UNESCO GEM report shows how early universal education expanded access, but struggled to convert enrolment into meaningful learning COVER STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | When the Uganda government opened the school gates in the late 1990s to four children per household across the country, it was lauded as one …
Read More »Alan Kasujja: The man who walked into the noise
Inside his first moments at the Uganda Media Centre and the deeper crisis of Government’s fractured voice Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | The rain came first, as it often does in Kampala; sudden, insistent, and cleansing. It fell through the morning of March 24, washing over the city’s …
Read More »Big win for artisanal miners as DR Congo pilots first gold refinery
The refinery is expected to deliver fairer prices, transparent trading systems and new market opportunities for thousands of artisanal miners, trading posts, and small- and medium-scale mining operators. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Small-scale miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo are tipped to gain access to a …
Read More »Canal+ leverages AI to win over African audiences
After acquiring MultiChoice, French media giant Canal+ is turning to AI to analyze viewing habits and recommend locally relevant films, series and sports. It is also lowering streaming costs, raising the stakes in Africa’s local content battle. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | African streaming subscribers could soon …
Read More »Cheaper cross border call rates beckon on lower tariffs push
A new wave of reforms across Africa is setting the stage for significantly cheaper cross-border call rates, as regional blocs and national regulators move to cut mobile termination rates (MTRs) and roaming charges. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Cross-border traders and travellers across Africa are set to benefit …
Read More »Exile Politics: Bobi Wine opens new front against Museveni
Inside Opposition leader’s plan to pressure Kampala from Washington NEWS ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, president of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and a presidential candidate in the 2026 elections, has entered a new phase of his political struggle: shifting the battleground from the …
Read More »‘Teenage me could not have imagined this’ says first female Archbishop of Canterbury
Some traditionalists in the Church of England and the wider global Anglican Communion continue to oppose the idea of women being priests at all London, UK | AGENCIES | The first female Archbishop of Canterbury said her teenage self “could never have imagined the future that lay ahead”, …
Read More »XI: Recalibrating officials’ understanding of governance achievement
BEIJING | Xinhua | A light bulb is not something most people would associate with governance. Yet nearly four decades ago, while working in one of the poorest parts of east China’s Fujian Province as the Party chief of Ningde Prefecture, Xi Jinping told local officials that ensuring access to …
Read More »Africa isn’t the world’s ‘climate solution’
With COP32 scheduled for Addis Ababa already dominating political discussions across the continent, African leaders must choose their language more carefully COMMENT | MARTHA BEKELE | When politicians nowadays talk about Africa and climate change, they tend to use the same words: “leadership”, “opportunity”, and “solutions”. Africa is no longer …
Read More »Uganda’s tuberculosis response goes digital, but not yet decisive
For years, Uganda’s TB response has relied heavily on symptom-based screening. It is a low-cost approach, but one that experts increasingly describe as blunt and inadequate Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | Uganda’s response to tuberculosis is entering a new and more technologically driven phase. But as health experts …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price