NOT written by Queen Elizabeth (pictured)

I have beef with the new acquired Ugandan vocabulary,
CHOGM!! Though very few Ugandans actually know what
Chogm really is in full, no doubt the word is on every
one's lips. Kids in primary school, market vendors,
farmers, the police, the mayor (especially the
mayor) and the elite.

Now, let me tell you why i have beef with CHOGM...

It came as a blessing to Uganda, a time to showcase all
the things that make us gifted by nature.
A blessing in such a way that it has seen good old
potholes and crater lakes being patched up, buildings
being painted, dustbins (to remind us the mayor is
delivering as he promised) being brought on the
streets. The Northern bypass, we can't forget that, a
few street lights put in place and the infamous new
hotels that have sprung up in less than 2 years. But
with those blessings.......A CURSE.

A curse is brought onto the good old, law abiding
citizens of Uganda, more so, those in Kampala and
Entebbe. Houses are torn down, people are
vacated from the homes they have known for years and
the so called Northern bypass that has been on a stand
still and everytime it rains, the residents of places
like Bwaise ask, "Banange, twazagwaki?" All this is
because, the queen and few other guests are coming.
The Elite society in Uganda anticipate Chogm in a
manner that reminds me of how we anticipated Christmas
when we were children, the presents and all, simply
because, there is much in Chogm for them and not the
poor.

And then comes the rude awakening to the fact that the
lives of Ugandans are not as important as the lives of
'Our Visitors.'
For years, we have had to put up with potholes or
crater lakes on our roads, but Chogm comes, they all
make haste to clean up the mess.
Recently, I saw the fire brigade being trained on
how to fight fire, AMAZING!!!! For all those years
Ugandans thought they had fire fighters, we were
merely being tricked with keeping up
appearances... (open your eyes people, a curse.)
Then in comes the street lights. Why now you may
ask...we are being pointed to the fact that we are
nocturnals, we do not need the lights.
Another curse that befell me, my good old Shimoni
Demonstration School, of which I am an O.G.
was demolished without mercy, for a hotel that
has never been lifted off the ground.  (I hope you are
beginning to see the curse and why I have beef with
Chogm)
Then the the mosquito spraying which began in
Munyonyo the other day and the exercise being rejected by
some of the residents there, (wait, haven't Ugandans
been dying of Malaria??) yes, the curse, the rude
awakening that you are not half as important.

I have beef with Chogm, a dark tunnel. Remember
though, that at the end of every dark tunnel, a light.
Chogm is not here to stay. Perhaps when it is done,
you who have been vacated from your roadside homes and
you living undersea in Bwaise, there is a chance for
a new beginning, the mayor's dustbins will be filled to
overflowing, the street lights and the traffic lights
will never be fixed again and you'll never know that
chogm ever happened..do you see why I have beef with
CHOGM?

Meanwhile, CHOGM stands for Common Wealth Heads Of
Government Meeting. Just so you know!

Contributed by Nadia. (Hold a minute, this was no contribution. We are paying her for it!!)