How the president’s approach of allocating favours to individual firms has undermined the development of a robust private sector THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | On August 15th, President Yoweri Museveni wrote the prime minister an instruction titled “Support of Local Companies in the Construction Sector”. He said …

Why being vilified as being the most corrupt politician in Kenya did not undermine but facilitated his victory THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | This week, the Supreme Court confirmed the election of William Ruto as the fifth president of Kenya. The election poses a dilemma for many …

How prejudice has blinded us from seeing the reality of the politics right in front of our eyes THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Recently, a friend sent me a video of former Ghanian president, Jerry Rawlings, telling his experience as a former president to an Italian journalist. …

  The political biography of one of the most compelling politicians in postcolonial Africa THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | I admire Raila Odinga. I think he is one of the most dynamic politicians in postcolonial Africa. So, I wished he would win the 2022 presidential elections in …

A journey to a South Indian state and the contradictions in its egalitarian ideals THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | I had been battling continuous fatigue and exhaustion, largely mental and partly physical. A friend advised me to seek traditional Indian treatment. He chose ShinShiva, a treatment center in …

The factors and combinations that make that newspaper survive, flourish and promote democratic freedom THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | This week, Monitor Publications Limited celebrated its 30th Birthday. Daily Monitor (the newspaper) and its affiliate radio station, KFM, are the ground on which my teeth as a …

Why the cooperation agreement between NRM and DP should form the example in the evolution of our democracy THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | The cooperation agreement between NRM and DP is an important political innovation in our country’s politics. Uganda needs this kind of cooperation between competing …

  How our political elites waste so much time indulging in misguided debates about our development THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | President Yoweri Museveni and his critics have been locked in a debate on when or whether Uganda will achieve the much hyped “middle income” status. There …

How this South Asian country is transiting from a stable liberal democracy into a chaotic illiberal mobocracy THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | The news from Sri Lanka is intriguing and confounding both as politics and as economics. Let us begin with its politics. Sri Lanka has, since …

How low levels of skill impact our nation’s ambitions in government, private sector and our homes THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | A friend has lived in America for the last 15 years, having left the country in her early twenties. Before, during and after her graduate studies, …