Author: Jane Nannono

I am a mother of three, a medical doctor by profession, who has always been fascinated by the written word. I am a published author- my first fiction novel was published in March 2012 and is entitled ' The Last Lifeline'. I self -published my second fiction novel entitled ' And The Lights Came On' . I am currently writing my third fiction novel and intend to launch it soon. I also write short stories: two of them - Buried Alive in the Hot Kalahari Sand, Move Back to Move Forward were published among the 54 short stories in the first Anthology of the Africa Book Club, Volume 1 of December 2014. It is entitled: The Bundle of Joy.

WHEN THE RAINS  WREAK HAVOC 

Part 1

The two and half decades that I worked in Botswana, a country three times my country Uganda and 70 percent of its territory is the Kalahari Desert, I learned to treasure water, use it sparingly and to recycle it.  Even up to today I keep a permanent bucket in my kitchen to collect clean water used for washing vegetables or rinsing utensils for watering plants and trees in the kitchen garden and compound.

In a desert, water is life- part of food security, increases productivity in agriculture, energy and industry.

I quickly picked the 3Rs of the best practices of sustaining our environment namely: REDUCE, REUSE

and RECYCLE.

I arrived in Botswana during the severe drought of 1990-1995. I never saw a drop of rain until six months later! Very weird for a person born and raised at the Equator.

On my return to Uganda, I have come to realise that there have been a lot of changes in the weather patterns and the day to today minimum and maximum temperatures. The rainy seasons are no longer as predictable as they used to be while I was growing up in the 60s and 70s. The two rainy seasons in the Central region used to be March to May and then September to November. Now Uganda experiences short, heavy rains and harsh droughts especially in the Eastern and North –Eastern Uganda.

 These changes demand for reliable water management, opening up irrigation schemes to ensure food security and productivity, effective and efficient use of water for energy and industry.

The climatic changes are mainly due to a scientifically proven concept of Global warming- the warming up of the earth’s surface through the greenhouse effect by increased levels of Carbon dioxide gas and other greenhouse gases like Methane and Nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. The gases trap the sun’s heat causing warming and this in itself results in climate change.

Available information shows that as early as 1896, Swedish scientist: Svante Arrhenius, first predicted how the increasing Carbon dioxide gas levels in the atmosphere were substantially altering the surface temperatures through the greenhouse effect. 

In 1938, Guy Callendar had concluded that the increase of Carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere had continued to cause global warming.

1988 was recorded as the hottest year on record with widespread drought and wildfires in the USA. The changes were mainly due to global warming.

The increase in the greenhouse gases was due to human activities namely:

  • Burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, gas for energy-responsible for 90 percent of Carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere.
  • Deforestation 
  •  Industrial emissions
  • Increased agriculture and livestock farming 
  • Waste and landfills.
  • Use of industrial chemicals.

Generally, 20 percent of global warming is a result of deforestation.

Most of us could remember what we were taught in a biology class: how green plants made the sugar that they need for energy and building other essential molecules by the chemical process known as PHOTOSYNTHESIS. During this process, green plants, algae and some types of bacteria trap the sunlight energy and use it with water and Carbon dioxide gas to form carbohydrates(sugars)  and release Oxygen, vital for the survival of life, as a by-product.

In this process, the plants remove the Carbon dioxide from the air while the Oxygen forms the ozone layer which protects living organisms from high –energy ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.

As the world’s population increases, more land is cleared of trees to create space for building houses, factories, commercial agriculture and as fuel for cooking and heating.

In Uganda, trees are cut down mainly for agricultural expansion and to use as firewood and charcoal-the main source of energy for most ordinary people. Forest reserves have been encroached upon.

As forest land is being converted for economic purposes, not many trees are being planted so this has led to fast accumulation of Carbon dioxide gas in the air leading to fast global warming.

https://www.climate.gov  claims that the earth’s temperature has risen by  an average of 0.06 degrees Celsius /0.11F per decade since 1850.

The main effects of climate change:

The increase in temperatures are causing ice sheets and glaciers to melt especially at the poles and has resulted in the rise of sea levels, floods and displacement of communities and the disruption of ecosystems.

Even the snow and glaciers on the Rwenzori Mountains known as the Mountains of the Moon at 5,109 metres and close to the Equator in Western Uganda, are progressively shrinking. Lake Victoria levels tend to be increasing more so during the short but heavier rainy periods.

I grew up in a green Kampala city, built on the traditional seven hills but now, when I walk in the city, I can easily count the trees standing! The oldest tree (70 years+) could be the Mvule tree at Namungoona opposite the Main Greek Orthodox Church along Hoima Road. 

 The seven hills have expanded to 22+ hills all covered by residential houses, hardly any green area.  

Deforestation and warm temperatures cause extreme weather patterns/events: flash floods and severe drought. Since the 1990s, Kampala has suffered flash floods which seem to be getting heavier over the years.

On the 26th March 2025, just after the searing heat of February, it took only two hours of relentless rain to flood the city and surrounding areas. The roads became impassable; the drainage channels were blocked. Movement had to be minimised for safety and by the end of day, seven people were reported dead and a lot of damage had been caused on property and businesses.

Other areas like Lugazi (about 46 kilometres east of Kampala) suffered floods too.

The rainy season has just begun. We all fear what could happen next as far as preparedness and response are concerned.

END OF PART 1

To be continued…….

QUESTION: 

How are you participating actively in stopping the polluting of the environment in your community?

A clean, safe environment starts with you and I.

In honour of the multitasking African woman

The month of March is seared in my memory as the Women’s month worldwide. It triggers specific memories about the struggles that Ugandan women have gone through and continue to endure to be recognised and rewarded as full members of a patriarchal society. Surely , we have come a long way since 1984- the time we celebrated the International Women ‘s day for the first time in Uganda.

This year’s celebrations were held at Butemba College in Kyankwazi District, South Buganda. My nonagenarian mother sat glued to the television to watch the celebrations as she has done for the last ten years or so.

To recognise our accomplishments as mothers of the nation; juggling family, caregiving and work , I felt it necessary to post an article on this blog.

The most ideal one I could come up with was the one I wrote in March 2020 because it still holds true in light of the reality on the ground but I had to scroll through Uganda’s fact sheet of 2024 at the UN Women website to catch up with the times.

One item that caught my eye was the fact that in 2024, 33.9 % of the seats in the current Parliament of Uganda are held by women. Worth cheering for when compared to the one and only pioneer , Mrs. Florence Alice Lubega in the 1962 Parliament. That is until I checked the available data from our neighbours in Rwanda and Kenya.

Of the 80 members in the lower House in Rwanda, 49 are females translating to 61 percent of the total with 30% attributed to affirmative action for women.

In Kenya, there are 96 females across the two chambers of 416 members, translating to 23 % of the total still without affirmative action.

Uganda ‘s affirmative action to get more women in Parliament started in 1989: the women in each district to be represented by one female from the area. It is ongoing.

According to the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association, out of the 557 members in the current parliament, 189 are females translating in 33.9%. Of these 146 are District Women representatives and 13 are elected constituency members. A lot remains to be done by the women themselves and the men and women of Uganda together to increase the women numbers.

“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.”- Malala Yousafzai

MY UNSUNG HEROINE

MY UNSUNG HEROINE

The month of March is seared in my memory as the Women’s month worldwide. It triggers specific memories about the struggles that Ugandan women have gone through and continue to endure to be recognised and rewarded as full members of a patriarchal society. Surely , we have come a long way since 1984- the time we celebrated the International Women ‘s day for the first time in Uganda.

This year’s celebrations were held at Butemba College in Kyankwazi District, South Buganda. My nonagenarian mother sat glued to the television to watch the celebrations as she has done for the last ten years or so.

To recognise our accomplishments as mothers of the nation; juggling family, caregiving and work , I felt it necessary to post an article on this blog.

The most ideal one I could come up with was the one I wrote in March 2020 because it still holds true in light of the reality on the ground but I had to scroll through Uganda’s fact sheet of 2024 at the UN women data website to catch up with the times.

One item that caught my eye was the fact that in 2024, 33.9 % of the seats in the current Parliament of Uganda are held by women. Worth cheering for when compared to the one and only pioneer , Mrs. Florence Alice Lubega in the 1962 Parliament. That is until I checked the available data from our neighbours in Rwanda and Kenya.

Of the 80 members in the lower House in Rwanda, 49 are females translating to 61 percent of the total with 30% attributed to the 2003 affirmative action for women.

In Kenya, there are 96 females across the two chambers of 416 members, translating to 23 % of the total without affirmative action.

Uganda ‘s affirmative action to get more women in Parliament started in 1989: the women in each district to be represented by one female from the area. It is ongoing.

According to the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association, out of the 557 members in the current parliament, 189 are females translating in 33.9%. Of these 146 are District Women representatives and 13 are elected constituency members. A lot remains to be done by the women themselves and the men and women of Uganda together to increase the women numbers.

“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.”- Malala Yousafzai

Senegal has had a 50/50 law of parity since 2010.

MY UNSUNG HEROINE

THE LOYAL FOLLOWER

The oldest bookshop in Uganda located at Ebenezer House Plot 4 Colvile Street Kampala, Uganda.

There is one place that always makes me feel like a kid in a candy store; very excited, overwhelmed by choice and difficult to stop myself from looking around in fascination.
Amazingly, I still remember vividly when I first had that experience. I could have been six years old as my father held my right hand as we entered a huge place filled with books. Books of all sizes and colour. He knew exactly where we needed to go: The Children’s Books Corner. At one big table, there were many hardback books of the Ladybird Books series. Majority were blue in colour.
“ Look through and choose at least ten that we can buy for our home library,’’ he had offered me with a glint in his eyes.
My eyes had widened in surprise and wonder as Christmas had come early that year!
He had waited for me patiently as he looked through other bigger books at the next shelf.
As I flicked through the Ladybird books , I noticed that the faces of all the characters were white and the stories talked about Peter and Jane and their parents. I was overwhelmed by the choice and yet I managed to pick at least 12 of them. My father gladly paid for them all and an assistant carried them for us to the car, parked opposite the Central Police station. My siblings and I became regular customers of that book store. Visits to it were like a special treat for us. The home library expanded to include many other Children’s books.
As we grew older we came to know that the huge place was called the Uganda Bookshop
and our curiosity led us to find out much more about it. It was Uganda’s biggest bookstore, sold Bibles, Childrens’ books and many others and also supplied textbooks and scholastic materials to all schools in Uganda. It had regional branches across the country.
It had been started by a Church Missionary official by the name Mackay, the same Mackay of Mackay Martyrs church in Natete, the oldest church in Uganda. It started in Namirembe as a printery for the Anglican church ; printing Christian materials to ease the spread of Christianity in Uganda. By 1927, it had expanded to sell books and Bibles and had become the business arm of the church. Over time it became the main supplier of textbooks and scholastic materials to all schools in Uganda. This dominance was broken during 60s by the government of Milton Obote when it opened up the Uganda school supplies agency.
Uganda Bookshop limped on and during Amin’s time it diversified into selling and exporting Ugandan hand crafts as far as Italy. It has changed locations several times but I still remember that its Post office Box number was 145 for decades. Like Mary’s little lamb, my siblings and I followed it wherever it moved merely to buy books to read and be entertained.


As a teenager, I was a talented sports person and four of my other siblings.
I could run as fast as a hare so for many years I was a member of the school’s relay team,
220 yards race and long jump. For some years, our relay team dominated the national school championships held in the city’s national stadium every July. The winning was exhilarating but the Uganda Bookshop vouchers that the top 3 in each race were presented with, were the cherries on the cake. They ranged from 25 and 10 Ugandan shillings and with each one, you could buy several story books or a text book from the Bookshop. This fanned my culture of reading books for years. Little wonder that I am now writing fiction novels and short stories of my own!
I hardly think twice when buying a masterpiece novel or the autobiography of icons
like the late Nelson Mandela and fellow Ugandans like Rhoda Kalema and the late Joyce
Mpanga.


Then between 1962 and 2003 something incredibly exciting happened on the literary
scene: a collection of works by African writers; 359 books, was introduced on the literary scene by Heinemann Educational Books company of United Kingdom.
We started reading African stories written by Africans, stories we could easily relate to. African Literature at its best. First among these was Chinua Achebe’s THINGS FALL APART, which became a set book at
the O-level Cambridge school certificate exam.
In East Africa , first among these series was Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s WEEP NOT CHILD and Okot p’Bitek’s Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol . They were Colour-coded: Blue for nonfiction, Orange for fiction and green for poetry and drama. The series sowed the seeds for more emerging African writers.
Thankfully, my father never spared any money as we expanded our home library with these new gems.

As regular customers, we came to know some of the long-time assistants at the bookshop as friends
and the long-time serving manager, late Martin Luther Galiwango. Closing my eyes , I can see the big white, windowless van with the Uganda Bookshop emblem: an open book, parked outside the store.
Books opened my mind and imagination at a tender age and turned me into a global citizen long before the invention of the Internet followed by the World Wide Web.
The Internet opened up another option of Electronic books and Audio Books . I read them but still I prefer to touch and smell the Hard book as I turn over the pages.
By 1977, the old faithful bookshop had moved to its current corner: Ebenezer House Plot 4 Colvile Street
right in the Kampala city centre. It was rescued from a huge debt that almost put it under the auctioneer’s hammer, by the business mind-set of the late Archbishop Livingstone Nkoyoyo.
It has continued to run as the business arm of the Anglican church and has contributed towards the building of the Church house located in the city centre.


I last visited it in 1990 after the death of my father; this time round I was aggressively looking for the manuscript of my father’s autobiography in all printeries around Kampala. Since he was a member of the Anglican Church , Uganda Bookshop was the best place to start. Mr. Moses Mulwana, the long serving member of the bookshop was more than willing to help. After all, he had known my father well.
To our disappointment, it was not among the manuscripts which had gathered dust in the printery by then located in the basement. To this day the manuscript has never been found and yet my father had put a lot of energy and efforts to write and have it completed.
Thereafter, I went away in search of greener pastures for almost two and half decades and transferred my loyalty born out of the love of books, sowed in me by my late father and nurtured by my old school, to Bookstores in Botswana like Exclusive Books.
Having a zillion things to sort out after being away for long, combined with a radically changed Uganda and a city crowded with people, structures, cars and motorcycles, I had not yet touched base with one of my favourite pastime visiting places.


I was drawn to Uganda Bookshop in December 2024 after the launch of my father’s book: CRISIS IN BUGANDA 1953-55 the 2024 edition. The first edition was published in London in 1978.
Ugandan readers wanted to access it in a central place and no other place fitted that description than Uganda Bookshop.
I had no trouble locating the bookstore: same old location, almost the only old structure among the new high-rise buildings.
As I climbed up the ten red steps leading inside, I felt that I was returning to the old and familiar.
There were three young ladies; looking alike because of the braided hair and beige T-shirts and black skirts they were wearing.
I greeted them and asked them for directions to the manager’s office whose location I still remembered.
The place looked so small; could be due to the many shelves and tables of books. Two young tourists were browsing through the books as I made my way to the manager’s office through a narrow corridor.
In about forty minutes, I walked away with an agreement to supply my father’s book to the store and left five copies with the lady. Being me, I spent almost an hour browsing through the books. I was extremely thrilled to see many Christian books, short stories, fiction and nonfiction novels and biographies written by Ugandans-Ugandans telling their unique stories in their own voice to the world.

Curiosity led me to the back of the building and I was happy to note that the whole plot was intact apart from a few temporary small secretarial services , stationery booths and florists shops.
“ How did this prime plot survive being sold off or being newly developed?’’ I wondered out loud.

By late evening I had found out how it had survived. Ebenezer House is one of the few buildings in the city centre considered to be of historical significance and worth to be preserved by the city’s physical planning unit. It has to be maintained and kept looking historically accurate.


The church of Uganda continues to run the traditional bookshop but the bookshop has to be innovative to adapt and evolve to survive in the Digital era. It will have to go beyond book sales and evolve into a community space offering events, host events, book launches, workshops and authors book signings.
As for the loyal followers like me, the onus is on
us to write books and sell them in this bookshop as well as working with it to go out in schools to encourage the students to develop the reading culture early on in life.

“There is no substitute for books in the life of a child.’’- May Ellen Chase
“The greatest gift is a passion for reading.’’- Elizabeth Hardwick

QUESTION:

Are you among those who were enabled to develop the culture of reading books early on in childhood?
Are you passing on this beneficial culture to your children and other members of the community?

ORGANISING YOUR LIFE

A well-tended garden courtesy of AI

The beginning of each new year demands that each one of us pauses and reflects over the past one –

pick lessons from the failures and successes and apply them to inform the present and plan for the new year. The essence is planning to use your time effectively and efficiently for your personal and professional progress. This creates reasonable order and stability in your life amid the turbulence of the age.

It demands discipline to practice effective time management.

One has to consistently learn to prioritise what matters most to you in life, to prevent the URGENT from swallowing it up.

“ It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.’’- John Wooden

Life Coach Michel Hyatt reminds us consistently that there are some high value tasks which support your key goals and if done right and on time, they will have a multiplier effect on your key goals.

From his experience, he advises the following:

 You identify 3-4 most important tasks of each day

  • The tasks should be clear, specific, and actionable
  • Stay focused on these tasks by using time blocks, dedicate time to a single task or a group of related tasks. 
  • Eliminate distractions like emails, social media texts while working.
  • Say “ NO’’ as a complete sentence to avoid anything that does not align with your goals.

Do it right every day and it adds up to weeks, months and before you know it, you have completed a full year!

“ Seasons change, and so do we.’’- B.K Borison

As each one of us adds another year to her/his life, we have to be mindful of the seasons of our lives relative to the seasons of our local environment.

The seasons in nature constantly remind us that things are changing. Each season gives you ideas to honour your intuitive nature.

The psychologists tell us that our emotions follow a similar cycle to that of the seasons of nature.

We should bask fully in the positive emotions like joy, happiness, hope and inspiration. These positive emotions create a protective buffering effect against the difficult times that we face later in life.

SUMMER- can be compared to being immersed in pleasurable experiences like walking in the wild , harvesting crops , dancing under a starry sky and other fun-loving activities. They add up to build a strong resilient armour within you.

AUTUMN- summer is long gone but you can still appreciate the beauty of the changing seasons and be transformed in a positive way.

WINTER- comparable to the difficult times that we go through in life. They fill us with fear, despair and worry. Our hope lies in knowing that they do not last forever.

 Time passes and seasons will come and go.

SPRING- the harshest winter is usually followed by a riotous spring. You recover from the hardships of the difficult winter. Rise from the ashes –stress, trauma and shock, you have experienced. Most times one comes out stronger and resilient.

“A tree with strong roots laughs at storms.’’- Malay Proverb

As the years go by, you learn to look for the beauty and lesson in every season you experience.

You gradually learn the importance of order in life.

Order could be defined as a state of space where a system exhibits clarity, certainty or stability. It is a tool one needs to accomplish anything tangible in life.

 Order starts by recognising the priorities in your life and using available skills to do the things in the proper order.

Having order requires discipline and organisation in what you do and starts from within.

The psychologists believe that that an organised peaceful external life reflects one’s inner life while a disorganised external life reflects the chaos within.

Growing up in an organised environment of routine and cleanliness, children grow up to desire order as they mature. They tend to be responsible and dependable and prefer to live in orderly and organised surroundings.

 Children who grow up in a chaotic environment tend to have poor cognitive ability and poor language ability, tend to be less responsible, have less stimulation and develop problem behaviours.

Order in childhood has lasting effects on personality and behaviour.

Order creates the following effects:

  • It helps you get into a routine that reduces stress or feeling of chaos.
  • Boosts your self-confidence
  • Makes you more focused and productive and can save you money.
  • It enhances creativity
  • It improves your work-life balance.
  • Order improves your mental and physical well-being and helps you to feel more in control.

Some psychologists believe that there are seven key areas of one’s life that need to be organised and to flow in harmony so as to achieve life’s balance: a balance between work and personal pursuits.

1. Mental- intellectual growth and mental health

2. Spiritual – connecting with inner beliefs, values and sense of purpose.

3.Physical- the health state of your body.

4. Financial- income, savings and financial planning.

5. Personal-  you as an individual: your passions, interests and activities that bring you delight and pleasure

6. Family- your anchor that holds you through life’s storms and gives you a sense of belonging.

7.Career- work, achievements, professional growth and development.

To live a fulfilling and harmonious life, you have to balance work and personal life effectively. To most of us this work-life balance demands that we dance this delicate balance every day of our working life.

“ Life is like riding a bicycle . To keep your balance , you must keep moving.’’- Albert Einstein

From time to time, re-evaluate your PRIORITIES to set meaningful goals and intentionally improve areas that are lagging behind.

I vividly recall one time when I tried to play ‘ super woman’ ; taking on a post graduate course in Obstetrics and Gynaecology while at the same time starting a family. I nearly suffered burnout. I only saved myself by re-evaluating my priorities  at that moment in time. It worked wonders for me.

One other experience has been my return home after being away for almost 26 years.

Having grown up in an organised family, gone to a Church-founded school and later joined a profession which thrives on organisation, order and diligence ,many times I find myself almost losing my sense of control  due to the chaos around me. Both my creativity and productivity tend to be hampered and my energy drained in doing simple things like moving from point A to B!

There are times that I am like a derailed train!

What has kept me going is that there are still a few individuals who are still holding on to their core values of honesty, integrity, selfless service to their communities and just being decent human beings.

It is moments like this that make me appreciate the importance of order in life.

“When Liberty destroys order, the hunger for order will destroy liberty.’’- Will Durant

“ For every minute spent organising, an hour is earned.’’- Anonymous

QUESTION:

At this moment in time, does each year added to your life make you more organised or disorganised?

How can you improve on this?

 

                             WALKING WITH ONE’S PAST

                             WALKING WITH ONE’S PAST

There are many old adages about the past, present and future- the standard markers of

 of time.

“ The past is behind, learn from it . The future is ahead, prepare for it . The present is here, live it.’’- Thomas  S. Monson

“ None of us can change the yesterdays, but  all of us can change our tomorrows.’’– Colin Powell

Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. – Spanish Proverb

One thing I know for sure is that as l live in the present moment, the past keeps showing up in snippets.

The psychologists tell us that unresolved issues in our past keep showing up and influencing the decisions and choices we make as adults.

The historians want us to look at everything through the lens of history since humans hardly change in behaviour and history helps us understand the complexities of human behaviour.

Looking at the past gives you perspective- understanding the complex circumstances of past events. It endows you with a broader perspective on current issues and challenges. It influences you to make better decisions and develop more effective solutions to the present.

Studying history helps each one of us to understand our own identities and cultures.

For the young generation, history presents them with real life dilemma, teaches them how to understand what it takes to overcome adversity and make a difference in the world around them. Students learn that acts of love, sacrifice, perseverance, integrity and commitment can impact the lives of many and inspire future generations to be bold and daring.

For the elderly, history helps us understand who we are, where we come from and the values that guide us. History adds depth to our present understanding and enhances senior identity.

In medicine, the health history is very crucial in understanding the patient’s state of health and most times it has a role in the diagnosis and management of each patient. Past medical history is essential in making timely and accurate diagnosis of an acute illness and leads to improved outcomes. It also helps in identifying the high risk of having common disorders and in the management of present health care and future needs of each patient.

In the current Digital era where things change often and rapidly, individuals and companies have to keep updating their profiles, systems and skills to survive and thrive.

For regular bloggers like me, we are to keep agile by writing content which is fresh , original  and relevant to keep our readers engaged and to attract new ones to our websites while retaining the old ones. Regular update is essential as new information becomes available and the writers gain new insights. Old content can also be refreshed.

 We should not to dwell in the past but we must strive to understand it with clarity and pick what is most appropriate to inform our Present and Future. For you when you know and understand things, you act better.

“ Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’’– Winston Churchill

 THE BOOK LAUNCH

An important historical event in the advance to Uganda’s independence took place in the six hundred years old Buganda Kingdom located in the current central Uganda. By then, it was being ruled by its 35th King: Kabaka Edward Mutesa II.

In 1945, after the second world war, the British empire and European countries were weakened by debts and needed to shed off some of their colonies and territories. The war armed the Africans with the military knowledge and leadership skills which they later used to fight for their own independence. African nationalism challenged the colonial powers and dismantled the empires.

By the time the British Prime Minister,  Harold Macmillan made his famous speech of “ the Wind of Change’’ in Cape Town , South Africa, in February 1960, the forces of change were blowing furiously across the African Continent.

From July 1953,  Kabaka Edward Mutesa II and his people had started clamouring for independence as a sovereign state from the her Majesty’s government.  The stalemate between the Kabaka and Queen’s representative as governor of the Uganda Protectorate, culminated in the exile of Kabaka Mutesa II to Britain on 30th November 1953. This was followed by two and half years of uncertainty and non-violent struggle against the Queen’s government by the Baganda.

Kabaka Mutesa II’s government was run by 3 Ministers: 2 Protestants and 1 Catholic. Among the  Protestants ones was my late father Paulo Neil Kavuma as the Katikkiro- Chief Minister. Educated in a Church missionary –founded school for chiefs followed by 20 years of working  in the Protectorate’s Provincial  and Resident’s Offices and 12 years as a saza chief in the Buganda Kingdom: he found  himself at the helm of the government.

 After the deposition of the Kabaka, the three ministers accepted to become regents – to rule the kingdom on behalf the Kabaka until his return. Together with their people, they chose to fight non-violently and relentlessly until the Queen’s government agreed to return Kabaka Mutesa II as their king on 17th October 1955.

It was a win-win situation for the Kabaka and his people and the Uganda Protectorate representing the Queen’s government in that for once the Buganda Kingdom agreed to become an integral part of the Unitary state of Uganda while Her Majesty’s government agreed to return Kabaka Mutesa II as Kabaka immediately and sign the new 1955 Buganda Agreement.

CRISIS IN BUGANDA 1953-55 is a personal account of my father as Katikkiro  at the vanguard of the fight for the return of Kabaka.  He wrote the manuscript in 1957 when everything was still fresh in his mind and it was published by Rex Collings, London 1979.

 Due to the civil turmoil  in the Uganda of the 80s, only a few copies were made available in Uganda.

Fast forward to the new millennium when our three children and a niece who were attending the University of Cape Town in science courses but voracious readers, stumbled upon CRISIS IN BUGANDA 1953- 55 in the African Region History section of their main library in 2007.  This challenged me as the eldest daughter of my father, to make the book available to Ugandans and the world at large.

 On returning to Uganda after almost twenty five years of economic exile in Botswana, Southern Africa,  I started on this project only to be slowed down by the two half years of the COVID-19 pandemic lock down. It took me a while to get assimilated into a radically changed Uganda.

By God’s grace , the 2024 Edition of the CRISIS IN BUGANDA 1953-55 was successfully launched at the very place: Butikkiro- the official residence of the Katikkiro of Buganda, where my late father had lived during that tough period of the exile of the Kabaka. By sheer coincidence, it was exactly 71 years since the historical event had happened! A group of invited guests closely connected to the book , members of our big family and friends were hosted for the launch by none other than the current Katikkiro of the Buganda kingdom: Owekitiibwa Charles Peter Mayiga.

The theme of the day was : Only Time Will Tell – that’s why my father wrote the book so that readers get to know the facts surrounding the saga to decide for themselves whether the 3 ministers led by him as Chief Minister made the right decisions at that moment in time.

THE  2024  EDITION INCLUDES

  1. The original book as my father wrote it and had it published in 1979.
  2.  Part of the Post Script is an introduction to the new edition by a renowned Ugandan Historian : Prof of History , Samwiri Lwanga- Lunyiigo
  3. A chapter entitled : After the Crisis in Mengo– introducing the young generation to Paulo Neil Kavuma and highlighting his great contribution to the growth and development of Uganda including his indispensable role in the NRA bush war in the Luwero triangle( 1980-86) and last but not least as a hands-on- father and as the true portrait of voluntary service in Uganda during his final thirty four years after the Mengo Crisis of 1953-55.

He died with a great sense of radical thankfulness and celebration of his whole life.

“ The dying pray at the last not ‘please’ but ‘ thank you’ as  a guest thanks his host at the door.’’

REVIEWS- One encouraging review from a reader under 40 :

“I finished reading Crisis in Buganda 1953-55 on Sunday.

What a thrilling book!

I was so engrossed in reading that book and found it most eye-opening and informative.

May your father’s legacy live on.’’

Where can I get the 2024 Edition of the book?

Locally:  Contact

+ 256 705164655 and + 256 784 859 642

For those outside Uganda and are interested in buying copies of the book please contact me via email address: janekavuma.kayonga@gmail.com

A tree without roots is a  piece of wood.- African proverb.

“ We are because he was.’’  He remains our best role model.

Communication

Communication between individuals and groups of people is a vital tool for understanding each other and opening up interpersonal problem solving pathways.
In today’s technology – driven world , instant or improved communication has resulted in miscommunication and misunderstanding.
When we use technology to communicate, we remove the the connection of emotions and body language.
We find ourselves not listening to understand but instead listen to reply and state our point of view without paying attention to understanding others.
Emojis, the digital language developed by the Japanese in the 1990s and became a form of communication from 2010 onwards facilitates this quick communication.
Like all languages, this Online Language keeps evolving and fast.
Now we have an EMOJIPEDIA where you can look up meanings of the different Emojis.
https: //emojipedia.org.

From this Emojipedia, the current most popular Emojis include:

The theme for my Blog is : Learning is for life so there is a lot of learning, unlearning and relearning to be done every day if we are to remain literate in this technology – driven 21st century. In this spirit, revisit an earlier post reflecting on communication.

COMMUNICATION