Ugandan play on corruption in public service moves to Nairobi

A scene in the play 'The Betrothal', staged at the Uganda National Theatre in Kampala. PHOTO | RACHEL MABALA

What you need to know:

  • I would like people to stop the theft of public funds and use them for what they are supposed to do.
  • I am no expert on graft, but I think corruption in Uganda is mainly driven by greed.
  • There’s a burning desire, by many people, to be like the rich people they see in their lives – whether those people have acquired their wealth through hard work, or through theft.
  • I would like to see the play travel the world, because corruption affects every society.

A Ugandan play will soon hit the Kenyan theatre scene. Written by Joshua Mmali, a literature and communications lecturer, poet and playwright, "The Betrothal" ran at the Uganda National Theatre in Kampala on August 3-4, 2018, and will make its debut in Nairobi in December.

Mmali taught communication skills at Makerere University, and high school literature at Aga Khan High School, Kampala – where he wrote and directed short plays – before joining the BBC in 2006.

In "The Betrothal", a Ugandan village woman, Angelina (Debbie Bakuseka), is struggling to get essential vaccines for her baby, partly because money meant for vaccines has been stolen by Andrew (Patriq Nkakalukanyi), who works in the ministry of Health, in underhand deals with his bosses. Now that Andrew has a lot of money, he wants to get married - coincidentally, to the same village woman's daughter, Cathy (Tricia Bisikwa). Will he?

Herman Bagonza plays the part of Stanley and Vincent Sekasanvu appears as Alvin. "The Betrothal" is produced by Aganza Kisaka and is directed by Karishma Bhagani. The guest directors are Joshua Mmali and Charles Mulekwa.

Mmali is the author of a children’s book, The Bad Friends (2003, Fountain Publishers, Kampala), which is part of a series of books aimed at creating HIV/Aids awareness, and three plays: "God of Small Hands", in which explores race relations in the United States; "The Land is Ours, Too", which revolves around property inheritance rights in a patriarchal society; and "The Betrothal". He is currently working on a novel, three short stories and a poetry anthology, Voices from the Sea.

Mmali talked to Bamuturaki Musinguzi, about "The Betrothal" and his career. Excerpts:

 

What inspired you into writing 'The Betrothal'?

It was inspired by the sentencing of Teddy Ssezi Cheeye (may his soul rest in peace). When I listened to Justice Katutsi as he read out the sentence, handing Cheeye 10 years in prison, one line from that sentence did not leave my mind: “In siphoning funds meant to alleviate and to ease the sufferings of the wretched of the earth, the victims of the scourge of HIV/Aids, TB and malaria into his own stomach, he’s no better than a mass murderer, which in truth he is!”

That line left me thinking about what small and big acts of corruption and/or theft of public funds actually do, when broken down to the mundane details.

 

What is the main message that you are pointing across?

Well, I would like people to stop the theft of public funds and use them for what they are supposed to do. Call it corruption or graft, if you may. One member of the audience, Jackie Asiimwe-Mwesige, at the theatre, actually preferred the word theft to corruption or graft, which she thought are mere euphemisms used to sanitise or make the acts of stealing public funds seem sexy. When people stole funds meant for the treatment of malaria, TB and HIV, they did not think about the little children or people in the villages whose lives depended on those funds and the treatment they would have enabled them to get.

The people who formed fake NGOs and falsified documents to divert those funds into their personal accounts were actually people who were not desperate for money. The message is simple: I would like everyone to reflect on what they do when they are given positions of responsibility, especially where they have to manage public funds. I would also like everyone to stop and ask people around them – their brother, sister, mother, father, uncle, auntie, or best friend – some very tough questions about how they make their money, if they get suspicious.

The characters in "The Betrothal" keep asking these questions, because they are uncomfortable about having friends around them with inexplicable sources of wealth.

Joshua Mmali, author of the play 'The Betrothal'. PHOTO | COURTESY

What do you think is the main cause of corruption in Uganda?

I am no expert on graft, but I think corruption in Uganda is mainly driven by greed. There’s a burning desire, by many people, to be like the rich people they see in their lives – whether those people have acquired their wealth through hard work, or through theft. You have a society that now cares more about the end than the means. You have many young people graduating from college or university and immediately wanting to drive expensive cars, among others, like the rich, without considering that those rich people have probably been working for a long time. The story going around is that a lot of stolen money is hidden in land and buildings, because banking it invites questions.

 

What future plans do you have for this play?

Well, I would like to see the play travel the world, because corruption affects every society. But first, I would like to see it performed in all the major capitals in Africa, because I think corruption affects African societies more than it affects any other society that I know.

I would also like to see it published so that it is studied in schools and colleges – to nip corruption in the bud. Unfortunately, publishers are not eager to publish plays, because they don’t fetch a lot of money. I am tired of seeing kids study plays like "I Will Marry When I Want" which, with all due respect to Ngugi, some critics think is a very boring play. Or perhaps it has been overtaken by time.

I would also like to see it performed in places like London and New York, where the theatre culture is vibrant. But all that depends entirely on the production team.

 

In your observation what is the state of Uganda’s theatre industry?

It is difficult for me to speak with authority about the state of Uganda’s theatre industry, because I have been away for a while now. A lot of actors are taking to film and television, and not investing much time in theatre. This production, for example, had to turn film and television actors into theatre actors.

 

How are you able to juggle between journalism and playwriting?

I don’t juggle anything at all. I do one thing at a time, because I am meticulous and always working towards perfection. You cannot come anywhere closer to perfection if you have divided attention to what you are doing. I do my day job diligently for 8-10 hours, and write poems during my lunch breaks, evenings, and on weekends. When I want to write something serious like a play, I request annual leave and go on a writing retreat for two weeks, near the sea or any major water body. On such retreats I like being alone – not even my girlfriend is welcome.

 

What would you have been if you were not into teaching, journalism and playwriting?

Hmmm. I have been everything I ever wanted to be. But perhaps I would have been a lawyer – my late dad thought I would make a good one, and was disappointed when, instead of law, I signed up for Literature and English language teaching at university. Still, I think teaching, journalism and writing are the three things that I am most inspired to do.