Does Tribe Really Matter?

But Patrick, what tribe do you belong to? If there is a question I have constantly interfaced with, it is this one. But for all the times I have been asked to answer it, I have been unyielding. Not because I lack an answer to it but rather humanity is bigger than race, tribe, colour or even religious sect, the rest of the things are really secondary. If the biblical teachings are anything to go by then I can confidently say that I am a descendant of Adam and Eve and so are we all. At a point we go different paths as Cain and Abel lead us to separate ways but we remain descendants of Abel, we remain united by the same blood that flows through our veins.
But why then do tones of tribal connotations keep shining their ugly sheen whenever two or three are gathered. It is about us and the sentiments we carry for those that we don't intersect a language with. It is about the stereotypes that we have associated ourselves with. A comrade recently made a very distasteful joke when he categorized people according to what they eat, (these are for eshaabwe, amaido, luwombo etc). This is the inception of tribal hate, the actual birth of tribal separation lines. I may be wrong, but do these things sometimes matter?

Living in Uganda as a country is a hard thing, it is harder to keep referring to yourself as a Ugandan without placing yourself somewhere, the place where you are identified with, where you are carried back that time you can't do it yourself and certainly not aware. This is not what is disturbing, what is bad is when you begin to elevate your tribe to an all important level that all others come second. I have personally made it a point to learn as many languages as I can to make me a perfect fit in whatever surrounding I find myself in. We are did not choose to be born where we were and neither are we paid to belong there!
Tribal allowance? Let me discuss that next time.

Often times I have wasted my evenings away with some unpalatable jokes from Uganda's stand up comedians. They are never really part of my program but somehow they tag along. One thing I have noted with concern is that many of the jokes cracked in these theatres have tribal coruscates underneath them.  Perhaps the aim is to make fun exactly what their job entails or even maybe it is the best way to capture people's attention but these things catch up with us. It maybe funny how different we are, or maybe the comedians have knowledge of a satirical nature, but in the end where does having the pride of a muganda over the arrogance of a mukiga benefit our grandchildren. I watched in awe as one friend of mine opened up to me about his particular hate for a certain tribe, about how he can't see his children marry or get married there. These are things we live with today and often brush them off as less important but they matter. The moment someone begins hating then you know what makes them shoulder that burden is not something light. When people begin asking you why majority V8s head  in a particular direction on Fridays', why beggars and street children predominantly comprise of people from a certain area then you ought to know that they are beginning to notice.

I think it is about time we answer these simple questions so that we nip in the bud the tension that is simmering. I think it is time to stop leaving comic gatherings with just bare smiles but the shame that glares at us for the insensitivity we harbour for our differences. It is time we give rationale for our assertions and notions we throw aside as being norms. we can sit on our proverbial ponies and point at the long nosed ogre on the top of the hill for the fact that his colleagues are green (pun intended), but what about your frown due to your daughter's bridegroom entourage?,and if so why is he considered sectarian for embracing that ministerial cabinet and yet we insist on embalu every August? It is these questions that we ought to get answering as soon as yesterday.

Co Authored with Patience Kabuga Nalukenge