Norah Owaraga

Cognitive dissonance regarding African messiahs (2000-2015)

2015 Among fundamental transformations that President Museveni has achieved, is from being among those heralded ‘new generation of African leaders’ to being among the ‘African problem leaders’ he once criticized in his youth. Analysts now categorize President Museveni among those problematic leaders who cannot bear to retire. But then again, did President Museveni go through…

Unsustainable African messiahs who rule by decree

The Messiah Comes In the late 1980s and early 1990s, President Museveni was the ‘it-leader’, He was ‘our man’ and he was absolutely adored by the press, which predominantly told a single story of him and his leadership style. In 1986, when President Museveni took power, he promised an administration that was “not a mere…

“#WhatWouldMagufuliDo?” The Jury is Still Out

Ugandans are euphoric with the single story “#WhatWouldMagufuliDo”, which is trending on social media. Ugandan politicians and ordinary citizens alike want to be seen to be operating or buying into or promising to operate within the logic of the current president of Tanzania – His Excellency John Pombe Magufuli. On social media, the trending single…

Culturally, my first name is Alinga

A week after I was born I was named in an Iteso naming ceremony. I was named after the mother of my father, my grandmother, the matriarch Ajakait Joyce Mary Alinga, may her soul continue to rest in power. I was born in the 1960s, after Christianity had taken root in Uganda. At the time,…