I HAVE BEEN LATE this year with Independence Day celebration activities – decorations, specifically. 

I had to walk into Bukoto’s Middle East Restaurant (https://x.com/MiddelR81403) for coffee and bread last week for the guilt to slam into me from how beautiful their Ugandan theme for the season looked.

Even their lighting fixtures are draped in kikoyi and red fabric.

Noting the name of the establishment and its cuisine, I thanked them all and tipped a little extra. 

A couple of days later, I was at the cj’s of Lugogo and they had kicked off their Independence decorations as well, and as usual.  

I was pleased, and gave them more money than I had initially planned to.

That morning, before we got there, the lady of the house had remarked about how we no longer received Independence Day sale offers.

I was perplexed because I could not remember having ever seen those before – besides the Uganda International Trade Fair ones.

In fact, my inboxes are usually more littered with a whole range of nonsensical offers from shops in countries I have not visited in over a decade. 

As I type this I even have some people with Scandinavian names trying to encourage me to spend money because of ‘Halloween’.

Halloween?

Yes – a celebration that seems to elevate the occult and dark evil world simply because it was introduced by the Global West – not too unlike the religion they introduced but that is quite the opposite.

Speaking of religion, we celebrate that much more than we do our Independence, in which there is a lesson in reality that should advise the current debate about young Ugandans being given patriotism lessons.

In this country we are very serious about our religions on a daily and weekly basis – attending Church and Mosques with both fervour and passion.

Many of us will be putting up our Christmas decorations shortly and already have plans for that holiday mapped out.

But the observation of our national independence?

I decided to fashion a different type of Independence Day celebration this year and walked into the village to buy up a Uganda-theme lesu to turn into bunting at home.

The tailor I stopped at was amused by my instructions but carried them out quickly. When he handed me the final product I paid up and asked him about his own Independence Day decorations.

“Independence?” he asked back, surprised, “Mpozi it is today… eh… tomorrow?”.

The young lady I had found him frolicking with even laughed out loud: “Kale, you don’t even know when Independence is! It is on the 9th,” she declared.

I confirmed so, explained my plan, and left after they both promised to put their flags up before the day.

Our reality is that many people – especially of this generation – still do not identify this day as important and cannot explain why it would be. Some of them do not even identify with their country – Uganda.

The more outspoken ones explain that they are frustrated by the many things that do not work in their favour – including every time an electricity outage occurs. 

Some argue that if that’s enough to turn them against their own country, their relatives, friends and ancestors, then maybe we should let them go. I don’t fully agree with that – it would be better for everyone doing anything with the name Uganda in it to Be Serious about what they are doing, so that Ugandans love their country more and more.

If they can’t be serious then, of course, we have to find other ways of making Ugandans love Uganda so that Uganda develops more as a proud country with Ugandans working hard to build it up.

If regimented programmes at civic education camps will help do that then let’s go! 

Also, if we can work up more effective and organic methods of creating patriotism then let’s do so. 

Most of us will be wearing our Cranes tshirts this weekend because that’s one thing that unifies us. We get behind our national sports teams because we feel something about them and what they achieve, even when the players change or we can’t name them individually. 

We need to do something, otherwise we will never have the Uganda we want in the years to come.

The concept of Uganda was created at about the same time as the religions we are faithful to, but its establishment followed a different route that has not created as much fervour and passion.

We should be saying daily morning prayers even if it’s just saying the word “UGANDA”, and sing our hymn – national anthem – regularly without waiting for a national event.

Church or Mosque? Don’t even ask – each and every one of our homes would be the equivalent, and we should keep them clean and respectful in honour of Uganda every single day without waiting for the last Saturday of the month.

And just as those religions have different splits in between them – Christians into Pentecostals, Baptists and others, while Muslims exist as Sunnis and Shias and more… they all agree on the basics, follow one Holy Book and one God each.

We can be the same as a country – with people divided politically while focusing on what is important: UGANDA.