When ‘politricks’ get ugly, we make light of things

Just before midnight on Wednesday and for hours before that, the news emerging from Soroti East by-election was doom. It was about houses being broken into, numberless cars roaming town, fears of ballot stuffing and arrests, among other things.

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This has come to characterise recent by-elections. The sheer amount of resources poured into these repeat polls is something of a marvel, where you have scores of officials descending on one constituency, burning precious fuel in this tight economy and spending on all kinds of campaign paraphernalia. 

As if the big waste is not enough, there is a big mess that follows; people being beaten, arrested, fights and destruction of property. While I was still contemplating the dilemma of this necessary evil called by-elections and the depressing nature of politics, along came Nakamanya to the rescue. 

For those not in the know, Nakamanya was trending on Twitter at the same time as the by-election was going down in Soroti. Nakamanya is the mythical creature who when invited to a church fellowship, chose to go partying at some festival instead. The man of God who had invited Nakamanya was not happy to hear that she not only dodged church service, but was elsewhere having a grand old time on worldly things. 

He quoted the Biblical punishment suffered by Lot’s wife as a warning. Everyone just seemed to laugh the threat off. Even Nakamanya, wherever she was, must have been unrepentant. I found the contrast between the two trending topics interesting. On one hand, updates were trickling in from the election battlefield while Nakamanya was fast gaining traction elsewhere. It was all the comic relief we needed after the powerlessness one feels from watching an election get properly muddled.

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I have often seen it expressed on social media that caring too much about the current state of our politics can lead you down a deep, dark hole. Perhaps that is why some are opting out of caring. Like Nakamanya, they would rather be somewhere else laughing and making merry instead of trying to find solutions to our gutter politics. It is easier to laugh about trivial stuff on Twitter, catch a break from the economic hardships than trying to figure out the experts’ approach to solving our current economic pains. 

There was also a running joke this week that at night, our economy seems to be in the middle income status. I have a different theory. It has become just as important to hold onto our sanity as it is to feed and fuel cars. If it means we have to turn into party-loving Nakamanyas by night to forget our problems, then so be it. Partying hard might be our chosen therapy to keep from losing it altogether. 

Election problems are not ours alone. The Nigerian presidential race set for next year will be a thriller if the conversation that has kicked off online is anything to go by. Questions on candidates’ age and fitness for office are floating about, mixed in with tribal sentiments. God alone knows how we are going to tame our own runaway by-elections back home. I am starting to wish we had an alternative to the whole saga. Unfortunately, democracy, however twisted and mutilated, must be seen to be done. 

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So we brace ourselves for more ugliness and invent new diversions to keep from drowning in the sorrows of dirty politics. It will be interesting to look back at the stories we told ourselves so we could sleep at night. Like Nakamanya, however, we are opting for the laughs, consequences be damned.

Ms Angella Nampewo is a writer, editor and communications consultant     
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