Your mail: A good lesson for Kakooza Mutale

It was interesting to see Kakooza Mutale crying foul after his farm was raided by security agencies on a security search.

Kakooza ought to remember that it is routine for security agencies to search any premises, whether suspicious or not, in order to maintain the safety of civilians.

Kakooza Mutale himself is alleged to have wielded power over a violent youth group called “Kalangala Action Plan,” whose job was to attack, clobber and in some cases torture anybody perceived to be an opponent to the ruling elite.

Like a good dancer, time came for Kakooza Mutale to leave the floor and all left of him was to accept the reality that has befallen him; that he is no longer as “powerful” as he used to be. There is no report of Kakooza Mutale being clobbered or humiliated in any way; he was just being searched.

Whereas I disagree with abuse of anyone’s privacy, which can be depicted in searches without a warrant, Mutale’s misfortune is a great lesson to overzealous political actors in Uganda.

Andrew Kasumba,
Kampala

Promiscuity among Ugandans is becoming too much

In the United Kingdom, Ugandan females are submitting their bodies to foreign men, and the practice is getting out of hand.

This has brought into disrepute the reputation of Ugandan females, who are now seen as prostitutes. Each human is free to live life as he or she wishes. But in the narrow interpretation of that concept, each human is mandated to live life and protect their country’s reputation.

That is why the British look at Nigerians as scammers, Jamaicans as drug dealers, and now Ugandans as drink-drivers. Now, West African men go to nightclubs where Ugandan females frequent. All the west

African men need to do is buy a bottle of Courvoisier, which is sold in the range of £80 to £100. This tends to attract the attention of the women. Like they say, the rest is history. Now, whenever l am asked which country I am from, l hesitantly mention that l am from Uganda.

Parents are in Uganda with the thought that their daughters are in the UK trying to earn an honest living. Our sisters need to be reminded that what they sow, they will reap later in life. It is just a matter of time.

Caxton Peter Kasozi,
caxton26@yahoo.co.uk

USA needs to treat Africa differently

In July this year, the Joe Biden administration announced that the United States of America will bring together leaders from Africa for a major summit in Washington.

The statement issued by the Biden administration read, “I’m looking forward to hosting leaders from across the African continent in Washington DC on December 13-15, 2022, for the US-African leaders’ summit. The summit will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa and will underscore the importance of US-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities.”

However, this summit comes at a point when US-Africa relations have been shrinking and rival countries such as China, Russia, and Turkey making more headway on the African continent.

It’s so surprising that the US hasn’t updated its views on Africa. The USA still views Africa as a place for humanitarian crises and as fertile ground for competition between global powers.

There is an internet meme that has been trending among the African elite that reads “When China is in Africa, it’s talking about investment but when the US is in Africa, it’s talking about China.”

The level of economic engagement and trade between the USA and Africa has declined significantly while the battle for political and economic influence between USA and China is taking centre stage.

Statistics indicate that China is now Africa’s biggest trading partner and it continues to position itself as Africa’s infrastructural vanguard.

The USA’s indifferent approach to African issues has left African leaders presuming that the West has little interest on the continent minus extracting their mineral resources such as gold and oil.

African countries are continuing to be undermined and facing persistent humiliation on global stages where the USA holds much influence. A good example is the UN security council where the USA is a permanent member.

President Museveni and other African leaders have been advocating to have Africa’s representative on the UN security council but all in vain.

However, countries with small populations compared to some African countries such as Nigeria or Ethiopia are members of the UN security council yet there is no single country to represent over 1.2 billion people on the African continent.

Former USA president Donald Trump never visited Africa throughout his four-year term in the White House. Had it not been for the recent international conference on climate change COP27, Joe Biden by this time would have not visited Africa.

It’s time for Washington to get back to the drawing board and re-examine its approach to Africa. Africa is no longer a continent of problems but a place of great potential.

Steven Akabwayi,
stevenakabwayi9@gmail.com

Promote skilling in Karamoja

On October 28, Proven foundation organised a charity fundraising dinner for the people of Karamoja.

The fundraising aimed at raising Shs 100 million to donate to the vulnerable communities in Kaabong district through imparting skills to them.

In addition, through these outreaches, we have been able to reach out to a different number of people in different districts such as Ibanda, Arua, Kapchorwa, etc. and have been able to reach out to different communities with families that are headed by children and widows.

This has helped them to generate income to improve their livelihoods But to the people of Karamoja, foodstuffs and clothes will not be of much help; we can’t sustain giving them food and clothes all the time they get into a food crisis.

The best we can do for them is to impart skills so that they are able to do something for themselves. They will earn a living and then be able to add value to their living and to their community.

So, teaching them how to do a number of skills such as making soap, doormat knitting, hair-dressing, sowing and all that are required by the communities, will go a long way in helping them achieve more in life.

Shadia Nakazibwe
nakazibweshadia61@gmail.com

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