NEWS ANALYSIS

By Haggai Matsiko President’s 30-year grip shaken as party primaries throw up new leaders President Yoweri Museveni is weaker. No he is stronger. Those are the contrasting views from the recent NRM party primaries and National Conference.  And Museveni was out to make a statement about it when on Nov.1 …

By Agather Atuhaire Mbabazi ghost haunts party diehards going into 2016 Blood. Teargas. Supporters beaten, some killed, and candidates in punch-ups. Those were the scenes in the recent Oct.27 election of flag-bearers for the 2016 parliamentary and local government elections. It was a continuation of the violence seen earlier in …

By Agather Atuhaire Tough finance law flat-foots Finance Ministry It is general election time. Politicians need money. But the shilling is fast depreciating. The budget is performing poorly. Although the government has put up Shs 1.4 trillion worth of TBs and bonds, it has attracted interest worth barely Shs 400 …

By Haggai Matsiko Opposition leaders want international sanctions on police, CMI Since Privacy International, a U.K non-governmental organisation that defends the right to privacy of citizens, published a report on the dark surveillance methods the police and Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) use to crush perceived opponents of President Yoweri …

By Flavia Nassaka Increasing population, bad policies leave many Ugandans hungry Usually, Irene Namboozo, her husband and two daughters eat the same meal every day – boiled cassava or sweet potatoes. She cooks it all at once and portions it into two. One portion is lunch, the other is supper. …

By Ronald Musoke The French could scuttle Chinese plans for Uganda oil Tullow Oil Uganda, Total E&P Uganda, and the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) are the three partners in Uganda’s upstream sector. But a rift appears to be starting to emerge in their relationship over the routes the …

By Haggai Matsiko Regional peace rests on untested 1,200-strong UN force The announcement that Ugandan troops are exiting South Sudan has sparked both relief and fear. There is relief because since the Jan. 23 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed by South Sudan President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar …

By Haggai Matsiko Museveni safe if voters punish `confused’ opposition in 2016 A day after The Democratic Alliance (TDA) failed to agree on a single joint presidential candidate, a top Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) official swore that if confidantes of presidential aspirant Amama Mbabazi wanted to fight, the FDC …

By Haggai Matsiko A spying operation by Uganda’s top security agencies that has since 2011 targeted and aimed to crush opponents of President Yoweri Museveni, a new report has claimed. The operation codenamed ‘Fungua Macho’ loosely translated as ‘open your eyes’ has involved planting surveillance tools in top hotels and …

By Independent Team & Agencies Uganda rates improve but hurdles remain in goal to end poverty in Sub-Sahara by 2030 – World Bank As the world celebrates the decline in the number of people living in extreme poverty, there is growing concern about the growing concentration of global poverty in …