By Rukiya Makuma Without her courage nodding disease would still be hidden away in northern Uganda She was desperate to call attention to the gravity of a rare disease ravaging northern Uganda that is crudely called “nodding disease”. Opposition firebrand Beatrice Anywar, however, never imagined how ferrying some of the …
Read More »First Grades: The myth and the reality
By Rukiya Makuma Education experts, students, parents, and schools disagree on excitement around top students in national exams When heads of government-owned schools met in Kampala on Feb.16 to select the next batch of senior five students, fate was not on Robert Ayesiza’s side. Though he passed in Second Grade …
Read More »Walk to work II flops
By Rukiya Makuma What next after opposition leaders are accused of failure to organise? On Oct. 16, a day before what Walk to Work organisers promised would be a massive resumption of the protests that paralysed the country in April, the Jinja highway was crowded with police patrol cars zooming …
Read More »One in 7 billion
By Rukiya Makuma An “unexpected” baby girl upsets her parent’s precarious livelihood and opens debate on whether Uganda can afford its population growth In the small one-roomed tenement, Mary Aheebwa lies on a small bed, her parents’ most valuable possession. Born early morning on Oct. 31, Aheebwa weighed in at …
Read More »The children of Independence speak-out
By Rukiya Makuma People were poorer than today but they did not notice it – James Tumusiime In 1962, James Tumusiime, now Group Managing Director of Fountain Publishers Limited was barely 10 and a primary four pupil at Kinoni Primary school in Mbarara district. He could tell that something important …
Read More »Born lucky
By Rukiya Makuma Birth and death records go digital At 12 noon on Sept.14, Joseph Mutebi, was all wrapped up in shawls and cuddled up in his mother’s tender embrace. He was just one day old and, with baby eyes still tightly closed, was totally oblivious of the excitement he …
Read More »Kadaga’s call
By Rukiya Makuma Marriage and Divorce Bill advocates are counting on the Speaker’s goodwill On Aug. 26 during Forum for Women in Development’s Annual General meeting at their head office in Kampala, women activists echoed the need to re-introduce the 2009 Marriage and Divorce Bill in Parliament. The objective of …
Read More »Trouble in hotel workers union
By Rukiya Makuma Can crucial meeting this month end power struggle, intrigue? September 24 could mark a turning point for one of the most active labour organisations in the country, the Uganda Hotel Food Tourism and Allied Workers’ Union (UHFTAW), which has been paralysed by leadership wrangles for nine months. …
Read More »Hope and scepticism as Makerere becomes collegiate university
By Rukiya Makuma In July this year, Makerere University will be officially operating as a collegiate university. A collegiate university is a university in which governing authority and functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Previously run around 110 departments, 21 academic units, Makerere will now operate under eight …
Read More »When terrorists struck Kampala
By Mubatsi Asinja Habati , Joyce Mirembe Nakayima & Rukiya Makuma The year 2010 will probably be remembered most for the terror attacks on Kampala. On July 11, Ugandans came to a painful reality with the gruesome twin terror attacks at Ethiopian Restaurant in Kabalagala and Kyadondo Rugby Club in …
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