COLUMNISTS

By Andrew M. Mwenda   When I was growing up, my dad always told me that if I have a dream, I should believe that I will realise it. He believed that success comes from optimism and self-confidence. ‘Believe in yourself and those around you,’ he would say, ‘and always …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati No bribe? Don’t expect service at URA, police, UMEME, Mulago If you plan to seek the services of the Uganda police, prisons service, Mulago Hospital, any court, or UMEME, be warned ‘” you must be ready to bribe. According to the East African Bribery Index, a …

By Samuel Olara It is generally accepted that election boycotts have no place in a functioning democracy – participation being at the heart of the democratic process. However, boycotts could have a monumental role to play in a non-functioning democracy where fair competition is practically impossible. The problem lies in …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   Uganda has sustained robust economic growth for the last 23 years, a fact that opponents of President Yoweri Musevei ignore actually to their disadvantage. This growth has produced a private sector and a political and bureaucratic class with money and power. In denying it, the …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   Kayumba Nyamwasa’s response to President Paul Kagame’s interview in Sunday Monitor filled my inbox. Friends and fans wrote asking me to comment. So, let me reluctantly give my $1 worth of comment. His letter was sober and calm; and coming from an insider, it was interesting journalistically. …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   Last week, President Yoweri Museveni gave his State of the Nation address in a grandiloquent fashion. He was detailed in showing off the key achievements of his administration, not just over the last year but since he came to power. The economy has been growing …

By Dicta Asiimwe International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said the ICC would intervene to deliver the promise of non-repetition of conflicts and atrocities against humanity. He was addressing parliamentarians for global action at Parliament in Kampala on May 27. He promised to end impunity through the ICC. The …

By Barrack Obama Today, May 24, I signed into law the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009.  The legislation crystallises the commitment of the United States to help bring an end to the brutality and destruction that have been a hallmark of the LRA across …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The government of Uganda has written a Media Law Amendment Bill which, even a committee composed of Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, Benito Mussolini and Pol Pot would find rather stringent. Yet it is not the law that I find the problem but rather the …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   Recently, the Uganda government decided to spend about US$1 billion shopping high tech jet fighters and the accompanying missiles and armament from Russia. There has been outcry from the media, the donor community, the opposition and the wider public against it. How can a country …