Obote Family Receive Kampala Mansion
New Vision (Kampala)
NEWS
April 14, 2006
By Cyprian Musoke
KampalaTHE Government has completed repairs on former President Apollo Milton Obote's mansion on Impala Avenue, Kololo, and handed it over to the family.The two-storey mansion now has a new cream coat of paint, and the large windows have been fitted with white curtain nettings.But the family said the Government had not met its whole bargain, like fixing the fence and the compound.Henry Opiote, the personal doctor to Miria Obote, however, said yesterday although the house appeared to be in good shape, the Government had not met the whole bargain."We have been asking the Government since October when they intended to finish up the work but we are still waiting for their response," he said.Opiote, who said he was living in the house, pointed at the newly-planted lawn. He said without a fence, the house was exposed to passers-by.James Akena, Obote's son and new MP for Lira Municipality, said the Government undertook to complete the entire structure, including the fence."It is in good shape but there is no fence. Basically the Government has removed its hands off the house, and says it is up to us to do the rest," he said.Asked whether this was okay with the family, he replied, "Well, they should have completed the entire structure but...." He did not complete the sentence.He said his mother, Miria Obote was living in a rented residence in Kampala, which he did not disclose. He said work had also started on their house in Lira.The house was being used by soldiers during Obote's exile in Lusaka, Zambia, untill his death.According to the ministry of internal affairs, the family renewed demands for the return of the house, prompting the Government to set up a committee to oversee the evacuation of soldiers and the renovation.Internal affairs minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the head of the committe, could not be reached for comment yesterday. He was said to be in a meeting the whole day and his phone was switched off.@@@@@@@@@ Quid pro quo? @@@@@@@@@@@@@@UPC Salutes Resettlement of Displaced People
The Monitor (Kampala)
NEWS
April 20, 2006
By Evelyn Lirri
KampalaTHE Uganda Peoples Congress has welcomed the government's move to return thousands of internally displaced persons back to their villages.The party President, Ms Miria Obote, however, warned that the resettlement should be adequately addressed correctly, "because it could undermine the whole process and lead to other forms of disasters."UPC welcomes the decision to close the IDP camps and resettle the affected Ugandans to their former homes,"' Miria said.This was during the weekly party press briefing at the party headquarters at Uganda House in Kampala yesterday.Miria said to effectively implement the resettlement exercise, the government should create an autonomous resettlement and rehabilitation commission to manage and oversee the exercise.Involve stakeholdersShe said members of the commission should be drawn from all stakeholders including the government, opposition political parties, civil society, religious and leaders from the affected region.On Sunday, the army announced that IDPs would start returning to their homes this week, after 20 years of living in camps under squalid conditions.The announcement, however, drew a mixed reaction.Area MPs strongly opposed the move, relief agencies urged caution while some of the affected IDPs said they won't return unless their security is guaranteed.Currently an estimated 1.6 million people have been internally displaced as a result of the Joseph Kony led insurgency in the northern region.According to the army, the resettlement exercise would begin with displaced persons in the Lango and Teso sub-regions.Acholi region not safeArmy spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye, said the resettlement would not extend to the Acholi sub region because "there are a few rebel remnants."However, UPC said it is not convinced by the reasons given by the army for the non-closure of IDP camps in the Acholi sub- region. "Time and again we have been told that the war is over and that there are only few rebel remnants. Why can't the UPDF offer adequate security to the people of Acholi in the villages?" Miria asked."UPC suspects there are hidden motives by the government not to close the Acholi camps"She said: "It appears the government wants to continue punishing the Acholi people for leading the opposition against the NRM government. This discrimination against the people of Acholi must stop."Miria said because the camps in the Acholi sub-region are the most dehumanising, they should be closed as a matter of priority, saying the affected people have suffered for too long.
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