The Politics of God & god in Africa COMMENT | CRISPIN KAHERU | With President Museveni’s swearing-in 12th May 2026 and a new Cabinet expected to follow shortly after, the scramble for ministerial positions has once again turned into an industry. An industry that feeds not only political brokers …
Read More »Uganda starts to reap the fruits of the promised ‘Fundamental Change’
COMMENT | CAROLYNE MUYAMA | Forty years ago, Kampala was a very different place, quieter and more fearful than lively. Shaped more by fear than by business. Walking the streets in 1985 was dangerous, with the risk of being shot or kidnapped. The black market, known as “Magendo”, was essential …
Read More »Is the Civil Service the gravest failure of Uganda?
COMMENT | ANDREW PI BESI | Reader, on May 12th at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, President Yoweri Museveni will take his seventh oath of office. As I have previously noted, under his reign, Uganda’s economy has expanded, and, indeed, today Uganda is wealthier than at any time in its 64 years …
Read More »Museveni’s Seventh Term – Protecting the gains or protecting the few?
COMMENT | ANDREW PI BESI | In a little over a week, on May 12th, Ugandans will gather at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds and before their television screens to witness the swearing-in of Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for an unprecedented seventh term. When he was first sworn in on January 29, 1986, Uganda …
Read More »Mzei Okoth Domitian Owor 1936 – 2026
Tororo mourns veteran administrator Okoth Domitian Owor OBITUARY | THE INDEPENDENT | Mzei Okoth Domitian Owor, who passed on May 02, 2026, was a distinguished educationist, cultural leader, public servant, and patriarch whose life of service spanned over six remarkable decades. Fondly known as Otwodo, Mzei Owor, 89, lived a …
Read More »Making China’s trade opening work for Africa
Africa must position itself to turn China’s tariff-free trade opportunity into real gains COMMENT | JANE NALUNGA | On 1 May 2026, China–Africa trade relations entered a significant new phase as commitments under the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) took effect. These measures extend zero-tariff treatment to nearly 9,000 …
Read More »Protection of the Sovereignty Bill, 2026; why all the fuss?
COMMENT | OBED K KATUREEBE | There have been intense debates about the proposed Protection of the Sovereignty Bill 2026 (Bill no.13). This is not bad because that is the very reason Parliament invited members of the public to present their views to the committee on Defence and Internal Affairs …
Read More »A COURT IN THE PUBLIC EYE: What the Okello Onyum case revealed about justice in Uganda
COMMENT | GYAGENDA SEMAKULA ZIKUSOOKA SSAJJABBI | As a critic of Uganda’s criminal justice system, the recently concluded proceedings in the Okello Onyum matter, presided over by Alice Komuhangi Khaukha, present a compelling case study at the intersection of criminal adjudication, judicial temperament, and public confidence in the administration …
Read More »Lessons for Uganda from PLU Hima
How youth in a small town in Uganda answered Gen Muhoozi’s call and its implications for our country THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | On April 26th, I met a team of PLU activists from Hima, an industrial town in Kasese District. They rented a minibus …
Read More »Turning Oil into Opportunity: A banker’s role in Uganda’s first oil journey
OPINION | MUMBA KALIFUNGWA | As Uganda approaches the long-anticipated milestone of first oil, it does so at a moment of profound contradiction in the global energy narrative. On one hand, the world is accelerating toward a low-carbon future, with growing consensus around the need to scale renewable energy. On the other, …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price