The sample photo of the Royal Gin and some soft drinks which were confiscated by the Juba City Council authorities on Thursday in Juba. [Jenifer James, The City Review]

The authorities of Juba City Council confiscated over 40 cartons of the Royal Gin and soft drinks suspected to have failed the consumption standards. 

The seizure was done during the market inspection by the council authorities on Thursday.

Speaking to the media, the acting mayor of Juba city council, Mogga Franco, said they were enforcing the orders from the Central Equatoria State to ban the drinks.

“We have discovered that these drinks are harmful to our people, and we will not allow that these drinks continue in our respective markets,” he said.

He warned that traders stocking up the drinks would face the law and such will include revoking their licences. 

“We close these shops in the meantime to allow the team to render a report, and that is less than three to four hours of the day. Once that is done, it is the report that will now allow authority to proceed,” he said.

Last year, a member of the national legislature called for the implementation of the order banning Royal Gin in Juba ahead of the festive season.

Arkangelo Minawe said such drinks are being abused mostly by teenagers, and their consumption had increased, especially during Christmas and New Year celebrations. 

“I am informing this able August House to collaborate with IGP to impose some laws on those drinks, and I learned that the industry or manufacturing of that alcohol is here in Juba. The South Sudanese are also importing dangerous things (drugs) for young people, and now we have counted many young people who have passed away because of that drink.”

This was after the governor of Central Equatoria State, Emmanuel Adil, issued an order banning royal gin which is commonly known as “Jana Fara” in the Juba. By Jenifer James, City Review

American firms are losing out on business and contracts in Kenya because top government officials demand bribes, the U.S. trade office said in a report released last week, warning that corruption will hurt foreign investment.

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, American businesses are finding it hard to secure Kenyan government contracts meant to develop the East African nation because senior government officials seek a bribe before awarding such jobs.

The 2024 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers said that the contracts are going mainly to foreign firms willing to pay the bribes. 

This level of corruption, say the authors of the report, will cause Kenya to lose future investment from businesses and countries that shun or punish corrupt activities. 

Cleophas Malala, secretary general of Kenya’s ruling party, acknowledged that Kenya's procurement and payment system has been a problem but said President William Ruto and the government are working to solve the problem.

"We know it's a challenge to us, but the president is keen on fighting corruption. You’ve seen how hard he has been. He moved very swiftly when the KEMSA saga came up,” Malala said, referring to a corruption scandal last year involving a $28 million contract that led to the dismissal of the top officials at Kenya’s Medical Supplies Authority.

“He has been steadfast in ensuring that any public officer who gets involved in corrupt activities languishes his position and faces the rule of law,” Malala said. “As a political party, we've said time and again that we are not going to defend anybody." 

According to a survey by Kenya’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the country’s interior, health and transport ministries are the most corrupt. The survey showed that the size of the average bribe doubled in 2023.

Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi told VOA that American businesses are simply being asked to follow what has become a standard procedure in Kenya. 

"Kenyans pay bribes every day, not because they want to, but because they are forced to,” Mwangi said. “If you want to apply for an ID, you need to pay a bribe. You go to the police, you tell them to investigate a crime, you pay a bribe. You want to ask for a passport, you pay for a bribe. We are a bribe nation.

“One of the reasons the Chinese succeed in this country very well in doing business is because they are able to pay to play,” he said, adding, “The Americans are not told to do something that is not common. They've been asked to do what's been the norm in this country. ... Corruption is a way of life in our country."

Last year, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission said the lack of transparency, accountability and public participation in some government projects creates a breeding ground for corruption. 

That aligns with the U.S. trade office report, which said American firms complained of excessive complexity and inefficiency in the procurement process for contracts.

Malala said the government is working to change some of the procurement laws to help fight corruption and allow investors to compete fairly.

"We would want to ensure that all our investors get justice when it comes to the procurement system," he said.

Kenya finished low on the Transparency International corruption rankings for 2023, ranking 126th out of 180 countries measured for perception and prevalence of corruption. Source: VOA

A Makerere University alumnus has asked President Yoweri Museveni not to assent to the university council's recommendation to appoint Prof William Bazeyo as chancellor over questionable academic papers.

The chancellor is the titular head of the university. He presides at all ceremonial assemblies of the university and confers degrees and other academic titles and distinctions. The chancellor is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the university council.  

In December, Makerere initiated the search for a new chancellor to replace Prof Ezra Suruma after his eight-year stint at the university. The university planned to finish the process on time so that the new chancellor could preside over the 74th graduation, but this did not happen, and vice chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe presided instead. 

Since then, the university has never pronounced itself on any development regarding the process. However, according to reports, the university council nominated Bazeyo, a former deputy vice chancellor in charge of finance and administration, and Eng Charles Wana Etyem, former university council chairperson. Their names were sent to the president for consideration. 

Reports also indicated that former Agriculture minister Victoria Ssekitoleko and former vice chancellor of Gulu University Prof Jack Pen-Mogi Nyeko were dropped by the search committee. Nawangwe confirmed that nominees had been sent to the president, but declined to reveal the names. 

“The position of chancellor is a council matter. Nominations have been sent to the visitor who will make the appointment.” Nawangwe said. 
Sam Ninsiima in a letter to the president, accuses the university council of prioritizing their interests by proposing Bazeyo to the detriment of the broader university community.  

“Your excellence, kindly allow me to inform you of the undeserved selection of Mr William Bazeyo for chancellorship and the syndicate associated with the appointment of leaders at Makerere University. What used to be a merit-based system has been replaced with manipulation and interests of individuals in the council motivated by power and money. The key question to ponder is what is the future of education under the National Resistance Movement?” he asked.    

Ninsiima alleged that Bazeyo has already been implicated in holding a false PhD and questioned how a person who owns a fraudulent PhD would issue legitimate degrees to students.  

“How can someone with questionable/fake academic documents be shortlisted while two candidates with credible academic records and who have served the nation with distinction be dropped?” Ninsiima asked.

According to the eligibility criteria for candidates as released by the university, the applicant must a be citizen of Uganda, have at least a bachelor’s degree from a recognized higher institution of learning, and be an eminent person of high integrity and with good public relations.  

Ninsiima asked the president to reflect on the context in which he submitted the letter and protect the image of the university. In 2020 Bazeyo, who was the acting Makerere University deputy vice-chancellor in charge of finance and administration, resigned amidst questions about his academic credentials and withdrew his candidature from the ongoing search for the substantive deputy vice-chancellor (finance and administration).

The professor of occupational medicine and former dean of the School of Public Health had long been embroiled in a conflict with alumni who questioned the integrity of his qualifications for the position, which he had held as acting for the previous four years.  

The petitioners then who included Ninsiima accused Bazeyo of obtaining his PhD from the Hawaii-based Atlantic International University, which isn’t recognized by the United States Department of Education which the National Council for Higher Education (NHCE) concurred with, saying Atlantic International University wasn’t recognized by the council.      

A lecturer who preferred anonymity accused the university council of not protecting the academic integrity of Makerere.  

“It is unfortunate that the university council is now overshadowed by dealers and can no longer protect the academic integrity of Makerere University anymore. Bazeyo should not have been shortlisted in the first place. How can someone with a fake PhD award genuine PhDs? Where will the learners derive inspiration?” the source asked.

He added " As soon as recently, he has been running two Makerere University Centers i.e. the Tobacco Centre and Resilient African Network (RAN). This is a glaring conflict of interest. When he applied for the chancellorship, the websites of these centres were edited to remove his name, but we know he is clearly in the background. What happened to academic morality?” alleged the source. 

Suruma, a former Finance and Economics Development minister took over from Prof George Mondo Kagonyera, the second non-head of state chancellor who served for two (2) terms from 23rd October 2007 to 23rd October 2015.  

Before Kagonyera, only Prof Apollo Nsibambi had served as the other non-head of state chancellor between 2003-2007. Before, heads of state served as Makerere University chancellors including Yoweri Museveni who served from 1986 to 2002, Apollo Milton Obote who served from 1970-1971, 1981-1985, and Idi Amin Dada who served from 1971 to 1979. By URN/The Observer