{UAH} RESPONSE to KAMUGISHA: Gate Crushers are killing us!!

Mr Kamugisha,
I have been attending conventions for other organizations and I have twice been a treasurer (for the American Bar Association convention and for a local bar association). We would have high ranking politicians and senior judges attend our events. Their press people do not enter for free.  We'd have a special rate for them. Most importantly, they do not eat delegate food unless they have paid a full rate. 
The security officials attached to these politicians and judges do not pay anything but they do not sit down at dinner tables and we do not feed them. I have never seen secret service folks eat or drink anything but I've seen some policemen drink water...which they get for themselves.
These security officials normally stand against the walls or sit somewhere where they can observe their people.
Significantly, all politicians that attend our events have to pay...except those invited to speak (of course our president is always the key note speaker and the main event is the "President's Dinner/cocktail").
As for the guards that stopped the short man from Kla, I can categorically state that they did  NOT seem drunk (I can notice a drunk person) and did not smell of alcohol.  In addition, they did NOT mishandle the Kla guests.  They just anyone entering the hall to show the wrist band. Those Kla folks di not have the bands and were POLITELY told to step aside.  I know this for a fact because the MPs and and the Minister were right in front of me (I did not see them stop the short man because he was already out of the line when I to the door).
thanks

 

For a faster response please contact me at 415.789.6427

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From: Joseph Kamugisha <yesu_nimurungi2004@yahoo.com>
To: joseph.musoke@ymail.com
Sent: Thursday, September 5, 2013 10:16 AM
Subject: UNAALIST Gate Crushers are killing us!!

Mr. Musoke:

The gentleman you are referring to as "Short man" was actually the Vice Presidents Press/camera man. He is officially entitled to every "free pass" his boss in entitled to, if there was such a thing.

I was at the gate that incident happened. I had just escorted both the VP and the Ugandan Ambassador to the U.S, upon return, i found the "Short man" being held at the door with his big camera on his shoulder. He was supposed to be inside doing his job. Practically, he is supposed to be with his boss the VP wherever he goes for official duties.

How he was handled at the gate especially with one DRUNKEN and wasted security officer, was uncalled for. Talking about a drunk security officer, how was he even allowed to be drunk on the job, for how long was he at the door? How many diplomats or delegates did he embarrass before he was finally pulled off? What was more disturbing, he had an open beer bottle rested at his side. I told him straight up in his face. You are drunk. You can't be at the door working while drunk!   

 

 Kamugisha

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From: Joseph Musoke <joseph.musoke@ymail.com>
To: yesu_nimurungi2004@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, September 5, 2013 11:47 AM
Subject: UNAALIST Gate Crushers are killing us!!

Tim,
gate crushers are bad for UNAA business but we also have to add on the Kampala guests too.  At one point, I was talking to our in-coming president and Ofwono-Opwondo came with some guy (a very short, thin, dark-skinned man) that claimed to be a cameraman for the VP. They told Brian to give them  wrist bands to enter the hall. I told them to go and pay like the rest of us but they told me that they were invited guests. I responded that most of us were also invited (UNAA sends us fliers and emails inviting us to conventions) but we have to pay. The short man did not like my response and threatened to beat me up...right in front of Brain and Ofono Opwondo! Ofono Opwondo pulled me away and told me to ignore what his colleague had said. Opwondo then took me to another room where Nic Kalanzi and Brenda Brenda were giving out wrist bands to non-paying guests.  I stood in a corner and witnessed several people get the bands without paying! Then someone told Nic that some other Kampala guests were waiting for him outside.  I followed the lady at a discreet distance.  She got the guests and told them to wait for Nic at the escalator as she went to get more people.  As expected, the lady came back with more guests and then fetched Nic. She explained who they were and Nic took them back to Brenda.  Again I followed them and saw them get free bands.  Ditto for 2 men that claimed to be from Bukedde newspaper.
Later, I found the little man at the door because he'd been denied entry.  This time, he was standing with 3 men that he claimed were MPs and a Minister.  None of them had wrist bands. Again, the short man threatened to beat up the security man at the door! Several people (including myself) told him that we are not in Kampala...then he recognised me and reminded me that he'd promised to beat me up too!
Later, I saw them inside the hall...but after reading Mr Kamugisha's email yesterday, they apparently got in for free.
Question: if UNAA is going to bring in those people for free, I humbly beg that you do it where we don't see. I was very upset that I'd to spend so much money to pay for relatives from Kampala to attend the convention but people that have much better lives than my people enter for free. I know for a fact that government provides money (per diem) to these politicians to attend the convention. I campaigned on this issue and lost...so obviously it is not an issue that matters to most delegates (most people may not care that the Kla guests enter for free). Still, I don't enjoy seeing those folks entering for free.
thanks

 

For a faster response please contact me at 415.789.6427

---

From: Timothy Gaburungyi <timothy.gaburungyi@gmail.com>
To: joseph.musoke@ymail.com
Sent: Thursday, September 5, 2013 8:47 AM
Subject: UNAALIST Change of topic - Gate Crushers are killing us!!

Hi All,

 

Just to make sure we are all getting accurate information. The bars close at the time they do because that is what State law mandates. The hotel and UNAA have to abide by law but UNAA always extends up to the last minute allowed by law. Also the Omni Dallas is not a Union hotel. Texas is a red state and they tend to abhor unions. Lessons from UNAA Dallas 25 will CERTAINLY inform UNAA San Diego 26.

 

In my opinion the biggest challenge UNAA continues to face is that of gate crushers. These folks are costing us money, a good experience and our great Ugandan reputation. We need to unite and eliminate this scourge.

 

It is because of gate crushers that we have a very complicated and painful registration process – we should just be picking up our cards as we checking.

 

It is because of gate crushers that we pay more in registration fees – we need to pay for all that added security and the extra food they eat and make the rest of us pay for.

 

It is because of gate crushers that we are all checked and cross-checked as we move in and out of events.

 

It is because of gate crushers that we wear wrist bands all weekend long – who knows they may start stamping us with indelible ink.

 

It is because of gate crushers that the UNAA Philly Bar and the UNAA Dallas Gala Dance were shut down prematurely.

 

It is because of gate crushers that we are now fighting with each other in here.

 

Folks, let us unit against this scourge.  It is affecting our experience. They are the root cause of our problems and we are only arguing about symptoms.

 

It is the gate crushers silly!!

 

Gaburungyi

On Thu, Sep 5, 2013 at 11:16 AM, hzaffoni@gmail.com <hzaffoni@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear members,

I think we should agree to put this blame matters to rest and set our minds on strategizing for San Diego.

We also MUST learn from our mistakes such as when selecting hotels.

OMNI had so many errors on its part and I'm sure we shall be careful when negotiating contracts starting with Sheraton.

As an example, the hotel complained about alcohol being brought into the hotel and as much as we may agree that it was against the hotel law, we should also look at the hours the bars were being shut down!

When signing a contract in the case of in ballroom bar service, we as UNAA must be able to keep that bar service at least until 3am... 

We already know that all these hotel workers are Union what that means, they work to a certain time by law and anything after that is OT which UNAA should have take on in order to keep the bar service going. Sign a contract and extend the hours of service as out of pocket from UNAA. 

People were desperate for alcohol after 1am as that is when things started picking up due to delays and there was no bar service in the whole hotel except going out and bringing their own into the hotel.

Also in the future, create receipts with warnings so that people plan ahead in terms of what the hotel allows and what it doesn't allow. Also these warnings can be handed out at registration. This issue of sending out texts only works for those who gave their cell numbers and many people never received them! 

These warnings should include: Those selling local food in the hotel should get permits allowing them to do so like it was done this past weekend:) Job well done.

I recall in Phila, this lady serving her local food in the lobby and stinking up the whole place and it was embarrassing! 

And on that note, what happened with UNAA working with Marriott hotels? Just curious because those guys cut us a lot of slack and I'm wondering why we are not using them in San Diego? 

Cheers to ya all. 

Harriet Zaffoni

LiveWell Uganda

Empowering Through Fashion

866-312-9937

www.harkissdesigns.com

www.twitter.com/harkissdesigns 

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Skype:harriet.zaffoni

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 4, 2013, at 5:48 PM, Joseph Kamugisha <yesu_nimurungi2004@yahoo.com> wrote:

Harriet: Observation well noted. However,  the problem or issue at hand is with one member of the BoT who does not seem to know where his powers begin or where they end. Kamugisha


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On Wed, Sep 4, 2013 3:06 PM CDT hzaffoni@gmail.com wrote:

Joseph,

I'm not sure if you saw what I saw from Friday night. The local police was

involved in every aspect of the Omni hotel from day one!

They were in and out at all times even when there was no scuffle!

Could it have been because there were many celebrities in the hotel or just

because there were two black events in the same vicinity?

Texas has a different set of rules when it comes to Black people in huge

numbers my dear friend. Do you recall in Houston? Same thing happened and

they closed them down early as well. They will find an excuse to close

things down and this had nothing to do with the BoT in anyway.

Just my observation and after talking to those who have experienced Texas

before...

On Wed, Sep 4, 2013 at 3:12 PM, Joseph Kamugisha <

yesu_nimurungi2004@yahoo.com> wrote:

Folks:

The question that begs for an answer is; What role did the member of the

BoT play in the drama/scuffle that took place at the gate? Why did he not

engage or allow the head of security to do his job? Who called the Police

officers? Was the situation so much out of control that no negotiations

with the hotel management could be carried out instead of letting the local

Police to determine how the ceremonies should end?

* Kamugisha

*

 ------------------------------

*From:* Timothy Gaburungyi <timothy.gaburungyi@gmail.com>

*To:* yesu_nimurungi2004@yahoo.com

*Sent:* Wednesday, September 4, 2013 1:54 PM

*Subject:* UNAALIST Letter from the 1st UNAA Council-not included in the

official program book.

Folks,

Please remember that we each have the responsibility to post information

that we know to be true.  The allegation that Mr. Moses Wilson caused the

close down of the Gala Dinner is completely false, untrue, totally baseless

and a certainly a lie. No such thing happened.

To the contrary Mr. Moses Wilson did everything in his power to prevent

that most unfortunate outcome.

Please remember that UNAALIST cannot be used as medium to malign any other

member.

Thank you

Tim Gaburungyi

On Wed, Sep 4, 2013 at 2:34 PM, Joseph Kamugisha <

yesu_nimurungi2004@yahoo.com> wrote:

Becky:

Am saddened to learn that one member of the BoT, whose name has now been

confirmed to be Mr. Moses Wilson, is the one who was partly responsible for

the closing of the grand finale of UNAA's 25th anniversary celebrations

prematurely.

I must mention that a similar incident happened on that same day at the

same entry gate. It was a situation involving a member of the Vice

Presidents Press Unit [VP PU] to be more precise, you may remember a

gentleman who was always walking with the Vice President with his video

camera. That gentleman was stopped and refused entry even when security

very well knew that he was one of the VP's press unit team member.

Attempts to allow him inside by way of reasoning with some of the security

members at the door seemed fruitless until i was forced to refer the case

to the head of security Council member Peter Mukunya. Am sure he was able

to handle the matter in a professional way because i later saw the same man

inside the ball room.

I came across a number of MP's who left the main entry frustrated and

disgraced for having been denied entry. For obvious reasons, security was

doing their job. However, the problem of identifying who was who would have

been easily resolved by providing badges for high profile officials reading

"VIP" "PRESS, media group" or something like that.

At one point while escorting the Ambassador to the UN His Excellency

Nduhura with his wife, again, i was denied access to escort them inside

because they did not have their wrist bands on them. The sad part was when

i reached out to the registration desk, they did not have any information

regarding the couples registration information. I had to walk all over the

meeting rooms plus making calls to the responsible parties in vain. By the

time i went through the stressful run around, it was almost forty minutes

of waiting time by the Ambassador and his wife in the Vendor section!

All in all, there were no fists thrown at any body, there were no insults

or attacks made at anybody, diplomatic measures were taken in every step of

the way and all worked well. But even then, that is besides another

embarrassing moment when we had to move Hon. Ndugu Rugunda, together with

some Ministers and MP's from a room which was designed to hold about eighty

people but was swamped with almost one hundred and seventy people,

uncomfortably seated close to each other while others were standing and

squeezed to each other before a miracle took place!

If there was a lesson to learn in this year's convention, Diplomacy was

the lesson that needs to be taught more especially to the organizers and

the local diplomats we have in the area. As for Moses Wilson, i think he

owes UNAA an apology for causing such a disastrous ending of what was

supposed to be a happy ending of our 25th anniversary. There is no

justifiable reason as to why he did not involve the head of security in

that ugly situation.

* Kamugisha

*

 ------------------------------

*From:* Becky Wamala-Brown <beckywamalabrown@sbcglobal.net>

*To:* yesu_nimurungi2004@yahoo.com

*Sent:* Wednesday, September 4, 2013 11:40 AM

*Subject:* UNAALIST Letter from the 1st UNAA Council-not included in the

official program book.

Mw. Yokaana Musoke,

I appreciate your message and have a different opinion from yours. Please

allow me to let members know why.

The UNAA Council is the third organ of our Association and the legislative

body. Out of the three bodies, the Council has more members. The President

elect Mr. Brian Kwesiga, was the Chairman of the Local organizing Committee

and a presidential candidate. But Mr. Musoke, what is more important is

that he was a member and the Deputy Speaker of the Council. One would

assume that he, Brian, had the best interest of the Council and since the

convention was under his watch, his fellow representatives whom he worked

with, did not have to worry about not being unrecognized. In my opinion,

Mr. Kwesiga would be the best person to advocate for the Council.

I believe in the future, UNAA could benefit if a candidate for the top

position, stepped aside and concentrated on compaigning instead of being a

compromised leader of the LOC. Many could disagree, but in my opinion,

every judgement made had to focus on how, if not whichever or whatever

route needed to be taken in order to win. Could it be that the Speaker was

a candidate? I do not know.

Now the elections are over and l am praying that Brian does not lead us

alongside the likes of the insider or the micromanagers that have

surrounded his whole compaign. People who do not have the best interests of

members of UNAA at heart. It is their way or the high way.l honestly pray

that this time they let go and allow the organs to work without

interference. We saw them fight Mr. Abdul Kimbugwe and now Mr. Francis

Ssennoga when the two refused to be push-overs. What is sad is that it is a

very small group of chaotic individuals. Members be very vigilant this time.

Those who have attended past conventions would agree with me that it was

the first time that a member misbehaved at the entrance and caused the

event to be shut down, a FINALE ended!!! What kind of relationship if any

did the chairman or those in charge have with the hotel? Was this

overlooked? I mean wouldn't it be easier to ask the member who misbehaved

to leave and let the party go on? I thought hired security implements the

rules that are given to them by the organizers -but to kick people out??

For me what was very frustrating and extremely embarrassing was to see a

whole BOT member engaged in fighting a member and also to see him

participate in emptying the ballroom. In the past what l have always

witnessed, are members being torn away from a Sunday fun event because they

had a flight to catch home.

I could go on and on and on...but l will stop here. What l promise members

is that it will not happen again. I hope that the upcoming San Diego

convention organizers will allow us to give input and actually implement

some of the ideas. For Dallas we were only informed on conference calls..it

was micromanaged by design. The rest is history.

Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

Becky

Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

------------------------------

* From: * jjohnmusoke@yahoo.com <jjohnmusoke@yahoo.com>;

* To: * <beckywamalabrown@sbcglobal.net>;

* Subject: * UNAALIST Letter from the 1st UNAA Council-not included in

the official program book.

* Sent: * Tue, Sep 3, 2013 11:33:10 PM

 Good job Ms. Brown.

IMHO nothing should be left to chance. In this digital era, the speaker

should have their summarized notes tucked away ( on an i pad or scribbled

down on a piece of paper), just in case. Otherwise the embarrassment of

having no report to give to the members in an AGM may not be explained away

by "the report never made it into the official program book!"

Stay blessed.

Yokaana Musoke

 ------------------------------

*From:* Becky Wamala-Brown <beckywamalabrown@sbcglobal.net>

*To:* jjohnmusoke@yahoo.com

*Sent:* Tuesday, September 3, 2013 10:48 AM

*Subject:* UNAALIST Letter from the 1st UNAA Council-not included in the

official program book.

Dear members,

Welcome back from Dallas!

It was sooo nice to see many familiar faces that I am always looking

forward meet every labor day.

I was so happy that everyone I saw was well and you guys looked super! It

is always wonderful to meet new people and make friends.

I was fortunate this time to get to know people-many of them and from all

walks of life-from Uk, Canada, Asia and ofcourse from our motherland. I

appreciate you for giving me the opportunity to talk to you and get to know

you.

I know now that my number of friends has grown. Thank you.

For those of you who attended the Annual General Meeting-AGM, remember

that our former Speaker Mr. Ronald Kabaale mentioned how the message from

the 1st UNAA Council of eleven people never made it into the official

program book. He promised that it would be shared on this forum so that you

the members know what we had written.

The letter pasted below was put together by all members of the previous

Council.  It was indeed a surprise when we did not see it in the program

book. Please know that members appreciate you very much.

Becky

Here you go:

To our regional community members,

Thank you!

We, the 1st UNAA council 2011-2013l, wish to thank you the member, your

family, relatives and friends for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

When you entrusted us with the responsibility of being on the Council of

UNAA, we truly did not imagine how unique the journey worth taking, was

going to be.  Although it was challenging at times, we all stayed the

course and truly believe that at a glance, the future of our beloved UNAA,

without question, looks very bright.

We wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to all those members whose

loved ones passed away. Our prayers go out to all those who are hurting and

in pain.

We are very happy to report to you that all three organs of UNAA work

together with priority being to the benefit of you the member that we serve

and our organization.  We also take this opportunity to publicly thank

both the BOT and the Executive committee for all the work they do on behalf

of the Association.

Our sincere appreciation goes out to each one of you that have reached out

to us

and offered advice and/or appreciation. Thank you so much! We are grateful

to everyone who participated towards UNAA activities-your involvement made

a huge difference that will make an impact on our lives for years to come.

As your representatives, we have worked behind the scenes on different

fronts to help our twenty five year old Ugandan North American Association

(UNAA) move forward. We want to assure you that we debated everything that

needed our approval-from approving budgets to vetting of nominees that were

sent to us for confirmation. We made our decisions democratically and were

guided by a majority vote.  We worked diligently to help implement

recommendations of the new constitution. We trust that after everything is

in place, UNAA will not be the same but will assist its members for

generations

to come.

Finally, we would like to let you know that as your Council

representative, we are very proud to report to you that we have represented

you well. We have done everything we could to advance UNAA to the next

level-from approving working budgets and Convention venues, to stepping up

to serve whenever and as needed.  As the first UNAA Council, we feel that

we have set a president that will serve as an example for future Councils

to come. We are on the right path where UNAA will be available and working

all year round, accessible to you the member and will eventually be

affordable.

Listed below, are some of the Council's accomplishments during our term

2011-2013:

*Confirmations:*

1-Director of Development (DOD)—Mr. Timothy Gaburungi

2- Director of Finance (DOF)—Mrs. Consesa Nyakaisiki Kiyemba

3- Seven -7 members of the Board of Trustees-BOT

4- Thirteen--13 members of the Electoral Commission-EC.

*Approvals:*

5- 2012 Venue-Marriott's Hotel in Philadelphia

6- 2013 Venue-Omni Hotel in Dallas

7-2014 Venue-Sheraton Hotel in San Diego

Once again, we thank you for supporting us by allowing us to serve and

look forward to the best of our UNAA.

Kind regards

*

The UNAA COUNCIL 2011-2013:

*1-*Ronald Kabaale*—*Speaker*; Male Rep for Young Adults USA

2-*Brian Kwesiga*—*Deputy Speaker*; Rep. South-West Region 2

3-*Becky Wamala-Brown*—*Secretary*; Rep. South Pacific Region 1

4-*Ann Grace Kiyimba*—New England Region

5-*John Nebaza*—Rep Mid-Atlantic Region 1

6-*Victor Lukandwa*—Great Lakes region

7- *Edriss Kironde*—Rep Rocky Mountains Region

8-*Gerald Awichu Akwanya*--South Pacific Region 2

9-*Andrew Sembuusi*—Rep. Mountain Region, Alberta Canada

10-*Milcah Iga*—Female Rep for Young Adults USA

11-*Haira Nalugemwa*—Female Rep for Young Adults Canada

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153

. Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153

. Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153

. Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153

. Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153

. Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org

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*

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153 . Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153 . Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153 . Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153 . Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org