COLUMNISTS

How and why Kagame’s enemies have been successful at branding him a tyrant THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I asked a young friend to visit Rwanda and assess the state of the country. He returned last week completely mesmerised at how a poor country can have such excellent infrastructure, a …

Lessons for NUP from the continuing crisis in Uganda’s previously largest opposition political party THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) continues to tear itself apart. This is perhaps the final phase of the party’s existence. When time comes to write its postmortem, what would have …

Why democracy crusaders should worry less about Putin and more about its home front, the West THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the liberal democracies of the West have been on a “moral” crusade against President Vladmir Putin. According to them, Putin is a tyrant, …

Why the big crowds at his rallies are misleading indicators of actual voter behavior at the ballot box THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | As expected, police have “suspended” the countrywide mobilistion tour by Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine. After pulling large crowds across the country, I am sure government got …

How governance in Africa reflects structural imperatives, not the personalities of our leaders THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Recently, someone posted an article on our WhatsApp chatgroup about the persistence of “corruption” in Africa. It said on June 13, 1988, Pini Jason Onyegbaduo, a popular Nigerian columnist, propounded a “Hypothesis …

Why the Gabon coup is a wake-up call to intellectuals in Africa to rethink politics on the continent THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | There has been yet another a successful military coup in Africa, this time in Gabon. This is a country that has not known a military coup in …

The transformation of democracy from a political form to a religious movement THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  Last week, I had an encounter with a democracy jihadist called Jeffrey Smith during a debate on Twitter (X) Spaces. The next day, he took to Twitter (X) accusing me of supporting despotism …

How our prejudices have combined with an exhausted government to create a disaster for our country THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  The mighty World Bank has suspended all new loan applications to Uganda for passing the anti-homosexuality act. The law is primitive. I feel ashamed to be a citizen of …

The most likely costs and consequences of attempts by the international community to impose a political solution on any country THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Africa seems to be going back to the 1960s, 70s and 80s when military coups and civil wars were a regular occurrence in many countries …

Why I believe that Museveni would make a strategic partner in negotiating political reform THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last week, I argued that political development and democratic progress in Uganda have been held back by the attitude of the opposition towards President Yoweri Museveni. It is true Museveni has …