In The Magazine

By Andrew M. Mwenda Iam currently in Rwanda witnessing their presidential election campaign. The campaign lacks the usual drama of many African general elections: the rallies of opposition candidates are not broken up by the police, their supporters are not beaten by private militias, candidates do not appeal to ethnic …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   Francis Gakwerera is one of the people arrested for the June 19 shooting of former Rwanda Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa, in Johannesburg, South Africa. He spoke to The Independent’s Andrew M. Mwenda. Where do you live and what do you do …

By Dicta Asiimwe The venue for Buganda’s 17th coronation anniversary celebrations of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, Kabasanda, Butambala County is one of eighteen counties of Buganda. As the bevy of female traditional dancers, in colourful kikoyi wrappers and tight-tops, gyrate to the din of royal drums being beaten in …

By Timothy Kalyegira These new discoveries of oil have increased Africa’s strategic importance on the world stage, but there is even more to this than these mineral deposits. The last 15 years have also seen countries like China, Brazil, Russia and India registering strong economic growth and with that lifting …

By Rukiya Makuma The July 19-21 African Union summit in Kampala was hijacked by the July 11 terror attacks by the Al-Shabaab jihadists.  The summit which had been themed on Maternal, infant and child development in Africa was diverted to first discuss the Al-Shabaab latest terror missions. The theme intended …

By Rosebell Kagumire Its at dusk, a young woman is returning home outside the countryside town of Soroti. Crackling of military uniform and sound of army boots and gun butts by approaching patrol soldiers are heard. Wewe nani?(Who are you?) a thundering order comes through the darkness. There is a …

By Frederick Golooba-Mutebi Since he wrote his ‘Is Rwanda an African Success Story’ (The Independent, July 09-15), Timothy Kalyegira, easily the most committed of media skeptics about Rwanda and its President, Paul Kagame, has been the subject of much-animated discussion in Kigali. On a recent visit there, almost everyone I …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   General had approached Museveni Had contacted Kagame for talks His driver had Uganda passport Maj. Gen. Kashaka was go-between Exclusive interview with suspect At 4.30pm on Saturday June 19, South African police arrested the first suspect in connection with the attempted murder of Lt. Gen. …

By Andrew M. Mwenda   I read with particular keenness President Yoweri Museveni’s article on July 25 where he defended Ugandan troop presence in Somalia. I use the words ‘particular keenness’ because I highly respect Museveni’s analysis of security issues. While his article is strong and persuasive, I was not …

By Brian Bwesigye On July 11th will go down in the history books as the day Uganda was thrown into a somber mood of shock, bitterness and panic. The twin bomb attacks in Kampala did not only turn an otherwise merry night into a tragic night of death and suffering …