In The Magazine

By Melina Raquel Platas When the NRA marched into Kampala in January of 1986, the new President, Yoweri Museveni, faced a daunting challenge: How to lead a country that had been in political turmoil for 15 years. Between independence in 1962 and the arrival of Museveni in 1986, executive power …

By Charles Onyango-Obbo Uganda is a medium-size African country, but at 71 has the continent’s second largest cabinet. Even more remarkable, it has the world’s third largest cabinet after North Korea! The question is, to what end? There is an increasing body of literature that argues, quite convincingly, that there …

By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi & Dicta Asiimwe Why president ordered MPs to pass traditional rulers Bill When Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, to wild cheers from his subjects at a December 31, 2010 fete at the palace, used a dummy of a key to symbolically unlock the New Year, he …

By Andrew M. Mwenda In December 2010, The Independent celebrated its third birthday. Given the high mortality rate of newspapers in Uganda, it is really a miracle that we are still alive – and growing. Over the last three years, The Independent has consolidated its place within the Ugandan news …

By Charles Onyango-Obbo Inside the belly of the beast I have just spent a few days in the countryside, and I noticed one change from just five or so years ago; everyone is talking about “how bad corruption is in Uganda”. Some refer to the various incidents of corruption involving …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati , Joyce Mirembe Nakayima & Rukiya Makuma The year 2010 will probably be remembered most for the terror attacks on Kampala. On July 11, Ugandans came to a painful reality with the gruesome twin terror attacks at Ethiopian Restaurant  in Kabalagala and Kyadondo Rugby Club in …

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati The political impasse in Ivory Coast following presidential elections has caught the world’s attention. President Laurent Gbagbo refuses to quit after losing the election to opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara who the Ivorian electoral commission declared winner. The Independent’s Mubatsi Asinja Habati spoke to Godber Tumushabe, the …

By Andrew M. Mwenda A special investigation into a joint Uganda-Kenya security hunt for terrorists Just before the December 20, 2010 grenade attack on a Kampala-bound bus in Nairobi, two major incidents had taken place in the Kenyan capital. First, on the morning of December 3, 2010, attackers suspected to …

By Andrew .M.Mwenda Two epoch-making political transitions in Sub-Sahara Africa simultaneously dominated global news in April 1994, South Africa and Rwanda. South Africa’s was a transition from white minority rule to black majority rule; Rwanda’s from ‘Hutu majority’ rule to ‘Tutsi minority’ rule. The transition in South Africa was peaceful, …

By the independent team & agencies Former judge Bruguire admits he conferred with French government over decision A French judge placed Rwanda’s defence minister and five other aides of President Paul Kagame under investigation in a probe into an attack seen as sparking the African country’s 1994 genocide, legal sources …