NEWS ANALYSIS

Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Agriculture can provide jobs to Uganda’s unemployed youth if well harnessed, according to the twelfth Uganda Economic Update published this week by the World Bank. According to a World Bank statement, the report, “Developing Uganda’s Agri-Food System for Inclusive Economic Growth,” notes that the …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned of “repercussions” after a United Arab Emirates court on Wednesday sentenced British student Matthew Hedges to life in jail having convicted him of spying. “I am deeply shocked and disappointed,” said Hunt. “Today’s verdict is not what we expect …

New specialised women’s hospital sinks back to the old ways Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | On Oct.16, a week after President Yoweri Museveni officially opened the new Mulago Specialised Maternal and Neonatal Hospital in Kampala on Oct.09, The Independent visited the facility. The expectation was to see an efficiently run …

Autocrats and counterfeit democrats have perfected the art of rigging polls to stay in power — without breaking any laws.  Kampala, Uganda | NIC CHEESEMAN & BRIAN KLAAS | In Ukraine’s 2004 presidential election, droves of voters turned out in opposition strongholds, hoping to oust the incumbent, Viktor Yanukovych. Upon arrival …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump repeated Monday that Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, killed by US Navy SEALs in May 2011, should have been captured much earlier, casting blame on his predecessors and Pakistan. “Of course we should have captured Osama Bin Laden long before we …

After September peace deal, new report reveals likely hotspots for war Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | On Oct.31, happiness and joy filled the South Sudanese capital, Juba, when several high profile leaders in eastern Africa joined President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Dr. Riek Machar, to celebrate the “return …

Museveni meets Mutebile Behind the scenes efforts to save Kasekende, Mutebile Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | What would you say if you saw President Yoweri Museveni and embattled Bank of Uganda Governor Tumusiime Mutebile in a meeting at this time? What if that meeting, which in fact happened last week, …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The head of DR Congo’s biggest opposition party, Felix Tshisekedi, said Monday he was abandoning a day-old agreement to field a joint opposition candidate in next month’s presidential elections. “I gather that the agreement reached in Geneva was not accepted by the grassroots and …

We want action, say critics Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Human rights advocates and opposition politicians have reacted to President Yoweri Museveni’s recent letter on torture with frustration, labeling it as “merely cosmetic.” President Museveni’s Oct. 23 letter titled, “Guidelines on managing rioters, terrorists, criminals and looters and methods …

Audit reveals need for honest discussion, greater accountable and sufficient funding Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Shining the spotlight on the huge numbers of refugees Uganda hosts peaked in June 2017 with a meeting of world leaders on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kampala that sought to raise …