatures to support their censure motion. Mbwatekamwa Gaffa, the Kasambya County MP who authored the censure document in a press conference said that they managed only 39 signatures and this is not adequate…
3 Tororo medical workers arrested over drug theft
Three medical workers attached to Nangongera health centre IV and Tororo main hospital have been arrested over alleged theft of drugs. The suspects are identified as; Peter Opua, the senior principle stores assistant Tororo main hospital, the Nangongera health centre IV assistant inventory officer, Isaac Obbo and the senior ambulance…
Two 'red top' men attack MPs during plenary
Two men jumped from the strangers' gallery in parliament this afternoon unto the floor of the house during plenary. The incident happened at around 4 pm as MPs debated Lands state minister Persis Namuganza's statement on the upcoming Land Information System International conference scheduled for February 20-21 in Entebbe. Following the attack…
Kitgum residents turn invading locusts into food
While the government is struggling to find an effective way of dealing with the dreaded desert locusts, the insects have turned into a blessing in guise for residents of Kitgum district in northern Uganda. The locals are now catching the locusts for food consumption. The latest swarm of desert locusts…
Katuna declared no man’s land ahead of Museveni, Kagame meeting
Katuna which borders Rwanda and Uganda has been declared a 'no-man’s land' and a 'no-go area' ahead of a meeting between Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame. The meeting, scheduled for this Friday is part of the resolutions of the quadripartite summit held in Luanda, Angola…
Canadian pastor robbed of Shs 25m from Mansion hotel
Police in Jinja is investigating circumstances under which a Canadian pastor, Edwin Rainer was robbed of $7,000 (about Shs 25 million) from his hotel room. Rainer filed a case of robbery at Jinja central police station on Wednesday.
O-level curriculum rolls out despite Janet, MPs standoff
Despite an outpouring of parliamentary opposition, the ministry of Education and Sports gave the nod of approval and the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) has gone ahead with the full roll-out of the revised lower secondary curriculum. At the weekend, NCDC distributed teaching materials to various schools. The process is ongoing…
Tumwine censure: MPs losing battle
On live camera, campaigners for Gen Elly Tumwine’s ouster from parliament present a unified front against the general and are loudly keeping up the drum beat for censure but in private, they are finding it difficult to mobilise the necessary political support. The pro-censure MPs have until Thursday, February 20 to…
EC clears 15 presidential aspirants to consult
Electoral Commission (EC) has cleared more than 15 persons weighing a presidential run to consult the electorate ahead of the official kick off of the 2021 election campaigns. Interviewed yesterday, EC deputy spokesman, Paul Bukenya, confirmed that all aspirants who notified the commission have been cleared. “True, we have received more…
Government secures aircraft, chemicals to fight locusts
Government has acquired two aircraft and chemicals to roll back the desert locusts’ invasion. The migratory pests were first sighted in the country on February 9, after crossing from Kenya through Amudat district in the northeastern Karamoja sub-region. They later spread to the districts of Amudat, Abim, Kaabong, Nakapiripirit, Agago, Katakwi…
Gov’t urges farmers to embrace Zimbabwe maize export deal
The government has started mobilizing farmers and companies to supply maize grain to Zimbabwe in response to a request by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The move is aimed at averting hunger due to drought and economic challenges in Zimbabwe, once a breadbasket for the rest of southern Africa. Mnangagwa made…
Isimba dam bridge construction altered over security reasons
Plans to construct a bridge over Isimba dam were dropped due to security reasons, the government and the contractor have said. Although the 183MW Isimba hydropower dam was commissioned on March 21, 2019, construction of a bridge on top of the dam that was meant to link Kayunga and Kamuli districts…
Apartheid ‘not a crime against humanity’ - fmr S.Africa president
South Africa’s final apartheid president, F.W. de Klerk, has found himself in the crosshairs of the powerful African National Congress - and many others - since he said he didn’t believe the racist system was a crime against humanity. While his comments - made earlier this month - have provoked outrage…
Popular Rwandan gospel musician found dead in police cell
A popular Rwandan gospel musician who in 2015 was found guilty of conspiracy to murder or harm President Paul Kagame was found dead in a police cell Monday in the capital, Kigali, authorities said.Kizito Mihigo, 38, an ethnic Tutsi survivor of the 1994 genocide that killed more than 800,000 Tutsi…
Supercars, houses and suits: Equatorial Guinea's first son and VP
Groups fighting graft in Africa see a ready symbol for their campaign in Teodorin Obiang, the playboy son of Equatorial Guinea leader Teodoro Obiang Nguema. The slick-haired scion has a fondness for parties, supercars, fancy suits, jewellery, yachts and the company of hip hop stars, documenting many of his exploits on…
New NIRA board demands changes in National ID replacement
The newly appointed board chairperson of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), James Biribonwa has tasked the authority management to explain the detailed process of replacing a national ID and why it takes so long. Biribonwa, who was presiding at the inaugural NIRA governing board meeting at the Kololo…
Gunmen kill 24 in attack near church in Burkina Faso
Gunmen killed 24 men, including a church pastor, and kidnapped three others on Sunday in Burkina Faso, an official said. It was the latest attack against a religious leader in the increasingly unstable West African nation.The mayor of Boundore commune, Sihanri Osangola Brigadie, said the attack occurred in the town…
China reports fewer new cases of coronavirus
Chinese health officials said Sunday that the number of new cases of the coronavirus has slowed for the third consecutive day. The health commission confirmed 1,843 new cases, representing a drop from higher numbers of new cases in recent days. Over the previous two days, China had reported more than 7,500…
Gun residues found on Kanyamunyu's clothes
A ballistic expert has told court that gunshot residues were found on the clothes belonging to key murder suspect Matthew Kanyamunyu.The residues are normally deposited on the hands and clothes of someone who discharges a firearm. Kanyamunyu and his girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari are on trial for the murder of child rights activist Kenneth Akena…
Court finds nothing wrong with Shs 6bn handshake
The High court has trashed the 2017 findings and recommendations of the parliamentary committee on the Shs 6 billion presidential handshake. The parliamentary committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) in 2017 then led by Bugweri MP Abdu Katuntu, recommended that people who benefited from the Shs 6 billion…
China urges recovered coronavirus patients to donate blood
As the number of individuals identified as having had close contact with those diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19) rose to over half a million, those who have recovered from the disease are being urged to consider donating their blood to help cure others. China’s National Health Commission reported that as of February…
Maj Gen Biraaro laid to rest in Insingiro
Hundreds of mourners on Sunday turned up to bid farewell to the former presidential candidate Maj Gen Benon Buta Biraaro. Biraaro was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Rukiga-Rwengando, Masha sub-county in Isingiro district.Biraaro, 61, was praised for contributing to the development in his home area and the…
Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei sets new 5km World Record
Joshua Cheptegei has broken the 5km road race world record at the Monaco Run in France. Cheptegei who went into the race with super confidence clocked 12 minutes 51 seconds on Sunday. Cheptegei went for this run with a personal best of 12 minutes 57 seconds. Excited to see how fast I…
National ID: Long queues a sign of NIRA inefficiency- minister
The surging crowds at National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) offices in Kololo are symptomatic of the inefficiency of the agency, minister of Internal Affairs Gen Jeje Odongo has said. Odongo said this while presiding over the inauguration of the new NIRA governing board that took oath on Thursday. He said there are…
Another Muslim cleric, Sheikh Mutumba gunned down
A 10-year-old child witnessed the shooting dead of Sheikh Masoud Mutumba, the Imam of Iwemba mosque in Bugiri district in eastern Uganda. Mutumba, 60, was shot dead outside his home located in Busimba village, Iwemba sub-county on Friday night at around 9:45 pm. According to the child who'd accompanied Mutumba to buy…