{UAH} Not every Ugandan abroad is on Kyeyo

Not every Ugandan abroad is on Kyeyo

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Dr Aggrey Kiyingi cannot be said to be on "Kyeyo"

Written by Our Reporter

Every now and then we find Ugandans living abroad being referred to as on “Kyeyo.” This term is misleading because it negates what Ugandans really do in the Diaspora. It also attempts to “despise” these Ugandans partly because they are successful and have defied the odds to reach where they have reached in their lives.

The word Kyeyo is derived from the noun “olweyo” which is the Luganda word for “broom.” Kyeyo as an activity is used with reference to “sweeping.” Since the early 1990s it has been conceived to mean odd jobs done by Ugandans who left for Western Countries. They were all assumed to be sweeping the streets of those countries to earn a living. For a few years they were frowned upon for doing menial jobs. Later following the scale of remittances they made to their families back home, these jobs became understood as well paying. As a result, many Ugandans began to seek a lifetime opportunity to go for “Kyeyo.” Subsequently every Ugandan who ended up living abroad was classified as “on Kyeyo.”

As Uganda’s economic recovery went underway especially after 1996, the term “Kyeyo” became derogatory. It was used to despise people who went abroad to eke a living doing menial jobs. Publicly they are still described as “having failed” in Uganda. Of course not all had failed, but they were stereotyped. The notion of “Kyeyo” came to suggest that they were doing the kind of jobs they would be ashamed of doing in Uganda.

Fast forward to today. We first need to accept that “Kyeyo” in itself is not a bad thing even if every Ugandan living outside Uganda did these kinds of jobs. The reason we have widespread unemployment in Uganda today is in part because many people despise certain kinds of jobs that would still result in incomes that would change their lives.

Thousands of children have been taken to school through remittances from people who are on “Kyeyo.” These Ugandans have developed themselves and their families extensively. They have built houses, set up businesses and are contributing substantially to the Ugandan economy according to figures annually disclosed by the Ministry of Finance.

On to the derogative view we can trace this labeling to a conscious attempt to undermine the success of these Ugandans abroad. At most we can say many Ugandans still admire the lives these people live. They see them in photographs, they see the amount of money they send annually and of course envy them. In fact to go on “Kyeyo” is a miraculous process. We see many people flocking embassies with varied excuses to get visas that would lead them to “Kyeyo.” Therefore failure to succeed reduces our view of those who have successfully gone.

To correct the impression, there are hundreds of Ugandans in the formal employment sector in those countries. Some work for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Voice of America (VOA), United Nations (UN), some teach at Universities, and others work in Medical Facilities. Some are taken directly from Uganda to work in those places. Others reach with the intention of doing “Kyeyo.” But upon arrival, they enroll for courses and eventually graduate and move from blue collar status into white collar status.

Although slang sometimes stays on to become official language, we need to revisit this lumping of all Ugandans living abroad as being on “Kyeyo.” The distinction or differentiation of what they do visa vis what we thing they do is good for understanding and approaching them as an integral part of Ugandan society.

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H.OGWAPITI
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