NEWS ANALYSIS

Promising results – here’s what needs to happen next | ANNE MOORE | Preliminary data from the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine trial suggests it provides 90% efficacy at preventing the disease. At the very least, this news will result in a large sigh of relief across the vaccine community. It signifies …

The excitement that greeted the news of a vaccine candidate that may be highly effective against COVID-19 was indeed something to behold. If the final results show anything like the numbers quoted in the press release, then the world can indeed be pleased and the scientists behind the scenes very …

A highly polarised society with an uncertain future | KARUTI KANYINGA | When Tanzanian voters went to the polls on October 28, the incumbent President John Pombe Magufuli and his party Chama Cha Mapinduzi showed all the signs of being confident about victory. This confidence resulted from the way in …

    Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Stephen Galogitho has lived to tell a story of agony and frustration, navigating through a future that was dashed after his dismissal from Makerere University 25 years ago. The journey of his ruined hope started on October 1996. Galogitho was the in …

It points to political class bent on retaining power | DAVID E KIWUWA | Elections are the quintessential arbiter of political contestation within democratic countries. This is a path Tanzania has followed for the past 25 years, since it first held its first multiparty elections in 1995. But elections are …

From Samuel Tilden to Al Gore | ROBERT SPEEL | As states continued to count their ballots in the 2020 election, it seemed possible that Democrats and Republicans would end up in court over whether President Trump won a second term in the White House. President Trump had said he’s …

  What does each stand for? Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Following months of uncertainty, Uganda will hold the next presidential polls on Jan.14 next year with a record 11 candidates. President Museveni, who has been Uganda’s president since 1986, is seeking another five year term after successfully removing …

So why does President Museveni ignore it? Uganda, Uganda | MUBATSI ASINJA HABATI | Since scenes of violence being meted out in broad daylight against the most prominent presidential candidates challenging President Yoweri Museveni, most commentators and analysts have said the violence sets stage for the 2021 elections. Presidential nominees …

  But missed milestones signal more bumps on the road Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Tondeka Metro Company (TMC) which wants to introduce public transport buses in the Kampala city metropolitan area has signed an operating management contract with Rose Hill Transport (RHT) Holding Ltd of Mauritius. Under the …

Examining the relationship between money and politics during elections in African countries and measures that could be put in place to eliminate inappropriate use of public money or fundraising from questionable sources NEW ANALYSIS | MATHIAS HOUNKPE AND OLIVIER BUCYANA | Since the 1980s and early 90s the majority of …