Muniini K. Mulera

Memories of a great city before Kampalitis struck

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaOctober 31, 20160 comments

Uganda Parliament Building - was accessible to citizens I first set foot in Kampala 50 years ago. An indelible image of early 1966 Kampala is that of what looked like a very tall tree atop a hill, with many red lights, rising towards heaven, with an ominous presence at night, ...

Jinja triplet deaths compounded by news media distortions

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaOctober 4, 20160 comments

It appears that the Monitor report that triplets died last week because the mother had been refused admission to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital was a distortion of the facts. To be sure, I was angry when I read that the staff had refused to admit Ms. Monicah Wokobeire, the ...

Ugandan MPs and their demand for VIP funerals

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaSeptember 20, 20160 comments

Ugandan MPs continue to shock us with their shamefully unquenchable thirst for public cash. In a country where 67 per cent of the population is “vulnerable to poverty”, the legislators are awarding themselves nearly Sh. 68 million ($20,000) each to pay for their funerals. ...

Are Ugandan MPs’ junkets to Diaspora gatherings worth the taxpayer’s money?

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaSeptember 8, 20160 comments

A very large delegation of Ugandan MPs and other government officials spent this past weekend attending the Ugandan North American Association (UNAA) meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The speaker of parliament and her deputy were the leaders of the delegation. Another group, ...

Professor Alexander Odonga: outstanding symbol of Ugandan professionalism

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaAugust 30, 20160 comments

Prof. Alexander Mwa Odonga (1922-2016) We lost Professor Alexander Mwa Odonga last week. Our friend and mentor, who taught us surgery at Makerere University Medical School, died at Mulago Hospital on Tuesday, August 24 after a very long and distinguished life of service to ...

Break the chains of dependency: Tusaba Gavumenti Tweyambe

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaAugust 16, 20160 comments

Tusaba Gavumenti Etuyambe is a cynical take on the pervasive culture of dependency, entitlement and unlimited power of the state. It speaks of a symbiotic parasitic marriage between ruler and subject. The government is the giver of everything. The citizen is the passive beneficiary. ...

Beware of the dark world of the Internet

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaAugust 9, 20160 comments

Social media like Facebook and WhatsApp are valuable tools for communication of positive and constructive information. However, they are also dangerous forums through which cowards and small-minded people merchandise lies that they would not dare state face-to-face. Once ...

Time to get tough on all Ugandan road users

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaJuly 12, 20160 comments

The escalating carnage on Uganda’s highways has left many people declaring that the roads “are finishing us!” The Kampala-Gulu Highway’s premiere position as the most dangerous appears to have been assumed by the Kampala-Kabale route. In fact the apparent rise in fatalities ...

Where in Central Africa did R.W. Felkin observe a Caesarean delivery in 1879?

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaJune 24, 20160 comments

The case of a caesarean delivery in pre-colonial Central Africa that was described by Robert William Felkin has caused some unanticipated controversy. Where did Felkin make his observations? Was it in Buganda or Bunyoro? It appears that those who believe that the event took ...

Caesarean section in Buganda in 1879

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaJune 21, 20160 comments

FROM THE TINGASIGA ARCHIVES: February 1, 1999 Dear Tingasiga: The last palace of Kabaka Mutesa I at Kasubi-Nabulagala, is perhaps the most visible evidence of the grandeur and sophistication of late nineteenth century Buganda. The visitor who beholds the architectural marvels ...

Photoessay of Traditional woven dinnerware

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaJune 20, 20160 comments

Here are examples of three millet bread baskets from my part of the world (Rwanda and Kigezi). They come in different sizes, shapes and decorations. Please tell me about the baskets and other dinnerware you use in your part of the world for serving millet bread. What stories ...

Ugandans for Peace must insist on non-violence

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaJune 17, 20160 comments

The news of the multiple murders of people in the military barracks at Makindye, Kampala, has left me deeply saddened. While the circumstances of the killings remain to be fully explained, the irreversibility of the deaths is a dark certainty that concentrates our minds on the ...

Scrap academic requirements for MPs and other leaders

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaJune 15, 20160 comments

Academic qualifications are overrated as a measure of ability in political leadership. It was my stated view during the Constitution debates in 1994/95 that no citizen should be denied the right to seek any office simply because of arbitrary academic requirements. I continue ...

Uganda Cabinet Ministers on June 6, 2016

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaJune 6, 20160 comments

The following list of cabinet minister nominees is doing the rounds. It may or may not be correct. Cabinet List Published in The Monitor Newspaper on June 6, 2016 As of 21:00 hours (East African Standard Time), the Official Cabinet Ministers list on the State House Website ...

Meaningful patriotism through community volunteerism

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaMay 31, 20160 comments

In the months leading up to my brother’s wedding in 1992, very many of his friends and work associates offered him substantial amounts of money in support of his budget. Though he had not planned to hold a kasiki (bachelor’s prenuptial party), his friends insisted on fully funding ...