The News Today

Uganda’s High Court on Friday ordered the closure of a chain of low-cost private schools backed by Microsoft and Facebook founders Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Judge Patricia Basaza Wasswa ruled the 63 Bridge International Academies provided unsanitary learning conditions, used unqualified teachers and were not properly licensed. The ruling …

COVER STORY: Chinese angry with Museveni An investigation by The Independent shows that sparks are flying between President Yoweri Museveni and his Chinese lenders, Exim Bank, on one hand and between Ministry of Energy officials and of the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd (UEGCL) on the other. Trouble is over …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Uganda told the UN rights council on Thursday that it does not “tolerate” discrimination based on sexual orientation, a claim directly undermined by the government’s widely condemned record on gay rights. Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa also blamed British colonialism for laws that remain on Uganda’s …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya announced Wednesday it was withdrawing from United Nations peacekeeping duties in South Sudan after UN chief Ban Ki-moon fired the Kenyan head of the force for failing to protect civilians. Continued deployment of Kenyan troops in South Sudan “is no longer tenable”, the foreign …

Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Michael O’HAGAN A day after Uganda’s president ordered the closure of one of Africa’s oldest universities, 23-year old Gabriel Deng was hurriedly stuffing his belongings into rucksacks in a rundown student hostel. Pop music blared down the corridor from a nearby room as other students …

Pretoria, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog Wednesday called for prosecutors to investigate alleged criminal activity as it released a report into President Jacob Zuma that fuelled further calls for him to resign. Zuma, whose presidency has been engulfed by multiple scandals, had fought to block the …

The Police on Tuesday fired tear gas, water cannons and gunshots to stop hundreds of students protesting the refusal by lecturers’ to teach them. The anti-riot police which was later joined by the military police shot several times in the air and pepper sprayed the angry students who had gone …

Artisanal miners make a killing from ‘illegal’ gold mining as district authorities, government cry out for more revenue From a distance, “Saigon City” in Lubaali— Kayonza, Kitumbi Sub-County in Mubende District, resembles a desperately crowded refugee camp. Here, hundreds of congested makeshift tents and lodging structures are mostly dressed or …

Uganda’s Minister of Trade Amelia Kyambadde has said the country is ready to ratify the EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite Trade Agreement  before June 2017 and start implementation so as to benefit from a proposed free trade arrangement. Speaking at the end of a regional meeting in Nairobi on Sunday, Kyambadde said it was unfortunate …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | The Central African Republic’s capital was rocked by deadly overnight clashes as France’s defence minister arrived to formally end a military operation there, hailing it as a “success”. Local sources said about 10 people had been killed in a settling of scores between armed …