Uganda, Feb. 18 -- There are not many Ugandans who know Erik Prince. But those who take a keen interest in current affairs and international news have probably heard of him.

He is a former member of the US Navy Sea, Air and Land (SEAL), the elite special operations force, and is the founder of Academi (formerly Black Water), a private security firm remembered for its dark past in Iraq.

On February 8, he made shocking comments in an interview, but they were largely ignored by mainstream international media. He said Africa and Latin America were failing to govern themselves properly and needed to be (re)colonised.

About Africa, he said: "They are incapable of governing themselves and benefiting their citizens because the governments ther...