By Timothy Nsubuga – 2^nd-8^th Aug 2010

The Kiboko Squad

The mystery that has surrounded the command structure and indeed purpose of the infamous “Kiboko Squad” militia for months may be about to be unravelled.  Investigations conducted by Uganda Correspondent over the last few weeks have established a very strong link between Maj. General Kale Kayihura’s Uganda Police Force, the Uganda People’s Defence Force, and the “Kiboko Squad” militia that has been tormenting Ugandan opposition activists with impunity.  But let’s first remind ourselves how the “Kiboko Squad” made their unglamorous debut.

The Grand Entrance

The chosen occasion was the “Mabira Riots”! (more…)

By Sharon Tibenda – 2^nd-8^th Aug 2010

Dr. Olara Otunnu

Dr. Olara Otunnu, the President of one of Uganda’s top opposition political parties the Uganda Peoples’ Congress [UPC] is scheduled to address Ugandans in the United Kingdom for the first time since he was elected UPC Party President early this year.

The mobilisation message from the organisers that is doing the rounds online and via mobile phone SMS says “…we are delighted to inform you that Dr. Olara Otunnu the President of the UPC Party, former UN Under-Secretary and one of the leaders of the IPC will be visiting the United Kingdom and London in particular on the 14^th of August 2010”. (more…)

By Dennis Otim – 2^nd-8^th Aug 2010

Joseph Kony’s notorious Lord’s Resistance Army [LRA] rebels have killed several UPDF soldiers and wounded many more in clashes that took place between the two armies in the Central African Republic [CAR] recently.

The LRA were flashed out of Garamba forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] in a joint military offensive that was code named “Operation Lightening Thunder” that brought together troops from Uganda, DRC, and Sudan.  That operation came after the elusive LRA leader Joseph Kony failed to turn up for the signing ceremony of the Juba Peace Accord between the government of Uganda and the LRA.

One of the dead UPDF soldiers has been identified as Bosco Nyeko from Akara Parish, Mucwini Sub-County in Kitgum District.  A close relative of the fallen UPDF soldier confirmed the death to Uganda Correspondent via email. (more…)

By Timothy Nsubuga – 2^nd-8^th Aug 2010

Zuma & Zulu King

South African President Jacob Zuma has abolished six out of the thirteen traditional monarchies that were previously recognised by the South African government.  The Zulu and Xhosa Kingdoms of King Goodwill Zwelithini and King Zwelonke Sigcau respectively will be among the seven to be spared the axe.  The other six monarchies would end when the incumbent ruler dies; Zuma ruled.

The axe fell after a six-year old study commissioned by the South African government concluded that some of the monarchies had been created by the country’s former apartheid administration as a means of dividing South African blacks. (more…)

By Timothy Nsubuga – 19^th-25^th July 2010

EC boss Kiggundu

The ruling NRM government has vehemently defended what it called the “administrative” process that led to the reappointment in 2009 of the Electoral Commission [EC] Chairman Eng. Badru Kiggundu.

The legitimacy of the present Electoral Commission has caused considerable political controversy in the run up to next year’s general elections.  Uganda’s main opposition parties under their Inter Party Cooperation [IPC] umbrella have consistently argued that the Kiggundu-led electoral body is totally incompetent and openly biased in favour of Museveni’s ruling NRM-O party. (more…)

By Justin Tibenda – 19^th-25^th July 2010

7/11 bomb scene

The July 11^th bombs that ripped through the uneasy tranquillity of Kampala could, “in a strange way”, have been the best thing to have happened to President Museveni in nearly two years; says a Makerere University Political and Security Analyst.

Located a few kilometres from the shores of the great Lake Victoria, Uganda’s capital city Kampala has been the epicentre of many of Uganda’s greatest political struggles since the tiny East African country won its independence from Britain in 1962. (more…)