NEWS ANALYSIS

When poor peasants cry as the rich elite squabble KAMPALA, UGANDA |FLAVIA NASSAKA| Hussein Bbale is 46 years old, married with five children. But he lives in his mother’s house in Nyakabale village in Fort Portal town. This is unusual. So how did it happen? Nyakabale village is about 5kms …

Activists reveal why they are not behind her KAMPALA, UGANDA |FLAVIA NASSAKA| When the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga on July 07 met Vastina Rukimirana Nsanze, the chairperson of the Uganda Law Reform Commission, she made a pledge – that she would contact the Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister to fast …

Panama City, Panama | AFP | The disqualification on Friday of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from public office over long-running corruption allegations is the latest twist in the so-called Panama Papers scandal: – What are the Panama Papers? – A trove of 11.5 million digital records from the Panamanian …

Devolution has demystified local power and emboldened voters to assert themselves, leading to shocks all the way up the political pyramid Nairobi, Kenya | AFRICAN ARGUMENTS |  Kenya’s 2017 elections are set to be the country’s most interesting yet. The political landscape has shifted, and whatever else these elections turn out to be …

The ruling Patriotic Front’s expulsion of one of its founding members paves the way for President Lungu to be its presidential candidate. But they’d be wrong to think they’ve seen the end of Chishimba Kambwili. Lusaka, Zambia| AFRICAN ARGUMENTS | Last week, Chishimba Kambwili MP, an ambitious firebrand and possible presidential aspirant, was expelled …

President Sall faces double challenge as Senegal elects MPs Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Senegal holds a legislative election on Sunday following a campaign gripped by tension between the rival coalitions of President Macky Sall, his predecessor Abdoulaye Wade and Dakar’s detained mayor. The election is seen as a crucial test …

Adama Barrow: how do you solve a problem like The Gambia? Banjul, Gambia | AFP |  Six months ago, businessman and political novice Adama Barrow took power in Africa’s smallest mainland country after delivering a stunning defeat against ex-leader Yahya Jammeh, who had ruled brutally for 22 years. When Barrow …

Washington, United States | AFP |  If Donald Trump fires the special prosecutor investigating his team’s ties to alleged Russian meddling in the US election, it could mark “the beginning of the end” of the billionaire’s presidency, a senior Republican lawmaker warned Thursday. Senator Lindsey Graham, who briefly ran against …

Paris, France | AFP | British disease experts on Thursday suggested doing away with the “incorrect” advice to always finish a course of antibiotics, saying the approach was fuelling the spread of drug resistance. Rather than stopping antibiotics too early, the cause of resistance was “unnecessary” drug use, a team wrote …

Kampala, Uganda | INDEPENDENT REPORTER |  The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has come out to explain the land acquisition challenges that have necessitated The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2017. The proposed amendment of Article 26 of the 1995 Constitution aims to make it possible for government to take possession of or acquire property upon payment of the …