Day

BY AGGREY TWESIGYE
IN MBARARA
The late Rt.Rev.George William Tibesigwa,the Bishop Emeritus of Ankole diocese was Saturday laid to rest at St.James Cathedral Ruharo in Mbarara City.The Bishop passed away at Mayanja memorial hospital in Mbarara City on August 9,2023.

His Grace Steven Kazimba Mugalu,the Archbishop of the church of Uganda led the requiem service.The chief mourner,Milly Babalanda the Minister for Presidency ,was represented by Chris Rwakasiisi the Senior presidential advisor on Special Duties.In his message, Babalanda said that the country has lost a great potential, and hardworking religious leader who used his position to rally the public to embrace peace ,unity and development adding that he will be remembered for humility.

She described Tibesigwa as a great citizen and a servant of God . Babalanda said that the death of the late is a very big loss to the
National Resistance Movement.

During his sermon,His Grace Steven Kazimba Mugalu acknowledged that Tibesigwa’s wise counsel on conflict resolution would be missed.He said the deceased was a very good teacher who taught him sociology at Bishop Tucker Theological college in Mukono district.

Bishop Sheldon Mwesigwa of Ankole diocese said they have lost a father , brother, wonderful friend,and humble servant of God whose contribution to the church will never be forgotten.

Efrance Tibesigwa the wife of the late Prelate said he will be remembered for his simplicity, humility,time management,and friendliness.

The office of the president contributed shs.88million shillings to foot burial expenses.

About the Deceased.

Tibesigwa was born on July,17th,1945 in Ntungamo district.He accepted Jesus as personal savior in 1957.Got married to Efrance Mirembe on December,31,1977.

He is survived by five biological children.

Tibesigwa died on Wednesday afternoon while undergoing treatment at Mayanja Memorial hospital where he had been admitted since the beginning of this week. He had been diagnosed with diabetes. Tibesigwa served as the 4th bishop of the Ankole diocese from 2007 until July 2010. He succeeded retired bishop Elisha Kyamugambi.

At the time of his election, Tibesigwa was serving as the principal of Barham University College in Kabale. Tibesigwa was the first principal to be appointed to Bishop Barhum University, a Kabale-based constituent college of Uganda Christian University.

His election came to some as a surprise after the House of Bishops had rejected Dr Rev Wilberforce Kamukama and his brother Rev Dr Grace Karamura then nominated to replace Elisha Kyamugambi who was about to retire.

He took over after Bishop William Magambo was appointed the caretaker by the Most Reverend Henry Luke Orombi, the then archbishop of Uganda. Tibesigwa was consecrated in Mbarara on 2nd September 2007, together with the Rev. John A.M. Guernsey, an American priest then canonically resident in North Kigezi diocese.

BY VOICE OF MITOOMA ED
Following the launch of their campaign against Plastic pollution, a number of women environmental defenders are facing increasing threats of violence – an alarming trend that signals that movements to champion the environment and environmental justice are becoming too important to ignore.
Since the campaign was launched on June 1, 2023, 24 women environmental defenders who are championing land rights and environmental issues have been attacked. For every defender who has been attacked, many more have been harassed, raped and silenced. Many simply have “disappeared”. Though these events have taken place country wide, most of the violence against these women environmental defenders have been recorded in western Uganda where the campaign was launched. This alarming trend has been noted by all women environmental defenders in the region.

My work with women environmental defenders over the past five years has allowed me to see how these grassroot women environmental defenders lead a larger struggle that is going on countrywide to demand the systems changes required to achieve socio-environmental justice at multiple scales. These women environmental defenders often are part of the most marginalized and powerless communities. They are usually Indigenous women, peasants, women, who rely on their environment for their direct survival. Their livelihoods are disturbed by the most powerful, including agribusinesses, extractive industries, states, and international development organizations and agencies. The power imbalance could not be worse. These women environmental defenders have limited access to all types of resources, and directly oppose the decision makers, the moneymakers, the development goal-setters. In this fight, women environmental defenders face the biggest risk of all: the loss of their own lives. When I directly asked them what drives their mobilization, many of the women environmental defenders responded, “We are doing our work and we have nothing left to lose.”
In many cases, women environmental defenders do not realize the deeply political dimensions of their mobilization. They fight for their land, for their community, for their identity – life’s essentials. However, the violence they face in response shows that their mobilizations threaten established political orders.

In different situations and in different communities around Uganda, these women environmental defenders face the same challenges. They often work in the most isolated places, where the threats are the worst because it is easier to silence their voices in these remote locations. Their mobilizations directly challenge the neo-liberal system and the development community which too often considers Western standards as the goal to achieve for the “developing world”. Women environmental defenders do not reject development, they denounce maldevelopment. They challenge development planning that not only fails to profit their communities and people, but actually threatens their already precarious socio-economic conditions and the local environment. For example, in Uganda, hydropower plants that provide clean energy to cities often displace local communities from their ancestral lands and deprive local people from their livelihoods. Such projects are often funded by governments and international climate finance schemes. In a similar way, some conservation organizations still consider humans as threats to nature, forcibly evicting Indigenous communities from their land, even though their livelihoods directly depended on sustainable use of resources.

The trend of violence against women environmental defenders points at deeper issues that can be addressed. The defenders I have interacted with and suggest how they need support of every one for example starting by documenting their struggles and mobilizations. At Voice of Mitooma, our position also allows us to work with governments, and to help inform policies that are environmentally sustainable and can retain local communities’ access and control over natural resources. Moreover, our work with development partners can emphasize co-designing programmes with local communities — giving them a space to voice their needs, to set their own development goals, and to decide what support can help them to achieve their aims. This will not only help end the violence faced by environmental defenders, but also begin to support our aims of a just and sustainable development.

The work Voice of Mitooma has undertaken with women environmental defenders in Uganda shows that local communities are key contributors to environmental protection and disaster risk reduction through their traditional knowledge and sustainable practices. These women, their livelihoods and our environment are threatened by discrimination, insecure land rights, and inadequate planning.
These women have important stories to tell, as illustrated by the recent launch of the campaign against plastic pollution that is championing and encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment.
The Writer is the Executive Director of Voice of Mitooma, a women’s environmental organization

By Aggrey Twesigye

in Buhweju—–

Police in Buhweju district have launched a man hunt for Bright Bagumaho a resident of Nyamitooma cell in Katara parish,Karungu sub county, Buhweju district who is alleged to have killed his wife.

The deceased was identified as Rose Berry Nalinda ,22years a bar maid in Nyamitooma cell who hails from Rwensuri cell,in Kashangura sub county in Ibanda district.

SSP Martial Tumusiime the greater Bushenyi Police Spokesperson, said a few weeks ago,the man had suspected his wife of cheating on him with other men at the bar where she has been working.

He said that the suspect stabbed his wife in the chest on Friday evening killing her instantly.

SSP Tumusiime added that the deceased’s body was taken to Nsiika Health Centre mortuary for a postmortem report as efforts to apprehend the prime suspect are underway.

By Innocent Atuganyira

BULIISA: A 30-year-old Kolotin Lyutung, a resident of Kyeramya village, Kiganja Sub County, Kigorobya County, in Hoima district, is appealing for support after giving birth to triplets.

She gave birth to the bouncing triplets, one boy and three girl over the weekend at Biiso Health Centre IV in Biiso Town Council Buliisa district.

Speaking to this publication, Kolotin said that she is struggling to breastfeed the newborns because she does not have enough milk to do so.

‘’I’m struggling to breastfeed my newborns because I don’t have enough milk. I’m therefore appealing to the government and well-wishers for support in order to raise my babies,’’ the mother of five said.

Geoffrey Barugahara, the father of the triplets, told our reporter that he has no means of taking care of his triplets since he has no income-generating activity because his fishing gear was set on fire by the Fisheries Protection Unit.

‘’I could earn a living through fishing, but since the fisheries protection unit burned the gears, I don’t have any source of income,’’ he said.

Barugahara therefore asked for the support of the government and well-wishers so that he could raise his newborns.

According to Gatrude Mbabazi, a neighbor, they are the ones currently giving little assistance to the family, noting that the little assistance is not enough.

‘’We were affected by weather changes; most of our crops were scorched by the sunshine; we are therefore calling upon good Samaritans to support them,’’ she said.

Early this year, a woman gave birth to quadruplets at Kagadi Hospital in Kagadi district, Bunyoro subregion.