NEWS ANALYSIS

By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi Campaigns on vote-rigging, ethnicity President Yoweri Museveni’s traditional political stronghold, western Uganda looks like the wrong place for an opposition candidate to spend two precious weeks at the end of an election campaign. But the Interparty Cooperation (IPC) candidate, Kizza Besigye took the gamble on Feb.2 …

By Eriasa Sserunjogi Mukiibi A possible referendum on the future of opinion polling in Uganda? On the morning of Feb. 8, Ofwono Opondo drove from Buliisa district where he says he was doing campaign work to attend the release of the   results of the latest Afrobarometer opinion poll. Upbeat, the …

By Melina Platas Three factors that could determine if Besigye or Museveni wins As ears ring with protests calling for the end of an era, longtime rulers shift uncomfortably. Amidst palpable unease, the run-up to the 2011 elections has been eerily calm. Seasoned analysts debate whether President Yoweri Museveni’s vote …

By Independent Reporter Police chief says he is ready to battle opposition party militias Badru Kiggundu, the soft-spoken Chairman of the Uganda Electoral Commission, knows something about disasters; at least theoretically.  He is a specialist in geotechnical materials and, even as Dean of the Faculty of Technology at Makerere University; …

By independent reporter Rwanda, Uganda ties strained as Gen. Saleh and Rwandan dissidents are accused of training mercenary force The meetings and their plans have already raised concerns in the region because the African Union (AU) already has a force led by Uganda and Burundi in Mogadishu propping up the …

By matthew stein  A homegrown system that places participation and responsibility above criticism In the majority of countries across the world it is expected for opposition parties to act and speak in a certain manner. Especially during election time, criticism and rebukes, even delivered with vitriol, are accepted. Candidates spend …

By Joseph Were Donors fear the President is either raiding the reserves at Bank of Uganda or printing new money World Bank Country Director John Murray McIntire who flew into Uganda on January 12 landed right into the middle of a perfect storm brewing between the government on one hand …

By Andrew M. Mwenda At 71 members strong, Uganda has the third largest cabinet in the world after North Korea and Kenya. This is in circumstances where the global average of ministers is 30. The average for Sub-Saharan Africa is 40. Even by regional standards, apart from Kenya, the average …

By Melina Raquel Platas When the NRA marched into Kampala in January of 1986, the new President, Yoweri Museveni, faced a daunting challenge: How to lead a country that had been in political turmoil for 15 years. Between independence in 1962 and the arrival of Museveni in 1986, executive power …

By Charles Onyango-Obbo Uganda is a medium-size African country, but at 71 has the continent’s second largest cabinet. Even more remarkable, it has the world’s third largest cabinet after North Korea! The question is, to what end? There is an increasing body of literature that argues, quite convincingly, that there …