We have walked through Buganda. We have walked through Uganda at large.
And around us have walked giants.
Many great individuals have impacted our times.
But what do we do? We ignore them.
We clap today, and tomorrow we move on.
Then, when they die, we start scratching their lives into history books.
Why not NOW?
Why not sit with Cardinal Wamala, at 96 years, and ask:
"Your Eminence, how have you made it? What is the secret of faith, discipline, and service?"
That wisdom should not die with him.
Why not write about Emeritus Judge Wako Wambuzi, who gave us the length of justice that healed a nation?
We missed the technical wisdom of Eng. Zikusoka and Arc. Ssentoogo—men who built with their hands and minds.
Prof. Michael Nsimbi—the first Muganda to write Luganda—and CP Mayiga, Buganda Katikkiro, for the astuteness he uses to navigate tradition and central government.
We didn't write anything from Basudde Herman, Paul Job Kafero, Ssebaduka, or Dan Mugula. They are present because of the lyrics, but Magala can't sing; he's like John the Baptist.
Men and women who carried Uganda on their shoulders.
And now we have Muzei Magala.
A traditionist. An orator.
For 2 years, I have listened to him.
Muzei Magala is not even above my age of 60 years.
But unless he is possessed with the supernatural,
or with the Buganda Katonda spirits,
the man is extremely praiseworthy and knowledgeable.
This man did not see the walls of class, but he is excellent in history.
He is skilled in wisdom. He is good at talking, but not writing.
Magala’s value TODAY is crucial because this is a real-time Gospel according to Magala, chapter Magala: vast knowledge in Buganda, governance, and religious mysteries.
If we don’t sit with him now and write,
his knowledge will perish with the wind of electronic devices.
One deleted video. One broken phone. And it’s gone forever.
Hosting them on talk shows is good.
It feeds the present. It gives us 1 hour of inspiration.
But what about tomorrow? What about 50 years from now?
Talk shows die. Videos get deleted. Memories fade.
Knowledge is best passed on to the next generation when it is WRITTEN.
The world understood this long ago.
Greece sat with Socrates. Plato wrote while he was talking.
Rome recorded Cicero. His speeches still teach leaders today.
We are still reading Machiavelli from Italy, 500 years later.
We are still reading Shakespeare from England, 400 years later.
We are still reading Confucius from China, 2,500 years later.
We are still reading Tolstoy, Achebe, Ngũgĩ, and Soyinka.
Because someone sat down and wrote while they were alive.
America wrote with Maya Angelou while she was alive.
South Africa recorded Nelson Mandela while he was walking and talking.
India sat with Gandhi and wrote every word, every fast, every thought.
Because of that, their children did not start from zero.
Buganda and Uganda must do the same.
Let us not wait for funerals to remember greatness.
Let us not let wisdom die in the air, or on a TV screen, or in a WhatsApp voice note.
Let us write while the fire is still burning.
Makerere University, discover and make use of this polymath and whizz man, Magala. Prof. Nawangwe, the man I admire because of his actual professional architecture, this is your card.
The Oracles in Kifuuta, Kyotera, Buddu, say:
"Amagezi g'omukulu galinga eggi; togaleka kugwa."
Amagezi galinga mukooka nga ogawandise.
Wisdom of an elder is like an egg; don’t let it fall and break.
