Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Torture

Define of Torture under the PREVENTION AND PROHIBITION OF TORTURE ACT, 2012

Torture means any act or omission, by which severe pain or suffering whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of any person whether a public official or other person acting in an official or private capacity  for such purposes as— (a)obtaining information or a confession from the person or any other person; (b)punishing that person for an act he or she or any other person has committed, or is suspected of having committed or of planning to commit; or c)intimidating or coercing the person or any other person to do, or to refrain from doing, any act. (2) For purposes of this Act , “severe pain or suffering” means the prolonged harm caused by or resulting from— (a)the intentional infliction or threatened infliction of physical pain or suffering; (b)the administration or application, or threatened administration or application, of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personality; (c)the threat of imminent death; or (d)the threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the administration or application of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or personality. (3) Without limiting the effect of subsection (1), the acts constituting torture shall include the acts set out in the Second Schedule. (4) The definition of torture set out in subsection (1) does not include pain or suffering arising from, inherent in or incidental to a lawful sanction

Under the new "PREVENTION AND
PROHIBITION OF TORTURE ACT, 2012",
Physical torture includes;
If these definitions are to be strictly
enforced, then so many Teachers and
schools would be guilty.
Have you been subjected to any of
these? If so, then you have been
PHYSICALLY TORTURED, under the
law.
(a) systematic beating, head banging,
punching, kicking, striking
with truncheons, rifle butts, JUMPING
ON THE STOMACH;
(b) food deprivation or forcible
feeding with spoiled food, animal or
human excreta;
(c) electric shocks;
(d) cigarette burning, burning by
electrically heated rods, hot oil,
acid, by the rubbing of pepper or
other chemical substances on
mucous membranes, or acids or
spices;
(e) the submersion of the victim's
head in water or water polluted
with excrement, urine, vomit or blood;
(f) being tied or forced to assume a
fixed and stressful body position;
(g) rape and sexual abuse, including
the insertion of foreign bodies
into the sexual organs or rectum or
electrical torture of the
genitals;
(h) mutilation, such as amputation of
the essential parts of the body such
as the genitalia, ears, tongue;
(i) dental torture or the forced
extraction of the teeth;
(j) harmful exposure to the elements
such as sunlight and extreme
cold; or
(k) the use of plastic bags and other
materials placed over the
victim's head with the intention to
asphyxiate.

My first shoe and drinking bottle

Monday, 15 July 2013

Where on earth have our leaders gone?

Leadership is devotion and a calling from God coupled with the will of the people. It is upon this background that every after five years we have general elections in Uganda. The last general election was conducted in 2011 where an incumbent president was reelected into office. In the same year Mps were elected to represent the masses in the August house, other stake holders in KCCA and leaders in various capacities were elected into office. It was through adult suffrage that we gave you our mandate, the will of the people decided and you were elected to lead us. However two and a half years into office there is little progress being seen as you had promised to lead us to the Promised Land. We are disappointed in you our leaders because you have vanished; you have diverted from representing the masses and often engaged in running battles between the opposition and ruling government. Kampala the capital of Uganda has now been turned into a battle field where lines between police and opposition have been drawn. The whole city is in a mess as what was a peaceful city has now been turned chaotic. We have been teargased, wrongfully arrested, killed and our businesses have stalled because of your chicks politics. Remember that the masses are watching and 2016 is not fur from now when you will be made to account to the masses through the same process that brought you into office. We did not elect you to fight one another but rather ensure that there is proper and efficient service delivery to the masses. But rather these have stalled due to cheap politics, corruption, misappropriation and mismanagement of funds. The burden has in the long run been brought back to the masses through heavy taxes. It is important to note that you are the cause of our suffering. Why dont you borrow a leaf from fellow leaders like in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda? The rate at which these countries are developing is amazing, the trick is one the maturity of politics displayed in these countries is appealing. Contemporary leaders like Bill Clinton of the USA lead at a time when he was experiencing a lot of political pressure from his opponents but he did not draw battle lines but rather held the situation maturely to transform the country. We pray that the opposition and NRM reform for posterity and transformation of this country. For God and My Country.

Monday, 1 July 2013

Sweet feeling

Preface
Having been given this perfect opportunity, I spent the whole night thinking about what to write. Writing is one of my hobbies and hence have not had any difficulty in coming up with this brief which is a true reflection of what I have been going through in life and all that is yet to come in future. This is not complete; however in due course expect to complete it.

Chapter one
What is the meaning of life?
The Cambridge dictionary defines life as the time from someone’s birth until their death. Life can also be defined as a particular way of living and the experiences that you have. Rick Warren in his book “A Purpose Driven Life” gives life a broader interpretation. He is alive to the fact that we are all God’s creation and hence are bound to leave lives that are meaningful as per the biblical provisions. This is entirely concerned with purpose; to Warren purpose is to leave a life in a Godly way. This calls for righteousness, faithfulness, devotion to religious virtues and at peace with our neighbours. Who is your neighbour then, this is any one around you whether familiar or not. According to the Cambridge dictionary, Purpose is the aim that someone wants to achieve, or that something is intended to achieve. It is also defined as an aim or meaning in your life because there is something you want to achieve. With this humble background we arrive to the true meaning of life. I carried out research on at least 30 people in my neighbourhood, 18 of who were women, 10 were men and 2 were children. Majority of the women took life to be living happily in marriage and having steady families, meaning that without this their lives are empty which is true. The men on the contrary took life to be success achieved through acquisition of wealth, driving Porsche cars, building expensive houses and having a descent job which is also true. The children on the other hand understand life in a different way, to them life is waking up have breakfast and play with friends.
A child always understands life as it is all about living in joy and happiness which is also true. With this I discovered that the meaning of life varies from one generation to another, to the none believers life is all about war and peace. The alcoholic will always take life to be having at least a glass of whisky every day. Contemporary sources offer different interpretations of what life is. Famous writers like Ben Carson have built the meaning of life on the success that one has achieved. In agreement with Rick Warren, this success has to be achieved on purpose. Have a dream, Martin Luther King Jr had a dream that the oppression of the blacks in the USA would one day come to an end. He formed the civil rights movement where he expressed the views of the minority group hence becoming a voice of the voiceless. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years but the spirit of having an end to apartheid did not die out and was realised in 1994, he became the first black president of the country and ruled for five years. He is the world’s most admired man, this is all attributed to the goals he set and the achievements he has accomplished. What is your dream my friend? Have you ever dreamt of living a legacy? These are questions that need to be answered, note that it is never too late and you can make a difference. What have you left that people will remember about you? Life is all about answering these simple questions and emulating the lives of those that have already left a legacy. Have a role model that you will always emulate, this should always be in a positive way that will impact change in the society but not adopting the bad behaviours. Remember that you do not need a lot of money to impact change in the society but wealth of the mind. And so let us always work hard to make a difference and be admired by others. We are born with the capability to do what ever the rest can do, so let us not underestimate our potential by always looking for the hard tasks. It takes courage to always be the best and take the front line, do not worry friend life is all about success as the Lord Father wants us to prosper in life. How then are you going to make your life meaningful from now? First, have a dream to always be the best, have courage to take on hard tasks, leave your life on purpose and always have a goal, set the bar too high for whatever you are doing, do every thing to your very best as if there is no tomorrow. Note that if you do not shape your life, circumstances will shape it for you and this comes with a bitter cost. Let us not be satisfied with what we have for this will always make us lazy.
No person can do something big in his/her life if he does not believe in him/herself. We know we win and at the end of the day we win, it all comes with trust for self and pride. Let us be remembered for the works and only the good works that we have done in our lives. Some of the re known people for the works they have done begun from scratch at tender ages so let not wealth be a limiting factor for your innovative ideas. Tim Berners invented internet at the age of 34 starting from nothing to some thing, Larry Page & Sergey Bin at 23 years invented Google, Mark Zukerberg at 20 years invented facebook, Harley Chin at 30 years invented YouTube. With all these being human, starting from scratch to Billions of money why not you, me and them. We all can make a difference if we set our minds to the desired dreams and goals. Remember that there is nothing like luck since luck favours a prepared mind so then set your goals to be lucky one day. Let us not be comfortable for the little we have and always behave as if we have not done enough, do more. I would like to end by categorically stating that successful people always look for opportunities to help others while the unsuccessful people are always asking, what is in it for me. If you can not do everything, do something and do not do nothing. With this let us then go and transform our communities for our time to succeed has come and we will be remembered for what we have done now.     

Chapter two
I think I have found a missing part of me
I have always had a dream that such a time in my life would come. I have waited for a long time, but this has not made me lose hope. I have worked hard to become some one, through thick and thin I have always tried to make myself significant and hence forth become some one. I have been tried, tested and now I know how to live with this feeling. My mother taught me to be patient as such a time in life would definitely come. I have lived to her advice up to date; with out making a mistake I have always been selective while selecting friends. Until I found you my heart rested, I am no longer in the forest searching for the missing piece of me. I have always wanted to tell this to you but could not find a suitable platform to do it.
Please you should know that distance does not matter, it is only that is on the bottom of the heart that matters. We have been friends for a long time, from childhood to date. You should know that you have been a good friend to me. I never knew that our friendship would eventually lead to this, the way you make me feel is awesome. It is such a strange feeling that I can not live with out, you have always encouraged me and advised me on important issues. I know this might not be the right platform for such a discussion but I can not just live with out this sweet feeling.  Please accept me in your life and you will never regret. We all have better ways of expressing our feelings, some cry, others talk a lot, others write and others can not just simply live with out the person that makes them happy. You should know that you are a person that makes me feel happy, complete and loved. Having tried to live to the purpose of my life like expressed in chapter one of this brief please help me move to another level. Please let us move our friendship to another level. You are the one I have always waited for, I have always admired you. You are such a darling to me, I expect to love you and spend the rest of my life with you. Help me realize my dreams and shape my future as I promise to make you happy, never harm you, love you and respect you.

Chapter three
What are you made of?
I can not really define or describe you in a sentence but can do this by writing a brief as you are incomparable to the rest. All I have to say is it is you I have been always searching for. 

To be continued