In The Magazine

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Somalia war enters new phase after Mogadishu is captured On the night of Saturday August 6, the al-Shabaab fled the Somali capital Mogadishu under the cover of darkness. Witnesses described truckloads of heavily armed Shabaab fighters driving away under the cover of darkness and the beleaguered …

By Andrew M. Mwenda In an ethically diverse state, change in government is not change in governance; it’s replacement of one looting coalition by another. A lot of studies show that societies, nations and communities that have high levels of ethnic, racial or religious diversity tend to be poor at …

By Joseph Rwagatare No country in this world has ever developed solely on ideas generated by its citizens. Talking or writing about famine can elicit unexpected reactions, including jokes. There was this one reported in the Tanzanian Mail on Sunday of August 7, 2011 by a correspondent on the current …

By Barry Eichengreen The US debt-ceiling fiasco has raised doubts about the advisability of holding dollars, while Europe’s debt crisis has fueled doubt on the euro’s survival. For more than a half-century, the US dollar has been not only America’s currency, but the world’s as well. It has been the …

By Elia Kisembo The role of cultural leaders needs to be revised to cater for both the traditional and modern states. Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of pre-colonial political institutions across Africa. The governments of both Uganda and Ghana took a lead in constitutional reforms in the 1990s restoring …

State House fails to show degraded part of Mabira forest After claiming that President Museveni wanted to give out the degraded part of Mabira forest for sugar growing expansion, State House officials  were yesterday evening dumb-mouthed as they could not locate and show to a team of journalists that part of the …

By Agather Atuhaire President Yoweri Museveni’s recent state visit to the neighbouring Rwanda has excited prospects of improved bilateral relations. Rwandan High Commissioner to Uganda, Gen. Frank Mugambagye, tells The Independent’s Agather Atuhaire that the situation has not been as critical as some people painted it. What implications does President …

By Andrew M. Mwenda  Politics everywhere tends to be rigged in favour of the powerful. But in Uganda it has been made worse. Last week, the mass media reported that the vast majority of rural Ugandans are at risk of malnutrition, especially in the northern region. It was a simple …

By Omar Ashour His public trial shows what united demands can achieve. Unity can bring justice and freedom later. Polarisation will bring none. August 3, 2011, will be remembered as a historic day in Egypt. Former President Hosni Mubarak was put on public trial, together with his two sons and …

By Julius Businge Parkyard vendors stare into an uncertain as government insists on relocating them It was 2:20 am on Sunday morning when Chief Fire Officer Simon Peter Musoke of the Uganda Police received the first call. “Owino is on fire,” the voice on the other end of the phone …