The president’s brother’s insights about Uganda’s political economy and what it tells us about our country THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | And so, on Monday this week I visited Gen. Salim Saleh in Gulu and we sat down to a long conversation about Uganda’s economic woes. Saleh has been studying …
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Why the arrest and detention of the leaders of our city is a cynical political gimmick THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The arrest and detention of the top executives of KCCA for the disaster that happened at Kitezi landfill is sad. I know for a fact that President Yoweri Museveni …
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Remembering the legacy of one of Africa’s most charismatic and iconic post-colonial statesmen THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last week, I travelled to Tanzania to commemorate Nyerere Day. The event was held in Butiama, a small village in Northern Tanzania where Julius Nyerere was born. It marked 25 years since …
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How assigning a name to something changes public perceptions of its character THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Words are used to obscure the truths. Attach a label to something, and people will see it in a particular way. For instance, in Uganda, a person who is a born-again Christian is …
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The life of a reporter, editor, lecturer, media proprietor, legislator, presidential press secretary and corporate guru THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Friday, September 27, Ivan Okuda called me announcing the death of Onapito Ekomoloit. It was as shocking as it was surprising. I had talked to Onapito only a …
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Why firing top leaders at KCCA is an excuse and not a solution to the problems of our capital city THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | This week, President Yoweri Museveni fired the top leadership of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). This was because a report by the Inspector General of …
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How this newspaper’s work is laced with endemic racism that may even be unconscious to the author THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Most Western journalism on Africa has always been ghetto journalism. Now in last week’s story about Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, this British newspaper, The Telegraph, took journalism to the …
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Why blaming Museveni for runaway corruption is politically appealing and why it is misleading THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | President Yoweri Museveni has presided over the worst levels of public sector corruption in Uganda’s history. The scale and scope of corruption grows every year. Indeed, corruption could easily be the …
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How we lost our collective identity through the glorification of money and what can be done about it THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I argued in this column last week that the neoliberal attack on the state in Uganda eroded public ethics in public service. Some readers feel I did …
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Why the disaster at the KCCA landfill for city garbage is a sign of worse disasters to follow THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The collapse of the garbage-filling dump at Kiteezi is symptomatic of the wider governance crisis that has engulfed our country. Uganda is in disarray, without a central …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price