We read the story in The Observer about the kidnap of a UN-protected person of concern, a Rwandan national, Dr Acleo Kalinga, who was abducted from protection in Tanzania by suspected Uganda security operatives.

My concern is: Does Uganda respect the international covenants on the protection of refugees? Dr Kalinga is being persecuted for dragging Uganda to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a regional body based in Banjul Republic of Gambia; but why should this be so and who is responsible for the protection of refugees?

We read that Dr Kalinga petitioned the UNHCR seeking a rescue, since the body is the guardian of the 1951 Refugee Convention which is the key legal document that forms the basis of the work of the UNHCR.

According to the legislation, states including Uganda are expected to abide in ensuring that the rights of refugees are respected and protected, but for Kalinga’s case, it is defferent.

We read that Maj Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba was cited in Kalinga’s arrest because it was suspected that Kalinga had been sent by Rwanda in 2005 to assassinate his father, President Museveni.

However, the fact is that Kalinga is supposed to be under the protection of the United Nations. Kalinga should be set free.

Ron Musemakweli,
Washington DC.

Records management a must, not an option

The media has been awash with various stories since the closure of Makerere University.

While appearing on the Capital Gang radio program, the Makerere University Academic Staff Association chairman, Dr Muhammad Kigundu, opined that there was lack of clarity on the number of students at the university.

According to Dr Kiggundu, there are about 46,000 students, while management puts the number at 39,546. More startling is that mystery shrouds the actual number of employees at the varsity. Choruses of limited financial transparency were rehearsed on the same show.

Mind you, the university teaches a course called bachelor of records and archives management with a master’s program set to start in 2017. Records management in Uganda has, up to now, not been accorded the due attention it ought to have.

This explains why officials, both in public and private service, easily get away with blatant financial indiscretions – one gentleman couldn’t account for Shs 900 million before a parliamentary committee claiming that the files had been eaten by termites; and he is still in service!

In police, the disappearance/loss of files is a common thing. This, in turn, cripples investigation and, later, prosecution by the judiciary. In the judiciary, cases are dismissed due to lack of evidence but, on the other hand, innocent people are convicted and sentenced based on fabricated evidence.

For instance, Edmary Mpagi and his cousin Fred Masembe were sentenced to death for the murder of William George Wandyaka who was later found alive. Mpagi’s brother would later die in prison in 1985 while Masembe was released in 2000.

We have witnessed several corruption cases that have collapsed under the weight of lack of evidence. Mind you, records serve as evidence but must be authoritative, unique and authentic.

In the lands department, there are cases where a land title has been issued to more than one owner. The highly-praised Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) has compensated people in wetlands and government reserves, contracted ghost companies, roads have been constructed without construction designs, etc – this resulted into hemorrhage of money amounting to almost Shs 5 trillion.

Beyond commissioning the national archives center just next to the ministry of health, government, partners and the private sector should wake up to the realization that records management is not an event but a process and, therefore, the need to prudently manage the process.

This will entail having professional records managers, a sound legal and institutional frame work, and a fully-capacitated training facility such as the East African School of Library and Information Science at Makerere University.

Using proper records management, we will succeed in the war against corruption, financial fraud and all forms of crime.

Mugizi Jason,
mujasonix@gmail.com.

State knows who is killing Muslims

In 2015, Sheikh Muhammad Yunus Kamoga, the leader of Uganda’s Muslims of Nakasero mosque, and 17 others were charged with murdering Muslim clerics and their case is still being heard.

In November 2016, Major Muhammad Kiggundu was also killed and seven Muslims, both from Nakasero and William street mosques, have already been arrested – never mind that these have not been brought to court.

But who is killing Muslims?Sheikh Kamoga is accused of killing clerics, but he is in prison and the killers are still active. Does Sheikh Kamoga have a command centre while in prison?

Secondly, the recent killing of Major Kiggundu is  being connected to Allied Democratic Forces’ activities, but rebel leader Jamil Mukulu is in prison!

If the ADF is active and can mobilise in Kampala, with intent to fight President Museveni’s government, why are government officials not the targets, but the clerics?

Muslims in Uganda have had disagreements but they never resolved them through killings. For instance, when Muslim properties were sold fraudulently, the accused were taken to court, not killed in cold blood.

For me, the current situation is a divide-and-rule policy by the state.

Asuman Balaba,
+255742956858.

Cowardice and hypocrisy  of clerics

About 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ was very particular about religious leaders whose primary concern was self-aggrandizement and striving for recognition as their flocks suffered (Matthew 23: 7). “Woe unto you wolves in sheep’s clothing,” Jesus remarked.

In risking his life in 1978, perhaps Archbishop Janan Luwum was clearly mindful of Jesus’ admonition in the face of murders dressed up as inevitable deaths on members of his flock.

Sadly, it makes one wonder if the late Luwum’s martyrdom was not in vain since almost 40 years later, contemporary clerics, both Muslim and Christian, can afford wide smiles, dinners and handshakes with bad leaders and crown it all with national prayers!

Praying for what? Certainly not after the bloodletting in Kasese and the blatant cover-up thereafter! Are the religious leaders ever going to leave their safe havens, put on sack cloth and emulate our own Luwum?

Wilson Bbosa,
Kampala.

Prophet Mbonye is the man of the year

The year 2016 has been eventful. It started with the general election where President Museveni was re-elected for a fifth term of office.

Then Uganda Cranes qualified for the African Cup of Nations after 38 years of trying. Globally, we witnessed the historic Brexit referendum in the UK while the Americans got a surprise president in Donald Trump.

But who do we credit for influencing these global changes and events. This year has been mysterious because all our political and economic experts were not able to predict accurately the news headlines for 2016.

We even saw a famous Nigerian prophet, TB Joshua, with a track record of accurate prophecies, telling the world that Hillary Clinton was going to win the US elections. Strangely, a little-known young prophet from Kampala, Elvis Mbonye, has been quoted to have predicted the Brexit three years before it happened.

On January 5, 2016, he predicted that there would be an earthquake in one of the islands of Japan. He also said that disastrous floods would destroy the southern part of England in November 2016.

He later told members of his fellowship that he saw “a certain man trumping a woman in the US elections”, which was meant to predict Trump’s win over Hillary Clinton.

With these accurate prophesies, I believe Prophet Mbonye deserves to be appreciated and recognized as man of the year 2016.

Andrew Waiswa,
waiswaandrew@gmail.com.

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