Oboth Oboth and the illusion of choice COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | Parliamentary elections are usually defined by late-night lobbying and shifting alliances, but the race to elect a new Speaker was effectively ended when Jacob Oboth Oboth secured an early endorsement from Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. …
Read More »The crown prince doctrine, from Riyadh to Kampala
How the Saudi playbook of dynastic power and managed succession is unfolding in Uganda NEWS ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | In the grand theaters of global power, absolute rulers have long faced the same ultimate anxiety: how to ensure the empire outlives the emperor. Today, from the sun-scorched palaces …
Read More »The Ides of Among
The Fall of Uganda’s Parliamentary Caesar COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | The political arena of Kampala has long resembled a modern Colosseum, but no one quite expected the Senate floor to turn so decisively on its chief architect. For four years, Speaker Anita Among ruled the August …
Read More »Museveni VII
The long running show adds another season COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | At exactly 11:50am, beneath Kampala’s unforgiving midday sun, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni took the oath of office at the Kololo Independence Grounds for another term as a 21-gun salute cracked across the capital, announcing not so …
Read More »East Africa’s ports are busy, but stuck on the wrong side of global trade
Despite rapid growth and heavy investment, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam remain gateway ports rather than global hubs, as geography keeps East Africa just outside the main currents of world shipping NEWS ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | Geography, economists often say, is destiny. For East Africa, it may also …
Read More »Sudan’s prolonged war and Uganda’s regional gamble
US-Iran war has relegated Sudan conflict to the back burner NEWS ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | Three years into Sudan’s brutal war, the country has become a fractured map of collapsing cities, displaced families, and shifting frontlines that show no sign of settling. What began as a power struggle …
Read More »Thrones wobble?
Anita Among’s carefully built dominance faces its first real political stress test as Nobert Mao and others join the race for speakership COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | The once-seemingly impenetrable fortress surrounding Speaker Anita Among is showing its first visible cracks. The first signs emerged months ago …
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 »Museveni, Muhoozi court US General to mend Kla-Washington ties
U.S. sanctions have targeted Ugandan leaders over rights abuses, corruption, and opposition repression COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | Last week, a retired U.S. general drew widespread attention in Kampala with a rare, high-profile visit, moving with unusual access through Uganda’s senior political and military circles. During his stay, …
Read More »Unmuted: Court strikes down Uganda’s speech law
TikTokers and X users bore the brunt of the Computer Misuse Act Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Uganda’s long-running battle over digital freedom registered a significant victory on March 17 when the Constitutional Court swept the Computer Misuse Act — one of the country’s most controversial speech …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price