Andrew Mwenda

Government’s misguided plan to turn Uganda into a country of prosperous peasants THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  The government of Uganda has been promoting the “Parish Development Model” (PDM). The program seeks to draw farmers from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture and thereby make them rich. It gives each individual …

Why this 35 years old kid will continue to live in the memory of many people for generations to come THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Saturday May 03 around 2.20am, fate struck. Rajiv Ruparelia, son of Uganda’s richest couple, Sudhir and Jyotsna Ruparelia, died in a horrible car accident. …

The life of a man whose political ideals were always in contradiction with his political analysis THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  Maj. John Kazoora, who died on Easter Sunday April 20th, 2025, was a ferocious political animal. I met him in 1996 during the 6th parliament when I was a …

The risks to reliable electricity distribution that Uganda faces as we transition from Umeme to UEDCL THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The refusal of government to renew the Umeme concession continues to intrigue me. It is a policy decision of monumental stupidity. First, the government has had to borrow $118m …

Why the US president’s seemingly crazy suggestion is the only viable solution to the Palestinian problem THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | For one and a half years, the world has watched in utter helplessness the merciless genocidal campaign Israel is conducting in Gaza to cleanse it of Palestinians. South Africa’s …

How this well-structured and managed organization may turn into a political battlefield, leaving Ugandans in the dark THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | On Monday March 31, 2025, the Umeme concession will come to an end. Its assets will revert to their owner, UEDCL. It is possible UEDCL will manage the …

Why the president and his handlers are misguided on their party’s electoral prospects in Kampala THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  I have been asking myself why someone in UPDF unleashed the violent crackdown on journalists and the people of Kawempe during recent byelection in that area. I talked to the …

THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda |  Vladmir Zelensky, the comedian-turned-president of Ukraine, had been puffed up (the Batoro call it “kuteera ekitigi”) by European leaders and the Biden regime (pun intended) into thinking he was a man of boundless importance. To use Akena Adoko’s words, of the hundreds of human bubbles …

How every action taken by Besigye since his arrest has played into the president’s hands THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Since he was abducted from Nairobi, Dr. Kizza Besigye has been involved in a series of tactical battles in court. Yet each victory he has secured has left his strategic …

  Inside the complicated relationship between Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The economist, Prof. Paul Collier, calculated that, holding other factors constant, economic growth in a neighbouring country can add up to 2% on the economic growth of your country. Therefore, a country having neighbours …