Opinion

THE LAST WORD: Why the tendency of African intellectuals to blame leaders for the failures of our nations is escapism THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I recently had a Twitter debate with Prof. George Ayittey; the Ghanaian author of `Africa Unchained: the blueprint for development’ (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2004) …

How events in Zimbabwe expose the false assumptions that inform explanations of developments on this continent THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | There is a widespread assumption that presidents in Africa who rule for long do so out of personal greed for power. This accusation has been made against Robert …

TODAY NOVEMBER 19, IN UGANDA HISTORY: FDC presidential candidate for life, Kizza Besigye, first declared his intention to run for president for the first time on October 28, 2000. On November 19, only three weeks later, ANDREW MWENDA wrote this article for The Monitor.  Kampala, November 19, 2000 | Daily …

  Why Museveni is not the cause of the problems of Uganda but rather their product and reflection THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last week, I accepted to join a whatsapp chat group of Ugandan “intellectuals”. The administrator told me that it discusses “serious issues.” I therefore …

  Why President’s flippant talk about curriculum suggests Uganda could soon get a University of Boda boda COMMENT | JOSEPH WERE | I have written this article assuming that President Yoweri Museveni is serious when he says he is not happy to fund courses like psychology, political science, social science, …

Why last month’s scuffles in parliament excited the public but did not lead to popular protests THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last week, poorly trained security operatives entered the parliament’s main chamber and removed opposition members who were protesting plans by the ruling party to amend the constitution …

Why the removal of age limits may be the best way to get a peaceful succession in Uganda THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | There is consensus among Ugandan, African, and even global elites that presidents who rule for long make peaceful succession impossible. This informs the current …

  Why many Ugandans are addressing the wrong issue in the debate on lifting age limits THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last week the NRM caucus did the expected and recommended the removal of age limits on the presidency so that President Yoweri Museveni can rule for …

THE LAST WORD: How Africa’s obsession with ‘governance’ issues is too much ado over little or nothing THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Let me articulate a heresy: the argument that Africa’s failure to prosper economically is fundamentally due to “governance” i.e. that our leaders are greedy, selfish, …

THE LAST WORD: How the obsession with our internal weaknesses has obscured the international dimension of Africa’s problems Andrew M. Mwenda | THE LAST WORD | Now in his 32nd year as president, Yoweri Museveni faces a dilemma. Uganda is still a very poor rural agricultural economy in spite of …