Weekly markets in the previously hotspot areas of Uganda that had been ordered to remain closed due to the concentration of the coronavirus can now re-open, health minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng announced on Thursday.
In September (three months ago), President Yoweri Museveni lifted a ban on weekly markets, save for those in the hotspot districts, which at the time registered high numbers of COVID-19 infections.
The districts included Kampala, Soroti, Kalungu, Kabale, Kumi, Tororo, Nwoya, Gulu and Yumbe.
In reopening various sectors of the economy, President Museveni has acted on the advice of the scientists, as Uganda continues on the trajectory of resumption of full-throttle economic activity.
In her address at the Uganda Media Centre on Thursday, Aceng announced that the said locations ‘are no longer hotspot areas’ following surveillance on vaccine uptake and established COVID-19 measures.
They can resume operations but with strict adherance to standard operating procedures and the curfew guidelines.
The health minister was speaking at a time when the world is trying to deal with a new COVID-19 variant (B.1.1.529), which the World Health Organization (WHO) named Omicron and labelled it a ‘variant of concern’.
Researchers say Omicron, first identified by scientists in South Africa, has several mutations that may have an impact on how it behaves, for example, on how easily it spreads or the severity of illness it causes.
Already, it has found its way in a number of countries, from southern Africa to the US and South Korea, among others.
For now, it has not been detected in Uganda.

Members of Parliament hailing from Karamoja sub-region have urged government to use an iron hand to crackdown child traffickers who they say are responsible for the many children on Kampala streets.
The legislators said trafficking of children to beg on the streets is taking a toll on the region to the extent that parents freely handover their children to traffickers.
“I have been to some sub-counties in Napak district, there are actually no children. Apparently, parents think there is good life in Kampala,” said Hon Faith Nakut (NRM, Napak).
Nakut was speaking before the Committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development, which is handling a motion for government to respond to the plight of Karamojong children enslaved in street begging and forced labour. Nakut is the mover of the motion.
Nakut was accompanied by Tumwesigye Michael, the Executive Director ‘In Need Home’, an NGO working on settling street children from Karamoja. Tumwesigye told the committee that parents in Karamoja are being pushed into ‘renting’ their children into street begging due to poverty and hunger.
“We found out that most of these children are borrowed. Those people with children on the streets are not their actual mothers; they borrow children and in the evening pay some money to the parents,” said Tumwesigye.
He explained that the vice has worsened to the extent that even very young children aged less than a year have been trained to beg
Tumwesigye implored government to be concerned that most of the children are mistreated by their supposed employers, and that female children are often sexually assaulted.
Bokora County MP, John Bosco Ngoya, said besides parents, there are non-governmental organisations that are simply making money under the guise of helping street children.
“Maybe there is business in street children and it seems to have reached the apex; there are rackets; there is actually somebody making a killing out of this. There are NGOs which have been created for this cause,” said Ngoya.
MPs proposed that government should begin with putting an end to the practice of Kampala Capital City Authority rounding up street children and dumping them in Kampiringisa remand home.
“This habit of KCCA rounding up street children and taking them to Kampiringisa is inhumane and traumatizes the already traumatized children,” said Ngoya. He added that there is a sizeable number of children that have gone missing from the remand home, and that no one seems to care.
The legislators want government to investigate NGOs and all groups dealing with street children, saying many are actually trafficking children into forced labour.
The Gender Committee has conducted oversight visits on gender-based violence countrywide, and is yet to present its report to Parliament.
The Committee Chairperson, Flavia Kabahenda, said violence against children was among the ‘nasty’ stories that her committee had to listen to. She said the motion will enrich her report, which she is yet to present to Parliament.

UPDF JUSTIFY ATTACK ON ADF CAMPS
Security experts have defended Uganda’s military incursion into the DR Congo in pursuit of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) outlaws that government has accused of masterminding multiple attacks in Kampala.
News of UPDF launching airstrikes in the eastern DR Congo broke yesterday, two weeks after twin suicide bombings hit the Uganda’s capital Kampala, raising questions about the legality and probable exposure to more attacks.
Solomon Asiimwe, a professor of International Relations and Security Studies, said whereas the incursions risks counter-attacks by the terrorists, the government could not do nothing about insecurity breeding in DR Congo.
“The President has an obligation to keep Uganda safe within our country, but if he realises [that] he may not keep Uganda safe, if he does not uproot the rebels in DR Congo because the ground is open for anyone who wants to start a rebellion, Uganda has a right to pursue [the subversive elements],” he said.
He added: “We are at war with ADF…[Uganda] has a right of self-defence, called hot pursuit. We can follow where the enemy has come from even if DRC had not allowed…”
Prof Asiimwe suggested that a join operation by the region would have been more effective in dealing with the Congo insecurity problem, something he said was undermined by differing interest of the neighbours.
“The region must work together. You cannot fight terrorism single-handedly as Uganda,” he said, adding, “Uganda has found [DRC] as a threat, we cannot wait for others to go there,” said.
In a separate interview last night, Phillip Kasaija, a senior lecturer at Makerere University, who is a scholar in International Relations and Security, said: “The justification [for UPDF incursion] is present because of the presence of the negative forces on the Congolese soil.”
“The government knows where the ADF camps are, intelligence has linked ADF as responsible for the things that are going on in terms of destabilisation; so, Uganda has all the right to go across [the border into Congo],” he added.
He said Uganda cannot fold its arms as the Great Lakes Region morphs into a hub for rebels and terrorists.
“…this is a regional problem. There are protocols that have been signed and one [of them] talks about dealing with elements of insecurity … but this is a bilateral arrangement and does not preclude a regional arrangement,” Kasaija said.
The scholars asked the Ugandan military to remain professional, distinguish between civilians and combatants during combat and not entangle in local politics or plunder of DR Congo resources as it happened during the 1996 to 2003 invasion.

BEBECOOL’S WRITER BLACKSKIN REMANDED TO LUZIRA
Songwriter Blackskin, born Frederick Ssenyonjo, has been sent to Luzira prison following his recent arrest on issues concerning Bebe Cool’s ‘Gyenvudde’ song.
Blackskin’s very close friend Eno Beats shared the news that the renowned songwriter was remanded to Luzira prison at the start of the week.
He revealed that Blackskin will return to court next week on Tuesday 9th December, 2021 for another case hearing session.
Bebe Cool and Blackskin fell out when the former breached the agreement that they had set which denied Bebe Cool the rights to release the ‘Gyenvudde’ song without fully completing the latter’s payment.
The Gagamel boss did the contrary and released the song, something which annoyed Blackskin forcing him to drop a different version of the song.
He also threatened to send two faded artistes who do not want to pay content creators back to their villages.
It is further reported that Blackskin has been demanding Bebe Cool Shs500k for the past two years for the ‘Gyenvudde’ song.
He is heartbroken that he has been sent to Luzira over his own property.

HIV TESTING BEFORE SEX DOESN’T GUARANTEE SAFE SEX.
There is this misconception among young people that they can test for HIV before sex and have ‘safe’ unprotected sex.
Here’s why this cannot work💠
There are three types of HIV tests. Nucleic Acid test(NAT)- This is the most accurate and most expensive HIV test. Not routinely done, save for those at high risk. NAT detects HIV genetic material- i.e. RNA unlike other tests that detect antibodies.
NAT is relatively expensive and is used in the following instances; eliminating possibility of a false negative or positive, monitoring effectiveness of HIV treatment (viral load), recent exposure & early symptoms; confirming a diagnosis.
NAT’s superiority is also pegged on its ability to identify the virus sooner than the other types of HIV tests- 10-33 days after exposure.
The second type are HIV antibody tests, these rely on antibodies developed towards the HIV virus. Antibodies are produced by your immune system when exposed to an offending agent like a virus..in this case HIV.
Blood samples can be drawn from the vein, finger prick or oral swabs (e.g Oraquick) can be used. Antibody tests detect the virus 23-90 days after exposure. Antibody tests with blood drawn from the vein are more accurate than finger prick or oral swab samples.
The 3rd type of HIV tests are antigen/antibody test. They detect both HIV antigens and antibodies. Antigens are foreign offenders that activate your immune system. The culprit in HIV is P24. There are laboratory antigen/antibody tests, blood is withdrawn from vein.
Antigen/antibody tests detect HIV 18 to 90 days after exposure. Antigen/antibody tests done in lab with blood drawn from vein are more accurate than rapid antigen/antibody tests with finger pricking.
So what’s the point? Testing for HIV before unprotected sex does not guarantee safety, this is because all these tests as I have elucidated above have a lag time between exposure and when they can be able to test positive.
This asymptomatic period between infection and detection is called the window period and is highly infectious.

MPS QUESTION UPDF DEPLOYMENT IN DR CONGO
Legislators have tasked the government to give a clear report about the military incursion by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), saying President Museveni did not seek the approval of Parliament as mandated by the Constitution.
Yesterday, UPDF spokesperson revealed that the Force had launched airstrikes against Ugandan born Allied Democratic Front (ADF) rebels who have been operating in the eastern part of the Congo.
Government has blamed the ADF for causing insecurity, including suicide bombings in the capital, Kampala.
The news raised questions and concerns from the legislators, who queried why the President did not consult Parliament before undertaking a military incursion that could have effects on the country, especially with the tainted history of Uganda’s involvement in DR Congo.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, who chaired yesterday’s plenary, said: “We need a statement on that and the government should really come out clean (on the matter).”
Article 124 of the Constitution on the Declaration of a state of war requires the President to seek Parliaments approval by written resolution. In the event this is not done, the Constitution mandates the President to give a report to Parliament within 72 hours.
Mr Francis Zaake, the Mityana Municipality MP, who raised the matter first at floor of Parliament yesterday, questioned whether the deployment was not being done in contempt of Parliament.
“Yesterday morning, the UPDF spokesperson confirmed to the country that UPDF soldiers have begun engaging ADF rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, yet, the deployment has not been authorised by this House,” he stated.
Mr Zaake added: “Members, as you recall last time UPDF entered DRC, they looted minerals and Uganda was ordered by the International Court of Justice to pay DRC over Shs10 trillion as compensation. I think we may incur more bills of an invasion that Parliament has not authorised in the first place. Right Honourable Speaker, government may (need) to come and explain this anomaly.”
Mr Jonathan Ebwalu, the Soroti West Division MP, said it was important to keep Parliament in the know about the deployment, especially in light of the current terror attacks in the city and amidst media reports about the ADF crossing from the DRC through Kisoro, a town in western Uganda.
“Is it possible that the minister responsible could consider requesting the authorisation of this Parliament under Article 210 (d) to allow the UPDF deploy in Congo because it is very clear that the beehive of the ADF is in Congo, so, the UPDF could ask the authorisation of this Parliament so that we allow you to deploy in Congo,” Mr Ebwalu said.
Mr Ebwalu, reminiscing of when Uganda entered Somalia for a peace-keeping mission, said such necessary causes are often misused when government is not held accountable.
“Admittedly, this was a strategic and noble cause and since (then), the UPDF has kept its presence in Somalia for 14 years running. The Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs was required to regularly update Parliament on the situation of Somalia. That, however, has not been done in a very long time.
As Parliament of Uganda, we would want to understand; have we achieved our mission following our deployment in Somalia? Do we still need to be in Somalia or it is time for us now to come back home and do other national assignments?” he said.
Francis Mwijukye, the Buhweju County MP, wondered why government did not consult Parliament yet the incursion will further burden the taxpayer. It is not clear where the financing was secured.
“The actions of the army in Congo have repercussions on the economy and taxpayer of Uganda. So I would expect that before such an action is taken, Parliament is informed. We need answers as Parliament and an explanation as to why we are going to fight in Congo without briefing Parliament. You can imagine whether they will come to us and ask if they need more money after having used money for actions without notice to Parliament. The Minister for Defence should come to Parliament and tell us why this action was done without prior notice to Parliament and then why we as taxpayers have to bear such a burden of a Force that prides in fighting everywhere they want to go,” Mr Mwijukye said.
In response, Government Chief Whip and Ruhinda North County MP Thomas Tayebwa said: “We are engaging the authorities in DR Congo over the issue of the ADF. We know why we are engaging, we are focusing on that, and we can’t go beyond that.
On the issue of Somalia, also, whenever it is necessary, we shall be reporting to the House [on the matter].”

The latest is the most heavily mutated version discovered so far – and it has such a long list of mutations that it was described by one scientist as “horrific”. The confirmed cases are still mostly concentrated in one province in South Africa, but there are hints it may have spread further.
The variant is called B.1.1.529 and is likely to be given a Greek code-name (like the Alpha and Delta variants) by the World Health Organization on Friday.
It is also incredibly heavily mutated.
Prof Tulio de Oliveira, the director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa, said there was an “unusual constellation of mutations” and that it was “very different” to other variants that have circulated.
“This variant did surprise us, it has a big jump on evolution [and] many more mutations that we expected,” he said.
In a media briefing Prof de Oliveira said there were 50 mutations overall and more than 30 on the spike protein, which is the target of most vaccines and the key the virus uses to unlock the doorway into our body’s cells.
Zooming in even further to the receptor binding domain, it has 10 mutations compared to just two for the Delta variant that swept the world.
This level of mutation has most likely come from a single patient who was unable to beat the virus.
But the concern is this virus is now radically different to the original that emerged in Wuhan, China. That means vaccines, which were designed using the original strain, may not be as effective. Some of the mutations have been seen before in other variants, which gives some insight into their likely role in this variant.
Prof Richard Lessells, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, said: “They give us concern this virus might have enhanced transmissibility, enhanced ability to spread from person to person, but might also be able to get around parts of the immune system.”
There have been many examples of variants that have seemed scary on paper, but came to nothing. The Beta variant was at the top of people’s concerns at the beginning of the year because it was the best at escaping the immune system. But in the end it was the faster-spreading Delta that took over the world.
Prof Ravi Gupta, from the University of Cambridge, said: “Beta was all immune escape and nothing else, Delta had infectivity and modest immune escape, this potentially has both to high degrees.”
Scientific studies in the laboratory will give a clearer picture, but answers will come more quickly from monitoring the virus in the real world.
It is still early to draw clear conclusions, but there are already signs that are causing worry.
There have been 77 fully confirmed cases in Gauteng province in South Africa, four cases in Botswana and one in Hong Kong (which is directly linked to travel from South Africa).
However, there are clues the variant has spread even more widely.
This variant seems to give quirky results (known as an S-gene dropout) in the standard tests and that can be used to track the variant without doing a full genetic analysis.
That suggests 90% of cases in Gauteng may already be this variant and it “may already be present in most provinces” in South Africa.
But this does not tell us whether it spreads faster than Delta, is any more severe or to what extent it can evade the immune protection that comes from vaccination.
It also does not tell us how well the variant will spread in countries with much higher vaccination rates than the 24% of South Africa that is fully vaccinated, although large numbers of people in the country have had Covid.
The variant that raises significant concerns despite huge holes in our knowledge, and is one that needs to be watched closely and asks deep questions about what to do and when.

CID SET TO ARREST LT. GEN TUMUKUNDE
The Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) is in the final stages of arresting former presidential candidate Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde. Gen. Tumukunde was in September summoned over assault.
It is alleged that on 19/9 /021 at 5pm at Muduuma in Wakiso District, Gen. Tumukunde assaulted one Jasimwa Willy, 29, a casual labourer with “Enkoni”, accusing him of trespass on his land. It is alleged that the General further threatened more harm if he ever got Jasimwa or any other person back on this land without his permission.
According to sources, the victim was a casual labourer to a one Namusisi Betty who apparently has unresolved land dispute with Gen. Tumukunde. Against the above background, Tumukunde was summoned to respond to the allegation. However, to date, Tumukunde has not appeared in Kibuli. Addressing the media on Monday, CID spokesperson Charles Twine said: “If this (summon) is not respected we shall use other lawful means to get him (Tumukunde),” Twine said.