U.S Calls For Release Of Uganda's Opposition Leader

The United States called for the release of Uganda’s opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, who has been under house arrest since Friday, before President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of a presidential election marred by widespread irregularities.

Mr. Museveni won last week’s vote with more than 60 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission; Mr. Besigye had 35 percent.

“We call for his immediate release and the restoration of access to all social media sites,” the State Department said Saturday evening. “Delays in the delivery of voting materials, reports of pre-checked ballots and vote buying” and “excessive use of force by police” had undermined the vote, it said.

“The Ugandan people deserved better.”

Mr. Besigye was arrested Friday after the police stormed his party’s headquarters. He was there tallying votes, which his party said included wins at polling sites in Uganda’s north, in Kampala and in other areas of the country. The election ran smoothly around the countryside, according to electoral observers, but not in Kampala, the capital, where opposition parties get much of their support. Voting there started up to seven hours late because the ballot papers were not available.

Mr. Besigye rejected the electoral commission’s results.

On Sunday, access to social networking sites remained blocked. Equally critical, mobile-money services — the equivalent of using a debit card — also remained blocked.

Both Mr. Besigye, as well as another candidate, Amama Mbabazi, the second-most popular challenger, and until recently the prime minister, remained under effective house arrest. Gen. Katumba Wamala was also said to be under scrutiny, after results showed Mr. Museveni had not performed well at the polls at army barracks. A Uganda army spokesman said soldiers were “free to choose anyone they want.”

“Democracy is on trial,” Mr. Besigye said on Twitter, through a virtual private network.

Everything seemed so different last weekend. In elegant dress and sharp suits, the country’s elite rubbed shoulders and cameras followed candidates on the red carpet, as Ugandans watched their president publicly debate politics for the first time. There were several sharp exchanges, but the historic moment was heralded as metamorphic.

Since then, Mr. Besigye has been arrested four times, and at least two people have been killed and over 20 injured in rioting that the authorities have combated using tear gas and clubs.

“The state can do even more,” President Museveni said, in response to clampdowns on communication. “People who think the state is something to joke, that is just a test.” He also hinted he would be ready to work with Mr. Besigye and Mr. Mbabazi if they returned to his governing party, a sign that mediation from foreign powers could become effective.

As night fell on Sunday, so did the veil on communications, and underneath lay the silenced remains of Thursday’s anguish.

“I wll never vote ag’n,” read a Twitter post from one voter who wrote that Mr. Besigye had 1,256 votes compared with 628 votes for Mr. Museveni at his polling site when the results were tallied Thursday. But the commission had said Mr. Museveni garnered 827 votes and Mr. Besigye 260.

One screenshot posted to Twitter of results suggested that Mr. Museveni had earned 760 votes, compared with just two votes for Mr. Besigye, at a polling station with only 437 registered voters.

A video posted online showed voters at one polling site seemingly voting on torn rips of school notebook paper.

“Voice stolen thru ballot stuffing & cheating,” read a Twitter post from Winnie Byanyima, the wife of Mr. Besigye, a political force herself, and the executive director of the charity Oxfam International.

All the ministers will get portfolio-presidency

President Muhammadu Buhari will assign portfolios to all his 36 ministers, the Presidency told Daily Trust yesterday.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, stated this in a telephone interview with our correspondent yesterday.
The president had reportedly said Friday that not all the 36 nominees would be ministers as some of them would only sit in the cabinet in order to meet the constitutional provision which stipulates that each state of the federation must have a representative in the cabinet.
Buhari was reported to have disclosed this during an interview he granted the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Channels Television shortly before he left New Delhi where he participated in the third summit of the India-Africa Forum.
But the presidential aide stated that all the 36 ministerial nominees that had been screened by the Senate would be assigned portfolios.
Shehu clarified that what President Buhari meant was that not all the ministers would have full control of the ministries.
He said the president would retain the structure in which there are substantive ministers and ministers of state.
According to the presidential aide, it is not possible to have a more ministries than the number of ministers.
Shehu said: “You know we have a structure of government in place in this country whereby there are substantive ministers and ministers of state.
“What the president meant (in the interview granted) was that not all the ministers in his cabinet will have the full control of the ministries. You know it is not possible to have the number of ministries more than the number of ministers. Even former President Goodluck Jonathan had 28 ministries and 42 ministers.
“So, what the president meant was that some of his cabinet members would be ministers of state.”
Asked whether this implies that all Buhari’s ministers will have portfolios, Shehu answered in the affirmative, saying: “Yes, that is what it means. But not all of them (the ministers) will have the full command of the ministries”.
Meanwhile, the president was reported to have disclosed in the interview that the country would be lucky if his administration is able to have half the number of the 42 ministers that operated under the last administration.
“There was no reduction of ministers to 36. What the constitution says, and we cannot work outside the constitution, is that there must be a cabinet representative from each state. Yes, there used to be 42 ministers, I think we will be lucky if we can have half of that now because we cannot afford it. Others may not be substantive ministers, but they will sit in the cabinet because that is what the constitution says and we cannot operate outside the constitution,” Buhari was reported to have said.
A source in the presidency told Daily Trust last week that the president may assign portfolios and swear in his ministers on Wednesday.
But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said the president could communicate when to inaugurate his cabinet.

BVN Scam: Even The Most Cautious Person May Fall For This One

One of our readers sent this in and i think its very
important that you all go through it so that you
don't fall victim too because this is to real for
someone not to fall victim. Kindly read below:
“From a friend……..Good morning
Please read this carefully, it may save you a few
hundred, or a few thousand, or may be a few
million bucks. It’s a personal experience, a true
event that happened this afternoon. I am Sunday
Adewole, I just fell victim of fraudsters a few
hours ago. I am an account holder with
StanbicIBTC bank, I am trying to put fund
together to pay for my daughter’s tuition fee in
CU in which case the institution already resumed
last week. Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from
somebody purportedly from StanbicIBTC who said
“Am I speaking with Dr. Adewole” (called out my
other names) to which I answered in the
affirmative. He said he called in respect of my
BVN which I was observed not to have done, I
replied that I already had it done with Skye bank
and he said the bank will send me a link so that
my account with Stanbic will be linked with the
BVN. True to our conversation, I receive a
message from StanbicIBTC in which an OTP was
sent to my phone. A few minutes later, he called
to ask if I got the the SMS, I told him yes but I
can’t do anything about it cos I was driving. He
said no problem I should call out the numbers
which I did and he thanked me for my
cooperation in a customer service manner. I heard
nothing since then till this afternoon at precisely
13:00 hrs when I received a SMS from
StanbicIBTC informing me of a debit transaction
which cleared my account to the lowest thousand,
i.e. I was left with a paltry N685 (six hundred and
eighty five naira). I called my account officer who
confirmed to me that I have fallen victim of
fraudsters and he checked up on my account and
saw that the recipient acct is in First Bank. My
puzzle is how did they get my account details?
How were they able to generate an OTP to my
phone. I am waiting to see what my bank would
do on it. In the mean time, please be aware of
what the 419 people can do. I’ll keep you posted
on any new development.”
http://www.onlineleaks247.com/
index.php/2015/11/02/on-going-bvn-scam-even-
the-most-cautious-person-will-fall-for-this-one/
CC: lalasticlala
lala, kindly put this out there to keep people
informed. Thanks