By John Stephen Katende

8^th Nov 2010

The African Union has reiterated its call to African nations to do everything within their power to quickly establish an ‘African Economic Community’ similar to the European one. (more…)

By Timothy Nsubuga

8^th Nov 2010

Re-elected President

Tanzania’s incumbent President Jakaya Kikwete has been returned as the country’s President following last weekend’s elections. Tanzania’s Electoral Commission said Mr Kikwete won just over 61% of the votes, beating candidates from opposition parties.

The main opposition leader, Willibrod Slaa, had called for a vote recount, but the commission said there were not enough irregularities to change the final result.

Mr Kikwete, the man who stole the accolade of “darling of the West” (more…)

By George Murumba

3^rd Nov 2010

Kabaka, under seige?

The controversial Kampala Capital City Bill 2009, a bill whose NRM supporters have said will “tame” Buganda Kabaka Ronald Mutebi and shrink his sphere of influence, has been passed by parliament.

The Bill will become law as soon as President Museveni assents to it.  When he does, Kabaka Mutebi’s sphere of influence will be significantly reduced because the city’s boundaries within his Kingdom will be redefined.

The new boundaries of Kampala city will cover Kampala Central, Nakawa, Kawempe, Makindye, Kira town council and Makindye-Sabagabo sub-county.  Makindye-Sabagabo sub-county covers (more…)

By Timothy Nsubuga

1^st Nov 2010

Mr. Ofwono Opondo

The ruling NRM government has attacked the British government over what it called “misplaced concerns” about the unevenness of the 2011 political playing field.

In his reaction to a story published by Uganda Correspondent under the title “unfair 2011 playing field worries British govt” on 1^st Nov, the NRM’s 2011 election task force spokesperson Mr. Ofwono Opondo dismissed the British concerns as “misplaced”.

“…We in NRM have read and understood the misplaced concerns (more…)

By Timothy Nsubuga

1^st Nov 2010

MP Mike Hancock

The British government has expressed serious concerns over the uneven political playing field in Uganda’s February 2011 general elections.

Responding to a question about “…the prospect of free, fair and peaceful elections in Uganda” tabled in the British parliament [The House of Commons] by Mr. Mike Hancock, the Liberal Democrat party MP for Portsmouth South last week, Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham said:

“…we do retain concerns about the evenness of the playing field between Government and Opposition, (more…)

By Sharon S. Tibenda

1^st Nov 2010

File Photo, Didier Drogba taking a shot

English Premiership football superstar Didier Drogba on Thursday 28^th Oct kicked off a United Nations sponsored campaign to push for free and fair elections in developing countries.

The Ivorian striker and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Development Programme unveiled a poster in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with a message urging voters to “Get on the pitch, and be a player. Register, Vote, Be heard.”

The poster features Drogba, (more…)

By John Stephen Katende

1^st Nov 2010

A tortured Ugandan man

A staggering one in every ten member states of the United Nations still torture their citizens, a UN rights expert has said.

Addressing Journalists in New York on 26^th Oct on what he called the “global crisis of detention”, Mr. Manfred Nowak, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment said he “…estimates that one out of every 10 UN Member State practices torture”.

He said of the 18 countries he had visited in his capacity as Special Rapporteur, all except Denmark carried out torture.  He also called for a global convention on the rights of detainees to ensure that their human rights are respected.

He said (more…)

By George Murumba

1^st Nov 2010

A spate of gun crime in Lira district has been blamed on the wide availability of weaponry left over from Uganda’s civil war, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting [IWPR] has reported. (more…)

By Sharon S. Tibenda

1^st Nov 2010

The world should revise its ambitions and abandon efforts to eradicate malaria and concentrate on controlling it instead, malaria researchers have said. (more…)

By John Stephen Katende

25^th Oct 2010

UPDF foot soldiers at a typical army detach

A serving UPDF General has become the first senior military officer in this election campaign season to declare that he will salute whoever wins.

The officer, a Major General by rank, made his declaration on condition of strict anonymity in an exclusive interview with Uganda Correspondent at Nile Resort Hotel in Jinja on Saturday 23^rd.

“I am a professional soldier.  I would therefore have no problem saluting Besigye, (more…)