Remember if it's not about Respect,Justice,human rights,
Understanding, and Peacefulness,it is not worth talking about.Be attentive. Be intelligent. Be reasonable. Be responsible. Be in Love. And, if necessary, change.
I'm sure you're wildly enthusiastic about the South African soccer match and are devoting your every waking moments watching guys kick around a ball.(am not personally even though i watched the kick off and will write on my observations in my next post)
These photos remind me of the enthusiasm generated with the election victory of Pres. Obama in Nov. 2008 and again with his Inauguration of 20th January 2009. Question: One-and-a-half years later, how has Obama helped Africans as most believed he will?
Similarly: How is this soccer match in South Africa going to help South Africans--or Africans in general?
The building of the stadium made investors rich. They would argue that jobs were created for the poor. But where is that money now? I would say that landlords now have the money, and the rest simply fed the black slaves in Africa to be present when rich guys decide to do something else for their own enrichment.
Notice that in some of the attached photos, black Africans don't even have their own television.
Instead of watching some dumb soccer match, what should Africa's poor be doing?
He is best known as a former Katikkiro (Buganda Prime Minister), but Joseph Mulwanyamuli Ssemwogerere is also an African revolutionary and NRM historical who served as RDC in the early years of this government. Below is a slightly edited statement he made on Tuesday while officially joining opposition against the government he helped bring to power: Today, we are turning a new page and beginning the chapter that will end with the words, “And all the Ugandans lived together happily ever after.“
For me, this is the beginning of a new phase of public life. When I retired from the office of Katikkiro of Buganda, I resolved to retire from public life and live out my days happily on my farm, enjoying the fruits of my labour and company of my family, loved ones and friends.
Even though there was much that I had not achieved, I had not met any man who had accomplished all that can be accomplished in life. I was content to leave the things that were left undone to the next generation and to enjoy what I felt was a hard-earned retirement.
But events have forced me to re-think my decision to participate in constructive change.
It is not a decision that came without massive soul searching. I have quietly travelled widely across Buganda and Uganda. I have sounded out peers and opinion leaders from various native nationalities and across the spectrum of religious and political beliefs. I have spent time reading, researching and analysing current events in Buganda, Uganda, East Africa and Africa as a whole. Everybody that I have spoken to, everything that I have seen and heard; all the material that I have read has compelled me to take a step forward; to stand up and be counted because Uganda is in need of positive and constructive change.
I am truly convinced that it is time for change but change cannot come about if we sit at the sidelines and hope and pray that somebody will deliver it like manna from heaven. We have to engage in the struggle to bring it about. All of us have to do our part and I have decided today to come up and do mine.
In his speech to the London Conference of 1961, the Katikkiro of Buganda, Owek. Michael Kintu, speaking on behalf of the Kabaka, the Lukiiko, the chiefs and all of the people of the Kingdom of Buganda, made the following remarks about Uganda’s impending independence from Britain:
“We in Buganda, look forward to the time when Uganda will take her place among the ranks of independent and sovereign countries. We hope that this will be very soon. The Baganda regard Uganda’s independence as a means to a happy, prosperous and great nation in which all of us, our children and many generations to come will live in freedom and harmony.”
When I read those words again recently, I asked myself whether independent Uganda has truly met the aspirations that were so eloquently laid out by the late Michael Kintu. Without questioning whether a Uganda that is still dependent on aid money from donor countries can be said to be truly independent, I asked myself the following questions:
Is Uganda happy?
Is Uganda prosperous?
Is Uganda a great nation?
Is Uganda a country in which all of us, our children and many generations to come live and will live in freedom and harmony?Sadly, the short answer to each of these searching questions, 48 years after Uganda achieved independence, is “NO!”
Our people are drowning in a sea of poverty, even as a privileged few enrich themselves through corruption on a scale that has never been seen before! Our infrastructure is falling apart - it is sometimes hard to tell where the potholes end and the roads begin, yet all the time we hear about trillions of shillings being dedicated to the roads sector only to be stolen by thieves dressed in suits.
Our education system is taking in more children than ever before but giving them nothing in the form of the life skills or vocational training that they need to succeed in the modern world, with the result that the streets are teeming with highly literate, and even graduate, unemployed or underemployed youths.
Our hospitals - largely bequeathed to us during the colonial era - are falling apart, there are not enough doctors and there is no medicine. Life-saving drugs are stolen from Government clinics to be sold on the black market and the market is awash with fake drugs so that even those who can buy the medicines sometimes die because they are not getting the right dosage.
We hear constant talk of economic growth but nothing is said about how inequitably this growth is distributed. A privileged few are getting very rich whilst the majority remains poor. Nothing is said about the rising national debt, yet we can see the ruinous effects of mountainous national debt on countries like Greece.
Our people are not being encouraged to be productive or to save money. All you ever hear on the radios and see on the TVs are adverts encouraging people to spend more and more of their meager incomes on consumption, consumption, consumption!
The sectors in which Uganda has a natural competitive advantage—namely agriculture and tourism, are perennially under-resourced. So yes, there may be economic growth but is it sustainable over the generations or it is a bubble fuelled by borrowing and foreign aid?
Our politics is still overly militarised and polarised. There are constant threats of “crushing” opponents. Critics who speak out are harassed, locked up and thrown in jails on trumped up charges. Communities have been set against each other in a manner that can only lead to violence and bloodshed. Peoples that were previously living in harmony are now being set against each other. The state has been personalised and democracy is lacking. Everyday we read about courts cancelling rigged elections and the election thieves simply walk out of court straight to the nomination ceremony of the resulting by-election.
When it comes to Buganda, of which I have extensive knowledge, the issues are acute. The central government has made advocating for Buganda’s cause a treasonable act.
Our beloved king, Ssabasajja Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, has been barred from travelling to Nakasongola and Kayunga - and has been made the only citizen of this country who needs permission to travel within Uganda.
People who expressed their displeasure about this illegal act in September 2009 and others who were minding their own business were mercilessly shot dead by the Police and Army. The central government is determined to deprive the Kingdom of Buganda of income by withholding rent payments for buildings and facilities it occupies.
The central government has resolutely refused to return Buganda’s expropriated property and communal land (the so-called 9,000 sq. miles) and has refused to properly address the repeatedly expressed desire for a federal system of government.
The beloved CBS radio was closed down and its licence revoked on flimsy grounds. And recently, when the Kasubi Tombs burnt down, mourners who had gathered to express their grief were shot to clear the way for the President’s visit! These are matters of basic justice that must be resolved once and for all and that is why I have come out today - to mobilise everybody to work towards the establishment of a federal system of governance for the whole of Uganda and to advocate for delivery of justice for Buganda.
So, we are not happy, we are not prosperous, Uganda is not great and we are not living in harmony. People are filled with despair. Uganda needs to get back on track and become the country which we all know that it can be. We need to achieve change and restore hope.
I am impressed that despite all of the hurdles that are placed in your way, the members of Inter-Party Cooperation have had the vision, wisdom and courage to pool their efforts and resources together so as to bring about democratic change in Uganda. I am highly impressed by the fact that despite the provocations and heavy-handed injustices meted out to several of you as individuals - the times that you have been arrested, summoned to the CID, branded terrorists etc., or as organisations - the blocked rallies and processions, the denial of radio airtime, etc., you have kept your determination and resisted the temptation to resort to destructive violence. You have forsaken the easy promise of rewarding careers and a carefree existence in the private sector, sacrificed time with your families, been pushed into exile and/or thrown into jail in order to bring about lasting change in this country. You have been the mobilisers in the establishment of a tradition of democratic, lawful and non-violent opposition and this country owes you a huge debt of gratitude.
By coming together in this way, each of the parties of the Inter-Party Cooperation have exhibited a level of political maturity hitherto unseen in this country. We have been accustomed to winner-take-all politics and a polarising attitude of “either you are with us or against us”! I am sure that the Inter-Party Cooperation is going to bring about a permanent change in Uganda’s political landscape. It is going to usher in a new era of mature, institutionalised, consensus-driven and principled politics. It is clear for all to see that coalitions based on the need to promote and protect the national interest are better than selfish one-man or single party rule. This happens in several countries throughout Europe and has even begun in the UK since the last elections. Uganda needs consensus-driven politics with the national interest being put first instead of the selfish interests of one man or one party.
I have come up today to offer my service to this nation by acting as a midwife of change. I will mobilise our people as well as other political and civil society organisations, so as to bring about the change that we need to make Uganda “a happy, prosperous and great nation in which all of us, our children and many generations to come will live in freedom and harmony.”
I come to this task with all that I am. I come as a Muganda, who has had the privilege of serving in the highest office that can be occupied by a mukopi. I come as a Ugandan who heeded the call of national duty and served as a District Administrator as well as engaged at senior executive level in the private and public sector. I come as Pan-Africanist, who risked life and limb fighting for the liberation of our bothers in Southern Africa from the yoke of colonialism.
These are different identities that I wear, proudly together, without any contradiction, it is possible to be a proud Muganda, a good Ugandan nationalist and a Pan-Africanist; for each flows naturally out of the other. Ask any Muganda which clan is the best and he or she will tell you that his or her clan is the best. There are 52, clans - but the love for clan has never diminished the love for Buganda. Ask any person whether they love their family and they will tell you that they do, but they love their village and their county as well as their country. Even the English have a saying, that take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves. I would therefore like to repeat that there is absolutely no contradiction between loving Buganda, loving Uganda and loving East Africa or Africa. We love them all the same and you cannot sort out the problems of the bigger entity without sorting out the issues of the lesser entities.
I would like to call upon all people of voting age to make sure that they get themselves on the electoral register! Your vote is the only opportunity that you have to directly exercise your power as a citizen. Do not waste it. Do not be deceived, all is not lost and change is not impossible. We shall achieve change and together we shall restore hope. But we can only do so if we are registered. So, please, all of you that have not done so, please go out and register today!! Arm yourself to be part of the force that will bring change to this country.
Secondly, I would like to call upon all people who are presently sitting on the sidelines, watching our country going downhill in disbelief, to come out and actively engage in competitive politics. My call especially goes out to the Baganda, who love their kingdom and their country, like me. We cannot sit on the side and hope that somebody is going to sort things out—we must stand up and be counted. When I saw all that was going on and the challenge that was facing the Inter-Party Co-operation, I felt that I had no option but to ask the Kabaka to relieve me of even the vestigial and largely ceremonial cultural duties that I had so that I could roll up my sleeves and get stuck into competitive and partisan politics.
The great Greek philosopher, Plato, once said that “The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men!” We cannot sit idly by, whilst the cancer of corruption and power lust destroys our beloved Kingdom and our country.
Lastly, I call upon all members of the Electoral Commission to look into their consciences. Whilst I don’t have any reason to doubt their integrity at an individual level, it is a proven fact - repeatedly upheld by the highest courts in this country, that as a Commission they have failed to administer and deliver free and fair elections at a national and lesser level. The upcoming elections must not only be free and fair, but they must also be SEEN to be free and fair. Nothing about the way that the Electoral Commission has conducted itself so far, leaving aside the issue of how it was appointed, has shown that it has learnt any lessons since 2006. We still have absurd situations such as the bad handling of the on-going registration exercise that threatens to leave many young voters disenfranchised, or the strange result of the Kalagala polling station in the recently concluded Mukono North by-election. Members of the Electoral Commission should know that they hold the future of this country in their hands and that they should step down in the interest of transparency of the forthcoming elections. If they cannot do it for themselves, then let them do it in the interest of their children and their grandchildren so as to bequeath them a peaceful and stable Uganda.
I am calling upon all Baganda and Ugandans to do the following things: Register to vote, spread the good news that hope has arrived and that lasting change and a solution to Buganda’s and Uganda’s problems is coming.
All those with capacity and ability, who care to bring about lasting change for Uganda should get off the fence and out of the woodwork and present themselves for competitive politics at all levels, starting right from LC1, LC2, LC3, LC5 and through to Parliament; and so let us go out to Buganda and to the rest of the country with a message of change and a message of hope. Let us go out and tell our people that change is coming soon and that very soon Uganda will be “a happy, prosperous and great nation in which all of us, our children and many generations to come will live in freedom and harmony.”
Awangaale Ssabasajja Kabaka.
“For God and My Country!”
I arrived at the public taxi park in the mornings at around 8:45am. I found touts shouting Kisumu…Kisumu…Kisumu and chose to select the car behind because the one on the front stage had a woman in the front seat and I wanted to sit in it. I told the screaming touts begging me to give me time, they sensed that I wanted the front seat, so they now turned to persuading the lady to swift to another seat, but she was determined not to do so, and I kind of agreed with her. I didn’t see any reason why they wanted her to swift for me. She was a traveler too, who wanted to have a greater view of the road just like me. Yes I must admit, she was right and I would have done the same.
An hour later, the front car taxi was full with its 14 passengers allowed under the law but with few extras on board too. Passengers started jumping onboard very quickly and within minutes, it was full and ready to hit the road. We cruised downtown on Uganda road (the road from Kisumu to Busia is named Uganda road) mostly because it crosses to Uganda. I felt sad leaving Kisumu. It’s a clean and well-organized city. Its cuisine had an impact on me. I liked them, but now I was here in the taxi waiting to be bumped into potholes as deep as graves. The taxi stopped at Caltex Petrol station to pump air into the tyre and this took us around twenty minutes.
We started our journey, as usual by the traffic police station picking money (bribes) from the taxi conductor, stopping now and then. It’s so frustrating and annoying habit. We were soon in Maseno and I requested the driver if I could take a picture of the Equator boundary marker and he agreed he stopped, I jumped off and quickly took the photo. It looked nice to see the environment around that place. Equator mark but pictured when the camera had default date settings.
I quickly noticed something that took my attention, the huge number of churches and other worshiping centers on the road from Kisumu to Busia. Each township and village, had more than seven churches and I counted more than two hundred of them minus mosques. I recalled seeing kids heading to school on Friday in bare foot, yet now, they were coming from churches in smart clothes and shoes. Do parents of these kids wanted to appease "God" to grant them something? Why would they make their kids walk to school in bare foot and then dress them smartly on a Sunday morning mass? I asked the driver why would Kenyan parents do that to their kids. He had no answer.
I spent more of my time keeping quiet and taking pictures and by around 12 PM, I arrived at the border, very tired, crossed quickly and jumped on a bike bodaboda to the Busia-Uganda taxi park. I jumped in a taxi that took almost a year to get passengers, later it was full and on the road, the driver was a younger man, who was good and in his 30s. He was very careful on the road. We arrived in Kampala at around 3:30pm. It felt not so nice to be in our ugly city. I put everything behind and embraced it by entering restaurant to have food and later home.
I have always asked my freinds on why I never heard of Isreal seeking AID from World Bank,and many so called rich nations! Now I know that millions of Americans (those who work and pay taxes) are contributing to a theocracy that, in turn, is costing Americans billions more in "defense" of Israel. $5.5 billion for such a small country is a lot of money! And as the article says, Israelis are earning good money--so why do Americans send aid dollars to them instead of to, say, Uganda,Central America and many many other Coutries that are struggling?
Hamas leaders say that they will continue being at war with Israel until they give up land captured in the 1967 war. However, Hamas also says that Israel does not have a right to exist. So, the first claim they make cannot be trusted.
It's very difficult to take sides--but if we don't take sides, this will continue to cost the world in many ways--money, lives, lost opportunities because of diverted human and material resources, etc Read the full article here The Cost of Israel to US Taxpayers
I was now alone in Kisumu. Not sure exactly what to do at this time. I chose to return to the Kisumu public park to witness more of the KCB motor rally fans. I squeezed through the multitudes of people who gathered around, this was the only event taking place in Nyasaland,thus attracting more than what the organizers wanted. This park hosts a cool bar which has also an upper section which attracts better view sceneries. I walked to the top of it. Like in most Kenyan towns, I found the revelers enjoying Tusker beer. Yes it’s the most favoured beer in Kenya.
There was a guy busy drinking and either was discussing either business or the rally results. Judging the number of Tusker bottles on the table, it looked like they’d been there all day. This attracted my attention to take a picture. I walked up to the tusker guy and requested if I could take a picture. He told me that “its not acceptable”. I answered that its okay. I went in the corner of the bar and took several pics of the rally fans and when I turned around, I saw the Tusker guy trying to convince the other beer brotherhoods that it seems I was taking their pictures,sensing that this could lead to hurts when someone throws a bottle to me,I decided to leave and returned to Kisumu hotel for my final day.
It was now around 6:40pm and was tempted to go on to Octopus club downtown.I had visited this place in 2003,it was not long since I was there and couldn’t tell if the place still exisited,honestly Kisumu have changed a lot since my last visit, and I noticed that many buildings I saw were now replaced buy new and well planned buildings. Octopus clud had some nice looking working girls (call them women) and its these women that was disturbing my inner being but later I chose not to go ,and I rather walked to the hotel slowly.
I arrived at the hotel at around 7:45pm.I was amazing to se huge number of people inside,at first I thought they do came to watch those English Premier League which I had no idea which teams are there. It turned out to be that these people came to listen to the Presidential campaigns supporting the drafted Constitution all way from Nairobi Uhuru Park which was aired live. There was nothing much to do, I picked my key and headed to room 205. The toilet and sink was not yet repaired, moments after I entered it, it started shouting, perhaps it was shouting before I came in too. I called the receptionist and described how this whole issue wasn’t good me. He simply said that they are sorry; they cannot change the rooms now. I calmed down and went to my bed. It felt lovely to be resting. Tomorrow I will be on the road again back to Kampala.
I had a great sleep that night despite of the noise from the toilet. I think it was because of my failure to sleep the previous night, so now I was covering it too. Morining came so quickly and having finished shower, I walked to the dining room for yet another lovely and tasty breakfast. Whenever I travel to long journeys, I look more for breakfast than anything else, may be I like eating so much. There are times when I only looked up for those sweet melodies from hotel rooms coming from fucking buddies, this time I didn’t think about sex, there was no one in the hotel creating those lovely melodies that most of the times stops me from sleeping.
That day’s breakfast was the photocopy of the previous one when it came to menu but served by different people. After my breakfast, there was nothinch much to do,I have checked out and it was now time to look for my way out of Kisumu to Kampala. I must stop here and wait you onboard as I cruise through Kenya to my home country.
I certainly applaud Bishop Senyonjo for his support of equal rights for GLBT people. However, towards the end of this article you'll read: "The real problem is a lot of ignorance about human sexuality. God has created diversity." Knowing about human sexuality must be done through science, not the Bible. The Bible--and all holy books that I'm aware of--condemn same-sex relations.
Saturday morning came very quickly. I slept badly. It’s hard to know what the problem was with the toilet in Room 205. It broke up and started shouting all night long. When I checked it in the morning, the floor of the toilet was full of water and yes, you guessed it right, it was running from the sink into the floor. KK was asleep and he didn’t mind, he was so tired and could hardly hear anything. After I had my morning cold shower, I walked to the reading table to check on the regulations. KK was still asleep. I read on the mart that: If there are damages in the hotel during the visitor’s stay, he/she should pay and no visitors allowed in the hotel room. The list was endless and I decided to call the hotel reception to report the problem and no one was picking up the phone.
The Kisumu hotel has no hot water because they switch it off during day time, return it at 7pm and switch it off at 11pm and they switch it back at around 7am for morning shower and the switch it off at around 9am. I walked out of room 205 and headed to the reception where I reported the faulty toilet. They promised to fix it. From here I walked to the restaurant to have my breakfast which was included on the hotel residence fare. As I was there, KK also came. We had several morning goods to take, from Coffee, sausages, tea, bananas, eggs, and bacon. This bacon surprised me so much that I danced. The waitress looked puzzled why I was so happy when I saw it but, hey I just love that. It reminds me a lot of time I spent in Nairobi with a friend in 2003.
We finished breakfast and it was now time to see how the day goes. At 1pm, KK was to travel to Nairobi and leave me in Kisumu .Still he had not shared with me about what kind of business he was up too. As we walked on the clean streets of Kisumu, we spotted rally cars. It was a motor rally organised by Kenya Commercial Bank. This was the starting point. So I and KK chose to spend some hours just enjoying the cars. This is another game, apart from football, that never attracted my attention. It was lovely seeing Kenyans of all walks of life enjoying this huge game. We took several pictures and am happy to share them with you.
From here, we chose to climb a tuku-tuku ride that cost 50 Kshs for both of us, like those ones you see in India to Impala animal sanctuary. Within seconds, we were at the gate animal reserve. It's very big and modernised now--compared to what I saw there in 2003. We both paid 200 Kshs to enter. They have also exchanged the ostrich for two buffaloes and Zebras. Nothing much was there to be seen, we also went to have a hippotomus spot, and we paid 500 Kshs for a round-trip 10-minute boat ride. I felt like were being cheated by this guy but KK said it was ok and we enjoyed the boat ride very much.
Mr. Hippo spotter told us that hippos are the second massive killer in Africa. I have read these claims by Peter Moore in his book “Swahili for the Broken Hearted” and now the guy was affirming it again. It may be true that hippos are so dangerous but it cannot kill more people than wars and conflicts in Africa, it cannot overtake road accidents and HIV/AIDS. Writers claim that malaria is the number one killer in Africa. I find all these arguments very disturbing. Roads in Africa are death traps, how can hippos overtake them?
We left the park at around 12pm. We were very tired and KK decided that we should walk back to township. We hardly knew the roads but KK insisted walking. After walking for a very long puzzling distance to almost all directions and unable to walk more, KK decided to have a bicycle boda-boda take us to Kisumu Museum. We arrived there in ten minutes. The receptionist demanded us to pay 400 Kshs each. We told her that under the East African Community policy, we are supposed to pay 100 Kshs as local people, she said NO, and I told KK what was there to be seen anyway? We looked at the items they had inside which included snakes, crocodiles, and tortoises. Unimpressed, we choose to call it a day, walked to the market and found superstitious woman trying to extort money from ignorant Kenyans by driving curses and strong holds from them using spirits. We continued to the park. Its here that KK bought his ticket to Nairobi and he was leaving in two hours time.
He gave me 3000 Kshs to travel me back to Kampala on Sunday. We spent the next two hours just walking within the interiors of Kisumu, admiring it and its cleanliness; we even went to the public park and found Kenyans celebrating more of the KCB motor rally. We had our lunch here and walked to the around the park.
It was now time to depart. With saddness, I waved to KK and returned to the Hotel. It was now 3pm and now my own. I certainly enjoyed KK's brief companionship, our discussions--all while being outside of Uganda. What will I be doing through out the night? I didn’t know.. Simply wait for my next segment of this trip.
This is about China. But it is also about all of Africa. If homosexuality is illegal and punished, then no one in authority (high school teachers, college instructors) can even teach about homosexuality, including the value of masturbation and shunning anal intercourse. So, the people remain ignorant of this valuable information. This is how HIV spreads from uninformed gays to bisexuals to heterosexuals.
HIV spreads quickly--exponentially. But people don't know that they have HIV and to be cautious and to start treatment because that would only land them in prison. China will suffer what many African nations have been suffering: the young core of workers in a country, leaving only children and old people. The result is the crippling of the economy. And all this unnecessary human suffering is promoted by evangelicals and the Catholic Church. HIV Among Gay, Bisexual Men At Alarming Highs In Asia
KK and I finished bathing individually and everything was back to normal after that cold shower on that Friday afternoon. I was still questioning myself what kind of business KK will be doing in Nairobi and if he will meet me back in Kisumu. We have not discussed this in details. It was now time to look for food. KK chose to go and take a fish on the shores of Lake Victoria. We slowly walked that downtown street that led us there. This time, I picked up my camera with hope that it will work. If it fails, we would simply turn to any studio and seek help.
I spot one Vision studio on the same side walk as we were walking on. We walked in. It's so disturbing when you approach someone with hope that she/he is an expert on something, but later end up being a victim of total incompetence. This was exactly the reception--together with her senior.
After failing to receive any help, we decided to simply walk in any supermarket. Nakkumatt was closer to us, so that's the one we choose. We bought battery cells at 145 Ksh (4060 UGX). I was frustrated and feeling so lost because of the camera's failure to switch on. I inserted the cells which failed to activate the Camera. I decided to forget everything after calling the owner three times and he, too couldn't figure out what was the problem. I and KK were now convinced that the camera was in bad mechanical conditions since its owner lends to almost all his friends with no worry that anyone can use it badly, hence damages. But I was at fault, too, by not taking at least one picture in the presence of the owner.
It was grey as if it was about to rain when we finally landed to the shores of the lake. It looked beautiful. The air was fresh. However, now that the population had doubled since 2003, we were warmly welcomed with every waitress trying to win us to buy their fish.
I usually relax whenever many people try to gain my attention, because when you respond too quickly, you can end up with a raw deal. That's what we did. While they aggressively tried to sell fish, we turned the offer down until when we were sure of the place. KK spotted a much cleaner place and that's what we choose. Although the waitress who welcomed us was relatively unattractive, she was warm and interestingly friendly and I now know that this was the magic why she was having many more customers, than her prettier counterparts.
We paid for our bigger fish escorted by 0.5 Kgs of Ugali (Swahili word meaning posho made from maize flour) and sukumawichi (kind of soup made from green vegetables).This cost us 550 Ksh (15400 Ugx). We then ordered a single 0.5 littre of fanta orange at 40 Kshs (1120 UGX). We waited for around 30 minutes.
A lady served us with a smile. She brought warm water to clean our hands. KK liked the fish and he whispered to me that "you wouldn't find any of this in Uganda (Entebbe) at the same price. I wish if I could always travel to Kisumu to enjoy this fish" I nodded my head in disbelief. I must say it was palatable and tasty. Since our camera failed to function, KK took pictures using his phone.
Kenya is now promoting a huge campaign for the Katiba (Swahili word for Constitution). The "Yes" camp is led by the Government and some religious fanatics are for "NO" camp. As we enjoyed our fish, the landing site was jammed with more matatus and buses carrying campaigners. These added some warmth on the landing site. It was just lovely to watch Kenyans doing their thing. We walked around the shores of Lake Victoria. It started raining on and off, so we stayed in the place where fish was being sold, but the rain ended so quickly.
We decided to walk back to the hotel. As we climbed some ups. I choose to try the camera one more last time. As I pulled it out in its bag, KK shouted to me "Hey let me help you this time" I answered him that wait. I exchanged the cells and re-organised them. When I switched on, the Camera lighted up. I jumped and jumped like a dog that have spent a week not seeing its master. I smiled and laughed with that African big laughs that you know well. KK felt happy for me and we immediately went on a photo taking spree. We even went back to the landing site to take pics of Kenyan campaigners. We found that most of them left, but now my life was at its fullness. Pictures mean a lot to me. I was happy taking more and more pics.
As we waved while walking to the hotel, we met several aging men. They were discussing issues. They noticed us taking pics and believed that we were visitors, so one brave guy approached to inquire who we were; I told him that we are from Uganda. This guy immediately asked "are you Bantu speaking people", he meant to ask if were Baganda because he rephrased his question. When we answered yes, he jumped around as if he was looking for a gun somewhere to hit his enemies. "You are migingo island" or "you want to take our land" the guy continued to be aggressive towards us, apparently they were discussing this, just before they saw us. Uganda and Kenya created world headlines about this disputed piece of rock in Lake Victoria and from media houses. Kenyan politicians were even calling for war with Uganda.
Youth in Kenya even derailed the route that was bringing in Ugandan goods and the tensions were rising each minute. Several diplomatic meetings took place between Kampala and Nairobi, trips of dignitaries were sent to that rocky island which resulted into a commission from both countries to resurvey the boundaries and have a new look on the map. Recently media houses reported that Uganda has given up on it and that now it belongs to Kenya but we have no official communications from the Uganda Government over that issue. This rocky Island is extremely good for catching fish.
According to the Independent newspaper (UK), "Migingo's wealth lies in its proximity to some of the richest remaining deep-water fishing in Lake Victoria." I think the fish we had was also from there, because it was fatty and nice looking. We cooled down and didn’t want any more discussion about this issue, the migingo guys again asked if were to print pictures and if we will give some to them, we all answered “Yes” and walked on to run for our dear life. I strongly think that these bullies were just looking for a fight for any reason. I was just lucky that they didn't snatch my camera.
We decided to spend our last few hours of the day touring the docks. We followed a rail line and as were about to reach the entrance, we were stopped by two younger men. One of them was called David. They were security guards and told us not to continue walking, but rather go back and use a different route. I spent almost forty minutes convincing David that photos are mine and that am Ugandan who will not sell his pictures to the daily newspapers, after viewing my passport, he agreed to allow me take his picture, he even opened up to say that he lived in Kayunga district (Uganda) for a year, he even played football in a local team and he spoke some broken Luganda. This is out in public and it's not a nuclear reactor or a military base. What's the problem with David? I questioned myself. I didn’t have an answer why he opposed me from taking his picture and I didn’t ask him why it was a turbo .
I and KK walked a few meters back to the suggested route by David. We diverted to the docks side. When we arrived at the docks, we paid 40 Kshs both of us. We walked to the oil ferry and took pictures. KK wanted to do a 1997 Titanic move, he recalled it in that movie, but I warned him to be extra-ordinarily careful since the waters looked deep and if he falls in, I will hardly save his life.
Nothing much was there to be seen after we were stopped from accessing other interesting-looking ships. The security guard said that, "that was a different entity and that if we like to tour it, we must come back tomorrow". We simply left and as we were about to get out, I saw a Kenyan immigrations police and Immigrations department, I wanted to take a picture of it, but KK stopped me. I don’t know why did KK stop me and I didn’t ask him why he wouldn’t like me taking pictures of the immigrations. Was it because of prior experience that he knew the police do not like for people to take pictures of them? The police in Africa are too aggressive. In Western Europe, one can take photos of the police--in fact, many will pose for photographers because they know that income from tourism helps pay their salaries.
We walked out of the docks and headed to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 8pm and were too tired to think of having dinner,we simply picked two bottles of 350ml fanta and headed to our room. We were still okay from our fish and Ugali that we ate few hours ago. We rushed to our room 205 and retired. Our first day in Kisumu had finally come to end. It felt good to be in our beds. It was nice resting after a long journey. Please dare not miss my next segment of this trip. Your comments and question are welcome.
We have arrived in Kisumu safely, but there was something that was eating on my mind and I wanted to have Charles’ view of it. I have campaigned against tribalism both in my physical presence, writings, debates and of course in my cyber world. With no offence intended, I wanted to know what Charles thought of it. I asked him, “Apart from English and Kiswahili, do you speak any other language?” His answer was “Yes I speak Luar”. This is one of the 50+ tribes in Kenya and its indigenous presence is mostly found around Eldoret.
I told him that he resembled Akamba, this is also a tribe found mostly in Akamba provinces accommodating towns like Makueni, Machakos and many more. He replied “No” then I asked him if the Akambas get along well with Luars, his answer was disturbing, but I called it a day and waved goodbye to him. Kisumu is dominantly home to Luos and this is the home for Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Obama’s ancestral home.
I and KK crossed the huge park whose name I cannot recall. It was clean and lively. We passed though street vendors busy selling second hand shoes, clothes and everything you can think of to be found in Kisumu. We were extremely tired and hungry. We got a bicycle boda-boda ride that cost 40 Kshs for both me and KK to Imperial Hotel that KK suggested was a good hotel. Most boda-bodas are motorcycles, but some are bicycles. As you can see in the photo, it can be a tight squeeze for two people to sit behind the boda-boda (a term used for both rider and vehicle). Each of us took a private seat that cost 20 Kshs.When we arrived there, we asked ourselves why we didn’t walk in the first place because it was a short distance. We felt cheated but, on second thought, it was fine since we were too exhausted to walk anyway.
We arrived at the Imperial hotel’s reception. No one was around to welcome us, not even a receptionist. The security guard was standing in the far side of corner and didn’t pay attention to us either; so we walked right to the notice board where they listed the prices for staying in this hotel. The prices went from 6750 Kshs (189,000UGX) single bed, but not luxery to 10,000 Kshs deluxe, including a luxurious bed. KK said this was too expensive, thus walking out to check for another place.
We walked the streets trying to look for lodges, but was unable to spot one. We tried engaging Kenyans on streets, but maybe they thought we were Kenyan beggars disturbing them. No one stopped or even dared to inquire about the problem we had. I have traveled several times, so I do have a small experienced on how to deal with people in strange corners of the World. I told KK that the only option we have is to walk directly to a security guard or policeman and ask for help. I spotted one and walked to her quickly. She directed us to Kisumu hotel which was 100 meters away. We walked there as though free gold were being handed out.
When we arrived there, the hotel’s interior looked marvelous and lovely, and we were welcomed by a Kenyan lady who was at the reception desk. She presented us with a warm smile that attracted my attention and missed a heartbeat in me. The prices were more friendly to our wallets, ranging from 4000 Kshs single bed, and the same bed was being offered at 5500 Kshs for two people. KK chose to check on the rooms before he paid. He liked them and paid for one night. They gave us room 205.
The room was nice and smelt good inside and was cooled by AC. All day it was so hot outside, so I rushed to have a shower. When I came out, KK said that he will be leaving me in Kisumu tomorrow for his continued business trip to Nairobi about which I had no idea--and didn’t ask for details either. But one thing I knew was that, I will enjoy more for being alone on my own. I felt sad because, I didn’t know what was up with KK and he wasn’t willing to share more, I decided to say that “Some things are better not known” and cooled down. The story is just getting started, dare not miss my next segment . . . .
We had been in Busia-Kenyan side for now 30 minutes and we have spotted everything a stranger would spot on arrival in a new town. There was nothing much to keep us in this township. We made a choice that we will eat our lunch in Kisumu. We calculated time and made a mental note that by 1pm, we will be in Kisumu. It was now around 10:45am. There were many matatus heading to Kisumu and all other major towns in Kenya. We made a mistake by simply jumping into the next matatu without checking if there were other matatus that had several passengers than this one.
We were influenced by the fare which was 250 (7000 UGX), we thus felt that heading to the taxi park will make us pay more. There was a passenger in the front seat which accommodates two people, when the matatu touts sensed that we wanted the front seat, he requested the other passenger to swift to the back seats. I was frustrated by this, but later learnt that other passengers were not heading to Kisumu. They were short distance travelers and he didn’t want to miss this opportunity. The matatu had only four passengers and was moving up and down,if we were in Kampala,we would have had a reason to feel unsafe. Currently there’s much robbery in Kampala matatus. You must be very cautious of those matatus that have only three to five passengers; chances are very high that you will be robbed.
The Driver of this matatu impressed me by hitting the road without full board passengers and was wondering how he calculated his moves and fuel, but that was none of my business, I kept quite. He drove like a kilometer while his co-driver is shouting for people walking on the side of the road if they were going to Kisumu. None of them was heading there. I knew that we have made mistake but couldn’t have a way of jumping off this matatu. After sensing that no passengers, he made a U-turn and got back to the starting point, thankfully, when we got to point A, there were some travelers heading to other towns like Luanda, another municipal town which is bigger before arriving Kisumu.
The driver was a darker average guy who spoke very good Luganda. I asked him if he was Ugandan driving matatus in Kenya and he said yes he was, I asked why? His answer was that it was easier to make money in Kenyan than in Kampala; and from my observations, he was right. There were more people traveling in Kenya than in Uganda. It felt good to be on the road to Kisumu. I was in the front seat and felt depressed because the camera was not working, I had bought new batteries from the Ugandan side but what in the hell stopped it from being switched on?! So I will not be able to take photos of outstanding scenes. This was most unsettling.
After being on the road for some minutes and drove like 10 kilometers, the matatu stopped for a group of people that looked like a bandits. I know Kenyan roads has this problem, but I wasn’t worried for one simple reason, this was a day time taxi and the driver looked presentable and very calm, so there was no reason to worry. Instead it turned out to be that the driver was handing the job to another guy. This is also very common in Uganda.
The new driver was a brown guy, looked more like an Ankole guy from western Uganda. He put on a cream-coloured T-shirt. He looked more peaceful, healthier, friendly and logical guy than his counterpart. His names were Charles Omondi. He spoke good English. We discussed almost everything. He narrated how life is harder for matatu drivers; apparently the Local Admnistration had introduced new taxes on matatus.
Every time a matatu enters a township, the driver is charged 50Kshs in road taxes (1400Ugx). The other vehicles were exempted from this tax which I found to be unfair. The road was in its worst state: full of potholes as deep as ancient St Goorge churches in Lalibela in Ethiopia. I asked why then do local government introduced this tax? Charles’ answer was "corruption".
Apart from paying huge taxes to almost all towns in Kenya, from my count, this matatu paid 300 Kshs (8400 UGX) for the journey from Busia to Kisumu without what they gave the Police officials. There’s a huge number of traffic and Police officers who wake up very early in the morning simply to grab money from trucks, matatus and buses for no particular offense and most drivers in Kenya consider giving these officials money as an obligation. I hate to say it but my heart goes to poor matatu drivers in Kenya. It’s too much compared to what we complain about back home (Uganda).
We cruised through large and small villages that had electricity and looked more organised and civilized than their opposite in Uganda. All villages and towns on the road had electricity and some kind of business activity than in Uganda. It looked nice to see women burning maize on strange charcoal stoves on the roadside.
It was refreshing to see the greener environment and hilly tops that represented good life to the other side of the hill. I asked Charles why there was almost no food in Kenya (90% of food that feeds Kenya comes from Uganda) yet the soils looked fertile and it was raining, his answer was that people own very small piece of land, hence only grow food for home consumption and those who had huge chunks of land were extremely lazy. I asked myself, "What incentives get Ugandan farmers to produce that are not present to get Kenyan farmers to produce?" I had no answer.
As we approached Yala township and YalaRiver, Charles wanted to share with me about his Jesus. I listened to him and when I revealed to him that I was atheist, he felt sorry for me and disturbed, but discontinued the evangelisation mission and resorted to share with me about his home village which was good.
He grew up near Yala. He felt proud to be telling about his life. He also shared with me about his marriage of five years now and had three biological kids and those other laggage (read children) from his extended family that he takes care of. This is very common in Africa where relatives simply create babies and send them to other relatives simply because they cannot take care of their offspring.
This beats my understanding why one would procreate when one is very poor to raise a decent child. What I don't understand is how two people (or even just the mother) can fail to realise that bringing a child into the world is a very serious matter. If you don't have the resources to be able to feed the child well so that its brain develops, enabling the child to be as intelligent as possible, and then to make sure that the child is well educated, then why have a child at all?
KK spent most of this journey taking pictures with his phone camera. The camera I had was useless weight--and depressing me to a degree.
As we approached mid-day, we arrived in Luanda and Charles diverted to the local taxi park to drop some passengers. LuandaTaxiPark is the photocopy of Entebbe town TaxiPark. Before I said anything, KK noted that and shared it with me. We spent few minutes in and got back to the road. It's in this town that KK paid our fare to Kisumu, apparently the conductor was aggressively asking money from us in the initials of the trip, but we told Charles, we will only pay the money after covering half of the trip. Luanda was between Busia and Kisumu. Charles approached us and politely asked if it was okay to pay. KK agreed, and handed him a 1000 Kshs bank note. He then brought our balance. Charles was refueling at the only Petrol station in the area. I took upon myself to take the balance which was a 500 note--Kenya money.
As we drove off the station, I spotted an aging Kenyan woman shouting “Njugu..njugu…njugu” Swahili word for ground nuts. I like taking boiled seeds of Gnuts. She had both roasted and boiled ones. I shouted to her "Njugu..njugu" and she came running as if I was buying a kilo of it. She didn’t have small notes to change the 500 bank note I had, so Charles ordered his conductor to pay 20 Kshs (560 UGX). The initial cost of a cup of Gnuts was 10Kshs, so Charles paid 20 for me and KK . He told me not to forget return the 20 Kshs on arrival to Kisumu. I answered that I will not forget. He smailed back to me.
I must say that I enjoyed riding with Charles. He was warm and friendlier than I expected. Most Kenyans who are not educated are so rude and my readers that have traveled to this beautiful country will agree with me, but we rarely hear one refer to people like Charles who are working very hard to secure a better reputation of Kenya. When we were about to reach Maseno, Charles said "I will point you to the Equator". I felt happy for this. I have traveled to Kenya several time and never spotted the Equator. Maseno is a small agricultural town right on the Equator.
At this point, the conductor requested me to pay his 20 Kshs that he lent to me to buy Gnuts. I gave him a 500 bank note, he gave me 470 instead of 480. I wanted to let him take my 10 kshs, but knowing that we were on a budget trip, I felt it like it was not wise to leave money behind. This is a very common habit in Kenya, even in restaurants; they pay half of less money, especially when the change cash accommodates coins. I truly feel that this habit is dishonest. I requested my 10 Kshs and he paid it back to me. I smiled to him and he replied “sawa” Swahili word for ok.
Maseno township celebrates its association with this bit of geographic trivia by naming several businesses in town after it. There was an Equator kiosk, Equator butcher shop, Equator coke and many more. There was a time when this sort of thing would have interested me. I probably would have stayed a few days to search out any equator moments, conducting experiments to see if water did go down the plughole in different directions (the Coriolis effect) on the different sides, but we wanted to reach Kisumu by 3pm and I was tired. The Equator point in Uganda is well developed and I had visited it before and done all the experiments.
Maseno also accommodates MasenoUniversity which was a teachers college before. As you leave Maseno, you start seeing the outskirts of Kisumu. It’s a lovely scene. We drove very quickly from Maseno and arrived in Kisumu 15 minutes to 3pm. We were indeed tired, but honestly, I expressed my appreciation to Charles by saying thank you to him for being a good driver who was very careful on the bad road. He answered that “You have made my day and made me proud, you are the first passengers to thank me” We were now in Kisumu. The air was fresh and lively.
I and KK went through Ugandan Immigrations. KK carried a Ugandan National passport and I carried the East African Passport both issued by the Ugandan Government. The law states that when a citizen of any these countries namely Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi carrying an East African passport, he/she should let her/his document be stamped at the entry point once in six month unlike the National Passports that requires you to line up in long queue waiting to go through Immigrations.
Nonetheless, the requirement for the East African passport discriminates against most people--particularly those who are below a certain middle-class level. For example, if a poor person (as most Africans are) wanted to visit relatives in Kenya for an annual get-together (to place flowers on a relative's grave, celebrate a child's birthday), if the law was followed, they'd have to purchase a new passport five years. Why can't the law read "stamped every fifteen months"? If we really had democracy in East Africa--or anywhere in Africa--we the people would probably have the law changed so that our East African passports need to be stamped once every four years.
I have used the East African passport several times and I see no reason or benefit in carrying it since this law that puts it in place is dormant and authorities don’t follow it. I have gone through Immigrations and lined up almost to two hours with nationals that carry National Passport. My last visit to Kenya was in December 2009 and I again used this passport. They stamped it at the Ugandan side and the stamp was not clear, but I didn’t notice it by that time. Why on earth we are still stuck using mid-19th century technology?
Now I was in Immigrations of Uganda and moments after I handed my document to an official, he forced it to the reading machine and from my observation, the machine proved that my passport was genuine. The official, nonetheless, was with doubt. I asked what the problem was and instead of answering me, he chose to pass my passport to his senior official which caught the attention of KK, but later he approved me and waved me on. After he finally stamped it, it felt good to be leaving the immigrations.
I took a closer look at my passport to find out what the problem was. I noticed that the stamp that I got during my previous crossing was watery and almost run out. This is what attracted the attention of the Immigration officer. Surely, if East African countries are sincere about fighting forgeries, then much greater care and the use of modern technology should be in order. With the high rampant fraud and forgery taking place in Government and private entities, the official thought that may be I also forged the stamp. I didn’t feel threatened because my path had been always clean. Am a good global citizen who respects the law almost to a fault.
I wanted to take a picture of both the No man’s land and the border fence on the Uganda side. I had borrowed a camera from a friend back in Kampala. I was so disturbed when the switch failed the camera with no clear reasons why it turned up so. Immediately as I pulled the camera again to see what the problem is, the lady sitting on a small chair called us to present our passport for her to prove that we have gone through the immigrations correctly. I was busy fixing the camera and KK was also eagerly looking on to see what’s happening with it, then when I looked up, I saw this lady on the chair trying to wave to us to make it known to us that she wanted to see the passport but she didn’t utter any word. KK had both passports in his hands, so I pointed out to her, he walked and presented the two passports and she waved us ahead to Kenya.
There was an overbearingly arrogant guy that was standing next to the lady. He was too full of himself just like the NRM (National Resistance Movement led by President Museveni and been in power for now 25 years) officials you see in Kampala. They are too proud yet they have no performing capacity to transform Uganda.
He wanted to let me know that he was around, so he shouted to me “You are NOT allowed to take pictures”. I asked why? “I am a security officer and if I say you are not allowed to take pictures, that’s it” he barked like a jumping dog. I calmly told him that “ If I had taken pics at Entebbe Airport and on board, what about this rotten, dusty, full-of-trash Ugandan border?. KK looked calmly as usual and being a peaceful person, he initiated the walking with hope that I will ignore the man and move on. I did exactly as he hoped.
We walked to the Kenyan Immigrations. We had no trouble. It felt good to be in Kenya. We were so hungry and didn’t really know what to do next. There were thousands of people transacting all sorts of business. The Busia side of Kenya looked livelier. It was dirty just like its opposite in Uganda, but the sound of business on the Kenyan side proved that if there was anyone benefiting from the East African free trade agreements, it was Kenya. It’s offering more business than any other East African region and that’s why its currency beats all the other four currencies. Each East African nation has its own currency.
Standing at the pavements of the rotten and dirty roads while watching Uganda pass by to the other side and observing the tricks of the working ladies (call them Prostitutes) proved that there’s so much more to enjoy life than simply staying in Kampala. I have passed through Busia thousands of times, but all at night. Now, I was getting the bigger picture of what it meant to have your lunch in Uganda and have your next bottle of water from Kenya. Both sides of Busia are full of street kids busy begging from passengers crossing from both sides. I used to be sympathetic to them but now, I'm not. I hate the growing populations that are making life harder.
The failure to embrace safer contraceptives in Africa have resulted into youth who are not productive to any country in Africa. The church and all other religions are busy telling people NOT to use condoms or other kinds of contraceptives. All the contraception process we have is from other countries.
African governments are not doing enough to fund its own research on population control. Thanks to the Kenyan politicians that are now suggesting making abortion legal under the supreme law. I am for abortion on demand, because I support the right of the woman to make a decision on whether to have an abortion. Abortion is not murder. The African governments must put in place safe places where women like those in Busia can go for abortion legally instead of allowing them to create humans that will end up being a menace to the whole world.
The men of overpopulated societies end up being a serious menace simply because they can be easily lured into terrorism activities because they have less money. Yes, we know that young men of the middle-class can be lured into terrorism as well, but I've been taking note of young men in Central and Latin American countries who, out of poverty, join the armed forces of tyrants.
Even in America, young blacks give as their reason for joining the Armed Forces is because of poverty and the promise of education after their service is completed. In other words, kill other people first, then the American government will grant you some money for education. Americans now know that they were killing Vietnamese in the 60s and 70s for no good reason.
Former Department of Defense Robert McNamara admitted that he lied to the American people. For more details given by Gareth Porter, in his article "Exclusive: Robert McNamara deceived LBJ on Gulf of Tonkin, documents show," gohere.
Poor citizens of any country have nothing to lose. No one cares for them. They are not educated, they have no hope. They struggle to put food on table and worst of all, they have grown to manhood and now busy making babies supported by the Church/mosques and other religions, but at the same time, they are not willing to see their offspring take the same route and suffer just as their parents did and this is where trouble will begin. More articles on the definition, description and consequences of overpopulation will appear on this blog. Keep on checking.
You are fee to comment on this post. Until then,do wait my next edition of the trip.
I'm sure you're wildly enthusiastic about the South African soccer match and are devoting your every waking moments watching guys kick around a ball.(am not personally even though i watched the kick off and will write on my observations in my next post) 
