"I write what I like," like Steve Biko
“Matthew Kanyamunyu requested court to halt his murder trial to allow time to complete the traditional justice process and added that he will seek the Judiciary’s Plea Bargain mechanism that provides for a lenient sentence upon confession of guilt… Kanyamunyu wants court to allow him first complete the Acholi traditional reconciliation mechanism locally known as… Continue reading Kanyamunyu chooses to face Acholi Justice
“Among Ugandans, nobody swears. Everybody is at least bilingual - English and your home language.”Francisco Toro It is quite likely that because of the power dynamics between Toro and the Ugandans that he associated with, he never ever heard any of them swear in his presence. This does not mean that “nobody swears” in Uganda.… Continue reading Expat Gaze Part 5 – Ugandans’ language
“The family name comes first, the "first name" comes second. (And) Ugandan names are hellish to pronounce.”Francisco Toro Uganda’s sustaining legacies of colonialism include one’s “first name” not being their “family name”; and in many cases not a Ugandan name. Our colonizers required that we have their names as our "religious names"; and it is… Continue reading Expat Gaze Part 4 – Ugandan Names
A story in The Guardian, “Interview Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi: ‘Life is about making myth’,” has annoyed me. I first saw it when its link was shared on social media with the following comment extracted from it: "Feminism is failing to take hold in Uganda because of the discrepancy between middle-class and working-class women." I clicked… Continue reading Feminism is within each culture; none superior
These past couple of days, I have been reflecting on the power of a name. Specifically, the meaning to which we attach to our name; the meaning that others attach to our name; and what reactions our name elicits. Does our name keep us rooted within the culture of our ancestors or does it render… Continue reading Makerere fire is ancestors’ warning: decolonize
