{"id":19170,"date":"2021-10-09T16:02:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-09T16:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=19170"},"modified":"2021-10-09T15:45:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-09T15:45:25","slug":"independence-monument-the-art-history-and-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/independence-monument-the-art-history-and-beauty","title":{"rendered":"Independence Monument: The art, history and beauty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Today, Ugandans will commemorate their independence anniversary for the 59th time. I have deliberately avoided the word \u2018celebrate\u2019 so I could accommodate angry Ugandans who say there is nothing to celebrate about Uganda\u2019s independence. So, dear reader, let us just commemorate.<\/p>\n

But as we commemorate, I request our angry Ugandans to allow me celebrate the art, history and beauty of the Independence Monument on Nile Avenue in Kampala. The Independence Monument is a conspicuous piece of art that has its own story and history. It was unveiled on October 8, 1962, a day before Uganda got her independence from British colonialism.<\/p>\n

However, its unveiling was not a turn-key or signal-switch affair. Neither was the event all rosy. Under the glare of cameras, Prime Minister Designate Apollo Milton Obote could not pull the veil down. The reef-knot could not unravel; and a frustrated Obote, manifesting his raw sense of humour, is said to have just joked mishap away: you know, when a child is born, you cannot see it all at once\u2026 prompting the officials around to laugh.<\/p>\n

It took the intervention of Mr Kalule Settaala, the minister for Culture and Community Development, and a few other officials to unveil the monument. Fifty nine years later, it is not clear whether Ugandans have really had the opportunity to see the whole child (head to toe); if we may squeeze all the juices out of Dr Obote\u2019s joke.<\/p>\n

What is certain though is that the failure to unveil the monument, which was wrapped appropriately in the new national colours, must have been the first challenge of nation-building for Uganda. And an ominous one too\u2026<\/p>\n

At 29 feet tall, the Independence Monument stands tall as one of the most important icons of Uganda\u2019s history. It is raised on a stone plinth along Nile Avenue, behind Sheraton Hotel facing the Grand Imperial Hotel and Standard Chartered Bank.<\/p>\n

During the preparations for the 50th Independence Anniversary in 2012, I attended a meeting in which it was suggested that the Independence Monument would be put on a very high pedestal so it could tower over the neighbourhood properties.<\/p>\n

The monument is the work of Gregory Maloba, a former student and Art teacher at Makerere University\u2019s Margaret Trowel School of Industrial and Fine Art.<\/p>\n

For the gods, Mr Maloba was a Kenyan (from the Luhya Community). It was modelled on a metal framework and depicts a mother hoisting a child high up. It shows the child\u2019s hands raised upwards in an expression of excitement and freedom.<\/p>\n

Mother stands firm on the ground, with both legs apart and straps around the legs and waist. Talking about this posture, Maloba is said to have remarked thus in a 1999 interview: the \u2018legs-apart\u2019 position symbolized firmness and the \u2018ropes\u2019 around the legs represented the bondage of colonialism out of which Uganda had just emerged.<\/p>\n

According to press reports of the time, Maloba was paid a token of \u00a3900 for a job he is said to have completed in one month. The monument was placed in what then was called King George V Jubilee Memorial Gardens, replacing the statue of King George V of Britain.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaloba portrays the nation\u2019s aspirations, instilling into the minds of citizens a sense of purpose. It is a message to the people. It portrays the past, present and future of the human race,\u201d Obote said shortly before unveiling the monument.<\/p>\n

Yet Obote\u2019s message is hardly recognisable today. Even if one were to argue that Uganda does not have a deep-rooted heritage of sculpture as a form of art, the Independence Monument offers Ugandans an opportunity to reflect on the challenge of nationhood and leadership.<\/p>\n

Mr Bisiika is the executive editor of the East African Flagpost. [email protected]<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Today, Ugandans will commemorate their independence anniversary for the 59th time. I have deliberately avoided the word \u2018celebrate\u2019 so I could accommodate angry Ugandans who say there is nothing to celebrate about Uganda\u2019s independence. So, dear reader, let us just commemorate. But as we commemorate, I request our angry Ugandans to allow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":19169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-19170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nIndependence Monument: The art, history and beauty - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today, Ugandans will commemorate their independence anniversary for the 59th time. 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