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On The Mark
By Alan Tacca |
The heroes of uhuru songs
Oct 19, 2003
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George Wilberforce Kakoma composed Uganda's National Anthem. An army officer (now a retired major), Kanuti Akorimo, lowered the Union Jack and raised Uganda's flag at independence on October 9, 1962. Apparently for the first time, the two men were invited to the independence celebrations at Kololo this year. Perhaps as a result of uncoordinated government protocol movements, Kakoma and Akorimo got the impression that they would leave Kololo as decorated "heroes". Sorry, I am a bit cynical. Put aside the privileged groups; I am not absolutely sure that the wretched of our compatriots-and they are the majority-have fared better in the 41 years than they would have under colonialism. Then again in over 40 years of independence, even allowing for population growth, Ugandan rulers and their security forces have killed, driven into exile or internal refugee camps, arbitrarily imprisoned or otherwise seriously abused far more people than the British did in some 80 years of colonial rule. To those who suffer, the idea that it is better to be oppressed and exploited by their fellow natives than by the agents of a white colonial power is untenable. Independence should have availed opportunities to more people who were willing to strive for prosperity. Independence should have brought a heightened sense of freedom and belonging among our people. Perhaps even an abundance of hope. In a different context, last Sunday's editorial in this paper put across a classic notion; that "a vision is not like a badge or a coat that can be worn or paraded around. It is a conglomeration of shared ideas, experiences, hopes and aspirations that can only materialise when people relate and associate freely, socially, culturally and politically." For many Ugandans, independence has meant the negation of that beautiful idea. Every long-serving ruler has demanded that the nation look down the abyss, instructing that it refuses to succumb at its peril. How different was the morality of the colonial model? Maj. Akorimo and his flags obviously thinks that October 9 was a terribly great moment, and that his role at the time should raise him to the level of a decorated hero. Some sections of the Ugandan public agree. A few even get passionate. Most don't care. George Kakoma's National Anthem was a winning entry in an open competition. Kakoma is now a respected academic. But as a creative artiste, he is relatively unknown, whether as a composer or performer in one of the classical traditions, or as a practitioner in a simpler more "popular" genre. The music and inspiration in Uganda's Anthem is very regular stuff. Many a young music student around the world could have cobbled it in one evening, complete with lyrics. However, the context of Kakoma's composition gave him elevated exposure and an advantage he was not quite able to exploit with other works. This can happen. And now the dear man, waxing lyrical about patriotism, is talking of a Loyalty Pledge he has composed, which he wants to be incorporated in the school curriculum (brainwashing?) and imposed on government officials. He has not observed how tiresome such things are. He has not learned that his countrymen learned nothing about citizenship from his Anthem, so he is not afraid that they will learn nothing about patriotism from his Pledge. The NRM regime, which seized power in 1986, had nothing but contempt for the governments that had ruled Uganda since independence. Indeed, one sometimes gets the impression that President Museveni and his close officials go through the motions of independence celebrations as a matter of formal necessity. The enthusiasm is reserved for their different (NRM) anniversaries. If the regime is now tentatively reaching out to the personalities associated with the rituals of independence, it is probably because the NRM's once unassailable constituency appears to be disintegrating. Unfortunately, with these overtures, too, they have bungled. A government minister has admitted that they dangled this honours thing, but later realised that they did not yet have a system or even a set of agreed criteria by which heroes would be identified. At the same time, another minister (in the President's Office) has scoffed at the idea of elevating the two men, arguing that the artiste, Kakoma, and the colonial military functionary, Akorimo, played their parts after those who struggled had done the main job. He warned us that we may "end up worshipping devils instead of God" (Sunday Monitor, October 12). So you have Maj. Akorimo in his sulks "boycotting" the October 9 "state" lunch at Kabira Country Club and Prof. Kakoma unable to attend because of "another commitment". But if Kakoma's work was not liberating, and "resistance" or "struggling" are the legitimate agencies of freedom, then perhaps Ugandan music has this very year produced its true heroes of independence. At the official celebrations in Iganga, the children of Iganga Junior School reportedly sang a song highlighting the betrayal by all Uganda's post-independence governments, enumerating their plight as children and as citizens. Because the NRM regime was not exempted, the RDC (the President's representative in the district) ordered police investigations. Not surprising. The children had already sung that the country was retrogressing instead of moving forward. |
� 2003 The Monitor Publications
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