Andrew Mwenda

  In Rwanda’s case, here was a man (Kagame) willing to impose harsh discipline on his lieutenants. They were willing to accept it because the alternative of living forever as refugees was not appealing to most of them THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M MWENDA | Post genocide Rwanda is …

Revisiting a country whose development trajectory and welfare outcomes defy historic precedents THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | On October 15th, I travelled to Kigali, Rwanda. It was my first time to visit the country since October 2018. I had little time to visit places to see the …

Why government policy to control inflation at 5% under whatever circumstances is misguided THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | A fetish is an inanimate object (like a small stone or wood curving of something like an animal) that is worshipped for its supposed magical powers. That is what …

Why government policy to control inflation at 5% under whatever circumstances is misguided THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | A fetish is an inanimate object (like a small stone or wood curving of something like an animal) that is worshipped for its supposed magical powers. That is what …

How the war in Ukraine demonstrates the poverty of freedom of the press and speech in Western liberal democracies THE LAST WORD | ANDREW MWENDA |  The war between Russia and Ukraine (actually better described as the war between Russia and the Western world in Ukraine) is a classic case study …

Why the struggle against NGOs in poor countries is a struggle not to undermine democracy but to defend it THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | In this column last week, I wrote about the ignorance, recklessness and even subversive work of Uganda’s leading opposition figure, Robert Kyagulanyi aka …

  How the ideological poverty of Uganda’s leading opposition figure makes him subversive to our national interest THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Uganda’s leading opposition figure, Robert Kyagulanyi, hereinafter referred to by his stage name, Bobi Wine, is a disaster of unmitigated proportions. He claims to be …

How the president’s approach of allocating favours to individual firms has undermined the development of a robust private sector THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | On August 15th, President Yoweri Museveni wrote the prime minister an instruction titled “Support of Local Companies in the Construction Sector”. He said …

Why being vilified as being the most corrupt politician in Kenya did not undermine but facilitated his victory THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | This week, the Supreme Court confirmed the election of William Ruto as the fifth president of Kenya. The election poses a dilemma for many …

How Kapeeka Industrial Park may be signaling a fundamental change in Uganda’s policy attitude THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Last week, on a visit to Gen. Salim Saleh in Kapeeka, I decided to also visit “his” industrial park. Although I travel for fortnightly pilgrims to Kapeeka to …