THE LAST WORD

By Andrew M. Mwenda I spent the first week of this month in Dubai. Now I first visited Dubai in 1996. It was, I thought then, a big city. I have since visited this desert town almost every year since 2002. But compared to today, the Dubai of 1996 was …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why American media should listen to the views of Rwandans about freedom in their country A month before the Africa-America Summit in Washington DC, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda shuffled his prime minister (who was from the same Rwanda Patriotic Front political party as the president) …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Six reasons why Pastor Martin Sempa and his army of religious homophobes go against the teachings of Jesus Since the Constitutional Court declared the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) unconstitutional in a case where I was a petitioner, there has been a lot of hate mail against me …

By Andrew M. Mwenda How adherence to public procurement is inflicting high costs on the taxpayer and creating a disaster for the country Public procurement procedures have become a noose around the neck of Uganda. Over the last 16 years, nearly every major government contract or tender has violated some …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The opportunities and risks China faces as it begins its transition from middle income status to a rich nation I spent the whole of last week in China literally flying from one city to another – sometimes covering two cities per day. The speed of change …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why Africa needs trade and investment from America, not lectures on democracy and human rights Last week, we were in Washington DC to attend the America-Africa Summit. China, the European Union, India – even Turkey – have all held summits on Africa and with African leaders …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Will the anti gay community try to write a new bill and mobilise quorum in parliament to pass a new law? Last week, the Constitutional Court in Uganda declared the Anti Homosexuality Act null and void because it was passed illegally i.e. without quorum. Since then, …

By Andrew M. Mwenda How power sharing in Rwanda has worked and the lessons Ugandan politicians can draw from it for our good Just imagine that you wake up tomorrow morning and find the following in Uganda: Yoweri Museveni is still president of the country. His vice president is Mugisha …

By Andrew M. Mwenda How the internet has led to the growth of radicalism and the erosion of restraints associated with democracy The growth of social media has created an important avenue for people to express themselves to audiences freely without the restraining hand of the governance structures of traditional …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Although bar gossip and street rumours can be true, here is why journalists should always look for proof Yusuf Serunkuma is a PhD candidate at Makerere University’s Institute of Social Research. In that capacity he also teaches students. He regularly writes commentaries in newspapers and features …