Aboneka Writes

By Michael Aboneka Jr In the midst of the push to get every Ugandan Vaccinated, the government has tabled an amendment to the Public Health Act. The Public Health (Amendment) Bill 2021, among others seeks to make vaccination mandatory and also introduces a fine of Ugx 4,000,000 or imprisonment of six months or both for failure to comply. This is unfortunate as one wonders whether there will be an end with prosecution. We cannot achieve massive vaccination by threatening to imprison Ugandans who have failed to do so and Uganda will be the firs country to criminalize vaccination. It is important that the masses are well educated and sensitized about the vaccination so that they can make informed decisions and consent to the vaccination. Be that as it may, forceful vaccination undermines the human rights-based approach in dealing with management of pandemics, epidemics and other outbreaks. One wonders, if one has served their jail time, what happens to them and the community? Will they be...

  By Michael Aboneka Jr I know that we all love our tribes, and it is a good thing for cultural identity. This is fine, we must be united in our diversity. The problem though is that most of us have instead disadvantaged others because they are not of our tribes. None of us applied to our parents to be born in a certain clan or region or tribe and this means that above all, we are human beings who should embrace, support and work together regardless. This is the reason why Nepotism, sectarianism are criminal offences rooting from the principle of non-discrimination. Majority of us are employing our siblings, relatives just because they are our own and not based on merit and by this, we have disadvantaged people who are competent and deserve the jobs and placements on merit. It has gotten worse to the extent that the offices in this country have replaced the official language, English as provided for under Article 6 of the with their local languages; which again is not bad but you c...

By Michael Aboneka Jr We have hurt others and been hurt by many and there has not been an opportunity to confront the past to tell the truth, apologize and reconcile. There have been lingering undertones of anger and depression based on actions and inactions of some over the others. We have had incidents of flaring tribal sentiments unfortunately fanned by the so-called comedians who have now made it a habit to tribalize everything under the watch of our children. We have had incidents of loss of life, property, dignity, and recently gruesome torture where the perpetrators glory in the acts and are not remorseful at all and many Ugandans have not healed. As a country, we need to be honest to each other, look into each other’s eyes and speak truth to what hurts us and have the other party respond by apologizing and making amends for the wrongs. There were efforts for the national dialogue which has never materialized, but these efforts should be revived into an honest national truth tel...

By Michael Aboneka Jr As we are still grappling with access to services, especially legal services and justice, there is a proposal for increase in court fees and one wonders what the exact motive is when we are just in the depth of discussions concerning the legal aid bill and most importantly a legal aid fund to ensure every Ugandan can access justice. Over 8 million Ugandans live below the poverty line  (they cannot afford UGX 3,500 a day) , which has further been exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Before COVID-19, it was also still difficult to access justice due to several challenges but the most important being the costs involved. The role of the state is to create wealth for its citizens and protect them and their wealth too. As citizens, we give the government two things, the votes/mandate, and taxes and what we expect is effective and adequate services. The Judiciary is one of the most crucial arm of government and without it, the country can be in a mess! It is therefo...

Day one : Site visit with a swarm of engineers and Kadogos. Road closed for hours as the "engineers" clad in reflector jackets to make serious assessments of the extent of the damage! Day Two : The Kadogos return with paint/chalk and draw big squares and rectangles around the potholes while sipping on Munanansi , a local pineapple juice brew while singing away some local vibes. Day Three : The Supervisors return to ensure the markings of the Potholes done by the Kadogos are proper. Off they leave in their white double cabins, around five of them. Day Four : The Kadogos return to "trim" the Potholes into perfect squares and rectangles, only to find the markings swept away by rain. So they do the markings again. Day Five : The Kadogos return to do the actual  trimming of the Potholes with one cutting machine and a peak axe. Day Six : The Kadogos return with some "soil" which they later dump at the site and off they go leaving the road messy! Day Seven : The ...

By Michael Aboneka Torture is criminal, illegal, and unconstitutional in Uganda. Freedom from Torture  and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment   is a non derogable right under  Articles 24 and 44  of the Constitution of Uganda and the State of Uganda is party to several regional, international protocols against torture such as the African Charter under Article5;  International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights , UN Convention against torture; much as Uganda has since not signed the optional protocol to allow unlimited access to places of detention; which is also suspect.  Uganda has gone ahead to criminalize acts of torture under the the Prevention   and Prohibition of Torture Act (2012) which provides for a sentence of not more than 15 years imprisonment or a fine or both  on conviction of torture; the Human Rights Enforcement Act which allows an action against any individual for the violation of human rights, the Penal Code Act among oth...

By Michael Aboneka Jr The Ministry of Works and Transport officially opened the Kampala Entebbe Express which is only accessible at a fee. The total project sum of this road is  USD 479,172,020  for 49.6km   and has been reported to be the most expensive road in the world. I use this road frequently and yes; it is good infrastructure as it eases movement. However, there is no single light post on the most expensive road in the world. The entire stretch after the toll gates is engulfed in darkness like an abandoned road. It is dangerously dark and hence forcing motorists to drive in full beam throughout which is also fatal.    How can the most exp ensive  road in the world lack lights? Or it was designed this way, not to have lights at all; or was it a design error? I have on several times called upon the Ministry  f or Works  and Transport  and the Uganda National Roads Authority to consider fixing lights on this high...