Uganda’s Third National Development Plan (NDPIII) 2020/21–2024/25 explicitly calls for strengthening agricultural extension systems, but the reality is that farmers have been left in the cold amid climate extremes COMMENT | REGINA ASINDE | Government has pumped trillions of shillings into rural households through the Parish Development Model (PDM), with the …
Read More »COMMENT: Uganda’s Defence Bill 2025 risks militarizing justice and violating civil rights
COMMENT | REGINA ASINDE | The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill, 2025 tabled in parliament today has triggered serious concerns among human rights defenders and constitutional law experts. While the bill purports to streamline military administration and align structures with evolving defence needs, it dangerously extends military court jurisdiction …
Read More »The Seasons of Life: A lesson from a bare tree
COMMENT | JUDITH HOPE KICOCO | I stood by the window the other day, watching the drizzle tap gently against the glass. It was one of those quiet moments, waiting for a colleague to signal it was time for me to complete the task I had come for. As I gazed …
Read More »America’s economic tailwinds will override Trump’s tariffs
Donald Trump’s most destructive economic policies will be contained by market, institutional, and structural forces COMMENT | NOURIEL ROUBINI | Last December, I argued that while some of US President Donald Trump’s policies would be stagflationary (reducing growth and raising inflation), such effects would ultimately be mitigated by four factors: market …
Read More »COMMENT: New UPDF bill does not seem like compliance with Supreme Court ruling
COMMENT | Nicholas Opiyo | The UPDF (Amendment) Bill, 2025 will be tabled in the Ugandan parliament tomorrow by Oboth Oboth, the Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs. It is 143 pages long with 84 clauses – by all means a major overhaul of the UPDF Act. On top of most …
Read More »How Uganda has fallen apart
The collapse of governance and the consequences for our country because of an aging president THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Uganda is in deep trouble. The center is no longer holding. The country is literally falling apart. And there is no rescue on the horizon. The NRM government lost …
Read More »COMMENT: Broken projects, broken trust
Essay 5 of 7: How Uganda Forgot Its Citizens COMMENT | Gertrude Kamya Othieno | Across Uganda’s landscape, scattered like monuments to forgotten promises, are the carcasses of public projects. Half-finished classrooms overtaken by shrubs. Health centres without drugs or staff. Roads that begin with gravel and end in potholes. These are …
Read More »COMMENT: ‘Enjawulo Nation’
Essay 4 of 7: How Uganda Forgot Its Citizens COMMENT | Gertrude Kamya Othieno | There was a time when corruption in Uganda caused embarrassment. Today, it invites laughter, shrugs, or casual acceptance. From boda boda stops to boardrooms, the phrase “olina kaki”, (give me something small) echoes with neither shame nor …
Read More »COMMENT: The death of civics
Essay 3 of 7: How Uganda Forgot Its Citizens COMMENT | Gertrude Kamya Othieno | In most functioning democracies, citizenship is not an accident of birth – it is a skill, a mindset, and a shared understanding. It is cultivated early, often in classrooms, where young people learn the structure of the …
Read More »COMMENT: A safer digital economy is now possible
COMMENT | SOUMENDRA SAHU | The government of Uganda has undertaken deep and wide policy reforms in the ICT sector intended to transform the lives and fortunes of Ugandans. The legal and regulatory reforms such as the Communications Act 2013, the National Broadband Policy 2018 and now the Digital …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price