Uganda Airlines and the fair lady of Tooro

Out of curiosity, I searched for ‘the meaning of the name Jennifer’ on the wild world wide web. The following is what the search returned:

“The name Jennifer is primarily a female name of English origin that means fair, soft and blessed. It is originally a Cornish version of the Welsh name Gwynhwyfar, used for women of light complexion. It is also a variation of the name Gwenivere.

Our search also returned the following as some of the famous Jennifers: Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Jones,  Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Holliday.

In Uganda, we also have our own famous Jennifers: Jennifer Musisi Ssemakula (former executive director for Kampala Capital City Authority) and Jenifer Bamutaraki (the chief executive officer of Uganda Airlines). Of the two famous Ugandan Jennifers, Ms Bamuturaki is currently the subject of media attention.

I didn’t search the web for the name Bamuturaki since I am averagely familiar with Kitara things. Like most names among the Banyakitara communities, the name Bamuturaki is phrasal. However, Bamuturaki is interrogative in structure. It is not one of those common names though. In Luganda, its near equivalent would be ‘Bamulangaki’? In Kinyarwanda it would be ‘Bamuhoriki’? And in the magical Lhukonzo, it would be ‘Bamwendyaki’? Which is why some leaders from Tooro Kingdom are asking (in Rutooro): Jennifer nibamuturaki (what is Jenifer accused of)?

Now, our Jenifer Bamuturaki is one of the key witnesses in a public hearing before one of the accountability committees of Parliament.

There have been calls that the parliamentary committee should hold the hearing in camera (away from the media). As a retired journalist, I am conflicted on the idea of holding a public hearing without journalists. But I must confess I am inclined to support these calls.

A friend, who always has real inside stuff, told me that dragging Ms Jennifer Bamuturaki in the mud under the glare of the cameras is exposing the airline (as a proudly Ugandan institution) to the cutthroat dynamics of international air travel business.

I was even told a believable rumour that the drama playing out in Parliament may affect Uganda Airlines’ pursue of operating the lucrative Entebbe-London route. And that without securing that Entebbe-London Route, Uganda Airlines would take ages to make any returns on investment.

With the unceasing interrogation, the CEO will be so disoriented to manage the company. And her standing among other Airline executives will be negatively impacted. For the sake of Uganda Airlines, wouldn’t it be better for Parliament to hear Ms Bamuturaki in camera?

One of my friends in a WhatsApp kafunda had this to say: ‘If we don’t get the Entebbe-London route, we may as well fold the Airline and sell it. We shall never make a profit in our life time without the Entebbe-London route. The Entebbe-London route was pre-booked 6 months for cargo! Even if we were transporting only one passenger, with a full cargo hold, we would turn a profit.’

We cannot open the other eight regional routes, because they only make sense if we have London, Dubai, Mumbai and Guangzhou.

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The news of the death of Gen Elly Tumwine found me in Kiburara (where else?). I must confess social media comments on his death were disturbing to say the least. Public office comes with such things. When former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died, the British media was awash with such very unprintable stuff. We pray that the Tumwine’s family stays strong. I come to mourn Gen Tumwine. Whether one agreed with him or not, we seek God’s indulgence to forgive his errors.

Mr Bisiika is the executive editor of the East African Flagpost. [email protected]