Amuru craves for alcohol ordinance as Sacket dealers in Gulu defy the law.

By

Abalo Irene Otto

Communities in Amuru district are demanding that the district emulates
Gulu district in formulating an ordinance on the sale and consumption
of Alcohol to save the youth from reckless behave and reduce crime.

Anena Evalyn, the Secretary Women affairs in Pabo Sub County commended
Gulu district for the ordinance but castigated the leaders for
neglecting neighboring districts to have uniform voices to end Sacket
waragi consumption in Acholi Sub region.

Cue in….Anena Evalyn on Ordinace……………….

Geoffrey Omony, the councilor three of Labala parish Pabo Sub county
Amuru district says Gulu as a mother district to other districts
should put the ordinance to good use as Amuru plans to table the same
before its council.

Cue in….. Councillor Omony on ordinance……..

Meanwhile some bar owners in Gulu district have expressed resistance
to the ordinance.

Partrick Okwera a bar Owner in Awoonyim Parish, Bungatira sub county
Gulu district says that the Sackets earned them more money in the
business and worries for the fate of his business since Gulu district
is now implementing the ordinance on the sale and consumption of
alcohol.

Cue in…..Bar owner Okwera on Sackets……………

Okot Charles a Sacket dealer in Gulu town says he cannot make accept
to follow the ordinance to make losses in his business without
compensations.

Cue in …..Okot Charles on Sackets……………

In a letter addressed to Gulu Chief Administrative Officer dated
September 23, the district has been permitted to place restrictions on
sale, consumption and time of opening bars.

According to Ojara Martin Mapenduzi, the Chairman LCV of Gulu
district, the aim of the ordinance is to address the current high rate
of alcohol abuse that has led to low productivity especially among men
and the youth.

Gender Based Violence on the rise during festive seasons

By

Abalo Irene Otto

Domestic violence in the community is expected to rise this festive
season according to police and non-governmental organizations working
on Gender Based Violence.

According to Action Aid that runs a GBV shelter in Amuru to help
survivors, majority of domestic violence cases are recorded during and
after the harvest seasons in December and January that fall in the
annual festive season.

Josephine Laker, Action Aid Project Officer, Amuru GBV shelter told
URN today that they receive about 300 cases of domestic violence every
month due to disagreements on right to crop produce.

Cue in ……..Josephine on Domestic Violence………………

34 year old Agenorwot Agnes of Pagak Parish in Amuru district shared
with URN her experience of domestic violence that occurs during the
festive season.

Cue in………..Agnes on GBV experience…………………….

Martin Okoyo, Gulu PDC told our reporter in an interview in Gulu town
that Gulu district equally registers high rates of domestic violence
during the festive season.

Cue in …..DPC Okoyo on domestic violence…………..

Josephine Laker advises that couples should engage in mediations and
discussions to end domestic violence in the community in order to
enjoy a peaceful festive season.

Cue in………. Josephine on mediation……..

According to Justice and reconciliation Project, there is an increase
in domestic violence due to poverty, alcoholism and other war related
factors. Survivors of GBV encounter violence in their marriages and
are stigmatized by co-wives, in-laws and even husbands.

“Don’t tempt the iron bar hit men,” says Gulu DPC

By

Abalo Irene Otto

Uganda-Gulu DPC Martin Okoyo has cautioned the public against reckless
lifestyles of alcoholism and moving late in the night during this
festive season that makes them vulnerable to attacks by criminals.

Okoyo in his charismas message today told our reporter that it is the
responsibility of an individual to guard himself or herself from harm
because police and the army cannot be deployed to guard every single
person who moves in the night in the whole district.

Cue in ….Okoyo on Police and the army……………..

Residents of Gulu town have continued to live in fear of the current
wave of insecurity caused by iron bar hitmen.

The hitmen have been targeting innocent members of the public however,
local artists and radio presenters have also been victims of the
attacks.

Last week, police in Gulu arrested 15 suspects from Kasubi parish,
Bardege division who confessed to being in connection with attacks on
members of the public.

Cue in…….. Okoyo on iron bar hitmen……..

Since December last year, iron bar hit men have been attacking their
victims within the areas of Nakaser, Tegwana and Labourline parishes
in Pece Division, Gulu Municipality.

Mobile money fraudsters cause agents tears

By

Abalo Irene Otto

Mobile money fraudsters are causing mayhem on agents again after realizing that people have known their old tricks of pretending to work with a telecom company offering the service and thus seeking details about the agent’s account, including their pin number. The cheats would later transfer cash from the agent’s account to his and later withdraw the money.

Due to change in fraud schemes by the conmen, Mobile Money agents in Gulu are counting losses as unidentified group of organized con men are skillfully drawing from their accounts huge sums of money.

Nalubega Fatuma, an agent at Gulu main market is one among many mobile money agents who report their cases to the police daily after discovering the loss.

She told our reporter that she is yet to recover from a loss of 1.5 million shillings that was conned from her on the 14^th November 2016. She told radio Rupiny that the con men had all the details of her boss and used it to convince her to send money into their accounts.

Cue in………………Nalubega on Mobile Money agents…………..

Meanwhile police insists that the operators have to be on the lookout because the con men are changing their tactics of stealing from them. On a daily basis, at least two cases are reporter at Gulu Central police Station a figure that could be much higher due to unreported cases.

James Asubu, the OC Crime at Gulu central police station told Radio Rupiny that the con men are in an organized group and their transactions are instantaneous.

Cue in ……..Asubu on Mobile Money conmen………………….

The mobile money sector is dominated by two telecoms, MTN Uganda and Airtel, who together account for 99% of mobile money agent market presence in Uganda, according to reports from Financial Sector Deepening Uganda and The Helix Institute of Digital Finance.

 

Uganda Police demands for an amendment of drugs law

Uganda, East Africa. Police in Gulu, Northern Uganda, are demanding for an amendment of the law on illicit drugs that is too weak to act as a deterrent to opium smokers in the district.

James Asubu, the OC Crime told our reporter that opium smoking is a major contributor to crime in the district.

Asubu adds that every month, the arrest about 90 opium smokers but are releases and punished mildly with community service which can not deter the offenders from re offending.

” We arrest 3 to 4 opium smokers daily.”

Asubu also blames the weak judicial system for the continuous opium smoking in the district.

In Koch Gomah Sub County, Nwoya district, charcoal burners are known for growing marijuana where they cut the trees and this has become a source of insecurity to the community.

Okullu John Bosco is the LCIII of Koch Goma. He shares with our reporter how opium growing and smoking is a cause of fear and death in the community.

A reliable source who is an expert in illicit drugs who preferred anonymity told our reporter that opium smokers are expensive to treat and majority are ignorant of the long term effects on their health.

” Marijuana makes you to become insane. It makes your blood to pump very fast and makes you to do what any other normal person can not do.”

Unfortunately, Gulu has only one rehabilitation centers for addicts in Gulu located at For God parish in Bardege division and is overwhelmed with handling such cases.

On 9/4/2015, Uganda the Narcotic drugs and psychotropic Substance Control Act to control the possession of, trafficking in narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances and cultivation of certain plants like Opium. But consumption continues to cause problems of insecurity in Northern Uganda and other parts of the country.

By

Abalo Irene Otto