SIM card disconnection not chance for games

Unlike the various times where government has threatened to do something but kept pushing the deadline, last week, Uganda Communications Commission left many Ugandans in a communication blackout after their SIM cards were switched off. But as most people panicked to re-register their phone numbers before deadline day, some saw this as an opportunity to get away from stalkers, ex-spouses, baby mama drama, side dish naggings among others. So, when some noncompliant numbers were switched off, some people actually took it as a blessing in disguise.

Take my friend Cynthia, for example. Her number was switched off because she misplaced her National ID and is too ‘busy’ to stand in long queues. At first, she panicked but on a second thought, she says she realised this might be her chance to put some aspects of her past behind her. “My nagging ex knows my number; he keeps calling me at awkward hours. He even almost messed up my current relationship. If it (SIM card) has been switched off, this is my chance to totally cut him off,” she said. She was the first person I heard rejoicing over this exercise.

Cynthia’s case aside, I overheard some man at a hangout at the weekend arrogantly saying had his SIM card been switched off, it would have been his chance to stop sending child support to his baby mama. “My SIM card was not switched off but thinking about it, I might as well replace it with another one to avoid her nagging child support calls,” he said amidst cheers and laughter from his colleagues.

Come to think of it, won’t some cheaters take this as an opportunity not to return home, since their numbers are switched off and their spouses will find it hard to trace them? However, you can run away from your problems but you will not escape them forever. You may think its okay to stop sending child support to that baby mama but you will not escape the guilt of being a runaway father. You might take this as an opportunity to end that relationship but the heartbreak you cause will one day turn around and torment you.

Life is not a jail until you make it one. If you are not comfortable in a relationship, shouldn’t you break it off maturely instead of playing childish games?
The winners are those who registered their telephone numbers using other people’s National IDs. A one Sarah is an example. She used her friend Ben’s ID to re-register her SIM. All was fine until her boyfriend sent her money for upkeep and instead of her name, the message showed that he had sent the money to Ben Ssenoga. She is still explaining herself in vain. But do you blame her boyfriend for suspecting her of cheating on him with a certain Ben?

Oh well, some of these nightmares may be over since the new deadline for re-registering SIM cards is in August.