Africa-Press – Uganda. We are a very conservative society and many things about who we are, aren’t about to change any time soon. Our values are deeply African and are a measure of who one is and that involves who raised them, if they were lucky to be raised at all. I shall return to this subject of being raised in a while.
Let me first give an example of what I mean.
I was inducted into the media by a very well-seasoned journalists Mr. Buwembo and Mr. Kakande. I hope you know who those are and why I find myself lucky that I grew through their wise counsel.
These two quickly made me aware of the latitude I have and where the boundary lines are. I love robust hard talk like interviews.
When I was discussing what I wanted to do to my guest on television here mining for the truth that I had seen being done on television in the UK and elsewhere, I was told by those who have been at it that that was simply not possible in our context and culture.
A young man cannot be seen asking questions that would for instance place a president or anyone older to public shame. Soon the interview moves from the interview looking for the truth to an interviewer who is looking for self-glory and one probably badly raised and ill mannered.
It may soon be asked: but whose son is this ill-mannered Samson Kasumba who has no respect from those older? That is what it is and always will be.
You ask and even when a very uncomfortable guest is being conservative with the truth you simply can’t say to the guest “but sir/madam you are lying that is not the whole truth”. You let the viewers make that out for themselves.
Being raised properly and behaving in a way known to be class as the English would opine is of great value here and always will be.
This now our context and it is this very context that makes the behaviour of the Hon. Zaake Francis queer and strange.
Some world renown top scholar in queer behaviour tried to change who we are and she did not get much success. I hope you remember. She ended up leaving (not in the best of ways I must add) our context and has since settled where queerness is more appreciated.
Many I know just feel Hon. Zaake has crossed the red line and he has walked straight into that area where it is being asked whether his parents did a job good or decent enough job? If it is not throwing a wedding gift from the Speaker of Parliament to the ground it is using abusive language against a fellow Member of Parliament and many more.
I met Francis Zaake at Urban television during the guild debates. He was a young man vying for the position of Vice President for his university. I took interest in who he was not because of his debating skills but for the other things that he and his bunch brought to the contest. The production team struggled to keep this group calm and ending the show was a relief we all needed.
Hon. Zaake may have several issues to raise you would imagine. It is because of our context that myself and others have a massive problem with how he goes about that. I have yet to understand what is the goal of abusive language and what it achieves if anything.
Buganda has had many issues of discomfort and discontent with plenty central governments here. It is their how of going about raising those issues that makes it easy for Buganda to be heard and to gain sympathy even from both those its tasks to address them and those outside Buganda.
Someone kind and empathetic needs to pull over Hon. Zaake and remind him that he is a Muganda, and a member of parliament. In both those cases there is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Because I am picked from my car as I leave the studio, a violation of my rights and those of my family, does not give me the licence to find all manner and nature of abusive words to call everyone. This is the stalk from which I come. We are reminded to find the most civilized of ways to handle ourselves when we are addressing issues to do with the abuse of our rights.
In my father’s house it was a crime to scream and yell at another because they wore what was rightfully yours without permission. You were expected to deal with that grievance with class and manners.
That is us and many more like us, and we are not saying we are few.
Source: Nile Post
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