The recently concluded calendar month had some interesting highlights for me and I will try and share some that caught my attention.
For starters, I trust though that you have all had a joyous summer thus far. However for some us this is a make or break month. It’s more like the fourth quarter if you are involved in planning massive projects like the UNAA Convention.

August is my favorite month in the whole year not because it is the month I was born and therefore I will be adding another year to my dear life on the 16th but because it is the time of the year I tend to be in a more reflective mood long before the winter weather sets in. I am also beginning to look back and ask those same important life questions as to whether I have achieved that level of success associated with my age bracket.

Talking of which last Sunday while congregating at Jubilee Church in Mattapan/Boston, the Minister beseeched each of us to concentrate on running our own races just like the many who participate in the 26 mile long Boston Marathon. Only a few ever cross the finishing line while others give up way before the final leg of the race.

Talking of races I am the final leg of my own race as the Head of the Marketing campaign for this year’s UNAA Convention. It has been a worthwhile experience that I have enjoyed but of course it came with a cost  in terms of time especially if you hold a full time Job elsewhere. However with less than 30 days to go to the D day I am now more than Fired Up and ready go to Chicago!!

I therefore hope to see as many of those long lost faces as I possibly can. Let’s remember the good old days as we  wine, dine and feast as Ugandans in Chicago’s windy city this September. The deadline to get yourself registered is August 15th that is if you have any intentions for voting for the new UNAA Board of Directors.

That said be sure to carry your dancing shoes since a cast of some great artistes has been put together to help you guys release some of that stress and reminiscent about the old days. Among those confirmed artists with VISAs from Kampala are Mesach Semakula, Blu 3, Desire Luzinda, Micheal Ross, these will be joined by the the US based artists like Pastor George Okudi, Roy Kapale, Ronnie Banton who should be able to bring the house down.

A keynote speaker Senator Roland Burris who replaced President Obama as junior Senator of the State of Illinois will deliver our keynote address. And of course representatives from the Chicago World Trade Center as well as Uganda’s business community will also be in attendance. This will provide some rare business networking opportunity for all those who will attend.

However as I conclude I am reminded of the grim undertones that still exist in America today even with a new black President in the Oval Office. The arrest of a Harvard Law Professor from his own home for disorderly conduct left some bad taste in my mouth. And of course how can I forget the email from the Iraq war vet and now Boston Police Officer who went on a rant about describing the incident using insidious language. May God help America to overcome the STIGMA of racism some 200 years after that famous declaration of independence.

Finally keep that mail coming and thank you for supporting UNAA Times and sharing the site with your friends. Be on the look out for a more revamped TV section (www.unaatimes.tv) this September.Enough said as for me I am off to celebrate my birthday and enjoy whatever is left of this Boston summer.

Kind regards

Ronnie Mayanja
Editor-UNAA TIMES

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The Stigma and lessons learned from Idi Amin’s reign of terror 30 years later!

April 11th marks exactly 30 years since Idi Amin Dada was deposed as President of Uganda. This brought an end to what was termed and actually, the darkest era for the Pearl of Africa; an 8 year reign of extra judicial killings, the derailment of social and economic progress; and of course, the 1972 expulsion of Asians from Uganda.

My recollection of Idi Amin is quite scanty; but watching ‘Big Daddy’ in the different forms of media that captured his essence is still chilling. In my forays into the United Kingdom and the United States, I have been struck by a huge oxymoron: the developmental elements like prime locations for our embassies; and yet at the same time, the sheer number of Ugandans that fled his rule. Just ask Archbishop John Sentamu who transcended his exile to the United Kingdom and became the second most powerful man in the Anglican Church!

As the eternal optimist, I try to present Uganda as a prime phoenix that emerged from the ashes – even those as a result of a flame started by a despot like Idi Amin – and sometimes wonder about Dennis Matanda who presents Amin as the greatest Ugandan in our Amin expose! Being an academic, we can understand and allow him to be entitled to his opinion albeit the shock from everyone else. Of course, Arthur Mwenkanya’s own piece seems like an excellent middle ground; and so I urge you to read and contribute to the overall debate on both sides of the coin.

The truth is that the world is a very different place from Uganda and polarized globe of the Cold War in 1979. Various winds of change have blown across Africa and democracies have sprouted, grown and fallen on hard times on the Mother Continent. Apart from the things that bring us shame in Zimbabwe and helplessness when looking at the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, maybe we can see a few signs of growth and germination in what was a sprawling desert of no good news!

And so, as we sadly relish Amin’s legacy and perhaps watch a documentary about the man [or even the fictional tale in the move, The Last King of Scotland], let us reflect upon the conditions that allowed people like Idi Amin or Jean-Badel Bokassa, so to speak, to grow in our societies, lead and ruin the elements within our communities and then emerge as the sad people that remind the world that Africa is not as civilized a continent as it ought to be. Only through this can we prevent senseless tragedies and viscous circles of bad news from the Dark Continent!

If South America can do something about their own sad stories – Peru’s former President Alberto Fujimori is being jailed for the death of about 25 people – then, maybe, we do not have to wait too long.

Ronnie Mayanja,
Editor-UNAA Times

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