June 3rd and 9th are commemorated in Uganda as Martyrs and Heroes Days respectively under what some scholars still consider controversial circumstances that perhaps don’t deserve as there are many unsettled questions. However, even if many disagree with this narrative, conventional wisdom dictates that we don’t ruffle feathers, but instead maintain and enjoy the prevailing social harmony. And little know or celebrated in Uganda, 2nd June is also celebrated worldwide as the International Whores Day (Sex Workers Day) which some may find improper.

Throughout my life I never knew I would find some environmental activists objectionable and so counter to African interests. This is disturbing.

I give you a woman called Joyce Katushabe who is from Buliisa on oil rich western Uganda. She lives in a one-bedroom grass thatched hut. 

Mama Katushabe’s old home.

She used to walk long distances to fetch firewood. She would chop down trees, bundle them up, lift the heavy

In 1986, at the start of his presidency, President Yoweri Museveni made a stopover at a fuel station in Kawempe to get his car tyre fixed and noticed that apart from tyre repairs and re-fuelling vehicles, there weren’t other services offered. When he next appeared at a public function he recounted his story having waited over an hour without refreshments offered to clients. He then advised fuel station and garage owners to establish restaurants so that when clients make stopovers they can refresh and quench thirst.

The April shouting matches by MPs over steep rises in commodity prices including petroleum products, building materials, and everyday basic necessities, perhaps, signaling the harsh economic times ahead belies the hypocrisy and shallowness among Uganda’s elites.