To borrow or not to borrow for infrastructure? Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Julius Kapwepwe, the director of programmes at Uganda Debt Network, a debt monitoring NGO, Uganda’s national says, to control the country’s spiraling debt, the Ministry of Finance officials must ask themselves some questions every time they …
Read More »Magogo scores own goal
Can the FUFA president get a third term after Uganda Cranes fallout over unpaid allowances, disrespect? COMMENT | IAN KATUSIIME | The curse that haunts presidents seeking a third term in Uganda seems to have come for Moses Magogo, the president of Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA). Magogo, as …
Read More »US visa ban: Museveni stuck with diplomatically damaged goods
Museveni stuck with ‘diplomatically damaged goods’ Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Since the U.S. government announced visa restrictions on unnamed top Ugandan officials on April 16, the main question among Uganda’s ruling class has been “who is on the unwanted list?”. Political commentator and outspoken Makerere University Kampala don, …
Read More »‘No billion, no MP seat’
Report shows how Ugandan political candidates spent on elections SPECIAL FEATURE | IAN KATUSIIME | In a place like Sheema, you can’t win an election if you do not have 1 billion (shillings),” Stephen Katwiromunda, the campaign manager of Dicksons Kateshumbwa, the MP-elect for Sheema Municipality told The Independent on …
Read More »Museveni lawyer reacts on Kasango case ruling
Signs of Supreme Court appeal fight revealed Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | A recent ruling of the Constitutional Court that it was unconstitutional for judges to be appointed to the Executive branch without first resigning their posts appears to have thrown a spanner in the workings of some government …
Read More »Inside Kadaga, Oulanyah race for Speaker
Museveni, CEC, ethnicity feature in second face off Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | The second battle for the Speakership of Parliament between Rebecca Kadaga and Jacob Oulanyah threatens to be more bruising than the first in 2016. Speaker Kadaga and her deputy Oulanyah are wooing a House that has …
Read More »Bobi Wine’s post election challenge
Should he retreat to save lives or protest and draw the wrath of the state? Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine once again found himself in the shoes of former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye this week: how to deal with the aftermath of …
Read More »Museveni’s American dilemma
Eyes on new U.S. President Biden for review of Uganda relations amid human rights violations Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Ned Price, the U.S State Department spokesperson, during a press briefing on Feb. 23 said new U.S. President Joe Biden’s government would consider a range of options for …
Read More »Bobi Wine versus Supreme Court
Withdrawal of presidential election petition leaves `cadre judges’ on the defensive Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | On Feb. 22 former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi in an unsurprising move announced his decision to withdraw his presidential election petition in the Supreme Court in Kampala challenging the declared victory of President …
Read More »UNRA’s Northern Bypass problem
Why the 21km dual lane highway could still need more time despite a June 2021 target for completion Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) managers are still grappling with the usual problems of road construction like land acquisition, stubborn contractors and bad weather but the …
Read More »