KABAKA WARNS BOBI WINE: STOP THREATENING THE KINGDOM USING THE MEDIA AND RELATIVES

Buganda Kingdom has finally come out and said that Bobi Wine was occupying Kaazi-Busabala land illegally. The Official Statement on Bobi Wine ‘s land issues has finally been released as seen below;

Bulange, Mmengo: On Friday April 8, 2017, Nkuluze, an organ of Buganda Kingdom exercised its rights by taking possession of its land in Kaazi-Busabala. This land is adjacent to local singer Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu’s (commonly known as Bobi Wine) One Love Beach.

In December 2011, Bobi Wine deposited UGX20,000,000 (Twenty Million Uganda Shillings Only) with Nkuluze together with an application to occupy 0.5 acres of land. The UGX20m was his own valuation.

On several occasions, Bobi Wine was informed that the lease application for this land had not been approved and should therefore not carry out activities beyond the confines of One Love Beach. Previously, Nkuluze had agreed to sub-lease 6.25 acres of land to Bobi Wine and there is no contention on this land.

On September 17, 2014, Bobi Wine was informed in writing that the land he applied for wasn’t available for the sub-lease. He was requested to personally attend a meeting on September 29, 2014 with Nkuluze regarding this transaction. Bobi Wine didn’t turn up for the meeting.

On January 18, 2015, Bobi Wine was again informed in writing that the sub-lease of 0.5 acres he had applied for in Kaazi-Busabala will not be permitted as the land lord intends to use the land for different purposes. Bobi Wine was informed that the UGX20m he had deposited would not be refunded since he owed the same office UGX18m (Eighteen Million Uganda Shillings Only) as part of the sub-lease for the 6.25 acres of his One Love Beach. The 6.25 acres of One Love Beach were leased to Bobi Wine at UGX103, 370,000 (One Hundred Three Million Three Hundred and Seventy Thousand Uganda Shillings only) which he had been paying in installments. It is Nkuluze that sub-leased him the 6.25 acres and nothing was demolished on these 6.25 acres.

Bobi Wine was informed that the balance of UGX2m (Two Million Uganda Shillings Only) on the UGX20m he had deposited would be used as part payment of ground rent. At that time, Bobi Wine was in arrears of UGX16,800,000 (Sixteen Million Eight Hundred Uganda Shillings Only) and was informed that his ground rent arrears now stood at UGX14,800,000 (Fourteen Million Eight Hundred Thousand Uganda Shillings only) for the period ending December 31, 2014.

On June 26, 2015, Bobi Wine was informed in writing by the Kingdom that he should cease carrying out activities on the 0.5 acres piece of land as the sub-lease application had not been approved. By this time, Bobi Wine was illegally occupying this land and using it as a parking lot for his One Love Beach. He was advised to concentrate all his activities within the 6.25 acres whose lease had been approved.

Instead, Bobi Wine didn’t only occupy the 0.5 acres, he further encroached on the land by approximately another 1.5 acres. This means that Bobi Wine was now occupying approximately two acres illegally.

On July 1, 2015, Bobi Wine was informed in writing to stop any activities he is carrying out on this land and advised to shift his One Love Beach parking lot within the legally leased 6.25 acres. Bobi Wine refused to adhere to all these instructions.

Finally, on March 27, 2017, Nkuluze informed the O/C Police of Kaazi-Busabala that they will take possession of this land on March 29, 2017 to enable the land lord use his land at his discretion. Bobi Wine was duly informed and got a copy of the letter to O/C Police of Kaazi-Busabala. Bobi Wine didn’t contact Nkuluze upon receiving this letter.

From 2011 to March 2017, Bobi Wine was informed in writing regarding this land and requests to meet him and solve the issue amicably fell on deaf ears.

It is, therefore, surprising that Bobi Wine is now using the media to put the good name of the Kingdom in disrepute when it is him who occupied the land illegally and forcefully.

Some members of Bobi Wine’s family have made phone calls threatening Kingdom employees regarding this issue. We advise Bobi Wine to restrain his family members from making such threats.

Ssaabasajja Kabaka Awangaale

Owek Noah Kiyimba
Minister of Information, Protocol and Kingdom Spokesman

Stella Nyanzi, the Ugandan accused of insulting the president

Ugandan activist Stella Nyanzi has been charged with cyber harassment for referring to President Yoweri Museveni as "a pair of buttocks".

Ms Nyanzi is a controversial academic, who campaigns on a variety of issues, from sanitary pads for schoolgirls to gay rights.

Last year, a dispute about her office at Uganda's most prestigious university led her to stage a topless protest on national TV.

In a conservative society, where homosexual acts are outlawed, she has become an extremely divisive figure.

Her "buttocks" post was the latest in a string of sexually graphic social media entries.

While her audience has continued to grow there are mixed reactions to her musings. Some call her brave, others call her immoral and vulgar, the prosecution in the current case has questioned her mental health.

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Stella Nyanzi: In her own words

Image copyrightBAKISULA STEPHEN

"Why should I cushion Uganda's leaders, yet they neglect Ugandans?"

"Museveni has no money for the sanitary pads he promised, but he is promising street cameras! The lies."

"I threw off my clothes to draw public attention to my oppression and abuse at work."

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Her Facebook post was described as "obscene or indecent", contravening the Computer Misuse Act 2011.

She has denied the charges, saying she only writes in metaphors, and some have argued that the charges are an attack against freedom of expression.

Stella Nyanzi is a 42-year-old mother of three - a daughter of 12 and two nine-year-old boy twins.

She strongly believes that as a Nnalongo - a title given to a mother of twins under Buganda culture - she has a licence to use vulgar language, because that same vulgar language was used during the traditional initiation ceremony for her sons.

Ms Nyanzi is also a human rights activist, campaigning on LGBT issues which are particularly sensitive in Uganda.

On her Twitter handle, she refers to herself as a "queer laughist and writer". She also calls herself "a die-hard Facebooker who loudly speaks her mind based on her banal experiences of life".

In a recent interview, she explained: "I'm a queer by specialisation. I do things queer, I study queer communities in Uganda, that is the language we speak."

This is not the first time that Ms Nyanzi, who describes herself as a medical anthropologist, has literally set social media alight.

Ms Nyanzi first got attention in social media circles in the run-up to the hotly contested general elections of February 2016.

Image copyrightBAKISULA STEPHEN

Image captionMs Nyanzi has accused President Museveni and his wife Janet of failing to honour a campaign promise

She did not hide the fact that she was a staunch supporter of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change presidential candidate Kizza Besigye.

Her writings were often laced with sexual imagery, which fascinated some and repulsed others, especially supporters of President Museveni.

Since then her writings have continued and so have the discussions on the content.

Naked protest

A year ago she was in the spotlight when her battle against eviction from an office at the prestigious Makerere University's Institute of Social Research came to light.

This time her opponent was the renowned academic Professor Mahmood Mamdani, Ms Nyanzi argued that she was being forced to lecture PhD classes which was not part of her contract as researcher.

Professor Mamdani had her office padlocked in a bid to ensure she was relocated.

Ms Nyanzi responded with rants on social media, coupled with a nude protest.

She locked herself in at the premises, and stripped naked in front of TV cameras, causing nationwide shock.

Image copyrightBAKISULA STEPHEN

Image captionMs Nyanzi appeared in a magistrate's court in Kampala

This year Ms Nyanzi turned her attention to the country's minister of education and first lady Janet Museveni.

This after the government reneged on a campaign promise, made by President Museveni, to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls so that they "do not run out of school when their menstrual periods start".

In her customary graphic language, Ms Nyanzi accused the first lady of being out of touch with reality.

This forced the often interview-shy Mrs Museveni to post an interview via her Twitter handle to deny the allegations.

She also said she had forgiven Ms Nyanzi. But this did not stop the diatribes against Mrs Museveni.

Last week the government scrapped a tax on sanitary pads, which some see as a concession to Ms Nyanzi's campaign.

However, she was then arrested last Friday.

Many assumed that this was because of her comments about Mrs Museveni, although this was not mentioned in court.

Apart from the charges, the state prosecution has also made a request to court seeking to ascertain her state of mind, leading to fears she could be sent to a psychiatric ward. She was remanded in custody until 25 April.

While the outcome of the legal process is not clear, Ms Nyanzi is not apologetic and shows little sign that it will change her willingness to court controversy.