ARTICLES 2008-2015

By the independent team The opening of the Initial Public Offering on 23rd November 2010 of Rwanda’s largest company Bralirwa Ltd, the beer and sparkling beverages company was a major achievement for the budding Rwanda Stock Exchange. This is the first time a local Rwandan company will be listing on …

By The Independent Team  September 10, 2009 marked the beginning of three dark days of riots in Kampala city and other parts of Buganda and brought back memories of the Buganda Crisis of 1966. Friction which had been simmering between the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Mutebi, the central government and …

By agencies The Hague, November 22, 2010 (AFP) – Democratic Republic of Congo former vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba denied charges of war crimes Monday as his trial opened with prosecutors blaming him for his army’s campaign of rapes and killings. Bemba is charged at the world’s top war crimes court …

By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi New pressure group emerges to oppose Ssuubi When retired Col. Kizza Besigye appeared with two former Buganda Kingdom prime ministers at the launch of the ‘Ssuubi 2011’ pressure group on June 7, most observers concluded that he had put the Buganda block vote in the bag. …

By Andrew M. Mwenda I am in Rwanda to attend a dialogue between journalists and government on the state of media freedom in Rwanda. The subject of press freedom in Rwanda evokes strong passions especially given that democracy in Africa has been constructed like a religion. Debate ignores critical reforms …

By Jerry P. Lanier Violence against women touches Uganda just as it does every other nation. Gender-based violence is a global pandemic that cuts across all borders – ethnic, racial, class, religious, and educational level.  It can threaten women and girls at any point in their life cycle – from …

By Jon Qwelane I respond to the article ‘Apartheid in post-apartheid South Africa’ by Andrew M. Mwenda (The Independent, November 12-18, 2010). Mwenda’s piece is much like the proverbial curate’s egg “ it is good in places. My summation is that it is very bad in the places where it is …

By Ella Rychlewski At the age of 27, I have been to every continent except Antarctica, visited over 30 countries and lived in five. Extensive travel as a tourist has given me a broad overview of the cultural diversity Planet Earth offers. I have learned what makes a country memorable, …

By Rukiya Makuma Sandwiched between a dilapidated saloon and a kiosk, the domestic workers recruiting agency in Nakulabye is not easy to locate. The pinned posters advertising for maids and a single desk are the only proof that the discolored room is an office. At night the office doubles as …

By kabona esiara PricewaterhouseCoopers hired to entice investors for the US $700m project It is common during peak days to find passengers queuing outside the terminal building at Kigali International Airport as they wait to be checked before boarding their flight. The long lines are just one indication that Kigali …