THE LAST WORD

How reliance on misguided cultural and nationalistic sentiments are driving Uganda into a bad debt situation THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Our country is headed directly into the storms of economic crisis. And it is unlikely it can pull itself back from the brink. This is because too much sentiment …

Why we African elites should stop looking at individual leaders for impediments to our development. THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On April 12, President Yoweri Museveni wrote a very good article on the need for Uganda to add value to the raw materials she produces and exports. Museveni has always …

How our mindless quest for development using Western institutions often leads our nations to disaster THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I have always wanted to write a book about political governance in Africa. This is because [most of the time] whenever I read anything on governance in Africa: an academic …

How this small and poor country in Africa that should be irrelevant has become a beacon of hope THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last Sunday, Rwanda commemorated 30 years since the genocide against the Tutsi. I was in Kigali to attend the colorful commemoration that was attended by a large …

How deeply entrenched cultural prejudices and bigotry took hold of our otherwise intelligent judges THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court upheld the retrogressive Anti Homosexuality Act (AHA). Although it struck down four provisions of this barbaric law, it left most of the act intact, declaring its …

Why I feel sympathy for the president even when he embraces a speaker who has blatantly looted public funds THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | After the hue and cry on social media against our looting speaker of parliament, Anita Among, President Yoweri Museveni appeared in her constituency with her. It …

How a journey from a small town in northern Uganda to our capital city feels like from the first world to the third world THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Anaka is a small town on the road between Gulu and Nwoya, just before you enter the highway to Arua. Why …

Why we need to rethink the ethics of our inherited state institutions and the democratic politics that underpin them. THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The revelations of massive abuse of public resources by our legislators led by the speaker, Anita Among, continues to animate public debate on social and traditional …

How Ugandan commentators are missing the story behind speaker Among’s loot of public funds THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The hashtag parliamentary exhibition has caused a storm on social media. The speaker of our parliament, Hon. Anita Among, and her apparatchik have been caught with their fingers deep inside the …

Why the deployment of international forces without addressing internal problems will achieve nothing. THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | There is “fresh” fighting in the eastern Democratic DRC between government forces and the predominantly Tutsi rebel group, M23. I put fresh in inverted comas because DRC has been at war almost …