In The Magazine

By Joe Powell The term of Prof. Livingstone Luboobi, Makerere Universitys Vice-Chancellor, has come to an end. The Independents Joe Powell spoke to the leading reformist candidate to take over the top job, the Dean of the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (CIT), Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba. Excerpts below. How …

By John Njoroge & Molly Lister Health State minister Kakooza’s fact-finding mission reveals why drugs seem to be missing in hospitals Sitting in a health centre in western Uganda in a T-shirt, jeans and open-toed shoes, State Minister of Health James Kakooza witnessed a nurse send a patient to a …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Finally, the dust has settled over the death and burial of Michael Jackson. Throughout his career, Jackson fought two battles; one with himself, the other with general societal norms. The battle within himself was an attempt to discover the childhood denied to him by his father’s …

By Patrick Matsiko wa Mucoori Whatever clucks and walks like a duck is always a duck even by another name. No matter whether the UPDF calls itself a disciplined pro-people’s army or defender of human rights, it will always be more known by its actions than its words. In April …

By Asio Rafealla & Mubatsi A. Habati Makerere grapples with contradiction of more girls joining university but more boys graduate at end of course In 1990, government introduced affirmative action of 1.5 extra points for all female students joining public universities. Since then the number of female students in public …

By Obed K. Katureebe Why does America expect 4,000 AU troops to do what 38,000 UN troops failed to do? Sometime in late February 1995, 2,400 Pakistani and Bangladeshi peacekeepers made the now famous amphibian retreat from the Somali capital, Mogadishu. They were the last of 38,000-strong UN peacekeeping force …

 By Andrew M. Mwenda In the 1997/98 budget, government allocated Shs 200 billion to education; in the 2009/10 budget, Shs 1.1 trillion. Although the budget for education has grown fivefold in twelve years, there is little (save for a spike in student enrolment and new buildings) to show for it. …

By Gaaki Kigambo Gulu District Chairman Norbert Mao has been accused by the army of concealing information about a new rebel group called Uganda People’s Front. Security officials have indicated Mao could be summoned to answer charges of concealment of treason. The Independents Gaaki Kigambo talked to Mao and below …

By John Njoroge Between February and April 2009, nine people have reportedly died of hunger in the areas of Soroti, Amuria and Katakwi districts. Thousands more are said to be in danger of starvation after a prolonged drought spell and a sudden shift in the rain patterns in the region. …

By Obed K. Katureebe Amount is half the budget of Local Govt Ministry In early May 2009, President Yoweri Museveni summoned all the district chairpersons and their chief administrative officers (CAO) to a retreat at the Kyankwanzi Institute of Leadership. While the attendance was broadly national, the setting was clearly …