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Archive May 2, 2025

John Power on supporting Oasis this Summer with Cast ‘It’s the right time for them to walk on stage together’

By in Entertainment News, News

Cast played with Liam Gallagher last year and the frontman phoned up to personally invite them back for the Oasis Live 25 tour

John Power performs at the Utilita Arena Cardiff last year – he will be back in the Welsh capital with Oasis in July(Image: Redferns)

John Power will be entertaining fans this Summer as they sip beers waiting for an incredible moment to happen on stage when Oasis reunite in massive stadiums.

But as well as being the lead singer in Cast and performing alongside Richard Ashcroft as a support act, he will also be there in part as a fan. Looking ahead to the Oasis Live 25 shows which kick off in Cardiff in July, John says: “I think it’s the right time for them to walk on stage together in far too long, you know. And sometimes you’ve got to do it, sometimes things are just right. I’m looking forward to it myself as a fan to watch them come on. It’s going to be some tour to be part of.”

Liam and Debbie
Liam and Debbie phoned up John Power to offer Cast the support slot with Oasis(Image: Getty Images Europe)

At 57, John knows what it is like to play huge shows and have massive hits having been in The La’s from 1986 to 1991 and then forming Cast afterwards who had phenomenal success themselves in the Britpop years of the Nineties.

The band split up in 2001 but reformed in 2010 and last year they toured as support for Liam Gallagher as he played a Definitely Maybe Oasis tour which fans loved. And now the Manchester frontman has personally got them back for the Oasis shows.

John said: “I got a call from a number, and I have got Liam and Noel’s numbers and all that, but it was a different number, and I don’t normally answer them.

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“And I picked it up, and it was Debbie, Liam’s manager and his wife, and Liam in the background as well. And then Liam, he’d just spoken to Noel and they just discussed it, and they just said, ‘You know, look, we just spoke to our kid. Do you want to open up on the tour?’

“I was like, ‘You know, I think I do actually!’ And it was a really cool conversation, and then we were blown away like, I mean, it was like the best news we could have hoped for.”

He adds: “It’s the biggest tour this year and it authenticates the legacy of Cast. This is a band in previous years if there was a Britpop list, top 20, we wouldn’t even be in it.

“But now you can’t do it. Because it’s like the biggest band of that time are saying ‘check this out’.”

As well as the call from Liam, Cast firmly have the Oasis seal-of-approval with Noel Gallagher previously describing frontman John as being “as cosmic as the day is long.”

The Gallaghers also enjoyed Cast 2024 album Love Is The Call, their first new LP in seven years, although their debut album All Change released in October 1995 is still the one most people will know.

Fans can expect John to belt out ‘Alright’ and ‘Finetime’ to fire up audiences from the off, while slow burners such as ‘Sandstorm’ and ‘Walkaway’ are perfect for early singalongs in the stadiums.

After touring with Oasis, Cast will then be on the road themselves with dates going through the year.

John formed the band with Peter Wilkinson who played bass and Liam ‘Skin’ Tyson on guitar and Keith O’Neill on drums completed the line up. Three of the original band – minus Peter – are still playing together now.

Now older and wiser from decades on the road and in the spotlight, John seems content as well as excited about new material for the band.

“I think when you’re younger, you’re kind of trying out a load of different personalities before you get it right. You know, your split personality, there was John this, John that, but lots of that is kind of… just kind of coats you have taken off.

“So what you see now and what you hear now is the genuine ‘John’. You know, it’s the all encompassing John. There was John who played bass in The Las. There was John who was the young Cast singer. There was John who didn’t quite know…. well they’ve all come together.

“I can appreciate and make my peace with the two iconic bands I’ve been in, whilst feeling like’m in this good place at the moment.

“The music industry can be very fickle and fad orientated. And we’ve kind of, we’ve had success, we’ve lost it, we split up, we kind of got back together. We kind of kept it together barely as a band, and then we regrouped,

“And now we’ve been away already and we’ve come back about a month ago. We’ve got a new album recorded that will be out this time next year and it’s, you know, it’s anthemic.

“It’s the one of those records that you make at the right time in your career. So, I mean, there’s a lot of good… I’m kind of right in the pocket at the moment, right in the groove in many things in my life.”

He adds: “It’s funny, but I’m driven in not a desperate way. I’ve realised that the universe meets you. I mean, I always used to say the universe will meet you halfway if you do certain actions, but it doesn’t do desperation. You know, if you want something too much for whatever reason, you don’t get it. So what I’m concentrating on is being very present with my music, very present with my energy.”

Away from the stage, Power and his grown up son Fin will both have been thrilled with Liverpool’s Premier League title this season. A proud Scouser he often puts photos from his hometown on social media including a recent trip to Penny Lane which is close to where he went to school.

And looking even further ahead, John is set to keep playing live his whole life and seems born to do it.

He says: “I don’t think I’m going to stop. I mean, I might not be as intense. The last two years have been slightly intense, and this year there’s so much going on that, like, I’m just literally taking it one day at a time, because I look too far ahead I could freeze.

“But all I know is that if I stay in the pocket in this present moment, things seem to be coming our way. And we’re writing great music. The next album is going to blow your mind and I mean that – it’s a special record.”

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* Cast are on tour with Oasis this Summer, their own tour Cast: 30 Years of All Change begins in October.

Why does DRC want to end ex-President Kabila’s immunity for war crimes?

By in News, World News

The army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) asked the Senate this week to revoke former President Joseph Kabila’s immunity from prosecution.

Removal of Kabila’s immunity would pave the way for him to be prosecuted on charges of “supporting a rebel insurgency” in the country’s troubled eastern region, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said.

Last week, the government placed travel restrictions on Kabila’s family, signalling a deepening rift between Kabila, who led the country for more than a decade until 2019, and current President Felix Tshisekedi, who took over from him that year.

Tension between the two has kept Kabila away from the country for several years, living for the most part in South Africa. But his reported reappearance last month in the rebel-held Goma territory in DRC’s eastern Kivu region has led to speculation that he may have allied himself with the armed rebel group, M23.

His reappearance in DRC appears also to have angered the government, which has been battling the Rwanda-backed M23 group in a deadly conflict in the country’s east for months. Last week, the rebels announced a ceasefire following mediation talks in Qatar.

Kambale Musavuli, a researcher at the Center for Research on Congo-Kinshasa, a think tank, said the DRC’s move to prosecute the ex-leader was a positive step.

“Putting him on trial could be a pivotal moment for the DRC, not only in seeking justice for past crimes but also in breaking the cycle of impunity that has plagued our leadership since independence,” he said.

Democratic Republic of Congo’s former President Joseph Kabila attends a memorial service for Sam Nujoma, who became Namibia’s first democratically elected president, at the Independence stadium, in the Windhoek, Namibia, on February 28, 2025, several weeks before his reported reappearance in DRC [Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]

What is Kabila’s history?

Joseph Kabila, 53, is a former military officer who was fourth president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. Although his term was supposed to end in 2016, he controversially delayed elections until huge protests broke out. Presidents in the DRC are elected for a five-year term and are only permitted to serve two terms. A new constitution, adopted in 2006, reset Kabila’s two-term tenure.

He took over leadership of the country in 2001 at the age of just 29, after his father and former coup leader, President Laurent Kabila, was assassinated. DRC presidents, former presidents and senators are immune from prosecution unless they commit “gross misconduct” according to the country’s constitution.

Kabila’s relationship with President Tshisekedi, a former opposition leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), is fraught. Although the two men agreed in 2019 to an awkward power-sharing pact that allowed members of Kabila’s People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) to take part in the new government, they clashed over who could appoint which officials to office. Their alliance broke down a year later, in 2020.

Tensions were also mounting over the M23 rebellion which began in 2012. Kabila has accused Tshisekedi of failing to tackle the matter with tact, complaining that the president has relied on external mediation rather than engaging in direct dialogue with the rebels.

In a recent opinion piece in South Africa’s Sunday Times, Kabila wrote that under Tshisekedi, the DRC “is close to imploding as a result of the civil war”. He also accused the president of attempting to hang onto power, referring to Tshisekedi’s plans to push for a constitutional review. Tshisekedi said in 2023 his government would review the constitution and leave the matter of term limits “for the people to decide”, without expanding further.

Kabila has held talks with opposition leaders, including Moise Katumbi, leader of the Together for the Republic party, although it is unclear what was discussed. Observers say Kabila is angling to act as a lead negotiator between M23 and Kinshasa, but he has not publicly made that claim himself.

For his part, Tshisekedi blames Kabila for undermining his government and accuses him of supporting M23, citing his close links to former election chairman-turned-rebel-leader, Corneille Nangaa.

Nangaa, who declared his alliance with the rebels in 2023, was head of the country’s electoral commission from 2015 to 2021 and oversaw the disputed 2018 elections that brought Tshisekedi into office. The two later fell out over how the elections were run, causing Nangaa to publicly criticise Tshisekedi and eventually join a rebel group.

On April 20, the DRC’s government suspended Kabila’s party, PPRD, and ordered his assets to be seized on charges of supporting M23. It is not clear if those assets are yet under state control.

UN warns M23 advances threaten regional conflict in eastern DRC
People gather around market stalls as residents begin to venture out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu on February 18, 2025 [Luis Tato/AFP]

Why is the DRC government seeking to lift Kabila’s immunity?

DRC Justice Minister Constant Mutamba told reporters on Wednesday that the state has amassed evidence implicating Kabila in “war crimes, crimes against humanity and massacres of peaceful civilians and military personnel” in the country’s east. He did not give specific details of these crimes.

Swaths of the eastern region are currently under control of the M23 group, which seeks control of mineral wealth and has ambitions to take power in Kinshasa. The United Nations and United States claim the group is backed by neighbouring Rwanda.

In relation to this, Kabila is accused of “treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and participation in an insurrectional movement”, the justice minister said.

It’s not clear when the Senate will approve the army’s demand, or when a trial might begin.

What is the M23 and what does it want?

The M23 armed group is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern DRC’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth, critical for the production of much of the world’s technology.

According to UN experts and the US, M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 soldiers from neighbouring Rwanda.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has not explicitly denied supporting the group. In February, he told a CNN reporter he did “not know” if Rwandan troops had boots on the ground in the DRC.

The group, which is largely composed of Tutsi fighters, says it wants to protect Congolese Tutsis of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform the DRC from a failed state into a modern one, though critics say this is a pretext for Rwanda’s involvement.

Many M23 members were indeed former ethnic Tutsi rebels who integrated into the DRC army following the Congo Wars (1996-2003) but later defected, citing discrimination and broken peace deals.

Those wars had roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of minority Tutsis and centrist Hutus. Thousands of genocidaires fled over the border into refugee camps in the DRC following the fall of the Hutu government, and from there, launched attacks on Rwanda. That conflict led to fighting in an already unstable DRC.

President Kagame’s government, meanwhile, accuses the DRC of enlisting remnant Hutu forces in the form of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which fights alongside the Congolese army.

In a previous uprising in 2012, M23 briefly seized Goma, a strategic regional hub, but withdrew after international pressure.

Since January, the group, which analysts say is eyeing political power this time, has again captured Goma as well as Bukavu, a city of 1.3 million people. At least 3,000 people were reported killed and thousands displaced in the Goma fighting in January.

drc
Congolese traffic police officers affiliated with the M23 fighters direct traffic on the roads around the Birere Market in Goma on February 17, 2025 [Michel Lunanga/AFP]

What will happen to Kabila next?

Kabila has not responded to the DRC government’s recent allegations or its moves to prosecute him. However, his allies have criticised these moves. Ferdinand Kambere, a senior member of Kabila’s PPRD, said Kinshasa’s actions were a “relentless persecution” of the former president.

“For us, these mistakes that those in power keep making against the former president, thinking they are humiliating or intimidating him, actually show that the regime is nearing its end. They have nothing left to use against Kabila,” Kambere told The Associated Press news agency.

But some say the move is necessary for justice. Kabila’s reported appearance in Goma should not be seen as a coincidence, Musavuli, the researcher, said, but rather indicates that he may be shoring up alliances or defying Kinshasa. Kabila and any others implicated in crimes should be tried, he said.

“His regime is deeply implicated in enabling armed groups, particularly in the east. Many of these crimes occurred under his watch, if not with his direct complicity, certainly with his strategic silence. The people want a transparent and credible judicial process, one that doesn’t just scapegoat one individual but exposes the broader networks of power, both domestic and international, that have profited from the suffering of the Congolese people,” he added.

Meanwhile, an opposition alliance against President Tshisekedi is forming. On Thursday, opposition leaders Moise Katumbi, Martin Fayulu and Delly Sesanga, together with Kabila, issued a joint call for national dialogue in what looked like a united front.

In a statement, they questioned the strength of the Qatar-led ceasefire deal and instead called for a return to Congolese-led mediation mechanisms, including one being led by the country’s Catholic Church leaders, to deal with the “root causes” of the crisis, among them “bad governance”.

Why does DRC want to end ex-President Kabila’s immunity for war crimes?

By in News, World News

The army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) asked the Senate this week to revoke former President Joseph Kabila’s immunity from prosecution.

Removal of Kabila’s immunity would pave the way for him to be prosecuted on charges of “supporting a rebel insurgency” in the country’s troubled eastern region, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said.

Last week, the government placed travel restrictions on Kabila’s family, signalling a deepening rift between Kabila, who led the country for more than a decade until 2019, and current President Felix Tshisekedi, who took over from him that year.

Tension between the two has kept Kabila away from the country for several years, living for the most part in South Africa. But his reported reappearance last month in the rebel-held Goma territory in DRC’s eastern Kivu region has led to speculation that he may have allied himself with the armed rebel group, M23.

His reappearance in DRC appears also to have angered the government, which has been battling the Rwanda-backed M23 group in a deadly conflict in the country’s east for months. Last week, the rebels announced a ceasefire following mediation talks in Qatar.

Kambale Musavuli, a researcher at the Center for Research on Congo-Kinshasa, a think tank, said the DRC’s move to prosecute the ex-leader was a positive step.

“Putting him on trial could be a pivotal moment for the DRC, not only in seeking justice for past crimes but also in breaking the cycle of impunity that has plagued our leadership since independence,” he said.

Democratic Republic of Congo’s former President Joseph Kabila attends a memorial service for Sam Nujoma, who became Namibia’s first democratically elected president, at the Independence stadium, in the Windhoek, Namibia, on February 28, 2025, several weeks before his reported reappearance in DRC [Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]

What is Kabila’s history?

Joseph Kabila, 53, is a former military officer who was fourth president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. Although his term was supposed to end in 2016, he controversially delayed elections until huge protests broke out. Presidents in the DRC are elected for a five-year term and are only permitted to serve two terms. A new constitution, adopted in 2006, reset Kabila’s two-term tenure.

He took over leadership of the country in 2001 at the age of just 29, after his father and former coup leader, President Laurent Kabila, was assassinated. DRC presidents, former presidents and senators are immune from prosecution unless they commit “gross misconduct” according to the country’s constitution.

Kabila’s relationship with President Tshisekedi, a former opposition leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), is fraught. Although the two men agreed in 2019 to an awkward power-sharing pact that allowed members of Kabila’s People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) to take part in the new government, they clashed over who could appoint which officials to office. Their alliance broke down a year later, in 2020.

Tensions were also mounting over the M23 rebellion which began in 2012. Kabila has accused Tshisekedi of failing to tackle the matter with tact, complaining that the president has relied on external mediation rather than engaging in direct dialogue with the rebels.

In a recent opinion piece in South Africa’s Sunday Times, Kabila wrote that under Tshisekedi, the DRC “is close to imploding as a result of the civil war”. He also accused the president of attempting to hang onto power, referring to Tshisekedi’s plans to push for a constitutional review. Tshisekedi said in 2023 his government would review the constitution and leave the matter of term limits “for the people to decide”, without expanding further.

Kabila has held talks with opposition leaders, including Moise Katumbi, leader of the Together for the Republic party, although it is unclear what was discussed. Observers say Kabila is angling to act as a lead negotiator between M23 and Kinshasa, but he has not publicly made that claim himself.

For his part, Tshisekedi blames Kabila for undermining his government and accuses him of supporting M23, citing his close links to former election chairman-turned-rebel-leader, Corneille Nangaa.

Nangaa, who declared his alliance with the rebels in 2023, was head of the country’s electoral commission from 2015 to 2021 and oversaw the disputed 2018 elections that brought Tshisekedi into office. The two later fell out over how the elections were run, causing Nangaa to publicly criticise Tshisekedi and eventually join a rebel group.

On April 20, the DRC’s government suspended Kabila’s party, PPRD, and ordered his assets to be seized on charges of supporting M23. It is not clear if those assets are yet under state control.

UN warns M23 advances threaten regional conflict in eastern DRC
People gather around market stalls as residents begin to venture out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu on February 18, 2025 [Luis Tato/AFP]

Why is the DRC government seeking to lift Kabila’s immunity?

DRC Justice Minister Constant Mutamba told reporters on Wednesday that the state has amassed evidence implicating Kabila in “war crimes, crimes against humanity and massacres of peaceful civilians and military personnel” in the country’s east. He did not give specific details of these crimes.

Swaths of the eastern region are currently under control of the M23 group, which seeks control of mineral wealth and has ambitions to take power in Kinshasa. The United Nations and United States claim the group is backed by neighbouring Rwanda.

In relation to this, Kabila is accused of “treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and participation in an insurrectional movement”, the justice minister said.

It’s not clear when the Senate will approve the army’s demand, or when a trial might begin.

What is the M23 and what does it want?

The M23 armed group is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern DRC’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth, critical for the production of much of the world’s technology.

According to UN experts and the US, M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 soldiers from neighbouring Rwanda.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has not explicitly denied supporting the group. In February, he told a CNN reporter he did “not know” if Rwandan troops had boots on the ground in the DRC.

The group, which is largely composed of Tutsi fighters, says it wants to protect Congolese Tutsis of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform the DRC from a failed state into a modern one, though critics say this is a pretext for Rwanda’s involvement.

Many M23 members were indeed former ethnic Tutsi rebels who integrated into the DRC army following the Congo Wars (1996-2003) but later defected, citing discrimination and broken peace deals.

Those wars had roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of minority Tutsis and centrist Hutus. Thousands of genocidaires fled over the border into refugee camps in the DRC following the fall of the Hutu government, and from there, launched attacks on Rwanda. That conflict led to fighting in an already unstable DRC.

President Kagame’s government, meanwhile, accuses the DRC of enlisting remnant Hutu forces in the form of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which fights alongside the Congolese army.

In a previous uprising in 2012, M23 briefly seized Goma, a strategic regional hub, but withdrew after international pressure.

Since January, the group, which analysts say is eyeing political power this time, has again captured Goma as well as Bukavu, a city of 1.3 million people. At least 3,000 people were reported killed and thousands displaced in the Goma fighting in January.

drc
Congolese traffic police officers affiliated with the M23 fighters direct traffic on the roads around the Birere Market in Goma on February 17, 2025 [Michel Lunanga/AFP]

What will happen to Kabila next?

Kabila has not responded to the DRC government’s recent allegations or its moves to prosecute him. However, his allies have criticised these moves. Ferdinand Kambere, a senior member of Kabila’s PPRD, said Kinshasa’s actions were a “relentless persecution” of the former president.

“For us, these mistakes that those in power keep making against the former president, thinking they are humiliating or intimidating him, actually show that the regime is nearing its end. They have nothing left to use against Kabila,” Kambere told The Associated Press news agency.

But some say the move is necessary for justice. Kabila’s reported appearance in Goma should not be seen as a coincidence, Musavuli, the researcher, said, but rather indicates that he may be shoring up alliances or defying Kinshasa. Kabila and any others implicated in crimes should be tried, he said.

“His regime is deeply implicated in enabling armed groups, particularly in the east. Many of these crimes occurred under his watch, if not with his direct complicity, certainly with his strategic silence. The people want a transparent and credible judicial process, one that doesn’t just scapegoat one individual but exposes the broader networks of power, both domestic and international, that have profited from the suffering of the Congolese people,” he added.

Meanwhile, an opposition alliance against President Tshisekedi is forming. On Thursday, opposition leaders Moise Katumbi, Martin Fayulu and Delly Sesanga, together with Kabila, issued a joint call for national dialogue in what looked like a united front.

In a statement, they questioned the strength of the Qatar-led ceasefire deal and instead called for a return to Congolese-led mediation mechanisms, including one being led by the country’s Catholic Church leaders, to deal with the “root causes” of the crisis, among them “bad governance”.

Uganda’s military chief says holding opposition activist ‘in my basement’

By in News, World News

Uganda’s military chief, the son of longtime President Yoweri Museveni, says he is holding a missing opposition activist in his basement and threatened violence against him, after the man’s party said he was abducted.

Eddie Mutwe went missing on April 27 after being grabbed near the capital Kampala by armed men, the National Unity Platform (NUP) party has said.

Mutwe acts as the chief bodyguard for Uganda’s leading opposition figure, Bobi Wine.

In a social media post late on Thursday, Ugandan General Muhoozi Kainerugaba said Mutwe had been captured “like a grasshopper”.

“He is in my basement … You are next!” Kainerugaba wrote on X in response to a post by Wine saying that Mutwe had been abducted.

Kainerugaba, who is known for his incendiary social media posts, also alluded to Mutwe being tortured, saying he had beaten him and shaved his head.

“If they keep on provoking us, we shall discipline them even more,” he said of the opposition.

Kainerugaba’s comments come amid an escalating crackdown on the Ugandan opposition and as Wine was set to launch a “protest vote” campaign in advance of a general election in January.

Spokespeople for the Ugandan government, military and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Reuters news agency.

On Friday, Wine – a former singer whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi and who has become the leading opponent to Museveni – said on X that security forces had “just raided and cordoned off our headquarters”.

He also condemned the abduction of Mutwe, telling the AFP news agency that it was “a reminder to the world as to how law and order has broken down in Uganda”.

The Ugandan government has faced international condemnation over the abduction of opposition figures, including veteran leader Kizza Besigye, who was seized in Kenya last year and forcibly returned to face treason charges.

Museveni, who has ruled since 1986 and plans to seek re-election in January, has denied allegations of human rights abuses.

But the Uganda Law Society said the abduction of Mutwe, Wine’s chief bodyguard, was not an isolated incident.

Instead, it is “part of a systematic campaign to silence dissent and crush the aspirations of young people yearning for freedom”, the group said in a statement.

The Uganda Human Rights Commission, which is tasked with investigating abuses and monitoring the government’s human rights record, said it issued a release order directing the authorities to release Mutwe on Friday.

The move was welcomed as a “bold step” by David Lewis Rubongoya, secretary-general of the National Unity Platform party.

Uganda’s military chief says holding opposition activist ‘in my basement’

By in News, World News

Uganda’s military chief, the son of longtime President Yoweri Museveni, says he is holding a missing opposition activist in his basement and threatened violence against him, after the man’s party said he was abducted.

Eddie Mutwe went missing on April 27 after being grabbed near the capital Kampala by armed men, the National Unity Platform (NUP) party has said.

Mutwe acts as the chief bodyguard for Uganda’s leading opposition figure, Bobi Wine.

In a social media post late on Thursday, Ugandan General Muhoozi Kainerugaba said Mutwe had been captured “like a grasshopper”.

“He is in my basement … You are next!” Kainerugaba wrote on X in response to a post by Wine saying that Mutwe had been abducted.

Kainerugaba, who is known for his incendiary social media posts, also alluded to Mutwe being tortured, saying he had beaten him and shaved his head.

“If they keep on provoking us, we shall discipline them even more,” he said of the opposition.

Kainerugaba’s comments come amid an escalating crackdown on the Ugandan opposition and as Wine was set to launch a “protest vote” campaign in advance of a general election in January.

Spokespeople for the Ugandan government, military and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Reuters news agency.

On Friday, Wine – a former singer whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi and who has become the leading opponent to Museveni – said on X that security forces had “just raided and cordoned off our headquarters”.

He also condemned the abduction of Mutwe, telling the AFP news agency that it was “a reminder to the world as to how law and order has broken down in Uganda”.

The Ugandan government has faced international condemnation over the abduction of opposition figures, including veteran leader Kizza Besigye, who was seized in Kenya last year and forcibly returned to face treason charges.

Museveni, who has ruled since 1986 and plans to seek re-election in January, has denied allegations of human rights abuses.

But the Uganda Law Society said the abduction of Mutwe, Wine’s chief bodyguard, was not an isolated incident.

Instead, it is “part of a systematic campaign to silence dissent and crush the aspirations of young people yearning for freedom”, the group said in a statement.

The Uganda Human Rights Commission, which is tasked with investigating abuses and monitoring the government’s human rights record, said it issued a release order directing the authorities to release Mutwe on Friday.

The move was welcomed as a “bold step” by David Lewis Rubongoya, secretary-general of the National Unity Platform party.

Prince Harry’s sad admission about Archie and Lilibet as he declares love for his homeland

By in Entertainment News, News

After losing his security battle appeal challenge, Prince Harry addressed the safety of his family and the breakdown of his relationship with King Charles in an emotional interview.

Prince Harry has given a bombshell interview after sensationally losing his Court of Appeal challenge over his security arrangements in the UK.

The Duke of Sussex has shared his hopes of a “reconciliation” with the rest of the Royal Family as he claimed his father, King Charles, “refuses” to speak with him. The ruling handed down earlier this afternoon is a huge blow for Harry, who previously argued he wanted his children, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, to know their UK heritage.

But he says he cannot bring them or wife Meghan to his beloved home country as he does not feel it is safe for them without taxpayer-funded police protection. He had been challenging the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the country.

The duke’s lawyers told the Court of Appeal that his safety, security, and life are “at stake” and that he had been “singled out” for “inferior treatment” at a two-day hearing in April. Harry’s appeal was rejected, however, by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean, and Lord Justice Edis.

Harry doesn’t ‘see a world’ where his kids can be in the UK(Image: ARCHWELL)

Speaking tonight with the BBC, he said: “I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point. The things they’re going to miss, well, that’s everything.

Continue reading the article.

I have always cherished my country. Despite what some people there have done. I adore the UK, and I do. He continued, “I think it’s really sad that I won’t be able to show my kids my homeland.”

Harry claimed that because of this security issues, Harry won’t speak to me about the breakup in his relationship with his father. The Duke claimed that because of his security arrangements in the UK, he had not asked his father to intervene. I’ve never asked him to intervene, he continued.

I’ve instructed him to leave. I let the experts do their jobs by going outside the box. The Royals and professionals make up the Ravec committee, which is expert. He continued, “Every visit I make back to the UK must pass through the royal household,” five years later.

The royal household is still my Ravec committee representative to this day. I don’t make that choice. I have to go through the royal household to understand that they are discussing and considering my best interests.

“I haven’t asked my father to intervene,” I replied. The Duke of Sussex responded, “Everything,” when asked by the BBC about how his current security arrangements made him feel uneasy. There are still many questions marks that many people will have as they continue, “I would not have taken this far if I did not have compelling evidence of facts that explain why the decision was made.” We have lost the appeal, but the other side has prevailed in keeping me unsafe.

Throughout the legal process, I am assured that I am completely informed. Based on this ruling, I have my worst fears known, and I haven’t learned that until this legal process in 2021.

“Did you know that the royal household sat on Ravec?” was one of the first things my lawyer said to me as the disclosure process began. “, and my jaw fell to the floor.” The Duke of Sussex felt disrespected by the system, according to Sir Geoffrey, who praised the arguments made by Harry’s barrister, Shaheed Fatima KC, as being “powerful and moving.”

However, he continued, “I could not conclude, having examined the specifics of the extensive documentation, that the duke’s concern for the decision challenge resulted in a legal justification.” The duke was, in effect, entering and exiting the Ravec protection group, he continued. Although he was outside the cohort when he was in the UK, his security would be regarded as appropriate.

He continued, “It was impossible to say that this reasoning was illogical or inappropriate; in fact, it seemed reasonable.” Ravec’s decision, according to Sir Geoffrey, was “understandable and perhaps predictable.” At Friday’s brief hearing, Harry was not present.

The Home Office, which is legally liable for Ravec’s decisions, opposed the appeal, whose attorneys previously claimed that Ravec’s decision was made under a “unique set of circumstances” and that there was “no proper basis” for contesting it.

We are pleased that the court has decided in favor of the government’s position in this case, according to a Home Office spokesman. The UK Government’s security measures are fair and effective. We’ve always had a policy of not providing detailed information about those arrangements because doing so could compromise their validity and affect people’s security.

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The Mirror has approached Buckingham Palace for comment.