Andrew Mwenda

The things opposition parties should ignore and those they need to focus on to have a chance in 2021 THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | The opinion poll by Research World International (RWI) found Kyadondo East Member of Parliament (MP) Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine (at 22%) far …

Why I think Museveni is a liberal democrat while Bobi Wine and Besigye are potential tyrants THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M MWENDA | Last week, police using heavy-handed methods stopped the MP for Kyadondo East, Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, from holding a concert. Even President Yoweri Museveni agreed …

How Ugandans have cultivated a mindset that is making them servants of foreigners in their own country THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | My friend Henry Mayanja left Uganda as a teenager and lived in the UK for 20 years. He worked for the UK government earning a …

THE LAST WORD: How Prof Hyuha Mukwanason’s response to my article fails to move beyond abstract theoretical arguments THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M MWENDA | Prof Hyuha Mukwanason wrote in Daily Monitor of April 13 a 4,214 words-long article responding to my article published in The New Vision of …

Why the Sudanese leader is a hero not a villain for nurturing the progressive forces that removed him THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Finally prolonged popular protests have brought down the 30 years long rule of Sudanese president, Gen. Omar Al Bashir. This was inspiring news for …

How Japanese colonialism in East Asia was transformative compared to its European counterpart in Africa Kampala, Uganda | ANDREW M. MWENDA | I spent about ten days between late February and early March in Japan; talking to government officials, academics in universities, policy wonks in think tanks, tasting Japanese cuisine, …

How the debate on Lubowa hospital exposes the self-indulgence of Ugandan elites and their poverty of ideas THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Two weeks ago Uganda government approved $380m (or Shs1.4 trillion) to build an “international specialised hospital” in Lubowa. On the face of it, this is …

How our MPs invented a scandal around Uganda Airlines’ shares and our chattering elites joined the chorus THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities,” Voltaire Last week, our parliamentar- ians alleged that some unscrupulous ministers had stolen …

Why Uganda’s economy is dominated by multinational capital and what cannot be done about it THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | So we come to our third and last instalment on how post-1986 Uganda cultivated groups and interests hostile to local firms. First to be discredited were local …

Why Uganda’s economy is dominated by multinational capital and what cannot be done about it THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | We begin from where we stopped last week. Uganda’s growing economy served three critical purposes: It increased government revenues, gave greater confidence to donors to give more …