How rich is Sam Kuteesa?

Sam Kuteesa

When the Ugandan tabloid The Red Pepper sometime back alleged that the Ugandan foreign affairs minister (Sam Kuteesa) had 60 billion Uganda shillings lying idle on his account in Crane Bank, everyone thought it was a joke.

However, his recent oil scandals have made a very convincing defense for The Red Pepper’s claims. Everyone can now believe that the man is a super thief and mega rich.

Imagine! In a period of 4 months, Sam Kuteesa had received a bribe of 17.5 million Euros an equivalent of 64 billion Uganda shillings from Tullow oil for oil exploration and production contracts.

This is enough money to pay 22 million Ugandan primary school teachers for a whole year at a salary of 250,000 per month. Uganda doesn’t even have 22 million primary school teachers.

It is enough money to fully fund the Uganda ICT ministry for 5 years. It is enough money to fund Mulago referral hospital for 2 years. It is enough money to fund all the district hospitals for 12 years.

Since joining this government, Sam Kuteesa has been involved in every corruption scandal starting from privatization, Chogm and now oil.

This is the man who even failed Uganda Airlines for his own personal interests. He now has a monopoly called Entebbe Handling services (ENHAS) which makes millions of profits everyday.

If you want to know Kuteesa’s monetary worth, count his ‘salary’ and the number of years he has been in government as an influential figure.

For further information to help you in your calculations, the recent oil scandals has proved that Kuteesa earns a ‘salary’ of 64 billions every 4 months and he has been in government as a highly influential and senior figure for more than a decade - The day his daughter married the first son – Col. Muhoozi Keinerugaba.

How Besigye’s walking legs fell down Museveni

When the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) President Dr. Kizza Besigye started the walk to work campaigns months after being defeated by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in the February 2011 Uganda Elections everyone thought it was a joke.

Even people within the FDC circles including the Crème de la crème like Gen. Mugisha Muntu was highly opposed to it because he though it was just a joke although he later joined when the winds of change finally directed him to follow the direction of the winning strategy.

Dr. Besigye (middle)

Outside Uganda, some people like Jerry Okungu – a respected East African Columnist could not even understand how a respected opposition party president like Dr. Kizza Besigye could shame himself to that level by participating in the highly demeaning protest.

The walk to work, walk to pray campaign started as a very simple thing with Dr. Besigye and a few of his aides walking from his home area in Kisangani to the FDC party offices in Najjanankumbi – a Kampala suburb.

The reasons for walking were simply to push the Uganda government under president Museveni reduce the prices of basic commodities like fuel and also protest the fraudulent elections which handed victory to the NRM government.

Soon Dr. Besigye was joined by thousands some within the NRM and security circles called crooks, thieves, terrorists, economic saboteurs and all kinds of bad names.

The small walk to work protest soon turned into a big international riot attracting international media networks like Al-Jazeera and BBC.

Significant foreign missions like the US and European Union embassies started criticizing the Uganda government for violently cracking down on the protestors.

Professional bodies like the Uganda law society, Uganda Womens Network, teachers and other signification organizations like Kampala City Traders Association joined the protests.

The walk to work exposed the weaknesses of the ‘immortal and visionary’ president Museveni and his government to an extent that even people within NRM have started directly attacking the president without any fear.

Everyone knows how a whole senior presidential advisor John Nagenda rebuked the president in broad day light in the media without even the government rebuffing the criticisms; it was only the insignificant presidential press secretary Tamale Mirundi (he meets the president only twice a year) who made his usual noise that Nagenda is out of favor.

Mike Mukula NRM Vice president for Eastern Uganda who is also a former minister seemed never concerned with the wikileaks releases which were highly critical of the president.

A top Kampala NRM cadre and MP for Kampala Central Muhammed Nsereko and a host of other NRM ‘rebel’ MPs have become more critical than the people within the opposition and no one seems to have capacity to silence them. It was only president Museveni who recently made threatening remarks against the ‘rebel’ MP’s which ended in a dustbin.

The walk to work protests have thoroughly exposed the Museveni regime, weakened it that people within NRM have started fighting themselves for power. The battle now is who is going to replace Museveni, former VP Gilbert Bukenya is in prison because he seemed to challenge Amama Mbabazi for the presidency.

Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kuteesa and Government Chief Whip John Nasasira are soon joining ‘Mahogany’ in Luziira so that Mbabazi remains the only single candidate in the queue for the presidency.

Power has already slipped away from President Museveni because he no longer controls the parliament, his son Muhoozi has failed to control the army, the economy is in shambles and his days are surely very, very numbered.

What began a simple walk to work campaign will soon fall a whole sitting long serving Ugandan president who was right to remark that guns can never dislodge him from power but simple things like Dr. Besigye’s walking legs might actually do the magic!

Why NATO doesn’t want to kill Gadhaffi

As I write this, the former Libyan rebels now, NTC government of Libya are soon declaring victory over Sirte – Ghaddafi’s hometown, Bani Walid and Sabha cities. But trust me, the battle for Libya is not yet over, this is just the beggining.

The former African strongman is no longer in control of the vast oil resources of Libya but he is not yet dead, still in control of vast weaponry hidden in the vast Libyan desert, still has the money to sustain an armed rebellion for years and still very stubborn as usual.

Libyan Rebels

NATO entered the Libyan conflict because of its vast oil interests and nothing else and for those who still doubt this should ask themselves why the Western powers have not intervened to save the Syrian people (Syria has no oil).

Almost the whole of Libya has been liberated by the NTC from the dictatorship of Col. Ghadaffi. However, a stable Libya which will not keep on its knees to continue begging for NATO military support is a threat to Western oil interests.

Western governments who intervened to ensure the fall of Col. Ghadaffi are interested in a weak government to ensure the permanent presence of the Western Military to protect their oil interests.

Suprisingly, Western governments have been in bed with the Libyan strongman massaging themselves. The recent discovery of secret rendition papers on the former Ghaddafi’s spy chief offices in Tripoli showed strong collaboration between the Libyan government and Western governments spy agencies. Ghaddafi government had even started giving lucrative oil contracts to western owned oil companies which was a strong sign of increased cooperation.

Now, out of the blue, the western countries through their armed wing called NATO turned against the Libyan strongman and went on the side of the anti-Ghaddaffi forces.

Why this turn of events? At the beginning of the Benghazi protests in Libya, USA and the European imperialists has already seen that the revolutionalists were going to win the battle for Libya although it would take years because they were already in possession of vast weaponry acquired from the Benghazi Military bases they had already captured.

Although Ghaddafi is weakened, he is the only person who can give headache to the NTC government so that they can always seek NATO’s military help.

NATO might even be having strong intelligence information of Col. Gadhaffi’s whereabouts but can not kill him to protect its interests. Dont even be suprised at one time in future to find NATO aiding the escape of Ghaddafi and some of his close associates incase NTC forces try to capture him.

To further prove this, NATO recently allowed a heavily armed convoy of 250 Ghaddafi vehicles to cross to Niger without being hit. Such weapons in possession of the highly stubborn desert fighters called the Tuareg tribe will cause havoc to the Libyan government.

Provided Ghaddafi remains stubborn and keeps a weak NTC government will will always be on its knees for NATO's military help but does not pose threats to oil exploration in Libya, he will still remain relevant to Western powers oil interests and therefore, they will do what it takes to keep him alive.

Why the battle to save Uganda’s Mabira forest is so fierce

In 2007, attempts to cut down the forest for sugarcane growing by the wealthy Madhvani family paralyzed the city for days in street protests that claimed the lives of three people.

In 2011, the battle lines have already been drawn again and both sides are not ready for any compromises including the Ruling party Members of Parliament who are deeply opposed to their president on Forest Give away.

Mabira Forest

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has insisted that no amount of resistance will stop him from giving the forest to Mehta Group for sugarcane growing because to him, it will create more jobs and reduce the sugar prices.

Environmentalists and opposition groups are also prepared for a battle because according to them, cutting down the forest will distort the ecological system of the area and lead to severe environmental degradation.

The local people are also not ready to allow the forest go because they use it to get their highly needed local herbs and firewood especially on weekends when the management of the forest allows them to visit the forest.

Recently, I was listening to a Mabira Forest debate on a Fort Portal based radio (Western Uganda) and I heard an interesting contribution from a person in the Rwenzori Mountain ranges who was against the selling of Mabira Forest.

To him selling Mabira forest will lead to the selling of other national forests, game reserves and even national parks to ‘investors’ including the national forests in the Rwenzori Mountain ranges.

He added that selling Rwenzori forest will destroy their beautiful streams they depend on for clean water. For starters, Rwenzori Mountain is the highest and biggest mountain in Uganda. The Mountain has a glacier which is slowly melting as a result of global warming.  

Since Uganda president has been depending on the local grass root people for support, their opposition to President Museveni’s on the Mabira Forest give away moreover for free to a wealthy Indian family and the presidents insistence to give away the forest will likely breed more chaos and may lead to his final downfall.

 

No joblessness anymore for East Africa's academic Giant Alimuni

Mak VC - Prof.Venasius Baryamureeba

Jobless students from East African Academic giant (Makerere University) will have less worries after the introduction of vocational trainings for its alimuni.

The development will also give President Museveni some relief since unemployment has been one of the reasons for the popularity of the “walk to work” protests.

Big ups to Prof.Venasius Baryamureeba and all the Makerere University Staff for such a timely helping hand.

CAUTION!!! Only 15 graduates will be admitted annually and opportunities limited to a few departments.

Click here for more.

As you crack down the media, be sensitive to the needs of the rural poor

In July 2005, the Ugandan Parliament passed “The Access to Information Act, 2005” granting all people to access and share relevant and up todate information of public interest to anyone without intimidation.

However, access to reliable and timely information and knowledge sharing on public accountability especially in rural communities is still a neglected issue and remains an exclusive privilege for the elite and urban population.

Elected leaders try to silence voices who try to exercise their freedom of expression and information access rights especially, rural journalists and human rights defenders because they are deemed ‘enemies of the state’ since they empower the local people with appropriate information to demand for public accountability from their leaders for better service delivery which at the end exposes the ill’s of the government.

Both local and central government leaders have exploited the ignorance of the people who are not empowered with appropriate information to put their leaders to account as an advantage to exploit the rural population by just being “rhetoric and politicking” in addition to swindling public resources especially in awarding contracts. The rural Kabarole and Bundibugyo districts, were ranked among the most corrupt districts in Uganda (Rwenzori Anti-Corruption Coalition, RAC: Report 2009) because of poor accountability resulting from an ignorant rural population.

When it comes to marginalized groups like the rural women and youth’s, the situation has been aggravated. This has continued to render elections of leaders in the country irrelevant because leaders have failed to address real development issues like access to better markets, health services, unemployment and improving the standards of education in the country hence creating friction between government leaders and the local people as manifested by the recent “walk to work,” campaigns by the opposition.

When Ugandans went for multi-party primary elections in August 2010 and thereafter, general presidential, parliamentary and local government leaders’ elections in early 2011. The rural people who are the majority clearly manifested lack of capacity to make appropriate choices based on issues of good leadership with accountability because of ignorance and fear. They were compromised with mere “hand outs” to buy their votes as admitted by both local and international election observers.

Individuals and civil society activists who volunteer to share such information are even intimidated by opportunistic politicians, curtailing the realization of a community that is well informed, knowledgeable and empowered, democratic, wealthier and responsible for her own development processes.

In 2008, The Fort Portal based Life FM Radio transmitter was burnt down because it hosted a radio program called Twerwaneho which was deemed “critical to the establishment.” The moderator and panelists were also suspended indefinitely and arrested on charges of defamation, inciting violence, and creating public anger against the government which case, they later won. The radio program covered issues of human rights, public accountability and good governance aimed at holding public leaders more accountable.

Therefore, its is important that the government of Uganda desists from intimidating and stopping journalists from reporting information which exposes the ill’s of the leadership to avoid breeding corruption which leads to poor service delivery.

Radio stations rush to music concerts as competition rages

As the number of radio stations increase in Uganda, competition for advertisement revenues has stiffened and survival is becoming more difficult. Some have had to cut the number of staff, reduce salaries and phase out expensive programming. Others have come up with innovative initiatives such as music concerts, which attract some revenues and increase their listernership.

Chameleon performing at CBS Ekitobeero

With increased investments in telecommunication companies manufacturing industries, educational institutions and financial institutions among others, the fight for radio advertisement revenues is becoming stiff day by day.

Worse still, radios stations are competing for advertisement revenues with other media institutions like TV stations, newspapers, outside advertising and websites.

In 1994 when the government liberalized the media only 3 (three) known local radio stations were operating which included; Radio Uganda (which is government owned), Capital Radio and Radio Sanyu, but today there over 200 radio stations in the country. 

According to the 2008 report on the status of the communication Market by the Uganda Communication Commission, the number of private FM frequencies issued had risen to 200 with 173 of them already operational. Another 27 FM stations have been assigned frequencies but are not yet on air.

To survive in the market and continue making profits, radio stations especially in Kampala (with the biggest concentration) have diversified their activities and started organizing Music concerts. The concerts are attended by thousands because they attract popular musicians like Chameleon, Bobi Wine and Bebe Cool among others. 

In addition to gate collections, the Music Concerts also attract sponsorship deals because of the big crowds they attract which can be exploited by business companies to promote their products.

Central broadcasting services (CBS), Simba FM and recently Beat FM have been organizing music concerts dubbed Ekitobero, Ekiguunda Kyo Mwaka and Oluwombo respectively.

Beat FM events promotions coordinator Ruth Wanyana denies that the shows are meant for profits, “Oluwombo concert isn’t aimed at making profits, the money generated from the event is given to Beat FM radio presenters and organizers who came up the idea. The concert is aimed at rewarding loyal listeners and to expand our listenership.”

“Many people are curious to listen to a radio station, which organizes such a big concert, at the end of the day they get hooked up forever.” Wanyana says.

She adds that in July 29, 2007 when beat FM organized its first show at Nakivubo stadium dubbed Oluwombo. It attracted 35,000 people, each paid 5,000 shillings and enough profits were made (although she refuses to state the real amount).

As a result of the show Wanyana says, Beat FM was ranked as the most listened radio station in greater Kampala region (which includes; Kampala district and the surrounding districts of Mukono, Wakiso, Mpigi and Mityana) by the Steadman group in a study conducted in 2007.

CBS FM commercial events manager Kevin Zziwa also denies that the music concerts are meant for only making profits but largely a Public relations event for the radio station, “the event (Ekitoobero) is meant to celebrate CBS anniversary, reward loyal listeners and show the popularity of CBS FM because of the numbers it attracts for the concerts (more than 50,000 people according to Zziwa) so that advertisers can be brought on board.”

He adds, that the concert makes some profits through gate collections and sponsorship deals but a lot of it is used for social responsibility activities, “sponsorship deals by Jomayi properties, Samona products and Nile Breweries accounts for over 40% of the revenues but most of the profits is used for doing social projects in Buganda Kingdom like support to education which include; donations to Muteesa 1 Royal University and construction of Wobulenzi Public School in Luweero among others."

CBS was the first radio station to come up with the idea; it was followed by Simba FM, Radio West and lately Beat FM. CBS has come up with another concert dubbed Enkuka ya CBS egalawo omwaka which takes place every 31^st of December at Lubiri in Kampala.

Zziwa says the new concert is more popular than Ekitoobero because the number of people, who attend, doubles or triples the number which attends Ekitoobero. This means more profits.

I am predicting a Somali Libya

I am not a prophet of doom, everyone can see the mayhem a leader is unleashing to his people because of the greed for power after a brutal 42 years eating, enjoying the company of the Ukrainian nurses and Ugandan Queen mothers.

Libya is an Arab country located in North Africa bordering two Arab countries of Tunisia and Egypt which have just experienced revolutionary waves which toppled their two long-serving dictatorial presidents.

Libya and Somalia are quite different countries because unlike Libya, Somalia is a country made up of one tribe but with so many different clans. Libya has more than 140 tribes and considered one of the most tribal nations in the Arab world. One similar thing about the two countries is the political influences exerted by their different tribes and clans.

Where things have reached now, Muammar Qaddafi looks not ready to hand over his sweet chair to the protesters. Mind you, Qaddafi also commands a lot of respect among his tribesmen therefore, he looks set to control his own tribe as the country breaks down into chaos where the ground looks well set for a principle of every tribe on its own and God for us all!

Tribal Chief Brother Qaddafi

All statements made by the embattled Libyan leader shows that he is simply not going anywhere, his own son predicted a civil war should the protests continue.

He no longer cares for the Libyan people as he has ordered his military to bomb and fire live bullets on the protesters.

Qaddafi has gone ahead to release Islamists political prisoners to unleash terror on his own people and also hired foreign mercenaries.

All the terror he has unleashed on his people will take him to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face life imprisonment if he dares leave the country. As a proud Arab dictator, there is absolutely no doubt that the Libyan dictator will fight on until the last bullet rather than stand to be humiliated by Moreno Ocampo.

He insistence on power will embroil the whole country into a stateless state and highly divided on tribal grounds which will be headed by tribal warlords including Qaddafi himself.

2011 Uganda elections shows the unpopularity of Tooro Kingdom

On 23rd February 2011 Ugandans went to the polls to elect their district leaders who included the district chairpersons (LC V Chairpersons), City Mayors and their Councilors (LC V Councilors). It was quite peaceful unlike Kampala where a pastor is alleged to have tried to rig elections resulting into cancellation and some cases of violence.

In Fort Portal, the heart of Tooro Kingdom, something unheard of happened during the elections – Bintamanya Joram, an FDC flag bearer for South Division in Fort Portal Municipality won an election as the LC V Councilor for South Division trouncing an incumbent and an NRM flag bearer Lindah Irene. For starters, Fort Portal is predominantly an NRM stronghold with most of its people widely known across the country to sleep, dance and eat the ruling NRM party and president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

I have been closely following Bintamanya’s campaign trail and one interesting thing in his campaigns has been his fierce criticism of Tooro Kingdom leadership and most especially the Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa.


'Ekirale' Song meaning 'Legacy' - Tooro Kingdom good Legacy risks being eroded by the current poor leadership

In one of his rallies in a Fort Portal Suburb called Kisenyi, he compared the hatred the people of Tooro have for the Queen Mother to the hatred the Muslims have for a pig. People even went ahead to donate him money to buy a radio program to unleash all the dirt about the kingdom.

South Division in Fort Portal Municipality which Bintamanya will represent in the district council when he officially swears in, is home to the King’s Palace ‘Karuziika’, its home to the Kingdom’s administrative centre ‘Muchwa’ and home to most of the Kingdom’s properties compared to other divisions in Fort Portal Municipality.

Bintamanya’s growing popularity on grounds of his fierce criticism to the Kingdom leadership is a blow given now that he has got a better and reliable platform to make his criticisms. However, it is at the same time a learning point to the whole institution to either change or perish.

He hasn’t been alone in his fierce criticism of the Kingdom’s leadership, early this year members of the Fort Portal based Human rights NGO called Twerwaneho listenership Club led by Kankya Gerald spent days in Prison for demonstrating against the Queen Mother ‘illegal’ sale of the Kingdom’s land to the government but the kingdom’s administration only takes a blind eye on all the issues raised by its subjects.

Apart from widespread corruption and mismanagement, the Kingdom hasn’t also been in good terms with its subjects for failing to make itself relevant to the people in terms of initiating development projects, and incidences of conflicts as a result of internal power struggles. All these have made the Kingdom a darling of the media mostly, for bad news.

I stand to be corrected but currently people perceive the kingdom as a project of some individuals to enrich themselves when they hear such stories in the media of the Queen Mother selling the Kingdom’s land for billions of money, stories of the queen mother diverting Libya leaders Gaddafi’s money meant for economic projects for the kingdom’s self sustainability to buy a personal mansion in London.

Therefore, Bintamanya’s win is a red card to the Kingdom and it should not be taken lightly or risks putting a once famous Kingdom in the history books.

To win the people’s hearts and minds, administration should now focus on attracting investments on its vast pieces of land, initiating development projects like schools and hospitals, build cultural heritage centers to attract tourists which creates jobs at the same time promoting culture.

The former Minister of Karamoja Tom Butime once said that “anything which doesn’t change doesn’t progress” therefore, such political developments should remind the kingdom that it is also accountable to its subjects and if it doesn’t change, it will perish.

Rwagweri starts Tooro cultural centre project in western Uganda (Part 4)

The institution I head called Engabu Za Tooro, has a number of programs which range from promoting traditional music to promoting cultural economic activities and reconstructing traditional indigenous knowledge into today’s development practice and our greatest strength has been using new models of culture and development we have created.
Looking at all these experiences a few people have put us forward like Cross Cultural Foundation Uganda which researches and publishes books on innovative cultural activities in the country. They researched and produced a documentary promoted by Commonwealth Foundation on Engabu Za Tooro experience pointing on a two way model cultural programs we have.
One of them is the Koogere cultural and women empowerment program which uses the traditional wisdom in today’s gender development issues. There is also the Koogere cultural school which seeks to professionalize the cultural service provision.
Some scholars on culture and development who seek to research on the position of culture in contemporary development have also picked on our cultural projects as case studies to illustrate the role and position of culture in modern development.

Proposed Engabu Za Tooro Cultural Museum

Of recent, we have been accredited by the United Nations body called the Intellectual Property Organization to participate in the activities of the committee on intellectual property, traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore.
All these achievements put together, demanded the need to have to a home where cultural programs can thrive and for consolidation of all our achievements. We came up with the idea of a cultural centre which will be an epicenter of cultural research, information, education, reclamation of cultural values and promotion of cultural approach to development.
The centre, the first of its kind in the region will involve facilities like an amphi theatre which will be an open space for performances in traditional dances.
We have done a lot of work to promote traditional music as part of the overall promotion of cultural expression.
The second facility will be a community museum, museums in Uganda and all African countries have been seen as facilities of the state and Uganda has only one national museum based in Kampala and not accessed by most people.
We have been promoting the idea of community museums because people should not look at museums as initiatives of the state only. When UNESCO supported a program run by Cross Cultural foundation of Uganda to map community museum initiatives in the country, we were one of the few selected people who have developed an idea related to a museum by collecting material to preserve them for education, tourism and future generation. We were nominated for promoting the idea of a Koogere community museum.
The project started six years back with developing the idea and beginning to collect material, there is a lot of old material in the communities which is disappearing in the present times but our children, scholars, tourists need to look a them and see where societies came from.
To stop materials from disappearing, we started organizing vintage exhibitions every year during our annual cultural week where we call people to bring things of the past related to the society for safe custody; from there we started making collections.
We already have a small museum and the only challenge now is to construct the infrastructure and consolidate the material because without the infrastructure, you can’t consolidate the material and display them adequately for people to view and other problems like theft and destruction.
We shall also establish a community concert hall, a cultural heart as mini-museums, so that the diversity of our African cultural heritage is well maintained since our area is so rich in terms of cultural diversity.
The main collection at the centre of the museum will have all collections from all communities beginning with all the communities in western Uganda.
The main objective of the museum is to preserve our heritage for tourism and income, future generation and education and research therefore, the primary target will be our own people so as to promote local tourism because some of the things in the museum are no longer in daily use therefore local people have to look at their past and learn to be tourists in their local communities.
In 2009, Engabu Za Tooro after a very long process of assessment was considered to have brought up new and innovative models of adopting the traditional knowledge into today’s development practice.
Engabu Za Tooro was nominated as an observer to participate in the future sessions of inter-governmental committee on intellectual property, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore.
This means that a small effort that started in the rural region of western Uganda is recognized at a UN level and secondly, it gives us chance to interact with many development actors which increases on our knowledge base.

Using Indigenous African knowledge in development programs (Part 3)

Our approach to development is the use of indigenous knowledge and reconstructing it into today’s development practices and theories.

Rwagweri (in green suit) inspects an exhibition organised by his Engabu Za Tooro

We have been recognized for this, we challenged the existing development paradigm which insists on transplanting the western knowledge into our communities as the accepted civilization, if you want to teach our communities to do certain things or address certain problems, you have to pick certain standardized models determined by the western civilization but we are saying that we are in the modern civilization but the traditional wisdom of our ancestors can also be relevant to help us today tackle the development challenges and problems. Development is a process incarnated within our own community, incidentally people still consider development as an external idea and people go to New York to get development models to solve the problems in their villages which isn’t proper thinking.
We have a belief that there is a solution in every problem, when learning mathematics my teacher used to call numbers problems and when you see a mathematical problem, within it lays a solution. Our people must learn to appreciate the values and relevance of our traditional wisdom in our communities and adopt it in today’s development practices so that our development is incarnated in our own experience and identifies with us.
Much more I am also in electronic communication where I use radio to communicate to people who are more of a listening than a reading population.
I have been having a number of radio programs on different topics and challenges facing society but the current one is called Ekoomi, on one of our radio stations in Uganda. It looks at the origins of society and how they influence the present day development.
People are doing so many things in this world and I don’t consider myself the busiest person. As long as what you are doing is coming from your experience, building on your experience and all building towards a certain direction. I do many things all aimed at social, economic and cultural liberation of our people and passing through different forms.

Promoting Traditional Arts in Uganda
For instance, I promote traditional performing art, traditional enterprises where people realize their incomes through traditional enterprises, human rights because at times people are constrained by their own beliefs and the gluttony of leaders who feel that they can only be leaders by making other people not understand what they should do.

Rwagweri’s second book: Tooro and her Peoples, Past, Present and future (Part 2)

After university, I moved to Tooro region and started engaging in community development work. In the field we faced challenges on certain issues in the development programs we were implementing and we started researching on a number of development issues as they affect community and it’s where I got the inspiration to write my second book.
There were certain constraints to participation in development in the community which were determined by traditions and history of the communities and these are the issues that inspired me to write an anthropological book on the communities in Tooro region so that the community can adopt positive attitudes to development.

Cover of Rwagweri's book, Tooro and her Peoples

In the book, I wrote on how communities started in Tooro over the years and how they moved on changing and adapting to situations and how they evolved. We were trying to find an explanation why communities behave the way they behave, respond the way they respond. I was trying to explain the people today using their sociological evolution, background, history, origins, interactions and their experiences overtime which was a sociological approach to a social issue. A lot of people mainly researchers always come to me to look for the book and a number of times have quoted it. Tourists who want to know more about our communities have also bought many copies. You will hear very few ordinary people reading it; I have tried using both writing and radio methods of communication but radio has been more effective for to my target audience.
I tried writing a monthly magazine called Tooro Negamba discussing social and cultural issues which were the same issues presented on radio and the reaction was different. Radio discussions would always rise a reaction in the public and same messages wrote in the magazine would not generate anything; people would just see photos and keep it. This de-motivates the writing spirit among authors but, I am not saying that people should not write because we should promote a culture of reading overtime. Writing has got its own advantages because your message is kept on record and referred to, after generations.

Writing is about communicating a message
Writing is not just a talent, you write because you have an urge to communicate something and at times you want to see immediate results communicated, because if you write a book and keep it in your cupboard, it ceases to be a book because the interest, the urge of any writer is to communicate and writers get the satisfaction when they feel their messages have been communicated effectively, there are clear indicators which shows effective communication like feedback from the target readers.
Reaction doesn’t need to be positive, you can be abused and disagreed with. If you write because you want to communicate and you find people not bothered about your messages because of a poor culture of reading, then you get discouraged.
My reasons for writing have always been very practical reasons to give my opinion and guidance about a very practical and immediate situation and if I find through writing that I can’t communicate and influence then I get discouraged.

Writing on Inter-generational transfer of knowledge
I have continued writing on topics for academic utility, intellectual utility and research purposes for scholars, tourists and future generation reflections.
I am writing a book on inter-generational transfer of knowledge looking at the mechanisms of intergenerational transfer of information, knowledge, and wealth in the traditional past and how it is done today.
This is highly an academic topic and it doesn’t communicate on an immediate problem to be solved. I am also writing on my personal experience a book which I don’t want to mention the title because other people can steal my idea because it’s not yet published.
Its looks at my own personal experience which I trace from the time I started understanding that I am a human being. I keep on updating it everyday, putting on the experiences and the lessons leant for future generations to reflect on and this book will continue throughout my life.
I get time to write my books because once you are a writer, the writing spirit creates its own space, it attacks you at any moment and you start writing. An idea can come into your mind at midnight and you wake up because something tells you to put it down or you can be in the middle of a certain function and somebody makes a statement that tickles your mind and jump out of the function disturbed to go somewhere and sit down for five minutes and put down the idea, you can’t resist the temptation of writing because you are too busy

Rwagweri Stephen talks about preserving African culture, writing books (Part 1)

Stephen Rwagweri is a social worker, book writer, broadcaster and currently working on a very ambitious project to build a museum for the people of Rwenzori region. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Engabu Za Tooro or Tooro Youth Platform for Action ,a development organization, which operates in the Rwenzori region which includes the western Uganda districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo, Kabarole, Kyenjojo and Kamwenge. Solomon Akugizibwe talked to him about his writing and development works in Tooro kingdom and Rwenzori region in general.

Writing books, starting with The Invasion exploring HIV/AIDS
I wrote my first book while still a student at the university. It is called The Invasion and tells about the struggles against HIV/AIDS. Llater, I researched on the subject of culture among the tribes of western Uganda mainly Batooro and the neighboring tribes and wrote another book titled Tooro and her peoples, past, present and future. These are the two books published so far although I have many more not yet published.
The invasion book was a creative piece on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It was inspired by how the scourge of HIV/AIDS was threatening society and putting the hopes of many people in jeopardy. As a person, I got touched because I saw our generation under very serious threats and decided to put my reflections into this book. It was welcomed by many organizations fighting the HIV/AIDS scourge like AIDS control program, Uganda Aids Commission and UNDP which, contributed resources for the development and final publication. It was distributed through schools, institutions and book centers all over Uganda.

Where he got the writing skills
Writing skills or spirit is a talent in born and people need to catalyze or develop it. At secondary level, I was a student of literature and it was my favorite subject which, exposed me to reflecting on the skills and inspirations of the writers and after S.6, I studied philosophy at philosophical centre in Jinja which strengthened my imaginative capacities and reflective qualities but much more is the will power, the encouragement and the interest to write.

Rwagweri (Right) with other dignitaries at a cultural function organised by Engabu Za Tooro

My education background influenced my writing abilities and other courses I did later like social work, my work experience later also influenced the subjects to write on. I wrote the first manuscript of my first book (the invasion), when I was in my S.6 vacation, at that stage many people could not believe that I had written a book, when I told my parents they said I had run mad/ My uncle too declared me mad. They thought books are written by professors and that was one of the challenges I faced because I was convinced that I had done my best, but it was so difficult to share with anybody since they couldn’t believe me writing a book based on my experience and education.
I was helped by a friend who helped me to type the manuscript; I sent it to a publishing firm in Nairobi. The person reading my manuscript in Nairobi asked whether the author of the book is a professor at Makerere University by the name of Rwagweri Stephen. He thought I was a lecturer to think of writing a book, by then and it was more shocking to tell them that I was a first year student for the first degree in the institution. Of course they developed some biases and carried on the biases while looking on my manuscript. These two issues show the biases communities have on who should do what at what stage.

Copies distributed so far for The Invasion book
If you think in terms of copies, you have distributed as a writer you will get disappointed. What is important is putting your ideas and experience in specialized form whereby, it will live on even generations after you. I had a lot of imaginations and this is a lesson to upcoming writers that books after writing and publishing will go on marketing themselves endlessly.
In the field of writing, the real experience is different. I can’t recall he number of copies I managed to distribute or my publishers or distributors put out there. I recall a number of times we did a re-print, the books were distributed in the first months and year after the launch and after the pace of its distribution becomes very limited unless it’s a directly academic or educational book.
Ugandan society has a very serious problem of lacking a strong reading culture which discourages the writers and its one of the reasons I have slowed down in my writing. It isn’t so much that one is moved by the urge to get money from writing but moved by the urge to communicate a message and you get satisfaction when you get feedback, generate debate and reflections from people receiving your message.
We have more of a listening population because if I went on radio and started discussing a topic, the following day will get a feedback especially if the topic is well handled, controversial and brings out challenging issues which generate debate and discussions. I have used both methods of communication in my life experience. I have written and been a regular panelist on many radio programs and radio has been more effective in terms of reaching out to the targeted audience.
I see my first book quoted in academic books and papers because it was distributed well in secondary schools. Once in a while, I hear people telling me that they have read my book.