THE LAST WORD

Why this 35 years old kid will continue to live in the memory of many people for generations to come THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Saturday May 03 around 2.20am, fate struck. Rajiv Ruparelia, son of Uganda’s richest couple, Sudhir and Jyotsna Ruparelia, died in a horrible car accident. …

The life of a man whose political ideals were always in contradiction with his political analysis THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  Maj. John Kazoora, who died on Easter Sunday April 20th, 2025, was a ferocious political animal. I met him in 1996 during the 6th parliament when I was a …

The risks to reliable electricity distribution that Uganda faces as we transition from Umeme to UEDCL THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The refusal of government to renew the Umeme concession continues to intrigue me. It is a policy decision of monumental stupidity. First, the government has had to borrow $118m …

How the American president is using the playbook his predecessors have used for far too long THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  I am an admirer of President Donald Trump because I find him more realistic about issues and brutally frank in the way he expresses himself. He lacks the hypocrisy and …

Why the US president’s seemingly crazy suggestion is the only viable solution to the Palestinian problem THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | For one and a half years, the world has watched in utter helplessness the merciless genocidal campaign Israel is conducting in Gaza to cleanse it of Palestinians. South Africa’s …

How this well-structured and managed organization may turn into a political battlefield, leaving Ugandans in the dark THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Monday March 31, 2025, the Umeme concession will come to an end. Its assets will revert to their owner, UEDCL. It is possible UEDCL will manage the …

Why the president and his handlers are misguided on their party’s electoral prospects in Kampala THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  I have been asking myself why someone in UPDF unleashed the violent crackdown on journalists and the people of Kawempe during recent byelection in that area. I talked to the …

THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  Vladmir Zelensky, the comedian-turned-president of Ukraine, had been puffed up (the Batoro call it “kuteera ekitigi”) by European leaders and the Biden regime (pun intended) into thinking he was a man of boundless importance. To use Akena Adoko’s words, of the hundreds of human bubbles …

How every action taken by Besigye since his arrest has played into the president’s hands THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Since he was abducted from Nairobi, Dr. Kizza Besigye has been involved in a series of tactical battles in court. Yet each victory he has secured has left his strategic …

  Inside the complicated relationship between Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The economist, Prof. Paul Collier, calculated that, holding other factors constant, economic growth in a neighbouring country can add up to 2% on the economic growth of your country. Therefore, a country having neighbours …