In The Magazine

By mubatsi habati & dicta asiimwe Bidandi’s lanterns, Naomi’s black dress, and Besigye’s new barber  This time, the presidential candidates’ nomination days – Oct.25 and Oct.26 ‘ exceeded expectations. The frenzy, excitement, and colour of the mammoth crowds on streets that had been perfectly cleared of traffic compensated for the …

By eriasa mukiibi Museveni’s plan for Buganda in 2011  While on tour in the US in mid-September, the king of Buganda, Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, received an unusual emissary from NRM Secretary General and Security Minister Amama Mbabazi. The emissary, according to sources that were involved in the meeting, …

By matthew stein Report ranks Rwanda’s press freedom among worst in the world The Rwandan government has expressed outrage over a recent Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report that ranked it amongst the ten worst countries in the world for press freedoms. Placed in the 169 spot, out of a total …

By Andrew Mwenda Last week, I finished reading Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s Wars, an inside account of Obama’s approach to the war in Afghanistan. Then on Sunday night, I watched a two-hour documentary on National Geographic titled Inside Talibanistan, an interesting tale of the complexity of fighting the Taliban …

By Prof. Micheal Madill The debate about universal primary education (UPE) is mired in arguments about statistics and public relations. You only have to pick up a newspaper and read the finely calibrated comments on all sides following the publication of the Uwezo report. We are bickering about literacy rates, numbers …

By Timothy Kalyegira National events at Kololo Airstrip in Kampala like Independence Day, Labour Day and others used to last about two hours. Since 2008, they have started taking on the feel of mammoth, all-day festivals. The main reason is that as President Yoweri Museveni has gotten more insecure in …

By the agencies Detained on charges of buying weapons for subversive activity On Oct. 15 Rwandan police confirmed that they were conducting further investigations to arrest all suspects in an alleged plot to form a ‘terrorist group’ after detaining an opposition leader. ‘Investigations are continuing to ensure that all the …

By haggai matsiko Can new proposals transform the public service? Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba of Reev Consult International has a peculiar image of the Uganda public service that the government hired him to study and propose policies to transform. He likens it to a human body with a very big head, …

By dicta assimwe Military improving while police back at top of the list of abusers The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), a constitutional body financed by the Uganda government, released their annual report with mostly bad news for the police but some goods news for the military. The UHCR reports …

By Rukiya Makuma Ignoring the urban poor who take water for lunch Clad in a dark blue blazer and grey trousers, Ali Kayombo of Kataka Parish in Kibuku District of eastern Uganda may appear like those lazy youths one expects not to transform their livelihood unless a miracle happened or …