Nude video leaks: The thin threads holding Uganda

Now that I’m in my 20s and a little wiser (or less stupid), I understand James Baldwin, who said that our world is held together, truly held together, by the love and passion of a very few people. I argue that this country, this Uganda, is held together by thin threads.

This law firm is held together by the sweat, tears and dreams of this clerk, this paralegal. This relationship is truly held together and kept intact by the promise of their dark sex. As boring as it may be, it is the thin thread that keeps couples looking forward to the next day.

These little titles from Tata Brenan, Mama Kutney, have shaped marriages. Everyone is holding on because of the children.

And I wondered how many houses were held together by the maids. You will visit a billionaire’s house and still find that aesthetic, that semi-illiterate lady who never shares a seat at the dining room table. She prepares everything. She knows the days when the big boss prefers a portion of katunkuma. She once again knows when mommy Brighton is cheating and when daddy Brighton is cheating. But she holds the thing together.

Ask yourself again how many projects are held together by seemingly insignificant people. Imagine what would happen if the massage parlors were closed? How many livelihoods were held together by this?

Look at the clinics in your neighborhood, with those nurses and doctors, think about it. What would this healthcare system be without them? They could diagnose and misdiagnose, but their attempts hold things together. If they were closed, the healthcare system would suddenly come to a standstill.

Those Rolexes and Kikomando on the side of the road have preserved their stomachs. This evening, Kigere and Pilau on the side of the road are what moves the nation.

When Henry Muwanga wrote the poem “Building the Nation”, it was indeed true that the Secretary of State’s driver had played a role in nation building. How many of a nation’s secrets are kept by the people’s ADCs? How many more of the drivers?

You see, TikTok took place in Uganda and was therapy and companionship for many people. My relatives in the older cohorts have embraced the app. Now they don’t have to beg and pester grandchildren anymore, they have new company. But what about the Ugandan youth who couldn’t find a job? There is something to express their creativity, there is distraction. It is this distraction that saves many from worse thoughts. Are you thinking of a chicken hen? A planned Mulekwa? A Lil Pazzo and a Sister Shalom?

Again: How many companies are held together by this Microsoft Excel model? If you wake up tomorrow and the payroll Excel spreadsheet is broken, you will see problems. When the trash boy forgets to pick up my trash, the impact is clear.

This country, friends, is held together, truly held together, by the dreams and will of very few people.

You know what? There were weeks when Uganda was only captured by a nude video. Seriously, the country would have collapsed in those weeks, but then a bugie happened.

There were weeks when a woman’s life was held together by her pastor’s prophecy. There are tenants who have endured telling their landlord for a year; “Next month Bagenda Tusasula…” That transport money is important, it could be the small thing that holds rural livelihoods together. Again, how many relationships have been built on the pure promise of marriage.

There are thin threads that hold society together. It’s the basics. It is the only connection to the police that saves someone’s life in Kitalya. That one call that changes the life of a clan. Thin threads, people. Forget not to smile. Don’t forget to listen to beautiful music. Remember not to laugh at a joke. Don’t forget to buy chocolate. Don’t despise the thin threads.

Once I was bored and decided to go back to magical time. The period from 2000 to 2005, the time when Uganda dared to dream and imagine great things. After 2005, Uganda changed in a rare direction. And I put together some beautiful music from that time. Then someone created a Spotify playlist. Thin thread, but who knows, it could rejuvenate a soul, just like the question; “eleeta manya ki?”