NEWS ANALYSIS

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | A schoolgirl who was among more than 200 kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 refused to be part of a release deal because she is now married to a militant fighter, Nigeria’s government said Tuesday. The disclosure underlines the complex psychological effects of a lengthy …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Military pressure, in-fighting within Boko Haram and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s health combined to secure the release of 82 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, sources said Monday. The latest batch of the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted in April 2014 were freed Saturday in a prisoner swap …

World notes worsening situation in Uganda, cites Stella Nyanzi saga The constant attacks on journalists by security operatives have seen Uganda drop 10 places in the just released 2017 World Press Freedom Index. Uganda stands at 112, down from the 102nd position it occupied last year with a global score …

Look to heavy investment into technology to reverse slow 2016 growth Centenary Bank and Barclays Bank of Uganda Ltd registered slower growth in profits for the year ending December 2016 but the managers say that is no problem and instead remain positive about the future. Centenary’s profits grew by 8.2% …

Paris, France | AFP |  It is an image that will long live in French political memory. As incoming president Emmanuel Macron stood in front of his cheering supporters at the Louvre on Sunday night to savour his election victory, his wife Brigitte took his hand and kissed it, tears …

Paris, France | AFP | Despite Marine Le Pen’s drubbing in the French presidential election, her far-right National Front party expanded its footprint in the political landscape — and confirmed its move into the mainstream. Her anti-immigrant, anti-Europe stance won a record 34 percent of ballots cast on Sunday, which …

Police insiders going rogue? They call themselves the Bakijambiya (Machete gang) and they pounce in the wee hours of the night. They come with pangas, iron bars, nails on wood clubs, and big knives. They chop and clobber their victims, steal their money and portable property, and rape the women …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday vowed to help to 82 schoolgirls who have been freed from more than three years of Boko Haram captivity after a prisoner swap. The girls — who were among more than 200 kidnapped in 2014 from the Government Girls …

Consumers want the cheap prices but local traders want the profits Hostility towards Chinese petty traders appears to be growing in Uganda but so is the dependence on Chinese imports. On April 19, the hostility erupted once again as hundreds of traders in the capital city, Kampala, staged a closed-shop …

Mbabazi court award hits Shs21bn: Attorney General’s office looks for ways of scaling back costly damages The Shs13billion court award granted to lawyer Severino Twinobusingye, known for representing Amama Mbabazi, in 2013 is probably the largest ever given out to an individual. He told The Independent recently that he has …