COLUMNISTS

By Bob A. Kasango While not very skilled in political persuasion, he is a prolific political operator combining charm, cunning and ruthlessness. The appointment of Kinkizi West MP John Patrick Amama Mbabazi as  Prime Minister has attracted wide political debate and commentary. Prof. George Kanyeihamba believes Mbabazi will be powerless as a …

By Andrew M. Mwenda In 2005 Museveni gave Shs5m to each MP to remove presidential term limits; in 2010, he paid Shs20m per MP to pass the Cultural Leaders Bill. Last week, I was in Johannesburg to attend a World Bank conference on the South-South dialogue on natural resources. I …

By Kisembo Elia The spiritual aspects that informed the NRM ideological commitment to the people’s plight is being eroded. Africa is a continent that did not form a political and economic   ideology of its own in the recent past.  The political and economic ideologies that we use were just imposed …

By Bob A. Kasango Upon his return from Nairobi, Besigye made remarks that violated most if not all the standards for responsible opposition. The call by Dr Kizza Besigye upon his return from Nairobi, for his supporters to continue with the “Walk to Work” protests gets one thinking about the …

By Andrew M. Mwenda If individual ability and the right circumstances are necessary but not sufficient for success, what else is needed? Recently, I chanced upon a documentary on Discovery Channel titled “Altered Statesmen” and featuring British World War II hero, Winston Churchill. It is a story of alternative history. …

By Andrew M. Mwenda While it is political choices that have fostered poor service delivery, it is reconfiguration of the civil service that will make service delivery possible Finally, President Yoweri Museveni has ended the anxiety that was eating up the ruling classes – politicians, business persons, civil servants, prelates, …

By Charles Onyango-Obbo It takes Museveni more men to stop Besigye from walking, than it took US President Obama to kill terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. After the recent violence-riddled weeks in Uganda as the government cracked down on the opposition-led “walk-to-wolk” protests, and crowned it by an unnerving savage …

By Arthur Larok Today it’s more profitable to ride a boda-boda or run a small restaurant in town than engage in agricultural productivity in fertile rural Uganda. Very early on May 10 morning as I travelled from Kampala to my home district of Gulu for a meeting with the Institute …

Without placing allegations of human rights abuses in context, it is easy to call Obama or Cameron delusional despots. Last week, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, while on twitter, got into a heated exchange with a British journalist, one Ian Birrell. The journalist was accusing him of human rights violations, …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Peaceful protest cannot be an end in itself; it must have an objective. The tactics must seek to persuade not to intimidate Over the last one month, opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye has made one of the most dramatic political comebacks in history. Having been humiliatingly …