But the cultural leader accentuated Buganda's demand for federo saying it is the people's right and passed a message to President Museveni that the only way forward was round table negotiations.

US President Barack Obama joined his Secretary Hillary Clinton to oppose the proposed Anti-gay Bill that would see convicts jailed for life saying the draft law was moving against the tide of history.Several countries including Britain, Norway, Canada and Sweden have threatened to cut aid should the Anti-homosexuality Bill (2009) be passed into law.

The draft law, proposed by Ndorwa West MP David Bahati, has also drawn strong criticisms from international news terming it a piece of oppression.Ethics Minister Nsaba Buturo could only say he would remain silent "until the Bill is either passed or defeated".

Political four-someFour opposition parties borrowed from renowned Roman historian Gaius Sallustius Crispus who once wrote: "By union the smallest states thrive. By discord the greatest are destroyed." as they agreed to field a single candidate in the 2011 presidential poll.

Leaders from Forum for Democratic Change, Uganda People's Congress, Justice Forum and the Conservative Party signed a memorandum of understanding in Ndeeba, a Kampala suburb, to ensure that Mr Museveni's deep-rooted National Resistance Movement does not take the power mantle for another term.

Although the Inter Party Cooperation members still have a steep hill to climb, their efforts were boosted by Democratic Party's presidential hopeful Norbert Mao's decision to back the idea of a single opposition candidate.

Deadly travelsWith more people expected to travel upcountry this festive season, highway robbers have started mounting illegal road blocks, an act that has so far claimed five lives. The five were travelling to Kisoro District when their bus rammed into a barricade of rocks, leaving 30 other people seriously injured.

The merciless rogues then descended on the helpless passengers and took off with hefty sums of cash and other belongings. Police has warned passenger against travelling at night and for those leaving the city to ensure that security around their property left is tight.

Ninety districtsNo sooner had Local Government Minister Adolf Mwesige announced that no more districts would be created until after the 2011 elections than Parliament belaboured the tax payers with the burden of funding seven more districts.

However, the creation of Zombo, Amudat, Otuke, Lamwo, Kyegegwa, Bwikwe and Buyende districts was not a soft task as MPs seriously disagreed with the opposition who said it was a mere state move to dish out more cash to technocrats under the guise of taking services closer to the lay man. There are 90 districts now up from 39 in 1962.

Facing hangman

He had hidden but he could not escape the long arm of the law. This is what happened to Mayuge District chairman Bakali Ikoba Tigawalana, after High Court convicted him of murdering Fred Nume Musiitwa, his political opponent, in 2003. Tigawalana's future is now bleak as he will have to face the gallows. The man, who has been lining freely, has now been ordered to hand in himself.