In The Magazine

By Andrew M. Mwenda To understand how theft of public resources flourishes, one has to observe how it is fought Last week, court dismissed as “no case to answer” charges of abuse of office and causing financial loss against Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi in the Gavi trial. Muhwezi had been …

By Prof. Mahmood Mamdani Consolidating Makerere’s core mission: the pursuit of scholarship The Makerere of today is a product of two historical periods:  its early establishment during the colonial period and its reform under neo-liberal influence.  I shall begin by asking whether colonialism and neoliberalism are living legacies or pasts …

By Andrew M. Mwenda How the UPDF generals are tackling the new challenge On July 26, I boarded a plane to Mogadishu, Somalia “to visit our troops” as the Americans would say.On the same flight was Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti, overall commander of the Africa Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). I …

By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi Lukwago wins hearts as minds change over Musisi Kampala Capital City Authority Executive Director Jennifer Musisi scored sweet victory on July 9 when the High Court threw out, with costs, a suit by city Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago challenging her powers. Unfazed by the loss, Lukwago …

By Stephen Kafeero To boost their compensation awards, land owners are building in sections marked for demolition Plans to construct a modern highway have sparked a feverish property boom along Entebbe-Kampala Highway, as land owners construct new buildings, targeting to profit from generous compensation funds. Over the past three or …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Kasese, Bundibugyo tense  ahead of by-election On the morning of June 30, the king of the Rwenzururu, Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere Iremangoma, received an unusual phone call from President Yoweri Museveni. The Omusinga was that morning preparing for the 50th anniversary celebrations of his people’s declaration …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati In the past few weeks, there have been simmering tensions among the Bakonzo, Basongora and Bamba/Babwisi in Kasese and Bundibugyo districts over the jurisdiction of Rwenzururu kingdom. The Independent’s Mubatsi Asinja Habati spoke to Loice Biira Bwambale, the acting Prime Minister of Rwenzururu kingdom. The Bakonzo …

By Charles Onyango-Obbo Recently I was visiting with Andrew Mwenda, the Strategy and Editorial Director of The Independent at his Butabika home when he squeezed me for a favour. He asked that I write about what I thought President Yoweri Museveni was trying to achieve with his “reconciliatory” actions towards …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Doesn’t a country that lost a million people deserve to protect its people against the threat of another genocide? In a space of one week in July, the Netherlands, Germany, UK and USA  announced they would cut their aid to Rwanda over its alleged involvement in …

By Joseph Were Museveni’s schmoozing with Stiglitz bad news for Mutebile When President Yoweri Museveni spoke at this year’s Joseph Memorial lecture in Kampala of the desirability of a “hybrid” economy, he marked a retreat from the current free market regime to his mixed economy days of the 1980s.  Time …