Unwanted Witness report exposes personal data misuse in the past election cycle COVER STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | On May 12, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, 81, will take the oath of office once again, extending a presidency that has shaped Uganda’s political landscape for four straight decades. His victory in …
Read More »Thrones wobble?
Anita Among’s carefully built dominance faces its first real political stress test as Nobert Mao and others join the race for speakership COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | The once-seemingly impenetrable fortress surrounding Speaker Anita Among is showing its first visible cracks. The first signs emerged months ago …
Read More »U.S-backed health systems transition to Ugandan control in major digital shift
After years of U.S-backed investment, the transfer of data systems marks a shift from external support to state control COVER STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | In a district hospital in eastern Uganda, a mother waits as a clinician opens an electronic medical records system instead of reaching for a paper …
Read More »Museveni, Muhoozi court US General to mend Kla-Washington ties
U.S. sanctions have targeted Ugandan leaders over rights abuses, corruption, and opposition repression COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | Last week, a retired U.S. general drew widespread attention in Kampala with a rare, high-profile visit, moving with unusual access through Uganda’s senior political and military circles. During his stay, …
Read More »Rise of the AI soldiers
Ukraine has become the world’s premier testing ground for AI weapons on Russian troops, foreign mercenaries COVER STORY | AGENCIES | The Phantom MK-1 looks the part of an AI soldier. Encased in jet black steel with a tinted glass visor, it conjures a visceral dread far beyond what …
Read More »Missiles in the Gulf, inflation in East Africa
Rising oil prices, disrupted air travel, and a shift in Sudan’s conflict COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | The US–Israeli war against Iran may be unfolding thousands of kilometres away, but its consequences are already being felt far beyond the Middle East. For East Africa’s fast-growing economies—Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania—the …
Read More »Are disabled Ugandans being left out of digital ID system?
Gaps in Uganda’s digital ID rollout could exclude people with disabilities from critical public services SPECIAL REPORT | RONALD MUSOKE | When on Feb. 9, Claire Ollama, the friendly and polyglottic Registrar of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), declared the nationwide digital ID registration and renewal exercise “successfully concluded,” …
Read More »Ugandan travellers and US visa crackdown
The US$15,000 visa bond places travellers under sharper scrutiny as Washington tightens enforcement COVER STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | When U.S. Ambassador William W. Popp stepped-up to address the press at the American Centre in Kampala on Feb. 5, he was carrying a message that blended diplomacy with warning. The United …
Read More »Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi
Remand of MP and Bobi Wine ally revives fears of MP Ssegirinya’s torture and death COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | Fears for the life of outgoing Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi have intensified after he was charged with terrorism and remanded to Kitalya Prison, a move that has …
Read More »Ugandans go to the polls
Time to choose: continuity or change COVER STORY | THE INDEPENDENT & AGENCIES | When Ugandans go to the polls on Thursday, they will be voting under the watchful presence of the government, with army boots already visible on the streets of the capital, Kampala, a deployment security chiefs say …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price