What the speaker’s victory over Kadaga in NRM elections tells us about where our country stands THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The resounding victory of Speaker Anita Among over former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga for the ceremonial position of deputy vice president of the NRM for the eastern region …
Read More »On Museveni’s roads crisis
How Uganda’s road development and maintenance failures don’t make rational sense THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | President Yoweri Museveni complained recently about the bad state of our national trunk roads. He blamed “people” who have “caused this disastrous state of our roads” as not understanding the ideology …
Read More »A warning from history
The transformation of democracy from a political form into a faith-based self-destructive secular religion THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | If one scans the political-intellectual map of the world today, one idea stands dominant: that the solution to the governance problems of any country is democracy. Even in those …
Read More »Inside Western hypocrisy
What the genocide in Gaza teaches us about the West and its claims to civilization and liberal democracy THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | We are witnessing, live on our smartphones and television screens, a genocide of the very first magnitude. It is not happening in the jungles of “the …
Read More »The real conquest of Africa
How the European intellectual domination of the African mind keeps our continent weak and divided THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Ask any African elite what impedes our continent’s development, and they will list a litany of locally generated problems: corruption, lack of democracy, disregard for human rights, weak institutions, …
Read More »Israel’s security dilemma
Why the Jewish state will never leave at peace unless it frees itself from its racial and religious bigotry THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | For the last week, Israel and Iran have been exchanging heavy blows. I had expected Israel to beat Iran badly, decisively, and quickly. From a strategic …
Read More »Trump’s gift to Africa
Why the US president’s visa restrictions and aid cuts are good for the development of our continent THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Many people are angry with President Donald Trump for canceling the visas of many students studying in the USA. This is bad for individual families and students. I …
Read More »The legacy of Cedric Babu
How this dynamic Ugandan combined a talent for sports with business, politics and entertainment THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last week, Uganda lost one of its most dynamic citizens, Cedric Babu Ndilima, to a heart complication. On social media, opposition activists, who claim to be humane, went on …
Read More »The White Man’s Burden
How the West seeks to dominate poor countries using the language of democracy and human rights THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | We return to EU ambassadors expressing concern over human rights abuses by the Uganda government at a meeting with Gen. Salim Saleh last month. The German ambassador made a …
Read More »Dangers of Western paternalism
Why Ugandans of all political persuasions should reject European interventions into our domestic affair THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Wednesday, May 21, I attended a meeting of Gen Salim Saleh with EU ambassadors in Gulu. What was reported in the press and social media video clips, were fragments that …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price