America piles pressure on PM Abiy ETHIOPIA | THE INDEPENDENT | On Nov.05, most international news agencies carried one major story about developments in the war in Ethiopia. ‘Nine Ethiopian factions to form alliance against government,’ proclaimed the media agencies. Most listed only the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a splinter …
Read More »What made Matovu a suicide bomber?
Looking behind emerging domestic terrorism COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | Days after he reportedly blew himself up on a bus full of passengers headed to western Uganda from Kampala city, little is still known about Isaac Matovu; a 23-year old youth. The police say he has been a resident of …
Read More »Bail fight exposes Museveni frustration
Why torture, harassment of opposition is failed strategy Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | On October 21 unknown attackers using sharp objects slashed the tyres of a car belonging to Kampala Woman MP Shamim Malende of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), the bubbling new party pushing for a new …
Read More »Behind MTN share offer
Assessing the opportunity and the risk Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Commenting on the move by Uganda’s largest telecom company, MTN, to list on the country’s stock exchange, Stephen Kaboyo, the managing director at Alpha Capital Partners, sees opportunity. “In my own prediction, MTN stock will be a good …
Read More »Power of social media
Expert reveals how it shaped 2021 election Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There is a growing trend of domestic political actors deploying targeted disinformation schemes in several African countries; Uganda inclusive, according to Tessa Knight, a South Africa-based researcher with the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab). Knight …
Read More »Hell over bail
What’s behind Museveni move against bail? Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | President Yoweri Museveni has resurrected debate on courts granting bail and says he will now mobilise and solve the issue politically. Speaking Sept.27 during the 4th Memorial Lecture of the former Chief Justice, Benedicto Kiwanuka, held at …
Read More »Corruption at the World Bank
But if it can’t rank business friendly countries, who can? COVERY STORY | THE INDEPENDENT | Since the World Bank announced it has decided to abandon its flagship “Doing Business” series after several internal audits and the publication of a damning investigation, debate has raged over the way forward. The …
Read More »Uganda’s shadow state
Revealing the networks of people with power Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In the April 30-07 issue of The Independent, Andrew Mwenda; in his column, wrote an article entitled “Paved with good intentions: How Western interventions in African affairs, even when well intentioned, produce bad results.” In that article, …
Read More »Ssewanyana, Ssegirinya
Why is government targeting the MPs over Masaka killings? Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | The charge with murder and remand of MPs Allan Ssewanyana and Muhammad Ssegirinya, to Kitalya Prison (later switched to kigo) in connection with the killings in the Greater Masaka region has sparked criticism from angry …
Read More »Kampala water supply doubles
New hi-tech Katosi plant cheaper, cleaner Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Sprawled on 25 acres near the shores of Lake Victoria in a quiet village in Mukono district and about 50km east of Kampala, the new Katosi water treatment plant is designed to produce 240 million litres per day. …
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