Africa

Lecturer goes to jail for insulting President Museveni in poem

Published

5 years ago

July 8, 2019

Eric

Ugandan feminist and lecturer, Stella Nyanzi has been imprisoned over a poem about ‘Vagina’ she wrote and shared on Facebook in September.

The Ugandan feminist, in the poem, used a graphic description of the birth of the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, and his mother’s private part to criticise his “oppression, suppression and repression” in the country.

Stella, who was arraigned before Buganda Road Court, was charged with “cyber harassment and offensive communication”.

She was accused of intending to disturb the peace and privacy of President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his mother, the late Esteeri.

The poem she wrote, read:

Yoweri, they say it was your birthday yesterday.

How bitterly sad a day!

I wish the smelly and itchy cream-coloured candida festering in Esiteri’s cunt had suffocated you to death during birth.

Suffocated you just like you are suffocating us with oppression, suppression and repression!

Yoweri, they say it was your birthday yesterday. How painfully ugly a day!

I wish the lice-filled bush of dirty pubic hair overgrown all over Esiteri’s unwashed chuchu had strangled you at birth.

Strangled you just like the long tentacles of corruption you sowed and watered into our bleeding economy.

Yoweri, they say it was your birthday yesterday.

How nauseatingly disgusting a day!

I wish the acidic pus flooding Esiteri’s cursed vaginal canal had burnt up your unborn fetus.

Burnt you up as badly as you have corroded all morality and professionalism out of our public institutions in Uganda.

Yoweri, they say it was your birthday yesterday.

How horrifically cancerous a day!

I wish the infectious dirty-brown discharge flooding Esiteri’s loose pussy had drowned you to death.

Drowned you as vilely as you have sank and murdered the dreams and aspirations of millions of youths who languish in the deep sea of massive unemployment and under-employment in Uganda.

Yoweri, they say it was your birthday yesterday.

How traumatically wasted a day!

I wish the poisoned uterus sitting just above Esiteri’s dry clitoris had prematurely miscarried a thing to be cast upon a manure pit.

Prematurely miscarried just like you prematurely aborted any semblance of democracy, good governance and rule of law.

Yoweri, they say it was your birthday yesterday!

How morbidly grave a day!

I wish that Esiteri’s cursed genitals had pushed out a monstrously greenish-bluish still-birth.

You should have died at birth, you dirty delinquent dictator…

You should have died in birth, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

She concluded by saying: “If you want to beat me for my heartfelt birthday poem, come and find me at my home.

“Ask the bodabodamen to direct you to Mama Stella’s house with a red gate. I refuse to be gagged!

The academic had stated that she has no case to answer and pushed for her immediate release, but the judgment wasn’t in her favour. Her request for the court to summon 20 defence witnesses, including President Yoweri Museveni himself was also turned down.

Nyanzi is battling three other legal cases among which is “cyber harassment and offensive communication” trial for a poem calling the President a “pair of buttocks,” which she was granted bail.

She is also in dispute with her former employer Makerere University, which dismissed her for staging a naked protest, and a case disputing her inclusion on Uganda’s “no-fly” list initiated by her critical Facebook commentary.

Nyanzi is still being held at Luzira prison where she has been since November 2018.

Africa

Kenya Protest: Ruto Makes Sweeping Changes, Reduces Aides, Scraps Agencies, Others

Published

3 weeks ago

July 6, 2024

Eric

Kenyan President, William Ruto, has scrapped budgets for the offices of first and second ladies.

The embattled Kenyan leader also dissolved 47 State agencies in a move to cut down government expenditure and pacify dissatisfied youths who have been on the streets for the past three weeks.

Ruto made this announcement during a broadcast on Friday while apologising to protesters clashing with security agents on the streets.

Budget lines providing for the operations of the offices of the First Lady, the spouses of the Deputy President, and the Prime Cabinet Secretary shall be removed,” said Ruto.

The president, who had earlier withdrawn the Finance Bill, which triggered the nationwide protest, has also suspended non-essential travels for government officials and workers. He also stopped the purchase of new vehicles and cut down his advisers by half.

The protests erupted in the capital Nairobi three weeks ago in response to a bill seeking to increase tax.

The protests have morphed into broader discontent with Ruto’s leadership and accusations of police brutality.

Human rights groups claimed 39 protesters have been killed by security forces, with the most brutal crackdown happening last week Tuesday after the parliament passed the bill.

Ruto has since dropped the bill, but the protesters are now demanding his resignation.

Unrest has spread beyond Nairobi, with demonstrations erupting in major cities such as Mombasa and Kisumu.

Africa

Cyril Ramaphosa Re-elected As South Africa’s President

Published

1 month ago

June 15, 2024

Eric

The South African Parliament has, during its first sitting of the 7th Parliament on Friday, re-elected Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa as the President of the Republic of South Africa. He has been re-elected to serve a second term as the President.

Thia was hours after his African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance (DA) agreed to form a coalition, setting aside their rivalry in a historic governance pact.

In terms of the Constitution, the National Assembly must, at its first sitting after its election, elect a woman or a man from among its members to be the President.

Mr. Ramaphosa was elected with 283 votes against Mr Julius Malema with 44 votes. The Constitution states that when elected President, a person ceases to be a member of the National Assembly and, within five days, must assume office by swearing or affirming faithfulness to the Republic and obedience to the Constitution.

The President-elect will be inaugurated during a ceremony in Pretoria which, according to the Constitution, should take place within five days after the President’s election.

Africa

Senegal’s New Govt Cuts Prices of Essential Commodities

Published

1 month ago

June 13, 2024

Eric

The President Bassirou Diomaye Faye-led government of Senegal has reduced the prices of some essential commodities in the country.

The reductions, which also cover cement and fertiliser, will take effect in the next few days, government secretary general Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo told reporters.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was swept to power in a March election, vowed during the campaign to address high living costs in the West African nation that heavily relies on imports.

The issue has featured widely in the media and on social media in recent weeks, with many saying it is a priority.

Under the measures, the price of a kilo (2.2 pounds) of the most widely consumed type of rice will be reduced by 40 CFA ($0.065, 0.061 euros), while a baguette will cost 15 CFA (0.023 euros) less, the government announced at a media conference.