“My son, go easy concerning the matters of our politics. Do not walk with the violent or you will likely make us face huge problems.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
The voice in this photo is clear. Students and other young people like him and me are more likely to end up into violent squabbles in disputed elections like ours that has just been concluded. But if they get the right message, such as this one, then they will not. Our leaders especially need to take the first step in making sure our country does not take a detour down the violent path. One presidential candidate, Norbert Mao has already declared through...
“The youth, please stay away from electoral violence.” This is a message from a man of a tribe called Abasamya, in Eastern Uganda. His voice is clear. Whatever the results of the elections, do not take your youthfulness to incite violence. It is not news anymore that President Museveni won a disputed election to prolong his stay to 30 years as president. But it is also said that many people did not go to vote, thus, squandering the opportunity...
“Select a leader who will address our health challenges in Lango.” Lango region is one of the places that were brutally affected by the conflict in Northern Uganda. It is home to some of the worst massacres perpetrated by the LRA, and had hundreds of thousands living in IDP camps. The Barlonyo massacre was one of the most horrendous of the two decade long conflict. Lango is also the place where Aboke Girls high school, a school from which the...
A platform for voices of all ugandans regardless of political or religious inclinations.
We don't always have to agree, but we should always try to find compromise.By Andy Kristian Africa is on the brink of losing only what she’s got left; that is, her land. The telescopes of several countries and corporations are on Africa, which until recently still possessed vast areas of arable and virgin land. This shift is due to the rising food prices, climate change and massive populations in Asia, particularly, China, Arab Countries...
Learn MoreDear Ugandans, Recently, the president has tactically shifted the national debate on the ailing economy and his government’s mismanagement of money to the subject of Mabira Forest and his threats to cut it down by giving it away for sugar cane planting. The president would be stupid to attempt to do that, and conventional wisdom would show he will not. But President...
Learn MoreLast week, I mentioned that at the begging of last year, I wrote an article for an online news-wire listing and explaining 10 (ten) things that I though the government of Uganda needed to address immediately. A year later; or just last week, the daily monitor listed down 10 (ten) key issues that they believe the government of Uganda/ President Museveni need to fix. Their...
Learn MoreAt the begging of last year, I wrote an article for an online news-wire listing and explaining 10 things that I though the government of Uganda needed to address immediately. One year later; in today’s Daily Monitor, the daily monitor lists down 10 key issues that they believe the government of Uganda/ President Museveni need to fix. Their own article can be found...
Learn MoreBy P. Onyait-Odeke Recently, walking to work became the new phenomenon in Uganda’s Politics; a country where the population is experiencing a steadily rising inflation that has caused fuel & commodity prices to escalate. From 11.4 to 14.1% in just one month the cost of living is so high that the majority of the people are finding it hard to feed. Just two months...
Learn MoreThis week: On Thursday May 12, President Museveni is slated to be sworn in as president of Uganda. That will be the commencement of his 4th term in office, totaling 30 years altogether at the top by the end of his new term. Also, sometime this week, Museveni’s main challenger to the presidency and his old time friend, Dr. Kiiza Besigye will return from Kenya where...
Learn MoreEarly last year, I wrote for an online news wire with deep conviction that Norbert Mao of Democratic Party (DP) should not acquiesce to combine forces with Kiiza Besigye of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and Olara Ottunu of Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) to field a joint presidential candidate. I believed that more than one presidential candidate was a good...
Learn MoreUntil now, it appears that President Museveni has no remorse over what’s happening to a lot of Ugandans and the treatment of the opposition at the hands of the security organizations. Mr. Museveni was questioned on Nation TV Kenya about the handling of the arrest of Dr. Kiiza Besigye, and without any shame, said that the security agents are young and can make a...
Learn MoreInitially, this blog-site was about me and how I could provide a platform for Ugandans to speak using their images. Today, this is about all of us Ugandans who know how to use a computer and the internet to echo the voices of millions of voiceless Ugandans using this platform. So, do not hesitate in starting to write and share your ideas with us and hundreds of...
Learn MoreStatement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs PRESS RELEASE RIOTS WITHIN KAMPALA CITY On 27th April 2011, Dr. Besigye was granted bail from Nakasongola court and one of his bail conditions clearly stated that he should not involve himself in unlawful assembly and processions as it would attract crowds within Kampala city disrupting the peace, security, and...
Learn MoreAre humans inherently evil? Is anybody capable of doing the most cruel act to another person? Let’s bring it home; do you or me have the potential to unleash evil of cataclysmic proportions to another being? The answer is YES! But why do I ask this question? Yesterday, today/yesterday, a very young man who belongs to the police unit of Uganda presided over and...
Learn MoreSomething unprecedented is about to happen in Uganda! President Museveni and the opposition leaders are reported to be in plans for a meeting. The meeting is said to be arranged by a forum of all political parties. It is unprecedented because this would be the first time that Mr. Museveni will be meeting his strongest challengers to the presidency in such an arrangement,...
Learn MoreFor three weeks now, Ugandans, mostly from the opposition have been protesting the rising inflation reflected by high food and fuel prices. From the onset, the initiative seemingly led by Dr. Besigye and Mr. Mao has turned violent, with the police not allowing the two men and their followers to exercise their “right to walk.” The police have reasoned that the...
Learn MoreIn February, blogger Sasha Dichter called for a reboot of Valentines Day to Generosity Day. The response was good and to a lot of people, it made sense. In fact, I wrote to Sasha on the same day to tell him that myself and a group of a few other individuals had been planning for a generosity day in Uganda. In one day however, it will be April Fools Day which in my view...
Learn MoreWe all thought that the election was long gone and over, but alas, brace for a new race. Reports from Kampala indicate that the seat for speaker might become a hotly contested one. This is a good sign, as it shows that even the members of Parliament are dissatisfied with the current speaker, Edward Ssekandi. His legacy has left so much to be desired, and has been widely...
Learn MoreFinally, Kampala mayor election was won by the opposition. Erias Lukwago trounced his rival Peter Ssematimba. In a show of goodwill, yesterday Peter Ssematimba conceded to his opponent while speaking to the press and promised to work towards supporting the efforts of making Kampala a better and cleaner metropolis. On the other hand, the incidents following Lukwago’s...
Learn MoreLast year, Parliament voted to make the post of Kampala mayor a ceremonial one. I have no clue of the details of the law. One would think however, that this would have made the position of Kampala mayor very less attractive to the position and ruling government. Far be from it! The post is hotly contested by the candidates and their respective parties. The poll for this...
Learn MoreYesterday, I was terrified to read in the Daily Monitor News Paper that less than 2 weeks since the new members of Parliament after being sent as people’s representatives, one member and a state minister is planning to forward a bill that seeks to increase presidential terms from 5 years to 7 years. Holy cow! I rarely swear, and this is one of those opportunities...
Learn MoreDear Ugandans, and all those that care for her. Today, I heard through twitter that FDC had called for a peaceful demonstration in Uganda following the disputed elections. I followed up with a chat with one of the staff at DANIDA, an agency that funded the Voices of Uganda/Honor Your Vote national communications campaign. She told me that even though the announcement was...
Learn MoreToday was election day. There has been no violent skirmishes so far, which is wonderful. I reckon it will not get bad, this is because the all the candidates do not seem to want to go this way, and it also seems the people don’t want to go that way as well. It means that our work, and that of many other organizations has not been in vain. The presence of heavy...
Learn MoreOh Uganda, may God uphold thee! We lay our future in they hands, united, free, for liberty, together we’ll always stand… The every journey has an end, except one. The pregnant woman gives birth; the happy courting couple get married; the kid in fourth grade ends the year and goes to sixth grade; we all live and then die. Even electoral campaigns have been a...
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“Our main need is electricity! Our other needs are good roads that link Pakwach to Wadelai, even by bicycle. We need to make technological leaps in agriculture. We need education.” I decided to paraphrase the message of this community, because they insisted that four lines on manila was not enough to voice out their needs. Electricity is a huge issue, and who...
Learn MoreHi! Did you actually think we were done posting with our photo essay? Hell No! We are still hear. We were just taking a little break, and trying to make sure we still have some photos to post at-least a few days before election day. So, rather than post daily, we shall now post perhaps one photo every two or three days. But keep visiting daily to check on our blog, and...
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“We need a free and fair election.” Ivory Coast’s election is still in dispute, after having been concluded a few weeks ago. The main reason is that the election, claimed to have been won by either party, is not accepted as having been free and fair. Uganda can not afford to go the same way. We want a free and fair election, that’s our right, and...
Learn More“Day 2? Sha! How about Day 1?” Ha! Day one of the exhibition went really well. That was yesterday at the Uganda National Theater. But before I tell you all the good stuff that happened, the day did not begin very well. As the morning began, and as I was heading to the national theater dealing with the logistical issues of the exhibition, I knocked (in my...
Learn MoreThe Voices of Uganda Kampala Exhibition is taking place this Thursday January 20, to Sunday January 23, beginning daily at 10.00am to about 08.00pm. It will happen outside on the pavement of the National Theater, lining up from Dewinton Street all the way to Parliament Avenue, and we become the first to be allowed to hold such an exhibition in that way. Somehow, the...
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Elect a leader/s who will ensure proper monitoring and improvement of service delivery in the health sector.” If you have been following this photo blogsite, or if you have taken time to go through many of the photos and their messages, you have then noticed that some themes or issues are recurrent – what we mean is, several people have spoken on the same...
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“The youth of Mbarara/Uganda are expecting to vote for leaders who will develop the country.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“A corrupt leader is an enemy of our society/community. Please vote wisely.” Ever thought about it and how corruption denies many Ugandans their basic rights? So, how come we keep seeing “convicted felons” in leadership, voted into office by us the very people they steal from? How ironic! When a politician cheats and steals from the government, it...
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“In Karamoja, we need to select leaders who will address our education needs.” We are now halfway through the photo essay. We hope that it has been meaningful to you, and that you are inspired to action! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“My home was hit and destroyed during the last elections.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“I adjure the youth/students to stay away from bad groups that might influence them into violence during the elections period.” When I was a sophomore at Makerere University, my kid brother came to visit. He crashed with me for the week as his school was on holidays. I was a resident of Northcote/Nsibirwa hall, sharing the room with my cousin who doubled as a...
Learn MoreHello folks! It seems that today we are mostly interested in updating you on the twitter hashtags. We just wanted to quickly let the whole world that the twitter hashtag for the January 09 Sudan referendum is #Sudanref. This hashtag is not our creation. Others have come up with it so that you may be able to share information and updates on the proceedings of the...
Learn MoreToday, social media is part of the way we communicate to those in, around and out of our space. Social media tools such as facebook, stumble upon, youtube, flickr and twitter are at the center of how we communicate and share information. Perhaps, the most powerful microblogging and information sharing tool in the world today is twitter. Twitter is a web platform designed...
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‘We should vote for a leader/s that will ensure improved standards of living for the people of Northern Uganda/Uganda.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“Vote for a leader/s who will ensure that there is increased medical supplies in hospitals and health centers.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“A leader/s who will improve our healthcare are whom we should vote for.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“We need a leader/s who will ensure equal distribution of resources irrespective of sex, tribe or religion.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
Learn MoreHi! Welcome to the year 2011. We are thankful to God that you made it through the year 2010 and are prayerful that Uganda can make it through the year 2011, especially the months of January, February and beyond, with no hick-up. I was reading a facebook post of a local radio dee jay, who shortly before she left her show on Dec 31st, she was given a death announcement to...
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Let us vote/select those who will correct the deficits in our health care provision system. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“We need peace and non-violence during election season.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“Your vote is more valuable that salt, sugar or money. Please do not sell it.” A report in the Daily Monitor news paper of Uganda reported only a day ago that a local poll revealed that 7 out 10 Ugandans responded that if offered a bribe by politicians during elections, they would take it. The same poll reports that more that at least 15 percent of the...
Learn MoreFolks, we thought we would number these photos from Day 1 until Day 45 when the photo essay supposedly ends, but it seems we might have to ditch that plan…not do away with the pictures themselves, naaaa, but the numbering. Because it is now confusing to you, even to us! We thought our web designer and wordpress and whoever else are involved had designed a very...
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“Our roads are in a terrible state. Let us select/vote a leader(s) that will guarantee the infrastructure is fixed and up to standards.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“Do not involve yourself in acts of violence during this election period.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“The glory of Buganda is in the vote. Cast yours wisely.” Ha! Buganda, Buganda, Buganda! What is the glory of Buganda? It is a lot of things. It is the kingdom, which in itself is a lot of many things. In fact, we would rather have a debate on this photograph and what your own views are than give our own opinion. The photo is what it is; and the message is...
Learn MoreFolks, if you are like us, you are tired of the incosistencies in publishing of the images on this blogsite! This time, the excuse is that in Uganda, internet has been intermittent over the last couple days. And there has been a little bit of laziness…sometimes it is like no one is reading out there, because the feedback has been rather unforthcoming from you who is...
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“Your vote is powerful enough to fight corruption. Please vote wisely.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“Too much taxation cripples small business. Lower taxes mean more money in the hands of the poor. Let us vote for a leader(s) who will advocate for lower taxes.” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
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“Vote out the corrupt.” In a recent report by Transparent International, it is revealed that at least one in every four Ugandans was involved in bribery in the last one year. At the heart of corruption in the country is the leadership, local or national. Service delivery has been hamstrung because of theft of public resources at most levels of governance....
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“Vote for a leader (s) who will ensure the development of agriculture.” More than 70 percent of Ugandans live in the rural areas. At least 99 percent of the people who live in rural areas earn some money from agriculture; by selling that which has not been consumed. The money earned helps in educating children, accessing health care, and any other needs. To...
Learn MoreHey all, We are currently traveling and are unable to update this blogsite with our photo of the day series on voices of Uganda. But we will be back with a bang. In the mean time, if there is away that you know in which we can improve this, do drop us a line in a comment box below. We reply to all our correspondencies. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Fac
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“I lost relatives and property in the last election violence.” May be you are like this woman, and you lost family, property, business etc. Or may be it was your neighbor or someone you know. Whoever you are, whatever your experiences, we can change…. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet a
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“Let us select leaders who will ensure creation of employment opportunities for our (Busoga) huge population.” Uganda’s population is now at an estimated 33 million people. The population growth rate is said to be among the very highest in the world, with a possibility that Uganda’s population could double within 20 years. Yet, the unemployment...
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“My brother/sister, do not involve yourselves in violent conflicts. The bottom line is that you will die in the process.” If you are like me, you are getting fatigued of the messages on violence. The reason they are non stop are two; first, the original idea was a solely non violence campaign so we can rest assured we got plenty of those. The second and main reason,...
Learn MoreHey all, assuming you are there (we can’t know because we are not getting any feedback from you). Any how, the announcement is that Day 5 photo will delay. It will make it on Day 05, but for sure it aint coming as early as they always do. We are working on resolving this technical problem; just wondering if we should pull the white or red wire…that’s...
Learn MoreToday is Day 4 on our blogsite and thanksgiving day in America. We give thanks to God for Uganda. We need to cherish our country “okukamala.” Many signs show that we do not. When you see a guy driving a Mercedes Benz roll down his window and throw trash on the road as they drive you think either of two things; having no heart for this country, or sheer...
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“Do not steal votes. It breeds violence.” This is the biggest causes of electoral violence. Cheating worthy winners or the feeling of unfair play in elections is not uncommon, any where in the world. In a country with high levels of corruption at all levels, the attempt and desire to cheat at elections is a given. Nevertheless, there can also be a tendency to...
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“When election violence happens, as small-time entrepreneurs (boda-boda riders) we can not go to work, and therefore, we cannot meet our obligations such as bank loans. Yet, banks (creditors) do not care whether there was violence or not” What do you think of his statement? How true and obvious this is, but how ignorant and blind we become when we incite, encourage,...
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