By Andrew M. Mwenda Why NRM needs to rediscover its ideological footing by digging itself out of being a cash and carry government During the last campaigns I drove 3,700km across Uganda holding what Americans call `Town Hall Meetings’ in big and small towns and trading centers from Rukungiri to …
Read More »Lessons for Uganda from Rwanda
Why Uganda needs to reintroduce a broad-based government but this time handle it differently It is impossible for anyone to convince Dr. Kizza Besigye and his supporters that he lost the just concluded elections. It is equally impossible to convince President Yoweri Museveni and his supporters that they did not …
Read More »Why I prayed for Besigye to win
How Museveni’s victory saved Besigye from confronting the hard reality of Uganda’s politics President Yoweri Museveni has again defeated his main rival, Dr. Kizza Besigye, in an election the opposition claim was stolen. Whatever the merits of this accusation, Besigye’s defeat is also his greatest triumph. It has saved him …
Read More »The triumph of organisation over passion
How Museveni’s grassroots structures resisted Besigye’s campaign momentum Last week, Yoweri Museveni was reelected to a seventh (fifth elective) term of office as President of Uganda, defeating (or rigging – as his supporters claim) his main rival, Dr. Kizza Besigye. It was the most competitive election Museveni has faced since …
Read More »The second presidential debate
Inside Museveni’s greatest moments and Besigye’s political maturity even at great cost to himself So finally President Yoweri Museveni defied all predictions and attended the presidential debate. I can say without any fear of contradiction that Museveni did so in defiance of the advice of everyone in NRM and immediate …
Read More »Myths and realities about Africa
Why poor countries have poor services and rich nations have better services Joseph Mukasa is a peasant in Uganda. He has been performing well in expanding the output of his three acres piece of land. From an income of about Shs5,000 per month in 1995, (which when adjusted to inflation …
Read More »Is Obama a black man?
How he has accepted the categorisation imposed upon him by a racial system that subjugated black people US President Barak Obama calls himself a black man. Indeed, America and the rest of the world refer to him as a black man. Yet we all know he is actually a person …
Read More »Beyond campaign rhetoric
How journalists have allowed campaign rhetoric to obscure issues that are fundamental to the election President Yoweri Museveni’s campaign strapline; `Steady Progress’ sounds like a slogan from a communist pamphlet, not a marketing sound-bite in a competitive election. With it, the President is not promising anything new or spectacular but …
Read More »Uganda’s `presidential’ debate
By Andrew M. Mwenda Last week, we were treated to a televised debate among Uganda’s presidential candidates. Although we face an immense task of transforming our country from a poor and backward nation into a rich industrial society, our presidential candidates’ arguments fell far below what is required to achieve …
Read More »Behind Magufuli’s political stunts
By Andrew M Mwenda Why Tanzania’s new president is doing the right thing the wrong way and why he may fail Since early November 2015, newly elected Tanzanian president, John Pombe Magufuli, has captured the imagination of many African elites on social media by his brazen actions of cutting unnecessary …
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