NEWS ANALYSIS

Nic Cheeseman, a professor of Democracy at the University of Birmingham, explains how to hold elections safely and uphold democracy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cheeseman was formerly the Director of the African Studies Centre at the University of Oxford. In addition to a number of book chapters and articles, he …

Experts predict violent 2021 election if offenders go free Kampala, Uganda | MUBATSI ASINJA HABATI | The 2021 general elections will see widespread violence, organised gangs, and bribery. That is according to the Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU), a civil society coalition of over 800 like-minded organisations …

Why an Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia bloc could destabilise the larger region | INGO HENNEBERG AND SÖREN STAPEL | Relations in the Horn of Africa are complex and complicated. They are characterised by deeply ingrained rivalries between Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia in a conflict-ridden region. For decades, it has been …

What Ugandan doctors, nurses should know about it Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | On Aug. 19, the Constitutional Court passed a landmark judgment in which it said the government’s failure to adequately provide basic maternal health care services especially emergency obstetric care in public hospitals violates the right to …

Why it favours Museveni Kampala, Uganda | GEOFFREY SSENOGA | Uganda is going to conduct its first digital and mass media campaigns ahead of its 2021 general elections. This comes as the country contemplates holding a “scientific election” wherein social distancing guidelines will be observed. On June 16, the Uganda …

Will `God’ forgive him again? Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mwesigwa Rukutana, the Minister of State Minister for Labour who was arrested and remanded to prison on Sept.05 in relation to violence in the just concluded NRM parliamentary primary elections, is no stranger to the top and down of …

Will Leadership Code Tribunal finally bite? Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | When President Yoweri Museveni swore in the Leadership Code Tribunal recently, he demanded the new team clean up public service of corrupt officials. The tribunal is the latest institution Museveni has created to fight corruption in Uganda’s public …

Ex-minister Sandip Verma allegedly broke rules after family firm signed deals worth £88m A Conservative peer has been accused of breaching the ministerial code after her family firm signed multimillion-pound deals to supply Uganda’s government with solar power equipment. Sandip Verma’s company, Nexus Green, has signed two deals worth more …

How cheaper pooled testing increase access in Ghana, Rwanda | THE INDEPENDENT | The COVID-19 pandemic tends to conceal other important health issues. One of these is the global target for reducing HIV infections and increasing access to treatment. Progress is well under way. In 2019, 67% of those living …

Dangerous trend leaves public unsafe Kampala, Uganda | MUBATSI ASINJA HABATI | The most interesting news about the gun shots that rung out near the head offices of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) in the Kampala City suburb of Kamwokya is the police reaction. When The Independent asked Kampala …