In The Magazine

By Isaac Mufumba The party has no budget, trading arm or known financiers Seven years after the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) was registered as a political party, it has no annual budget nor a clear financial system to guide expenditures on its activities. The NRMs Deputy Spokesman Ofwono Opondo’s …

By Haggai Matsiko President’s intervention buys three months for a solution to contested NIC payments A student crosses at the closed faculty of social science Makerere University during the Lecturers strike on August 27. ‚INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA Emanuel Elamoit, an international relations masters student at Makerere University, is a sad man. …

By Andrew M. Mwenda On Tuesday August 10th, The Independent Managing Editor, Andrew M. Mwenda, hosted President Paul Kagame of Rwanda on a radio show on Contact FM in Kigali, a day after the voting in that country’s presidential election. Mwenda had started the show titled Rwanda Decidesto promote public …

By Matthew Stein Century old law scrapped symbolising new day for press and civil freedom. On the morning of Aug 25, 2010 a dozen or so journalists clamoured into the registrar’s dingy basement office at the Court of Appeals on Parliament Avenue in the hope of witnessing history. The registrar, …

By Matthew Stein During a recent press conference organised by the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) in the wake of the Andrew Mwenda and Eastern Africa Media Institute sedition victory, Mwenda recalled his four days of detainment with pride and fondness.  ‘Going to jail for me was a very important milestone,’ …

By Andrew M. Mwenda It is rare to read an opinion about politics in Uganda in our media whose premise is our reality. Largely because of the hegemonic influence of Western ideas, most commentators begin with an abstract theory of politics based largely on a context other than our own. …

By The Independent Team Whether in trees or on the road, campaign posters provide insight and at times, a good laugh. As election momentum builds in the country for NRM primaries and the general election, the capital city is awash in campaign props. Dangling from trees and electric wires, or …

By Samuel Olara There is no easy way out of the spiraling brutality that confronts the Karimojong civilians today. As darkness deepens over Karamoja, the NRM government continues with its brutal ‘disarmament programme,’ oblivious to the suffering of the Karimojong. Sadly enough, while this scenario continues, it is business as …

By Isaac Mufumba LCs role in community policing back on the agenda The Igbo, a tribe in Nigeria, say that: Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its life. What would you think if you saw three ministers rush to parliament on …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The former Tanzanian Prime Minister sat down with The Independent’s Managing Editor Andrew Mwenda to discuss the recent Rwanda elections. Salim was sent to Rwanda to lead the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) to observe preparations for the election, assess the process and make future recommendations. As …