By Andrew M. Mwenda Last week, the Constitutional Court declared the sedition law unconstitutional. The judgment marked a major and symbolic watershed in Uganda’s democratisation process. For almost a century, the law of sedition has been used by successive regimes in Uganda to stifle free speech. Although introduced by the …

By Matthew Stein Century old law scrapped symbolising new day for press and civil freedom. On the morning of Aug 25, 2010 a dozen or so journalists clamoured into the registrar’s dingy basement office at the Court of Appeals on Parliament Avenue in the hope of witnessing history. The registrar, …

By Matthew Stein During a recent press conference organised by the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) in the wake of the Andrew Mwenda and Eastern Africa Media Institute sedition victory, Mwenda recalled his four days of detainment with pride and fondness.  ‘Going to jail for me was a very important milestone,’ …

By Andrew M. Mwenda It is rare to read an opinion about politics in Uganda in our media whose premise is our reality. Largely because of the hegemonic influence of Western ideas, most commentators begin with an abstract theory of politics based largely on a context other than our own. …

Situation may get worse in 2011 when opposition enters race Kampala, Uganda | BY THE INDEPENDENT TEAM | Dan Mugarura, the Chairman for Electoral Affairs of the main opposition party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), is a very worried man. ‘If you can shoot your own child and wife, …

By Andrew M. Mwenda President Paul Kagame last week won presidential elections by 95 percent of the vote. Such high performance was common in Sadam Hussein’s Iraq and other dictatorships. Basing on this analogy, many observers have concluded his victory was a product of political repression. But such an approach …

By Independent Team Is Tinyefuza backing  Mugira against Kayihura? When they were brought in one at a time with their well-trimmed marine-style hair, designer moustaches, and warm jackets and neat T-shirts draped over their fit bodies, they seemed out of place. They are terrorism suspects and the Chieftaincy of Military …

By Andrew M. Mwenda In the summer of 1995, former US president, Jimmy Carter, organised a conference on Rwanda in Tunis to ‘convince the RPF to be more ethnically inclusive by appointing Hutu politicians to cabinet’. In attendance were the presidents of Rwanda’s neighbours: Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko, Uganda’s Yoweri …

By Andrew M. Mwenda It is August 2 and I am attending an election campaign rally by Paul Kagame, presidential candidate for the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Many people are wearing Kagame and his party campaign souvenirs. However, one man, Jack Mutabazi, 52, a peasant and resident of rural Bugesera, …

By Muganwa Gonzaga Paul Kagame is re- elected easily on his record The Rwandan Patriotic Front’s (RPF) Chairman, Paul Kagame, and his well-placed campaign machine drew unprecedented crowds wherever they went this election season. It opened on July 20 at Amahoro stadium in Kigali and got bigger in the countryside. …