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My suggestion on who should be Kampala’s next executive director
Author, Benjamin Rukwengye. PHOTO/FILE.
What you need to know:
I know it is rungs below his presidential ambitions but as he waits, it is hard to think past the Crown Prince, for a city Executive Director.
Last Sunday, I completed my first-ever Ultramarathon in the Kyambogo run. 50 kilometers. I still can’t tell why. The race organizers, to their credit, flagged it off on time – 6am – as had been promised.
For all our evident incompetence and inefficiencies, it is always great to interact with recreational event organizers who stick to the schedule. It is not the kind of thing you see that often in the music and entertainment industry or even – and gratingly – with government events and activities. There, time seems to be an elastic concept.
In some way, this run was a bit of a homecoming for me. The Kyambogo Cricket Grounds, where the run started and ended, is where I honed my love for long-distance running more than two decades ago. It is here that I often represented my primary school in the 10,000 meters (25 laps) race. Fell off that wagon for a bit and only got back on it in my 30s. How ironic then, that it is on the same grounds that I would return all these years later, to run the longest race of my life.
From the looks of it, the Kyambogo run is a runners’ marathon and was, thankfully, starved of the usual marathon spectacle of joyriders and slayers who clog the trail trying to find the best spots for selfies.
Make no mistake. Kampala is one of the best places to party. But that’s just about it. It is a small chaotic unplanned and misgoverned city. Also, you wouldn’t tell if you were standing on any of its famous hills or inside any of its 1 million bars at night. Kind of like my phone – broken yet functional.
It is a runner’s nightmare. A pedestrian’s nightmare. A poor person’s nightmare. Dark, unpaved potholed roads, Boda-Bodas springing out of nowhere and getting into everywhere, motorists driving in every possible direction, open manholes, trenches, dust, mud puddles, and hecklers. If you are looking to do any longer than 20 kilometers, you have to be mentally ready for all these happening – sometimes at the same time.
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There is no use belaboring this point but it is baffling that we have probably 3-4 times the number of foot traffic on our roads but only a fraction are designed for pedestrians. Even those sections are encroached on by errant motorists – including the ones charged with enforcing the law. The newer ones are even narrower and a lot more dangerous for walkers and runners. And because of this, it is hard to make money because people can’t get around easily. Even the online infrastructure is no different from the physical. But you see running develops mental fortitude in ways that most other disciplines wouldn’t. So, when it is clear that hitting the 50-kilometer mark is the end goal, nothing else matters. Well, until your body starts to riot. But you don’t stop because, as Banyankore say, “If you are already naked, what is there to fear?”
Six and a half hours later, I crossed the finish line. Credit to all the runners who took part and cheered each other on throughout. Not once did any of us – especially those who were doing this for the first time – feel alone even when we were overawed. I know that immediately after, I declared that it would be the last time I let myself get possessed by that kind of madness. But I also know that they warn against making decisions when you are overly emotional.
We can make this city habitable and get it to work for everyone. Motorists don’t have to waste a quarter of their day idling in traffic. Pedestrians don’t have to risk their lives every time they step out of their houses because they might get hit by a car or Boda driving on pavements or on the wrong side of the road. Roads and streets shouldn’t be this dark and in such disrepair. Neither should vendors and hustlers feel that they need to hawk and compete for inches on roadside markets just to make ends meet. I know it is rungs below his presidential ambitions but as he waits, it is hard to think past the Crown Prince, for a city Executive Director. He has the connections to find the money, and the power to enforce order. If he could get the center to work for everybody then it wouldn’t be hard to convince the periphery, right?
Mr Rukwengye is the founder, Boundless Minds.
@Rukwengye
