Category Archives: Uganda

British man charged with distributing bleach ‘cure’ to Ugandans

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Four men have been charged with distributing a phoney miracle cure which they claimed would cure HIV, malaria and cancer

A British man and three Ugandans have been charged and held in remand in connection with carrying out illegal clinical trials and administering people with industrial bleach.

Sam Little, 25, from Arlesey in Bedfordshire, Tim Tom, a pastor at Fort portal Christian fellowship, and herbalists Samuel Albert and Samula Tadeo were charged in Uganda for allegedly distributing a liquid called Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) to villagers in poor areas, which they claimed cured HIV, malaria and cancer.

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A brutal warlord has been convicted – so why doesn’t it feel like a triumph? | Vava Tampa

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Bosco Ntaganda killed, raped and enslaved Congolese people for years while living in plain sight. Does the world care so little?

In 2015, the international community – led by the US and the UK – finally decided to take Bosco Ntaganda to the international criminal court to face justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ntaganda, known as “The Terminator”, became one of the most feared, powerful and brutal warlords in DRC since Rwanda, backed by Uganda, reinvaded DRC in 1998.

Related: DRC warlord 'the Terminator' convicted of war crimes

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Home Office must help woman unfairly deported to Uganda to return to UK

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High court judge rules that gay asylum seeker who feared persecution in Uganda should have been allowed to remain

The Home Office has been ordered to help a woman deported to Uganda six years ago to return to Britain after a high court judge ruled that the handling of her case was “procedurally unfair”.

If the judgment stands, the woman may become the first deportee whose case was processed through fast-track rules operational between 2005 and 2015 to return to the UK and appeal against the decision to deport her.

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WHO calls for more funds to fight DRC Ebola outbreak

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Panel backs off from declaring international emergency despite spread into Uganda

The World Health Organization has backed off from declaring that an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is an international emergency despite it spreading into Uganda.

After long discussions, a WHO committee ruled that although the outbreak was an emergency for DRC, it did not fit the criteria to be declared a public health emergency of international concern.

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Uganda jails hundreds of men for sex offences against women and girls

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Campaigners applaud move to curb gender-based violence after courts hold special sessions to clear backlog of cases

Hundreds of men in Uganda have been jailed for sexual offences against girls and women during a month of special court sessions to clear a backlog of cases.

Between November and December last year, 414 men and nine women were found guilty during 13 trials held in selected courts in 13 districts around the country, according to the justice, law and order sector, a body that brings together government ministries working on legal matters.

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Five-year-old boy dies in Uganda as Congo Ebola outbreak spreads

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Ugandan authorities confirm two other patients also undergoing treatment as officials consider declaring global health emergency

A five year-old-boy who became the first confirmed Ebola case outside the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the current outbreak died in Uganda on Tuesday night.

The child’s three-year-old brother and 50-year-old grandmother are also being treated, according to the Ugandan authorities. They have been isolated at a hospital near the Congo border.

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Uganda bans giving to child beggars in bid to stop exploitation

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Kampala officials say law aims to protect children and keep them off the streets but activists fear exploiters will develop new tactics

Ugandan officials have passed a law making it an offence to offer money, food or clothing to children living on the streets of the capital, in a controversial bid to stop exploitation and sexual abuse.

The Kampala Child Protection Ordinance 2019 also criminalises children loitering in public places, begging or soliciting, vending or hawking, and bans the sale of alcohol and drugs to children.

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British man arrested on suspicion of giving bleach-based ‘cure’ to Ugandans

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Sam Little arrested after Guardian exposed massive distribution network of MMS in Uganda that was being supervised by US pastor

A British man has been arrested in Uganda on suspicions of “intoxicating the public” after he claimed to have carried out a trial of a “miracle cure” on local villagers using industrial bleach.

Sam Little, 25, from Arlesey in Bedfordshire was picked up by Ugandan police at 6am on Thursday in a village church in Kitembi, a few miles outside Fort Portal in western Uganda. Also arrested were two Ugandans who are suspected of being involved in the distribution of the bleach, which is known by advocates as MMS or Miracle Mineral Solution.

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Poor bear the brunt as global justice system fails 5.1 billion people – study

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Flawed legal systems mean two-thirds of the world’s population are deprived of justice

Across the world, an estimated 5.1 billion people – two-thirds of the global population – are being failed by the justice system, a study has found.

But providing universal access to basic justice could save the global economy billions of dollars every year, as lost income and stress-related illness due to seeking legal redress can cost countries up to 3% of their annual GDP, according to a report published today by the Task Force on Justice.

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Ugandan police detain Bobi Wine and fire teargas at supporters

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Police reportedly pull Wine from car after shutting down concert by pop star turned MP

Ugandan police have detained the pop star turned MP Bobi Wine after shutting down one of his concerts and firing teargas at his fans, according to the singer’s wife and his supporters.

The high-profile government critic was pulled from his car by baton-wielding police as he tried to make his way to the concert venue in southern Kampala on Monday, they said.

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Uganda: US tourist kidnapped and held for $500,000 ransom

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Security forces are hunting gunmen who abducted a 35-year-old woman and her driver inside a national park close to the border

Ugandan security forces are hunting gunmen who abducted an American tourist and her driver inside a national park close to the border with Democratic Republic of Congo.

Four kidnappers stopped a group of tourists at gunpoint around dusk on Tuesday as they drove through the Queen Elizabeth national park to see wild animals.

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Ads about bus stop harassment and ‘bonus wives’ normalise sexism | Rosebell Kagumire

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In the race to attract customers, Ugandan firms show scant regard for the intimidation faced by women on a daily basis

Uganda’s leading telecom company MTN has launched a new advert. It depicts a scene at a city bus stop, which in Uganda we call a stage.

A man approaches the stage, where two women are sitting on benches, one either end. Before he takes his seat between them, he launches into some forced conversation with one of the women reading a magazine. Before the woman responds, the man moves closer to her. The second woman looks on, perhaps just curious, but perhaps concerned.

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UN to explore wave of deaths linked to food aid porridge in Uganda

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World Food Programme halts distribution of fortified cereal as four people die and hundreds suffer suspected food poisoning

The World Food Programme and Ugandan government have launched an investigation into deaths linked with the distribution of fortified porridge to refugees and people suffering from malnourishment.

The health ministry was alerted to reports of possible food poisoning among people who had consumed Super Cereal, a blended food designed to prevent malnutrition, in the north-east region of Karamoja on 12 March.

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Millions of Ugandans quit internet after introduction of social media tax

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Economic fears raised as online subscriptions plummet in months following launch of levy created to curb ‘gossip’

Millions of people in Uganda have abandoned the internet after punishing taxes were imposed on social media use and money transactions using mobile phones.

A daily levy, introduced in July to tame “idle talk” online and raise revenue, affects more than 60 online platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. To use such sites, Ugandans are expected to pay a tax of 200 Ugandan shillings (4p) a day.

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Massive deforestation by refugees in Uganda sparks clashes with local people

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Communities clash over natural resources as arrivals from South Sudan and DRC plunder environment for fuel and construction

The cutting down of millions of trees has sparked angry clashes in parts of Uganda between local people and refugees who have been fleeing conflict in neighbouring South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The timber is being used for house construction, fuel and to make charcoal. In the north and west of the country, where an estimated 1.1 million refugees are living, massive deforestation is drawing protests by local communities.

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Uganda only tolerates women’s bodies when there is money to be made

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This tourism ministry’s ‘celebratory’ Miss Curvy pageant jars with the way we are usually treated in our own country

People who move to Uganda from the west say it’s like enjoying an endless summer. The east African country, one of the biggest beer consumers in the world, always has an excuse to party and bars are open 24/7. In fact, there is a four-day dance festival that attracts people from all over the world. Overwhelmed by all the heat and partying? Take a trip to any of the 36 nature reserves, trek to see the chimpanzees, or just wander and marvel at the scenery.

Uganda will do anything to keep its admirers interested. In 2017, the country, with support from World Bank, paid $1.5m to PR firms in Europe and America to bolster its tourism trade. In 2018, it spent a further $1.2m on similar initiatives in China, Japan and the Gulf states. And now the tourism minister, Godfrey Kiwanda, has announced a new way of selling the country abroad: a beauty pageant that will have Uganda’s curvaceous women “showcase their beautiful curves and intellect”.

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Outrage over use of ‘Miss Curvy’ beauty pageant to promote Ugandan tourism

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Campaign involving ‘naturally endowed, nice-looking women’ sparks backlash from ministers and activists

A plan to promote Uganda’s tourist industry with a “Miss Curvy” beauty contest has caused a government row in the east African nation.

The proposal to add “curvy and sexy women” to official literature listing Uganda’s attractions, devised by the country’s tourism minister, has drawn an angry rebuke from the minister of ethics and integrity and condemnation from women’s right activists.

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‘It kills within hours’: two die as cholera outbreak spreads in Ugandan capital

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Health officials battle to stop disease spreading in Kampala slums with lack of toilets and poor sanitation made worse by heavy rains

Two people have died in a new cholera outbreak in the overcrowded slums of Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

The ministry of health confirmed at the weekend that there were 43 suspected cases of cholera in the city and that two people had died. It said an emergency isolation unit had been set up.

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Police arrest 19 people over FGM gang attacks on women in Uganda

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Critics say police should have acted earlier on reports of forceful mutilation of more than 400 women in a month by armed groups

Sixteen men and three women have been arrested for allegedly aiding and abetting female genital mutilation (FGM) in eastern Uganda after reports of gangs attacking women in the region.

The suspects were taken into custody earlier this week after joint police and military operations in Kween district. The arrests followed local media reports of more than 400 women, some as young as 12, being mutilated by force by local gangs in the past month.

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Save the Children UK chairman resigns after staff complaints

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Peter Bennett-Jones, who was criticised over tackling of sexual harassment, quits as UN sack aid worker in Uganda

The chairman of Save the Children UK has resigned after complaints by staff that he was not doing enough to address allegations of sexual harassment.

The charity said Peter Bennett-Jones was standing down following objections to remarks he made during recent discussions with staff about the organisation’s future.

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