In The Magazine

By Morris D C Komakech Failures are caused by structural deficiencies not individual lifestyle choices The article, “Irresponsible lifestyles strain health sector” (The Independent Aug.10) by Dan Kimosho needs an urgent rebuttal. Kimosho argues fervently from a rather skewed perspective that Ugandans who get ill or those who find themselves …

By Mwambutsya Ndebesa Focus should be on harnessing right leadership attributes and resolving structural problems As we congratulate and welcome the brand new Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. John Ddumba Sentamu, we need to reflect on why almost all successive vice chancellors have had a not so successful administrative …

By Independent Reporter Police PRO reappointed again as major changes rock force Judith Nabakooba has bounced back as Uganda Police spokesperson, making her one of the longest serving public relations officers in the force. Nabakooba had earlier lost her post to Asuman Mugenyi in a reshuffle that elevated him to …

By Rukiya Makuma Uganda’s retrogression after the success stories of the 1990s is main concern HIV/AIDS experts and activists at a high profile public debate in Kampala on August 23 focused on one question: Is Uganda moving in the right direction as far as HIV prevention is concerned? The `yes’ …

By Andrew M. Mwenda Why UPDF’s superior ideology has succeeded where America’s superior force failed Over the last four years, I have had numerous debates with my friend Mohamed Ahmed Yahya aka Mo, a Briton of Somali descent about UPDF involvement in his motherland. My view is that state consolidation …

By Haggai Matsiko Foreign big-money investment frenzy in Tullow’s backyard It’s Sunday, but this town’s Main Street is beehive of activity. Nothing unusual; this is Hoima, Uganda’s oil boom town. Builders, masons, and painters can be seen everywhere hanging on wobbly wooden scaffoldings in a frenzy of construction activity. The …

By Andrew M. Mwenda This morning, September 7th, 2012, newspapers reported that the PPDA has cancelled the tender to construct a 700MW electricity dam at Karuma. For a country that has been experiencing electricity shortages for the last 25 years, this is a major setback. However, the story of cancelling …

By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi Rivalry could cost party in 2016 Col. Kizza Besigye’s home turf, the Kasangati Ssaza Grounds outside Kampala city, was on Aug. 23 the scene of excited ululations, political speeches, and feisty dancing to the kadodi, the imbalu circumcision dance from Mbale, eastern Uganda. The scene of …

By Haggai Matsiko How often do three helicopters crash at a go? Soroti Flying School, 2kms northeast of Soroti town in eastern Uganda, was on the morning of August 12, a bee-hive of frenetic activity as army pilots jumped onto waiting helicopters while their top brass waved excitedly and gave …

By Moses Khisa The assumption that Makerere hasn’t contributed to scholarship is gratuitous Makerere Institute for Social Research (MISR) Director, Prof. Mahmood Mamdani’s article, `Beyond the colonised, neoliberal university’, (The Independent magazine online Aug.12) was remarkably incisive and illuminating. But it also had some lapses, to which I return below. …