Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s respected former finance minister Pravin Gordhan reported leftist opposition leader Julius Malema to police on Monday for allegedly inciting violence following inflammatory remarks he made last week. Malema, who leads the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, protested outside an ongoing corruption inquiry …
Read More »Behind clashes in Lira
Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | The death of Dickens Okello,an 11-year-old boy, on Nov. 12 in the northeastern districtof Lira appears to have ignited tensions between Ugandans and the Asian community in the area. Observers say the death, which sparked the recent clashes, was the tipping point of tensions …
Read More »Behind ADF attacks
UPDF on high alert, deploys at the border Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A spate of attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)has sparked fears the rebel group could soon attack Uganda after many years of operating in eastern DR Congo. Founded in Uganda by a group of Islamic …
Read More »How Uganda’s agriculture and food system can create jobs
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 …
Read More »‘Shocked’ UK warns UAE of repercussions over spy student sentence
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 …
Read More »Mulago’s referral system failure
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 …
Read More »How to steal an election in broad daylight
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 …
Read More »Trump says bin Laden should have been captured sooner
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 …
Read More »Museveni should do more for peace in South Sudan
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 …
Read More »Fixing Bank of Uganda
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, …
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