Our Deputy Speaker, the Right Honourable Anita Annet Among, is truly a master of messaging via symbolism. That move she pulled to go to the vigil of the late Police Officer, Robert Bweyamba, at the late’s home, was a top notch maneuver using symbolism. At the time of his death, the late Bweyamba had was working for the Parliament of Uganda as a Driver, may his soul find eternal rest.

Since I first saw the imagery of her visit that the Deputy Speaker posted on her Twitter site, my imagination has run wild. There was the expensive wreath placed on a plastic chair. It was outside and without any attempts to cover the floor/veranda/ground of the uni-port (hut of iron sheets) in which the late lived with his family.

I wondered:

• What was the cost of the coffin which Parliament bought for late Officer Bweyamba in comparison to the house government provided him while he was alive to live with his family? I imagine it was quite expensive – cost of procurement process inclusive.
• What was the salary of late Officer Bweyamba that he had no choice but to live in the accommodation that government provided for him? Or was it simply the rule that he had to live in the barracks?
• How is it that this is okay with our legislators that the people that they trust to protect and guard their lives live in such squalor in slums side by side with affluent neighborhoods in which the legislators live, albeit the latter are wall-fenced off ?

Many questions. Whereas, the official reason for her visit was to condole with the family, the Deputy Speaker accompanied the imagery of her visit with an advocacy tweet:

“The welfare of police officers has to be addressed as a matter of urgency, because the situation at Nsambya is worrying.”

Deputy Speaker, Right Honourable Anita Annet Among

The Deputy Speaker’s visit to condole with late Bweyamba’s loved ones at the late’s home generated the most powerful images in Uganda on International Women’s Day 2022. What better way to humanize the plight of our men and women in uniform? What better way to highlight the need for a better situation for the families of men and women in Uniform?

Her symbolic act embodies the very essence of the reason why women’s day was established – celebrating women’s achievements and amplifying women’s voices, among others. The jury is still out on what will come of it, but certainly, the Deputy Speaker’s commemoration of International Women’s Day 2022 was on point.