In truth, behaviors at the top become culture – and those at the bottom of the ladder, may have agency, but are merely conscripts to this new regime of power and public behavior. Since most humans are namby-pamby, and terribly lacking in courage, they settle for the easiest option: live like dogs (even when there is the option of dying like a lion).
Sadly, when dogs bark, they are perceived as powerful. When people run, the dogs also start to believe the former’s powerfulness. But they are poodles nevertheless – serving a master.
Let me use the example of one colonial-built housing estate of Makerere, which is now in ruin – but still working. My intention is not to point to its terribly dilapidated state, but to show the psyche of those running Makerere in senior positions – and the snakes, monkeys and wild dogs roaming the university.
Like all things left behind by the colonial government, we have had them not only run down, but personalized and eaten off.
Makerere University owns a housing estate in Katalemwa off Gayaza road. Seated on over 60 acres of land, it sits 60 exquisite bungalows. Built in the 1950s as residences for the Makerere University tutors, this estate is one of the most carefully planned neighbourhoods of Kampala.
Remains of a deftly-laid-out facility are visible even in its terrible state: access routes, all tarmac and paved roads, drainage and sewer systems, this estate nowadays accommodates Makerere’s senior academics.
On a visit to this over-60-year-old estate, one is welcomed by the serene ambience of well-grown trees of different species. Mangoes, mvule and palm trees give the estate a distinctive rural-romanticists’ aesthetic.
On his plot, a scholar has a sizeable green compound and garden where they grow vegetables and corn. Into their bungalows, residents have three mega-size bedrooms, a spacious living room, and study.
The overall architectural impression is confident and welcoming. Those who lived in them in the 1960-80s tell stories of wonder and marvel. It was the place to be for an academic.
But the post-1980s have seen a steady collapse of the facility. The once paved roads have been replaced by gullies and ditches. The estate is overgrown with bush. The once domesticated monkeys, dogs and snakes left behind by the colonialist are now wild and dangerously roam about.
With over 1600 acres of land in prime locations in Kampala and Wakiso, and residential facilities in different locations in Kampala, most Makerere University assets are in ruins. Others are simply vacant with no investment.
A 2007 report on all university property by a team of researchers from the department of technology found that “90% of the houses and infrastructure were in a severely-run-down state,” and the situation had remained dire for decades.
The report also noted that because of the terrible conditions in which the facilities were, lecturers had abandoned them. I cannot imagine a Makerere University lecturer – overworked and underpaid – turning down free accommodation. It surely must be a terrible state.
But the residents of Katalemwa have acquired another logic, one that is actually at the core of the quagmire in Makerere. Instead of abandoning these ruined public facilities, they have taken it upon themselves repairing them from own purse.
But recall these are public properties to be repaired from the public purse. While it is easy to celebrate this as ingenuity on the part of the academics, it is rather dangerous for the management of public assets.
Personal purse presupposes not just ownership, but also personal taste. Besides the lack of taste for some individual occupants, personal tastes also translates into anarchy for the whole. Public assets follow a routinised and bureaucratic process and standards. Personal tastes are simply personal.
Following this logic to the end, you have a Mahmood Mamdani personalizing and acting like he owned MISR; a Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, despite obvious psychosis, acting like a god-blessed landlord.
Disputed Council members Bruce Kabasa and Thomas Tayebwa would also emerge with an acute sense of ownership. But this is not a crisis of Makerere, it is a crisis for country, and the monkeys, adders and bitches roaming Katalemwa tell a perfect story.
yusufkajura@gmail.com
The author is a PhD fellow at Makerere Institute of Social Research.
