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Kampala is a woman; Nairobi is a man, Kigali... well?
What you need to know:
We are in Kampala’s middle age, she has been beaten...
Kla is goals, not goals: There is something addictive about Kampala, nothing that is really definitive or worth bragging about, but it is that same feeling, that untold thing that Jinja has over Mbarara. You see Mbarara could be everything now; the concrete, the land cruisers, the rovers, the milk and honey, but there is just that one thing it can never get, it just can never steal the thing that makes Jinja, Jinja…
Kampala is a combo of many small things that add up to plenty. It is the ability for us to talk mountains with simple language, to hide all our secrets in public. But I have since realised that Kampala is better understood through the frame of gender. And the verdict is out, this our Kampala is a woman.
This verdict has been many years in the making. Some people have just seen Kampala in its middle age, but in its 20s, this babe was the thing. She was the girl to die for. But then, like all hot babes, she fell into the traps of the hyenas. She longed for love, to meet some serious man and you know, settle down, have children. The men were more intentioned at hit and runs. There were a few that tried to love her, you know, there was Mr Jenny, he kept showering her with gifts. He took her to carnivals, he gave her the gift of fountains, water fountains. Mr Jenny was that one person who understood Kampala’s love language.
Now we are in Kampala’s middle age, she has been beaten, she has been tired out and she can only hope for that last redemption, the one that could land on a woman in her middle age. It is not a granted redemption, but it looks like for Kampala, that may never happen.
You know, men fought for Kampala. There was Mr Lukwags, he still claims to love her. There was Mr Sevens. Sevens had something to prove, that if Kampala could not love him, then he would make it hard for other men to love Kampala. Sevens played what the Baganda refer to as ‘okuzanya kifirizza.’ And when everyone had let their hands off Kampala, she was a shadow of her former self. Like a giant tower, her beauty was no more. It was a sacrificial lamb of the fights.
Some people may wonder; ‘is it really true that Kampala is a woman?’ Yes, indeed. Only a woman could have the strength to take all this pain, get heartbroken yet never give up on the desire to love, to give that love. You know, the one thing Kampala never lost is her smile. Even when a woman has faded, if the beauty was natural, one will still find spots of that beauty and that is Kampala.
In her middle age, Kampala has chosen to hide in a few places. She is seen sometimes in Bugolobi, sometimes in Muyenga. There is no lie that Kampala has not heard. All her suitors always showed up with bombastic promises. Some even promised cable cars. But what does Kampala have to show for all her relationships? She has been shuffled left, right, and centre by all the men. Kampala was not a player; she was the played.
Or maybe Kampala is the one to blame. She should have been more protective of her love. She would not be suffering with scars of love. All that Kampala needs now is a man to redeem her, a man who can come around, and make her forget all the years of drought. Kampala needs to heal. And she does not need the fake healing, the one promised by the ‘mehn of God.’ Kampala needs some good loving, a man who means what he says.
Nairobi on the other hand, grew up to be a man. You know, Nairobi wanted nothing of those ‘feminine things’, he was masculine from word-go. He knew that in this East of Africa, only the hardest survived. As Kampala was busy feeding on salads, Nairobi was playing with ugali, nyama choma with a full distaste for soup. As Kampala was juicing, Nairobi was smoking his pipe, reddening his eyes. He knew that there was nothing like mercy in this world. It was a jungle. And the results of the decade are there to show, Kampala was played, all she has are memories of dreams, ambitions and imaginations. Kampala has not lost the dream, but it could be hard for her to catch up.
Perhaps, it could be time for Kampala to pick up an Audre Lorde book and harden up. It could be time for Kampala to shout; ‘all men are trash.’ It could be time for Kampala to look for some self-love. And there is a rumour that Kampala was a Gayaza babe that landed on a dude from Kibuli SSS. Worse, her only option is a dude from Kitende. What next for Kampala? Is this the time she goes to Winnie Nwagi for some advice? She does not have Zari’s money, for in that case, she could buy some Hakib love… Oh Kampala, how the mighty fall!
Twitter: ortegatalks
