What You Need to Know About Online Management and Virtual dataroom

When heading fully via the internet, you need to have enough resources to be sure the control is going easily. A digital data rooms can be the program you need. There is not any online not having offline of course, if the circumstances require to move school and operations to operate on the web, you […]
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Suspected killer of UPDF Major arrested in Nakasongola barracks

Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) has arrested one of their own,  Lance Corporal Max Omutojo on accusations of shooting dead a senior ranking officer and injuring another in Nakasongola military barracks.

Omutojo was arrested on Sunday night for allegedly shooting dead a major at his residence at around 7pm and injuring a lieutenant who tried to arrest him.

Lt Ibrahim Sekitto, the Nakasongola military barracks spokesperson told URN this morning that Omutojo is in custody pending interrogation over the incident.

He says they have also recovered the suspected killer gun. Sekitto, however, declined to name the deceased officer and the injured, saying they are yet to inform their families. He says the names will be revealed later in the day.  

The injured lieutenant is nursing injuries at Nakasongola military hospital. A source at the barracks says Omutojo lost his cool after the major declined to grant his request for a pass leave to attend to an emergency.    

It alleged that Omutojo left only to return with the fire and shot his superior killing him on the spot. He was cornered in the barracks and arrested while trying to flee.

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Goats, jackfruit testing positive for COVID-19 in Tanzania - Magufuli

President John Pombe Magufuli has cast doubt on the high numbers of coronavirus cases reported in Tanzania.

Magufuli says the officials must be inflating the numbers so as to target donor funds. Tanzania officially has 480 confirmed coronavirus infections - the most in East Africa.

The president says after doubting the high numbers, he secretly sent samples for testing to the National Influenza Laboratory (NIL) in Dar es Salaam. But unknown to NIL, Magufuli said today, the sent samples included those from birds, goats, pawpaw, jackfruit.

And dubiously, Magufuli said, the fruit and bird samples too tested positive for COVID-19. Magufuli said with such a discovery, he now highly doubts the 480 confirmed cases in Tanzania. Magufuli said either the test kits sent to Africa are 'faulty' or the officials have deliberately recorded even negative cases as positive.

Faulty COVID-19 testing kits are not a new issue in the coronavirus pandemic after Spain twice sent back defective testing kits back to China after they were found to have very low sensibility. 

There are videos circulating on social media showing Tanzanian officials allegedly burying coronavirus victims in the dead of the night in an apparent government coverup. Tanzanian nationals on social media have too questioned the official figures, saying they are way lower than the actual cases and deaths. 

The Tanzanian government has been criticised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its lax approach to the coronavirus pandemic still allows markets and public transport to operate normally.

Recent confirmed cases in Rwanda and Uganda have been reported mostly from Tanzanian truck drivers plying the East African trade routes. Truck drivers mostly from Tanzania account for 29 of Uganda's 88 confirmed cases. 

Among Uganda's latest three COVID-19 cases recorded on Saturday, one is of a Tanzanian truck driver while the other was of a Ugandan returnee who sneaked into the country from Tanzania via Bukoba porous border point.

Uganda like Kenya, Rwanda are currently under lockdown and allow no travelling in and out of their countries except for United Nations, emergency and cargo crew. 

Magufuli said he's even considering reopening the national football league that was suspended some weeks back because he has realised that people who engage in sports may not easily be affected by the coronavirus. Magufuli said in any case, he has realised that COVID-19 may have to live with humanity for a long time just like HIV/Aids. 

He also announced that he will soon send a plane to Madagascar to fetch the herbal medicine there that is being touted as a 'cure' for coronavirus.

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina asked researchers to come up with a locally made cure for coronavirus. Rajoelina launched the 'cure' after being tested on about 20 people for three weeks claiming that two people had been completely cured by the COVID-Organics (CVO) treatment.

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina drinking the herbal cure

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there is no proof of a cure for Covid-19. Even the country's national medical academy (Anamem) has also cast doubt on the efficacy of the CVO produced from the artemisia plant, a source of an ingredient used in malaria treatment and is given out free of charge to the most vulnerable groups in Madagascar.

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Hundreds rush for Archbishop's herbal COVID 'cure' in Cameroon

Cameroonians have been flooding into the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Douala, where Archbishop Samuel Kleda claims he has found an herbal cure for COVID-19.

The popularity of the archbishop's alleged cure has prompted some authorities to try to make the treatment more widely available, even though medical experts have urged extreme caution about its use.

Paul Nyaga, curate of St. Paul's Parish of the Douala Archdiocese, said through a messaging application that since information circulated a week ago that Kleda could treat COVID-19, many have been rushing to his parish for help.

He said the parish had been overwhelmed by the number of people coming from Yaounde, Bafoussam and Douala with test results showing that they were COVID-19-positive and saying they did not have access to treatment. He said he told them to go to Catholic hospitals in the archdiocese, where they would be treated when there were additional supplies of the archbishop's herbal remedy.

Among the hundreds asking for help was hairdresser Clementine Eya, 27, who also spoke via a messaging application from Douala.

She said she had no money to pay for the hospital treatment of her elder sister, who tested COVID-19-positive in Douala and wanted to see the archbishop because she had been told his treatment was efficient and free.

Several dozen treated

Kleda told state media CRTV on April 25 that he had treated several dozen people, including eight medical staff members, for conditions affecting their respiratory systems, just like the coronavirus does.

Kleda, speaking via a messaging application from Douala, said he could confirm that his 30 years of medicinal plant research experience, especially on herbal treatment, had enabled him to find a cure for COVID-19.

He said he was very happy because everyone who had taken the herbal remedy had been cured of COVID-19.  He added that his goal as a servant of God was to help poor and suffering people, and that was why he gave away the cure, which he named Essential Oils, free of charge.

Last week, the Cameroonian government sent a team of researchers and doctors to determine the validity of Kleda's claimed cure. Public Health minister Malachie Manaouda said the government's support would be determined by the outcome of the investigation. He said if Kleda was proven to be right, the government would make it more widely available for COVID-19 patients.

The Cameroon Medical Council and the Cameroon Academy of Sciences have both called for research to determine the efficiency of Essential Oils.

Advice: Rely on hospitals

Dieudonne Kameni of the Cameroon Medical Council said that for now, COVID-19 patients should count only on treatment at authorized government hospitals.

He said by telephone from Douala that medical practice has rules, regulations and professional  ethics that must be observed before drugs can be used in patients, but that the archbishop's collection of herbs was still at a preclinical testing stage and could not be scientifically called a cure for COVID-19. He said he was asking patients to go to hospitals, which for now were the only sure places COVID-19 could be treated.

Kleda said he would continue administering the treatment to patients who sought help from him while waiting for scientists to complete their findings. Many patients have, however, complained of the difficulty of obtaining Essential Oils because of high demand.

Cameroon has been hit harder by the coronavirus than any other country in Central Africa. As of Saturday afternoon, the country had recorded 2,077 confirmed cases, with 64 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.

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Police Officer tests positive for Corona Virus

A male adult in Masindi District tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday after was confirmed from random (rapid assessment survey) conducted by the Ministry of Health. This website has established that this COVID-19 patient is a Police Officer who has since been isolated with other five colleagues and two inmates. Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga confirmed […]
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Shs 22bn scam rocks Rural Electrification Agency

A controversial $33.6m (about Shs 131bn) deal has cast a dark shadow on the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) after revelation of procurement discrepancies indicating the body could have lost $5.7m (Shs 22bn) in the bidding process.

REA is a semi-autonomous body charged with operationalizing government's rural electrification function. Under the project dubbed Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project (UREAP), REA received funding from the African Development Bank (ADB) worth $100m for the design, supply and installation of medium voltage networks and last mile consumer connections in several districts.

The main bone of contention surrounds the procurement process that saw REA award an Indian firm, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, the contract worth $33.6m at the expense of a lower bid of $22.8m [89bn] from C&G Andijes Group Ltd, a Ugandan company. The difference between the two bids is Shs 42bn.

As a result, C&G accuses Godfrey Turyahikayo, the REA executive director, of flouting the standard procedures to award the 'overpriced' deal to Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

According to correspondences that The Observer has seen, Turyahikayo is accused of ignoring decisions of the REA board and instructions of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA), to award contracts to L&T. When The Observer reached out to Turyahikayo, he refused to comment on the matter.

GENESIS

Shortly after REA declared the L&T bid as the best in January 2019, C&G petitioned Gen Salim Saleh, the chief coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation, for intervention on grounds that the country was set to lose billions of shillings if the deal went ahead.

"The proposed award is 100 per cent donation of about Shs 20 billion of taxpayers' money that can be used for other urgent rural electrification needs," reads part of the plea from Gabriel Addi on behalf of C&G.

In turn, Saleh wrote to Benson Turamye, the PPDA executive director, for an explanation on the suspected malpractices procurement of works in REA.

"This is therefore to request that an explanation to that effect be submitted urgently on what courses of action has been taken so far," Saleh wrote on January 4, 2019.

Indeed, Turamye replied on January 19 and noted after investigating the matter, PPDA discovered discrepancies and ordered REA to re-evaluate the bids.

DEFIANCE

However, Turyahikayo disregarded the PPDA decision on grounds that the African Development Bank gave a no-objection approval of the L&T bid. Thereafter, REA went on to sign the deal, whose works are scheduled for completion in 2022. According to a source at PPDA who preferred anonymity, Turyahikayo's conduct is insubordinate.

"Why was he hiding to overlook the re-evaluation? Hiding behind ADB's no-objection is not legally binding because its role in procurements of this nature is advisory and REA has all powers to take final decisions within the procurement guidelines, including cancellation, re-evaluation and or retendering.

"A bank's no-objection is given based on the client's recommendations. Mr Turyahikayo, having dealt with donors for over 17 years, knows that donors will always advise based on your submission and recommendations, but the final decision always lies with REA," she said.

The Observer has learnt that the matter has now been forwarded to President Museveni to intervene.

"We hope the president will institute an investigation otherwise the taxpayer is set to lose billions if the deal goes on without checks," added the PPDA source.

This controversy also highlights the power struggle that has engulfed REA over the past few years, specifically pitting Turyahikayo and John Turyagyenda, the REA project development and management director.

For instance, Turyahikayo has transferred supervision of this project from the project development and management directorate to that in charge of planning headed by Charles Lutwama, something that has raised red flags within REA. "It is an open war to show who is boss," intimated a junior REA official who preferred anonymity.

Turyahikayo has been at the helm of REA since its inception in 2003 but in 2017, the board suspended him for six months on grounds of causing financial loss. In that period, Turyagyenda served as the acting executive director.

Somehow, Turyahikayo managed to get his job back but in June 2019 when his contract expired, the board yet again refused to renew it. President Museveni intervened and gave him a one-year extension that ends in June 2020.

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Kyadondo rugby pork goes digital

By Julius Senyimba When the COVID-19 lockdown reined in many Ugandans, people went on to reveal what they miss most. There was a specific special interest group of pork lovers that nearly rioted with the closure of their joints, and no one seemed bothered to come to their rescue. Some of these were corporates, who […]
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China 'locks out' WHO from COVID-19 investigation

China is reportedly currently conducting its own investigations into the cause of coronavirus but has blocked the World Health Organisation (WHO) from joining the probes.

WHO representative in Beijing Dr Gauden Galea said Thursday that it has not been invited by China to join the investigation but he expected China would discuss collaborations with the organization in the "near future."

"We know some national investigation is happening but at this stage we have not been invited to join. We are expecting to get, in the near future, a briefing on where that is and to discuss possible collaboration," Galea said.

WHO says it wants to take part in Beijing's probe into the origins of COVID-19.

"WHO would be keen to work with international partners and at the invitation of the Chinese government to participate in an investigation around the animal origins [of COVID-19]" WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told VOA in an email.

"It is our understanding that a number of investigations to better understand the source of the outbreak in China are currently underway or planned, including investigations of human cases with symptom onset in and around Wuhan in late 2019, " said Jasarevic. But "WHO is not currently involved in the studies in China."

Beijing has been criticized for a lack of transparency in its handling of the pandemic. The official tally of infections in Wuhan has been questionable from the very beginning with the government frequently changing its counting criteria at the peak of the outbreak.  In the United States, authorities are investigating whether the virus might have spread from a sophisticated Wuhan laboratory that studies coronaviruses.  

Meanwhile, China has strongly dismissed the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic originated in the lab. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Thursday that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory are "purely fabricated out of nothing." Geng cited the lab's director, Yuan Zhiming, as saying the lab strictly implements bio-security procedures that would prevent the release of any pathogen. Geng in the meantime did say the issue, "should be studied by scientists and professionals." 

In February, a joint mission of Chinese and WHO experts visited Wuhan and other cities in China to assess Beijing's epidemic prevention and control efforts.  But WHO investigators are not participating in the current inquiry into the virus origins being conducted in China. 

Jasarevic emphasized to VOA that the results of such probes "are essential" to preventing further outbreaks. He said WHO continues to collaborate with "countries and other partners to identify gaps and research priorities for the control of COVID-19, including the eventual identification of the source of the virus in China." 

WHO spokesman also weighed in on another critical issue with regard to the origin of COVID-19. Scientists suspect the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, possibly through an intermediate animal host.  This is one of the biggest puzzle pieces in tracing the coronavirus origin.  

In his email to VOA Friday, the WHO spokesman said since there is usually limited close contact between humans and bats, "It is more likely that transmission of the virus from bats to humans happened through another animal species, one that is more likely to be handled by humans."  

The coronavirus disease COVID-19, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has taken over 230,000 human lives worldwide, according to a collection of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, and confirmed infection cases have reached 3.2 million.

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Alipoota ya Twaweza esiimye Bannamawulire

BANNANSI basiimye omulimu ogukolebwa abamawulire ku kumanyisa n'okusomesa eggwanga.   Okunoonyereza okukoleddwa kuraze nti buli bantu 10 boosanga, munaana ku bo basiima era bakkiriza nti amawulire...