And then i used to write more often on my blog and comment about those reports. Last weekend my attention was drawn to this not-so-special Daily Monitor “special report” .
Some Muzungu writing about leaving Uganda, like she had spent decades working on a special job in our country making her depature necessitating publication of a special report. And the headline went: I will miss everything but the potholes of Kampala roads. And the special report from an independent daily went about this volunteer working with an NGO and living with “adorable” people (of course we are adorable.). Then there’s a comparison of UK transport and Kampala’s which I bet John Speke did when he went back to Englad after ‘discovering’ source of the Nile. And the rest is about a visit to the nile which i think thousands of tourist do every year.
So am wondering why DM would give such crap as special report. I am sure many journalists in this newspaper have been to a sort of exchange program abroad and i bet they would never find any space at serious paper to publish a speech from a little unknown Ugandan who visited the country. Which leaves me wondering when did newspapers get space to waste when we live ina country with a million and one problems?
As my friend Wendy put it the special report “was more like a beautyqueen speech.”
If this is the norm I may be tempted to write in my terrible Spanish to a Costa Rican newspaper what I will not miss about their country- the use of women’s bodies to advertise anything. From perfumes to a car tyres, playing cards, calendars and surprising of all was the half naked picture of a woman on the flour i found at one of the supermarkets.
I will give it a try afterall I have been in their country for ten months, seven more than the author of the special report in the Daily Monitor.
Rosebell Kagumire 
Rosebelle, I had a queasy feeling while reading that story too! Thanks for the take-down of it here. 🙂
I would want to believe it was error on where the story was placed. Honestly it did not deserve to appear as a special report. I have no problem with the story, its just the way it was classified as a special report.
Thanks Rozie for thi!
Once I establish WHO the EDITOR of the Special Reports section is and WHAT relationship S/HE had with the AUTHOR, I’ll comment with more authority! For now, I can only say, it was a nicely written piece (I always derive a smile from anything written about Kampala’s stressful potholes), which was published in the wrong place!
Perhaps the report was special only in the way we prefer to use the word ‘special’ as a politically correct replacement for ‘retarded’.
I think it is pathetic that our ‘most independent truth seeking national daily’ can help (3 month old) foreigners to patronise us.
LOL @ Rosebell. That ticked you off didn’t it?
This is just my opinion people and bear with me. My theory is that there are some people who just have a superiority complex and don’t even realise it, and it comes off even without their realisation. There are many people who are like that and ofcourse this is Africa, there has to be something out of the ordinary or not so positive to report, something related to poverty and what not, that is what many people outside Africa know and want to know. They don’t want to hear about the good things unless it is wild life, or if they are giving aid. WE must realise that there is an image that some people have been fed for centuries that is stuck in their minds and are not that open minded even if they have lived amongst people. There are very few outsiders who you will find are in tune with the culture and people and have respect. Very few and those are well educated, well travelled people who have respect. The majority am afraid have similar minds to whoever wrote that piece.
My explanation for the special report wasted space is that, we have also been tuned into believing the white superiority and will take whatever they say and do as special. Correct me if am wrong. I will still say that it is because there are some Africans or in this case Ugandans who are not wwell travelled, still suffering from colonialism syndromes(enough with that already LOL), and do not know any better. Any white person is superior attitude(enough with that too, can we move on..lol).
I have said enough about his anyway. I rant too much sometimes.
Obviously it’s a tedious, cliched article – so why did the Monitor give it any space?
It would fit will in a village newspaper wherever Rebecca is from in the UK, or in a school magazine.
Thanks Joe, i still can’t understand which newspaper even on a bad day would publish that.