{UAH} Do the headlines displease you? Exercise your ‘likes

Written by Olivia Nalubwama

Social media with the phenomenon of 'likes' places the power to choose according to our preferences at our fingertips.

Imagine if you could design your success based on the 'likes' you give. Social media is a reliable or precarious place, depending on your echo chamber, to confirm the bits and pieces of news from traditional media sources.

Meet Maj. John Kaddu, the former deputy resident district commissioner (RDC) of Nakaseke district, who is fearlessly exercising his right to like or dislike the news.

On March 23, State House issued a press release about the reshuffle of RDCs. Kaddu's name was not on the list or even at the back of the list where aging cadres are regurgitated as presidential advisors or NRM secretariat staff. Presently, Kaddu is one of two RDCs who, according to press reports, have refused to hand over their offices pending 'official communication' from their appointing authority, the president.

A New Vision article reported that Kaddu addressed the media at his home on April 1, and explained why he could not hand over office because news of his removal came through 'media reports.' He could not click 'like.'

Kaddu accused the NRM of alienating him, asserting, "I am a historical and being a historical means being the owner of business. You cannot send away the owner of the business."

Kaddu, in his media address, evoked memories of his slain brother and bush war hero, Edadian Luttamaguzi, killed for aiding the bush war cause. Kaddu even led journalists to the family graveyard where Luttamaguzi's remains are interred. In case your history is leaky, Luttamaguzi's killing was one of nine killings on which our National Heroes' day of June 9 is premised.

Kaddu then led the journalists to a monument commemorating a mass grave where 6,000 bush war victims are buried. Kaddu, a bush war veteran, has skin in the game. When it comes to disagreeable media reports, our government can be unashamed, too giving.

Oh, what robust luxury we would have if we, too, could reject disagreeable media reports from our government! Kaddu has the privilege of choosing which media reports to believe. There is no account of Kaddu needing official communication when he was first appointed RDC.

Governments need the media as a channel for communication. For example, current media reports of a rather salacious coffee deal have incited public fury instead of grateful patriotic songs. The minister of Agriculture, Frank Tumwebaze, extracting his docket from the intoxicating caffeine, tweeted the agriculture ministry was not involved in the coffee deal.

Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi has been on a media offensive about the coffee deal. Perhaps Kaddu is wary of 'media reports' because of an April 5 letter from former RDCs.

The National Former RDCs/RCCs Association whose ruinous acronym is FORCA wrote to the president, giver of public goodies and trinkets, (see April 5, The Observer article, Whose money is this growing on trees?) seeking alternative deployment in other security sectors like Internal Security Organisation (ISO) or External Security Organisation (ESO).

Like us, they too seek the soft life of Instagram dreams. They are not offering themselves up for frontline action alongside the army to track down rebels or cattle rustlers.

FORCA, knowing how burdened the president is with quislings for citizens facing escalating costs of living, poor service delivery amidst an upcoming birthday, promptly proposed a resettlement package of a 'ka' humble Shs 100 million. Slavering for money, FORCA continued: they suggested they receive this Shs 100 million in one installment to enable them cover their outstanding debts.

The entire letter is a masterclass in vampiric privilege and might be why we should give up on media reports. PS Ggoobi needs to write to FORCA, school them like he did with our yawning exhausted pockets; it is bad economics to intervene in a liberal market economy even when the context is a flailing economy after Covid-19-induced lockdowns and the threat of World War III.

Therefore, it is worse economics for former government employees fronting their access to the president, to request for a Shs 100 million to clear their debts. Are their debts more likeable, more Ugandan?

The joke is on us - useful idiots and sausage lovers without bush war experience in our snazzy LinkedIn profiles. For Kaddu also has the vital experience of falling off a reshuffle list, then reappearing on a revised more likeable list.

The New Vision stated Kaddu, who has been an RDC since 2008, was first dropped in 2013 but reinstated with the intervention of the president. Such rich privilege to refuse media reports that demote you. Besides, who wants to be in an organization with the most unfortunate acronym in the era of social media memes? This revolution will not be liked.

smugmountain@gmail.com

The author is a tired muzzukulu.

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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