By Séverine Koen Breakdancing and skateboarding suffer from bad reputations as they are commonly associated with foreign influences in Uganda. Yet, they are now being used as forces for good by two groups, Breakdance Project Uganda and the Uganda Skateboard Union. A look at these groups and how they were …

By Independent Team and Agencies No way. Toyota recall unlikely to stop growth of the 19bn Euro empire Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, has recalled more than 8 million vehicles around the world for problems with accelerators. Episodes of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles have been linked to up to …

By Independent Team Kenya mulls pulling out The Kenya government is weighing the fate of its plan, jointly with Uganda, to extend the oil pipeline from Eldoret to Kampala. It cites the escalating cost and the uncertainty around the project since Uganda discovered oil and started plans for an inland …

By Patrick Kagenda The World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick just ended an African tour that took him to Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, and Ethiopia.He told the African Union meeting in Addis Ababa that an estimated 64 million people worldwide will fall into extreme poverty because of the global financial …

By Olara Otunnu To effect democratic change in Uganda, you need a double hand approach. Ugandans on their own, without the international community cannot produce change. The international community on their own, without Ugandans being at the fore front, cannot make it happen. Because of the very particular nature of …

By Patrick Kagenda The Uganda Road Fund was established by an Act to finance the routine and periodic maintenance of public roads, facilitate delivery of road maintenance services and other related matters. The Independent’s Patrick Kagenda caught up with Engineer Michael M. Odongo, the URF chief executive. What is the …

By Independent Team & Agencies Tanzania is set to remove restrictions on movement of capital across its national borders this month. The move will allow Tanzanian to invest in stock markets in the East African region for the first time. ‘This bears the potential of dramatically increasing demand in the …

By Patrick Kagenda Not many Ugandans know the name Ferdinand Oyono. It is an important name to know in the context of the 190 medals that President Yoweri Museveni handed out Jan. 26 in Mbale on the occasion marking the 24th anniversary of his capturing power. Oyono, who is Cameroonian, …

By Samuel Olara Uganda is in the midst of an ‘oil boom’ and continues to attract serious attention from the world’s major oil players. The ‘oil boom’ has predictably resulted in what appears to be “the global scramble for Uganda’s “crude gold filed”.Several international oil giants such as the Italian …

By S©verine Koen The arrest, on January 18, of about 35 women who were protesting at the Electoral Commission (EC) headquarters in Kampala, is just one recent example of the difficulty and danger of staging a demonstration in Uganda. Yet, in this pre-election year, the ability to voice ones opinions, …