Who Does Independence Day Belong To?

I was at the KCCA Carnival over the weekend and whilst I was quaffing a TML, I was introduced to a lady who for arguments sake, I will call Jennifer Musisi.

Jennifer so it turns out is the head honcho at KCCA and from what I gathered, some people have beef with her. Anyway after jazzing with the lady I took myself on a walk about which was a big mistake. It was a mistake because I trod on the grass near Nandos and that was it.

Next I knew I was in the air, in the air because three burley men in KCCA uniforms were not happy with what I had done. Can you imagine they made me sit by the road side and gave me a lecture about the need to preserve the grass and all?

Ok I was in the wrong, and throughout the carnival, I watched them sensitizing people about trampling on the grass and flowers. “We are trying to give you a clean and organized city but we can’t do it if you break the rules” so one of the officials screamed out.

Now I do understand Jennifer better, and I do understand her rationale when she breaks down gas stations and buildings that have been built in the road reserves or in the wetlands.

With the weekend gone, it was Independence Day – 50 years of it. I thought of going to Kololo but I was not invited and neither was Bobby Wine but he was brave enough to gate crash the event and was promptly bounced. But why would they bounce him from attending the celebrations?

I was not as brave as Wine and stayed at home where I watched the proceedings on TV. But there was something that bothered me, and I really mean it bothered me.

The lady who was the MC I felt personalized the event. When the floats went by, she said: “Your Excellency, in the 50 years of independence we have done….” But was 50 years of independence all about President Museveni for I can’t recall reading in the history books that it was only M7 who fought for independence?

It was our day too we the plebes, the wannainchi and so on. Therefore she should have been saying: “Ugandans, in the 50 years of freedom we have achieved this and that.” With that I switched off the TV for a while, popped open the fridge and quaffed down another TML. When I turned the TV back on, the lady MC had been replaced the some chap who got his underwear in a twist. I have to correct him and tell him that a MI-24 is not a fighter jet but a helicopter. I also have to tell him that I the American built F-16 fighter jet can out fly the Sukhoi jet. All he had to do was to go to Google and he would have avoided the gaff.

Still on independence, one of the benefactors was the army in form of the presidential guard. I was at Speke Resort Munyonyo and all the soldiers who that been deployed there were in new uniforms – right down from their hats to the boots.