Cover Story

By Haggai Matsiko Fight erupts over million dollar training deal in Uganda A secret operation by security contractors based in Uganda has been underway training fighters, comprising Ugandans and South Sudanese, to fight in the South Sudan war, The Independent has learnt.  The training is reportedly part of a deal …

By Edgar Tushabe Muhairwe  Details about likely Besigye, Mbabazi, Museveni race in 2016 On November 12, 2013, a journalist from NTV asked the de facto leader of Uganda’s opposition, Kizza Besigye a direct question. “Are we going to see Dr. Kizza Besigye return as the flagbearer of FDC in the …

By Patrick Kagenda A look at the underlying problem On July 13, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank met to craft an appropriate response to shocks in the economy presented by the whipping the shilling has suffered in recent months. At that point, the local currency had shade …

By Edgar Tushabe Muhairwe  Shock, surprise, anger and what his bid for presidency means There was excitement at the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) offices at Najjanankumbi on July 1. Supporters of Rtd. Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye were nominating him to compete for the FDC presidential ticket to vie in …

By Haggai Matsiko July was bound to be a hot month in Uganda, politically speaking as most of the major opposition groups have announced they will be electing their flag-bearers for the 2016 elections. But few anticipated the events of the last week of June. In a sign of the …

By Haggai Matsiko Arrest. Expel. Block. The Independent has learnt that those are the three main options several meetings of NRM leaders on the Amama Mbabazi issue have been discussing. The most anticipated of the meetings is the Central Executive Committee (CEC) slated for early July. The desired outcome is …

By Edgar Tushabe Muhairwe What will President do next? What is not in dispute, however, is that President Museveni had summoned Mbabazi and former Vice President Gilbert Bukenya to a meeting scheduled for June 15 to explain why they were allying with the new formed The Democratic Alliance (TDA). The …

By Haggai Matsiko Suspicions of vote buying eclipse record Shs 24 trillion budget On May 25, Keith Muhakanizi, the secretary to the Treasury, wrote to the Clerk to Parliament notifying the House of the final corrigenda to the 2015/2016 Shs.24 budget that Finance Minister Matia Kasaija presented on June 11.  …

By Independent Team Is Uganda headed for a debt crisis? What happens when you take a bunch of election spending reality, throw in a pinch of anticipated oil dollar excitement, and wrap it all up in some new accounting procedures? That is the question analysts of Uganda’s 2015/16 national budget …

By Haggai Matsiko Fights in party primaries could be worse than 2010 Since April 27, when President Yoweri Museveni launched a massive registration of members of his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party registers members, questions have emerged about the `real’ motive behind it. The NRM party register tends to …