The president’s brother’s insights about Uganda’s political economy and what it tells us about our country THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | And so, on Monday this week I visited Gen. Salim Saleh in Gulu and we sat down to a long conversation about Uganda’s economic woes. Saleh has been studying …

Why I welcome the victory of Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in the just concluded US elections THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The re-election of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States is a very welcome development for world peace. The US and other global liberal imperialist coalition …

Why the arrest and detention of the leaders of our city is a cynical political gimmick THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The arrest and detention of the top executives of KCCA for the disaster that happened at Kitezi landfill is sad. I know for a fact that President Yoweri Museveni …

How assigning a name to something changes public perceptions of its character THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Words are used to obscure the truths. Attach a label to something, and people will see it in a particular way. For instance, in Uganda, a person who is a born-again Christian is …

THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Friday October 11, 2024, lawyer and human right activist, Nicolas Opiyo, posted a tweet of his “short musing.” It was a very personal attack on the intellectual competences of Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces …

The life of a reporter, editor, lecturer, media proprietor, legislator, presidential press secretary and corporate guru THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Friday, September 27, Ivan Okuda called me announcing the death of Onapito Ekomoloit. It was as shocking as it was surprising. I had talked to Onapito only a …

Why firing top leaders at KCCA is an excuse and not a solution to the problems of our capital city THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | This week, President Yoweri Museveni fired the top leadership of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). This was because a report by the Inspector General of …

How this newspaper’s work is laced with endemic racism that may even be unconscious to the author THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Most Western journalism on Africa has always been ghetto journalism. Now in last week’s story about Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, this British newspaper, The Telegraph, took journalism to the …

How our nations’ pursuit of foreign ideologies is an impediment to our growth and transformation THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | By Andrew M. Mwenda | My friends and I have been engaged in a debate about the role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in development. There is widespread belief that development requires …

Why blaming Museveni for runaway corruption is politically appealing and why it is misleading THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | President Yoweri Museveni has presided over the worst levels of public sector corruption in Uganda’s history. The scale and scope of corruption grows every year. Indeed, corruption could easily be the …