Resolutions adapted at the national consultation on free, fair elections

(L-R front): Opposition leaders Wafula Oguttu, Ken Lukyamuzi, Kizza Besigye and Amanya Mushega, at the national consultation on free and fair elections in Kampala last week. Photo by Dominic Bukenya 

Posted  Sunday, November 30  2014 at  02:00

In Summary

The selection of commissioners and staff must follow a process of open application, public hearings and scrutiny conducted by the Judicial Service Commission. The successful applicants should be finally vetted by Parliament and upon approval be submitted to the President for appointment.

National consultation. Following countrywide consultations on electoral reforms, delegates last week met in Kampala and agreed on resolutions that will be presented to the Speaker of Parliament. Below is the full report.

Having considered electoral reform proposals by the coordinating team for the free and fair elections campaign, the Citizens Coalition on Electoral Democracy, the Interparty Political Organisations for Dialogue, the Electoral Commission (EC), the National Consultative Forum, the Cabinet and other concerned Ugandans.

Acknowledging also that more than 3,000 leaders participated in a series of consultations on free and fair elections held in the following regions: Tooro, Bukedi, Teso, Kigezi, Busoga, Sebei, Ankole, Bugisu, Buganda, Karamoja, Bunyoro, Acholi and West Nile solemnly agree and declare as follows:

I. New Electoral Commission
i. A new independent and impartial electoral commission must be established.

The selection of commissioners and staff must follow a process of open application, public hearings and scrutiny conducted by the Judicial Service Commission. The successful applicants should be finally vetted by Parliament and upon approval be submitted to the President for appointment.
ii. Commissioners should serve for a guaranteed one, non-renewable seven years term.

iii. A commissioner may only be removed from office in exceptional circumstances for gross misconduct or incompetence. Such removal process should follow the same criteria and procedure applied in the removal of a High Court judge.

iv. The new Electoral Commission must carry out a complete overhaul and review of existing staff of the commission, and returning and presiding officers.
v. The selection of secretariat staff of the commission at all levels, and returning and presiding officers and polling assistants, must go through open selection and publically advertised recruitment process.

II. Ensuring integrity of the voting process
i. A new, clean and verifiable register of voters, which should include eligible Ugandans in the diaspora, must be compiled by the new Electoral Commission. This should be done in a manner which is completely transparent and accurate; it should ensure the rights of citizens to register to vote, while preventing unlawful or fraudulent registration or removal of persons from the voters roll.

ii.The new register should be comprehensive, inclusive, and up-to-date; compiled through a transparent process with full participation of stakeholders, particularly political parties, civil society, and the public.

iii. The new register must be accessible to all as a public document that can be inspected at no-cost. It must be displayed at selected public places and all Electoral Commission offices. Before the new register is finalised, two months period of public display must be allowed for the public, political parties, and candidates to verify, object to or seek to add eligible names. The final, clean and verified register must be ready six months before elections day.

iv. A comprehensive and continuing civic and voter education programme should be developed and funded from the national Budget.

v. The voting for LCIII, LCV, Parliament and President should be conducted on one day to avoid influence peddling and patronage in the electoral process.

III. Role of security forces and militia

i. The military should have no involvement whatsoever in the electoral process and should remain focused on its constitutional duty of securing our borders and defending our sovereignty. Ensuring law and order during elections should be exclusively the responsibility of the regular police, under the direction and supervision of the Electoral Commission.

ii. The role of the police should be strictly to act impartially to ensure public order. Its role during the campaigns and in all other aspects of the electoral process should be monitored by the Electoral Commission.

iii. The military and police should vote in regular polling stations; they must not bear arms or wear uniforms in this process.

iv. The movement and deployment of the army should be restricted and monitored in the period before, during and after the elections, under arrangements agreed upon at the national consultation.

v. The formation and deployment of any militia (informal armed groups constituted outside the laws) is absolutely illegal; this prohibition must be strictly enforced in practice.

vi. Codes of conduct for security forces during the campaigns and elections should be agreed to by stakeholders. The agreed codes of conduct should then be independently and strictly monitored by the Electoral Commission.

vii. The Chief of Defence Forces must be in charge of all men and women in service.

viii. The President should relinquish tactical command and control of the armed forces to the joint chiefs, and must not serve as chairman of UPDF High Command. Membership in UPDF High Command should not be personal to holder.

ix. There should be an independent security service commission to determine discipline, promotions, commissions; as well as handle complaints and all other matters related to the army, police, intelligence agencies and all other security agencies.

IV. Integrity of the campaign process
i. A mechanism must be established to monitor and prevent raids for funds from the central bank, ministries, and international assistance accounts, in the period before and during elections campaign.

ii. An office of comptroller of Budget should be established to keep track of money trails and prevent diversion of funds from treasury, ministries, etc, for partisan political purposes and activities.

iii. Restrictions should be placed on resort to supplementary appropriations in the period of two financial years preceding general elections.

iv. In the period of two financial years preceding general elections, classified appropriations and appropriations for the presidency and State House should be restricted and strictly monitored, including funds that facilitate presidential patronage.

v. Public servants should resign their positions at least 6 months before their being nominated to contest in an election.

vi. All public officials nominated to contest an election should hand over public assets in their possession before they proceed for campaign.
vii. The Constitution should prohibit any party that is the ruling party from using State resources such as State House to conduct business that is purely for the political party.

V. Addressing the system of patronage
i. Independent commissions, agencies, regulatory bodies and independent offices should have separate selection, approval and appointment processes.

These bodies include: all service commissions, Electoral Commission, Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Local Government Finance Commission, Land Commission, Human Rights Commission, Uganda Revenue Authority, Bank of Uganda board, National Social security Fund board, and National Environment Management Authority. They must have security of tenure that fully guards against capricious actions by the appointing authorities.

ii. An independent body should be vested with the power and responsibility to advertise, interview, conduct public hearings with regard to appointment of commissioners for constitutional bodies.

iii. The role of Parliament should be restricted to final vetting of the selected persons and the power of a President should be restricted to issuing the instruments of appointment for persons who have gone through this appointment process.

iv. Creation of any political offices not provided for in Constitution, by the President, should be approved by Parliament.
v. No new political offices (under iv above) shall be created in the last year of the term of President.

vi. Any presidential donation above 500 currency units shall require the prior approval of a relevant parliamentary committee.

vii. The annual Budget for presidential donations shall not exceed 0.5 per cent of the recurrent budget for State House.

viii. Current ‘regional’ ministries and the so-called ministry for ‘mobilisation’ should be abolished. Ministries should be organised as specialised fields (departments) for providing defined public service.

ix. An independent salaries and remuneration board should be established and vested with powers to determine the salaries of public servants including political leaders such as President, ministers, MPs and local government political leaders.

x. Cabinet ministers should not be Members of Parliament and in case an MP is appointed to Cabinet, such MP should resign he or her seat before taking over the Cabinet position.

VII. Demarcation of electoral boundaries
i. For purposes of the next general elections, all administrative units, i.e. districts, counties, and sub-counties, should be frozen at the level of the 2011 elections.

ii. The responsibility for creating new electoral constituencies should only be exercised by the Electoral Commission, applying current criteria under the law.

iii. In demarcating constituencies, the Electoral Commission should judiciously take into account population size, geographical size, number of voters, financial implications and the management of the electoral exercise.

iv. The law should not tie electoral constituencies to administrative units such as districts or municipalities.

v. The size of Parliament should be reduced in keeping with the modest resources of the State.

VIII. Freedoms to organise and assemble
i. The Public Order Management Act must be repealed.
ii. The Police Amendment Act (2006) must be amended and brought into full conformity with the Bill of Rights under Chapter 4 of the Constitution.
iii. An independent police oversight body should be constituted by the National Consultation to monitor the role of the police in the electoral process.

iv. Police operating procedures, for ensuring public order in the context of campaigns and throughout the electoral process, should be transparent and made public.

v. The guidelines for public order management prepared by the Uganda Human Rights Commission in 2007 should be operationalised.

vii. The Electoral Commission should assume oversight role over the media during elections period; ensuring that all competing parties have equal access to the media.

viii. There should be penalties for media houses that fail to comply with the constitutional requirement for equal, fair and balanced coverage.
ix. The licensing regime should be used to secure compliance.

IX. Selection of presiding officers
i. The selection of presiding officers and polling assistants should be approved by political parties.

ii. Their selections should be transparent and based on merit and designated criteria.

iii. In order to qualify for selection, a person must not be or have been:
-An executive or member of a political party’s NEC or secretariat
-Run for elective political office on political party ticket in the last five years
-Convicted of electoral crime or serious misconduct or crime involving moral turpitude
-An RDC, DISO, GISO, a member of the security services or militia, or an appointee charged with partisan political responsibility or leader of a party in the last five years.

X. Processing of electoral materials
The processing and procurement of electoral materials, including design, printing and distribution of all materials should, at all levels and stages, ensure the participation, scrutiny and observation of key stakeholders, particularly political parties, civil society, election observers and the media.

XI. Ensuring integrity of tallying process
i. Polling station committees must be set up; they should be composed of political parties, civil society, and the presiding/ returning officers, to monitor the voting, counting, and tallying process and deal with complaints and disputes in the voting and tallying process, including the determination of valid, invalid, or spoilt ballots.

ii. Votes must be counted and tabulated accurately and transparently in the presence of stakeholders, i.e. political parties, civil society, observers, the media and the public.

iii. Votes must be counted and announced at polling stations in the presence of political parties, elections observers, civil society, and the public. Observers and representatives of political parties and candidates and the media must be given certified tabulation and tally sheets.

iv. Media must be permitted to report in real time, votes counted and winners announced at polling stations and certified by the presiding officer/polling assistant. Representatives of political parties and candidates must be free to publicise certified results and tally sheets from polling stations.
v. All results, including presidential, parliamentary results and local council results, must be declared at the constituency level.

XII.A credible Judiciary to adjudicate election disputes
i. A credible and independent Judiciary should be realised which is able to competently and credibly adjudicate all electoral disputes as they arise.

Members of the Judiciary should be subjected to an open process of selection and appointment, including public scrutiny. They should be assured of non-interference in the exercise of their duties. The remuneration of judges should be such as to ensure their independence.

ii. Provisions in the law that require subjective evaluation by judges, on whether particular violations and electoral malpractices were ‘substantial’ and in ‘a manner’ that would alter the results of an election, entail the exercise of subjective rather than legal judgement. For this reason, Section 59 of the Presidential Elections Act, which contains this provision, should be amended accordingly.

XIII.Internal democracy of political parties
The Electoral Commission should closely monitor all political parties for compliance with constitutional and electoral law relating to internal democracy in those entities. This includes adherence to the requirements of holding regular delegates conferences.

XIV. Relationship between Citizens and their MPs and political parties
A member who has been expelled from the party based on the decisions of the party disciplinary structures with appropriate appellate procedures should not lose their seats in Parliament on that basis.

XV.Representation of special interest groups
i. Representation of special interest groups of women, youth and disabled should be maintained as a form of affirmative action

ii. The process of electing representatives of persons with disabilities should be reformed to make it more accountable to the constituents they are designated to represent. PWDs should use regional electoral colleges to elect one woman and one male. The Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Act should be amended to cater for the elections of PWDs at the municipality level.

iii. All MPs representing special interest groups should be eligible for re-election only once-should serve only two terms of office weather in Parliament or local councils.

iv. The workers should be removed from special interest group representation since issues of workers can be represented by all MPs.
v. The army representatives should be removed from Parliament.

XVI. Funding for local governments and service delivery
i. Local governments should receive their funding directly from the consolidated fund as a percentage of the national Budget. This will enhance their autonomy and authority to deal with issues of service delivery. The money should not be conditional and the disbursements must be timely, to allow for utilisation of the same. Funds returned should be accounted for and not misused.

ii. The proposed share of the national Budget to be allocated to local governments should be in the range of 30-40 per cent based on serious negotiations and budget amendment by Parliament.

XVII. Tenure of office of president
The tenure of office of the President should be restored to two five-year terms and must be entrenched in the Constitution.

XVIII. Implementation of the compact
We adopt this compact as our solemn commitment to undertake the following actions to guarantee its implementation.

We will present a copy of this compact as our petition to our national Parliament for our MPs to enact these proposals into appropriate legislation within the next two months in order to create the necessary infrastructure for conducting a free and fair election.

A citizens task force comprised of the eminent persons group of conveners and the convening civil society organisations shall formally present this compact to the Speaker of Parliament and sure her support to the reform process.
The coordinating team and the conveners shall immediately convene and establish a mechanism for ensuring full implementation of this compact.

All citizens’ organisations and groups, and civic leaders commit to popularise the compact and mobilise all citizens across the country to support and advocate for the reform proposals contained in this compact.
All the political parties, civil society organisations and political leaders and religious leaders participating in this national consultation commit themselves to use their structures to mobilise support from the grassroots to support these reform proposals.

This compact will be translated into major local languages and disseminated widely to all citizens to enable them own the reform proposals agreed at this national consultation.

All forms of lobbying, mobilisation and organisation shall be used to ensure that citizens demand for the full implementation of this compact.

For God and My Country

Electoral reforms: Is Opposition and civil society chasing the wind?

By  Ivan Okuda

Posted  Sunday, November 30  2014 at  02:00

In Summary

At this stage, it is material to pose the question, how far can the reforms campaign go, especially in a system where the reforms directly affect the regime survival project that President Museveni has been criticized for entrenching?

For three days, political and civil society leaders converged in Kampala, mulling a way forward for the country’s electoral agenda. That meeting attracted more than 1,000 participants and gave birth to a document aptly dubbed the Uganda Citizens’ Compact on Free and Fair Elections.

This will form a petition yet to be presented to the Speaker of Parliament, who will in turn, spur debate in the August House that will inform the constitutional amendments the Uganda Law Reform Commission is spearheading.
The conspicuous absence of top National Resistance Movement (NRM) leadership spoke volumes akin to the coldness to and disinterest of the ruling party in the reform gospel.

Uganda Media Centre executive director and government mouthpiece Ofwono Opondo asserted that, “the government does not work through the Opposition and civil society” and Parliament’s legislative role is clear cut.
Presidential Press Secretary Tamale Mirundi said his boss was busy and doubted if he had been invited. The organisers poured cold water on that excuse and clarified that the President and all MPs had been invited.

What picture does the absence of the ruling party paint for the reforms agitators?
Former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president Kizza Besigye and civil society activist Sheila Kawamara downplay the absence of the NRM as only hiding its head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich.

Ms Kawamara said, “Let the country not be fooled. The top leaders are only feigning ignorance because NRM is part of this effort. They are only showing they are not interested because of the nasty background, since January police has been dispersing our regional consultative meetings. They know the organisers are pulling a rag in the carpet. The President should have sent the NRM secretary general.”

Dr Besigye, who has expressed a lukewarm attitude to the 2016 elections said, “We have LC5 chairpersons and MPs from NRM here. They made a big mistake which we can exploit because they forget that their strength lies in the lower cadres.”

At this stage, it is material to pose the question, how far can the reforms campaign go, especially in a system where the reforms directly affect the regime survival project that President Museveni has been criticised for entrenching? Are we chasing wind?
Makerere University constitutional law don Busingye Kabumba waves a flag of scepticism.

He says, “A lot will depend on the commitments various stakeholders in the process demonstrate to ensure the realisation of the proposals. A lot will also depend on the extent to which Ugandans realise their role in regard to shaping their country’s destiny.”

Justice minister Kahinda Otafiire has called for proposals for constitutional amendments from the citizenry.

Kabumba reminds readers, “Historically, government made processes for constitutional reform which have not been truly inclusive and I don’t see anything different here. All indications are that NRM’s interests will be written in the Constitution.”

In a week or two, Parliament will receive the more than 23 proposed reforms, but the law scholar sends another aide memoire, “That assumes good faith on the part of the NRM, I am not too sure that assumption will be borne out.”

Parliament has already been labelled a rubber stamp of the NRM, in fact, the NRM caucus is the de facto Parliament, with its numerical strength shaping the legislative agenda. The caucus has been criticised for dancing to the whims of the president.

In this mix, how do we penetrate the wall?
Kabumba ponders and says, “That is a question for Ugandans to determine by themselves.”

Indeed, if this is a question for Ugandans to determine, the activists are sure they will facilitate that process too.

Dr Besigye says, “It is the duty of all people here (at the convention) to do everything within their power to ensure what has been agreed on is implemented. That is where the energy must go now.”

He is optimistic some sections within the NRMs’ rank and file will also pile pressure.

“Unreasonable people in NRM are slowly being isolated. Many NRM leaders are here and even criticised their party for not sending the top leadership,” he told our reporter at the closure of the conference.

He adds, “The citizens have spoken and made a strong commitment that what has been agreed on must be implemented, there is no need to emphasise that power belongs to the people. Whether NRM wants it or not, they must implement these proposed reforms.”

Kawamara agrees with Dr Kabumba. The 9th Parliament, she opines, is the weakest Parliament in the country’s history. For that matter, the activist says, “The power of the people is going to be put on test. Either the government listens or reacts to the masses. I am sure they will be forced to adapt these reforms. They have no way out. I have learned never to underestimate the power of people.”

Former executive director Advocates Coalition for Environment and Development (ACODE) Godber Tumushabe has been at the frontline of the reforms and argues that parliamentarians will pay a heavy price if they fail to pass the reforms. If the MPs subdue to the pressure from the ruling party, he says, the campaigners for the reforms are already mobilising citizens to take over Parliament.

“Unless Ugandans decide that it is ok to be taken for granted, there is no way the system can fail to respond. Our fundamental problem is that people do things with impunity, if government fails to respond, we must force them,” Tumushabe says.

It is prudent to remind Tumushabe that in 2005, the citizens he is relying on for mass action looked on as the presidential term limits were lifted. He quickly downplays that and says, “At that time citizens were not engaged. This time we spread the discourse beyond politicians. There was energy in the regional consultations. I am sure Ugandans will rise up when the country’s future is at stake.”

Time frame unrealistic?
However, Charles Rwomushana, the former head of political intelligence at State House and self-proclaimed political commentator, pokes holes in the reforms, arguing for instance, that dissolving and reconstitution of the Electoral Commission is too late.

First on the agenda for the reforms is the constitution of a new Electoral Commission with ingredients such as a new, clean and verifiable register of voters which should capture Ugandans in the diaspora and must be compiled by the new Electoral Commission.

There are fears that with less than a year to the polls in 2016, this falls short of the time constraint. Mr Tumushabe argues that in the event Parliament fails to expeditiously implement the reforms, “we shall push for a transition government to take over briefly in 2016 to purposely implement the reforms and whoever serves it shall be barred from standing for at least 10 years.”

The Badru Kiggundu led EC has come under attack for working as an appendage of the NRM. Senior commissioners are either former or active NRM cadres. In 2001 and 2006, the Supreme Court acknowledged that the elections were marred by irregularities but fell short of shooting itself in the foot when it asserted that the irregularities were not substantial to cause a change in the outcome.

The activists now want Section 59 of the Presidential Elections Act amended so that the test of substantiality is ejected. This provision is likely to meet stiff resistance from the ruling party. The activists are also calling for an independent judiciary. This perhaps comes from the background of the 2001 and 2006 polls.

Justice George Kanyeihamba, who was part of the seven judge panel that handled the petition in 2006, has revealed in his autobiography, The Joy of Being Who You Are, the role of the invisible hand of the President that appeared to blur the judges’ assessment and final decision.

Already the country is still grappling with what Principal Judge Yorokamu Bamwine recently called a fatherless Judiciary and the appointment of a new Chief Justice (CJ) is giving the appointing authority sleepless nights.

Critics have connected this to the 2016 polls, as the President might be stuck on zeroing in on a CJ who can tilt the balance in the court room just in case we have a repeat of 2001 and 2006

A boycott not one of the options
The practicability of Tumushabe’s idea of a transition government makes fine fodder for imagination and debate in the same way a boycott of the election would. In 2011, Uganda People’s Congress president Olara Otunnu, who to his credit was the first to call for the reforms, boycotted the ballot process on the D-day.

Indeed, some voices in the Opposition have called for the inclusion of this among the options. But a boycott is not as easy as it sounds. Nothing stops the ruling party from sponsoring some opposition figures to contest, if only to lend credence to the ballot. In Zimbabwe, the same approach hit a snag as president Robert Mugabe still carried the day in an election largely boycotted by the opposition.

Tumushabe vehemently rules out a boycott from their window of options. “I wouldn’t advise a boycott. Why should we boycott our election? It is ours and it must be conducted on our terms and conditions. We cannot boycott it,” he says.
But above all this, Kawamara says, “This is a post-Museveni compact, we don’t want to have the masses rising up, taking over power and they are bleak on what to do with it as is the case in Tunisia and Libya. If Museveni is out, we don’t want the army in elections, we want the president to serve for only two five year terms. It is beyond him. If Museveni died or failed to make it to the ballot, won’t we have electoral reforms?”

When all is said and done, the agitators for the reforms have limited delicate options, including a boycott of the polls which appears a tall order given the background of an Opposition struggling for harmony.

One is to put Parliament to task to implement the reforms at all costs. Very few NRM-leaning MPs (factoring their make or break numerical value) have expressed enthusiasm, at least publically in the reforms and with a cold shoulder coming from the Executive, only time can tell how far this can go.

The other option, which has not been time tested at least in the last 28 years, is to rally the masses, perhaps the anti-Blaise Compaore-Burkinabe way, to turn tables upside down and force the regime to respond or be booted.

Is this achievable? Do these reforms have such a strong resonating appeal that the wananchi, wallowing in citizen apathy, can match to the streets to demand for their implementation? The activists think so; but time alone can give the most accurate answer.

THE PROPOSED ELECTORAL REFORMS

1. A new independent and impartial Electoral Commission with selection of commissioners carried out by the Judicial Service Commission in public hearings.

2. A new, clean and verifiable register of voters including Ugandans in the Diaspora, compiled by the new Electoral Commission. The register must be a public document, ready six months before elections.

3. The military must be withdrawn from electoral processes, with the regular police handling all matters of law and order and monitored by the EC. The President should relinquish tactical command and control of armed forces to the Joint Chief of Staff.

4. Establish mechanism to monitor and prevent raids for funds from central bank, ministries and international assistance accounts.

5. To address patronage, no new political offices shall be created in the last term of the President. No minister should be an MP at the same time.
6. Repeal the Public Order Management Act and institute penalties for media houses that fail to cover elections objectively and fairly. Allow media report in real time the votes counted and winners and declare all general election results at constituency level.

7. Review special interest group representation, restore term limits and amend Section 59 of Presidential Elections Act that establishes
substantiality test for election petitions.

About the Badru Kiggundu-led EC

The Badru Kiggundu led Electoral Commission has come under attack for working as an appendage of the NRM. Senior commissioners are either former or active NRM cadres.
In 2001 and 2006, the Supreme Court acknowledged that the elections were marred by irregularities but fell short of shooting itself in the foot when it asserted that the irregularities were not substantial to cause a change in the outcome.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

KIWANUKA KITUUKA WILL NOT REGISTER A PARTY BUT IS INTERESTED IN FORMING A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY

KIWANUKA KITUUKA WANTS KAIHURA TO DEAL WITH KITATTA

At the time when Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) wanted the Commercial Motorcyclists (boda boda) operating in Kampala City counted, there came a man by the name Abdalla Kitata the Chief of Boda Boda 2010.  This fellow was able to stand in the way and the counting had to be re – scheduled.  Kitata has been heard on a number of Radio stations claiming how he has direct touch with President Museveni, and this is the source of the problems.  Kitata alleges to have been able to get motor cycles directly from the President for the benefit of the commercial motorcyclists.  While some people may think all is well within the boda boda operators, the talk show on Monday evening on Radio Kaboozi – 87.9FM at 8.00pm brought out clearly that not all is well with Kitata even among the boda boda operators.  They allege that Kitata is able to abuse their rights and he is proud about it!

The Monday strike by the Taxi operators has had one of the engineers as Kitata.  While some people may be happy with Kitata, they have to be ready for the outcome of his operations.  While the strike was on, some taxi’s were damaged and it is alleged that the scheming had been by Kitata himself to have all the taxi operators observe the strike.  It is true that the situation in Uganda is very challenging to a number of people, and when Kitata is left to do what he wishes, those in authority should be ready for the consequences.  We are aware that KCCA has plans to re – locate the boda boda operators.  We are also aware that President Museveni wants KCCA to see that the status of Kampala is lifted to cope with other cities.  In this respect, if the security personnel don’t put a limit to what Kitata can do through his mobilization, the worst is yet to be seen in Kampala.   

KIWANUKA KITUUKA IS CONVINCED THAT NRM - O CANNOT HOLD A FREE UNDER FAIR ELECTION UNDER ELECTRONIC VOTING

Electronic voting (also known as e-voting) is voting using electronic systems to aid casting and counting votes. Electronic voting technology can include punched cards, optical scan voting systems and specialized voting kiosks (including self-contained direct-recording electronic voting systems, or DRE).

http://kiwanukakituukaforugandapresident2016.webs.com/


I want electronic voting - President Museveni

President Museveni addresses the press in Rwakitura last night. Photo by Rachel Mabala 
 By Isaac Imaka

Posted  Thursday, June 12   2014 at  15:35
In Summary
Explaining his intention further, the President said: “The current system is good if we had vigilance and low propensity of cheating but because we don’t have it, that’s why we must go to a surer way of electoral voting using our thumb print which is not easy to duplicate.”

Rwakitura
President Yoweri Museveni has given a sneak peak of what is contained in the forthcoming electoral reforms package, saying he intends to introduce electronic voting as part of his electoral reforms.
The President was responding to a question by a journalist during a late night press briefing at his country home in Rwakitura on whether his pro electronic voting argument in his article on election rigging means he intends to bring the system in the much expected electoral reforms.
The presser had been organised for the President to announce to the country that he had paid over $600,000 for UBC to run all World cup matches.
“I have been working for electronic voting for a long time; since Ugandans have got a bad habit of cheating it would be a better way to stop that habit because it works with a central memory that can be able to say that that person has already voted. I have a lot of faith in that,” he said.

Explaining his intention further, the President said: “The current system is good if we had vigilance and low propensity of cheating but because we don’t have it, that’s why we must go to a surer way of electoral voting using our thumb print which is not easy to duplicate.”
In an article he penned, early this month, portraying opposition politicians as congenital election cheats the President said the continued unfairness and vote theft has made him insist on computerized voting for almost 20 years.
Leader of Opposition, Wafula Ogutu says he doesn’t have trust computerised voting because it has been a mess in Kenya, Ghana and “latest Malawi.”

“You can say electronic voting will stop mal practices of rigging but individuals control electronic voting and his people will be manning it. I do not have faith in it.
“He is just trying to make the people drop their guts or vigilance because even electronic voting has been used for rigging, in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi recently,” he said.
Electoral Commission couldn’t be got to comment on its capacity to run a computerized voting system but government spokesperson, Mr Ofwono Opondo told Daily Monitor online after the late night presser that such voting would be possible if the on-going ID registration target is achieved.

KIWANUKA KITUUKA WILL ENSURE UNDISPUTED PART OF THE 9,000 SQ MILES OF LAND RETURNED TO BUGANDA

The Uganda Agreement of 1900

We, the undersigned, to wit, Sir Henry Hamilton Johnston, K.C.B., Her Majesty's Special Commissioner, Commander-in-Chief and Consul-General for the Uganda Protectorate and the adjoining Territories, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, on the one part; and the under-mentioned Regents and chiefs of the Kingdom of Uganda on behalf of the Kabaka (King) of Uganda, and the chiefs and people of Uganda, on the other part: do hereby agree to the following Articles relative to the government and administration of the Kingdom of Uganda.
1 The boundaries of the Kingdom of Uganda shall be the following: starting from the left bank of the Victoria Nile at the Ripon Falls, the boundary shall follow the left bank of the Victoria Nile into Lake Kioga, and thence shall be continued along the centre of Lake Kioga, and again along the Victoria Nile as far as the confluence of the River Kafu, opposite the town of Mruli. From this point the boundary shall be carried along the right or eastern bank of the River Kafu, up stream, as far as the junction of the Kafu and Embaia. From this point the boundary shall be carried in a straight line to the River Nkusi, and shall follow the left bank of the River Nkusi down stream to its entrance into the Albert Nyanza. The boundary shall then be carried along the coast of the Albert Nyanza in a south-westerly direction as far as the mouth of the River Kuzizi, and thence shall be carried up stream along the right bank of the river Kuzizi to near its source. From a point near the source of the Kuzizi and near the village of Kirola (such point to be finally determined by Her Majesty's Commissioner at the time of the definite Survey of Uganda) the boundary shall be carried in a south-westerly direction until it reaches the River Nabutari, the left bank of which it will follow down stream to its confluence with the River Katonga. The boundary shall then be carried up stream along the left bank of the River Katonga, as far as the point opposite the confluence of the Chungaga, after which, crossing the Katonga, the boundary shall be carried along the right bank of the said Chungaga River up stream to its source; and from its source the boundary shall be drawn in a south-easterly direction to the point where the Byoloba River enters Lake Kachira; and shall then be continued along the centre of Lake Kachira to its south-eastern extremity, where the River Bukova leaves the lake, from which point the boundary shall be carried in a south-easterly direction to the Anglo-German frontier. The boundary shall then follow the Anglo-German frontier to the coast of the Victoria Nyanza and thence shall be drawn across the waters of the Victoria Nyanza in such a manner as to include within the limits of the Kingdom of Uganda the Sese Archipelago (including Kosi and Mazinga), Ugaya, Lufu, Igwe, Buvuma, and Lingira Islands. The boundary, after including Lingira Islands, shall be carried through Napoleon Gulf until it reaches the starting point of its definition at Bugungu at the Ripon Falls on the Victoria Nile. To avoid any misconception it is intended by this definition to include within the boundaries of Uganda all the islands lying off the north-west coast of the Victoria Nyanza in addition to those specially mentioned.

2 The Kabaka and chiefs of Uganda hereby agree henceforth to renounce in favour of Her Majesty the Queen any claims to tribute they may have had on the adjoining provinces of the Uganda Protectorate.

3 The Kingdom of Uganda in the administration of Uganda Protectorate shall rank as a province of equal rank with any other provinces into which the Protectorate may be divided.

4 The revenue of the Kingdom of Uganda, collected by the Uganda Administration, will be merged in the general revenue of the Uganda Protectorate, as will that of the other provinces of this Protectorate.

5 The laws made for the general governance of the Uganda Protectorate by Her Majesty's Government will be equally applicable to the Kingdom of Uganda, except in so far as they may in any particular conflict with the terms of this Agreement, in which case the terms of this Agreement will constitute a special exception in regard to the Kingdom of Uganda.

6 So long as the Kabaka, Chiefs, and people of Uganda shall conform to the laws and regulations instituted for their governance by Her Majesty's Government and shall co-operate loyally with Her Majesty's Government in the organization and administration of the said Kingdom of Uganda, Her Majesty's Government agrees to recognize the Kabaka of Uganda as the native ruler of the province of Uganda under Her Majesty's protection and over-rule. The King of Uganda shall henceforth be styled His Highness the Kabaka of Uganda. On the death of a Kabaka, his successor shall be elected by a majority of votes in the Lukiko, or native council. The range of selection, however, must be limited to the Royal Family of Uganda, that is to say, to the descendants of King Mutesa. The name of the person chosen by the native council must be submitted to Her Majesty's Government for approval, and no person shall be recognized as Kabaka of Uganda whose election has not received the approval of Her Majesty's Government. The jurisdiction of the native Court of the Kabaka of Uganda, however, shall not extend to any person not a native of the Uganda province. The Kabaka's courts shall be entitled to try natives for capital crimes, but no death sentence may be carried out by the Kabaka, or his Courts, without the sanction of Her Majesty's representative in Uganda. Moreover, there will be a right of appeal from the native Courts to the principle Court of Justice established by Her Majesty in the Kingdom of Uganda as regards all sentences which inflict a term of more than five years' imprisonment or a fine of over £100. In the case of any other sentences imposed by the Kabaka's Courts, which may seem to Her Majesty's Government disproportioned or inconsistent with humane principles, Her Majesty's representatives in Uganda shall have the right of remonstrance with the Kabaka, who shall, at the request of the said representative, subject such sentence to reconsideration.

The Kabaka of Uganda shall be guaranteed by Her Majesty's Government from out of the local revenue of the Uganda Protectorate a minimum yearly allowance of £500 a year.
During the present Kabaka's minority, however, in lieu of the above-mentioned subvention, there will be paid to the master of his household, to meet his household expenditure, WO a year, and during his minority the three persons appointed to act as Regents will receive an annual salary of £400 a year. Kabakas of Uganda will be understood to have attained their majority when they have reached the age of 18 years. The Kabaka of Uganda shall be entitled to a salute of nine guns on ceremonial occasions when such salutes are customary.

7 The Namasole, or mother of the present Kabaka. (Chua), shall be paid during her lifetime an allowance at the rate of £50 a year. This allowance shall not necessarily be continued to the mothers of other Kabakas.
8 All cases, civil or criminal, of a mixed nature, where natives of the Uganda province and non-natives of that province are concerned, shall be subject to British Courts of Justice only.

9 For purposes of native administration the Kingdom of Uganda shall be divided into the following districts or administrative counties:
(1) Kiagwe     (6) Buyaga     (11) Butambala (Bweya)    (16) Sese
 (2) Bugerere     (7) Bwekula     (12) Kiadondo    (17) Buddu
(3) Bulemezi     (8) Singo     (13) Busiro    (18) Koki
(4) Buruli     (9) Busuju     (14) Mawokoto    (19) Mawogola
(5) Bugangadzi      (10) Gomba (Butunzi)    (15) Buvuma     (20) Kabula

At the head of each county shall be placed a chief who shall be selected by the Kabaka's Government, but whose name shall be submitted for approval to Her Majesty's representative. This chief, when approved by Her Majesty's representative, shall be guaranteed from out of the revenue of Uganda a salary at the rate of E200 a year. To the chief of a county will be entrusted by Her Majesty's Government, and by the Kabaka, the task of administering justice among the natives dwelling in his county, the assessment and collection of taxes, the upkeep of the main roads, and the general supervision of native affairs. On all questions but the assessment and collection of taxes the chief of the county will report direct to the King's native ministers, from whom he will receive his instructions. When arrangements have been made by Her Majesty's Government for the organization of a police force in the province of Uganda, a certain number of police will be placed at the disposal of each chief of a county to assist him in maintaining order. For the assessment and payment of taxes, the chief of a county shall be immediately responsible to Her Majesty's representative, and should he fail in his duties in this respect, Her Majesty's representative shall have the right to call upon the Kabaka to dismiss him from his duties and appoint another chief in his stead. In each county an estate, not exceeding an area of 8 square miles, shall be attributed to the chieftainship of a county, and its usufruct shall be enjoyed by the person occupying, for the time being, the position of chief of the county.

10 To assist the Kabaka of Uganda in the government of his people he shall be allowed to appoint three native Officers of State, with the sanction and approval of Her Majesty's representative in Uganda (without whose sanction such appointments shall not be valid)-a Prime Minister, otherwise known as Katikiro; a Chief Justice; and a Treasurer or Controller of the Kabaka's revenues. These officials shall be paid at the rate of £300 a year. Their salaries shall be guaranteed them by Her Majesty's Government from out of the funds of the Uganda Protectorate. During the minority of the Kabaka these three officials shall be constituted the Regents, and when acting in that capacity shall receive salary at the rate of £400 a year. Her Majesty's chief representative in Uganda shall at any time have direct access to the Kabaka, and shall have the power of discussing matters affecting Uganda with the Kabaka alone or, during his minority, with the Regents, but ordinarily the three officials above designated will transact most of the Kabaka's business with the Uganda Administration. The Katikiro shall be ex officio the President of the Lukiko, or native council; the Vice-President of the Lukiko shall be the native Minister of Justice for the time being; in the absence of both Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, the Treasurer of the Kabaka's revenues, or third minister, shall preside over the meetings of the Lukiko.

11 The Lukiko, or native council, shall be constituted as follows: 'In addition to the three native ministers who shall be ex officio senior members of the council, each chief of a county (twelve in all) shall be ex officio a member of the Council. Also each chief of a county shall be permitted to appoint a person to act as his lieutenant in this respect to attend the meetings of the council during his absence, and to speak and vote in his name. The chief of a county, however, and his lieutenant may not both appear simultaneously at the council. In addition, the Kabaka shall select from each county three notables, whom he shall appoint during his pleasure, to be members of the Lukiko or native council. The Kabaka may at any time deprive any individual of the right to sit on the native council, but in such a case shall intimate his intention to Her Majesty's representative in Uganda, and receive his assent thereto before dismissing the member. The functions of the council will be to discuss all matters concerning the native administration of Uganda, and to forward to the Kabaka resolutions which may be voted by a majority regarding measures to be adopted by the said administration. The Kabaka shall further consult with Her Majesty's representative in Uganda before giving effect to any such resolutions voted by the native council, and shall, in this matter, explicitly follow the advice of Her Majesty's representative. The Lukiko, or a committee thereof, shall be a Court of Appeal from the decisions of the Courts of the First Instances held by the chiefs of counties. In all cases affecting property exceeding the value of £5, or imprisonment exceeding one week, an appeal for revision may be addressed to the Lukiko. In all cases involving property or claims exceeding £100 in value, or a sentence of imprisonment exceeding five years, or sentences of death, the Lukiko shall refer the matter to the consideration of the Kabaka, whose decision when countersigned by Her Majesty's chief representative in Uganda shall be final. The Lukiko shall not decide any questions affecting the persons or property of Europeans or others who are not natives of Uganda. No person may be elected to the Lukiko who is not a native of the Kingdom of Uganda. No question of religious opinion shall be taken into consideration in regard to the appointment by the Kabaka of members of the council. In this matter he shall use his judgement and abide by the advice of Her Majesty's representative, assuring in this manner a fair proportionate representation of all recognised expressions of religious belief prevailing in Uganda.'

12 In order to contribute to a reasonable extent towards the general cost of the maintenance of the Uganda Protectorate, there shall be established the following taxation for Imperial purposes, that is to say, the proceeds of the collection of these taxes shall be handed over intact to Her Majesty's representative in Uganda as the contribution of the Uganda province towards the general revenue of the Protectorate.

The taxes agreed upon at present shall be the following:
'(a) A hut tax of three rupees, or 4s. per annum, on any house, hut or habitation used as a dwelling-place.
(b) A gun tax of three rupees, or 4s. per annum, to be paid by any person who possesses or uses a gun, rifle or pistol.'
The Kingdom of Uganda shall be subject to the same Customs Regulations, Porter Regulations, and so forth, which may, with the approval of Her Majesty, be instituted for the Uganda Protectorate generally, which may be described in a sense as exterior taxation, but no further interior taxation, other than the hut tax, shall be imposed on the natives of the province of Uganda without the agreement of the Kabaka, who in this matter shall be guided by the majority of votes in his native council. This arrangement, however, will not affect the question of township rates, lighting rates, water rates, market dues, and so forth, which may be treated apart as matters affecting municipalities or townships; nor will it absolve natives from obligations as regards military service, or the up-keep of main roads passing through the lands on which they dwell. A hut tax shall be levied on any building which is used as a dwelling-place. A collection of not more than four huts, however, which are in a separate and single enclosure and are inhabited only by a man and his wife, or wives, may be counted as one hut. The following buildings will be exempted from the hut tax: temporary shelters erected in the fields for the purposes of watching plantations; or rest houses erected by the roadside for passing travellers; buildings used solely as tombs, churches, mosques or schools, and not slept in or occupied as a dwelling; the residence of the Kabaka and his household (not to exceed fifty buildings in number); the residence of the Namasole, or Queen Mother (not to exceed twenty in number); the official residences of the three native ministers, and of all the chiefs of counties (not to exceed ten buildings in number); but in the case of dispute as to the liability of a building to pay hut tax, the matter must be referred to the collector for the province of Uganda, whose decision must be final. The collector of a province may also authorize the chief of a county to exempt from taxation any person whose condition of destitution may, in the opinion of the collector, make payment of such tax an impossibility. By collector is meant the principal British official representing the Uganda Administration in the province of Uganda.

The representative of Her Majesty's Government in the Uganda Protectorate may from time to time direct that in the absence of current coin, a hut or gun tax may be paid in produce or in labour according to a scale which shall be laid down by the said representative. As regards the gun tax, it will be held to apply to any person who possesses or makes use of a gun, rifle, pistol, or any weapon discharging a projectile by the aid of gunpowder, dynamite or compressed air. The possession of any cannon or machine gun is hereby forbidden to any native of Uganda. A native who pays a gun tax may possess or use as many as five guns. For every five or for every additional gun up to five, which he may be allowed to possess or use, he will have to pay another tax. Exemptions from the gun tax will, however, be allowed to the following extent: 'The Kabaka will be credited with fifty gun licences free, by which he may arm as many as fifty of his household. The Queen mother will, in like manner, be granted ten free licences annually, by which she may arm as many as ten persons of her household; each of the three native ministers (Katikiro, Native Chief Justice, and Treasurer of the Kabaka's revenue) shall be granted twenty free gun licences annually, by which they may severally arm twenty persons of their household. Chiefs of counties will be similarly granted ten annual free gun licences; all other members of the Lukiko or native council, not Chiefs of counties, three annual gun licences, and all landed proprietors in the county, with estates exceeding 500 acres in extent, one free annual gun licence.'

13 Nothing in this Agreement shall be held to invalidate the preexisting right of the Kabaka of Uganda to call upon every ablebodied male among his subjects for military service in defence of the country; but the Kabaka henceforth will only exercise this right of conscription, or of levying native troops, under the advice of Her Majesty's principal representative in the Protectorate. In times of peace, the armed forces, organized by the Uganda Administration, will probably be sufficient for all purposes of defence, but if Her Majesty's representative is of opinion that the force of Uganda should be strengthened at any time, he may call upon the Kabaka to exercise in a full or in a modified degree his claim on the Baganda people for military service. In such an event the arming and equipping of such force would be undertaken by the administration of the Uganda Protectorate.

14 All main public roads traversing the Kingdom of Uganda and all roads the making of which shall at any time be decreed by the native council with the assent of Her Majesty's representative, shall be maintained in good repair by the chief of the Saza (or county) through which the road runs. The chief of a county shall have the right to call upon each native town, village, or commune, to furnish labourers in the proportion of one to every three huts or houses, to assist in keeping the established roads in repair, provided that no labourers shall be called upon to work on the roads for more than one month in each year. Europeans and all foreigners whose lands abut on established main roads, will be assessed by the Uganda Administration and required to furnish either labour or to pay a labour rate in money as their contribution towards the maintenance of the highways. When circumstances permit, the Uganda Administration may further make grants from out of its Public Works Department, for the construction of new roads or any special repairs to existing highways, of an unusually expensive character.

15 The land of the Kingdom of Uganda shall be dealt with in the following manner: Assuming the area of the Kingdom of Uganda, as comprised within the limits cited in this agreement, to amount to 19,600 square miles, it shall be divided in the following proportions:

     Square miles
Forests to be brought under control of the Uganda Administration    1,500
Waste and uncultivated land to be vested in Her Majesty's Government, and to be controlled by the Uganda Administration    9,000
Plantations and other private property of His Highness the Kabaka of Uganda    350
Plantations and other private property of the Namasole
(Note.-If the present Kabaka died and another Namasole were appointed, the existing one would be permitted to retain as her personal property 6 square miles, passing on 10 square miles as the endowment of every succeeding Namasole.)     16
Plantations and other private property of the Namasole, Mother of Mwanga    10
To the Princes: Joseph, Augustine, Rarnazan, and Yusufu-Suna, 8 square miles each    32
For the Princesses, sisters, and relations of the Kabaka    90
To the Abamasaza (chiefs of counties), twenty in all 8 square miles each (private property): 160
Official estates attached to the posts of the Abamasaza, 8 square miles each: 160    320
The three Regents will receive private property to the extent of 16 square miles each: 48
And official property attached to their office, 16 square miles each, the said official property to be afterwards attached to the posts of the three native ministers: 48    96
Mbogo (the Muhammedan chief) will receive for himself and his adherents    24
Kamswaga, chief of Koki, will receive    20
One thousand chiefs and private landowners will receive the estates of which they are already in possession, and which are computed at an acreage of 8 square miles per individual, making atotal of    8,000
There will be allotted to the three missionary societies in existence in Uganda as private property, and in trust for the native churches, as much as    92
Land taken up by the Government for Government stations prior to the present settlement (at Kampala, Entebbe, Masaka, etc., etc.)     50
Total    19,600

After a careful survey of the Kingdom of Uganda has been made, if the total area should be found to be less than 19,600, then that portion of the country which is to be vested in Her Majesty's Government shall be reduced in extent by the deficiency found to exist in the estimated area. Should, however, the area of Uganda be established at more than 19,600 square miles, then the surplus shall be dealt with as follows:
'It shall be divided into two parts, one-half shall be added to the amount of land which is vested in Her Majesty's Government, and the other half will be divided proportionately among the properties of the Kabaka, the three Regents or native ministers, and the Abamasaza, or chiefs of counties.

'The aforesaid 9,000 square miles of waste or cultivated, or uncultivated land, or land occupied without prior gift of the Kabaka or chiefs by bakopi or strangers, are hereby vested in Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, and Protectress of Uganda, on the understanding that the revenue derived from such lands shall form part of the general revenue of the Uganda Protectorate.
'The forests, which will be reserved for Government control, will be, as a rule, those forests over which no private claim can be raised justifiably, and will be forests of some continuity, which should be maintained as woodland in the general interests of the country.

'As regards the allotment of the 8,000 square miles among the 1,000 private landowners, this will be a matter to be left to the decision of the Lukiko, with an appeal to the Kabaka. The Lukiko will be empowered to decide as to the validity of claims, the number of claimants and the extent of land granted, premising that the total amount of land thus allotted amongst the chiefs and accorded to native landowners of the country is not to exceed 8,000 square miles.

'Europeans and non-natives, who have acquired estates, and whose claims thereto have been admitted by the Uganda Administration, will receive title-deeds for such estates in such manner and with such limitations, as may be formulated by Her Majesty's representative. The official estates granted to the Regents, native ministers, or chiefs of counties, are to pass with the office, and their use is only to be enjoyed by the holders of the office.

'Her Majesty's Government, however, reserves to itself the right to carry through or construct roads, railways, canals, telegraphs or other useful public works, or to build military forts or works of defence on any property, public or private, with the condition that not more than 10 per centum of the property in question shall be taken up for these purposes without compensation, and that compensation shall be given for the disturbance of growing crops or of buildings.'

16 Until Her Majesty's Government has seen fit to devise and promulgate forestry regulations, it is not possible in this Agreement to define such forests rights as may be given to the natives of Uganda; but it is agreed on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, that in arranging these forestry regulations, the claims of the Baganda. people to obtain timber for building purposes, firewood, and other products of the forests or uncultivated lands, shall be taken into account, and arrangements made by which under due safeguards against abuse these rights may be exercised gratis.

17 As regards mineral rights. The rights to all minerals found on private estates shall be considered to belong only to the owners of these estates, subject to a 10 per centum ad valorem duty, which shall be paid to the Uganda Administration when the minerals are worked. On the land outside private estates, the mineral rights shall belong to the Uganda Administration, which, however, in return for using or disposing of the same must compensate the occupier of the soil for the disturbance of growing crops or buildings, and will be held liable to allot to him from out of the spare lands in the Protectorate an equal area of soil to that from which he has been removed. On these waste and uncultivated lands of the Protectorate, the mineral rights shall be vested in Her Majesty's Government as represented by the Uganda Administration. In like manner the ownership of the forests, which are not included within the limits of private properties, shall be henceforth vested in Her Majesty's Government.

18 In return for the cession to Her Majesty's Government of the right of control over 10,550 square miles of waste, cultivated, uncultivated, or forest lands, there shall be paid by Her Majesty's Government in trust for the Kabaka (upon his attaining his majority) a sum of £500, and to the three Regents collectively, £600, namely, to the Katikiro £300, and the other two Regents £150 each.

19 Her Majesty's Government agrees to pay to the Muhammedan Uganda Chief, Mbogo, a pension for life of £250 a year, on the understanding that all rights which he may claim (except such as are guaranteed in the foregoing clauses) are ceded to Her Majesty's Government.

20 Should the Kingdom of Uganda fail to pay to the Uganda Administration during the first two years after the signing of this Agreement, an amount of native taxation, equal to half that which is due in proportion to the number of inhabitants; or should it at any time fail to pay without just cause or excuse, the aforesaid minimum of taxation due in proportion to the population, or should the Kabaka, Chiefs, or people of Uganda pursue, at any time, a policy which is distinctly disloyal to the British Protectorate; Her Majesty's Government will no longer consider themselves bound by the terms of this Agreement.

On the other hand, should the revenue derived from the hut and gun tax exceed two years running a total value of £45,000 a year, the Kabaka and chiefs of counties shall have the right to appeal to Her Majesty's Government for an increase in the subsidy given to the Kabaka, and the stipends given to the native ministers and chiefs, such increase to be in the same proportional relation as the increase in the revenue derived from the taxation of the natives.

21 Throughout this Agreement the phrase 'Uganda Administration' shall be taken to mean that general government of the Uganda Protectorate, which is instituted and maintained by Her Majesty's Government; 'Her Majesty's representative' shall mean the Commissioner, High Commissioner, Governor, or principal official of any designation who is appointed by Her Majesty's Government to direct the affairs of Uganda.

22 In the interpretation of this Agreement the English text shall be the version which is binding on both parties.
Done in English and Luganda at Mengo, in the Kingdom of Uganda, on the 10th March, 1900.

H. H. JOHNSTON, Her Majesty's Special Commissioner, Commander-in-Chief and Consul-General,
on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India.
APOLLO, Katikiro, Regent.
MUGWANYA, Katikiro, Regent.
MBOGO NOHO, his X mark.
ZAKARIA KIZITO, Kangawo, Regent.
SEBAUA, Pokino.
YAKOBO, Kago.
PAULO, Mukwenda.
KAMSWAGA, of Koki, his X mark.
(On behalf of the Kabaka, Chiefs, and people of Uganda.) Witness to the above signatures:
 F. J. Jackson, Her Majesty's Vice-Consul.
J. Evatt, Lieutenant-Colonel.
James Francis Cunningham.
Alfred R. Tucker, Bishop of Uganda.
Henry Hanlon, Vicar Apostolic of the Upper Nile.
E. Bresson (for Mgr. Streicher, White Fathers).
R. H. Walker.
Matayo, Mujasi.
Latusa, Sekibobo.
Matayo, Kaima.
Yokana, Kitunzi
Santi Semindi, Kasuju.
Anderea, Kibugwe.
Sereme, Mujasi, his X mark.
Coprien Luwekula.
Nova, Jumba Gabunga.
Ferindi, Kyabalango.
 Saulo, Lumana.
Yokano Bunjo, Katikiro of Namasole.
Yosefu, Katambalwa.
Zakayo, Kivate.
Hezikaya, Namutwe.
Ali, Mwenda, his X mark.
Nselwano, Muwemba.
 Sernioni Sebuta, Mutengesa.
Njovu Yusufu, Kitambala, his X mark.
Kata, Nsege.