Micheal Ighodaro, an activist with Global Black Gay Men Connect, delivers remarks at a protest outside the Ugandan Embassy over the Uganda's parliamentary Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 on April 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

A Republican lawmaker gave a speech at a National Prayer Breakfast in Uganda in October in which he urged the nation to stand firm behind its new anti-homosexuality law which includes the death penalty, according to a report. 

The speech by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) was brought to light by the website The Young Turks and shared by Salon.

Walberg’s trip to the country had been funded by the Fellowship Foundation, known as The Family, a U.S. group that’s behind Uganda’s National Prayer Breakfast, according to congressional filings unearthed by The Young Turks.

As keynote speaker, video of which was shared in the report, he was seen endorsing other speakers, some of which called LGBTQ+ advocates “a force from the bottom of hell” and argued for “Christocracy” over democracy. 

Walberg “explicitly encouraged Uganda’s leaders to resist opposition to the law from the U.S., the U.N. and other global institutions,” the report stated.

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act into law in May, later said Walberg’s attendance showed there are Americans who “think like us,” according to the report.

The report said Walberg justified his presence through his role as co-chair of the U.S. National Prayer Breakfast.

The Anti-Homosexuality Law, commonly known as the “Kill the Gays Bill,” provides for prison sentences and execution for “aggravated homosexuality,” including “serial offenses.”

It has been widely condemned, with the Biden administration demanding that it be repealed.

But in his speech, Walberg said, “Though the rest of the world is pushing back on you, though there are other major countries that are trying to get into you and ultimately change you, stand firm. Stand firm.”

He went on, “Worthless is the thought of the world, worthless, for instance, is the thought of the World Bank, or the World Health Organization, or the United Nations, or, sadly, some in our administration in America who say, ‘You are wrong for standing for values that God created,’ for saying there are male and female and God created them.

“Whose side do we want to be on? God’s side. Not the World Bank, not the United States of America, necessarily, not the U.N. God’s side.”  By Adam Nichols, Rawstory

Zanzibar has adopted and rolled out a digital budgeting system as it aims to boost transparency, consistency and promote accountability among planners, implementers and decision makers.

Known as the Planning, Budgeting and Reporting System (PlanRep), the initiative is a collaboration between the Zanzibar government and the US Agency for International Development (USAid).

Budget officer from the President’s Office of Financing and Planning in Zanzibar, Ms Khadija Alhaji Bakari, said that before the introduction of PlanRep, the Zanzibari government was using manual and non-responsive tools to prepare its plans and budgets.

“The old way of doing things resulted in numerous errors and inconsistent data. It required extensive cross-checking due to the absence of automatic linkages, and reduced efficiency, leading to substantial costs. Manual systems also left limited opportunities for authorities to detect funding misuse,” Ms Bakari said.

The system, renamed Zanzibar Planning and Reporting System (ZanPBRS) has been integrated with the government’s expenditure management system.

Permanent Secretary in Zanzibar Finance and Planning ministry, Dr Juma Malik Akil said with ZanPBRS, government institutions and local authorities can now digitally submit plans and budgets for approval, reducing delays in executing public initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life for citizens.

“Thanks to the system, once funds are allocated, government institutions and local authorities’ staff can track and report their spending in ZanPBRS for monitoring by officials. The increased transparency ensures that the budget the government allocates goes where it is supposed to and improves service delivery to the citizens in our communities,” he said.

Zanzibar e-Government Agency (eGAZ) managing director, Mr Said Seif Said, said the government has developed a five-year roadmap known as the “Digital Economy and Statistics Map”, which seeks to effectively utilise digital tools, enhance efficiency, and bolster capacity building through human capital development. The East African

 Kenya is set to receive the first batch of upgraded and modernized security equipment early next year.

The counter-terrorism policing Kenya has confirmed that the equipment worth Sh7 billion, will include Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAP), Armoured Personnel Carriers, and surveillance drones and are set to arrive in the country by January next year.

“Security agencies will receive modern security equipment like Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAP), Armoured Personnel Carriers, and surveillance drones,” CTP Kenya stated on X.

”The first batch of the equipment worth Ksh 7 billion will arrive in the country by January 2024,” they added.

They say that the government is set to spend Ksh 37 billion in the next 5 years to enhance and technologize the security equipment in the country.

“According to Interior Cabinet Secretary @KindikiKithure, the government will spend Ksh 37 billion in the next five years to upgrade and modernize security equipment for security agencies,” they stated.

They have assured that the equipment will enable the security agencies to suppress terrorism and banditry in various parts of the country such as North Eastern and Lamu.

“This will boost security agencies which are battling #AlShabaab terrorists and bandits in the country,” they stated. By Ken Muthomi, Capital News