December 2007

End of Days posted on December 31, 2007 - 11:34am

Flickr.com Photo from Laurel Harrish.

Kenyan Elections posted on December 31, 2007 - 11:20am
You should by now know that parts of Kenya are on the brink of full-blown violence following the announcement that Mwai Kibaki has won the hotly disputed Kenyan elections. The Economist has posted an analysis of Kenya's unsound election. Much thanks to DEMOSH who posted images of the Kenyan elections on Flickr.
WHATEVER IT TAKES posted on December 29, 2007 - 2:12pm

The year was 1994 at a prayer breakfast in a hotel in Washington when one of the several hundred participants, Mother Teresa (RIP) made her famous speech, “You did unto me”. And it was that speech that I vividly recall Mother Teresa quoting from John the Apostle when she said something to the effect of it not being enough for us to say that we love God and leaving out our ‘neighbour’. St. John actually writes that you are a liar if you say you love God and don’t love your neighbour. How can one love God whom they cannot see and yet hate one’s neighbour whom they can see? Somebody killed Benazir Bhutto last Thursday.

'Chiluba' vs. 'Kaunda': Part II posted on December 27, 2007 - 3:09pm
I'm no enthusiastic admirer of African politics but as Kenyans go to the polls today to elect a new president, I can't contain myself to see if orange juice will overcome the charm of incumbency.
What goes around... posted on December 25, 2007 - 7:36pm

In a final moment of defiance, he refused a hood to cover his eyes. Hours after Saddam faced the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power, Iraqi state television showed grainy video of what it said was his body, the head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle. A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam's conviction and execution before sunrise said he was shown the body because "everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed." "Now, he is in the garbage of history," said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail. The post-execution footage showed the man identified as Saddam lying on a stretcher, covered in a white shroud.

Merry Christmas pips posted on December 24, 2007 - 10:35am

Enjoy your holiday.And I hope the true meaning of christmas sinks in your system.You can come for a piece of cake.

Creative Marketing posted on December 24, 2007 - 3:01am
This past summer I was in Toronto for a couple of days, and saw an artist working on a chalk drawing on the sidewalk. His work was impressive, so i guess it was a matter of time before someone approached him for a marketing gig to promote the launch of the new Alicia Keys album. With all the artists and album launches in Kampala, maybe... But then again maybe not. Even if the artists in Kampala could find a piece of sidewalk to draw on, the chances of getting arrested for vandalism is pretty high. Still, one hopes.
One and one makes a December bundle posted on December 24, 2007 - 12:23am

It rains every December. It snows every December. It's cold every December. It's hot every December. Depending on where you might be on this globe, there's a extreme of weather every December. This 'December rite of custom' brings us closer together as family, even as a human race at this time of year. I particularly love the way even the hardest of hearts are somewhat softened every December; if not by the story of Christmas, then by the hope of making amends and getting into a New Year at peace with most people, if not everyone. Thank God for December. I have a fetish for pens and I just got myself two new ones this morning, that really struck my sight but which I am sure I shall not have need of now; the little man at the duty-free shop took too much trouble explaining how the mercury enabled the pen to write better, et al. I forgot to tell him I had more than enough mercury pens already since I was more fascinated by his thick rimmed glasses.

If you have not already done so, read The Observer article by Moses Talemwa on unregulated Savings and Credit Co-operative Organisations (SACCOs). The article highlights the story of a woman who has been defrauded by a microfinance institution in Uganda. The fraud was made possible primarily because SACCOs operate without any state oversight. This unusual situation occurred when the government created a post for the Minister of State for Micro-Finance, thereby taking regulatory responsibility for microfinance institutions away from the Central Bank. It was not the wisest decision in retrospect, and was probably made so that the government would be well positioned to take credit for the positive developments that microfinance can bring to Uganda's economy.
Safaricom IPO is a for test Uganda's Securities Exchange posted on December 21, 2007 - 12:51pm
Safaricom's decision to float its IPO on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) has sent ripples through the financial market in Kampala. Seen largely as a vote of confidence for the young exchange, the move may prove to be anything but. The excitement is justifiable. Safaricom boasts a dominant market share in Kenya and has an innovative mobile-payment scheme known as M-PESA that is paving the way for mobile banking in East Africa. That innovation is paying off on the balance sheets. In March 2007, the mobile operator posted an impressive after-tax profit of $190 million, up 42.5 percent from the previous year.
Farmers’ education is indispensable posted on December 20, 2007 - 11:37pm
Like the biblical prodigal son who “came back to himself” after spending a while in the wilderness of confusion, Government has finally made a U-turn and rescinded its unwarranted five-month suspension of NAADS. By restoring NAADS, government has only corrected a deliberate fault and does not deserve any applause. In a country where farming is still entirely dependant on weather, farmers strictly align their activities to weather patterns. Whoever wants to support them must synchronise their support with their seasonal calendar. Government should therefore apologise for the gross disruption it caused on farming activities.
The 2007 UNDP Human Development Report contains very bad news for those who have been pedalling a rosy portrait of a country that has been having a near double-digit rate of economic development over the last 20 years. In addition to dropping ten points on the global Human Development Index over the last year alone (2006/2007), Uganda according to the report, has reduced its dependence on agriculture – not because farmers have found better livelihood options, but due to desertion of the increasingly risky, loss-making, poverty-entrenching farming enterprises. But why this contradicting state of affairs?
The first 10 years of Poverty Action Fund is woeful posted on December 20, 2007 - 10:07pm
I have always been complementary about Uganda’s policy and programmatic orientation towards poverty alleviation. We have a PEAP (Poverty Alleviation Plan); the PMA (Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture); NAADS (National Agricultural Advisory Services); Bona Baggagawale (prosperity for all); and other initiatives. All these poverty alleviation strategies are conceptually vibrant. What I find increasingly baffling though is how such vibrancy could fail to catalyse improved household incomes – especially in the rural areas.
The Dance posted on December 20, 2007 - 7:08pm
This is a little story of showtime as I remember it back in the day. Every Christmas was fond but fonder was funky Dad dancing waltz with lovely Mom. Mom's most precious possession was a tape of Dolly Parton's greatest hits. And time always stood still while Dad whirled her around as the unforgettable Jolene played. It was electrifying watching the rippling love in their eyes.
Samite Mulondo: an underrated artist posted on December 19, 2007 - 1:25am
Over the past five years Uganda's music scene has been witness to an incredible revival. During that time, Jose Chameleone, Ngoni, Mesach Semakula and Juliana Kanyomozi have become household names. Their success is not for maught: their songs have compelling lyrics and captivating melodies, but their popularity has obscured other great talents whose sounds may not be quite as lucrative for clubs and radio stations. It is for this reason that most Ugandans have not heard of Samite Mulondo. Background Samite was born and raised in Uganda, where his grandfather taught him to play the traditional flute. Recognizing his talents, a high school teacher in Kampala put a western flute in his hands putting him on the path to become one of the most highly acclaimed flutists in East Africa.
That was easy... posted on December 18, 2007 - 5:16pm

I am finally here, still confused at my inability to blog lately. May be I ought to take a real break like 27th and Magoo did. Doesn’t some study say something about people needing a holiday? Oh! even some song says lovers need that too.Anyhow, I think I will do it when I finally take leave. Can you imagine my leave for 2007 is being taken in 2008 and it was meant to be on 1st Jan but damn! Have to wait for someone else to get back from their leave on 7th.Am up to my **** with fatigue. To be honest, work is not even working out great coz of it.

December 2007 posted on December 18, 2007 - 12:46pm

Taxi detours off the main road, to circumvent the traffic jam by squirreling through the pathways inside this neighbourhood. At some point I am looking through the open door of a guy's house. His walls are painted blue. Suddenly I feel disappointed. And I know it isn't the mundane discontentment that every sunset settles like dust over lives like mine. It is greater.  I feel let down by this millennium. The whole thing should have been... more outstanding. I don't expect any favours, I didn't expect life to necessarily be better, but I thought it would match the spectacle it came with. I remember the last night of 1999, lying flat on my back on the lawns of Speke Resort, drunk witless, fireworks raging above me ripping the sky to shreds.

War Dance: a new story for an old song posted on December 18, 2007 - 11:23am
War Dance is the latest in a line of documentaries made by Americans about the war in Northern Uganda. Like Invisible Children before it, War Dance focuses on how children have been affected by the 20 year conflict. But unlike previous documentaries though, this one is not retelling a tragedy, playing on audience guilt, or trying to sell us of why it is cool to care. Instead the documentary focuses on how music is giving those children a chance to heal—without any help from east or west. The story follows the lives of 3 children who are trying to help their school win the National Music Competition:
I’ve been saying for years that prayer and profit aren’t complementary.  Any really shrewd, de-regulated capitalist does not want religious strictures getting in the way of business, like having to close on the Sabbath, or not sell certain non-religious products.  Outlaw condoms?  Ban liquor or cigarettes?  No porn in hotel rooms?  Censor Victoria’s Secret?  Stop all gambling?  Now Huckabee is scaring those supply-side Repubs and Arianna Huffington has nailed the quandry quite nicely.  The fundamentalist rabble from America’s endless shantytowns and ”mobile home estates” may be about to storm (metaphorically) the country club and guillotine (politicially) all those high living profit-lovers.
Time to legalize sportstitution posted on December 17, 2007 - 7:12pm
A friend asked, “Whaddaya think of the baseball steroids story?”  I think it’s another nexus where prayer and profit diverge.  Another example of how the Reagan Revolution in conservative American politics cannot hold.  Puritanical social values (like disliking drugs) do not jibe with the prevalent business or social ethic of America.  Make and and sell if for as much as the market will bear.  Steroids?  Fine. The stronger the better.  The social conservatives would have nobody using any drug NOT approved by their belief system.  For Mormons this would even include caffeine and alcohol, two mighty stimulants to the U.S. economy.  Shut down Budweiser and Starbuck’s?  Close down SmithKlein and Bayer?
Ascend posted on December 14, 2007 - 8:58pm

It has been a yearFull of virtuesAnd of vicesToo much to bearIt is coming to an endBut we can mendWhat we have brokenAs our New year’s token

In the news this week: December 7th posted on December 8, 2007 - 12:30am
In the news this week: a new Ebola virus has hit western Uganda; Kony has been given one month to leave the DRC; The falling U.S. dollar may harm Uganda's economy; Rising food prices have implications for the government's industrialization policies; and World Cup qualifiers.
Mr Santa posted on December 7, 2007 - 8:11pm

I can hear the bellsWhat is happening?Decorations are filledAllover the sitting roomEveryone in the houseIs having a blastThen Amanda tells meThat Santa Claus is coming!And I wonderWhy he is comingAnd she tells meThat hey! Christ is bornOh what is Christmas?Christmas is a special daySo what shall we do?We should celebrate our Christ is bornPartying, thanking, praising JesusPraising, partying, thanking JesusThanking, praising, partying for JesusMr. Santa ClausWhat should I ask?Maybe a little rain for the dayBecause I want the vegetation to smileThank you ClausI never thought my dream could come trueTo you allPut your hands up and sing with meThank you Mr. SantaFor giving us giftsWe appreciate your

posted on December 7, 2007 - 4:27pm

THE FIRST SUGGETION...The current surge of Ebola problems has caused quite a stir in the country. you would think that with all the CHOGM money the government would afford to contain the situation, if not with ease then with difficulty, you know?

Free market hooey posted on December 6, 2007 - 4:18am
Free markets, yeah, yeah, yeah.  That’s been the mantra in America ever since Reagan’s handlers rode out of the wild west with the theme that goverment is bad and regulation is government at its worst.  So free markets, neo-Darwinism, have reigned supreme.  From airlines to television to energy companies we’ve had de-regulation. Read: open the gates for greed and innovation.  Not all change and corporate freedom is bad, but for every brilliant CEO there’s an Enron, for every risk there’s a taker, for every loop there’ll be a hole, for every share-holder value speech there’s a downside for the public.
Is this good news, or what? Pentagon to lay-off thousands posted on December 6, 2007 - 3:01am
There are threats being bandied about that the Pentagon will lay off up to 200,000 civilian employees and contractors if more money is not forthcoming.  Is this good news for the rest of the world or what?  A peaceful holiday present from the most warlike state on the planet.  And all unintended.  We are not going to free those guys down in GITMO, but we’ll lay off all the people crunching numbers for the bombing of Iran, or maybe some other yet undisclosed military adventure brewing before Dick Cheney leaves office.
IN da shadow of da Almighty posted on December 5, 2007 - 6:24pm

Da safest place u can ever beWhere secrets well up in yo bellyWhispers in secret(love), thunders in public(judgement)And after u chew on that choco-lateu spit em out for menLighting da path for da unschooled in the secrets of da LordHis secrets are with those that fear HimThose dat understand His desire for men to seek His face.Age aint nothing but a number, i pray that even the youngerBegin to hunger(Da T.R.U.T.H) for the manifestation of His gloryAnd begin to desire to serve Him.

Web reDesign Awards November 2007 posted on December 5, 2007 - 12:24am
I am a big fan of great design, and I wanted to do something to promote the efforts some Ugandans are making to bring great looking sites to the web. So every month, if I see something great, I will applaud it here. And if I see something horrible, I will call that out too. I wont see everything though, so you are welcome to recommend a site you know and love, or hate. Best Site: Node Six Benge and his team took what was already a great looking site and made it better. Going with a black background is always risky, but I think they have pulled it off quite well. The new site is still clean, and more importantly, it says that this company really knows what it is doing on the web. Love this look.
Blogging in Uganda (Part 7): GayUganda posted on December 3, 2007 - 9:17pm
On the subject of homosexuality in Uganda, opinions abound. Back in 1999, President Museveni made his position clear by asking the police to arrest gays. His authority notwithstanding, the Sexual Minorities Groups in Uganda held a press conference in August to demand for their rights. Their lobby drew a response from former Justice Minister Mayanja Nkanji in which he called homosexuality and lesbianism a morally corrupting influence. Others have taken their chance to defend the gay community. Now in the blogosphere, one gay Ugandan is speaking for himself.
The Gem posted on December 3, 2007 - 8:48pm
The village belle was not amused I pointed the camera her way. Look at the beads, the hairstyle and the lips!Look at the daring look in her eyesAnd the strong spirit about her!
Chapter. Taata W’abaana posted on December 3, 2007 - 5:01pm
Tonight we are going to keep the paying guests awake with song and drums and celebration of all our dreams. Tonight, tonight, the highway’s bright. We’ll go racing in the streets. Over the lawns minute orbs of spilt beer clinging onto blades of grass with a shine like jewels. Three hundred hungry fans sit on plastic lawn chairs, falling away from a raised stage. The stage is lit a blazing yellow. The large and extravagantly coloured logos of brewers and a mobile phone service company stand behind and to either side. In between is a bare square of wood. That is what we beam our hungry eyes at, waiting for the singers to leap up and set our fantasies to rhyme and to a clapping raga beat.
It’s sadistic to ridicule family planning posted on December 3, 2007 - 2:24pm
In 1798, the Rev Thomas Robert Malthus raised a storm of international controversy when he anonymously published an essay on the principle of population and society. Through the essay, he warned that disparity between the rate of population growth and the slower increase in food supply would lead to war, famine, and disease. Malthus’s conclusions were dismissed then, and ever since as un-researched, misleading and illusionary. More than 200 years later (1972), the “Club of Rome,” an elitist association of scholars, businessmen and politicians published an even more controversial report on “the predicament of mankind.” Their article modelled an ultimate uncontrollable crash of both population and industrial production due to exhaustion of physical resources such as cultivable land, minerals and the earth’s capacity to absorb pollution.
Walking down memory lane - Part II posted on December 3, 2007 - 2:04pm

JINJA ROAD - I stand at the new Kitgum House junction for a couple of minutes to catch my breath. I remember the old round-about, with its power substation and shrubs and wonder why it has taken us several years to realise that round-abouts are an inferior form of traffic control only useful for one-street towns.The junction is new but driving habits die hard. There is a express lane down from Garden City for motorists headed out of the city towards Jinja road but this is clogged by cars trying to sneak back into the lane for cars headed towards Mukwano! I look up and see the cameras installed as part of the CHOGM package and wonder hwo they are supposed to work. They don't seem to be pointed at the cars, so they are not really traffic cameras, and I don't think anyone gets their pockets picked at a busy junction. Well, you never know.

Walking down memory lane - Part II posted on December 3, 2007 - 2:04pm
JINJA ROAD - I stand at the new Kitgum House junction for a couple of minutes to catch my breath. I remember the old round-about, with its power substation and shrubs and wonder why it has taken us several years to realise that round-abouts are an inferior form of traffic control only useful for one-street towns. The junction is new but driving habits die hard. There is a express lane down from Garden City for motorists headed out of the city towards Jinja road but this is clogged by cars trying to sneak back into the lane for cars headed towards Mukwano! I look up and see the cameras installed as part of the CHOGM package and wonder hwo they are supposed to work. They don't seem to be pointed at the cars, so they are not really traffic cameras, and I don't think anyone gets their pockets picked at a busy junction. Well, you never know.
Battle of the Skies posted on December 3, 2007 - 1:10pm

Well finally we have another David trying to take on Goliath. This time in the name of Air Uganda. We can only hold our breath and hope not to turn blue!Air Uganda is a consortium that is made up of Aga Khan Development Network and the meridian airlines group from Italy. This is clearly a total departure form the amateurish attempts of the East African airlines and the VIA to take on Goliath (Kenya Airways). This is a well heeled, monied and managerialy experienced outfit, which they have to be because KQ takes no prisoners.

The Question posted on December 2, 2007 - 8:10pm
"The time is up, the days are hot. Can't you see?" --from a song by Ugandan gospel rap artists, Pure Souls I love going to church on Sunday because I love watching and hearing preachers preach. But today teaching replaced preaching. And that just blew me away. That, plus the voice and intellect of the man that stood behind the lectern solving the mystery of the incarnation of God. I know Jesus Christ came to save man but why He assumed the form of God and man yet He could have accomplished his mission without having to enter Mary's womb, has long perplexed my reasoning capacity. Today I learned it came about that man, who at the beginning was meant to live and enjoy fellowship with God, lost qualification the day he was deceived into rebellion by Satan.
Together posted on December 1, 2007 - 1:03pm

I can feel the pain inside my heartFor the turning of the world upside downMany people dying now and thenBecause of AIDSMany children living without parentsAnd they end up becoming street kidsBegging here and there, now and thenBecause of no aidSo what shall we do?In order to fight this scourgeCoz we need to get togetherFighting against AIDS requires unityAIDS is dangerousAnd DeadlyIt got no cureWe should be carefulAbout this diseaseAbstinence is the wayFor teenagersAnd faithfulness for married