The lottery of birth delivers us to our destinies, long before we can even know what life has in store for us. Born on December, 15th, 1989 in Uganda’s capital city of Kampala, Kenneth Mwanja is a young man who wakes up each day and does his best with what he’s been given. An aspiring journalist and university student, he is the eldest of four children who, at nineteen, has already been charged with the responsibilities of an adult. Doing his best to care for his family, while striving for more in a society where finding more can often be difficult, Kenneth sat down with RELATIVITY OnLine to talk about life in Kampala.
What is a typical day for you?
The first things I usually do when I wake up are grumble and complain, because I hate leaving my bed. Its extra comfort makes me lazy and I’ve also always loved dream-land. I wake up at 7 am, take a shower, have breakfast and then leave for work at 8:45. I work all day and leave around 4 pm to attend lectures at university. Classes run from 5 to 9 pm and I leave campus for home around 9:30. I usually arrive before 11pm. Once I’m home, I take a cup of coffee, have supper, shower and go to bed
On weekends, I spend most of my time visiting friends and watching football and movies. I like Manchester United and Nigerian films.
What are some of the difficulties you face on a regular basis?
I find a lot of difficulties in doing my work as both an aspiring writer and a student, because of a lack of essential goods such as a digital camera, access to the Internet and personal computers, along with other educational material.
Paying my tuition fees at university is also a constant battle. The cost is expensive ($388 per semester). We’re going to begin our end of 2nd semester examinations, but I’ve so far paid only a quarter of the tuition fees. The school policy is that I cannot take my examinations without completing all the university dues. I’m not sure what I will do. I know I can only keep trying the get things paid
I also struggle to take care of my family as best I can. I pay the house rent ($56 per month) as well as help with food and bills. Our mother divorced and left our dad with three children; my sister is twelve and I also have two teenage brothers. Our dad’s income is not enough and on top of that, he is too old…old people are the ones that should be taken care of and I do my best.
What kind of problems does the average citizen of Kampala face?
First and foremost, they face the problem of pests and sickness. Kampala citizens are very much prone to various diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, sleeping sickness, typhoid, and AIDS. To make matters worse, the government, most especially the health ministers, have mismanaged the funds meant for the control of the above diseases.
People in Kampala are also facing a lack of accommodation. Many, young and old, spend their nights on the streets of Kampala. Poverty levels are extremely high and rising. High prices and scarcity of essential goods is also hurting people. Items as simple as sugar, salt and soap are sometimes hard to come by.
Lastly, citizens of Kampala face the problem of minimal amount of land to build on. To worsen matters, people in Kampala are commonly evicted from their land by government and army officials, when the land is wanted by those in power.
What is the state of education?
Up to around 1990, education at university level was free to all. Nowadays, due to the extortion-like influence of international bodies such as the IMF, the EU and the World Bank that push the Ugandan government to foster cost-sharing, university education is provided at a charge that is very expensive to most Ugandans. This has, to a lesser extent, increased illiteracy, unemployment and homelessness. One can study from primary through secondary and then fail to progress to university, due to lack of fees.
Has the lack of education and essential goods affected hope and faith?
I’m not sure how connected it is, but false pastors have emerged as a late. In 2008, a Ghanaian born pastor used an electronic gadget to make followers tremble and fall on the ground. He did this to show he had special power. Afterwards he said that he had bought the gadget as a birth day present for his daughter. A year later, he was arrested for using the same gadget, this time in South Africa.
It has become a habit of some pastors to struggle for recognition from their followers, by any means necessary. For instance, one pastor paid a lady some money, bought for her a wheel chair, and told her to pretend she was lame. She did so and the pastor told her to come to his church for prayers. She came and then worked a miracle making her walk again. However, after two weeks, the lady confessed that she had been bribed to fake her lameness!
Pastors are also engaging in immoral acts such as child sacrifice, theft and raping young girls. Not all pastors are bad of course; it’s just that these acts have become a growing trend.
What is the biggest misconception about your country?
The outside world thinks that Ugandans and Africans in general are thieves. We are not.
Do you ever think of leaving Uganda?
Some young Ugandans always think of how they can go abroad for greener pastures, others think of how we can make our country a better place to live in, whereas a few even think of how they can do away with the current government. Government officials play a large role in escalating poverty, and the alarming rates of illiteracy and unemployment, yet they earn huge sums of money. Even worse, they embezzle tax payers’ money, which is meant for addressing the problems I’ve mentioned.
I want to stay. It’s my duty to help make Uganda a better place…
Kenneth Mwanja
Loading ...
