Kudos, Ugandans. We are a resilient lot. Somehow, we have become unexpected global symbols of ‘managing.’ We adapt, yes but let’s be honest, adaptation does not cancel frustration. We are strong, but we are also tired. Tuli bakoowu. Christmas is coming, but it’s not arriving with fireworks and fireworks money. No. This one is coming quietly, humbly, very much like that original night in the manger. It’s peeping into Uganda, scanning the situation, and saying, ‘Hmm. let me just enter slowly.’ The vibes are trying. The reality? Very stubborn. Money is scarce. Prices are loud. Salaries are silent. Everyone is budgeting, re-budgeting, then pretending not to check the balance again.
Christmas shopping has officially become ‘let’s see what we can manage.’ This year, Christmas plans started strong. and we are praying they don’t just end with, ‘At least we are alive.’ Let’s talk about electricity, which has shown us who is really in charge. It appears when you’re not ready and disappears exactly when food is on the cooker and you’ve settled in for a Christmas movie. You know those Hallmark movies with fake snow, big houses, zero problems. I have many thoughts about those, but let’s park them for now . Christmas lights flash briefly, then surrender. Phones are half-charged. Cooking has turned into a race against time. Load shedding isn’t apologetic anymore. It just happens. Dryly. Confidently.
One of these good days, we need to officially apologise to Umeme. We didn’t know what we had until it was gone. You only know the importance of light when you are in darkness, the abrupt type which comes without warning. Politics, as usual, refuses to sit quietly. Campaigns are everywhere. Tear gas and water cannons are doing regular patrols. You leave home to buy bread; you return knowing all the slogans and hearing every candidate’s rowdy lot. Loud trucks. Blasting campaign messages. Youth hanging dangerously off the sides. all hustling for daily bread from contestants who suddenly remember them. Peace on earth is still loading. Please wait. maybe Baby Jesus, about to be born, will redeem us.
As if Uganda needed encouragement, the rest of the world is also clearly struggling. Globally, there’s war on the news every day. Inflation is international. Food prices are rising everywhere. Climate change has officially shown us that even the weather has attitude. One minute its sweltering, the next minute flooding. Speaking of which, did anyone actually enjoy enough grasshoppers aka nsenene this season? Exactly. Climate change said, ‘Not this year.’ On social media, everyone looks rich, happy, permanently travelling until you remember filters are free and reality is not. Influencers are soft-launching lifestyles the rest of us are still trying to understand. Technology is also stressing us.
Too many AI videos, too many voices that could run us mad. AI is taking jobs, apps keep updating themselves, and phones demand software upgrades while we’re still paying them off. Sigh! And Yet. Christmas will happen Churches will be full. Outfits may be recycled, but confidence is brand new. Families will gather. The food may be simple, but everyone eats. Portions may be strategic, but joy is present. Children are excited because Christmas does not need money to be magical. They just need vibes, sugar, freedom from school, and let’s be honest, data, of course. This Christmas is not about excess. It’s about endurance. Not about perfection, but presence.
Not about having everything but managing something. In a year full of economic pressure, the tax man wants his share. The lending bank will not stop demanding just because it is Christmas. Yes even the wewole; the little amount borrowed from the mobile service provider is larking, waiting for someone to deposit and then swiftly deduct their bit. Then the political tension, global chaos, climate drama, and social-media pressure, Ugandans are still standing, still laughing, still showing up. Merry Christmas, Uganda.