BOU’s Crane Bank disaster

Why those who thought they were above the law will soon realise that this is not the case

THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | On February11, businessman Sudhir Ruparelia won yet another victory in the Supreme Court against Bank of Uganda over the fate of Crane Bank.

The central bank closed Crane Bank in October 2016 claiming it was undercapitalised. The latest ruling is a culmination of a running battle between the central bank and Sudhir for four years. The Supreme Court ruled that Crane Bank should revert to Sudhir and asked BOU to pay the costs. So far it is estimated the costs of the trial from the High Court through the Court of Appeal up to the Supreme Court amounts to Shs 200 billion.

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The Uganda-DRC case

How the ruling against Uganda presents Africa a golden opportunity to expose the hypocrisy of ICJ

THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | The decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Uganda for “looting” (among other crimes) the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) should be celebrated across Africa, Latin America and those nations of Asia and Oceania that were colonised. It has set an important precedent that, although unlikely to bear fruit, provides considerable grist for the demand-for-reparations mill. It will also help expose the court’s role in protecting the interests of the powerful against those of the weak.

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The Museveni-Mutebile conundrum

Why their opposing views still represent the ideological contention over Uganda’s destiny

THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | The memorial service of deceased central bank governor, Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, provided a rare glimpse into the ideological contests that shaped the nature of the economy of present-day Uganda. President Museveni said he had been misled by Mutebile to privatize Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB). Instead, he said, he should have listened to Ezra Suruma, then the bank’s Managing Director, who had argued passionately that the bank remains in the hands of the state of Uganda.

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America’s reckless bullying

How Washington’s disregard of Russia’s security concerns risks war over a misguided obsession with liberal democracy

THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | The crisis in Ukraine is threatening world peace. Russia has amassed over 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian border. America and her NATO allies claim it intends to invade and occupy that country. So they are sending arms to Ukraine and mobilising forces to deter any such move. Russia claims its intention is to deter America from integrating Ukraine into NATO. Whoever has studied war knows it is characterised by extreme uncertainty. Any miscommunication or misinformation or miscalculation can lead to a conflagration. Given the nuclear arsenals of the USA and Russia, if war broke out no part of the globe can escape its consequences. That is why the crisis over Ukraine should capture the attention of all of us.

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Mutebile, the passing of a giant

THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M MWENDA | At exactly 5.30am on Sunday morning January 23rd 2022, the governor of the Bank of Uganda, Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, breathed his last in a Nairobi hospital. He had been battling illness for several years. While Mutebile’s body has died, his deeds will continue to live in the memory of those he impacted and in the consequences of his decisions and actions. This is because at the end of our lives, a question stands: what did you do with your life? For many, a good and fulfilling life is service to themselves and their families. For others, a life well lived is a balance between the personal and the community. Mutebeli balanced the two very well.

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On 36 years of Museveni

Why his stabilising the political dispensation and sustaining economic growth is important

THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | On January 26, President Yoweri Museveni and NRM will mark 36 years in power. His is third longest serving presidency in Africa today, and one of the longest in the post-World War Two world. What is his legacy?

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Africa’s politics of fiction

It is incredible how politics in our part of the world is far removed from reality

THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | What determines the governance strategies elites employ in any given country? The philosopher, Karl Marx, argued that the way people organise themselves to solve their basic economic challenges (how to clothe, house and feed themselves) requires a “superstructure” of non economic activity and thought (governance). The superstructure cannot be picked randomly. It must reflect the foundation on which it is raised.   For Marx, therefore, no hunting community could evolve or use the legal framework of an industrial society and similarly, no industrial society could use the conception of law and government of a primitive hunting village.

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