Introducing you to commentaries to 'O' level Literature, answers to some of your faith puzzles, political, Journalistic articles and others.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Not only corruption but also torture
There are indeed political standpoints from which one can judge Uganda as a whole and find it oppressive and corrupt. As the president seeks to fight corruption, unnecessary torture and oppression must not be left behind
@HEBobiwine
@kizzabesigye1
@EriasLukwagoo
@OfwonoOpondo
Saturday, December 8, 2018
Deposit love
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
Zero sum games:
In material world like money, clothes etc, the more u give, the less u keep but with social goods like love, the more u give, the more u get. (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1071506266130923520?s=17)
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
The irony of lawlessness
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
I strongly detest this act of unlawfulness. They want us to be law abiding and they do the opposite. A system heading for ruin does even the unthinkable. Tym will come when the hunter will be hunted. Just a short while.. https://t.co/q5qhMvbJmp (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1067149907054727168?s=17)
Friday, November 23, 2018
NOTES ON:THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR (NIKOLAI GOGOL)
Compiled by: Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
Setting and background of the play
“The Government Inspector” is a comedy by Nikolai Gogol written in 1834 and performed in 1836 but it was published in 1842. The comedy is divided into 5 acts.
The plot is settled in Russia in the first half of 19th century, during the reign of Tsar Nicholas I. the general theme that runs agreeable to the entire play is mistaken identity.
In a small village, The Government Inspector is expected to arrive from the capital but instead, somebody else comes and everyone thinks he is the Inspector. All of that confusion cause funny scenes, anecdotes, unexpected events and misunderstandings.
The Government Inspector is intended to ridicule the extensive bureaucracy of the Russian government under the era of Tsar Nicholas as a thoroughly corrupt system. Universal themes of human corruption and the folly of self-deception are explored through this drama of Russian life.
The governor's famous line, as he turns to address the audience directly, "What are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourselves," illustrates this theme, which is summed up in the play's epigraph, "If your face is ugly, don't blame the mirror." The author wants to show the ugliness of Russia in a mirror. Which mirror becomes the very play with its famous title “The Government Inspector”.
“The Government Inspector” therefore, is a social and a moral satire that laughs out the human nature and the social conditions in Russia at that time. The author observed a wide scale of negative social behaviour and characteristics. This work is, as a matter of fact, is the result of the social evil that the play Wright wants to satirize.
General summary
“The Government Inspector” is a comic
NOTES ON: THE ALIEN WOMAN (OCEN LAURY L)
Compiled By: Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
Background of the novel (setting)
The Alien Woman is a novel written by Laury Lawrence Ocen and published in 1999 as
his first novel.
The Novel is set in the
period of 1990s. The climax of insurgency and insecurity in the greater North.
The effects of LRA and cattle rustling by Karamojong are inescapable around the
time. The spillover gave birth to grueling/demanding poverty, social break
down of services such as Education and Health, an imbalance that roars its
heads to the present day. It is not surprising therefore that Ocen Lawrence
makes reference to some of these issues as part of his themes in the Novella
(ch 14; pgs109 - 110).
Through his novella, Ocen L.
takes us through Rural and town life and lays bare the conflicting ideas
between the two – notably, the views on education; intermarriages and
witchcraft as perceived by the folk of Bungatira.
Bungatira, an imaginary
District in Northern Uganda is basically rural, its people practice witchcraft;
they are against Education and believe that cattle and land are the only
sources of wealth. More so, they are firmly polygamous. It’s only the family of
Bicencio Olugo who stands in sharp contrast to the mentality commonly held in
Bungatira.
Meaning and relevance of the title (The
Alien Woman) to the Novel
The word Alien means:
belonging to a different country, race or group, usually, the one you do not
like or are afraid of. It is also used to describe something or somebody
strange and perhaps threatening because of not being part of the normal
existence.
In the Alien Woman, the word
is mainly in reference to Margaret Nagawa. She is a Muganda young woman who
falls in love with another young man from Northern Uganda, a Langi. Among
the langi people, history has it that a person belonging to the Bantu speaking
group is referred to as an ANAM, a foreigner who has come from across the
waters (Beyond Karuma). Just because of this it warrants Maggy the name alien.
Although the title is mainly
in reference to Margaret, the girl that Opito brings home Gladys is also
treated like an Alien and the family of Olugo sends her away in shame.
Even the spirit that seized
Opito in the form of Gladys is referred to as an Alien because it is something
strange and brings fear.
Even when Opito goes into
circumstantial marriage to Jacinta Ajwang, all is not well with the coming of
the spirit. People of the village
(Abela) enlisted the help of a medicine man from Kiwola; Odukany. When Opito is
freed from the clutches of the spirit, he is convinced that Jacinta can as well
go with the spirit because she does not laugh and she is gloomy all the time.
He fears Jacinta may be another Alien and as a resort, the marriage is called
off. An attempt to reunite the two by Ologo’s only saw failures.
GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL.
The plot centers on the
family of Bicencio Olugo, his wife Awino Cerina and their two sons Fred Opito
and James Obina and their love exploits.
By Bungatira’s standards
Olugo is a poor man, he has only one wife, no large heads of cattle and limited
land. His only pride is his role as a local administration. Despite his lack of
wealth, Olugo decides to send his children to school with the hope that after
education of his sons, they should lift his family out of poverty, an idea
ridiculed by villagers of Bungatira
especially Ogang Apur for whom Education is “too long a way of acquiring
wealth” [pg 2] and sheer building of castles in the air [pg 3]. Ogang is
wealthy but he refuses to educate his children. His conduct is odd, anti-social
(pg 2) and he practices witchcraft.
Despite their humble
background,
NOTES ON A COWRIE OF HOPE (BINWELL SINYANGWE)
By Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
1)
THE BACKGROUND AND THE SETTINGS OF THE NOVEL
A Cowrie of Hope is a novel written by Binwell
Sinyangwe and published in the year 2000. It is set in
the early nineties, a period that was, across the continent, marked by economic
reforms and structural adjustments; changes in government or democratization;
and the discovery and spread of the HIV/AIDS disease. To these add, and as part
of the setting, drought. Thus, as the author puts it ‘These
were the nineties, the late nineties. They were lean years. They were the years
of each person for himself and hope only under the shadow of the gods’ (Pg 14).
These were the nineties becomes
the singular refrain in this novel, an indication of the importance of such a
decade. It is the turning point in the politico-economic structure of most
African countries with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) adding as a
condition, political and economic reforms, to aid.
It is in this period
that Nasula, widowed and her husband's family having captured his property
after refusing to marry his younger brother, had to find the means to see her
daughter, Sula, through school. Wobbling/trembling on the edge of poverty,
either she falls into starvation and death or abandoned her single-mindedness
of schooling her daughter - an idea that had almost become a disease; she did
not hesitate but chose the former.
The main action of the text takes place in a period of great
crisis in the life of the protagonist, Belita Bowa, who, according to African
practice, is named Nasula ( meaning the mother of let things be) after the
birth of her only child, a daughter, Sula (Let things be).
2)
RELEVANCE AND APPROPIATENESS OF THE
TITLE: A COWRY OF HOPE
Even when things seem to be going the dark way with the
death of her husband Winelo, her Cowry of hope for life, for Nasula not all is
lost.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
It was better while we waited
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
It was better while we waited. Now we have nothing to look forward to. We have killed our past and are busy killing the future! African leaders... (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1045380920293888000?s=17)
The madness of a nation
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
The current affairs including the poor governance system in Uganda is driving many youth crazy. All the same "When the madness of an entire nation affects a solitary mind, its not enough to say that the man is mad" (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1045974877860253696?s=17)
Blood Ink
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
It is sad that NRM govt is using blood ink pen to write our history. With confidence, I know one day the same pen will be used to write their history (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1044927846261673984?s=17)
Leaders worth the name
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
The world needs competent political leaders who are committed to the principles of good governance with intellectual attributes of
contemporary political leaders. In Ug, this is an invincible dream. (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1045978385682497536?s=17)
Give what u own
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
The recent truth that Museveni has been dishing out cash in the city to the tune of millions of money has left my eye brows high. I seek to know the source of that money. If its from his picket, well and good but if it is from the tax which I also pay, then he has qns to answer. (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1048934807525380096?s=17)
Pant like politics
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
If this is not just a show, then the meaning of politics has eluded me completely. In fact am afraid that every little thing I place my trust on can betray me. If politicians continue on this trajectory, then we are no where. Politics has become pant like. U change when u want. https://t.co/LtTFL7Aa4U (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1065371298409443328?s=17)
The symptom is not a disease
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
A nation that orders the killing of its very own, is worst than a terrorist. People are prone to riot if there is sth going amiss. The president should seek the root cause of the riot and address it other than killing them. When u treat symptoms, the disease always remains. https://t.co/HI0mkpRMgS (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1058088685802008576?s=17)
A nation that orders the killing of its very own, is worst than a terrorist. People are prone to riot if there is sth going amiss. The president should seek the root cause of the riot and address it other than killing them. When u treat symptoms, the disease always remains. https://t.co/HI0mkpRMgS (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1058088685802008576?s=17)
The jaws of corruption in lira
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
When u have eyes but you don't see & when u are blind & yet u see! If the said statement of education officials is true, then I have eyes that don't see. The shade is too minute to match even 20m. I seek the help of any structural engineer to open my eyes and help me see. https://t.co/QGqtiWOFTR (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1059356040242839552?s=17)
When u have nothing to say
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
Surly? People with no ideas will run away??? Honestly u would not be there if it were true. What ideas have you even to speak for urself other than speaking for what u even don't know? https://t.co/DVQ58rXvO1 (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1063321038245761024?s=17)
Unpatriotic security personnel
Lawrence Sunday (@Lawrenc05219878) Tweeted:
Uganda police condoning crime by taking away life of innocent citizens and wounding some to this level. I strongly detest this move. https://t.co/UjvCByV947 (https://twitter.com/Lawrenc05219878/status/1064643671390396417?s=17)
Friday, November 16, 2018
CONCERNS ON HOW YOUNG PEOPLE USE SOCIAL MEDIA
By Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
Definition
of social media
Social Media is a form of electronic communication (such as websites for
social networking, facebook, twitter, whatsapps, micro blogging and may others)
through which users create online communities to share information, ideas,
personal messages, and other content (such as videos). It is a catch-all term
for a variety of internet applications that allow users to create content and
interact with each other. This interaction can take many forms, but some common
types include:
- Sharing links to interesting content produced by third parties
- Public updates to a profile, including information on current activities and even location data
- Sharing photos, videos and posts
- Commenting on the photos, posts, updates, videos and links shared by others.
(https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4837/social-media)
Accessed on 25th Sep 2018
Content
Social Media is the most modern and
progressive form of interpersonal communication across the globe. From the time
of its introduction, the number of users has grown high beyond proportion. The use
of social media in our daily life is increasing at an alarming rate so much so
that even the human relationships are affected by the social media. The most frightening
truth is that the young people are highly affected by this new phenomenon.
The
rate at which the young people are getting immersed in the social media usage
has become a topic of debate. Many school administrators and parents are
raising eye brows and a lot of concerns about this. However, looking at the
definition and the different benefits obtainable from the proper use of social
media, am tempted to think that these concerns are to some extent pushed beyond
proportion and exaggerated if not unjustified. Here below are the reasons for
thinking that way:
CAUSES OF COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
By Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
POSSIBLE CAUSES OF COMMUNICATION
BREAKDOWN
Communication breakdown
is failure in communication due to different barriers in communication. These
barriers may be related to: source, message, medium and the receiver. There are
very many possible causes of communication breakdown at different levels as
hereby noted below:
a)
SOURCE/SENDER:
Perception of the sender:
Perception is generally how each individual
interprets the world around him or her. All generally want to receive messages
which are significant to them. But any message which is against their values is
not accepted. A same event may be taken differently by different individuals. So,
if the sender does not consider the perception of the receiver, there can
easily be a communication break down because of this difference in perception.
Language choice (Diction):
The
linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown. Some words may
mean different things to different individuals. This brings in what is called semantic problem. Semantics
is the systematic study of meaning. For example: consider a word “value”. Depending on how it
is used, it can easily be misinterpreted by the receiver. So, the sender must
take great care not to use words that may mean something else to the receiver.
Vague
communication:
Abstract and ambiguous communication is
sometimes done purposefully and sometimes because people lack clarity of
thought. For example, when someone says, “80% of the task is complete”, often
it’s found that there is no systemic way for this calculation. This results in
different people interpreting the same number differently leading to a
dangerous trend. It is imperative for communication to be specific. If clarity
is not attended to, sometimes communication breakdown is inevitable.
Offensive
Communication:
It is quite obvious
that offensive style of communication leads to communication breakdown. It is a
rather sensitive point. If the encoder sends a message in such a way that the decoder
become defensive or feels offensive, their relations get strained and
communication suffers. Hence it is absolutely necessary for the sender to adopt
a persuasive style of communication.
Lack
of Planning:
Communication
is not a casual affair. Unfortunately many people take it lightly. The result
is that the message to be sent across may not be carefully planned hence,
communication breakdown. There are innumerable examples of people who would
give an ill-planned, long-winding lecture while a short presentation with
tables or graphs would be sufficient. Such an event would turn into one of
miscommunication or breakdown. In the same way, some people may not care to
choose a suitable time and place that are so necessary for effective
communication.
Frame of reference:
This
is the way an individual mind is shaped by his or her culture, education, age,
gender, background beliefs and others. This can lead to communication breakdown
if the sender or the encoder does not consider his frame of reference and that
of the receiver. The sender`s frame of reference may not be the same as that of
the receiver hence affecting the way the communication is to be effected.
Emotions:
Emotions
play a very important role in our life. Both encoding and decoding of messages
are influenced by our emotions. A message received when we are emotionally
worked up will have a different meaning for us than when we are calm and
composed. Anger is the worst emotion and enemy of communication. Communicating
under a very strong emotion of anger, may lead to communication breakdown as
our message may not be received with respect it deserves.
Status-consciousness:
The
attitudes and opinions, place in society and status-consciousness arising from
one’s position in the hierarchical structure of the organization, one’s
relations with peers, seniors, juniors and family background—all these deeply
affect one’s ability to communicate both as a sender and receiver. Status
consciousness is widely known to be a serious communication barrier in
organizations. It leads to psychological distancing which further leads to
breakdown of communication or miscommunication.
Context:
Context
is the situation within which one communicates. It is a stimulus that pushes
one to communicate. It includes: social, culture, internal or external factors
and so on. Every communication either written or spoken begins with a context.
Context can also contribute to communication breakdown if not utilized well.
Sending
Irrelevant Information:
Workplace
communication needs to be targeted for it to be effective. When receivers get a
bunch of information that doesn’t apply, they
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
By Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
a)
ADVANTAGES
AND DISADVANTAGES OF ORAL/VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Definition
of oral communication:
Oral communication is a
process of expressing information or ideas by word of mouth. It is a verbal
transmission of information and ideas from one individual to another or a group
of people.
Oral communication can
either be formal like; classroom lectures, speeches at different functions like
graduation etcetera. It can as well be informal like; face to face
communication, telecom conversation etcetera.
Advantages
of oral communication
1. Time
saving: When action is required to be taken immediately it is best to
transmit a message orally. If the executives work load is high then they stop
writhing and by oral instructions they complete their message transmission and
released their work load and also it saves time.
2. Cost
effective: Cost is involved in any communication. When the communication is
needed within the organization and if it and is completed in orally, it has not
need of any paper, pen or stamp or computer. So it saves the money of the
organization.
3. More powerful:
Speech is a more powerful means of persuasion and control. Therefore,
executives often prefer to transmit messages orally.
4. Effectiveness:
With the help of variations in the tone, pitch and intensity of voice, the
speaker can convey shades of meaning. This factor also contributes to the
effectiveness of oral communication.
5. Immediate feedback:
The speaker can get immediate feedback on whether it is creating a favorable
impression on the receiver or whether the receiver will protest or whether the
receiver has receiver has clearly understood his meaning or is feeling
perplexed or baffled and he can mold and adjust his message accordingly.
6. More suitable:
The employees feel more suitable when the message is transmitted orally. They
get an opportunity for feedback and clarification.
7. A relationship develops:
Oral communication is mostly carried to help promote friendly relations between
the parties communicating with each other.
8. Flexibility: By the demand
of the situations, oral instructions can be changed easily and for these cases
maintain the formalities are not necessary. So it is very much flexible and
effective.
9. Easiness:
It is so easy method of communication. It needs little preparation to send a
message. No need of pens, pencils and other writing equipment’s which are
needed in written communication.
10. Correction
of errors: If any error is expressed at the time of oral communication. It
is possible to rectify at that time or within a very short time.
11. Informal communication:
In oral communication, no need to maintain such formalities which are needed in
written communication. So it is easy and helpful to any organization.
12. Motivation:
In oral communication system, top executives and sub ordinates staff can sit
face-to-face and exchange their views directly, so sub-ordinates are motivated
day by day.
13. Maintaining secrecy:
Interested parties of oral communication can maintain the secrecy of messages
easily.
Disadvantages
of oral communication
Although
oral communications have advantages, there are some disadvantages which are
given below:
WHAT OFFENCES CAN ONE COMMIT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
By. Rev. Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
Definition of Social Media:
Social media according to Wikipedia, are
interactive computer-mediated technologies or
platforms that facilitate the creation and sharing of information,
ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual
communities and networks. Users typically access social media
services via web-based technologies on desktops
and laptops, or
download
services that offer social media functionality to their mobile devices.
Examples of these social media platforms are: Facebook, Tweeter, Instagram,
whatsApp, etc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media
Because of the autonomy
involved in the creation and use of these platforms, social media has turned
out to be a crime distribution network and a fertile ground for unlawful
offences. According to the Ugandan law,
there are very many offences one can commit on social media and here below are
some of these offences:
Defamation:
Defamation is the
making of a false statement concerning a person or business that damages that
person’s or business’s reputation. If a false statement is made and that person
or business’s reputation is damaged, there can be legal consequences for the
person who made the statement. Defamation applies to both written and oral
statements that are published to third parties. Publication includes the posting
of material on the Internet. If a defamatory statement is made verbally, it’s
called slander. If a defamatory statement is published in writing, it’s called
libel.
Impersonation:
Impersonation is to intentionally copy
another person's characteristics, such as their
behavior, speech,
appearance, or expressions, especially to make people
laugh
or fraud. Or an attempt to deceive someone by pretending that you are another person.
This, according to the Ugandan law, is criminal.
For instance, a famous Ugandan
comedian, moving about with the name teacher Mpamire, who acts president
Museveni in words, dressing and behavior. If one day he decides to act
Muesveni`s voice to attain respect for himself, he would be liable of
committing the crime of impersonation.
Stalking:
Stalking refers
to repeated harassing or threatening behavior by an individual, such as
following a person, appearing at a person's home or place of business, making
harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects, or vandalizing a
person's property.
A good example
of this is what happened to the woman MP of Kabarole district Sylivia Rwabwogo
who was being stalked by a student named Brian Isiko of YMCA Jinja Branch. On
the 6th July 2018, the MP walked to court, pointing an accusing
finger to the 25year old student who was consequently jailed for two years by
trial magistrate, Ms Gladys Kamasanyu.
Daily monitor.co.ug obtained from (https://www.google.com/am...)
Social engineering
attack:
This is getting
what you want through wrong means or
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
CALLING A POPE "HOLY FATHER" IS BLASPHEMY
By Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
The teachings and the practices of
the Catholic Church have always remained incomprehensible to many people both within
and outside the church. Among the many things not understood is why the
Catholic Church calls the pope Holy Father.
A
fellow student addressed this question to my face: Fr. Lawrence, I sometimes
laugh at the way you Catholics make a fool of yourselves. In fact I am tempted
to think that ‘you’ (the so called Catholics) read the Bible upside down. At
this statement, I could not wait for her to finish the statement. I inquiringly
interrupted by asking what she means by Catholics reading the Bible upside down,
‘do you mean reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation or Revelation to
Genesis?’ I asked!
At this question, she began fumbling with
words, opening her mouth vaguely as she struggled to say aahh! No, I don’t mean
that. So what do you mean? I queried. She loosely answered “I mean the way you
do certain things”. Pushing her against her words, I pleaded for her clarity
because ‘certain things’ as she alleged, is quite ambiguous and confusing. But
when I realized that she in not saying something sensible, I asked her to give
an example of what Catholics do that she thinks is not right.
She
began by saying: you know what! I don’t like the way you people treat the pope.
It’s like you give more respect to the Pope than to God. It is even worst when
you call him Holy Father. I asked her “what is wrong with calling the pope Holy
Father?” she emphatically retorted by saying; According to the Bible, only God,
Jesus, and the Holy Spirit merit the name Holy. Yet on innumerable occasions
Catholics refer to the pope as the "Holy Father” which of course is
blasphemy. Kindly provide a theological explanation for this unbecoming
practice of yours.
Monday, October 29, 2018
COMMENTARY TO BETRAYAL IN THE CITY (BY FRANCIS IMBUGA)
Compiled by:
Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
Characters in the Play
v
Characters
representing the ruling system
a)
Rulers
Ø
Boss – Head of State of Kafira
Ø
Mulili -The eyes and the ears of Boss
b) Agents of
the ruling system
Ø
Askari – Prison warder
Ø Nicodemo – Government Official
Ø
Kabito – Government Official
Ø
Tumbo – Government Official
Ø
Guards, Palace staff
v
Characters representing the masses or the common people
a) The silent
helpless people
Ø
Doga – an old man
Ø
Nina – his wife
Ø
Regina – Mosese`s sister, also
Wendo’s Girlfriend
b) The
enlightened activists
- Jusper Wendo – son to Doga and Nina
- Jere – Soldier, later prisoner
- Mosese – Ex-lecturer, now prisoner
- Adika- (Absentee character) son to Doga and Nina, brother to Jasper.
Background and settings of the Play: Betrayal in the City
Betrayal
in the city is a play written by Francis Imbuga. Francis Imbuga was born in
western Kenya in 1947. His book Betrayal
in the city was written and published in 1976. The play is an inclusive,
thought-provoking examination of the problems of independence and freedom in
post-colonial African states where a sizable number of people feel that their
future is blank and bleak. In the words of Mosese, one of the characters, “It
was better while we waited. Now we have nothing to look forward to. We have killed
our past and are busy killing our future…” (pg. 28).
It
must therefore be understood that the text Betrayal
in the City is a political play. The play talks about military regimes that
were common on the African continent after independence. Many of such regimes
were later overthrown by coup de tats. Francis Imbuga’s major concern is political
betrayal and he handles this at two different levels: at a personal and
government/political levels.
“Betrayal in the City”
is really a timely book which meets all the happenings. Believe it or not, the
book has more than reality of nearly all the African states, where the ‘boss’
is no longer a fictitious but real personalities, and resources if truth be
told flowing exactly as described in the book. Alot of blackmailing, scapegoat,
over propaganda, blood shade of the innocent…
Friday, October 26, 2018
COMMENTARY ON THE BURDENS (By John Ruganda)
Compiled by:
Lawrence Sunday Ogwang (0782 516677)
Rev. Sr. Jeremina Mary Achiro (0774
993206)
Background of John Ruganda
John Ruganda was born in 1942 in
Toro District western Uganda. He attended secondary schools up to O level as
St. Leos Fort portal and studied for his A level at Ntare School in Mbarara. In
1964, he entered Makerere University College to study for a Bachelor of Arts
degree ultimately specializing in English. His interest in drama became firmly
established as an undergraduate when he emerged as a talented actor, a poet,
playwright and director.
John Ruganda was one of the
earliest members of Makerere students’ free traveling theatre which annual set
out on a tour of E. Africa to take drama to the people.
His own play featured prominently
in the university’s annual inter-hall drama contest, notably: Black Mamba, and
covenant with death.
On graduating from Makerere with
a hons Degree in English, Ruganda took up the post of Editor and sales
representative in Oxford university press. He continued to take a keen interest
in drama and was closely associated with one of amateur. Theatre group in
Kampala and particularly at Makerere University.
In 1971, he founded the Makerere
group and amateur theater company which subsequently gave highly successful
production of plays like “Edufa”, “Dark side of the moon” and later on the “The
Burdens”.
In 1973, he was appointed senior
creative fellow attached to the literature department of Makerere University.
This was largely in recognition of his commendable contribution to the theater
in Uganda and E. Africa as a whole. His other writings then consisted of poetry,
short stories and articles which had been variously published in makerere of
which he had been chief editor, pen point magazine and other literal magazines.
Some of his poems later appeared in poems for E. Africa.
PLOT SUMMARY:
Act One (Pg 1-44)
The play is set in a humble home
of the family living in a semi-permanent house smeared with cow dung, and full
of cobwebs despite the few luxury items in the house.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Do Catholics worship Mary?
Catholics do not worship Mary as many people would want others to believe. The word worship is
reserved to God alone. Catholics however, honour Mary because of the role she
played in bringing about the Salvation of humanity. Even Scriptures goes on to
say “All generations will her blessed” (Lk 1: 48). In reciting the rosary and
repeatedly express the saying ‘blessed are you among women’, Catholics
therefore make this Biblical verse a reality.
Lk 1:28-30 says
Mary won God’s favour for being the mother of His son and consequently, the
angel greeted her with respect. Elisabeth, a holy woman filled with the Holy
Spirit said ‘You are the most blessed among women’ (Lk 1: 40-42). Who are we
then not to honour her?
In all
sincerity, Mary deserves honour but strangely sufficient, many people who enjoy
honour given then just because they preach the word of God say it is senseless
to honour Mary, a mere woman; this is quite absurd. Mary is not a mere woman
and if not anything, she is the “first preacher”. She brought forth the word of
God which many people claim to preach in flesh and blood. This makes her the
first Christian, a perfect disciple and a model for all Christians and
preachers!
Sancta
Maria mater Dei, ora pro nobis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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