What brews conflicts in Rwenzori region?

Some of the residents of the affected areas shift to Bundibugyo Town for their safety last week. 

By Felix Basiime, Enid Ninsiima & Scovia Atuhaire

Posted  Tuesday, March 15  2016 at  13:50

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/Brews-conflicts-Rwenzori-region/-/691232/3119766/-/xfw11uz/-/index.html

IN SUMMARY

Conflicts in the region started in 2009 when government recognised Charles Wesley Mumbere as the King of the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu Kingdom. This was not welcomed by the Basongora and Banyabindi in Kasese as well as Bawisi and Bamba in Bundibugyo District. On July 11, 2012, an attack at Muhokya Police Station in Kasese left five people dead after the Basongora installed their king, the Late Ivan Bwebale Rwigi IV. The attackers fled with Bwebale’s regalia.

Ms Gorreti Nsonisyabo, 30, is admitted with her eight- month-old baby boy to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital nursing deep cuts.

They are residents of Busengerwa, Kirundi Parish in Bundibugyo District. She is a mother of six children.

On the night of February 26, she was attacked by panga-wielding men. The attackers killed her four daughters but she narrowly escaped death with her baby boy. She says her husband was not at home at the time of the attack.

“Before the LC5 elections, there was no sign of violence. After two days, I saw two men in my compound holding knives, pangas and a spear in the middle of the night. My husband was not around. I entered the house but people kept on increasing in our compound,” she says.

“Two men forced themselves into my house and started cutting me. I fell down with my baby who I was carrying. He was cut on the left thigh,” Nsonisyabo says, adding that the men thought they had died.

“Then they killed my four daughters who were also in the house before they left,” Nsonisyabo narrates.

She says her in-law who later came to the house called the police who took her to Bundibugyo hospital and she was later transferred to Fort Portal hospital.

Mr Coleneli Kisembo, 31, also one of the victims admitted to the same hospital, says on the day of elections (February 24), he slept in the bush fearing for his life. He hails from Kasulenge II village, Bundimulange parish, Kirumya Sub-county.

“At night, when they first announced Jolly Tibemanya (the incumbent LC5 chairman and independent) as the winner, the supporters of a rival candidate picked knives, pangas and spears and started killing people,” he says.

He adds; “At 3pm on Friday (February 26), I was at home, I saw a gang carrying knives, pangas and iron bars. They said, ‘this is also a Mudhingiya (King Kamya’s subject), kill him’.”
The attackers first ate everything edible in Kisembo’s shop before they started cutting me,” he recalls.

“When I fell down, the attackers thought I had died and they ran away. My wife made an alarm and the chairperson LC1 came and called police that took me to the hospital,” he adds.

Both Nsonisyabo and Kisembo are some of the several victims of the post-election violence that erupted in Bundibugyo District two weeks ago following announcements of the results in which the incumbent Mr Tibemanya lost to Mr Ronald Mutegeki in a hotly contested race.

According to the Rwenzori Region police commander, Mr Dennis Namuwoza, the clashes and tension in the district sparked off from the provisional results released by the district returning officer, Mr Daniel Nayebare.

He says Nayebare first announced Tibemanya as leading on the polling night before he declared Mr Mutegeki winner the next day. This led to jubilation in both camps and later clashes leaving more than 10 people dead, several others injured and houses torched.

However, Nayebare reasons that the first declaration was a result of a mismatch of only three polling stations but after it was corrected, Mutegeki won by a 300-vote margin.

“It is not true that I declared two people but there is a difference between announcing and declaring. 

People started celebrating as we were announcing results. They were at the tally centre and as I was about to declare the winner, we realised that some presiding officers had changed the order of the candidates’ names on the Results Declaration Forms. We were forced to delete all we had tallied to re-tally but not recount until we declared the rightful winner,” explains Nayebare.

Nayebare also reasons that the clashes were not entirely related to the LC5 elections rather tribal differences that had been brewing ahead of the elections. These hit fever the climax on the day of elections.

Centre of conflict
However, all these clashes are just a tip of the ice bag indicating a bigger problem in the region; an unresolved set of conflicts cutting across the entire Rwenzori sub-region that usually cause insecurity and affect the voting patterns during elections.

Opinion leaders in the region say after the July 5, 2014 attacks in Kasese, Ntoroko and Bundibugyo districts in which more than 90 people were killed and several others injured, government did not address the causes of the attacks and the measures later used to stem off the conflict were just cosmetic.

For the last four years, Rwenzori sub-region has been the centre of tribal conflicts, especially in Kasese and Bundibugyo following government’s recognition of cultural institutions that never existed before.

Conflicts in the region started in 2009 when government recognised Charles Wesley Mumbere as the King of the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu (OBR) Kingdom. This was not welcomed by the Basongora and Banyabindi in Kasese as well as Bawisi and Bamba in Bundibugyo District.

On July 11, 2012, there was an attack at Muhokya Police Station in Kasese which left more than five people dead after the Basongora installed their king, the Late Ivan Bwebale Rwigi IV. The attackers fled with Bwebale’s regalia.

On several occasions, King Mumbere has been blocked to freely meet his subjects in some parts of Kasese and Bundibugyo districts. Other tribes in some of these areas say they do not pay allegiance to the Rwenzururu king.

On June 30, 2012, the first clashes in Bundibugyo ensued after King Charles Mumbere visited the area and among others set up a shrine and raised the kingdom flag at his father’s home area in Kirindi, Busaru, Bwamba County. Mumbere was celebrating his kingdom’s Peace Day at Kirindi, the area believed to be historical to their kingdom.

This action did not go down well with the Bamba and Bawisi as they believed that Mumbere’s move was intended to conquer their territory. This was followed by clashes between Bamba and Bakonzo.

On May 30, 2014, government recognised Lt Col Martin Kamya as the first King of the new cultural institution; Obudingiya Bwa Bwamba (OBB).

This was also followed by simultaneous attacks on July 5, 2014 in the three districts but mainly centred in Bundibugyo and Kasese.

The attacks were led by spear and panga wielding youths who in broad day light attacked the army barracks at Kanyamwirima in Bundibugyo and several other police stations in the three districts.

Some of the Bakonzo then claimed that government was oppressing them by creating other cultural institutions in their area of jurisdiction and leaving Mumbere in one district of Kasese.

One of the recent clash victims in Bundibugyo, Mr Daniel Bailinga, from Kirumya Sub-county reasoned; “Government pardoned people who never appreciated the amnesty accorded to them since then, a majority of them have gone back to the mountains for re-training to carry out similar acts”.
Mr Bailinga attributes the recent clashes allegedly as revenge by some annoyed Bakonzo who lost their loved ones during the July 5, 2014 attacks that claimed some people in Kirumya.

“We have been seeing some youths mobilising with the help of some local leaders to the extent of relocating them to Kisege in Itojo Sub-county, Ntoroko District. We reported to police earlier but they ignored our reports saying they are tired of us,” Bailinga says.

Bailanga’s claims have been confirmed by the Ntoroko Resident District Commissioner, Mr Wilson Isingoma but says they are closely monitoring the situation in the area.

“It is true Kisege is full of immigrants from Congo and Bundibugyo due to tribal tensions but we are monitoring them closely. We have written reports and we believe that we are going to take action,” he says.

Mr Bailinga also attributes the recent attacks to some OBB officials who he says backed some politicians in the process dividing subjects further.

But deputy premier of OBB Rev. Tomas Kamuhanda says they never mobilised their people to kill others apart from telling them to support government given the historical attachment Bundibugyo has with the government.

“Why should people of Kasese come to Bundibugyo to destabilise us by influencing the communities to rebel against government and their neighbours? We shall not sit and watch,” Rev Kamuhanda observes.

But Mr Edward Mumbere, a former Rwenzururu kingdom minister and former Bundibugyo NRM district chairperson attributes the current conflict to the alleged mismanagement of the NRM primary elections that brought back the July 5, 2014 memories. He says the last NRM primaries were allegedly based on ethnic lines.

“These people (OBB) made an agreement before the recognition of the kingdom that since the Omudingiya (King) and the premier were Bawisi, the LC5 chairperson should be a Mwamba in order to balance the responsibilities. That is why the OBB officials meddled into politics to back the incumbent LC5 chairman to maintain their stand but were resisted,” reasoned Mumbere.

However, Mumbere’s claims have been rejected by the OBB spokesperson Rev. Geoffrey Kyomuhendo as baseless.

“There is no such agreement at all,” Rev Kyomuhendo said, adding, “OBB refutes these allegations and considers all this to be malicious propaganda intended to tarnish the name and image of our cultural institution.”

“What happened was not clashes between Bamba and Bakonzo but it was Bakonzo militia group commonly known as “Esyomango” who jealously invaded some Bwamba homes and started butchering people, burning houses and forcefully evicting Bamba from their homes hence causing displacements especially among the Bamba communities,” Rev Kyomuhendo adds.

Rev Kamuhanda observes that the recent clashes were not as a result of the election results but a continuation of the July 5, 2014 attacks.

After the 2014 attacks, government arrested hundreds of suspected attackers in Bundibugyo, Ntoroko and Kasese districts and paraded them before the army general court martial that was sitting in Kasese and Bundibugyo towns.

The suspects were later freed after government said they had lost interest in the case. Other hundreds who had fled into hiding fearing arrests, returned after government set an amnesty.

Other opinion leaders in the region observe that government releasing the suspects while not arresting others is another source of conflict. They believe the government is taking sides with some categories of people.

Government in 1993 restored monarchy through the Constituent assembly (CA) and the restored institutions along the way have been used by the sitting government to gain political capital. In some areas it has worked but not in others.

Possible solutions to the conflicts

Seeing all this bounce back in a vicious circle, a question arises, was justice ever achieved after the 2014 attacks and if not, what needs to be done to bring back normalcy in the region.

Mr Edward Mumbere, a former Rwenzururu kingdom minister appeals to government to have a clear policy on the establishment of cultural institutions reasoning that until government realizes that cultural institutions are not supposed to have established governments, their issues will never end.

“Why should for example cultural institutions have defense ministers and other ministries not related to culture. As long as this still exists, 

those ministries will keep on colliding with government ministries” Mumbere observes.
He also wants government to stop using cultural institutions as a stepping stone to achieve its political agendas.

“Cultural institutions in the region are being used as a political platform at the expense of people’s lives” he says.

He advises the cultural institutions in Uganda and especially in Rwenzori to operate like the Asante in Ghana where he says is purely cultural and should leave politics outside their operations.

Bailinga wants government to replace all the police officers hailing from Bundibugyo District for their alleged failure to protect the lives and property of the people during the recent clashes and should restrain some people from Kasese who come to Bundibugyo to plant seeds of discord to the people under pretense of peace building.

Rev. Kyomuhendo believes that a cultural dialogue should be held in order to bring matters on board but their efforts to hold one has always failed by their counterparts in other cultural institutions. He says they have issues which have not been known and need to be investigated by government. 

Bible inspires Fort Portal new mayor

The Rev Willy Kintu Muhanga, the new Fort Portal mayor. Photo by Scovia Atuhaire 

By Felix Basiime & Scovia Atuhaire

Posted  Saturday, March 12   2016 at  02:00

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Bible-inspires-Fort-Portal-new-mayor/-/688334/3113110/-/90b2cgz/-/index.html

The Rev Willy Kintu Muhanga Ateenyi, 36, (Independent) is the new Fort Portal municipality mayor. He took the town by storm when he was elected last week replacing Asaba Ruyonga (NRM), who has been in office for the last 15 years. Hundreds of his supporters jubilated for two consecutive days paralysing business in the town centre. 

Rev Muhanga was born on June 19, 1980. He is the only child in the family of Steven Kintu and Kate Kezabu of Kigwengwe, Karambi, Burahya County in Kabarole District.

He went to Mukumbwe Primary School for Primary One and Primary Two from 1990 to 1991, before he joining St Peter and Paul Primary School Virika for Primary Three to Primary Seven from 1992 to 1996.

He was at Global Skills SS from S.1 to S.3 and later Rukidi III SS, where he completed O-Level before joining Mpanga SS for A-Level in Fort Portal.In 2003, he joined Uganda Christian University Mukono for a Bachelor’s degree in Divinity and Theology and graduated in 2008. On January 10, 2009, Rev Muhanga got married to Ms Rosette Muhanga, a teacher, and the couple now has three children. 

After university, he became the Chaplain’s Bishop of Rwenzori Diocese between 2009 and 2010 before he became a youth worker at Rwenzori Diocese in 2011.

He later became the Parish priest for Kagote Church of Uganda and Kidukuru from 2011 to 2014.

When asked to describe himself, Rev Muhanga says: “I am God-fearing, humble, with a lot of listening skills and friendly to everyone.”

He believes that the secret of good parenting is creating an environment that is child-friendly and giving much time to children.

“Because children learn a lot from their parents and imparting the fear of God upon their lives, I take my family as my first priority,” he says.
During his leisure time, Rev Muhanga likes watching television, especially watching football and he is an Arsenal fan. He likes listening to gospel music and also likes being with his family.

From church to politics

His dream to join politics started from a tender age when he was still in primary school.

“I aspired to join politics because I love politics and politics is my passion. I was the class captain from primary three to primary seven,” he says, adding: “I like being with my people, serving them and working with them and that’s why I decided to go for mayoral seat”.

He was inspired by the Bible, especially Proverbs chapter 29: 2, which says, “When the righteous are in authority, people rejoice but when the wicked rule, people drown”.
Rev Muhanga says politics and church go hand in hand.

“Right away from creation, man was created as a leader. Genesis 1:26-28, God commanded man to rule all creation ‘dominion’ and in theology they train the whole man both physically and spiritually,” he says.

During his term in office, Rev Muhanga expects to be a servant of the people; to serve and not to be served and bring service delivery to the people of Fort Portal municipality.

Apart from being a priest, Muhanga is the youngest mayor Fort Portal has ever had.
“I want to be a role model to the youth because I am not far from the youth age bracket,” he says.

His priorities and plans

Bringing together the people of Fort Portal for the development of the area, the religious and business community and Tooro kingdom at large is his dream in his first year in office.

“I want to bring together the people of Fort Portal municipality and I will cooperate with all other leaders in Fort Portal Municipality and Tooro region at large,” he says.

He adds: “Development of infrastructure like roads, health centres and schools in the municipality, lighting the city because it has been in darkness for the last 15 years and also completing council chambers are my priority”

He also plans to extend water to all corners of the municipality in collaboration with NWSC because it has been a big problem. 

In his manifesto, he promised to bring unity among all leaders in the municipality in order to achieve Vision 2040 of Fort Portal becoming a Tourism city.

“There has been bickering and disagreements among the leaders in the current regime which retarded the development of the city status,” he reasons.

He also promised transparency and always give accountability to the people he serves.
“I will be an engine for development of all, youth, women, orphans and widows and always lobby for them through Saccos and community development fund,” he says.

He also promises to lobby for bursaries to needy students and best performing students in their respective schools and create a forum for the business community of Fort Portal, which will cater for their issues.

How he won the tight race

Despite the mayoral race having four candidates, Asaba and Muhanga remained in a tight race leaving Mr Johnson Mwanguhya Kadama (Independent) and Mr Patrick Baguma (FDC) as under dogs.

This was finally seen in the final tally as Rev Muhanga polled 8,903 votes against Asaba Edson Ruyonga’s 8, 296 out of 17, 359 votes cast at 65 polling stations while Kadama and Baguma polled 80 votes each. Some residents say Asaba foul lost because he allegedly used abusive language during campaigns - a thing that worked against him. Most religious leaders and the business community backed Rev Muhanga.

How youth in Rwenzori region have improved their skills, lives

Youth in Ntoroko District being trained on how to repair motor boat engines recently. The intervention has helped several youth out of unemployment. Photo by Felix Basiime 

By FELIX BASIIME

Posted  Thursday, December 3   2015 at  02:00   http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/How-youth-in-Rwenzori-region-have-improved-their-skills--lives-/-/691232/2981598/-/ynu5ll/-/index.html

IN SUMMARY

More than 1,000 youth in the districts of the Rwenzori sub-region have been trained in vocational skills that are changing their lives. The vocational skills have multiplied and the graduates are now providing employment to fellow youth in their communities.

Jolly Tumwebaze, 18, lives in Nombe village, Karugutu Sub-county in Ntoroko District. She dropped out of Primary Five at Harugongo Primary School in Kabarole District in 2011 due to lack of school fees. Born in a peasant family, she remained at home where her main preoccupation was doing domestic chores.

She had lost all hope of doing something else for a better future until some NGOs threw at her an olive branch through trainings.

“I was trained in March in bakery, I prepare chapatti and cakes. Every day, I earn Shs10,000, which I save and buy a goat every month” says Tumwebaze.

“On a good day, I earn Shs25,000. I no longer bother my husband to buy everything at home, I also contribute to the family budget”

Another youth, Salimu Mutalinga, 18, also from Nombe village in Karugutu, has five bee- hives and harvests 15kg of honey from each hive every season. Each kilogramme is sold between Shs15,000 and Shs20,000 locally.
“Through Ride Africa, I learnt how to make bee hives and before this programme (Youth in Action). I was just digging” Mutalinga says. Each modern bee hive is at Shs70,000.

Mutalinga has acquired the skills and now trains other youths in bee keeping.
“I also train others in apiary for a fee, my students pay me Shs20,000 per month to teach them, I also harvest honey for others at a fee of Shs5,000 per hive, I bought the costumes”.

Tumwebaze and Mutalinga are among hundreds of youths in Ntoroko, Kasese and Bundibugyo districts who dropped out of school until NGOs like Ride Africa, Fura, ANNPCAN and BAWILHA started work in the Rwenzori region four years ago.

Many youths in the area have acquired skills for various jobs including repairing motor boat engines, bakery, soap making, apiary, among others.

Up to 1,080 youths from Kasese, Bundibugyo and Ntoroko districts in August were passed out in Bundibugyo after acquiring various skills for self employment.

The youths first trained for five months conducted by Ride Africa in Ntoroko District, FURA and ANNPCAN in Kasese and BAWILHA in Bundibugyo with funding from Master Card foundation and Danida through Save the Children International.

This month, 1,237 youths from the region completed courses in saloon management, building and construction, bee keeping, metal fabrication, carpentry and joining, electrical installation, and tailoring, catering, soap making among others.

Youth from Rwebisengo and Kanara sub counties in Ntoroko District have also acquired skills in finance management, which have helped them to increase their savings.

Groups have been formed and registered at sub county and district levels. Among the members, there are savings and credit facilities (loans) which has empowered them economically.

Nefigi Tumwine says, “In the next 10 years, I will be counted among the rich people of Kanara Sub-county because I got a firm foundation through financial literacy and leadership trainings.”

Tumwine, 24, lives at Katanga A village, Kanara sub county; he is the chairperson of Kanara Youth Network.
He is among the lucky youths who benefited from Ride Africa with support from Save the Children under youth empowerment support project.

He had lived a hard life before of earning a living through fishing activities at Lake Albert after having dropped out of school at the age of 18 in Senior Three.
Having acquired financial skills, he saved Shs200,000 and started a palm oil business.
From this he accumulated Shs300,000 and started a fuel-selling point in July 2014.

“By the end of March, I had accumulated Shs 500, 000 as capital which enabled me to start another fuel selling point at Butungama, a neighbouring sub county” he says.

Selling fuel by the road side is a brisk business in the remote areas of Bundibugyo and Ntoroko districts as fuel pump stations are only on the main road at Karugutu trading centre in Ntoroko and in Bundibugyo Town. 

Many local businessmen in Fort Portal Town load fuel jerrycans on taxis to Ntoroko and Bundibugyo.
Tumwine adds, “With this business, I have been able to employ someone whom I pay Shs200,000 every fortnight and he is in charge of the Katanga business.

“I have not only provided employment to fellow youth but I am able to support my young brother who is in Senior Four at King Jesus Secondary School at Mubuku in Kasese District.
“Every term I pay Shs270,000 and cater for his up keep”.

Tumwine is optimistic that his brother will study up to university because his business is growing. He is planning to start a goat rearing project to diversify his income.

Children in schools too in Ntoroko have been empowered to participate in decision making and now demand for their rights and hold duty bearers accountable in their respective sub counties.

“This is achieved through involving children in child rights clubs and holding of children’s parliament” says Margaret Kabasinguzi, the programmes officer for Ride Africa in Ntoroko.

In Kanara Sub county, Ntoroko District the children’s councillor presented a number of issues to the area LC III council and technocrats demanding for resource allocation to monitor and follow up cases of child marriage and abuse, drug abuse, child labour especially in the fishing villages and high school dropouts.

“This prompted the sub county leadership to allocate Shs1.5 million in the sub county’s budget for this year to monitor children’s issues and programmes,” Kabasinguzi adds.

Ntoroko Woman MP Jennifer Mujungu says the projects have transformed the youths in the countryside.
“The skills the youths have acquired have helped them transform their lives through income generating projects by managing their finances while many have made savings in Saccos,” Mujungu says.

He adds, “The other skills have helped them to create jobs for themselves.so they can earn a living, I commend the NGOs for the job well done”.

Nahabweki: the woman with five sets of twins

Teddy Nahabweki (R) with her youngest daughter Ruth Kiiza, a Primary Three pupil at Nyakasura Junior Primary School. Kiiza wants to become a nurse. Photo by Felix Basiime.

By FELIX BASIIME & SCOVIA ATUHAIRE

Posted  Wednesday, December 2   2015 at  02:00 http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/Nahabweki--the-woman-with-five-sets-of-twins/-/691232/2980718/-/v35ka4z/-/index.html

In Summary

Teddy Nahabweki’s dream was to have as many children as she could. And indeed she tried. At 60, she has had 18 children, including five sets of twins, but her life has not been as fruitful

Teddy Nahabweki, 60, is a mother of 18 children, including five sets of twins. One would imagine she would be happy with her offspring but it is far from it.

Her dream was to have as many twins as her womb would allow until age caught up with her. But, of the 18, death has robbed her of 12.

The single mother is a resident of Ibonde village, Nyakasura, Karago Town Council in Kabarole District.
She lives in a small room with her two children at an old house belonging to Bishop Jimmy Katuramu of the Pentecostal Church, Fort Portal. The church minister was kind enough to give her a place to call home at no cost. This has been her place of abode since 2002.

The four-bedroomed house accommodates three other families. Nahabweki and her two young children, a girl in Primary Three and a boy in Primary Six, survive on a meal a day. It is obvious they live from hand to mouth.

Determined to survive
On a typical day, she starts her mornings by doing household chores.

To make ends meet, Nahabweki hawks porridge locally known as Obushera bwekinga. “I prepare the porridge from millet and sorghum. Then I get a boda boda rider to take it to the selling point, which is about four kilometres from home.

On a sunny day, her porridge sells out but on cold days, which is often than not in Kabarole District, she has to take it back home.

To increase her profts, Nahabweki distributes the porridge to local grocery shops and resturants. On a good day, she can earn Shs20,000.

“I started this business in 2012 with 10-litre jerry can and when customers liked the porridge I doubled the production.
“This business is what has enabled me to survive and care for my children. I am able to provide food and pay school fees for these children.

She adds, “It is very challenging to get all these from my small business because when it is cold day, I incur losses yet my responsibilites do not change at all.
“Because of these uncertainties, we survive on one meal a day which is supper.”

Asked if these conditions are not harsh for the children, Nahabweki says her children are used to the prevailing conditions.

The situation at home
The living conditions in her home speak for themselves. There is no chair or table in her room. The room is bare, scattered with a few utensils and mattress.

Her last born Ruth Kiiza, 8, has learnt to put on a brave face even when she has to go to school on an empty stomach.
Fortunately, this has not affected her grades. The little girl is an excellent pupil.

“I was the second in class last term but I am aiming at the first position this term. I want to be a nurse so that I help other people,” Kiiza confidently says.
To realise this dream, her mother needs a miracle.

Fate
In spite of these challenges, Nahabweki is sad that she did not have even more children.

“If had resources, I wanted to produce as many sets of twins as possible before menopause. Doctors told me that I was able to but I had to stop because the relationship with my husband was volatile.”

Her host, Bishop Katuramu, says Nahabweki needs help from well wishers so that her children can have a brighter future. “This lady gave birth to twins five times, the husband did not care which led to the loss of some of the children. I gave her shelter but this is not enough, she has other needs,” he says.

Appeal
“I appeal to government and any Good Samaritans to come to my rescue, help with my children and settle me on a small piece of land,” that is all Nahabweki mutters when you ask what kind of help she needs. “At times my children do not attend school because I am unable to provide for their school fees.”

Advice
“Young girls should not rush into marriage but listen to their parents, she says, adding, “People cautioned me about the dangers of early marriage at 18. I wish I had listened to them perhaps my life would be different,” she adds.
“Had I followed my mother’s advice, I would not be living in such a mess,” she says.

“Wives whose husbands are providing at home should thank God. I also advise especially the women to leave bad relationships as soon as they realise that it is not ideal for them. It is better to leave while you still can before you make more mistakes.”

Most prolific mother ever in the world
The officially recorded highest number of children born to one mother is 69, to the wife of Feodor Vassilyev (b. 1707–c.1782), a peasant from Shuya, Russia.

In 27 confinements, she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets. Numerous contemporaneous sources exist, which suggest that this seemingly improbably and statistically unlikely story is true.

According to The Gentleman’s Magazine, the case was reported to Moscow by the Monastery of Nikolsk on February 27, 1782, which had recorded every birth. It is noted that, by this time, only two of the children who were born in the period 1725–65 failed to survive their infancy.

The twins and her blotted family life

Nahabweki was born to a family of three in Mutolere village, Nyakabande in Kisoro District. Her father died when she was two-years-old.

“In 1972, my mother moved us from Kisoro District, my elder sister and I to our maternal uncle’s place in Kyomukama Village, Kyaterekera, Kibaale District. The following year, I got married to Matias Sebunyenzi.”

In 1974, she gave birth to her first born, a boy who unfortunately passed away.
In 1975, she gave birth to her first set of twins. Both were girls, but one later died. The surviving twin, Magdalene Nyakato, grew up and is now married in Kagadi, Kibaale District.
In 1976, she gave birth to her second set of twins, both boys, Isingoma Luke and Kato Mark who unfortunately passed on as well.
In 1977, Lady Luck smiled on her and she gave birth to the third set of twins, both girls, Josephine Nyakato and Margaret Nyangoma

In 1978, she gave birth to Mariam Kiiza. The following year she miscarried her what would have been fourth set of twins.
In 2004, she gave birth to the fifth set of twins, a boy and girl. The girl died but Daudi Kato survived. He is in Primary Six.

In 2007, she gave birth to her last born, Ruth Kiiza who is now in Primary Three.
“Of the 18 children I brought in this world, only six have survived,” Nahabweki laments.
“In 1982, doctors advised me to stop producing. There were so many wrangles at home and our relationship was not a good one,” she shares.

This explained why she separated from her husband.
“In 1983, I separated with my husband because he was a drunkard and could not provide for us. I am born again and I could not bear it any more. I decided to go back home.

How population pressure on land in Rwanda affects forests in Uganda

Mediathese Ntamuhera sits beside her sick daughter in Kanaga central reserve forest in Kibaale District.PHOTO BY FELIX BASIIME 

By FELIX BASIIME

Posted  Wednesday, November 4   2015 at  11:56   http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/population-pressure-land-Rwanda-forests-Uganda/-/691232/2942590/-/10neq0kz/-/index.html

IN SUMMARY

It is a case of spill over effects, an issue in one country becoming a challenge in another. As the population grows, and the resources become scarce, many come looking for land and their first port of call are the forests.

KIBAALE: It is a sunny morning in a freshly opened up patch of land in Kanaga Central Forest Reserve, Kibaale District. The clearing is about 500 square meters, with gardens of beans, maize and cassava. In between the gardens, stand huge burnt-out stumps and logs.

Close by are newly constructed makeshift structures, scattered all over. Most of them are thatched with grass or covered with old tarpaulins.

In front of one, lies a young girl, Trifonia Tumuramye, 13. She is lying on a mat and covers herself with a cloth. Dirty sauce pans and jerrycans are scattered around the compound. 

The mother, Mediathese Ntamuhera, 34, sits beside her with a sorrowful look. They are part of hundreds of Rwandese, who found refuge in Uganda after fleeing land pressure in Rwanda. And that is in the forests of Uganda, especially those in Bunyoro region, particularly Kibaale District. The area is home to 16 gazetted forest reserves.

“I was born in Rwanda in Birungi, Nyamarundi, where our family settled on a small piece of land and we were told that there is land in Uganda,” Ntamuhera says. “We came here in Kibaale about 18 years ago. At the time, the locals were selling a big chunk of land between Shs150,000 and Shs 200,000. We bought a piece of land not knowing that this was a government forest reserve”.

“Since then we have had run-ins with [National Forest Authority— NFA] over evictions. We can neither trace the people who sold the land to us nor is there anyone who can compensate us,” she narrates. “I lost my husband in February; he got sick and died without any medication. In March, we were evicted from the forest reserve by NFA, I have nowhere to go, I am resigned to my fate.”

Despite other challenges faced by NFA to manage forests in Uganda, the country has weak systems that have failed to stem illegal migration, coupled with the refugee settlements around the country, where refugees mingle easily with the nationals.

Over the years, they have come to own property and some are Local Council leaders who at times abet illegal settlement in Uganda’s forest reserves.

Uganda has porous borders that foreigners find it easy to cross and settle in Uganda unlike in any other country in the Great Lakes region.

Between 1995 and 2005, Hoima had a total of 61,170 hectares of forests. Statistics from the district forest office indicate that 38,000 hectares of forests were depleted by 2011.

According to the 2009 National Environmental Management Authority (Nema), in 1990, Uganda had more than five million hectares of forest cover. But by 2005, only 3.5 million hectares (8.6 million acres) remained.

Conservationists estimate that Bunyoro loses about 7,000 hectares of forests annually. So, Nema warns that if deforestation continues at the present rate, Uganda will have lost all its forested land by 2050.

Fredrick Atugonza, the NFA supervisor attached to Kangombe in Kibaale District, points out that deforestation has led to the extinction of important medicinal tree species.

“For instance, the Lovore tree, which we no longer see. It is a medicinal tree and there are many others,” he says.
“The rains have reduced; the seasons have changed in the last 15 years of encroachment”.

The NFA Kagadi Sector Manager, Charles Ariani says, “This sector has 16 forests, but we found all forests were encroached on and cultivated with bananas, maize, sugar cane, tobacco and beans”. 

He remarks that he is not convinced about the excuses he gets. “People say that they are hungry and have nowhere to farm. But we tell them they must return to where they were before 1994. So far, more than 1,000 people have left the forests.”

He adds, “We told them that whether you have 20 children or came from Rwanda or Kabale many years ago, and you no longer know where you came from, you must move out of the forests.”

Deforestation cuts across the Albertine basin. As a way to deal with the problem, the Rwenzori Anti-corruption Coalition (RAC) and Joint Effort to Save the Environment (JESE), NGOs based in Fort Portal, have joined hands to help in the management of environment and natural resources particularly forest resources.

“This is been attributed to the manner in which these resources are managed at national, district and sub county levels. This has caused immense destruction of these vital ecosystems especially in the Albertine region,” reads their joint report released in June.

The NGOs have formed an inter-district (Kyenjojo, Kyegegwa and Mubende) multi-stakeholder forestry and environment forum.

It is a coordinating mechanism to promote the sustainable use of environment and forests, proper accountability and advocating for increased investment in the natural resources sector in the three districts.

The forum brings together all key players in environment and natural resources for increased planning and voices in sustainable natural resources management.

In the last decade, civil wars in the neighbouring Rwanda and DR Congo have led to a steady stream of refugees in Uganda.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees has settled hundreds at Rwamwanja, Kyangwali and at Kyaka in Kamwenge, Hoima and Kyegegwa districts, respectively.

Lately, hundreds of refugees especially from Burundi have flocked into Uganda and have easily mingled with Ugandans and settled anywhere they find hospitable.

What others say about forest encroachment in Uganda

“The issue is that people of Rwanda origin who came here for land were duped by the locals who sold to them part of the government’s gazetted forests, some of them have been evicted by NFA and are now landless. Among the forests encroachers, the Banyarwanda are about 45 percent, then the rest are the Bakiga, Bakonjo and the indigenous Banyoro” George William Bizibu, Speaker, Kibaale District.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Why many incumbents lost NRM primaries in western Uganda

Bundibugyo District chairperson Jolly Tibemanya (L) and State minister for Primary Education and Bwamba County MP, Dr Kamanda Bataringaya (R), lost in the NRM primaries. PHOTO BY FELIX BASIIME 

By Felix Basiime, Enid Ninsiima, Ruth Katusabe, Ronald Tumusiime, George Muzoora & Edison Amanyire

Posted Sunday, November 1   2015 at  02:00

http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/Why-many-incumbents-lost-NRM-primaries-in-western-Uganda/-/689844/2936944/-/item/1/-/47xgksz/-/index.html

The wave of change in the NRM primaries did not only affect MPs, but lower councils too as some district chairpersons and councillors lost their flag bearer positions to new faces.

The just concluded NRM party primaries have seen some long-serving incumbents lose their flag bearer positions to new faces.

The reasons vary, ranging from poor service delivery to protest vote, while others lost due to demand for change by voters.

“To be honest, most incumbents have lost on principle. They promised what they could not deliver or what was not in their means,” says Mr Dan Rubombora, an opinion leader in Kabarole District, adding that, “They did not know what Parliament offers, they promised people roads, etc, and the trend will continue.”

Among the notable losers is State minister for Primary Education and Bwamba County MP, Dr Kamanda Bataringaya, who lost to Mr Gafabusa Richard, a new face in politics.

“People were tired of some of these incumbents, especially Dr Kamanda. He has been there for a long time,” says Mr Baguma Vivian Simoli, an opinion leader in Bundibugyo District.

Mr Musa Rujumba, an elder in Masindi District, says Bujenje County MP Kabakumba Masiko lost the primaries partly because she has a land conflict involving about five villages in her constituency.

But Mr Rujumba also says her implication in the UBC mast scandal could have had a part in her loss, although Ms Masiko was cleared by court over the matter.

“Having been an MP for Bujenje for three terms, people wanted to see a new face in names of Patrick Kasumba, who is young and vibrant,” Mr Rujumba adds.

Councils affected
The wave of change did not only affect MPs, but also lower councils as some district chairpersons and councilors lost the flags to new faces.

Bundibugyo District chairperson Jolly Tibemanya and his Masindi District counterpart Wilson Isingoma were some of the victims.

Mr Rujumba says Mr Isingoma took people for granted and invested little time in campaigns, adding that Masindi has not benefited much from government programmes compared with Hoima where government built a modern market and is currently building a hospital.

Mr Justus Arunga, an opinion leader in Kyenjojo District, says most incumbents lost in the primaries because they did not live to the people’s expectations. 
“They did not help in infrastructural development, especially in Kyenjojo district,” Mr Arunga says.

Petitions 

Five losers in the NRM primaries in Kasese District have contested the results and have petitioned the NRM electoral commission chairperson, Dr Tanga Odoi, requesting for result nullification or a recount.

Mr Erifazi Muhindi on Wednesday stormed out of the Kasese District tally centre after he lost to incumbent district chairperson Mawa Muhindo Dura.

“I have decided not to take part in receiving results that are marred by a lot of irregularities. I have already handed in my petition citing my dissatisfaction of the results. I request that those results from Bukonzo East constituency and Katwe–Kabatooro Town Council be either recounted or nullified,” Mr Muhindi said.

Defeated Busongora South NRM flag aspirant Constantine Siwako said his results were altered at the tally centre since his copies read differently.

“I will not accept such results that have just been declared where the declaration forms at the tally centre are different from what we collected from the field,” Mr Siwako claimed after he lost to the incumbent Boaz Kafuda.

Two of the Kasese District Woman MP contestants, Ms Jolly Kateeba and Peace Winfred Bukundika, lost to Jane Asiimwe Muhindo and blamed the winner for manipulating the results.

“We have evidence that our colleague handed in declaration forms whose votes exceed the number of registered voters in the registers,” Kateeba argued.

But Asiimwe attributes her victory to efforts put in and also advised those who lost to use the courts of law for redress or support her since there is no losing in the NRM party.

Most affected are Woman MPs 
Save for Ntoroko Woman MP Jennifer Mujungu and Kamwenge Woman MP Dorothy Nsheija Kabareitsya, the rest lost. 

They include Kyegegwa District Woman MP Flavia Rwabuhoro, Bundibugyo District Woman MP Harriet Ntabazi, Kyenjojo Woman MP Lindah Timbigamba, Kabarole Woman MP Victoria Businge and Bujenje County MP and former Information minister Kabakumba Masiko.

Lost

Those who lost in the NRM party primaries include long-serving Kitagwenda County MP Nuru Byamukama, Burahya County MP Stephen Kagwera, State minister for Primary Education Kamanda Bataringaya and Kyegegwa District Woman MP Flavia Rwabuhoro.

Others include Bundibugyo District Woman MP Harriet Ntabazi, Kyenjojo Woman MP Lindah Timbigamba, Kyaka County MP William Kwemara, Kabarole Woman MP Victoria Businge, Kasese Municipality MP James Mbahimba and Ntoroko County MP Martin Bahinduka Mugarra.

Others are Bujenje County MP and former Information minister Kabakumba Masiko, Mwenge North MP David Muhumuza, Buyaga East MP Ignatius Besisira, Masindi District chairperson Wilson Isingoma and Bundibugyo District chairsperson Jolly Tibamanya.

How natural therapy, raw foods have helped breast cancer patient

Apofia Natumanya, a lecturer at Bugema University Kasese Study Centre, was diagnosed with breast cancer. PHOTO by Enid Ninsiima. 

By ENID NINSIIMA & FELIX BASIIME
Posted  Friday, October 30   2015 at  02:00

http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/Health---Living/How-natural-therapy--raw-foods-have-helped-breast-cancer-patient/-/689846/2934768/-/12sii76/-/index.html

IN SUMMARY

Creating awareness. When treating cancer, one does not merely rely on the medication prescribed by doctors. One must also adjust their diet and lifestyle in order to help the body heal.

At first glance, it is difficult to tell that Apofia Natumanya, 26, a young lecturer at Bugema University’s Study centre in Kasese is living with a deadly disease until she narrates her ordeal.
Natumanya, who has spent a year battling breast cancer, explained her situation to Daily Monitor.

Discovering cancer
“In January this year, I detected a foreign object in my breast as I was applying body oil after a shower. I told my mother who later said she was going to connect me to a specialist,” she says adding, “In mid-February while at home in Bushenyi, I went to see a specialist named Dr Kapuru in Kasese. After examining me, he told me that I had fibroids but they were not cancerous.”

“When I called my mum with the results, she insisted that I must see another doctor named Mugyenyi in Mbarara who gave the same results. I was also told that I should undergo surgery to remove the ball-like object in my breast,” she recounts.

Natumanya did not give up the struggle to establish exactly what had attacked her body and she proceeded to Devine Mercy hospital in Mbarara where samples were taken for further investigation to establish the cause of illness.

Three weeks later in April, she returned to Mbarara for review and more samples were taken. These, she also took back to the doctor for interpretation only to be told that the swelling in her breast had to be surgically removed.

“I was told that the only way was excision which I accepted and it was done successfully. When it was removed, the lump looked like a growing irish potato with many roots. Test results came out on May 22 only to be told that I had cancer which had advanced up to stage 3B,” she states firmly.

Need for surgery
Natumanya explains she was then advised the whole breast would be removed because cancer cells spread fast and the earlier it was done, the better. She was referred to Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago hospital. 

“Doctors prescribed chemotherapy for three months and after that came radiography. I was supposed to be operated on but on taking the chemotherapy, it had negative effects. I started taking herbs alongside the medical treatment,” she says.

“I was counselled to change my feeding habits and lifestyle. I was advised to stop eating meat, drinking milk and all dairy products. Immediately after the operation, another big mass started growing,” Natumanya notes.
She adds that she was advised by friends to use other food supplements from a herbalist named Daniel in Busiika, Bugema in Luweero District while also taking food supplements from Forever Living. She started the natural therapy.

The now jolly Natumanya says since she started taking Agraveria leaf and fruit, a mixture of Aloe Vera, raw foods such as fruits and a mixture of beet root, apple and carrot juice in the morning, the ball mass in her breast has disappeared and she feels better though her recovery has not been medically certified.

Challenges

Natumanya says that it is not simple for an average woman to get quick treatment from Mulago National Referral Hospital since there are many patients and doctors are few, moreover some are working on parttime basis.

She added that another challenge is the process of testing for cancerous cells which takes months and allows the disease to spread faster in the body.

However, she is thankful to God for early detection, moral and financial support from her family and friends as well as exercises, all of which assisted her to control the disease.

She appeals to government to subsidise the cost of cancer treatment to accommodate the average village woman who has no support at all and who cannot get access to Uganda Cancer Institute.

“I appeal to government to try to shorten the process of testing for cancer so that the disease can be controlled in its earlier stages,” she appeals.

She said that she has also used the Korean machine found in Mbarara which offers a type of radiotherapy which she thinks has helped as well.

She appeals to all cancer patients to accept the disease and live positively, use herbal drugs and change their feeding habits and above all, trust in God.

She plans to return to the hospital for review at the end of the year to check whether the changes she has experienced are real or just temporary relief.

Living with cancer 

Doctor’s word. “If one has breast cancer that is driven by oestrogen in the body, we restrict fat in the body. When we restrict fat intake, sugars, we are aiming at reducing oestrogen in the body especially with women who are on cancer treatment or those that have been diagnosed with breast cancer,” says Dr Fred Okuku. 

Patient’s story. 

“I was counselled to change my feeding habits and lifestyle. I was advised to stop eating meat, drinking milk and all dairy products.”