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 …
Read More »On Museveni’s PDM tours
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 …
Read More »How Uganda has fallen apart
The collapse of governance and the consequences for our country because of an aging president THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Uganda is in deep trouble. The center is no longer holding. The country is literally falling apart. And there is no rescue on the horizon. The NRM government lost …
Read More »The legacy of Rajiv Ruparelia
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. …
Read More »John Kazoora, a tribute
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 …
Read More »Dark days ahead for Uganda
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 …
Read More »The foundation of Trump’s tariffs
How the American president is using the playbook his predecessors have used for far too long THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I am an admirer of President Donald Trump because I find him more realistic about issues and brutally frank in the way he expresses himself. He lacks the hypocrisy and …
Read More »Trump has a point on Gaza
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 …
Read More »The likely future of UEDCL
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 …
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