ARTICLES 2008-2015

By Andrew M. Mwenda Next week, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) will celebrate 23 years in government. The NRM revolution was born in a moment of great hope. It is difficult for me to capture the emotional tone of that moment. But there was great hope in most of this …

By John Njoroge The Independents John Njoroge spoke to the outgoing US Ambassador to Uganda Mr. Stephen Browning on what the election of President Obama means to Africa and the world. The election of Obama has brought hope and excitement worldwide. Will the Obama presidency fulfill these expectations especially as …

By Agnes Asiimwe Government is helpless as Ugandans are out-competed, investors bring their staff, senior posts held by foreigners Two years from now, if negotiations succeed, the East African Community Common Market Protocol should come in force on January 1, 2010. The protocol will allow free movement of services, capital, …

By Patrick Kagenda & John Njoroge Weak company law fails to protect the poor and gullible from fake saving schemes To Gauda Tushabomwe, it seemed like a brilliant way to invest her money. Tushabomwe, at the time an accountant with Kabale Diocese, was introduced to a microfinance organisation called COWE …

By Patrick Kagenda As the global financial crisis continues to affect economies worldwide, The Independent’s Patrick Kagenda talked to Gideon Badagawa, Executive Director Uganda Manufacturers Association on how it is affecting Uganda’s manufacturing sector. How will the global financial crisis affect Uganda? Uganda cannot escape the global economic crisis. There …

By Patrick Matsiko Wa Mucoori One time two Bahima friends left their small village in Nyabushozi and went for shopping in Lyantonde town on the Masaka-Mbarara Road. They entered a restaurant for breakfast. When tea was brought, one of them, Rwetsiba, tasted and turned to his friend Rucurumbukana and said: …

By Andrew M. Mwenda On December 14, 2008 the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) launched Operation Lightning Thunder on the camps of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Later President Yoweri Museveni, in a national broadcast aired on radio …

By The Independent Team Here, The Independent talked to Maj. Gen. Zed Maruru, former army chief-of-staff under Gen. Tito Okello’s short-lived government. Maruru is an air force pilot trained in Czechoslovakia and at Bracknell Staff College of the Royal Air Force of United Kingdom, one of the world’s most respected …

By The Independent Reporter The Independent talked to two retired military officers; one from Britain, one from the United States. Both have worked for the Special Forces of their respective countries. According to these experts, the way UPDF employed its Special Forces in the operation demonstrated a lack of understanding …

By Andrew M. Mwenda A common joke about our roads in Uganda goes like this: If you see someone driving zigzag, then you know he is sober; and if you see someone driving straight, they must be drunk. Why is the logic of driving inverted? Because we have too many …