The Independent Team At 11 pm on July 11 a crowd of 700 is gathered at Kyadondo Rugby Club, located 3 km east of central Kampala, to watch the World Cup final. The cumulative excitement and anxiety is unimaginable. As the announcer says, ‘Three minutes left to the first 90 …

By Independent Team   Politicians debate Uganda’s role in Mogadishu The announcer’s voice had hundreds of spectators at Kyadondo Rugby club, a popular bar for local and expats alike, completely rapt’sitting at the edge of their chairs, counting down the last three minutes before extra time. ‘The next goal will …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   Critics of the government of Uganda accuse it of allocating less money to priority sectors like infrastructure, education and health. Although it is evident that the cost of political patronage and the presidency/first family has grown, it is not true that this has been at …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   On June 25, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels attacked a Congolese army unit in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to intelligence reports, the Congolese army followed them from Wicha in Erengeti to Mwarika, an area controlled by Edward Nyamwisi, a local Congolese …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   On March 16, 1989, over 6,000 workers at South Korea’s ultra modern subway system in the capital, Seoul went on strike turning the city’s morning rush hour into chaos. About 3,000 workers occupied the roundhouse from which the locomotives were dispatched. The strike took place …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   Mulwanyamuli’s long walk with Besigye Bidandi, Butime, Kiyonga pulled out On June 8, two former katikkiros (prime ministers) of Buganda Kingdom officially ‘announced’ that they were joining active politics. The two men’Dan Muliika and Mulwanyamuli Ssemwogerere ‘would reportedly campaign for the coalition of the opposition …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   When I was growing up, my dad always told me that if I have a dream, I should believe that I will realise it. He believed that success comes from optimism and self-confidence. ‘Believe in yourself and those around you,’ he would say, ‘and always …

By Bob Roberts Katende   Between June 25 and 26, the NRM party delegates from across the country draped in yellow outfits gathered at the Mandela National Stadium Namboole for their National Conference. The conference reviews the party’s performance and strategic planning for the future. Instead, the conference ended up …

By Independent Team   Top party chiefs plot his downfall Shs7.5bn for delegates sparks chaos at Namboole conference  The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretary General, Amama Mbabazi, has shown that he has the proverbial nine political lives, but it will take more than that for him to shed off the …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   Uganda has sustained robust economic growth for the last 23 years, a fact that opponents of President Yoweri Musevei ignore actually to their disadvantage. This growth has produced a private sector and a political and bureaucratic class with money and power. In denying it, the …