The News Today

Kampala, Uganda | AFP |  Uganda announced Friday it would not contribute troops to a regional brigade designed to bolster the UN mission in South Sudan, hours before a Security Council vote authorising the deployment. A key ally of South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, Uganda’s government said it did not …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP |  Ugandan officials raided a prestigious private school Thursday to seize copies of British children’s author Jacqueline Wilson’s “Love Lessons”, as a minister who has led several similar crackdowns threatened to close the establishment. Minister for ethics and integrity Simon Lokodo said the book exposed children …

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP |  Kenya on Thursday withdrew a second athletics coach from the Rio Olympics in five days over a doping cheat bid. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had launched disciplinary proceedings against the coach who media reports said had impersonated an athlete for …

COVER STORY: Land mafia pounce With the government pushing for the immediate amendment of the Land Act for it to be able to start acquire private land before compensating its owners, top land lawyers warn that land grabbers could have a hand in the scheme. LAST WORD: Weapons of the …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | The front-runners in Zambia’s presidential election on Thursday are incumbent Edgar Lungu and rags-to-riches businessman Hakainde Hichilema — two adversaries who battled it out only last year. Lungu won that election by fewer than 28,000 votes, securing the right to complete the final months of …

Court has allowed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)  to formally file an application for consideration to be represented in a case in which the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kale Kayihura is accused of brutality against protesters. Before the hearing, several pro-Kayihura protesters displayed placards and chanted, claiming the IGP had no case …

When the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and tax family gather at their Nakawa headquarters on September 15, there will be many milestones to celebrate. September 15, 2016 marks 25 years since inception of URA, having been established by an act of Parliament in 1991 to collect central government revenue and facilitate trade in Uganda. …

Lusaka, ZAMBIA | AFP | Election officials and candidates in Zambia’s presidential vote on Tuesday condemned fresh outbreaks of violence between rival supporters, as concerns grow that the relatively stable country could face worsening unrest. Just 18 months after President Edgar Lungu narrowly won a snap election, he and the …

Having been appointed in October 2014 to replace the long-serving Allen Kagina as commissioner general of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Doris Akol started her tenure on a rather good note. At the presentation of her very first annual revenue performance report in July last year, she was all smiles …

Sale of leaf business takes toll as Tobacco Control Act also gets set to bite By Patrick Kagenda In December last year, British America Tobacco Uganda (BATU) issued a public statement warning shareholders and potential investors that their profits would be significantly lower (by about 20%) than the previous year’s …