ARTICLES 2008-2015

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why it has been important that Rwandans and not the international community ended the genocide On Monday, Rwanda commemorated 20 years since the genocide against the Tutsi. It was an inspiring event because Rwanda has astounded admirers and critics alike. In little less than two decades, …

By Melina Platas Izama MPs have generators and other coping resources if the energy sector fails but their voters and industrialists could incur ruinous costs Parliament’s recommendation to cancel the Ugandan government’s contract with the country’s main electricity distributor, Umeme, has reinvigorated the debate over the company’s performance, as well …

By Dr. Jude Kagoro Demonstrations versus socio-political order in Kampala Renowned French philosopher, Gustave Le Bon once proposed that crowds are far less intelligent than the individuals that comprise them. When individuals come together in a crowd, there is a strong likelihood that their individual conscious personality and intelligence temporarily …

By Ian Katusiime Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) released its annual report on April 10 at Imperial Royale Hotel where it sharply criticised the Police for its brutality and crack down on demonstrations and illegal detention of suspects beyond the stipulated 48 hours. Complaints on the right to personal liberty …

By Julius Businge Uganda will on Apr. 25 host the third annual East Africa Banking and ICT Security Summit in Kampala under the theme; ‘Strengthening Banking and ICT  development in Africa’. Available information indicates that the one day summit organised by Cyber Security Africa, co-hosted by National Information Technology Authority …

By Ian Katusiime Two of The Independent’s leading journalists Haggai Matsiko and Ronald Musoke won two awards each at the event organised by African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME)  which took place on April 9 at Golf Course Hotel,Kampala. Haggai Matsiko won an award for Extractive Reporting and Explanatory Reporting …

By Richard S. Grossman Instead of filling central banks’ top positions with “insiders”, it is becoming smarter to hire an outsider Can you imagine a French citizen being elected President of the United States? Or a Japanese prime minister of the United Kingdom? Or a Mexican chancellor of Germany? Probably …

By Steven P. Cohen Chronic pain affects more people and costs more to treat, yet it is often easy to treat the wrong way Pain is ubiquitous in life. Inextricably bound to consciousness, it is an experience that all living creatures with advanced nervous systems share. For our ancestors, whose …

By Yusuf K. Serunkuma Musicians like Bobi Wine and comedians are standing out as the philosophers of our era We live in tragic times, David Scott noted in his 2004 book, Conscripts of Modernity. “This is not merely because”, Scott explained “our world is assailed by one moral and social …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why Uganda should move away from a winner-take-all electoral system in favour of proportional representation I argued in last week’s column that in Uganda’s specific context of mass poverty, electoral competition tends to eliminate public-spirited candidates (or patriots) in favour of crooks. Therefore as our democracy …