The solution for Burundi

Do the suffering people of Burundi a favour in their ongoing civil war; don’t help them

Burundi seems to be sliding into chaos. Innocent civilians are being killed in droves. News reports from the capital, Bujumbura, are both sickening and horrifying. Everyone wants the international community to do something. It is human nature to be revolted by such human suffering and desire to do something to save the lives of innocents who become victims of such madness. But this human instinct for kindness is rarely a basis for good policy. On the contrary, contemporary history is replete with examples of interventions to save human lives that make a bad situation worse.

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The battle for Kagame’s soul

Inside the struggle by Rwandans to get their president to run again in 2017 

And so it was that on December 6, I was present at a Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) meeting to discuss the “third term”. Attended by over 3,000 party delegates, members wanted President Paul Kagame to pronounce himself – there and then – that he would be the presidential candidate of the RPF in the 2017 elections once the constitution is amended to remove term limits on the presidency. The meeting was charged. Delegate after delegate spoke with passion on why Kagame should be their presidential candidate.

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Besigye’s campaign promises in perspective

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate, Dr. candidate Kizza Besigye and his supporters claim President Yoweri Museveni has destroyed Uganda and their campaign is to save the country from catastrophe. Yet Besigye is making campaign promises that will require trillions of shillings to fund. If Museveni has destroyed the country and its economy, where is Besigye going to get the money? He says it is available in our treasury but is being misused on a bloated payroll of political appointees. Inadvertently Besigye is acknowledging that Uganda’s economy under Museveni has grown tremendously and is now able to generate enough revenues to pay better wages to public sector workers.

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