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Kenya declares Nov 13 public holiday to plant 15 billion trees

Kenyan government announced Monday a surprise public holiday on November 13 for a nationwide tree planting day, part of its ambitious plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032.

Interior minister Kithure Kindiki made the announcement via a gazette notice posted on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, following a Cabinet meeting held last week and chaired by President William Ruto.

“The government has declared a special holiday on Monday, November 13, 2023, during which the public across the country shall be expected to plant trees as a patriotic contribution to the national efforts to save our country from the devastating effects of Climate Change,” said Kindiki.

Kenya’s current forest cover currently stands at about 7% but the government has set aside more than $80 million this financial year, as it bids to increase tree cover to more than 10%.

Trees store carbon, one of the main drivers of global warming. In contrast, deforestation accelerates climate change: it halts plant photosynthesis, so the trees are no longer taking up carbon. It’s also often accompanied by burning, which releases lots of carbon dioxide.

Climate change is worsening droughts in the Horn of Africa, including Kenya, where rains have failed for five seasons in a row. The Kenyan Environment, Climate Change and Forestry ministry said it would provide tree seedlings for what it said was “an unprecedented show of commitment by the Government towards our climate action obligations.”

“It is a moment for Kenyans to stand in solidarity in the defense of our environment, it’s a ‘hummingbird’ contribution day, all of us pulling together to fight back the climate change crisis “said Environment Minister Soipan Tuya.

President Ruto has made the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Program a priority since assuming the presidency in September 2022. His plans drew praises from King Charles III, who was in Kenya last week for his first visit to an African nation since he ascended the throne last year.

“Having been planting trees for most of my life, I thought I was doing rather well, but your ambition for planting 15 billion trees makes me admire your efforts,” King Charles said at a state banquet.

While in the country, Charles planted a tree at the State House in the capital Nairobi and at the Karura forest, which is associated with the late environmentalist and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai.

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Police, Prisons team up to spread dog handling services countrywide

A total of 38 members of the forces have successfully completed an extensive five-month basic dog-handling training and care course at Police Canine Unit headquarters in Nsambya on November 4.

Of these, 33 were from the police and another five from the Uganda Prisons. According to Dr Martin Mugume, the commandant of the unit, the purpose of the training was to enhance capacity and effectiveness in the unit, whose demand for fighting crime in the country continues to grow.

“It was a two-way training, both for the handlers and the dogs. We hope this will improve our human resource and spread them countrywide to manage crime scenes and apprehend culprits,” he said.

According to Mugume, training sessions were structured with a daily schedule that included theoretical and practical components. “Dogs, like humans, can have limited attention spans; so, training sessions were typically broken into manageable time frames,” he said.

The methods employed included specialized training, such as aggression control, advanced obedience, as well as rescue operations. During the six months, training also took place in various environments to expose handlers and dogs to different stimuli. This included indoor and outdoor settings, crowded places, or areas with specific challenges relevant to the dogs’ future roles.

“We stimulated real-world scenarios to prepare dogs and handlers for practical applications. This included mock crime scenes, public spaces, or situations encountered in law enforcement,” he said.

Going forward, Mugume said the programme includes a post-training support to ensure that the trained dogs and handlers smoothly transition into their operational roles.

On his part, Frank Baine, the Prisons spokesperson, emphasized the importance of the training program. “I thank the canine unit for the training, and this will greatly enhance the capacity and effectiveness of all law enforcement officers,” he said. “We look forward to more collaborations as forces.”

REPORT

The 2021–2022 annual police crime report indicated that the canine unit is the most successful in arresting and prosecuting offenders. Of the more than 8,000 suspects arrested for the use of sniffer dogs, about 2,500 were successfully prosecuted and convicted on their own plea while others are still battling the offences in court.

The report shows that it is now easier to use dogs to trace suspects and recover exhibits instead of prosecuting cases. However, the report notes that whereas the use of dogs may not reduce the burden of proof, it is useful as a force multiplier that helps investigators identify culprits and recover exhibits.

“If only there could be a K9 unit at every parish level, it would greatly reduce crime in the country,” recommends the report.

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Kakiri community still feeling aftershocks of ‘Drone’ frights

A few weeks ago, Sarah Bakubulwa, a resident of Namagera village, Kakiri in Wakiso district, was sitting at the edge of her semi-permanent kitchen when she noticed strangers approach her home.

She immediately took off in the direction of the garden but was stopped in her tracks by her husband, Abdu Karim Nsimbi, who also happens to be the LC-I chairperson of the village. Bakubulwa’s fears stem from events of last year when the couple lost their -21-year-old son, Isaac Lubwama, in a case of deadly mistaken identity.

Lubwama was shot dead on September 3, 2022 by security agencies driving in the infamous ‘Drone’ vehicle. On that morning, Bakubulwa narrates, with tears rolling down her eyes, that she will never forget that day. Lubwama was shot in the head and abdomen with a bullet, going through one ear and exiting through another, according to Bakubulwa.

“They killed my son like a rat; they killed him for nothing. I heard an array of bullets and after a few minutes, they came to apologize that they were looking for someone else, Arafat and Abdu, but had mistakenly shot my son. I thought they had come back for us; that is why I was ready to take off when I saw you. What if it is another mistaken identity?” she said.

Nsimbi concurs with Bakubulwa and Kisenyi that Lubwama was one of the few youths in Namagera who was apolitical. His passion was playing football for the local area team and if not, he would be making bricks. At the time he got shot, he had just finished making a brick kiln. It was these very bricks that were used to make his grave.

“We lost our son; he was just 21 years old with a bright future ahead. He was my second child. He would be 22 years old this year. He was a very hardworking young man and I had so much hope in him. But they killed him and have not even had the courtesy to come back and check on us. Some people told us to go to the police and seek compensation, but for what use? These people don’t care. How do you shoot to kill someone you don’t even know how he looks like? Which kind of security is that?” said Kisenyi.

Lubwama was busy hilling up potatoes when screeches of a Drone (a vehicle infamously used by government security agencies to arrest suspects) sent shivers down their spines. Having witnessed the previous arrests, Kisenyi said that, by instinct, Lubwama and his fellow colleagues with whom he was digging took off. But after a few minutes, they came back since they hadn’t done anything wrong.

Kisenyi still cannot fathom why Lubwama was shot at because he says the security personnel had reportedly made it clear that they were looking for Arafat and Abdu, whom they pursued but failed to find. Lubwama’s younger siblings witnessed his murder and can narrate it as if it happened yesterday.

“Almost instantly, the security people regretted shooting dead the wrong person, but his younger siblings heard them say that the report should be that Isaac was also involved in rebel activities and was running away with a gun. I even wonder why they came to apologise after conjuring up such false reports. After my son, now I know many young people were wrongly arrested,” said Kisenyi.

NO ONE IS SAFE

Forty kilometres away from the city centre, Kakiri, a strong National Unity Platform (NUP) area since 2020, has become a ‘hunting’ area for security agencies, according to local residents.

Drones and mamba-armoured personnel carrier (APC) vehicles had reportedly become a common sight ahead of and after the 2021 elections in the area, whose outskirts are dotted with palatial homes and guesthouses—a clear sign that the elites are slowly assimilating into the area.

In fact, the sight of people jogging with wireless earbuds through the villages might seem strange, but only to strangers; the villagers seem to be so used to the sight. The number of SUVs with UB series number plates and the numerous merchandise vehicles all point to an active village, not just in politics but in business.

Although Rosemary Namukasa’s son is not dead, she says the traumatic torture she has suffered since December 27, 2021, when her 17-year-old son Issa Kizito got arrested in Kasengejje is almost similar to encountering the death of a dear one. According to her, security first arrested Kizito’s older brother, 27-year-old Lawrence Kavulu.

“Kavulu was tortured so badly inside that drone vehicle,” she says. “They actually spared me some of the other gruesome tortures they subjected my son to, but even what they narrated to me, no mother should ever hear that their child was subjected to,” she told The Observer.

“There were six dark, angry men in the drone with every torture tool you can think of. They really tortured my Kavulu and he had no option but to lead them to Kizito. They claimed that my son had a gun. And for one month and two weeks, we didn’t know exactly where they had taken him. We learned later that he was detained at a safe house in Bukoto and when they brought him to court in Makindye, he had a black eye, indicating torture,” she said.

She still visits Kizito at Kigo prison, but says that since she stopped working, the financial implications of such visits have started to overwhelm her. She says it’s true her son was a strong NUP and Kyagulanyi supporter, but that should be no reason for torture because everyone is free to make their choice.

“I quit working in the market because it was Kizito who used to help go around and shop the products that I used to sell in the market. Now I just dig, but the ends don’t meet. For me, I don’t want anything from this government—not compensation, nothing. I only want my son to be freed,” she added.

Some locals even suspect that the state staged an armed robbery so it could justify the mass arrests in Namagera, Gobero and Lukoma. Ever since the mass arrests, Kakiri has since gone quiet, at least politically.

“There is nothing here. There is no more politics in these areas; the arrests sent fears among the youths and parents. No parent wants to see their child involved in politics and then get arrested,” said Patrick Lutwama.

HUNT FOR BLOGGERS

James Ssuuna, an outspoken NUP blogger and supporter, says they have since abandoned staying in their homes for fear of arrests, especially since arrests sometimes come with unclear consequences, including death. He has not been seen home for months and his mother said that although she has been spared some of the details, she very well knows that her son is not enjoying the utmost freedoms.

She urged him to return home, saying the political atmosphere has since calmed down. Ssuuna says the arrests first send fears among family members, who always ask the activists to abandon the struggle so they can be spared further arrests or even death.

“They keep saying we’re involved in propaganda, but if it is propaganda, it’s not only the NUP that is involved; even government people like Hudu Hussein are involved in propaganda, so why should it be NUP supporters who get arrested for it?” he said.

On whether some are deliberately inciting security to arrest them so they can get easy visas abroad, as some regime apologists have suggested, Ssuuna said no one desires to leave their country to go and ‘suffer’ abroad when they can live comfortably here.

“You know what’s funny is how these people torture us and when we seek asylum elsewhere, they again blame us for it. But we don’t do it because we want to; those who do it do it because they have no option,” he added.

In an interview last week, NUP secretary general David Lewis Rubongoya told The Observer; “I must say that in this country, when you are arrested, you don’t know how it will end. I was preparing my mind for whatever will happen because you know in this country, these guys could take you and you think you will spend hours and end up spending years. When you are in this situation, you think about Ssewanyana and Ssegirinya, you think about the Olivia Lutaayas and you have to mentally prepare yourself for whatever will come.”

Another blogger, Motiv Kassaga, who was recently arrested and released without charge after his posts against the speaker of parliament, Anita Among, said the arrests will not make them relent in the push for justice and fairness.

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NUP MPs won’t return to House without answers, says Mpuuga

MATHIAS MPUUGA, the Leader of Opposition in parliament, has said National Unity Platform (NUP) MPs will not return to parliament until they get satisfactory answers from the government on human rights violations issues they raised recently.

Over a month ago, the opposition in parliament raised six issues; seeking answers to the 18 NUP members who have been missing for over two years, a stop to the targeting and victimization of Muslims, a stop to the detention without trial of political dissenters, a stop to the violation of human rights of fishing communities, a shrinking civil space, mistreatment of politicians and media and the trial of civilians in military courts.

Last week, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa adjourned the House for two weeks as he tries to mediate the impasse between the opposition and the government side. In an interview with Baker Batte Lule , Mpuuga said they are not going to break until such a time when they believe there is sufficient commitment from government to handle the issues raised.

It’s a month now since the stand-off between you and the leadership of parliament started; what’s the current status?

There is no stand-off between the opposition and the leadership of parliament. Leadership of parliament means the speaker, deputy speaker, leader of opposition and the government chief whip. So, there is no stand-off. What you would call a stand-off is between us and the issues we raised to the executive; not to the speaker.

The speakers are balanced presiding officers of the house. When the members of the house raise questions, the speaker amplifies that question and demand the executive to answer.

As long as that question is legitimate and has space in law and in the rules, then the speaker has no choice to demand the executive to make a response. In some cases when the matter has been around for some time, the demand of the speaker to the executive is to make a response faster to the comfort of those asking the questions.

But that stand-off is also spilling over to the presiding officers because it looks like they can’t also do their job...

The presiding officers don’t generate business. The business of that house is generated by the executive and the rules allow the opposition too to table business. The rules are clear that while presiding over the house, the speaker gives priority to the business of government.

Of course, the opposition too brings business to the house and our business now are the issues we raised and the presiding officers asked
the executive to respond to those issues.

Most of these issues you are raising now have been around and you have tried to address them without success in the past; how different is this time going to be that you expect the answers you want?

Whether there is a difference between the present and the past, it doesn’t arise. What is consistent is that the issues we are raising are legitimate from the past and the present.

Therefore, we are consistent and persistent about them. Therefore, we don’t demand different answers from those we demanded last year. Because they are very pertinent and legitimate; whether it is going to take a generation of time for a response to be provided, we want that response. Probably the only difference is that we are not going to back down until there is a response that is acceptable.

What is an acceptable response for you?

We shall judge it from the manner it is presented. It must, of course, include a commitment to justice, to accountability, to truthfulness; those are the parameters. Prime minister Robinah Nabbanja and Gen David Muhoozi, the state minister for Internal Affairs, have said they have provided answers they need to provide.

What do you make of that kind of response?

The problem is that power and knowledge are different things. When you have the power and choose to say what you say, it doesn’t equal to knowledge and when you say things that are not intelligible, we reject them and demand for serious answers and that’s how we construed the response of the prime minister. Her response wasn’t intelligible.

It looks like that’s how you hold the prime minister...

Our thinking is that in government there are other actors and they should be able to sit and see through the kind of response expected of a serious people.

Looking at how you respond to her in the House, one gets a feeling that you don’t take her serious. So, why do you think that she will give you serious answers?

You can’t judge me on whether I take her serious or not but it’s her business to speak seriously. So, when she speaks in jest over serious business, I reject her response but I again ask her to respond. In court, when a witness tries to dodge the questions or fools around, you insist that they answer the questions.

What is transpiring in your corner as we speak now?

I’m in control of my space and my duty is to keep the team together and to keep on making these demands. What happens on the other side is their business. They have a duty to offer leadership and to supply answers when asked. We are not asking these questions for ourselves.

We are asking these questions on behalf of the 18 missing persons, their families and individuals in detention without trial for more than three years. We are asking on behalf of the families of these persons in military court martial when they are civilians against the decision of the Constitutional court.

We are asking on behalf of the families of the Muslims community which is under persecution, whose clerics have been shot while on handcuffs and nobody is responding. We are asking on behalf of the fishing communities who have been haunted and hounded, whose members have been killed by men in uniform, and nobody is willing to listen to them. We ask these questions on behalf of the civil society, the media, who have been muzzled and we are demanding for a commitment on civic space.

These issues have been around for some time now; one would ask, is there anything that has triggered the current action?

The triggers are the same; the lack of concern, the desire to consider them as normal yet they are not. The other day you saw how they treated our party president. A few days ago, you heard how the police thought it is their business to allow us to open our party headquarters. We see a pattern of trying to usurp the provisions of the Constitution and we are saying no.

When we thought that at some stage the regime will back down and release political prisoners, that have been in detention without charge to no avail. The clear lack of commitment by the regime is the spark for us to say, we are going down the sewer if we don’t put our foot down on these issues.

There is a view that you should make parliament impossible to sit even for the NRM side until these issues are concluded. What do you make of that position?

It is their view, not mine. I’m here with the team and every day a matter arises, we sit and mull over the issues and decide the course of action. We have refused to be impulsive and decided to move with clarity so that nobody tries to circumvent the issues. Whether people are going to sit and elect to go without us, for whom are they legislating?

They are legislating for the same people who are sending us to make these demands. Whether they are going to go all the way and neglect our demands, it’s their business but they will remain legitimate.

What was the thinking to allow MPs to continue attending committee meetings?

Because committees are not in the control of the executive. We are making these demands to the executive. The committees are purely occupied by MPs and the questions are not theirs. Therefore, it will really be misinterpreted if we decided to stifle the committees.

We have seen NRM people calling you grandstanders; and that your boycotts mean nothing. How do you respond to that?

I think a big section of the NRM people are simply excited with power and not so many of them take off the time to understand the issues and I can comfortably say they have the right to ignorance.

My space is to amplify the voice of the voiceless and the ignorant will wait for their food, they are just food eaters but there are serious NRM people who are following these issues and are equally concerned; probably they lack the courage to speak out. But that category of the ignorant you will find everywhere and I’m not shocked.

Katanga death splits big shots

The mysterious death of Henry Katanga, a once-obscure figure, has ignited a firestorm of intrigue that threatens to expose the darkest underbelly of power and privilege.

In this tangled web of murder and manipulation, the police are doing their best to elude the probing eyes of the media, shrouding the case in a cloak of secrecy. Henry Katanga, a man of connections and influence in both business and security circles, lived a life unknown to the masses until his highly-suspicious demise.

The twist in this tale lies in his wife, Molly, the prime suspect in his death, who also boasts formidable connections within security circles. Her affiliation with this elusive world has ensured that the police, for reasons unknown, have not yet considered her a suspect.

The death of Katanga has sent shockwaves through the influential families of the greater Ankole sub-region, a place closely tied to President Yoweri Museveni. He met his demise on the night of November 1, a single gunshot ringing out in the privacy of his bedroom following a heated argument with Molly. The tensions run deep, and the questions loom even larger.

CONFLICTING THEORIES

Theories regarding his death are rampant; some claim Molly pulled the trigger, while others whisper of suicide. Yet, this case is far from ordinary, as the Katangas have managed to keep the world at bay. There are no photos, no footage, not even a glimpse of the crime scene - a rarity in a murder investigation.

Henry and Molly, a power couple influencing business deals in the shadowy world of security, were part of President Museveni’s trusted inner circle. This connection has caused the police to tread lightly, avoiding the term “murder.”

In the shadows, some of Henry’s close relatives, including Agriculture state minister Bright Rwamirama and minister of state for Internal Affairs, Gen David Muhoozi, want Molly to face justice. But other generals and state enforcers, their allegiances concealed, aim to protect her for the time being.

It is said first responders to the scene found Molly unconscious, whisking her away to the secrecy of IHK hospital. The hospital management, locked in a vault of silence, refused to reveal any details.

“Brace yourselves for Uwera Nsenga part two because both sides are powerful and well-connected,” whispered an anonymous police source, hinting at a storm brewing beneath the surface.

Jacqueline Uwera Nsenga was on September 23, 2014 convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of her husband Juvenal Nsenga. They had been married for 10 years. And their marriage oscillated between harmony and toxic. Uwera drove over the husband at their residence in Bugolobi, an upmarket residential area.

As investigators delve into Katanga’s demise, they grapple with a crime scene steeped in tampering, obscuring the truth behind the motives that led to the businessman’s death. He was discovered lifeless, a pool of blood surrounding his lifeless body, a gunshot wound to his head. Beside him, Molly lay unconscious, it is reported.

With both parties wielding immense influence in security circles, the investigators face a daunting task. As they navigate through this treacherous maze, they must satisfy the expectations of both families, each with its own version of events. Henry’s family yearns for a murder investigation with indisputable evidence, while Molly’s kin spin a narrative of suicide.

In this dense fog of uncertainty, investigators struggle to unearth a motive. The heart of the matter remains elusive, hidden behind the veil of domestic violence and tragedy. An altercation erupted in the couple’s bedroom in Mbuya on that fateful November 1 night, but the spark that ignited the inferno remains a mystery.

Some sources claim that Molly, consumed by rage, drew a pistol and shot her husband in the head after a violent quarrel. But other relatives dispute this account, insisting that Henry assaulted Molly, leading to her unconsciousness. Believing he had killed her, he turned the weapon on himself. Forensic experts, however, raise questions about the location of the gunshot wound on Henry’s head.

In the house that night were their daughter and a houseboy, accompanied by armed guards. A loud bang rattled their senses, leading them to the bedroom in a state of panic. Now, they too have become persons of interest, the first witnesses to a crime scene steeped in uncertainty.

Forensic experts, tasked with finding the truth amidst a muddled crime scene, search for answers. The fingerprints discovered do not yet offer a conclusive narrative; they may be the result of concerned individuals rushing to the scene.

Among the questions that haunt the investigators is the identity of those who tampered with the crime scene, and whether it was an intentional act. There is enough evidence to suggest a cover-up, with the houseboy apparently acting under the orders of a key suspect.

In a city where connections and secrets run deeper than the Nile, the enigma of Henry Katanga’s death is far from solved. The police dance on the precipice, carefully evading the media’s probing eyes, as the hidden forces at play threaten to expose a truth too dangerous to unveil.

WHO WAS HENRY KATANGA?

Henry is an Ankole prince and hails from Kariro, Rubindi sub-county, Mbarara district. He is one of the nine children born to late Katanga and Miriel Kyobuhooro who is still alive. He belongs to the Bahinda royal family of Ankole.

The family patriarch was a brother to former Ankole Omugabe Sir Charles Gasyonga II. His brothers James Katanga, Ntomi Katanga and Arthur Kasasira [who was part of the original NRA 41 who attacked Kabamba and bodyguard to Museveni during the UNLF days], were part of the NRM guerilla war.

James and Ntomi died before NRA took power while Kasasira died just a few years into President Museveni’s reign. According to reliable sources, government compensated the Katanga family for the loss of the three sons with monetary resources and business deals which they have consolidated to this day.

A sister to Henry, Naome Kashushani, was married to the late Maj Gen Francis Nyangweso. This perhaps explains why some of Henry’s biggest business dealings in logistical equipment were with highly sensitive entities such as the UPDF, State House and the ministry of Defence.

At the time of his death, Henry had relocated to Kikatsi sub-county in Kiruhura district. Both Henry and Molly have been running Merge Ltd, a procurement and supplies company, that is doing business with State House, SFC, ministries of Defence and Agriculture, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and World Food Programme, among others.

Incidentally, with Henry dead, only Naome remains alive of the nine siblings.

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