Cover Story

By Haggai Matsiko A behind the scenes look at what could be behind them 7:20 PM, March 30: A vehicle pulls up at a roadside fruit stall in Kiwatule, a fast growing suburb of Kampala city along the Kisaasi-Najjera Road. The fruit stall is near a tree shade, in front …

By Haggai Matsiko Critics suspect Museveni is building 2016 war chest New Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija’s request for a Shs847 billion supplementary budget is coming under major scrutiny in parliament. Apart from being seen as a potential source for President Yoweri Museveni’s 2016 campaign cash, its sheer size and what …

By Ronald Musoke So why don’t Ugandans care? The latest poll conducted in Uganda in December 2014 by the International Republican Institute (IRI) – the American non-profit that advances democracy worldwide, two-thirds of the respondents (69%) say the country is headed in the right direction. And 80% of the respondents …

By Agather Atuhaire Why is Parliament afraid of media criticism? A letter from parliament directing media houses to have journalists who have covered parliament for over five years, replaced has sparked public fury and debate. It is seen as a disturbing trend in which parliament has tended towards gagging the …

By Haggai Matsiko and Ian Katusiime Accusers explain how MTN created Shs23 billion `fake’ money Museveni’s PGB guarding witnesses       Mobile money services in Uganda are coming under scrutiny and what is emerging is troubling. At the centre of the saga in which President Yoweri Museveni is personally involved, is Uganda’s …

By Agather Atuhaire A contest raging between President Yoweri Museveni and parliament over a new law on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) could result in a constitutional crisis if no one blinks. So far, in quite unusual style,   the MPs have twice refused to do what Museveni wants – give him …

By Agather Atuhaire Why MPs fear new law on registration Something unusual happened in parliament on November 25, 2014. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima and his deputy, James Baba, and the Permanent Secretary, Stephen Kagoda, were appearing before the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs to give …

By Haggai Matsiko Apprehensive government offers to renegotiate as once-prized wildcatter struggles to stay afloat Since news surfaced that it was being hit hard by the downturn in the global oil markets, the mood at Tullow Oil Uganda’s offices at Plot 15 Yusuf Lule Road in Kampala has been sombre …

By Agather Atuhaire Ask any National Resistance Movement (NRM) legislator what the biggest outcome of the recently concluded party retreat was and they will point you to the 15 resolutions the party reached. But for President Yoweri Museveni, nothing was bigger than the opportunity to capture the hearts of some …

By Haggai Matsiko What did the country do wrong? When he arrived in Kampala from Paris in October 2014, the tough talking new Total E&P (Exploration and Production) boss Francois Rafin had one mission on hand; securing a production licence. Where the man he was replacing, Loic Laurandel, had cooed …