On 27 May 2011 the Centre for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), a Ugandan NGO, and the families of two mothers who died in government hospitals in 2009 in Uganda approached the Ugandan Constitutional Court alleging the women’s deaths were caused as a direct result of Uganda’s failing healthcare system. The petitioners argue that the tragic deaths are but two manifestations of a larger problem of an unacceptably high rate of maternal mortality in Uganda. They hope that a declaration to this effect by the Court will force the Ugandan government to increase its budget for maternal healthcare.

A joint meeting that sought to end the current power crisis in the country on 11 July ended without any solution after lawmakers on the budget committee threw out government officials, including ministers, over accountability concerns. Four ministers were in Parliament pleading for the approval of Shs207.5 billion needed to pay for the outstanding thermal power subsidy bills but without success.

Uganda opened its first war crimes trial Monday, 11 July charging a commander of the Lord's Resistance Army rebellion blamed for brutal civilian murders during a 20-year war in the north of the country. Thomas Kwoyelo was charged before the International Crimes Division court in the northern town of Gulu with 53 counts of wilful killing, hostage taking, destruction of property and causing injury.

South Sudan’s independence celebrations on Saturday will not only usher in the world’s newest country, they may also be a coronation of its southern neighbor, Uganda, as a cresting regional influence. Even now, with independence close at hand, South Sudan will be a nation in dependence. Countries from the United States to China are investing in the soon-to-be country, and the nearby East African Community says it is likely South Sudan will join the regional economic bloc. But Uganda, a developing country itself, holds a special place. A vast portion of South Sudan’s produce is imported, and Uganda exports more goods to South Sudan than any country in the world.

The 1972 Succession Act identifies the persons eligible for inheritance and their respective share entitlements in Uganda, but the majority of women in rural communities are not aware of this office and its function, nor do they understand Uganda's legal provisions for inheritance, says this policy brief from the Uganda Land Alliance and the Uganda Media Women's Association. Current policy on the implementation of women's legal rights must be revised to address this problem. Action needs to be taken to educate and sensitize the community as well as women their legal entitlement to land inheritance of property.

Doreen Lwanga describes a debate with Ugandan members of parliament in which many of the myths around homosexuality were evident. 'Gays are humans and as such, deserving of humane recognition and respect,' she writes.

The Law, Gender & Sexuality Research Project at the Makerere University School of Law in Uganda is putting together a book on the life, work and legacy of David Kisule Kato. David was murdered in his home in January and is considered a founder of Uganda's LGBTI human rights movement. The project is calling for submissions of essays, fiction, poetry, web blogs, art, crafts, photographs, film, documentaries, speeches, diaries, letters and other correspondence, music, academic publications, etc. that reflect any aspect of the life and work of David Kato.

Nothing will stop Uganda's president...

When the monthly contraceptive injection that Bernadette Asiimwe, a mother of four, got from government health centres in western Uganda was out of stock for weeks she fell pregnant with her fifth child. By the time Assiimwe decided to pay for the contraceptive and went to Reproductive Health Uganda, a family planning association, she was already four weeks pregnant. Asiimwe is not alone -many mothers like her in western Uganda have had unintended pregnancies due to shortages of commonly used contraceptives in government health facilities.

Oil worth billions of dollars is set to start flowing in Uganda, but the existing framework fails to protect Uganda from being plundered by multinational corporations, Jason Hickel writes.

Naome Ruzindana is a feminist and founding member of the Coalition of African Lesbians. She presented her paper 'The Great Lakes of Africa: Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and their Position Towards LGBTI Rights' at the ILGA panel 'The Growing Consensus: Towards the End of Criminalisation and Human Rights Violations based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity' at the 17th session of the Human Rights Council 7 June 2011 at Palais des Nations, Geneva. You can read the full presentation from the Behind the Mask website.

Farmers in the eastern districts of Uganda that constitute the Elgon zone have rejected a proposal by Arthur Makala, the executive director at Science Foundation for Livelihoods and Development, to start engaging in the cultivation of genetically modified crops that are supposed to be drought resistant and give high yields. Makala had suggested that farmers should embrace the Genetically Modified Crops [GMC] for better yields but the farmers rejected it saying GMCs are contaminated with chemicals that may be harmful to their health.

The nurse at Najembe Health Centre in Buikwe district says the centre’s supply of malaria drugs will be finished in two days. A malaria epidemic has hit the area and the demand for the drugs is high. But the centre, which serves the entire sub-county, will have to wait up to six weeks before their supply will be replenished. The Ugandan government changed the policy of distributing drugs to parish and sub-county health centres in 2009 by implementing a policy where the National Medical Stores decides what drugs to supply and in what quantities. (A parish health centre is a clinic that provides medical treatment for up to 12 villages.) Previously heads of these health centres requisitioned the drugs, depending on their needs. The National Medical Stores supply 70 per cent of the drugs in public health centres and district health officials locally procure the remaining 30 per cent.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni should ensure independent and transparent investigations into killings which occurred during the 'Walk to Work' protests and hold security forces accountable, a coalition of 105 human rights, media, and development organisations said in a letter to the president. The coalition, including civil society groups from every corner of Uganda, urged the president to invite the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions.

Across the continent, there is new attention to the practical requirements of effective immunisation campaigns. Dr Seraphine Adibaku, head of Uganda's malaria control programme, says his country has already started raising popular awareness of the coming availability of a malaria vaccine, with the most recent meeting of officials from the ministry of health and developers of the vaccine and other stake holders held in May. 'We are conscious not to cause excitement because it can lead to undesirable consequences but we have to tell the people that a vaccine could be here sooner than later,' says Adibaku.

The Governor of the Central Bank says President Museveni’s erratic policies and the government’s fiscal indiscipline have led to higher inflation and declining foreign reserves, a UK-based newspaper reported. Mr Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile told the Financial Times newspaper that he had disagreed with Mr Museveni over the decision to spend $740 million on jet fighters, which has pushed reserves down from six to four months of import cover. The Ministry of Defence, under President Museveni’s directive, withdrew a reported $400 million (Shs960 billion) from the Central Bank to pay for the fighter jets without parliamentary approval.

Over 30 people have so far been arrested in an operation to crack down on illegal encroachment and settlement in the national forest reserves in Kibaale district that started on Monday, 13 June. The operation which started last week in Kangombe Central Forest Reserve was mounted by National Forestry Authority (NFA) with the help of police. However, Deo Ndabiyareza, one of the encroachers, claimed that some encroachers bought land in the reserves. 'They very well know it that some of us came into the forest and the old settlers sold land to us. We cannot accept to leave this land because we have already planted crops,' he said.

A Ugandan woman who was branded with a hot iron in her home country as a punishment for her sexuality, is facing forced removal from the UK. Betty Tibikawa, 22, who is detained in Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre in Bedford, is awaiting removal directions after her asylum claim was refused. Human rights organisations have consistently documented abuses against gay men and lesbians in Uganda and say that it's one of the most dangerous countries in the world for gay people.

Opposition lawmakers on 6 June abandoned President Museveni in Parliament as he delivered his first post-election State-of-the-Nation address, protesting what they said was his tolerance of graft and corrupt individuals in government. Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Nandala Mafabi, led from the front as the MPs stormed out of Serena Hotel's Victoria Conference Hall where Parliament had convened. They later denounced what they felt is President Museveni's continued failure to deal with crooked government officials.

ARTICLE 19 has called on the East African Community (EAC) to hold a special session on Uganda to discuss the country’s ongoing grave human right violations, including frequent attacks on freedom of expression. 'ARTICLE 19 believes that the seriousness of the current situation requires the East African Legislative Assembly to immediately convene a special session to address attacks on journalists, human rights defenders and the media in the country. During May 2011 alone, at least nine people have died in Uganda following brutal attacks by state security agents, and many more were injured, including journalists.'