COLUMNISTS

By Andrew M. Mwenda The assumption behind a lot of literature on democracy is that people would care more about their welfare in elections Africa’s poor performance at delivering public goods and services impersonally to anonymous citizens is often attributed to the continent’s democratic deficit. Democratic theory expects that if …

By Ian Buruma The two things that get people most excited in cultural conflicts are religion and sex Many people still believe that the attacks of September 11, 2001, were not just acts of political terrorism, but part of a cultural war, a clash of civilizations. The two things that …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Since April, Ugandans have sustained protests over many issues including wages, commodity prices and foreign exchange rates Here is widespread discontent in most of Uganda against President Yoweri Museveni and the NRM. The mainstream opposition should, however, not think that this automatically means there is widespread …

By Gordon Brown Global policy coordination key to building sustained growth and employment Politics trumped sensible economics in the United States this summer, when Congress and President Barack Obama could not agree on taxes, entitlements, deficits, or an investment stimulus. Europe’s leaders were also paralyzed – ruling out defaults and …

By Andrew M. Mwenda MI6 was spying on Libyan dissidents in Britain and passing the information to Gaddafi New revelations of the secret relationship between Libyan intelligence under Maummar Al Gaddafi and America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Britain’s MI6 are shocking but not surprising. America and Britain have always …

By Donald Kaberuka The idea that a system can deliver economic development while closing avenues for democracy is not consistent with sustainability Twenty years ago, someone coined the term “Afro pessimism.” Those were the days of large macroeconomic imbalances, unsustainable debt, slow or negative growth and a rather chaotic beginning …

By Joseph E.Stigliz The attack harmed America in ways even bin Laden couldn’t have imagined The September 11, 2001, terror attacks by Al Qaeda were meant to harm the United States, and they did, but in ways that Osama bin Laden probably never imagined. President George W. Bush’s response to …

By Andrew M. Mwenda & P. Matsiko wa Mucoori Was the opposition planning to use him in post-election uprising? The government intelligence alleges that renegade Col. Edison Muzoora who died mysteriously on or around May 27 this year, was at the centre of an opposition plan to create post-election violence …

By Andrew M. Mwenda In the last 14 years and with US $2.1 billion spent, less than 50 cases have been heard  in the Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any ideas of them …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The disastrous collapse of public services under NRM is a product of the way in which democracy has evolved rather than its absence On Saturday September 24, I went to my old school, Busoga College Mwiri, to attend celebrations marking its 100th birthday. It was a …