US-Israel war on Iran heightens fears on air travel safety Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | There were 51 accidents in 2025 among 38.7 million flights, according to the annual safety report of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Of these, eight were fatal, most prominently the crash of …
Read More »Uganda’s digital payments test
As Uganda accelerates its cashless ambitions, there is debate about whether it can truly leave cash behind Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Uganda’s financial ecosystem has made a tremendous shift towards mobile money transactions — led by platforms like MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda — which now move trillions …
Read More »Missiles in the Gulf, inflation in East Africa
Rising oil prices, disrupted air travel, and a shift in Sudan’s conflict COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | The US–Israeli war against Iran may be unfolding thousands of kilometres away, but its consequences are already being felt far beyond the Middle East. For East Africa’s fast-growing economies—Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania—the …
Read More »Uganda’s dilemma on Sudan
Analysts say Museveni-Dagalo meeting has created ‘political normalisation of RSF’ Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Uganda’s mediation role on Sudan, which has been locked in a civil war for almost three years, has caused consternation among those watching the conflict and hoping for a peaceful resolution. Last November, President …
Read More »Emirates upgrades Entebbe service with next generation A350
The deployment is part of a broader fleet modernisation programme across the airline’s network Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | In a sign of how Emirates values its Ugandan customers, the airline is upgrading its service to Entebbe International Airport with the next generation A350, the ultra modern aircraft transforming …
Read More »US threatens sanctions on Gen. Muhoozi
What next after top US senator says CDF “crossed a red line”? Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | A tweet from the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jim Risch to Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces, cast the spotlight on US-Uganda diplomatic relations in the …
Read More »Museveni & Muhoozi vs Bobi Wine
Uganda’s power struggle enters a new phase COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | What will Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, do next? Will he emerge from hiding, and if so, when? These are the questions on many minds as the 2026 presidential candidate enters his third week in …
Read More »Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi
Remand of MP and Bobi Wine ally revives fears of MP Ssegirinya’s torture and death COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | Fears for the life of outgoing Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi have intensified after he was charged with terrorism and remanded to Kitalya Prison, a move that has …
Read More »The cost of Uganda’s internet shutdown
Freedom of speech, constitutional rights, electoral transparency and business loss Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | On the evening of Jan 13, two days to a highly anticipated presidential election, Uganda went off grid as the government through the Uganda Communications Commission shut down the internet leaving millions of people …
Read More »Five more years, again
Museveni bounces back with a decisive 71% victory, his highest since 1996, amid NUP’s protest vote COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | In his seventh election and at the ripe old age of 81 years, President Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Kaguta Museveni appears to have set a new record in his 40-year …
Read More »
The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price