Town politicians hold their breath as Makerere votes

For the last two weeks, Makerere University has been alive in light of the 2005/06 Students Guild presidential race. Students go to the polls tomorrow, and whoever takes the day out of the 14 candidates will have overcome a tough challenge. The campaigns have been spirited - with rhetorical flourishes, praise singers and cash all making for a rich mix.

And there was a healthy infusion of national politics as well. Now the battle seems to have boiled down to between Jet John Tumwebaze and Henry Maurice Kibalya.
The grapevine has it that the Movement government is rooting for JJT, as Tumwebaze is fondly called. What with his convoys of expensive vehicles filled with "high" students flashing gigantic colour posters and swearing by his name.
JJT, however, says he has no link with the Movement government.

"I have been receiving external support from friends and also using my savings," he said.

A smooth talker, JJT is concerned that only one third of the students usually vote. He blames this on the voting system, which is done at hall level. He wants students to vote from their faculties as long as they have valid identity cards.

The tradition here is that someone believed to be pro-Movement rarely wins. But this might soon change because this third-year Law student is pulling out all the stops. He has the money, the voice, and the girls are all over him. He is promising a "new beginning" for Makerere students.

Kibalaya and the parties
During the inaugural rally at University Hall, different political parties sent representatives to figure out a formidable candidate to support. FDC sent Mr Thomas Tayeebwa and Mr Samuel Makohha, while the Uganda Young Democrats of DP deployed Mr Bernard Luyiga. For its part, JEEMA dispatched former guild president Yusuf Kiranda.

A closed-door meeting in Wandegeya zeroed on Mr Henry Maurice Kibalya, an economics student, as their man. Indeed, Kibalya, who at his first rally was clad in a cheap suit and was without any poster, now cruises around campus stumping from hall to hall in a convoy, sports shiny suits, and his full colour posters are all over. Oh, he dishes out hard cash too.

Like JJT, Kibalya's speeches are quite captivating. He is using everything his rival has employed. For example, both camps use brass bands to march around campus, announcing their serious intent to lead.

But then, of course, Makerere elections are ever unpredictable. Last year, a mulokoole, Mr Ronald Mukasa Ssenkubuge, whom many least expected to win emerged the victor - with a landslide to boot. Indeed, this time round, Mr Patrick Junah Wangura, also a mulokole and a great orator, has a huge following among fellow savedees - and the frontrunners had better watch out.

Humour
During such campaigns, master clowns take centre stage. "Ladies and gentlemen," bellowed one at a recent campaign stop, "I am ready to sleep naked until the political destiny of our great hill is realised."

Another appeared at a rally in a kanzu, while yet another from University Hall (read goat land) wrapped a goatskin around his waist and went off searching for votes. And not all students are impressed.

"We want candidates who will take Makerere to greater heights," said Mr Vincent Nuwagaba, a post-graduate student. "Clowns are getting no votes. Let them present issues and we shall vote them."

"I am yet to see a competitor who is ready to replace violence with good values, malice with mercy, hatred with love, hostility with hospitality; ¼most of them are crooks who are out to run down the Guild to satisfy their thirst," said Ms Annet Kurgat, a Kenyan student.

Kurgat may have a point because out of the 14 candidates, only JJT has a manifesto in which he talks about looking into the plight of international students, addressing university health concerns, having more non-residents on the Guild committees and raising the voices of disabled students.

That aside, the campaigns are punctuated by so much noise that students who attend evening classes are affected. "They make so much noise and interrupt our lectures. It's incensing," said Mr Godfrey Kimono, a second-year journalism student.

Little wonder, few students are interested in campus politics. Statistics show that only 4,860 voted in last year's Guild elections - out of a population of more than 20,000 eligible voters.

Published in Sunday Monitor, April 24, 2005

Never board a ramshackle bus

It was probably the slowest journey I ever took! A 'Traveller's Choice' Isuzu Reg. No. UAA 389C bus I was on left Mbarara at 1 p.m and entered the Kampala bus park at exactly 7:15 p.m on a journey that would have taken us four hours at most.

For lack of better expressions, the bus was dull, old, weary and completely unworthy to be on Ugandan roads. Why then was it boarded in the first place? It just happened that on that fateful Tuesday, transport means were rather tricky and people were desperate to get to their desired destination.

Just a few kilometres after the monstrous bus had gained speed, it stopped. Apparently, the bus turned very hot every now and then and had to make intermittent stopovers to cool down. That would not have been the problem only if the driver and the conductor had cared to inform us before we boarded.

There I was, stranded, and yet I had a serious meeting with friends in Kampala. What was I going to do? Jump out of the bus and catch another or was I going to call off the appointment. But my appointment was "money-line." I found compromising a money deal next to impossible, I decided to do a critical analysis of the bus that had failed my money deals.

It's windows and windshield had designer cracks; the cushions on the seats were very dirty. Along the way, the bus, discharged balls of smelly smog that left many coughing, and others struggling for fresh air.

At 100kms from Kampala, the bus 'caught fire' once again. We quickly jumped out and watched the thick smoke pumping out of its exhaust pipe. So toxic, it tore at my lungs; children coughed, a woman filled a black kaveera with vomit while many more were left very worried.

People demanded their fare back so they could find other means of transport for the remaining part of the journey. I inched closer and asked the conductor what was amiss but the look he gave me warned me to keep my distance.

By this time, tongues were wagging. "I've never seen this before," said one woman. "These people are joking with our lives," a heavy woman said while a potbellied mister threw a tantrum: "I demand an apology once we get to Kampala. How can they not even have a tool box on such a ramshackle bus?"

After the problem was 'fixed,' the conductor invoked his persuasive skills to have us get back on board. A gentleman nearby asked a nun to pray for our journey and she fixed him a killer smile before we moved on.

If the bus had roasted us alive as it was feared; it would have been a case of people failing to help themselves. As I sat in the bus, I began to reflect on my Maker because it was getting late and the bus was continually breaking down.

To be honest, there are innumerable physically and soulfully aged and faulty vehicles swinging along our potholed roads. It is not even funny that most Ugandan car dealers have never been fond of brand new automobiles. They deal in used cars, which they refurbish and sell off at exorbitant profits. Few months on the road and the tired things with their leaky engines and exhaust pipes continue to wreck havoc.

The fumes they emit contain fatal organic compounds like carbonmonoxide, which scientists have since established, accelerates death in the form of asthma and heart ailments. So then, are these vehicles licensed to kill? Is there any authority doing something about the means of transport on Ugandan roads?

One may argue oh yes Al-haji Nasser Ntege Sebaggala is doing something. But his buses have failed to start operating. And even though they do, I doubt they will ever grace the Mbarara route. Whatever!

But these old, ramshackle buses should be kicked into a crap hole where they belong. We do not want them like this 'Traveller's Choice' bus.

Published in Sunday Monitor, September 10, 2006.

The bicycle has transformed the lives of many ordinary Ugandans

The bicycle invented in 1816 has transformed the lives of many Ugandans today. Some people say the bicycle is their lifeline, without it their future would be bleak. Thanks to Baron von Drais who invented it well before the 19th century, writes Dennis D. Muhumuza

When in 1816 Baron Karl von Drais, a German, invented the bicycle, perhaps none thought it could turn out to be a source of livelihood for countless people especially in the developing world.

Today, the bicycle is considerably used in most of Africa to carry heavy loads of goods to and from the market. And because the standard bicycle with its locally made and cushioned carrier is arguably the friendliest means of transport, it has become a money-minting machine especially in towns where it is used to carry passengers. It thus complements taxis and other means of transport.

In Kampala, bicycles used for transport have come to be known to many as boda-boda, the same name that applies to motorbikes doing the same business.
19th century incident
Recently, the Minister of State for Works and Transport, Mr John Byabagambi, told the Parliamentary Committee on Physical Infrastructure that in order to decongest the city and regulate traffic flow, boda-bodas have to be relocated to the city outskirts by January next year.

There is fear that many will lose out. Kenneth Katusiime, 24, who lives off his boda-boda bicycle, doesn't want to even talk about it. "This bicycle is my life," he said. "I would be lost without it."

The short but muscular young man is based on 8th Street in Industrial Area, and has been living off his Eastman bicycle for close to two years. Katusiime said he completely concurs with some unknown author who said "it would not be at all strange if history came to the conclusion that the perfection of the bicycle was the greatest incident of the nineteenth century".

The orphan, whose father Yosam Kanyima, a former KCC worker, perished in a road accident shortly after Katusiime was born, transports bags of cement, crates of soda and beer for business people as well as bunches of matooke and other foodstuff to various homes within the city. He said the bicycle is the king of the road because it cannot get stuck in traffic jam, will drop your goods at your doorstep, and transports you promptly and cheaply.

Pointing to his bicycle parked a few feet away, the P7 dropout said with a shine of satisfaction in his eyes: "I didn't reach far in class but I can eat, dress and sleep well because of my bicycle."

During the interview, three of his colleagues chipped in now and then. They said all that is needed is to know someone who owns a bicycle and ask to use it - then you are in business. Indeed, most boda-boda operators don't own the bicycles. They hire them for Shs1,000 a day.

Katusiime, who hails from Rukungiri, joined his mother Jennifer Binamuka in the Kamwokya a city suburb in 1991. In 2004, his mother died, living him to steer his own way through life. Luckily, he had Shs130,000 stashed safe on his Stanbic Bank account and used the money to buy his "Dorotia" [bicycle].

His alarm clock goes off at 5:30 am. when he stirs and mumbles his prayers. At 6 a.m he arrives at his Namuwongo stage. Business is very good at rush hour, he said, when people are hastening to their work and later from work. After 11 he breaks off to check on his most rewarding customers - the business people who assign him to buy supplies for their businesses.

During this 'break,' Katusiime gets his meal of kawunga and beans and a glass of passion fruit juice. This invigorates him with the energy he so needs as pedalling goods and customers is a very physical activity. At most, his lunch goes for Shs700. By 5 p.m., the jolly Katusiime is back at his stage to offer service to whoever comes his way. He retires at 9 p.m.

The other side of the coin
While the business pumps in between Shs5,000-7,000 on a good day, Katusiime said the life of a boda-boda operator is not as rosy. Some passengers reach their destinations, jump off and vanish while others have abused and slapped the cyclists. Say it is early morning. You just ferried this gentleman to wherever he directed you. He dips his hand in his hip pocket and pulls out a sleek Shs50,000 note and tells you to deduct your Shs300 fare. You have got no change, “Couldn't the gentleman have Shs1000,” you ask politely. "Do you think am stupid," he blurts and before you know it, slap, slap.

This, Katusiime said, is how most boda-boda operators are sometimes treated. But woe onto him who errs in the presence of other boda-boda riders - not only will he lose all his money, but also will lucky if he is not beaten up.

Also, to be able to be accepted at a certain stage, you pay a goodwill sum of Shs50,000 which is a hell lot of money for most of these cyclists, especially those just starting the business. The money is then shared among members.
Taxi drivers are unhappy that boda-bodas 'steal' their potential clients, so along the road cyclists are pushed to the edge where they sometimes lose balance and fall off.

He hates it in the rainy season. He looked at the sun and said also, that, he rues it when it's very hot. He talked of the dust that blinds eyes on a windy day, accidents and the bad roads that wear out the tyres in a week. Bicycle tyres cost between Shs3,000 -6,000 depending on the quality.

Aside, some people have accused boda-boda bikers of causing trouble by ignoring traffic lights and riding on roadside pavements expecting pedestrians to make way for them.

Police accuse them of conspiring with criminals, perhaps the reason they are banning them from the city centre. In the meantime, boda-boda cyclists toil on hope and appeal to the mayor of Kampala, to intervene for them.

As for Katusiime, he has half a million shillings in savings and wants to buy a Digi (a fancy motorbike) by the end of the year though he's scared of what might happen if it's true they will no longer be needed in the capital city's centre. He shares his fears with girlfriend Fiona Twinomujuni, an S4 student of Kololo SSS.

In all, whether it is banned from the street or not, the bicycle remains "the most civilised conveyance known to man", as English novelist Iris Murdoch once wrote. Because "other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish, only the bicycle remains pure in heart"!

Lira situation
One doesn't have to be a statistician to know that Lira is one of the key bicycle districts in Uganda. Everyday the town gets choked with a sea of them, making it difficult for pedestrians and other motorists to manoeuvre their way through the streets. Little wonder the commonest accidents registered here are bicycle-related like cyclists running into each other or felling down pedestrians. Cars here are far from each other.

Boda-boda bicycles with their shouting red, blue and yellow cushions are ever present and the order of the day. In Lira, bicycles are no longer status symbols. Every household has at least one or more in its stable. Children seemingly learn to ride them by instinct as scores of them can be seen peddling away with ease to the markets carrying heavy loads like sacks of potatoes, iron sheets, cassava, sugarcane etc. The skill with which they dodge potholes with creaky bicycles and flit in and out of traffic is commendable. The women are not any different.

Sometime back, the bicycle had replaced cattle as the source of pride, treasure and wealth among the Langi and they wouldn't sell it even in the event of a crisis like famine. As years wore on, the cattle were demystified. Now Lira is a bicycle galore.

There are various types of bicycles here, for instance, Road master (the most common brand), Hero, Laurel, Gazelle and City Bike. The latter is synonymous with women because of its unique design that suits their feminine body. Its carrier is small and frail and therefore cannot accommodate a person, only documents, a file or groceries. City Bike, at least, is the in-thing among women yuppies here. And because of the appeal that goes with it, they are a bit more expensive than the usual lot.

One sound reason that can help explain the multiplicity of bicycles in Lira is the unfortunate situation of internally displaced peoples’ camps caused by the LRA war over the past two decades. Owing to this, people lost their homes, property and unemployment was rampant especially among the youth.

So with the little income they obtained through doing manual jobs like digging pit latrines and garden work, they saved and bought bicycles before joining the boda boda industry. Many continue to join the business on a daily basis and are not complaining because they are assured of a daily income that translates into food on the table.

By and large, bicycles are an integral part of thousands of lives of people in Lira.

Additional reporting by Stephen Abili

Published in Sunday Monitor, September 17, 2006.

Has the curtain fallen on the Miss Uganda pageant?

PAGEANT WITHOUT PAGEANTRY: MKM promotions organised a low key search for Miss Uganda that was far from Sylvia Owori's pomp and pageantry. This year there is no contest, writes Dennis D. Muhumuza

The only thing she has to show for being the reigning national beauty Queen is the little medal she won at the Miss World Talent show after a convincing presentation of her poem -The African Child. It was December last year in Sanya, China where she was Uganda's ambassador at the 55th Miss World showdown.

Today, Ms Praise Juliet Asiimwe [pictured], 22, can only look back and reminisce the month she spent on Sanya Island, strutting and generally having fun. While her predecessors cruised around in prize cars that came along with winning the crown, the reigning beauty uses the matatu like ordinary folks because she cannot even afford special hire taxis.

"I have sat in taxis where men have openly stared at my boobs and touts refused to return my balance saying I'm Miss Uganda," she says.

It all began when whispers spread that Praise was the worst performer at Miss World -a rumour she trashed saying she was among the top 25, being the only African to have won at the talent contest.

As Miss Uganda, she wanted to lead sexual abstinence campaigns but her office didn't open as was supposed to on January 3, 2006. Now she carries herself with a grim, powdered face well aware that she will surrender her crown without any tangible achievements.

She blames MKM Promotions, the event management company that took over from Zipa Models Managing Director, Sylvia Owori, to run the Miss Uganda Beauty Pageant. .

"My predecessors received extra support and sponsorship that pushed them to accomplish things, while I've been left in the dark," she says.

Indeed, Victoria Nabunya (2001) led a Mammogram Fundraising project that resulted in the purchase of a machine that detects breast cancer; Dr. Rehma Nakuya (2002) promoted reproductive health while Aysha Salma Nassanga (2003) laid a platform of promoting the Girl Child Education.

And for a girl inspired by British born supermodel Naomi Campbell, she said it galls that she will be remembered as the beauty queen who registered little success. She is not even featured anywhere on the official Miss Uganda website yet the website flashes Barbara Kimbugwe (2004) and a full-size portrait of Sylvia Owori herself striking a seductive pose.

Not crowned
Clearly, the model who beat fourteen contestants to the crown at a lifeless ceremony held at Little Flowers, Bat Valley, in October last year -is not officially recognised.

"I was supposed to be unveiled to the public on October 24 last year but I wasn't," she says. "Can you imagine I was not even crowned? All I have is a Miss Uganda sash."

When Reverend Elly and Mrs Joice Akankwasa's daughter became Miss Uganda, the organisers promised her "heaven on earth -they are very good at promising and very good at not delivering."

"They promised to send me for a short business course in Europe in exchange for the prize car I was supposed to get but they didn't. They were disappointed I didn't win the Miss World crown because they expected to gain much," she said. "When I arrived, nightmares began. I wanted to clean the city and I was told that that was politics. I drew proposals for a charity concert -I wanted to work with Angella Katatumba; she has helped children in northern but MKM frustrated my efforts. I invited Miss World Africa (Miss Tanzania Nancy Abraham Sumary) for a visit and she promised to come on condition that we cater for her accommodation and transport back. Again the organisers said they had no money. It's been hard; if it was not for Ruth Kibirige, I don't know how I would have managed," she added.

Ms. Kibirige is the Director of Tiner International School of Beauty where Praise was groomed in preparation for the Miss World competition.

"She has been like a mother. She helped me clear at the airport when I was going to China since I had never traveled abroad," she says. "She ensures I look as Miss Uganda should look."

Praise who recently completed her first degree in Mass Communication at Makerere University, said the organisers insisted she couldn't handle media pressure and advised her "to do backdoor work."

Timber dealers
Any national beauty is supposed to have sparkly designer clothes, shoes, makeup and the basic beauty products plus a monthly allowance that so befits her status but Praise says she only depends on pocket money from her father.

"It was doom when Sylvia Owori left," she says. "These guys deal in timber. They cannot handle Miss Uganda as an institution. I know the nation is disappointed with my performance but I want to assure Ugandans that I've not failed my country, I've been failed by MKM. If the next Miss Uganda expects little she won't be disappointed, but if she expects much she will be very disappointed."

No contest this year
Management at MKM Promotions was very reluctant to respond until Mr Abu Mayanja, who handles public relations only sent a text message: "We invest and you guys shoot, it's not fair. We can give you a more positive story -if you go negative we all lose. You shoot it down (the Miss Uganda Institution) it only dies," it read.

Ironically, Praise will reign for two successive years. The Managing Director of MKM Promotions Ms Solaire Galiwongo confirmed over the phone that there will be no national beauty pageant this year. She cited lack of sponsorship.

"We've already consulted the Miss World organisers about it and they understood. Last year we organised a small pageant which was criticised widely in the press," she said. "Right now, we are busy organising the 2007 pageantry."
Published in Daily Monitor, Friday, September 1, 2006

Divizionz at Cineplex

The rate at which Ugandan films are coming out, it's like they have become a way of life where entertainment is involved but it appears also that the country is on its way to becoming a hub of film making in Africa.

Just a few months after the showing, in Kampala, of Roses in the Rain, Murder in the City, and Battle of the Soul, yet another new film, Divizionz, will be premiering today at the Cineplex, Garden City at 7 p.m. courtesy of Alliance Francaise, Kampala.

The film digs into the life of aspiring musicians: Kapo (Kyagulanyi 'Bobi Wine' Ssentamu), Bana (Mark 'Buchaman' Bugembe), Kanyankole (Catherine 'Scarlet' Nakyanzi) and Mulokole (Olem 'Lot' Bonny).

The four friends, who originally hail from four regions of the country: eastern, central, western, and northern but find themselves staying in the same neighbourhood on the city outskirts, "Central Division" particularly in Zone B4, have landed a performance slot at a city pub that's starting "open mic sessions", known locally as "Karaoke."

At this time, Kapo quits his job and raises some money for the transport fare to the city, as well as to buy a track (instrumental) on which they will perform. But as fate would have it, they are cornered by "Graduated Tax Enforcement Officers" before they can get to the city. They find themselves with no money and no instrumental but with a burning ambition to accomplish their mission and see their singing dream come to life. Will they get to the city or will they go down in defeat?

This film comes with a solid plot that most people will identify with. Apart from the protagonists personifying the stereotypical traits associated with people from the regions they come from, they experience an unforeseen obstruction that is representative of the problems many folks are confronted with in the pursuit of their dreams and missions.

The 90-minute film is made truer to life by the use of characters we know. Bobi Wine and Buchaman who are musicians in real life portray roles they have lived with to the point where they have attained stardom. Thus with an inherent grasp of their roles, they convincingly project their virtues and faults in as much as they have done in real life.

The mixture of Luganda and English, and the use of a sound track made by Benon Mugumbya of the Benon and Vamposs fame plus music from other local artistes (Bobi Wine, Peter Miles, Akiiki Romeo) brings the film closer home.

Divizionz was co-written and co-produced by Donald Mugisha of the Kampala based Film Company, DEDDAC and South African filmmaker James Tayler. Donald Mugisha, whose short film, 610, won the Golden Impala Award at the 2006 Amakula Kampala International Film Festival, says that after the premiere at Cineplex, the film will screen free of charge in 30 local video halls (bibanda), in the five Divisions of Kampala city.

Then it will be screened at film festivals in East Africa, West Africa, South Africa and finally Europe.

-- Daily Monitor, Friday, June 1, 2007

Uganda is still bananas

Farce, comedy, tragedy, is the sure way to summarise 30 Years of Bananas by Alex Mukulu. It’s a play written at a time when the republic was really 'going bananas' -thanks to its past leaders.

The lead character, Kalekeezi, is a Rwandese refugee in Uganda who has survived over five turmoil-clad regimes and whose satirical insight into what the 'Banana Republic' has endured and lost since independence raises many questions than can be answered.

Under the stewardship of Alex Mukulu, the Golden Drama Team attempt to show that little has changed as the country remains muddled in social and political quagmire.

The play takes us down memory lane from 1962 when the Union Jack is lowered to the post-colonial era of poverty and starvation to the point where people begin "searching for civilisation because they want to be civilised."

The production is alive with rapid-fire action and witty dialogue: "Nationalism is tribalism under a microscope," the viewer is told, while president Idi Amin is presented as the one who seemed like a "satellite in space picking all that was being said below him."

The audience is told, "1980 is the year in which Paul Muwanga shut everyone's mouth" while Tito Okello Lutwa is presented as a hyena hater because "a hyena is cowardly."

Then sets in president "Obote's journey to drunkardness" and the economic war after Amin's ultimatum to the Asians to "decide in 90 days whether they were yellow or black."

The playwright paints a gloomy picture where everybody has come to believe that "man eateth where he worketh."

The 'national team' is symbolically depicted as a bunch of confused players juggling two balls. The point is that one ball, two teams and two goal posts work better.

The props, costumes and lighting were impressive while the sound and electronic effects did not take the place of words.

Kalekeezi's voice is pleasing to the ear, the enunciation perfect, plus he has this bodily vitality and natural charm that makes watching him magnetic -perhaps because the role is played by the veteran actor and director of the production -Alex Mukulu.

However, the director employs too much music to muffle the serious themes that drive this drama. This, plus, the intermarriage of several languages: Luganda, Rutooro, English stresses action that the hitherto attentive audience begin to yawn.

Though the fundamental idea is the conflict between government leaders and their subjects, the play doesn't rise to a strong climax.

After the author puts in a lot of intellectualism to give us a deep analysis of the past, comparing it with the present to prepare for the future, the result does little to purge the emotions of the fearful citizenry, especially after Museveni is shown still manning the national goal posts despite his twenty years of mismanaging the affairs of the state -just like those before him.

As the curtain was drawn, people hurried home without lingering to discuss the play because "poetic justice" in drama was left wanting.

Published in Daily Monitor, Friday, January 12, 2007

Ugandan Theatre Needs So Much More

It all began with the creation of mankind. From the time hunters recounted their adventures by means of pantomime to when the first people expressed themselves through war chants and love dances, drama has been clearly manifesting itself.

Many years later, theatre has not only seen a tremendous improvement but also it remains an integral part of African culture in passing down traditional values while offering rich entertainment.

Since the foundation stone for the Uganda National Cultural Centre was laid in 1956 to officially usher in a new theatrical era, so many things have happened. Various theatres have since sprung up, the latest being the ultra-modern Theatre La Bonita –the new home of The Ebonies. Many actors: Alex Mukulu, Abby Mukiibi and Philip Luswata to mention three, have garnered fame and status as playwrights, directors, and actors.

Since November last year to March 2007, the Golden Drama Foundation (GDF) has been celebrating '50 Years of Drama,' a commendable event financed by Pilsner Lager, and aimed at recognizing the people and the works that have moulded the face of theatre and drama in Uganda over the past 50 years.

However, much more needs to done for Ugandans to ably compete on the global stage in regard to performing arts. It is discomfiting to find playhouses almost empty during performances. There is a need to interest majority people into supporting theatre because drama is the expression of the soul of a nation and will remain a vital force in the life of the people.

Although as early as 1642 English puritans condemned dramatists as "breeders of the plague and instruments of the devil" and banned stage plays, normalcy returned in 1662 when the government esteemed that plays and acting are "not only harmless delights but useful and instructive representations of human life."

Performers in the Western world have since been in held in high repute and productions supported by organizations and wealthy citizens. We need to rehash fine dramas by re-staging the world's most enduring plays from playwrights like Sophocles, William Shakespeare, Euripides, Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, to mention a few, in order to attract the affluent and elite into supporting the industry.

As a drama graduate, I find most local productions monotonous and outright boring, clattered with poor dialogue, mechanical acting, dragging plots, repugnant humour and basically nothing fascinating about them. Could it be a result of staging plays primarily tailored to make money? Are directors only interested in giving theatergoers what they want so that they can milk enough money from them?

I'm not sure about that although I know that in the United States, creative directors scout for and bring fresh talent to pump new life into theatres. Plays are written daily, the best playwrights awarded and specialized schools of performing arts exist in every city. The International Thespian Society is there to recognize high school students participating actively in the dramatic arts program. The motto, "Act well your part; there all the honor lies" needs to be emulated by Ugandans.

As Katharine Anne Ommanney and Harry H. Schanker write in their book, The Stage and the School, "no matter what degree of mechanical perfection plus electronic effects television and screen drama may achieve, they can never create that intangible, magnetic quality which passes from actor to audience…or become the voice and movement, mass and perspective, imagination and reality which is a play produced by living actors before a living audience."

So then, we need a change in standards of production, methods of acting, content of plays, and the ideals of conduct in order to continue expressing the dreams of humanity through drama.

Published in The Uganda Theatre Gazette, Vol 6, Issue 1, 2007, pg. 9