Gerald

That S.5 boy from Kiruhura who couldn't speak English reminded me of an incident at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where I went to conduct interviews as a research assistant in 2019. During one of the interviews, I asked a commissioner, who was 57 years old at the time and hailed from Bugisu, about some of the challenges he faced in executing his duties at the Ministry. He pointed at an office opposite his and showed me a young Muhima man who was smartly dressed. He told me that the gentleman was his "senior",( He reported directly to the minister), despite being an S.4 dropout, in an office where the minimum academic qualification was a bachelor's degree. According to him, the young man was a political appointee. At the time, Sam Kuteesa was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The commissioner almost broke down as he shared his frustration. He asked me: "How can a man like me, who has spent my entire life serving this country and risen through the ranks over the years, be reduced to babysitting an S.4 dropout? I have spent an entire year trying to teach this young man things as basic as operating a computer." He later requested that I leave that particular incident out of the interview, which I respected. The story has never left my mind.🙌