Today is Heroes’s Day in the Peril of Africa and the so called,’Hunters ‘ have a problem with my cynical take. ” Can you stop the negative energy and appreciate the fact that we are the Pearl of Africa?”, they retort, I have even been called unpatriotic. My reply is usually an emogi of, you will be okay. The story of the Liberation of Uganda has worshipped the hunters as the best thing to have happened to Uganda.
The African proverb, “Until the lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter,” is used to metaphorically describe how dominant groups inscribe power through historical tales. Different people have different take on the proverb and since I love politics, why not give it a political take, the Ugandan government describes it as the day to remember those who died in the bush War of Liberation(1981-86). The Hunters have glorified the “Heroes” to mean the National Resistance Army Officers who died in the Liberation struggle.
Kenya which is my second country has a great version of Heroes day called Mashujaa day where they celebrate everyone whose efforts led to Independence. That’s what every right thinking nation should do, but Alas, the latest hunters decided that the Heroes should be the Junta who fought twenty four years after the independence. Our children nowadays don’t know about people like Ignatius Musaazi, Yekosofati Engur, John Kakonge and a few other great Patriots who were key in the attainment of Independence. But the narrative is glorifying the hunters.
About two years ago, I decided to oppose the hunter’s tale and write as the defeated reasoning that the hunter is no better. I wrote as Obote to Uganda reasoning that the current government is not better. Here is the letter by Obote to Uganda. The current Hunter has bedeviled and called the defeated names.
The sitting President in his Speeches, starts with the words, .In 1986,… Meaning according to him, Uganda began existing in 1986. The problem in leadership in Africa especially in countries that have never had peaceful transitions like ours is the Hunter always vulgarising the Tales. Until the Lions have their historians, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter
First Name ; A first name is one you are given at baptism usually before the family name and we are made to believe that it has to be a ‘Christian name’ what is Christian about a foreign useless name. I was named Roland but I don’t use it. Roland might have been a Belgian colonialist who killed thousands in Congo. I therefore can’t propagate that sad legacy.In 2014 after graduation, I changed to Mwene, a name of my ancestors, my blog is Mwene. My grandfather gave me the name Rwamuguma which literally means a strong character. I am just being my name.Mental Slavely is amazing, we are taught to denounce our own Ancestors and yet the Belgian King has not apologized for what his ancestors did. Instead we are praying and cursing our Ancestors and generational curses.We have been taught to hate our roots and Sheepishly, we have accepted. Until the Lions have historians the tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
Mwene 