Scrolling through Ugandan social media in the aftermath of the 2026 Presidential and Parliamentary elections-and now that the internet has been restored-brings to mind the famous opening of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,: It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
To the victors, this is truly the best of times. To the vanquished, the worst.
To the victors, an age of wisdom; to the vanquished, one of foolishness.
To the victors, an epoch of belief; to the vanquished, one of incredulity.
It is a season of light for the winners and a season of darkness for the losers.
For those seeking to ‘protect the gains,’ this is the spring of hope. Yet for those who see Uganda bleeding, it remains the winter of despair.
To some, we have everything (so many gains to protect). To others, we have nothing (this government has done nothing worth crediting).
Ask Pastor Bujingo, and this government is heading straight to heaven. Ask Sheikh Kityo, and ‘Omutoonzi w’affe’ is dragging these ‘mwana damu’ straight the other way.
In short, Uganda’s current political moment resembles the era leading to the 1789 French Revolution. Most of the current noisiest authorities on social media-on both sides-insist that it be received, for good or for evil, only in the superlative degree of comparison. No nuance allowed.
This government has never been more popular.
This government is clutching at straws and entering its twilight years. The regime are murderers. The opposition are terrorists.
Regime leaders are corrupt to the core.
Opposition leaders are the very picture of angels-they would never, for instance, fraudulently award themselves ‘service awards.’ Not them. Certainly not our ‘bateketeke’ opposition leaders.
If you ask me, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
In the end, it is the ordinary, often gullible Ugandan who bears the brunt of all this stupid and selfish political rhetoric. For most of us, Uganda is our only home. We live and die here.
To our dear Ugandan politicians-on both sides-please eat your ‘munyago’ in peace. You won’t hear a quibble from us.
But please extend the rest of us the simple courtesy of not lying to our faces as if we’re a bunch of dimwits. Dial down the hateful, divisive rhetoric. It almost always leads to one place-and for the avoidance of doubt, that place is never good.
Happy 2026, dear Ugandans. To God be all the glory and honor-through his son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.