Court paves way for Ugandan President to run for sixth term

Uganda’s top court paved the way Thursday for the country’s 74-year-old leader Yoweri Museveni to seek a sixth term in office, upholding a ruling to scrap presidential age limits.

The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge by Museveni’s opponents, who had appealed against a constitutional court ruling that removed an age cap of 75 for presidential contenders.

“This appeal therefore fails,” Chief Justice Bart Katureebe declared in handing down the court’s majority 4-3 verdict. The decision allows Museveni who has ruled Uganda since seizing power at the head of a rebel army in 1986 to seek re-election in polls due in 2021. Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana declared the verdict “a big win for Uganda”.

“We are elated. This is a sign of how democracy has taken root in our country,” he told AFP. But a lawyer for the petitioners, Erias Lukwago, said “it is democracy that suffers”. “It is a disappointment, but in Africa it is a miracle to win (against) a sitting government,” he told AFP.

Observers had expected a ruling in Museveni’s favour, but the narrow margin came as a surprise. “The ruling was so close. Museveni will take a lesson from it,” said Kassim Male Mabirizi, an activist from the Uganda Law Society and one of the main petitioners. A bill removing 

presidential age limits was signed into law in December 2017 after a chaotic passage through parliament that saw MPs engaging in fisticuffs.

Court paves way for Ugandan President to run for sixth term

Uganda’s top court paved the way Thursday for the country’s 74-year-old leader Yoweri Museveni to seek a sixth term in office, upholding a ruling to scrap presidential age limits.

The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge by Museveni’s opponents, who had appealed against a constitutional court ruling that removed an age cap of 75 for presidential contenders.

“This appeal therefore fails,” Chief Justice Bart Katureebe declared in handing down the court’s majority 4-3 verdict. The decision allows Museveni who has ruled Uganda since seizing power at the head of a rebel army in 1986 to seek re-election in polls due in 2021. Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana declared the verdict “a big win for Uganda”.

“We are elated. This is a sign of how democracy has taken root in our country,” he told AFP. But a lawyer for the petitioners, Erias Lukwago, said “it is democracy that suffers”. “It is a disappointment, but in Africa it is a miracle to win (against) a sitting government,” he told AFP.

Observers had expected a ruling in Museveni’s favour, but the narrow margin came as a surprise. “The ruling was so close. Museveni will take a lesson from it,” said Kassim Male Mabirizi, an activist from the Uganda Law Society and one of the main petitioners. A bill removing 

presidential age limits was signed into law in December 2017 after a chaotic passage through parliament that saw MPs engaging in fisticuffs.

Man commits suicide after stabbing his girlfriend and hiding her body under the bed

A man has died days after stabbing his girlfriend to death and hiding her body under the bed.

Thabiso Hlabahlaba, 41, killed his girlfriend Khethiwe Mosoeu, 33, last Thursday at a home in Centurion, Gauteng area of South Africa. He then swallowed four packs of rat poison with gin and sat waiting to die.

However, the police arrived at his house and took him to the hospital but he died two days later.

Thabiso’s sister Dikeledi, 31, said Thabiso told them his girlfriend went to the shops when they asked him where she was. But they suspected something as wrong because Thabiso, who rarely drinks, had bought a bottle of gin and drank it all.

"He was not a drinking person and we became suspicious," Dikeledi said.

She said they went to the apartment he shared with Khethiwe and discovered she had been killed.

She said: "We broke the window. There was blood on the curtain and we saw her legs sticking out under the bed. We still wonder why Thabiso did this. It’s a pity he’s also dead and won’t tell us why he did it."

Captain Solomon Sibiya confirmed that Thabiso took poison. He said cases of murder and suicide have been opened.

Man commits suicide after stabbing his girlfriend and hiding her body under the bed

A man has died days after stabbing his girlfriend to death and hiding her body under the bed.

Thabiso Hlabahlaba, 41, killed his girlfriend Khethiwe Mosoeu, 33, last Thursday at a home in Centurion, Gauteng area of South Africa. He then swallowed four packs of rat poison with gin and sat waiting to die.

However, the police arrived at his house and took him to the hospital but he died two days later.

Thabiso’s sister Dikeledi, 31, said Thabiso told them his girlfriend went to the shops when they asked him where she was. But they suspected something as wrong because Thabiso, who rarely drinks, had bought a bottle of gin and drank it all.

"He was not a drinking person and we became suspicious," Dikeledi said.

She said they went to the apartment he shared with Khethiwe and discovered she had been killed.

She said: "We broke the window. There was blood on the curtain and we saw her legs sticking out under the bed. We still wonder why Thabiso did this. It’s a pity he’s also dead and won’t tell us why he did it."

Captain Solomon Sibiya confirmed that Thabiso took poison. He said cases of murder and suicide have been opened.

Breaking: President Buhari signs N30,000 minimum wage bill into law

President Buhari has signed into law, the Minimum Wage Repeal and Re-Enactment Act, 2019.

This was disclosed to newsmen today by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang.

According to him, the Act makes it compulsory for all employers across the country to pay workers a minimum of N30,000. He added that the act however excludes persons employing less than 25 workers or persons in other kinds of regulated employment.

Senator Enang further explained that the Act gives workers the right to sue an employer to recover the balance or authorise the Minister of Labour to take action against an amployer that refuses to pay salaries.

Breaking: President Buhari signs N30,000 minimum wage bill into law

President Buhari has signed into law, the Minimum Wage Repeal and Re-Enactment Act, 2019.

This was disclosed to newsmen today by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang.

According to him, the Act makes it compulsory for all employers across the country to pay workers a minimum of N30,000. He added that the act however excludes persons employing less than 25 workers or persons in other kinds of regulated employment.

Senator Enang further explained that the Act gives workers the right to sue an employer to recover the balance or authorise the Minister of Labour to take action against an amployer that refuses to pay salaries.

Asthmatic NYSC member dies after parade in Bauchi (photo)

A National Youth Service Corps member in Bauchi State, Magdaline Yohana, has died while participating in a parade on April 1st.

According to reports, Yohana was an orphan who saw herself through school. On the day of the incident, Yohana who was asthmatic, had complained that she would not be able to participate in the mandatory match because of her health status.

Her complain was allegedly ignored by the camp official who said most corps member are used to giving flimsy excuses. She participated in the morning parade and slumped during the process.

She was rushed to the camp clinic and was later referred to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital in Bauchi where she died. She was laid to rest on April 5th.

• The scheme has reportedly been silent over her death as there was never an official statement annoucing her demise.

Asthmatic NYSC member dies after parade in Bauchi (photo)

A National Youth Service Corps member in Bauchi State, Magdaline Yohana, has died while participating in a parade on April 1st.

According to reports, Yohana was an orphan who saw herself through school. On the day of the incident, Yohana who was asthmatic, had complained that she would not be able to participate in the mandatory match because of her health status.

Her complain was allegedly ignored by the camp official who said most corps member are used to giving flimsy excuses. She participated in the morning parade and slumped during the process.

She was rushed to the camp clinic and was later referred to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital in Bauchi where she died. She was laid to rest on April 5th.

• The scheme has reportedly been silent over her death as there was never an official statement annoucing her demise.

Ex-boy friend stabbed Kenyan student after ending relationship with him..

Naomi Chepkemboi, a Third Year Public Health student at Pwani University, Kenya, was stabbed in the chest and neck by her ex-boyfriend Henry Kipkoech, who is a student at Kenyatta University, Nairobi.

Ms Chepkemboi says she left her boyfriend in December last year because he was “irresponsible”. The two have a 4-month old daughter together.

Speaking from her hospital bed in Kilifi County, Naomi Chepkemboi said Mr Kipkoech showed up at her rented room in Kilifi early Sunday, when he meted out the ugly attack on her.

“He came to my room at 6am, and knocked on my door. I peeped through the window, and saw him. I went back to bed because I did not want to open the door for him. He pleaded with me to open the door, saying he came with an aim of restoring peace between us,” Chepkemboi told Citizen Television on Monday.

“After much deliberation, I let him in. When we were done talking to each other, he rose and started walking out. I, thereafter, changed into my sleeping gown; and was in the process of locking the door, when he stormed in and locked the door from the inside,” said Chepkemboi.

Mr Kipkoech, thereafter, brandished three knives he had hidden in a paper bag and stabbed his victim in the chest and neck several times.

Doctors at Kilifi Hospital say Naomi Chepkemboi, who was taken to the facility by fellow students, is in a stable condition.

The victim recounts ending her 2-year relationship with the suspect in December last year.

“When I told him that I have moved on, he couldn’t believe it. I terminated my relationship with him because he wasn’t a responsible man. His parents helped me and the baby for only two months. After much thought, I saw it unwise to stick with him yet he wasn’t looking after his child. He was the type of a man who would forcefully take my money, when he found me in possession of some cash,” said Ms Chepkemboi.

A Kilifi court on Monday, April 15 granted the police eight days to detain Henry Kipkoech.

The suspect will undergo mental tests to ascertain his fitness to stand trial.

Mr Kipkoech told the court that he attacked his victim after she denied him access to their daughter.

Ex-boy friend stabbed Kenyan student after ending relationship with him..

Naomi Chepkemboi, a Third Year Public Health student at Pwani University, Kenya, was stabbed in the chest and neck by her ex-boyfriend Henry Kipkoech, who is a student at Kenyatta University, Nairobi.

Ms Chepkemboi says she left her boyfriend in December last year because he was “irresponsible”. The two have a 4-month old daughter together.

Speaking from her hospital bed in Kilifi County, Naomi Chepkemboi said Mr Kipkoech showed up at her rented room in Kilifi early Sunday, when he meted out the ugly attack on her.

“He came to my room at 6am, and knocked on my door. I peeped through the window, and saw him. I went back to bed because I did not want to open the door for him. He pleaded with me to open the door, saying he came with an aim of restoring peace between us,” Chepkemboi told Citizen Television on Monday.

“After much deliberation, I let him in. When we were done talking to each other, he rose and started walking out. I, thereafter, changed into my sleeping gown; and was in the process of locking the door, when he stormed in and locked the door from the inside,” said Chepkemboi.

Mr Kipkoech, thereafter, brandished three knives he had hidden in a paper bag and stabbed his victim in the chest and neck several times.

Doctors at Kilifi Hospital say Naomi Chepkemboi, who was taken to the facility by fellow students, is in a stable condition.

The victim recounts ending her 2-year relationship with the suspect in December last year.

“When I told him that I have moved on, he couldn’t believe it. I terminated my relationship with him because he wasn’t a responsible man. His parents helped me and the baby for only two months. After much thought, I saw it unwise to stick with him yet he wasn’t looking after his child. He was the type of a man who would forcefully take my money, when he found me in possession of some cash,” said Ms Chepkemboi.

A Kilifi court on Monday, April 15 granted the police eight days to detain Henry Kipkoech.

The suspect will undergo mental tests to ascertain his fitness to stand trial.

Mr Kipkoech told the court that he attacked his victim after she denied him access to their daughter.

Linda Ikeji explains how she moved from her humble beginnings to building a media empire as she covers Business Day's The CEO magazine(Photos)

Linda Ifeoma Ikeji is the latest CEO to grace the cover of Business Day's The CEO magazine.

The Linda Ikeji Media CEO sat with Business Day Magazine’s Editor Lehlé Baldé to speak extensively about building a media empire from next to nothing.

Linda Ikeji Media business began 12 years ago as just a personal blog where Dr Ikeji shared her personal stories. But she decided to do something different after reading Perez Hilton's blog, she told Ms Lehlé Baldé.

At this point, she began including gossips and entertainment stories and realized it increased her reach. This set her apart from other bloggers and soon turned the blog into an income-generating business.

Now, Linda Ikeji Media has expanded to include the Linda Ikeji TV and also a digital marketing company.

It was no mean feat but Linda said she achieved this with patience and also by not paying attention to the naysayers and all who tried to demean what she does for a living. The blog did not begin generating income until years later, but she said she kept at it and put in the work.

Linda Ikeji said her business ideas come from trying to meet a need. She said:

I think my ideas always come from my vision and where I see a need or where I think will be successful.

This, she said, is what led her to diversify the Linda Ikeji Media to TV and, more recently, digital marketing.

To read the full interview, download the newspaper here .