Leader of Opposition in Parliament and also Kasese District Woman MP, Winnie Kiiza

Opposition Members in Parliament this weekend launched a countrywide campaign against the proposed constitutional amendment of Article 26 starting with Masaka district.

The amendment intends to give government the mandate to compulsory acquisition of private land for government development purposes.

The Leader of Opposition in Parliament and also Kasese District Woman MP, Winnie Kiiza, says that the opposition members need to consult the general public about the proposed amendment.

Considering the legislative role for Members of Parliament, Kiiza says that the Opposition does not expect the police to stop them went they go out to the 21 sub regions of Uganda consulting the people on the law that pertains their rights on land.

Kiiza says that it would illegal for the police to block any member of parliament from consulting Ugandans on a bill that is before Parliament.

According to the program, the opposition MPs will move to Kampala District, Katwe, Nakulabye, Kasokoso in particular before going the Wakiso district.

She told reporters at the Parliament that through this campaign the public will be sensitized on demerits of the proposed amendments urging that the bill was brought in bad faith and it is not in interests of Ugandans.

Flanked by members of the shadow cabinet, Kiiza says that the only resource Ugandans are left with is land and they cannot allow President Museveni and his colleagues to deprive them of this only resource.

Makindye West MP, Allan Sewanyana

Makindye West MP, Allan Sewanyana, told this Newspaper that the argument of compulsory acquisition of land for purposes of government development project does not hold water since government can still get land for development after full compensation of land owners.

Ssewanyana adds there precedents where government has acquired land displaced people in the name of development but to-date the land is idle. He says in some cases such land acquired by government is instead development by private individuals under the guise of investors.

Meanwhile, Kiiza also points out that this bill could be used to fight and cripple political opponents, by government forcefully taking their property under the guise of putting up development projects and giving inadequate compensation to the victim.

On the ongoing debate of lifting the presidential Age limit, Kiiza says that the opposition will tackle the matter at the appropriate time.

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The ongoing wrangles between Ms Musisi and the Kampala district land Boss Yusufu Nsibambi who is also a prominent lawyer in town ranges from the land in Kampala which is so prime that Ms Musisi wants to give to her bosses without following the proper procedure of the area land committee more so in a fraudulent manner that a man of Nsibambi’s caliber cannot accept.

We are told that Jenifer now opts to change the whole administration of the committee so as to bring in rubberstamp administrators whom she can influence upon decisions of her bosses. Upon realization of this, the lord mayor of Kampala, Erias Lukwago quickly intervened to give Nsibambi an office so as to form a solid frontline of professionals against Ms Jenifer Musisi.

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They allegedly justified their denial of entry of the child in their schools as follows: Fellow pupils might beat the child to which mother could blame the school; Fellow pupils could tease the child as she looks terrifying. To date Pauline has not yet been admitted to any school. There is one school which promised to admit Pauline in the first term of 2012, on condition that she first be operated on and look better.

Pauline had her first operation at CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital, Kisubi in May 2011. Her second operation is scheduled for May 2012, yet the schools begin in February. This means all this time, Pauline will be home while watching other children go to school! Pauline has no other health problem to prohibit her from enrolling into school. These schools which rejected Pauline, advised her mother to try other schools in Makindye and Kabalagala, but these are far away from where the child stays in Nsambya. What happened to Pauline is unfortunate. Such is the plight of children with disability. Shame be on the head teachers of these four schools and to all those who

would do the same if they are approached.

What they did shows clear discrimination of children with disability and violation of their basic rights. If this happened in Kampala where such school heads are expected to be at least more informed and enlighten, what if it were in rural schools? Children with disabilities are also children like others, with full rights especially the right to education or to be admitted in school, no matter how they look. We should respect diversity in humanity. What if such a child belonged to you or to one of these head teachers? Statistics indicate that there are over 500,000 children with disability in Uganda. The most commonly observed disabilities are loss and limited use of limbs, spine injuries, hearing difficulties, seeing difficulties, difficulty in speech and conveying messages, mental retardation, and mental illness, among others. It is observed and reported that despite efforts put in place by Government and other actors, children with disability are still treated with low priority in society. Consequently, this discrimination and neglect further erodes these children’s self-esteem and confidence to the extent that they cannot voice their needs and freely socialize with others. In 2010, Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services Uganda (CoRSU) CBR program carried out a disability mapping exercise in Katabi Sub-county, Wakiso District. Findings revealed that among the many difficulties faced by children with disabilities (CWDs) and other vulnerable children is the right to health, food, love, education, play and parental care.

Some sections of the community feel that spending resources on disabled children is “useless and deserve no attention because they are regarded as non-productive”. In the same exercise, during the consultative meetings held with the councilors, community development officers, parents and the sub-county chief of Kasanje, it was noted that attitude towards CWDs is

very negative and as a result, such children are often denied basics of life like healthcare, education and protection. This therefore shows that rights of these children are neither respected nor protected. Children are innocent; whether they look normal or different (abnormal), they are

human beings. They should not be discriminated against. All members of society should strive to protect them from discrimination. Disabled People’s Organizations and Government should scale up efforts to educate the masses about disability and basic child rights in Uganda.

By Hamad Lubwama

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The Kampala FDC offices are located on City House building in Kampala. The managers of the building, ‘Crane management’ have already notified FDC about the move to close their offices and have their property thrown out over failure to pay rent for the last six months. It would be the third time landlords to close FDC offices in a period of less than four months.

 The first FDC office to be closed was that of Entebbe and last week the FDC office in Iganga was closed after the party failed to clear a debt of 2.4 million shillings which had accumulated as rent arrears. However one of the FDC chiefs in charge of Buganda region, Ibrahim Kasozi says that all the problems facing FDC Kampala offices would be solved soon.

He assured us that the offices would not be closed as the whole situation is under control. We hear that all the money meant to pay rent for FDC offices were used in last year’s general elections. By James Okello

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Kizito says that many NRM spies camouflage as FDC supporters and sit in the city house office where they base from to spy on FDC.

However, Aroan Kayijja, another FDC official in charge of Kampala affairs, says that it is Kizito who has been stealing the party secrets and sells them to NRM.

Kayijja says that the FDC youth have chased Kizito out of the office and they will beat him if he dares to enter it again. It should also be noted that it was Kizito who approached the proprietor of City House building, Shidiru Rupereria to give them the office in question.

Ultimate Media

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Kizito was suspended from the post of FDC Kampala district chairman pending investigations. Following the dismissal of Kizito, the FDC officials have warned the members of the public against dealing with Kizito on matters pertaining the affairs of FDC.

However Kizito says that no one in FDC has the powers to suspend anybody from the party. He says that the only body in FDC with powers to suspend him is the party’s delegates conference which has not sat since last year.

By Walakira Nyanzi

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The Vendors say for the last three months since KCCA evicted them form the city streets poverty is biting hard at least parliament should intervene so that they can survive during this festive season.

The committee Chaired by Burahya MP in Kabalore District Steven Kagweya has promised to assist the vendors acquires temporary venues to work as government seeks for the permanent land to settle the vendors.

Makindye East MP John Simbwa and Kampala District Woman MP Nabila Nagayi say that this committee will do everything possible to help vendors get venues to sell their merchandize and already few venues have been spotted in Kampala suburbs.

Kampala Central MP Muhammad Nsereko says the Nakivubo Stadium was been booked by a few of Council Authority officials for the Bazaar at Nakivubo Stadium to solicit money from the poor vendors.

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