Ugandan media serves Easter Eggs on Christmas

Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. Edward R. Murrow

Charred bodies, some unidentifiable, of 29 people, including children - and still counting - made it to the cold room [mortuary] in Mulago. This, after a horrific accident last evening, at the Numungoona Roundabout, about 7kms from the Kampala City Center. At about 10pm [EAT] last evening, Ugandan television channels were playing music of all kinds, presenters were hosting some pseudo pretentious musicians and others; classic boxing. On social media, the National Broadcaster - UBC - was updating "tweeps" with what has happening in Namungoona, but when you flipped to the TV station, music, music and music.  

The TV stations were in oblivion and detached from one of their roles - to inform. The excuse, often, is that there are limited resources to cover such stories where they have to rush to the scene - even UBC will complain yet it is taxpayer funded. However, for a TV station not to even have a breaking news ticker, it is rather baffling since that doesn't require resources. Most of our media organisations - NTV, The Daily Monitor, Vision Group and WBS - have journalists who have highly placed sources in The Uganda Police, Uganda Red Cross, Hospitals and Government, so was it very hard for at least a call to be made to confirm the story and get a breaking news ticker rolling. Furthermore, for a journalist, ones job is to go after a story, not so? This was after-all a big story for the reporter and media house.

There were some reporters -Uganda Radio Network, Simba, Akaboozi and CBS - on the scene, and also social media enthusiasts. Even so, a channel like NTV could have just made a call to have a reporter on air - from Uganda Radio Network - update the country on what was going on. We slept. I wept. 

Last month, a great, young and passionate journalist Michael Hastings died, in a perfect send off, his editor wrote; 

"Great journalists take themselves and their work seriously because it is serious; they know the power they wield."

The big story here is the  fuel tanker exploding and people dying - not common. But for the media, if you are not on-sight to take pictures of how the authorities have reacted - at that time - what story do you plan on telling? Only "she said, he said." Surely we can do better than this. As the media, we wield power. If the authorities know that the media is going to be breaking the news story as it happens, they'll probably be more competent in handling some of these accidents. This is because they know they are being watched by Ugandans. The police instead of issuing a presser 12 hours later, will perhaps be on-sight to update journalists regularly.

Surely, why do we have to wait to put poll questions; "What do you think should be done to control accidents in Uganda." Journalism is about passion: You've got to love it. Before Hastings passed on, he'd offered advice to journalists. 

"Mainly you really have to love writing and reporting. Like it's more important to you than anything else in your life--family, friends, social life, whatever." 

Such a journalist, will give the media owner food for thought [Why don't we air this story? He is at the scene. It could be a scoop]. There's is no way we can keep demanding for media freedom, yet we've failed to utilize even the limited freedom we appear to have. When reporting from then scene, you get the feel the of story, access people's reactions and get your five senses tickled. There is no better way of story telling than vivid descriptions, you'll probably win an award as a result. This also involves the viewers actively, leading them ask the questions -if any - they'd want their government to answer. 

Some will say this is idealism of the highest order. How do I gain from all this? Why should I be up all night to cover such a story? Who cares? What about my sleep? Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play, An Enemy of the People, the protagonist, Dr Thomas Stockmann wants to do right and tell the truth, but everyone else around him thinks this is not a good idea. But he won't back-off, no matter what: 

"The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone." 

So as journalist, your obligation is to tell the truth or to state the facts and explore them in full but by not waiting for the storm to calm - after homes have been destroyed - and then you instead rush to ask what the government is doing to help. Sorry, you missed out on the big story: The people affected, what was the early warning system like, who died, what were they doing, how were the responses by the authorities...

"...What am I trying to say? Saying that you will not do anything because you cannot solve everything is a lame and, frankly, very poor excuse. Do your part and then you will have the authority to ask of others what they are doing to make this country better," David FK Mpanga a lawyer and a regular Saturday Monitor Columnist who wrote in a piece once titled "What are you doing to make a Uganda better country?" 

For the media owners, perhaps having night duty reporters who can take on stories that happen effective 20:00 hours till 05:00 hours is a good idea? Who will tell the story of what is happening at the scene before we move on to "The police said the drivers were under the influence" and "What is with Ugandans and siphoning fuel?" 

In late May when anti-government protests started out in Turkey, the local media was criticized for having shows about penguins instead of what was going on in their backyard. The protesters got angry and torched some of the broadcast vans of the local stations because they felt they'd been ignored. For Ugandans, it may not get to this level, but surely one can understand if they throw the rotten Easter Eggs the media served them on Christmas Day. 

Note: We[media] feed Ugandans on so much junk, by they time we get to know it, they'll be obese - on emptiness. 

The Kampala pedestrian

A pedestrian can be defined as a person who walks on the roads of Uganda in general and Kampala in particular. Wikipedia and the Oxford dictionary have their own definition of a pedestrian but mine is clearly not far off. In Kampala people walk to work (Which until recently was legal - sort of).
There are those with motorcycles, cars (the Toyota's) and those with beasts (Audi, Hummer, Dodge). As a holy pedestrian, I am usually starstruck when I look at the cars people drive. (BUT: Where do people get the money to buy not-Toyota cars?). To the point; I will own a car sometime in the future and it will save me from the life of being a pedestrian in Kampala.

The Cover that is not: A pedestrian in Kampala is likely to fall or drop a smartphone in a manhole. There is someone in this city who steals the manhole covers. What are manhole covers used for? Welding gates and metallic doors? I do not know. But in these tough economic times these covers must be very useful.

The Splash; There are unbelievable tales of people who have suffered splash moments especially after a rainy day. Due to the somewhat poor drainage or poor road works or potholes, pedestrians get splashes. Of course it depends on who has splashed. For an ambulance or presidential convoy, it may be okay. The splashes may ruin your day and drivers usually DON'T apologise.

The body check; This one in particular I find unpatriotic. The people driving cars don't leave their huge vans to be checked yet the pedestrian will be subjected to two body checks. One at the gate and the other before reception desk. Yes. Some hotels do this. (I can prove this beyond reasonable doubt).

The Taxi; During rush hour (huh! Wanna be Kampala rush hour), the traffic jam is annoying (for those in the cars). A pedestrian holding a fancy Kataala phone hooked to Pakalast (Load 1k; talk all day), walking on a walkway is hooted at by a taxi or one of those drivers. The taxi driver is using a walkway. All the passengers in the taxi are not even criticizing the driver for using a walkway.

The bullet; My friend Rogue King loves to call them bullets. The famous Kampala "boda boda." The riders have no respect for traffic rules (Apart from the ones I use). They interfere with the flow/movement of pedestrians. I am very passionate about this one that I cannot say anymore about it. Except; Even at the zebra crossing and the traffic lights you are likely to knock a pedestrian who has right of way.



Optical non-nutrition; As a pedestrian I tend to peep or look at the people occupying cars. Its interesting what I get to see in peoples cars. Beautiful ladies are usually the center of interest. However this doesn't help. Its non-nutrition because it benefits the eyes only in the short run.

The boss; The pedestrian will be subjected to a ruined day if it rains. No rain coat and no umbrella or and no boots. You will either be later for work and the boss will fume or you will miss an appointment with a client. Client has a car and the boss too has car. boooom.

Shoe wreck; Shoes get older. The sole will peel off in a much shorter time. Enough said.

In these tough economic times, more and more people(Cliche; ignore once) have become pedestrians (Unless your car is a Vitz, Starlet or Duet or if your company pays for your fuel or you very rich or you steal taxpayers money). They have also become frustrated because of the conditions of being a pedestrian. They have to buy water, spend more on shoe polish, shoe repairs, new pair of walking shoes among others. Even for the ladies who have the love for high heels, they are only reserved for the office.

My pedestrian life is lovely at times BUT its below expectations. Someone needs to have a voice for people like us who pay taxes and face such treatment from fellow citizens.

Not Blogging. Moving soon.

Its been ages since I posted anything here.Wait. Long since I posted. That is an understatement. Well I have a couple(Not a couple, more than a couple) of excuses. (Always have an excuse for everything. Backspace and remove the word everything and replace it with "not doing something".)

1. Got a new job. Yes. 2011 started in a not so cool fashion. I had quit my old job (despite the passion I had for journalism but was sort of not willing to get my balls  squeezed for pennies). Unfortunately where I was headed for some PR work, things crumbled. Three months without a job. Then I went back to my old job just to keep my hands full. Then I got an offer which on paper looked attractive but with my experience and how much I was sacrificing, I turned it down. Just as I turned it down. An offer came in. Yes. I got the job at a Magazine and now I am settled.
Before I proceed. Need to go back and read what I have just written. Is their any reason I offered for not blogging. Nope. So what is the reason? I have been BUSY. Couldn't blink. Probation has never been easy and I needed to prove a point.
*wipes face*

2. Blame Twitter. Yes, I had never been an active user of Facebook and then Twitter came. I ran to Twitter. 160words and that was it. It was not that hard. So easy to find something to  write. (Closes page and goes to drafts. There are so many incomplete posts). Well I must admit twitter had eaten into my blogging time. Once again. Not so good a reason.

3. Personal life challenges. This is an area vastly explored in some of the blog posts I have previously posted. Personal events tend to bring the hammer and dagger down my head. This could be a good reason. But then I could have blogged about it but I did not. Not a good reason too.

4. I am moving. The Anagram is supposed to get a new home and I have been shelving it for a while. The Anagram was supposed to have moved in May but I got caught up in some non-unexplained circumstances.

Yes. The Anagram will have be re-branding and securing a new home. Since 2009, this has been the home of the Anagram, but it is about time it grows. I have been thinking of writing a goodbye note now, but I am still thinking about it. (there is something wrong with the last sentence).

Well now I do not think I have reasons for not blogging more often. Then amma reserve my other words for the final post before The Anagram moves to a new location.

Now back to work.

Special MTN Uganda Rant.

Just like the blood sucking vampires MTNUganda seems to be on a mission to drain me. Customer care has never been one of MTN's strong points, they have always taken their customers for a ride and they always taken them for granted. I really understand how MTN took a thorough run for their money with Warid Telecom and Airtel plus UTL slashing their call rates. This basically means less people are spending money on airtime because they can call cheaply on other networks.

So why didn't I join the other networks? Because I never wanted to leave my tariff to join all those confusing subscriptions.

Dial *something# to join and call for ten minutes for free blah blah blah. MTN most definately lost a significant number of its customers to the competition but were they right to scrap late chat?

Well maybe they want to compete but at then are they also going to subject their customers so many tariffs that may confuse some us? And who did they tell? As a telecom company in this day of technology, MTN was supposed to issue a notice probably by SMS to let us know these were going to change.

I must admit, I think MTN has once again miscalculated in my own opinion since people who buy airtime were texting at 50/= but now will be paying 110/= per sms. I will say MTN has for long tried to react late in these situations.

The industry has become very competitive with so many promos from the telecoms and for their customer, this doesn't help at all. What MTN should have done in my own opinion is to keep MTN late chat the way it is. As an MTN customer I feel so much exploited and I believe I am not being treated as the King. That is why I have always failed to believe that MTN cares for its customers. Its interest is to continue to build only a strong brand but offer close to bad service to the people.
If were to do a mini survey, MTN would be at the bottom of the pack because of its service delivery.

I have always been a loyal customer to MTN (since 2004) and ever since Late Chat was introduced, I have never switched to any other tariff. Why? Because I hate the hustle of switching from one thing to another. If you are going to change something please treat me as if I am a valuable customer to your company.

With technology in this era, couldn’t they have communicated that they were going to scrape my tariff.

And now am done making noise about MTN. It has been long overdue.

Death and all its friends (Viva la Vida)

I want a gun. Shoot someone. That one, who tortured me, beat me, rendered me useless, denied me entrance in the pub and stole my phone. Could this have been going through the mind of that PGB soldier who shot at people at a bar in Kampala sometime last month?

A dark crispy night, air filled with happiness. There is a buzz, people talking to each other on the fine night. The sound of glasses skimming passed peoples lips and the sudden “pshh” sound as the waitress opens a bottle. Each round table is occupied by a couple chatting silently and sipping from the glasses and bottles. In one corner a group of young lads probably in their early twenties are the loudest in the room. They watch every lady that walks passed them, they do not say anything. They just watch. At the counter a lady in short dress probably it almost reveals her thighs, her breasts are held by her dress that rounds them up and reveals the mid-line between the two breasts. She seems to be waiting for someone. She is drinking a soda and punching the buttons on her phone. The waiters and their lady counterparts move from table to table talking to the customers. They seem to be happy and everyone in the room is happy and as the night dies out and the sound of the cockroaches grows deeper and deeper.

Do these people have any idea what is going on outside the bar. They innocently drink, dance and enjoy the night as they wait for dawn to arrive. The smell of uncertainty seems to be hovering around the bar and in flash. Gunshots. The night is dead. Dawn is not breaking. The glass windows suddenly break and the people scramble to run out of the room. In a split second there is alot of screaming and wailing. A night that was filled with soft music, laughter and hush sounds comes to a sudden halt. The unexpected happens and the wailing is high. Dead is life.

So did they deserve to die? A rampage. Eight innocent lives are brought to an end. There is no justice. The night is dead. Death came with its friends and took the innocent lives away.

Intimate connection: Kampala Vs Earth

The traffic jam around Kampala in the late evening is quite pathetic. So to beat the Jam I normally like taking a walk. I have always dreamt and I hope to drive a car in the near future. Hope the roads will be available. Now while I was walking I noticed a few things.

1. When the cars are parked in the Jam, the engines are on. Hmmm the air is no longer fresh because of such.

2. Flowing sewerage. As the cars are moving at snail speed, the gentle breeze is sticky only to notice that there was flowing sewerage.

3. Flying polythene. It’s quite windy. The hush sound of car engines and cluttering of polythene can’t be avoided. I notice polythene bags scratching on the tarmac and some flying around and just around the corner, a garbage heap. Buzzing flies with that stingy smell of rotten garbage and the flowing sewerage pre-empt me to move fast.
It was getting late.

4. As the traffic slowly begins to gain some pace. A green coloured bus, think its Nile coach passes and through the window someone sends out a “kaveera.” It doesn’t come to me but it lands on the approaching bodaboda. How sweet.

So then it was Earth day, well no one seems to know about it in Uganda. It’s a no show for the green activists. What did I do? I did switch my lights earlier than usual in order to save energy. Had less coffee candy that usual, Shut down my laptop, removed the charger from the power socket, slept when the TV was off and finally I avoided the supermarket (No “kaveera” for earth day).
Do you know that CNN used a green strip to mark earth day? Well our local TV’s never mentioned it. Bet the earth doesn’t need a day in Uganda. We already have one, “Keep Kampala city clean.” The slogan has been the driving force to the cleanliness in our great city. All this eco-stuff doesn’t matter in our beloved clean city. I need some fresh air.

All objections may be overruled.