Uganda’s Olympic team last week wrapped up a gold performance bagging a total of 5 medals at the concluded Commonwealth games in Birmingham. Three of the medals carried home are gold. Jacob Kiplimo, has this year taken the coveted golden boy title, replacing world record holder Joshua Cheptegei. Kiplimo twice beat off stiff competition from Kenyan athletes to take gold in the 10,000m and the 5,000m races. He becomes the second Ugandan to ever bag two gold medals at the same games.
Earlier, Victor Kiplangat was the first Ugandan to win a gold medal when he took the men’s marathon. Boxer Teddy Nakimuli also became the first Ugandan female boxer to win a medal at the Commonwealth games when she won a bronze medal having lost the semi-final fight to Nrothern Ireland’s Carly McNaul. Fellow female athlete Peruth Chemutai also bagged bronze after she fell and injured herself towards the finish line in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final. Uganda fielded teams in various sports including rugby, squash, netball and swimming.
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Thursday informed the nation that his government in consultation with political parties who signed the Revitalized Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) unanimously agreed to a 24-month extension of the interim period. The President while meeting dignitaries that included the 5 vice presidents, the speaker of the national legislature, ministers, diplomats and civil society, noted that the extension was not to keep him in power longer. He, however explained that the political parties did not want to rush the people of South Sudan into an election that could take the country back to war.
Kiir, who has been President since independence of South Sudan in 2011 admitted that the leadership has let the people down. “When we founded the Government of the Republic of South Sudan, we had the opportunity to build a country we would all cherish and defend. But, as your leaders, we lost focus after independence. Instead of building an effective state and cohesive nation, we began fighting among ourselves for power. As a result, we took you back to an even more bitter war where brothers fought themselves for seats,” he stated.
He said the revitalized agreement provided an opportunity for the government to correct their mistakes and as such they have stabilized the country and established a framework to transform the state by building effective institutions. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to finance the agreement alone amid other serious priorities, like a bloated government and catastrophic flooding. As a result, significant issues remain unimplemented. Among these, we must prioritize some to succeed as a country,” Kiir said in a speech at the meeting on Thursday, adding: “I consider the reunification of the army, constitution-making, and the conduct of a census necessary to implement elections and establish a new government without reverting to war. Reunifying the army means we would protect the outcomes of the elections against spoilers who would use it as an occasion for violence. The constitution-making process will determine what type of government we need – decentralized, centralized, federal, parliamentary, presidential, etc. These choices, if wisely decided, will set South Sudan on a course of progress for centuries to come. The census will provide the evidence upon which we will determine the details of voting, state formation, and nation-building. We will redouble our efforts to complete these to lead you to a successful election and build an effective government.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in South Africa on Sunday, kicking off a three-nation African visit as Washington scales up diplomacy to counter Russian influence on the continent, AFP reports. Blinken’s visit comes after an extensive tour of Africa by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov late last month.
South Africa, a leader in the developing world, has remained neutral in the Ukraine war, refusing to join Western calls to condemn Moscow, which had opposed apartheid before the end of white minority rule in 1994.
Meanwhile earlier on Thursday U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, met with President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala. Thomas-Greenfield after the meeting told reporters that her visit to Kampala on August 4 was to reaffirm and strengthen the U.S. relationship with Uganda, not to compete with Russia. Her trip came just days after one by Lavrov.
Speaking after her meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, she described the session as productive and frank, covering solutions to food and security issues, high energy costs and supporting refugees in Uganda.
Thomas-Greenfield said the most important issue discussed with Museveni was the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the availability of food and on oil prices.
With fuel costing $2 a litre in Uganda, Thomas-Greenfield was clear about what would happen to African countries that are dealing with Russia, especially on goods covered by sanctions.
