Dear MR President.
I write this letter hoping it finds you in perfect health addressing the status quo of the nation i once was proud to call my home. A thousand apologies i had to copy in those deemed unfit to lead this country or unfit to speak with dignity to your subjects and further apologies that your wife fell victim to the same system we have become of, im sorry we all are victims. With this so i may start.
I am a filmmaker and artivist with no political ambitions just like 99.9% of the subjects you lead and so i hope this wont be read with bias to your throne. For long we have been told to keep quiet,watch our backs and not even let the shadows of our own beings be trusted but i believe a man that takes no risk will forever watch the beauty of the mountain from a far and die hoping its the best thing ever, what if they tried hiking some day?
The past week has seen rise of a radical scholar who wont stop at nothing to put across a point but too bad she picked a bone with a wrong person… after all society has taught us that some people are more equal than others but then history will further remind us that the that the French revolution of 1789 were sparked off by reckless remarks by Queen Maria Antonentte who echoed the words “if they cant afford bread,let them buy cakes” at the time the peasants couldn’t afford a meal so pardon me if i still think its no coincidence radicals like Nyanzi have been born of similar occurrences as those of the Bourbon Monarchy.
My faint memories recall at the age of 6 in 1996 as a plane flew over the skies above us and all the neighbors ran out of the houses chanting “No change Museveni”, you were so popular that as a kid i always waved “bye bye Museveni” to every plane that flew up in the skies coz “wow we are blessed to have him”. You over threw a regime that stopped at nothing to suck blood out of its people, you were Moses the children of Israel had waited generations to walk them out of Egypt, you were an example of “the son of the African soil” in the words of Kwame Nkuruma the African states man.
Time’s gone by, things have changed. I walk back down the memory lane in my SST books and cant locate UCB the biggest Ugandan bank i gave as an answer, Uganda Coffee Marketing board that was a hub and hope to all coffee growers, Uganda Electricity Board (UEB), Uganda Diary cooperation among other state cooperatives! How did we get here? where do we go on from here? An economy next to Singapore when you came into power, how do we rally today? The price of sugar has increased every week by 200shs kilo in the past 1 month but im sure its something you wont know about as you don’t consume in kilos and neither do you shop for yourself.
No Stella Nyanzi is no mistake and make no mistake that i condone the mode of her approach towards addressing the common mans issues but neither do i condemn her methodology as the saying goes “desperate times call for desperate measures” and so be it. Stella Nyanzi is not who we discovered but rather who you made and make no mistake her revolution has just begun. In the words of rapper Tupac “Im not saying im going to change the world but i guarantee you i will spark the brains that will change the world some day”.
Times changed but you paid a blind eye and let the subjects embrace it but as you stand down in the jungle laughing at the blue testicles of the monkey swing, don’t forget he is safe high the tree when the lion comes attacking from the ground and thats where we are today. We live in the era of social media which has transformed the way cards are played, its nolonger about who is speaking but rather how far have they gone and as we speak Stella Nyanzi knows her audience and is ready to push the button further for her to be heard.
In an era where 95% of todays role models 20 years ago would be an example of who not to be, Stella Nyanzi presents the best option representing the sentiments of the oppressed as they relate to her nudity and vulgar expression not as the 50 year old would but rather a 25 year old who would rather focus on the poetry and lyricsm involved and here is the catch…. over 80% of Uganda’s population falls under the age of 40,the rest of the math go figure the figures.
You won’t blame Ugandans for turning to Stella Nyanzi because those elected into the house of gold (the parliament) have betrayed the nation for way too long as they would rather keep mining public funds as 50 women die in labor each day because they cant afford 1000ush , In a country where politicians would rather have 200M USH cars with no tarmac road in their constituency because their homes are in Muyenga, where iPads are an essential for members of parliament while girls in their constituency drop out of school because they have no access to sanitary pads so pardon me if Stella Nyanzi took jabs at the minister in regards to her remarks!
The opposition would rather oppose the opposition while NRM parliamentarians are public robbers that would stop at nothing to squander a few more bucks. Nobert Mao would rather make remarks on how Betty Nabooze’s chances of winning his throne are as those of her winning the miss Uganda than dissect the ministers remarks on sanitary pads, then who speaks for the people?
While the poor are evicted from wetlands that dried up 15 years ago, fresh wetlands are given away with grace to the rich! Forests destroyed for industrial parks and vast lands given to investors with incentives wanaichi never have the privilege to invest, how do you expect us to compete?
Painful of all is the poor working conditions with low pay that we are subjected to but yet still 90% of the profits expatriated;how shall we build the economy? The most expensive secondary schools 3 years ago paid 800k, how do i educate my son today when the average tuition fees are 1.5M for secondary school? Isnt school a wasteful investment given the fact that only 5% get those jobs? Still politicians will pay a blind eye for as long as the check keeps coming!
Dear opposition what if your judgement wasn’t clouded by hate? What if the blame game wasn’t the end game? What exposing the governments weaknesses wasn’t our center goal but rather building a stronger nation you want to see? What if we were the change we preach about?
With Odongo Otto silent, Beatrice Anywar elusive, Munyagwa ambitious, don’t [you think] if Stella Nyanzi provides the voice to the voiceless demeaning as her methods may be after all intelligence has a price tag no wonder the likes of Andrew Mwenda and Owana switched lanes as soon as checks came in so why would we trust those that don’t walk in our pain? In the words of Tupac “Politicians are hypocrites,they don’t wanna listen” so how do we get them to listen? In a country with the most expensive roads in the world that are eroded away by soil erosion before completion and no culprits brought to book;in a country where those with body guards die like dogs,how do we trust intelligence with Stella Nyanzi offering a better deal?
Mr Rugunda please make no mistake to regulate social media,it offers a better deal than just Stella Nyanzi believe me. Social media is great diversion for an idle mind with no rent or food for as long as they can read a Frank Gashuma post or watch a Stella Nyanzi video and the best they will do is comment and head to bed… figure out how much anger and rage that will be made if the diversion is out of the way? elimination of social media will lead to concentration on social distress hence anti social behavior that you wont want to witness.
I conclude this letter by calling upon all parties addressed and copied in this to form dialogue to save the sinking Titanic. Arresting Stella Nyanzi wont solve the problem because just like Tupac she has already sparked thousands of brains out there who its just a matter of time before they arise and follow suit. You don’t want to see poets, spoken-word artists, rappers, filmmakers etc rally behind the Nyanzi syndrome. Arresting her is like spraying perfume on a casket, in the era of social media it only strengthens her ground. The economy is hitting a dead end and we the subjects need solutions. Ego’s and selfishness only feed on he that bares them, i dream of my country’s glory and pride restored as the pearl of Africa, and yes we can.
As I close, mulina kumirimu eyo,kubanga eno obwavu butuluma, MBs za berako naye ate nazo zinatera okugwako.
HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON MR PRESIDENT
YOURS PATRIOTICALLY
George Stanley Nsamba
