|
Hello Mr President
By David Ouma Balikowa |
Rich boy hears about Gulu�s street people
July 11, 2003
|
Three teenage boys, unknown to each other, had a rare encounter at a food restaurant in Kampala. They were accompanying some adults who sat at another table and left the young boys to chat freely. The first boy identified himself as Mr Twine. He informed his friends that he lives in plush Kololo and goes to one of those posh schools in Kampala. His father combines politics, business and government work. As a matter of fact, he proudly announced that his father and mother are great supporters of President Yoweri Museveni. That they are quite wealthy and own a lot. His parents travel abroad a lot and bring them whatever they like. As Twine paused to take a bite at his food, one of the other two boys felt it was time for them to say something about themselves. They had listened in awe as Twine talked. The boy seated facing Twine began with a stammer: Twine: Gulu? Where Kony (LRA rebel leader) cuts off people�s lips. Ooooh. Our parents always turn off our TV set whenever there is news about Kony and his killings. It can destroy one�s appetite! Like daddy always says, however many Acholi Kony kills, the important thing is that Museveni will always remain in power. He paused for another bite at his food. The third boy seized this opportunity to say something too. His name, he said, was Moses Kikomeko and lives in Natete, a Kampala suburb. Kikomeko: Sorry Otto. It must be hard living in Gulu. My uncle was a soldier in the army. He died while fighting the rebels in northern Uganda. His wife had to leave Kampala because she had no money and the children had dropped out of school. Otto: In Acholi people die every day. We run away from our village after many people had been killed. It was always confusing. The rebels always attacked soon after the soldiers had just passed. Sometimes the army would even be very near. There are many people sleeping in the streets in Gulu. It is better than life in the camps. The rebels always attack them. The children are always sick and dying. Very young girls get pregnant by the soldiers and the many idle men there. Twine: We also had relatives who were soldiers in the north who died in the war. Some of their relatives from Bushenyi and Ntungamo used to come to disturb my parents for money and jobs. They used to get them jobs in Uganda Revenue Authority and elsewhere. But it became too much. I do not like it when poor people from the village come to visit. Some of them smell and eat a lot. When they visit, they never want to go away. So my parents became tough and chased them away. I think they were simply being lazy. Why don�t they start their own businesses and stop disturbing us. Kikomeko: We also have many poor relatives at our home. My daddy pays school fees for four orphans whose parents died of Aids. My mum comes from eastern Uganda and the relatives there are very poor. My parents sometimes feel like crying but they always say these are their people and must do their best to help them. We always share the little we have. They say whenever they plant maize in the villages; the prices go down at harvest time. So they keep on sending messages asking for money to pay school fees for their children. We sometimes have almost nothing to eat but our parents say blood is thicker than water and God wants us to help others. My father tells those who come for jobs that he is not well connected to help them. My father does not know very many people in good positions in government. Twine: My father knows very many big people. He deals with only big and rich people. He knows many people at State House, the revenue authority and elsewhere. Our relatives are big officers in the army. We had some neighbours who were daddy�s friends. One was called Mr Nugisha. They were rich. But they became very stupid and supported [Col. Kizza] Besigye (former presidential candidate). My daddy was angry with them and warned them that they would lose all the good connections and money. They ignored him but after Besigye run into exile, they could not pay taxes for their businesses. Their house was also auctioned and we hear they stay in a slum in Kampala. Their children now go to UPE (Universal Primary Schools) schools. My mother just said �good riddance, let them follow Besigye in exile if they want�. At this point Kikomeko felt like interjecting. So when Twine paused for a drink, he quickly cleared his mouth to say something. Kikomeko: My father was also a Besigye supporter. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Kikomeko: He says he would rather stay poor but follow principled politics and stay away from corrupt people. He says we would rather stay poor than support Museveni for financial reward and get our relatives jobs. Some of them are well educated but won�t easily find jobs for lack of connections. He says time will come for the corrupt to pay however long it will take. He says governments will always change. Twine: Forget about Museveni. He is here to stay. My father and mother support Museveni for a third term. My father recently sent away a friend called Mwine when he came to our house to advise him to campaign against the third term. He told him to go and ask (Eriya) Kategaya, Bidandi Ssali and (Miria) Matembe; the ministers who were sacked for opposing the third term for Museveni. He said if Mwine opposes Museveni against the third term, he will end up poor like our former neighbour Nugisha. He might even be arrested for treason like those chaps in jail. Otto: In Acholi, almost everyone is very poor. People have nothing to do. No one is sure of being alive the next day. Now Aids is on the increase. Some people say it is the soldiers spreading Aids. We never used to have Aids before the war and many soldiers came to our place. Kikomeko: That is our Uganda. If you talk to those who have directly benefited from this government, they will tell you the economy is doing very well and the poor are poor because they are lazy. But the villagers are getting poorer everyday. No one can develop with many poor relatives around the place. And when it comes to elections, they are easily manipulated in exchange for a kilogramme of salt or a bar of soap. It is a pity America�s President (George Bush) is not visiting northern Uganda. He would get the shock of his life. If the war is not stopped and poverty is reduced, the fight against Aids will be tough. Like daddy always says, unless Uganda�s leaders learn to be democratic and become less power hungry, we shall keep on making one step forward and two steps backwards. Twine was burning to say something but the conversation ended prematurely when the accompanying adults announced their departure. |
� 2003 The Monitor Publications
Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8.
