CAPRICORN - (Born 21st December - 21st January)

CAPRICORN – (Born 21st December – 21st January )
Goatman humanoid – was in ancient times first to be known as the 'Capricorn race'. An affinity of the Planet Saturn .. historians ascribe their existence on Earth as more than just legend; The half man half goat creatures, were reputedly organized, intelligent and hardworking – having built a small City of their own and, maintained a proud culture!
Star gazing ancient Astrologers of the human race, may have inherited their ability to study the stars and planetary bodies, to those humanoid Capricorns.
In days long gone-by, matters of infinite time and space were first to be interpreted to humans directly by the humanoids. What was to confirm the goatman and goatwomans' affinity to the planet Saturn.
The humanoids had reputation as a very proud lot!
Thinking of themselves as superior to the Human race.. for constantly consulting with them in matters of spirituality… that 'star quality pride' had more and more isolated them from the human being.
Came a time when humans paid no-more attention to them; human Astrologers had already charted the birth signs and wrote their definitions. The Capricorn goatman race had reached their end… humans would no longer rely on their communication s via the planet Saturn; human astrology had taken firm root. The humanoid goatman capricorn were a relegated lot.. they would eventually drift down the annuls of history into legendhood!
Hardly would the humanoids venture out for a stroll in the woods; suddenly, the scent of their human/goat bodies attracted marauding carnivorous wild beasts who, mauled them day in and day out. The humanoids weren't protected by Saturn anymore, they perished and eventually became legends. Their small City on a little hill, provided humans with habitat structure and building.
Astrologers kept the secrets they had learned and, one day, the ‘Three Wise Men' following star signs, were to travel from the far East to Bethlehem  - where the Capricorn King of Kings was born on the ancient Hebrew/Roman  population day  known now as Christmas day! So that the perishment of all the humanoids that ever lived on Earth and, that of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah might be eventually resolved… Salvation was that day born.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAPRICORN!

Some reflections on Germany...

Some reflections on Germany

'Die Alter’ – was an aging crime detective, series. Nearly entirely non-violent, a subtle German crime drama whose dragnets by 1980s standard – painstakingly wrapped up into some huge plot of conversant suspense..
To grip you on the edge – till next week!
Too short, so tasty, so gripping and entertaining to even hold attention of minors.. an A+ for a detective drama with little or no violence. The 'Old Fox', (English title) like 'Football made in Germany' were at a German public 5x frontier… a clever design of reprieve; a bailout from the accident; created by hardmanship of NAZI Germany. It was the making of the 'break' and shift of the new gear!
An automatic this time – the German Autobahn reeked of leaded nearly perfumed atmosphere. More than anything else apart from the heavier lanes, to and from work drive of the 1980s were fan-times.. leading European popular magazines said so…
 Certainly, hazards also occurred but, people didn’t have to actually dwell on them; it was the 1980s and, Mentality and the paradigm were on the shift – 20th Century was about to turn into 21st, and the universe was racing itself into another Millennium…
 Around the world there was new thinking, space exploration had picked up; in the US, 'Voyager 1’ was launched 1984.
Impetus for better, greater livelihood were in the making; the races were on and fasting away.. research, design, art and high-tech – promises of tomorrow that was yet to come! Were in the works in 'Silicone Valley' – occasionally the inspiring glimpses reached out to our third world as well. More and more third worlders picked on overseas traveling. O! The 1980s was traveling time. Unsponsored traveling; we Africans went overseas Europe, Dubai and elsewhere to learn or, for those of us not blessed with formality, we went there to experience. We were apparently a different kind of challenge… a decade earlier, another type had travelled Europe from elsewhere around the world. 'Toramolinos' Was a traveler novel I read those years; youth from around the world travelled to that city. The trends setting had began – the baby boomers generation of post Hitler had started it all. The generation of 'terror international' had followed. By the time I went to exile in Germany, the fire and passion of that baby boomers generation were dying down.
Suddenly, slum-bang! 'Berlin Wall' comes down! 1989..
What! And what is happening? Noh nischt!  NATO and the RED ARMY?
'Providentially quiet'
And true as Providence had it, this time the 'Old Fox' country was ransomed! War to the third worlders'
In the early hours of the ‘Crystal Night’ Jesus had said, in his own skirmish of all skirmishes; 'in the.. crow of the Cock… you will deny me!'
There is a privately and individually founded and built Church of the ‘Grand Denial’ with a Calvary scene by it’s throne side… stands grandly by the River Mainz, in Seligenstadt, Germany. I am inclined to believe that, there could have been no other spiritual purposes for an individual founding it. St. Peter’s and Marcellinous is Catholic, though founded privately. It is logical to align German's wartime misfortune to the night spiritually represented by this Church… to me, nothing elsewhere explains it better. Vatican research Authors like old Morris or Brown might someday clarify this part.
What caused the separation and what caused the reunification! Regrettable to me though, was the mindless brutality that took my daughter’s life one winter night, in Berlin – or how she was over many years, primed for that cold night.
Life among the Germans back then, (1986/88) was simple; do as they want you to do. A stoical unmouthed question seem to always hang loose.. what have you come here for? What do you want with us… don’t you see we are what we are.. and you won’t ever fit in it?
'Die Alter’ is without a doubt a humbled giant, he will deeply tolerated you; if he is intimidated a bit, it is by your typically African ignorance. Educated or uneduc'.
But rest assured you will live safe and even VIP life in the old country. Only, never will you get.. your dreams come true 'pound of flesh'– only what you can spend!
That much the 'Old Fox’ is the fox he is. Many a young African have trained in media, law, engineering, Journalism, tourism – returned to African shining stars, only for their light to blink-off! Or amber down to a deem glow.
‘Die Alter' kinmanship is strangely effective; just as you were about to return to your country, you might not feel or know it, but you are defused – there is a long think line.. whatever you do is automatically defused. Ruin is the name of that game! Stigma is that much ruinous – death of Daniela was the mad capper! The illogical bizarreness! Perhaps the hidden underlings!
Even then, there is so much to learn from the 'Old Fox’, best are the things you carry inside your head.. those you can later practice on your own. 'Die Alter’ prefers actually that you do it yourself. Germans don’t very much like hanging-on for dependency purposes sort of thing. Just do your own thing. Then get going – but stubbornly Africans more often like to overstay the hospitality!  For women, the 'Old Fox’ reputably has this soft spot for them – there is always this or that unique situations and, matters arising.. but otherwise, ‘Die Alter’ is very much easy with the African women.
German African development remain at average because, the Old Fox actually do not create stars out of anybody who is not of their kinmanship – it becomes 'corruption' by their principles and policies – meaning that anything given to an individual African, say, will eventually reflect negatively in subsequent years even on the giver! A permanent and evolutionary process of societal Audit.. will eventually find fault with some given values. Your star prize Award might be stained and tainted!
My family and I went to exile in Germany by a grand spirituality design – not by some cheap personal 'nice eating' diaspora interests.
The 'hand that taketh' – in the huge mix, stigma, ransom and things, why be the one to wither-off…
A young German/French lady, was our spirituality tow.. she did the 'Kite’ running back in the early 1980s. In Kampala of the old gun rattled Disco nights – my wife Genevieve, still living in Germany, was still a girlfriend of a few months – and soon to be fresher at Makerere University.
Long story short… French/German chic and I entangle on our bed with Genevieve – morning after, detective staff sergeant Bonny Okot and two (French/German) diplomats in a convoy spot the chic stepping out of the 'Three Stars' hotel near the Railway Station in Kampala and, chic is whisked away to Entebbe Airport. Huck Finn was still dribbling upstairs when it all happened!
(Sam u Gwe..) shoe shiners spill the 'Beans' story…
The dribbling has been going on for some thirty years plus… and to this day Lakery has been in the dark about the white lady in our life… I am moved to share this potion of our life because of the threats on my livelihood. People who don’t know anything in my father's family – are judges with impunity threatening me over matters that are personal to my life and that of my family – they don’t have the mind it takes, to understand the core spirituality involved, yet they persist with their own vainness. I have to say this, because my daughter was MURDERED in Berlin. And, people are sourcing money from the Germans – purportedly as silencer on the matter since I am not man enough to f**k my way into wealth! Ethics of today apparently dictates that, f**King is the undoing of everything that binds us to our suffering…
I think that may be so in the f**King political and other formal ethical fields… however, for some of us who merely made love to our spouses and so never f**ked them to death – we don’t know anything about extraordinary f**King that qualify some one towards graft. I have lost my daughter… however it had not occurred to me that, it all happened so that a few people access wealth – this stigmatism is hurting me!

'Job' - a day in contemplation.

‘Job’ – a day in contemplation.

JOB – the name that evoke infinite and forlorn, emptiness! A name that wells up feeling of pity and sympathetic demeanor. Job, a name that brings about apprehension in deep spiritual solitude and penitence… the name that instills stark fear and terror of insecurity, pain, rejection, and dejection.

Job, the name that carries with it the ultimate divine contact and communication… the mainstay of awesome courage, strength in the faith that holds the link with the Creator for eons upon eons.

How do the ordinariness of the humans - ever in simpleton, get anywhere near to understanding the phenomena of ‘Job’, the name and the synonymous ‘Job’ the word?

The millenniums upon millenniums of its mystery… in the relation between the Creator and the ordinariness of the Human. The ultimate divine link.

How do the ordinariness of the human – ever in simpleton, discern this huge technology of Man and God in [conversation] - what never slipped away in this enormous fog of descent! That; humanity dies and is born day to day, through centuries and ages – to forever live in this mystery of ‘Job’!

An existence forever planted in a divine and patriarchal call in affliction; pain even misery and bodily suffering! To whom, of the human kind shall this phenomenon of ‘Job’ make sense? In addition, indeed for whose benefits?

That through this strange affliction, the human kind finds the opportunity… tapping-in, onto the abundance! Thus, enabling the interactivity and creativity that formulate, devise and implement this enormous phenomenon of ‘Job’ the word! So that we actually develop the occupation and tenets of ethical ‘Job’ solutions and creations.

How do the ordinariness of the human – ever in simpleton, own this occasion of thanks and appreciations - that must be long overdue to ‘Job’? For the contact that over the ages never was severed… for the cafes of modern friendships and even caves of ancient learning that was over the ages gone by.

What does it ever matter to the modern day youths with jobs in the media fraternity? How will they ever understand the true roots of their jobs? Lost, in the vainglory of their superb employments – who packaged it all and delivered to their localities? Will not, ever, come to mind!

That should you be the head of a global entity, a national entity, an international entity where would you place your luck or pride for what you are.

Where would you begin your thinking from… if you were a thinker? I’d bet just one dollar [that I don’t have, for a million to one – you would [or should?] begin your thinking from within the fundamental holy books. Where the story of humanity begins…

This, my contemplation comes from the ‘Book of Job’! For it is understandable to me – that, humanity has this enormous task; to piece together the communications technology – which by and large, has a trendy path already achieved – what remains a mystery… are the physical torment and ailing suffering narrated in the phenomenon of ‘Job’? An inherent part of that divine conversation! A human heritage obviously! Just thinking…   

   

  

  

Personal initiative - hallmark of the Arts

Personal initiative - hallmark of the Arts!

WRITING is an art. I am a little bit dismayed, that some of the things happening in the field of ‘literary developments’ in Northern Uganda Schools, seems to be pre-designated to discourage ‘literature’ among pupils and students in Northern Uganda.

One wouldn’t envisage it otherwise! Given certain negative factors often highlighted in the newspapers.

In the ‘Daily Monitor’ report seen in this picture below, it is disturbing to note that, a Schools ‘Essay writing competition’ targeting lower education and, above all organized by ‘Bank of Uganda’, should end on such a note.

[By Cissy Makumbi – Daily Monitor Monday August 1^st, 2016 – in part reads]:

“GULU – The principal education officer at the Ministry of Education and national coordinator Essay Competition, Mr. George Mutekanga, has said District Education Officers whose schools failed to show up at the Regional Essay Competition will be subjected to disciplinary action. Mr. Mutekanga made the remarks while officiating at the regional essay competition – at the Bank of Uganda, Gulu Branch, on Wednesday…”

It is not so easily believable, that this actually happened in Gulu. The story of writing in the Acholi land Northern Uganda has very fertile roots in the personifications of these great Acholi sons, who did it all in ‘the box’ as it were; poet ‘Professor Okot p’Bitek’ rip (Song of Lawino and others), Professor Ocitti JB rip (Acholi Stories), Professor Dr. Alexander Odonga rip (Acholi Fables), Onyango KuDongo (topics on Luo) and, many others known and unknown Acholi writers, who over the many-many years, were the early generation contributors’ to ‘literary inspirations’ in the Acholi land.    

What moves me to come-out, and weigh-in on this matter, is the simple fact that – going by the little detail report I captured off the pages of the Daily Monitor – the BOU essay writing project should have been fully embraced by the local Schools.

There is certainly no ‘but you see…’ lame excuses here. I am another personification of the fertile roots of writing in the Acholi land, and I did it all outside the box! So how do Acholi pupils and students chicken out of an essay  writing competition?

I think, unfortunately, many people are not telling nothing at all… if that impress upon you anything at all! How do whole and entire regional schools be termed “Dodgers” of a Bank of Uganda essay-writing project? Where do all these proud and ‘GREAT’ fathers, sons and daughters actually materialize? If suddenly, not all their children feature on such schools creative essay writing challenges…

The finding I bumped into sometimes ago and, banked off – only to have reason to recollect it this morning, does not impress me! Nor does it challenge me either. As a writer of a researched book – all these anger me.

One S4 student recently impressed me though – donning a T-Shirt with the inscriptions [School Writing Club] – she instantly grabbed my full attention.

I was walking to Gulu town from the direction of St. Mary Hospital Lacor [my village home side], and so were a group of three or four girls. I strike conversation with the T-Shirt girl…

“I am a member of our School Writing Club because I want to become an Author” she says it so powerfully I, actually laughed and, believed her!

“What is your name?” I ask

“Jud Piyoo” came the toothy all inspired reply – we talked at length and she exhibited character and composure. I liked her straight and felt fatherly to her.

By the time we reached the Customs Corner roundabout, she had passed my basic test on reading, by narrating the “Merchant of Venice”. A child of the arts, I finally conclude and qualified her.  

How then does this Bank of Uganda schools essay writing challenge draw nothing from Gulu schools, but “Dodgers” who must be “punished?” According to the Daily Monitor piece.

“Not all that glitters are gold”! So goes an old adage.

If the story of the Gulu BOU essay ‘dodgers’ might stick, then Gulu and indeed, the sub-region as a whole has a very prickly observer – watching over its literary developments with ill intentions. Or, these might be the new signs and symptoms of a very bad disease killing formal literary developments.  

I am an Author [The Water Trap] who developed as a freelance writer – I walked [off-the box] all my reading and writing life. People who are overcome by their own achievements as [in box developed] – often downgrade me “The Water Trap – was not written by him,” they say! I was for a while psychologically reduced to nothing by the doubting Thomas’s vainglory…

Now I am all positive - these are all non-performers and breeds of the jealous – Sir Samuel Baker SS recently closed down! Some students in jail… aha ha ha… I know these are sons of very proud parents!   

I am self-published, though the Thomas’s want to belittle what I have so far achieved and accomplished, I can defend my own book anytime, anywhere… so really, whose children are the “dodgers” – and who are their bizzare teachers anyway?    Talk about pride and prejudices, in the sometimes-stark stupid fields of education in Uganda… 

War or Peace!

War – is a very attractive spouse! A beauty. The nubile call-point of Spartacus heroism. The home of attrition - once you begin her courtship, there is often nothing that might stray your attention from homing in on this target of all targets.

The practiced revolutionaries know the pros and cons of war, warmongery, illicit war trade, industrial and cosmopolitan purposes of war. The Ideological factors. The intelligential and the cadre of the regime! 

In the jurisprudence of war legislature – governments might ‘move’ against one another or against an organized threat… spurred into the act of ‘negation of a [particular] negation’; to react, strategically respond or, cogitatively preempt particular instances of clandestine war footings…

Here, once proven beyond reasonable and, [sometimes un-reasonable] doubts – that actual war were in the offing, then certain [sleepy] national interest safe-guards spontaneously spring into wakefulness… what happens in such events – may be termed as automatic mechanisms long since defined by laws of the particular nation. What therefore happens and, how they otherwise happen – depend on the laws of the particular country and, how an incumbent regime administration either works or don’t.

In fall of Gaddafi in Libya – there was a common interest factor between a handful of exiled, highly educated diasporas – who fronted for leadership change in Tripoli and, the French government of the time who had apprehended the godfather of terrorism himself – Carlos Martinez Sanchez, a Venezuelan – who the French government accused of countless violent murder of innocent French people in Paris and other places in that country back in the 1970s. Something that had included the taking hostage of a whole Olympic team from Israel in Munich 1972 Olympics.

The French regime of the day had it, that Gaddafi of Libya had been funding Carlos’s clandestine terrorism and, often shielded the terrorist – for decades frustrating French legislative and government efforts to bring Carlos to books.

While the equally frustrated Libyan Diasporas living in France wanted the French government of the time to spearhead the violent fall of Gaddafi – thus begins the Libyan part of the ‘Arab Spring’.

Regrettably though, war is a shifty hard to orchestrate dynamic and, horribly fast and destructive state of affair! One might never be able to design and time it to that [war-room] perfection; once on the move, no amount of perfect war planning can place absolute control over mounting battlefield situations.

The Libyan changes were achieved… that included the death of Col. Gaddafi himself. However, what is likely to linger on for a long time, is the traumatic experience! The desolation! The obliterated Infrastructure and the economic and human decline; a huge part of the youth, born mostly after Gaddafi’s  overthrow of King Idris, died [enmasse] along with President Gaddafi – the task, therefore, of rebuilding and psychological rehabilitation of a devastated people – who are sinking all too often in the Mediterranean Sea aboard rickety smuggler’s boats that capsize every now and again – as the traumatized people tersely make the mad rush towards crossing the sea into the safety, comfort, and hope of the European life.

Sub-Sahara Africa has a huge area of foreign experiences to draw from. The Biblical 40 year’s leadership change maxim – is a very valid set of argument and direction pointer – however, prudentially it might also be incumbent upon the potentials… to correctly and prudently assess their national human and material resource interests - that should or should not go [destructively] with the Biblical 40 years change making!

Sub-Sahara Africa, however, has a complication – the components of the African intelligentsia and, the intellectual Concourse are a disjointed and, uninformed often irrelevant [own-goal scorers]. They defeat the very purposes for their own very existence – all but otherwise wish and try to unreasonably shorten their own growth longevity. The [maxim] changes they all crave, have to always be violent – to prove that they all are not going back into their mother’s wombs – the fatalistic Amin challenge factor!

War and Peace are both a challenge!   

   

Radicalization of an Individual & Radicalism of the Individual

Radicalization of an Individual & Radicalism of the Individual

Sam Mwaka-karama

Long, long before everyone was born to what is now ‘Intellectual knowledge’ – especially here in Africa – the British among the developed, had long since formulated the thinking of how to isolate and, victimize an individual.

The philosophy in this conceptualization assumes, actually rather wrongly, that once isolated the individual victim of the process of radicalization – will [always] mentally plunge into the abysmal characteristic of despair and degeneration. Moreover, cut-off thus, from his normal path in life, the individual begins exhibiting unfriendly… even abusive temperament.

How is this so? In the first concept, the victim is a subject of study among a malicious group of either peers or even just plain stigmatizing haters! The practice in radicalizing the individual is formulated in such a way that the victim individual finds himself the subject of ‘practical jokes’… as in palaver.

Be like – you are walking down the street. Perhaps you are bypassing a coffee shop with an apt name like; [(Bamboo) Bicycle Café] in your home town – like mine is Gulu in Northern Uganda. Or even the Abyssinian [chronicle] café.

Suddenly, as you walk-by – a shower of raucous laughter washes after you accompanied by a single clapping of the palms.

It is familiar – more like some common music played on some Fm Radio station all the time – you don’t even bother to look over your shoulder. It is a group of white skinned people. Yah! You always know they hail from the white man countries abroad – an assortment of either trotters, research students or other individual interest travelers – actual NGO workers and group tourists do not behave like that. You, yet again ignore the ‘virus’ load in their loud conversations.

The overly manifested intellectual malaise is actually the ways and means by which [you] the individual is being radicalized – the well-honed technique is supposedly guaranteed to yield a result! In that you the victim would (as in will…) most certainly turn back and annoyed or more appropriately mad! Hurl back a barrage of vile insults in your own mother tongue – or something.

NOW provoked – the real Men would get-up and, the security personnel nearby would be signaled to deal with you – actually [you] are insulting tourism! Because the lunatic you are, you were heard and seen insulting white skinned men and women who were quietly cooling their tired day, taking [their evening coffee] – so you are a disgrace to your country and people. So thus, radicalized by this well-honed intellectual strategy, you were dumped in jail!

This rather desolate battlefield has seen many an African of the writing ethics… ruined! Once you were identified with short-fused temperament, as researched among your kinship, [you] were considered the easy prey! Therefore, the game begins. I don’t have to name anybody, but history has it that many well renowned African writers of very high educational qualifications have been victims in this trade!

Some African political leaders equally, have been molested by this factor – if some leaders were short-fused, at least one might have been heard shouting back [fake news – fuck you]. Such a leader knows the cocoon of ‘supremacists’ malaise.

But then a TALANTA is a TALANTA… what they, the Supremes imagine were their own spirituality guarded fields of inspirations – have been seal-broken. ‘The New, New World Economic Order’ is founded, on the predictions of the version. The analog Millennium is by-gone! And now 17 years into the digital Millennium – it might be vain actually, to still play clearly outdated games of malice.  

Contemporary Africa, in this digital millennium – may have bypassed their way into working directly with heavy weight American or British or indeed European companies and institutions. This is a point of raw challenge to other more ordinary intellects in those countries… but then it is the path!

Africans are hooked to the European and British football betting mania… how do you [a supremacist] stop those betting millions make and willingly lose money on that International Soccer Industry?

You want an African self made and published Author – drop out of that online book publishing and marketing American company, so that you [the supremacist] gain what?

Don’t you see that one way or the other – the individual you want very much to radicalize – is more and more a real or potential significant unit in the income of those who create such online companies?

 In addition, don’t you see that, your radicalization of the individual - no longer exists; What Ngugi or Wole, or P’Bitek lost as misappropriated by the old African writers’ series are now a bygone.

In that [maybe] they did not produce their work by their own hands [Dictaphones and secretary typewriters etcetera…] – that was different from today’s method of manuscript development and production […S3] or [PhD] we all now have the laptops, Hi Pads and Modems. Add that to a smart phone and, you, the supremacist, might never know how the modern African make his “Smart Money”. Why don’t you stop victimization and radicalization? The old game is up!

Even bad as it were, ‘Radicalism of the Individual’ is, as well bygone – those who made themselves radicals and changed governments – might not ever commonly recur! And, not very many people in Africa want to walk that jungle anymore anyway. Only national mayhem makers of anarchy.***        

  

Café Culture – café life – and now, café death?

Café Culture – café life – and now, café death?

I consider myself lucky [for once], to have been born about five years after the end of World War Two. Going by what several early writers, I have read, did say of the fifteen years after WW II – those fifteen years were said to have been “baby boom” period worldwide. Populations began to explode – and life style came to be definable. Moreover, among them was the “café culture”.

Sidewalk café had become a big thing. In other words it was the new ‘café life’ style.

Journalists and photographers spiced their newspapers and magazines with [life] loaded pictures that gave business to the sidewalk newspaper stalls. Even here in Africa, where I write from – the sidewalk café became the point of popular contact making…

The spot where deals and multi-million businesses were hatched and clinched. The café was a living place – many marriages were sparked at the café.

Out there in the greater world - the dress code also came to be known as pacesetting fashions. With designers often, scripting or doodling their design outlines on the sidewalk café. Landscapers and architects visualized their concepts from the sidewalk cafes.

Great Novelists, men and women, were often spotted candid, brooding over their many-many book plots on the sidewalk café… in all the leading cities of the World.

The compact American suit, Stetson and cowboy boots – were dropped for a pair jeans and T-shirt [James Dean & Marlon Brando] ‘50s looks changed everybody – as we were growing up – to later consume all that in vast literatures of the world and, the Hollywood movies created out of them throughout the 1960s and 70s. We read and watched them all.

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The Internet Café – did not emerge out of the blue, as the younger generations born after the 1960s seem – not to imagine!

The ‘Café Culture’ has a history… it is therein that writers, authors, thinkers, designers, artists, architects and later software engineers evolved.

In the early days of the [personalized] computer, was the [Java script] – the first time I became aware of that software. I was reminded of Java, which is a place somewhere in the vast Indonesian Islands.

Many fantastic ‘Java [movie] Scripts’ shot by Hollywood groups in Indonesia with lead characters like ‘Brad Harris’ sent us lining up the box-office in Kampala Cinemas – that time run by Asians.

So when some two years or so ago, when I re-visited Kampala and, there it was [Café Java] – where now Kampala’s young enjoy each-other’s company, I was amazed in a different kind of way!

Meaning that, I see a lot more than the average – though I am sure, my type of fellows do exist around the world. Those who have lived and survived through the entire post WW II evolution - that characterize the milestones our contemporary civilizations are actually made of or hooked to.

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I am sure though that if ever they exist anywhere in the world [I don’t want to Google out] – anything called [Café Death or Death Café]. Or even enter into or sit on the sidewalk table of one.

Because I believe completely that, the “Café Culture” has always been pro-life. The World’s Arts and Sciences were thought-out and written by very creative writers and authors who were consumers of the Coffee. If ever there was anything called so… then at the background of the founding mind – is HIV/AIDS. I say this without any disrespect to entrepreneurship ideas and principles. Though, even the mad-mad scientist who created the virus might have been or is a consumer of Coffee. Which perhaps to a certain point - justifies the existence of the ‘Death Café’.

       

The African politics of the stomach… can the AU ride this crazy buffalo herd!

The African politics of the stomach… can the AU ride this crazy buffalo herd!

IDEOLOGY - is an old and odd herd to fathom. In the African context, this factor is complexed-by the ‘eating’ phenomena; Africa is hungry. Insufficient. Capacitiless, Wanting and largely bizarre!

 Preys to the aggressive foreign avians, as it were… because Africa might actually never unite.

The Pan African dream, as conceived by the fore-bearers of the ‘African dream’ lived and died with unfulfilment! Generation of the African Independence leadership peers, thought that they had the African vision and, what remained was only ‘good leadership’ – but hardly had they experienced the sunrise morning, than, the old “Wind of Change” was to blow them away - As a British Prime Minister was to once upon a time, see it, back then!

The Independence politicians knew nothing or very little of ‘security’ beyond the guards outside the gates. Mostly they were outsiders! Furtively at the head of anti-colonialism struggles whose [labor   union] up-rise motivations were triggered by the bully-man-ship of white rulers of Africa that time.

The post Independence ‘wind of change’ was unavoidable, since the category of men that headed the forces and security generally – knew and talked directly to the colonial powers that be, most of them had fought in the Whiteman’s World War Two - so that the figures at the head of the states throughout Africa, were flanked by a variety of forces and security heads, whose attentions were very much progressively divided.

The political leaders became ‘rhetorical’, loud and sentimental… whatever Pan African dreams they had, were to eventually be construed, as unifying Ideologies. In some Anglo-phone countries like Uganda, Prematurely, they – the post Independence administration cut-off from the Cambridge Examination and system of education. Between primary and HSC, they created new curricular-combinations. The exams were suddenly marked locally.

Anti-neocolonialism slogans and words like ‘comrade’ or ‘cadre’ or ‘elute’ now decked their rhetoric and conversations – suddenly, the recipe for the ‘wind of change’ was on the enormous menu. With it, things began to fall apart. The story differs though - from one African country to another… but the underlying thematic was the same or at least similar.

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The African is a miserly character – we shamelessly celebrate when the others sleep hungry! We insult, when we are begged! [Why don’t you work hard, you can’t beg all the time – go and work!] Yet, even the little that we pride ourselves of having achieved – were actually foreign donations. We do not stop to think, that everything we have - come as welfare - from a consortium of donors. This factor hardly ever seem to makes sense to most Africans - even leaders.

The African is a jealous character – we interfere with progressive activities of those members of our country who may hail from faraway places we don’t relate to easily. We summarily regard and dismiss them as either ‘the enemy or the poor’. It is just as well, that political systems and the laws actually curtail our meanness. But, by and large, we are tribalists. However, the cynics of our individualism perforate our tribalism.

In our ‘stomach thinking’, we promote productivity with one hand and, meddle-up productivity with the other hand. So that year in and year out, the story of development is a kind of merry-go round! War and Hunger is permanently on the front pages of African Newspapers. Our domestic animals are charred by the sun-rays – due to cultural practices and behaviors that interfere with our root management!

We are perennially experimenting with a variety of Aid/Grant based activities that seem never to solve the problem of ‘lack’ – Africa still lack so much – so that the negativity of African politics will forever remain in the ‘negative celluloid’ form  – like in the ancient photographer’s studio work. Production of the ‘positive picture’ remains an elusive challenge. That challenge is actually, what shows AU as an in-effective entity. Composed of this group of African [diaspora] minded men and women – designer suits, weird and nice everything theorists.

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If the AU were ever effective, foreign engineers wouldn’t be independently manning Africa’s infrastructure constructions. AU might have taken over direct management of especially, sewage in all the cities and towns around Lake Victoria – to allay the enormous contamination of the fresh water lake.

The AU might also have directly taken over management of solid waste throughout Africa. That is how the ‘negative celluloid’ would be washed [as in the ancient photographer’s studio]. To produce the clean ‘positive picture’ of the African environment and expose the cleaner path to the continental development.

It is safe for us who dare think, that current African Head of States, are direct signatories to all the protocols that engender the AU – they too might have to contribute in creating and cash-supplying some ‘African Bank’ that fund the activities directly managed by the AU.

So that, these African Political Heads remain what they are – Political Head of African States. Even then, the AU protocol they sign, actually take a minute bit of what their executive power is country to country.

In view of the status quo otherwise, the AU officials at their Head Quarters in Addis, might instead cause some of us Africans to hold them suspects for aggitative-indecision and inactivity also – I think it is not far from likelihood that, they, the AU officials may have poured, one too much crude Oil cartel into the fires that eventually [for example] burnt South Sudan – and nearly created difficulty for Ethiopia.

To some of us African indigenous free thinkers, the AU has to pull-up and be properly mobilizing the African Engineers and Economists – for the more committed trans-Africa infrastructure management. I mean the real hardware jobs.

It is not right – hearing of an AU official work-shopping limited ideas… advising [for example] the Nile referral – or Lake Victoria basin countries to [somehow] work towards bettering the hazardous environmental conditions inherent there-in… consultants can talk such vagueness, but not the AU. They are by virtue of their many-many mandates – planners and implementers. At least some of us readers into the purposes of the Union – believe so!   

Individual African countries are struggling… barely scratching for survival of populations. The AU cannot perennially be large [AU] painting on military trucks that are run by a group of sacrificing African countries taming [some] rebellions of the continent.

Uganda [for another example] is almost caught-up in the neediness of war-torn South Sudan! The meager agricultural output by some regions of Uganda disappears into the whirlwind of the current South Sudan situation. It is true that we cannot even [freely] afford tractors to help us roll one or two acres… and how do the experts sit around talking shop! When more than two countries have to share-in on the meager subsistence resource of one country.

Africa is vastly stranded in the politics of political change… leadership change, social services dogmatism - even with all the Universities that have mushroomed all over the continent. The job market [even at AU level] seems to be a pin-hole intake affair…

At the AU level, what are the continental planners doing? Where is the Continental Central Bank, what about the Continental Development Bank  – and, how much do African countries contribute to Africa’s collective financial weight Annually? And what is AU’s Annual Budget.. beyond secretariat funding. 

Otherwise, we can’t avoid the worry – that Africa might be massively contaminated by the sweet-toothed and threatening ‘Fifth Estate’ and the fanatic criminals within the African governments – who are actually by-products of corporate life style and the sweetness of extravagant nightlife – those laughing and ‘dancing’ ones former Apartheid President Botha talked about!               

Fifth Estate

Fifth Estate

In political [power-play] definitive terms, ‘fifth estate’ might be observed as an illegitimate, ambiguity that exists as an intertwine [influence] that network itself within the various structures of government. Parenting absurd corruptions.

Fifth Estate’s main purpose is to leech… on the juicy and nutritious body of the fat governments!

It is an [influence], which would mean that its origin is outside [the box] however, its powerful tentacles twine its way through and into every department of government – including military and other security establishments.

Once homed-in among the political and administrative classes, the fifth estate assumes supremacy…

 Consolidates itself into a very humble, fatally aggressive and money hungry group. The fifth estate is a very difficult entity to identify, relate with and get to know.  Fifteen years ago, this pseudo political -economic crime organization was largely non-existent. However today, in Uganda the fifth estate is also beginning to spread its tentacles. In Kenya, the fifth estate is known as “Mungiki”. In Uganda it might be identified with activities of “Kifeci” though, even Kifeci’s activities might not be influential enough to merit having their tentacles thickly twined into various departments of government, like it is with ‘Mungiki’.

After the recent electoral violence that sent Kenyans into Uganda [as exiles] for the first time – ‘Mungiki’ became a vivid political player… today, the pseudo-political crime based entity has their tentacle in various government offices. It has also gotten various local community organizations under its umbrella and several NGOs and global aid organizations assist their shadowy projects.  The crime-based foundation of these ‘WaOrdinary’ communities is also slowly changing characteristics – so that today, the fattening “criminals” run very legitimate concerns. In Nairobi, the story of the transformation of [Mathare and Kibera] are no longer some shameful shanty of shacks on the backside of [Ngong road, or Thika road].

One area of Mungiki influence is at the Cargo handling Mombasa port. It is also public knowledge that the Labor Unions in Mombasa are cramped with Mungiki Influences… what has for decades affected the handling of Cargo – especially those Uganda-bound – that the criminals leech on them! Is also public knowledge.

After the killing in Kampala of Ugandan AIGP Kaweesi and the acceptance by President Museveni, that “Criminals have [infiltrated] Uganda Police” – it now becomes safe for some of us free and independent thinkers – to also weigh-in with this sort of analysis, to highlight the background of this matter.

It is my guess, that if an equivalent of Mungiki exists in Uganda, it might be at an embryo level… though it is also possible, that the embryo is effective – also considering fact that there are scores of various former fighters or retired members of the forces loose in the country.

As a writer, Book Author and Researcher, this is an area of interest to me.