THE LAST WORD

By Andrew M. Mwenda A common joke about our roads in Uganda goes like this: If you see someone driving zigzag, then you know he is sober; and if you see someone driving straight, they must be drunk. Why is the logic of driving inverted? Because we have too many …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The recent Uganda Peoples‘ Defence Forces (UPDF) attack on the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was certainly the right thing to do, although the assault itself was ill-timed, poorly planned and incompetently executed. Before the assault, the Uganda government …

By Andrew M. Mwenda One of the key issues of 2008 was the price at which the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) bought land belonging to security minister, Amama Mbabazi. I strongly believe it was a good price. Many believe it was a rip-off. If i am right, workers should …

By Andrew M. Mwenda On December 17th last year, the first issue of The Independent hit the streets. I remember vividly one of our colleagues, Asuman Bisika coming with his eyes beaming into our small office along Kanjokya Street with the first copy of the magazine. It looked wonderful and …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Finally it has happened; National Social Security Fund (NSSF) managing director David Jamwa and his deputy Prof. Mondo Kagonyera have been fired. The use of the word ‘suspension’ is meant to keep them on Katebe till their contracts expire. And the reason for this is not …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Laetitia Bader from Human Rights Watch accuses me of justifying restrictions imposed on independent media in Rwanda by the RPF government. I do not know how she came to this conclusion. But I have a fundamental philosophical difference with her. I believe that freedom is not …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Last week, I argued that President Yoweri Museveni has actively stifled the growth of a robust private enterprise sector generally though he has promoted the growth of individual businesses. He has pitted indigenous capital against non indigenous capital by giving preferential treatment to the latter and …

By Andrew M. Mwenda I argued last week that there is a small but very vocal group of Ugandans who have taken their legitimate anger against the regime of Yoweri Museveni into a condemnation of the Ugandan society generally. This trend is beneficial to Museveni and company because a cynical …

By Andrew M. Mwenda A few weeks ago, a Western diplomat invited a couple of us to lunch to discuss the major challenge facing our nation and what the West ‘should do’ (I would have preferred ‘should not do’) about it. As I listened to Ugandan colleagues speak, I got …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Presidential pledges in Uganda today stand at a record Shs 120 billion. These are promises of assistance the president makes to different groups, individuals and institutions and are paid for by the state. They have been accumulating over the years, some for over a decade. Intended …