Andrew Mwenda

By Andrew M. Mwenda Wrong regional integration and why small should be the new big thing for East Africa Africa is obsessed with regional, political, and economic integration. Over the last 30 years, our governments have created many regional trade blocks; some of which overlap. For example, Uganda is a …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The current political system based on patronage has developed a vast array of vested interests with a stake in its perpetuation Acommon narrative holds that President Yoweri Museveni enjoys unlimited power in Uganda and that this is a major source of our nation’s problems. This view …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why supporting Salva Kiir may turn out to be Museveni’s most ill-advised military intervention The Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) recent military adventure into South Sudan follows a pattern that has made our country a regional military hegemon and our president, one of Africa’s most influential …

By Andrew M.Mwenda Museveni’s biggest problem has been to overpromise and under-deliver hence the recurrent frustrations of his utopian supporters This week, President Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) will be celebrating 28 years in government. In a moving inaugural speech in January 1986, he promised that “This …

By Andrew M.Mwenda Understanding the popularity of Museveni and Besigye through evolutionary science To understand the incentives that drive citizens who vote and the politicians who seek their votes, we may need to appreciate the lessons of evolutionary psychology especially in regard to male-female sexual relations. (I am sorry for …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Attempts to make Mandela a secular saint and set his actions apart from the general experience in Africa distort history Two weeks ago, I committed “sacrilege” on my television show on NTV when I said that many of the things former South African president, Nelson Mandela, …

By Haggai Matsiko & Andrew Mwenda Karegeya, Nyamwasa split In mid 2013, the Rwanda National Congress (RNC) had scheduled an election for its leaders in South Africa for Aug 8. However, in the weeks preceding the election, the party experienced infighting and consequently the election was postponed. Two camps had …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Uganda needs social reform built around collectivities and not another constitution per se The year 2014 is going to be the year that sets the tone for the 2016 elections. The politician with an argument for the future of Uganda is Beti Kamya. She has been …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why the opposition leader cannot dare seek a compromise with Museveni because he would be accused of selling out Now that we have finished mourning and burying Nelson Mandela, we can celebrate his life by asking ourselves: can opposition leader Kizza Besigye act like him? If …

By Andrew M. Mwenda It’s possible to risk one’s political career and compromise without being compromised The younger Mandela was a militant who believed that apartheid could only be defeated through armed struggle. As he grew older, Mandela re- alised that this would be a long and costly route. He …