COMMENT | PATRICK OYULU | Somewhere in Plymouth, England, Rolls-Royce dipped a Phantom into a swimming pool to celebrate 100 years of the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Not because the driver confused it for a landing site at Ggaba Beach. It was intentional. A luxury brand creating a moment. A story. A …
Read More »What will Trump reap from China this time?
COMMENT | NNANDA KIZITO SSERUWAGI | China–US relations are the most important bilateral relationship in the world. The two are the world’s leading economic and military powers. Both carry influence far and wide, across the geographical spread of this pale blue dot. You would imagine it must be in the …
Read More »Witchdoctors, pastors and Uganda’s Cabinet frenzy
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 »South Africa chasing fellow Africans; cry beloved rainbow nation
COMMENT | OBED K KATUREEBE | South Africans are at it again. Just weeks ago, there was outrage coming from South African cities, especially Johannesburg. A group of South Africans attacked fellow Africans, accusing them of many ills, including “taking their jobs” in that huge and powerful economy on the …
Read More »Beware of Government by AI
As countries like the UAE delegate decision-making to algorithms, evidence shows these systems can cause widespread harm and erode democratic accountability COMMENT | GABRIELA RAMOS & EMILIJA STOJMENOVA DUH | Earlier this month (April), the United Arab Emirates announced a plan to have half of its government services run …
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 …
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