Andrew Mwenda

By Andrew M. Mwenda On December 17th last year, the first issue of The Independent hit the streets. I remember vividly one of our colleagues, Asuman Bisika coming with his eyes beaming into our small office along Kanjokya Street with the first copy of the magazine. It looked wonderful and …

By Andrew M. Mwenda What does the appointment of internal affairs minister, Ruhakana Rugunda, as Uganda’s permanent representative at the United Nations imply? Some people believe that this is the beginning of the end of Rugunda’s long political career. Others insist this could mark his rise to a more prominent …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Finally it has happened; National Social Security Fund (NSSF) managing director David Jamwa and his deputy Prof. Mondo Kagonyera have been fired. The use of the word ‘suspension’ is meant to keep them on Katebe till their contracts expire. And the reason for this is not …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Laetitia Bader from Human Rights Watch accuses me of justifying restrictions imposed on independent media in Rwanda by the RPF government. I do not know how she came to this conclusion. But I have a fundamental philosophical difference with her. I believe that freedom is not …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Last week, I argued that President Yoweri Museveni has actively stifled the growth of a robust private enterprise sector generally though he has promoted the growth of individual businesses. He has pitted indigenous capital against non indigenous capital by giving preferential treatment to the latter and …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Finally, against opposition from his wife, brother and party, President Museveni literally bulldozed the National Resistance Movement (NRM) into letting ministers Amama Mbabazi and Ezra Suruma off the hook of censure despite glaring evidence that they arm-twisted the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to buy Mbabazi’s …

By Andrew M. Mwenda I argued last week that there is a small but very vocal group of Ugandans who have taken their legitimate anger against the regime of Yoweri Museveni into a condemnation of the Ugandan society generally. This trend is beneficial to Museveni and company because a cynical …

By Andrew M. Mwenda In February 2007, I was invited by the Institute for African Development at Cornell University in the United States to give a lecture. My presentation was on’The in-humanitarian consequences of humanitarian intervention; a case study of the UN humanitarian intervention in Rwanda in 1994.’ The lecture …

By Andrew M. Mwenda A few weeks ago, a Western diplomat invited a couple of us to lunch to discuss the major challenge facing our nation and what the West ‘should do’ (I would have preferred ‘should not do’) about it. As I listened to Ugandan colleagues speak, I got …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Presidential pledges in Uganda today stand at a record Shs 120 billion. These are promises of assistance the president makes to different groups, individuals and institutions and are paid for by the state. They have been accumulating over the years, some for over a decade. Intended …