A Ugandan man suspected to have links with the Al-Shabaab terrorist group  arrested in Kenya.

Fred Opolot, executive director of the Media Center, told a news conference in Kampala that Ali Issa Senkumba was arrested a week before the attack that rocked the city on Sunday 11 July 2010.
He did not say whether Senkumba had anything to do with the bombings in which more than 70 Ugandans were killed.

Opolot did not provide any information on the background of Ali Issa Senkumba.
He also withheld details on the circumstances that led to the man’s arrest.

Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba told the journalists that Senkumba was handed over to Ugandan security.

Mean while Somalis leaving in Uganda are calling for government protection fearing that they can be a target of attack by Ugandans.

The appeal follows Sunday’s bombs that have been linked to the Somali’s based Al-Shabaab Rebels

Mohammed Hassan the spokesperson of the Somali’s community in Uganda says they are willing to help in any investigations in case it is established that indeed the Bombs were set by the Somali’s.

Al shabab group in Somalia later claimed responsibility, mean while President Yoweri Museveni vowed to deal with terrorists who target innocent people in the country.

Scene of the Bomb Blast in Kampala

UPC president Dr Olara Otunu who is also the party flag bearer in the coming 2011 election, has accused President Youweri Kaguta Museveni of facilitating the LRA.

Museveni through his personal assistance Amelia Kyambade gave a lot of support to the rebel group including money, medical stuff and food for the last twenty years. He sent Kyambade to Kony to deliver the items to the rebel group using the government helicopter. Yet at the end of the day he pretended that he’s blaming Kony for the atrocities done in Northern Uganda.

The former United Nations diplomat accused Museveni government of human rights abuses, poverty, and full of corruption and segregation in government offices. ‘Museveni indirectly killed our people in the name of Kony and above all forcing us to camp which the result is absolute poverty on our people’, said Otunu ‘How can UPDF army have failed to control Kony for over twenty years with all those modern equipment at hand? Don’t let Museveni blindfold you. he’s totally aware of this war and he has a hand in it, he said. He has a hand in this war’.

Olara was addressing a rally at Coordination Park in Lira town recently where he repeatedly accused NRM government of mismanaging our country; he went further to make the same statement on radio Voice of Lango.

Minister warns Otunu
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Okello Oryem warned Otunu on his reckless remarks about President Museveni and the NRM government. “This is the home of Otunu. The challenge for people seeking political office is that they make mistakes by making statements that are misleading. Otunu has not been around for a long time and can be forgiven because he is new here unlike Besigye. We shall invite him here and tell him to go slow,” he said.

Dutch Airlines KLM and Germany’s Lufthansa are conducting test flights to try and identify safe flights paths.

This follows four days of flights disruption due to a volcanic ash cloud.

KLM chief executive Peter Hartman who was on board the plane for the test said there was nothing unusual about the flight.

“If the technical examination confirms this we hope to get permission to partially restart our operations” he said.

More trials are due to take place in Britain, France and Italy.

Millions of travelers are stranded at airports across Europe as more than 20 airspace remained closed.

Weather experts said the wind patterns means the cloud is not likely to move far until later in the week.

Germany lifts some of the restrictions in some airports and flights to resume soon if the situation does not change a gain.

Micheal Okumu: President Mao is the only one who can defeat Museveni and his NRM. The fellow have messed up Uganda and we need young men like Mao to correct the mess. I do think that Mao’s candidature will end the common talks of Museveni about the Obotes, Amin and the whole 1960 politics which we do not understand as the young generation. Mao, I now see Museveni’ exit. Be firm on your policies and avoid Besigye’s style of compaign which are full of blame. As someone who come from Gulu, I know Olara Otunu and Besigye will not have votes there. The Oculas and Reagan should back you much as they are in FDC. It is hard but that is politics. It is politics of merits and who have clear ideas to develop Uganda. Look at Uganda as one family. You are the only one who can save Museveni as well; because of your mixed background. The ”Mzee” has to leave the stage for the new generation. Uganda will develop with Mao I predict. I know how you corrected the mess Col. Ocora Walter created in Gulu. You have lived to word by showing leadership to the people of Gulu. I take you leadership in Gulu as a pilot case for a bigger task of corrected the mess created by NRM.However, be careful with IPC. Their agenda may not be good.
Long live Mr. President.
I support you.

see also: http://www.adungu.org/?page_id=132

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/710757

Members of Lira district local council have planned to build a modern stadium and airport using Peace Recovery and Development Funds (PRDP) in the next financial year.

One billion
The Council agreed to use 700 Million on the airport, which will be constructed at Anai.
Another part of the money will be used for opening the boundary of the land, the building of the access road to the airport, bush clearing and marking of the air strip. All to be done in this financial year. The construction work is budgeted to cost over a billion.

40,000 seats
Meanwhile a modern stadium will also be constructed which will be named after the late sportsman John Akiibua and will cost 107 million in this financial year and will be constructed at the current air field which is situated in the center of Lira town. Akiibua stadium will have 40,000 seats and over two billion have been budgeted for the work with the hope that government of Uganda through Federation of Uganda Football Association FUFA will give support for the work. Lands minister Daniel Omara Atubo recently wrote to the district official requesting them to give land for the construction for the stadium and estate in the district with the support of the Chinese government.

PRDP-funds this year
Lira’s district local government will receive over 5 billion under PRDP this finical year with health and education taking the upper hand in the budget. Oyam district local government will also receive 3 billion, Apac will get 3.5 billion, Dokolo district will get 1.8 billion and Amolatar will get 2 billion.  The Government of Uganda has given their 30% of the PRDP budget which total up to 120 billion and is being shared among the forty districts benefiting from the PRDP. 

NEBBI-The rural Small and medium sized entrepreneurs in the West Nile district of Nebbi are  resorting to keeping their money in metallic boxes of the village savings scheme other than with big financial institutions

Padyere County in Nebbi is one area with at least four active Village Savings and Loan association groups with more than 100 members from each group keeping their money in metallic boxes in homes within the villages.  This according to them is aimed at providing easy accessibility of financial support like loans to small and medium sized enterprises (MSE’s)

This new development in the region has lasted for only 18 months according to Phillip Ocakacon, a trainer for the Village Savings and Loan association scheme in Nebbi. In an interview recently, Ocakacon explained that despite the existence of Stanbic Bank, Commercial Microfinance (CMM) and Centenary Bank in Nebbi district, the locals prefer to use village saving scheme where money is kept in locally made metallic boxes for safety

The metallic box
“These metallic boxes are kept by the treasure of the group in their homes. It has three pad locks, one key is kept by the Treasure, another by the Chairperson and the group Secretary keeps the thied key. This is done to limit the chance of one getting tempted to get the money since one person is not able to open the boxes without the other two with the keys.

These boxes are kept in homes built with grass thatch hats with walls made of muddy and wattle, which are not very secure according to Beatrice Achan a member of Piwa Joo group. One  if the reasons they give for choosing metallic boxes other than the bank is due to difficulties in accessing bank loans, high interest rate attached to Bank loan, which are too high for the local man, coupled with Long distance from the community to the financial institutions. “I prefer to keep my money in the Bank because Incase of emergency it is easy for me to access my money from the village savings at any convenient time.”, says Hellen Piwun, Piwa Joo group member

According to Rachel Amiyira Rwoth, treasurer of Can Yabo Yoo.Village Savings and Loan association group, long distances from the community to the financial institution prevents people from traveling to town to safe their money in big and more secure banks and prefer the village scheme. She said that in case of emergency it is easier for them to access their money from the village savings at any convenient time. This was at a half a day public business debate organized in Nebbi by female journalists from Northern Uganda on Village Savings and business development recently..

Fear of misconduct
However, some group members express fears over the safety of their money which they say is in the hands of people with little or no  accounting knowledge.” My fear is that, these untrained persons handling our money could easily be tempted or taken advantage of to misappropriate their money” says Achan. She is afraid there are situations where people borrow money and run away from the village without paying back while other people simply fail to pay on grounds of high competition in the business, adding that those engaged in bee keeping projects face difficulties in saving their money and repaying loan because of inadequate market for their products

Opportunities
According to Rachel Amiyira Rwoth, treasurer of Can Yabo Yoo Village Savings and Loan association group, about 80% of women are actively involved in the village savings and loan association schemes which has improved their standard of living to an extend that they are becoming more self reliance by the day. “Women are now able to manage their finances and run their homes by meeting most of the basic needs including paying school fees, paying for medical care and getting involve in the small-scale businesses which they were not doing before.” Amiyira Rwoth, adding that it has also inculcated the culture of savings among the people at the same time improved on the relationship within the community members. She said the scheme has widen the search for bigger business opportunity, for instance those involve in Bee keeping are searching for bigger markets for their Honey and that a number of people have learnt simple accounting in managing their money.

 In a related development, the West Nile private sector development foundation is set to start exchange programs where members of the village saving schemes will visits neighboring districts in Northern Uganda to learn from one another.  ”We believe that when they visit other districts and share ideas and information, it will give them an opportunity to learn from each others and be able to improve on the scheme.” says Vunde Jenaro Coordinates West Nile Private Sector. END

The armies of Uganda, South Sudan and the DRC last November launched a joint offensive code-named ‘Operation Lightning Thunder’, to flush out the rebels.

Sources: Congoforum, New Vision