Asbestos trial involving Ace Magashule's former PA Moroadi Cholota continues
WATCH | Asbestos trial involving Ace Magashule's former PA Moroadi Cholota resumes
Closing arguments in the asbestos roof removal corruption trial within a trial are expected to take place in the Free State High Court in ...
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Mail & Guardian
8 minutes ago
- Mail & Guardian
Uganda's parliament ignores rule of law
Robert Kyagulanyi, aka 'Bobi Wine', leader of the National Unity Platform. Rule of law in Uganda is precarious — injustices, atrocities and oppression abnormalities are the norm. Parliament has passed the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill, which targets dissenting voices, activists and political opponents. This comes ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2026. The draconian Bill turned into law comes amid the abductions and torture of activists and other people who oppose the government in the Buganda region. Key opposition figures such as Achileo Kivumbi, Edward Ssebuufu ( also known as Eddy Mutwe) and Noah Mutwe are among the thousands who have been subjected to such treatment. Ssebuufu, a bodyguard for National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, went missing on 27 April after being abducted by armed men. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda's military chief and son of President Yoweri Museveni, said he was holding Ssebuufu in his Days later, another of Kyagulanyi's bodyguards, Noah Mutwe, was abducted on 15 May by armed men driving a double-cab without number plates. He appeared in court on charges of incitement to violence, hate speech, malicious information and conspiracy to commit a felony related to social media messages. The NUP's head of security, Achileo Kivumbi, was arrested in August 2024 on charges of being in possession of military attire — a T-shirt and cap. He appeared in a general court martial chaired by a brigadier. Veteran opposition politician Kizza Besigye was detained in Kenya and taken back to Uganda where he was transferred to a military court. No extradition proceedings were followed and Kenya denied knowledge of the abduction. He was charged with treason in a civilian court after his case was transferred from a military tribunal. In 2018, Kyagulanyi was first taken to a military court and then transferred to a civilian court on charges of treason. The general court martial is a specialised court set up by the legislative arm to deal with uniformed and military discipline in the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces, not civilians. What is so dangerous about this situation is that martial law is used specifically against Museveni's opponents In January this year, in On 21 May, contrary to the court ruling, parliament passed the Bill allowing military trials of civilians. Museveni and his son still insist on trying civilians in military courts, stating that the move stabilises the country. The president is on record stating that 'civilian courts are clogged with the many court cases of the whole country like murder, rape, assaults, robbery, land matters, divorce matters emphasising that they could not handle gun-wielding criminals quickly'. 'Yet for stabilisation you need speed. Moreover these individuals, although not soldiers, voluntarily and with evil intentions acquired killing instruments that should be the monopoly of the armed forces, governed by the relevant laws.' Museveni's statements hold little substance and 'these individuals' are political opponents and civilians who should not appear in the specialised general court martial. It is against the law and unconstitutional. The legality of this military court was tested in Uganda Law Society vs Attorney General and in 2nd Lt. Ogwang Ambrose vs Uganda. But now Museveni has passed the 2025 Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill. It's clear that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) of the Museveni regime is using the military court as a tool against its political opponents to entrench fear among opposition party members and Uganda's voters. The NRM government has been using political corruption and violence to suppress opposition parties and voters for the past 40 years. My fear is the wrath that is being built and will be unleashed against opponents of the NRM regime ahead of the 2026 elections. Robert Kigongo is a sustainable development analyst.
IOL News
31 minutes ago
- IOL News
Gauteng's new number plates have finally been unveiled
Gauteng's new number plates re designed to be tamper proof. Image: Supplied Following numerous delays, Gauteng's new high-tech number plate system has been unveiled, with the government vehicle pilot process having officially commenced. The new number plates, which were presented by the Gauteng Provincial Government on Thursday, were created with the aim of reducing crime by deterring the use of counterfeit or cloned plates. To that end, the plates are embedded with QR codes, and have track and trace features for easy vehicle identification and registration. They also feature a tamper-evident security decal, designed to expose counterfeiting measures. The new plates have QR codes. Image: Supplied Other details, on the far left-hand side of the plates, are an image of the national flag, country name and United Nations (UN) country code. '85% of all the crimes that are committed in Gauteng, a motor vehicle is involved, either as the getaway or that car itself is stolen, or the registration of that car is faulty,' Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said at Thursday's presentation in the province. 'If we have to fight crime, we have to overhaul the car registration regime.' The Premier said the rollout of a new system came at an opportune time as the province was running out of number and letter sequences with the current number plates. However, motorists won't be forced to upgrade to the new plates just yet. The province's g-Fleet Management vehicles will first pilot the new number plates for six months, before the actual provincial rollout takes place.
IOL News
31 minutes ago
- IOL News
EThekwini Mayor urged to take action against top city official after Concourt ruling
EThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba has received a legal letter, urging him to act against City Manager Musa Mbhele. Image: Thuli Dlamini / eThekwini Municipality Pressure is mounting on eThekwini Municipality mayor Cyril Xaba to act against the City Manager Musa Mbhele following the Constitutional Court's dismissal of the City's appeal to overturn a lower order, which ruled that it must pay a service provider R30 million for the work the company had done. On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court dismissed the City's leave to appeal the Supreme Court of Appeal's decision after that court in February also upheld the earlier Durban High Court's ruling that the City must pay the service provider. The City is also expected to fork out more than R20 million in interest as the debt has accumulated interest since the high court ruling in 2022. The City also incurred legal fees as the appeal was dismissed with costs - now the case has drawn the attention of a former deputy city manager who was charged with misconduct after the city incurred legal costs in a separate matter. On Thursday, Sibusiso Makhanya instructed his law firm, Macgregor Erasmus Attorneys INC to write a letter of demand to the mayor to table the letter to the council within seven days. Makhanya, then the deputy city manager for trading services had been charged for misconduct for causing the City to incur R6 million in interest after it was taken to court by a service provider had not been paid R63.5 million. The City blamed Makhanya for failing to respond to emails from the Chief Financial Officer as there were allegations that the service provider had overcharged the City. The City argued that had Makhanya cooperated, the municipality would have avoided the R6 million in interest. Makhanya eventually left his job. Through his lawyers, Makhanya is now demanding that City management need to be consistent and hold Mbhele accountable for the cost the City will incur as a result of this week's Constitutional Court ruling. 'We brought to your attention then, as we do now, that one of the issues our client raised at his disciplinary hearing was the inconsistent application of the disciplinary code vis a vie himself and Mbhele. Mbhele was the person responsible for eThekwini having the default judgment granted against it and therefore incurring wasteful expenditure. "No further indulgences or communications will be forthcoming from our client and should you fail to act as you are obliged to, then we hold instructions to approach an appropriate forum for the necessary relief,' concludes the letter. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi has joined calls for the mayor to act against officials responsible for the costs. In a statement the MEC called on the City to recover the money from officials that were responsible for the loss. In a short response, the City's spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the municipality has accepted the court order, however, the mayor is yet to respond to the calls for action against for those responsible. Mbhele declined to discussing the letter of demand and referred questions to the mayor's office. [email protected]
