Bemba in, Kony out

Jean-Pierre Bemba, once the most feared warlord in eastern Congo, is now in the custody of Belgian police. Mr Bemba, who had a stint as President Joseph Kabila's deputy, was secretly charged with rape and torture, and will be transferred to The Hague within a week. Mr Bemba, 45, is accused of war crimes committed in the Central African Republic in 2002-2003. If Mr Bemba's arrest is a victory for the International Criminal Court, which is desperate for some respect, then it is a conquest for Mr Kabila, who once accused his former deputy of treason. Yet it is still early days to determine the practical impact of the arrest; Kinshasa could erupt in riots by illiterates who feel that Mr Kabila's administration played a role in the arrest. Mr Bemba’s destiny is likely to have a sobering effect in Uganda, where the country’s best efforts to bring lasting peace to northern Uganda look set to fail. Rebel leader Joseph Kony has so far refused to sign the final peace deal, saying the arrest warrant against him is a deal breaker. The arrest of Mr Bemba may not motivate Mr Kony to commit more crimes, but it may embolden him to stay in the jungles where he feels safest. Mr James Mugume, the permanent secretary at Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said both parties to the Juba peace process “would have to re-examine whatever position they had taken” since the talks started in July 2006.

Spare us the crap, Kivejinja

Mr Kirunda Kivejinja, the septuagenarian minister who speaks for the government in Kampala, might have to be relieved of his duties before he embarrasses himself irretrievably. Even if Mr Kivejinja is in serious need of some attention, he can't seek it at the expense of his own dignity. The Kivejinja we have come to know is a man who rants like an idiot, a man who has lost his sense of direction. But because there is no sure way to tell if he is aware of his condition, it is very easy to sympathise with him. Others might find him funny. But the real Kivejinja is as misguided as some of his ideas about what responsible journalism is all about. Today he successfully blew about 60 minutes of reporters' time at a press briefing that should never have happened. Instead of reporting on the proceedings of a recent retreat of ministers, the greying one from Bugweri ended up reminding us that he needs a new challenge.

A car fit for a pastor

The revelation last week that a Pentecostal pastor may have stolen a car has added a new twist to what we can expect from our clerics. From defilement to fraud, the allegations have come fast and furious, and there are hints that we will be entertained. Mr William Muwanguzi, the Kampala pastor who allegedly stole a Land Cruiser, is a disturbingly flamboyant man who has promoted himself as Kiwedde, his crude way of saying he has found El Dorado--that things will never be the same again. So when a colleague, reacting to Mr Muwanguzi's arrest, opined that God's will had been done with the pastor, the cynicism was understandable. But the problem is that Mr Muwanguzi's real chickens came home to roost in a way that even he would not have prophesied. And it is difficult to imagine that many Ugandans felt sorry for him.