By Peter Nyanzi In early 1964, units of the British led Uganda Army mutinied, demanding “the fruits of independence” and better working conditions. One of the most respected officers at the time, Idi Amin instigated the mutiny when the British army commander then, Lt.-Colonel W.W. Cheyne resisted the soldiers’ demands. …
Read More »Uganda isn’t a failed state
By Julius Odeke Some political analysts and academics have said since the February 2011 post-election economic meltdown and crackdown on the opposition, Uganda has degenerated into a failed state. The Independent’s Julius Odeke interviewed Moses Byaruhanga, a political commentator and a political advisor to President Yoweri Museveni on whether Uganda is …
Read More »Uganda team inspires Obama
By Haggai Matsiko Little known base ballers give hope to U.S. president’s campaign For a bunch of Ugandan 12-year-olds—mostly from the poorest families in the sugarcane growing town of Lugazi, near Kampala, a recent trip to the U.S. was the highlight of their lives. Unknown to them, even US President …
Read More »Uganda’s state building in Somalia
By Andrew M. Mwenda Why UPDF’s superior ideology has succeeded where America’s superior force failed Over the last four years, I have had numerous debates with my friend Mohamed Ahmed Yahya aka Mo, a Briton of Somali descent about UPDF involvement in his motherland. My view is that state consolidation …
Read More »Uganda’s anti-corruption rituals
By Andrew M. Mwenda To understand how theft of public resources flourishes, one has to observe how it is fought Last week, court dismissed as “no case to answer” charges of abuse of office and causing financial loss against Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi in the Gavi trial. Muhwezi had been …
Read More »Ganging up against liberalism
By Joseph Were Museveni’s schmoozing with Stiglitz bad news for Mutebile When President Yoweri Museveni spoke at this year’s Joseph Memorial lecture in Kampala of the desirability of a “hybrid” economy, he marked a retreat from the current free market regime to his mixed economy days of the 1980s. Time …
Read More »Uganda’s expired envoys
By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Massive reshuffle looms as ambassadors’ contracts expire On June 20, Henry Okello Oryem, the Foreign Affairs State Minister, complained to the Parliamentary Foreign budget Committee that low funding had left Uganda’s embassies and foreign missions broke, giving the country a bad international image. But Oryem’s frustrations …
Read More »Uganda’s possible Tahrir Square
By Andrew M. Mwenda Given Museveni’s long rule and potential for family succession, is Uganda now vulnerable to an `Arab Spring’ I argued in this column last week that Africa has almost similar structural conditions as the Middle East on the eve of the Arab Spring – sustained economic growth …
Read More »World Bank under attack for aiding land grabs in Uganda
By Haggai Matsiko BIDCO project wreaks environmental havoc, hunger, and human rights abuse in Kalangala The World Bank has come under attack after a new report has exposed how commercial projects funded by the Bank are causing poverty, human rights violations in Uganda sparking a barrage of criticisms. Ironically, the …
Read More »Kenya, Uganda risk entering Sudan conflict
By Haggai Matsiko As the dispute between Sudan and South Sudan over oil transportation dues deteriorates into full-fledged war, The Independent reports of an intense rhetoric that could see Kenya and Uganda sucked in. Following separation, most of the oil fields fell in South Sudan’s territory but Sudan remains the …
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