NEWS ANALYSIS

Durban, South Africa | AFP |  African countries are becoming increasingly repressive and causing more people to leave their homes, British charity Oxfam said this week, as Germany warned of the destabilising effect migration is having on the continent. Political freedom and the problem of Africa’s brain-drain were among the …

Johannesburg, South Africa |  Three former South African presidents for the first time issued a joint call for action Friday to end the nation’s “worsening” political crisis, the latest campaign targeting President Jacob Zuma. In an unprecedented move, the country’s living former heads of state — Thabo Mbeki, F.W. de …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP |  An American soldier has been killed in a night-time raid in Somalia, in what is believed to be the first US military death in combat there since the infamous events of “Black Hawk Down” 24 years ago. The death occurred three weeks after the US …

Lokichar, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya plans to export its first oil in June, but analysts say the test phase faces major challenges and appears motivated primarily by political considerations just months ahead of elections. British company Tullow announced the discovery of oil in Kenya in March 2012, when prices …

Accept decision of voters, President Kenyatta urges Jubilee primaries losers NAIROBI | PSCU | Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged losers in the Jubilee Party primaries to accept the decision of voters, saying it confirms the level of entrenchment of democracy in the country. Kenyatta said Kenya will be a success as …

Washington, United States | AFP |  US President Donald Trump makes no secret of his empathy for strongmen with spotty rights records, but his embrace of Rodrigo Duterte shows he still has the power to shock. Trump has invited the Philippines leader to Washington, despite his unabashed support for an …

Washington, United States | AFP |  US congressional leaders on Monday unveiled a bipartisan deal funding government through September, with a compromise that includes President Donald Trump’s call for increased military spending but ignores his demand to fund a border wall. The agreement was struck late Sunday after weeks of …

Is Uganda ready for the next big attack? Uganda is under attack. It is under attack from the Fall Armyworm in what experts call a “biological invasion”. Unfortunately, it appears, the government was caught unprepared. It has reacted with a mixture of indecision, panic, bluff, and deployment of ineffective intervention. …

  Factory price of 50kg bag up by 48% in April 2017 There is bad news for sugar consumers in the country going by current issues happening in the industry. Official figures for the year 2016 from industry controllers Uganda Sugarcane Manufacturers Association (USMA) millers – Kakira, Kinyara and SCOUL …

Kayihura in tight corner as Museveni demands progress On April 21, the Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura, did something unusual. As highly anticipated by the general public, he presented to the Nakawa Magistrates Court in Kampala 13 suspects in the murder of the late force spokesperson, Assistant Inspector …