Why the deployment of international forces without addressing internal problems will achieve nothing. THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | There is “fresh” fighting in the eastern Democratic DRC between government forces and the predominantly Tutsi rebel group, M23. I put fresh in inverted comas because DRC has been at war almost …

What Tel Aviv’s massive bombing of Gaza tells us about that country’s actual intentions for Palestine THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Nothing has recently occupied my mind more than Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza: the merciless violence of it, the brutality with which it bombs that tiny space of land, …

Why Uganda should stop deluding itself that it is in Somalia to protect the people of that country THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  Last week in this column, I argued that Uganda’s mission in Somalia is like America’s mission in Afghanistan. This lesson was hammered into my head reading a …

Why government of Uganda, the AU and Western powers need to rethink their involvement in Somalia THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On May 26, 2023, Al Shabab attacked a UPDF base in Somalia with devastating effects. UPDF said 54 soldiers were killed while Al Shaba claimed to have killed 137. …

Lessons from the US war in Afghanistan for Uganda’s mission in Somalia and Israel’s in Gaza THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | While thinking about Uganda’s involvement in Somalia sometime last year, I read Craig Whitlock’s book, The Afghanistan Papers, The Secret History of the War. Just after I had finished …

The inspiring story of a young man whose life was saved because different components of our country functioned. THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Maurice Mark Kiyemba is a 24 years-old Ugandan. Throughout his growth experience, he was falling sick regularly with strange fevers, headaches and general body weakness. He went …

How the president has lost connection with young people in Uganda and why nothing can be done about it THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Cederic Babu Ndilima is a son of Francis Babu. Both are NRM and President Yoweri Museveni diehards. Babu Sr was an NRM MP and also a …

Why a two-state solution is anachronistic and a one state solution the most viable solution THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I argued in this column last week, that arbitrary violence by Hamas has always played right into the hands of hawks in Israel. Today, the forces for peace inside Israel …

How Hamas helps Zionists in Israel to undermine the peace process and thereby achieve their strategic aim THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  As the war in Gaza rages, we need to ask: What is the root cause of the problem in Palestine? It is the occupation of Palestinian lands …

Uganda’s lost opportunities at next year’s big international conferences and what can be done to salvage the situation THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | January next year, Uganda will host two big international conferences back-to-back: the Nonaligned Movement (NAM) summit and the Group of 77 (G77) summit. This is an important …