Student life with its stress was “over” though I never entertained academic fire – burning of notebooks and examination papers. I firmly understood they played well as references a foot outside college.
The hurry to get back to Kenya, my country kept slugging as days lit and dimmed off. You know Makerere with its intentionally slow bureaucracy that made clearing hard like a walk to hell and back to heaven.
Almost five years of computerization of that hill of knowledge never simplified anything, can you imagine they are proud to dish “electronic” identification cards that have a chip that is never used to even check for a financial statement, but heavily paid for. Don’t ask me the cost of one. Listen to this; I practically had to carry my old torn and wrinkled receipts from first year to third year to Bursar’s office for verification; then ran to the Faculty of Arts bursar’s office for a rubber stamp; and then walk to a mini financial office for a financial statement at the faculty, a vital piece of paper indicating all payments.
When I was in first year, my college ever mentioned “computerization will make service delivery pretty first” but now service delivery is pretty hefty. Was there any computerization and ease?
Hey! Away from “the only university in the region,” words of Prof. Peter Anyang Nyong’o.
I took a bus to Nairobi, Kenya. A place I last stepped in July 2005 for a month-long attachment at Kenya Broadcast Corporation, Business Desk. Sure, I had no proper memories of this big city apart from the pinching cold and the high speed of its inhabitants compared to Kampala.
This came after five months of hustling in Uganda’s capital – men my student life was what I did even after campus. Imagine eating Rolexes (Fried eggs sand-witched by two Chapatis) because the media firm I was working for peddled promises for salaries and I needed real challenge.
--To Be Continued--
Labels: Makerere University, Nairobi, Notes of a young Journalist, Student
The life of a young journalist in Uganda...that is what i want to hear from you, the experience, the challenges faced, weaknesses, how did being a journalist in uganda expose your life to journalism.Then come and tell us the experience compared to Kenyan media...more of u and Kampala..