Racism rears its ugly head

With the recent murder of AWB leader Eugene Terre'blanche in South Africa its no wonder that racial tensions are on the up in the country. Central to the controversy is Julius Malema once again. Many Afrikaaners in South Africa are claiming that his singing of the struggle song "Shoot the Boer" has sparked off additional killing of white farmers. Not a far stretch considering the song was recently declared hate speech by the Human Rights Commission.

Jacob Zuma has lashed out at Malema who in return is claiming that he has done nothing wrong. All this tension arrives at a stime when South Africa really does not need it. It's less than sixty days for the FIFA 2010 world cup to be held in South Africa and the negative publicity abroad is raising widespread concerns for potential visitors to the country. Still, Malemamania seems to be in full force and the man appears to be making headlines daily.

Wonkie's recent cartoon is one of its most controversial as yet but it certainly gets the point home about the double standards that are in place in South Africa. Over 500 people have voted on its poll about the song - you should add your voice too if you haven't already!

If you haven't viewed the hilarious cartoon with the Easter Bunny be sure to check out the link below:


Shoot the Boer



One can only hope Wonkie plans on recovering from the bloodbath in the comments section with a supremely positive post this week - South Africa certainly needs some optimism!

Kangaroos in Kampala

I have to say that sometimes in life I feel so out of place in the society I live in. There is a fairly large expat community in Uganda but despite being from a variety of different countries, the community is homogenous. It seems everyone thinks the same, acts the same, behaves the same, decides the same - it's all quite scary.

Sometimes I wonder if I would fit in anywhere at all, particularly given that I have travelled and lived in a number of countries around east Africa and still feel so out of place. Perhaps I should try another continent - Europe perhaps.

Things are plodding along at work and at home - nothing major to report except for this sense of boredom with the overly familiar here in Kampala. Hopefully my trip to Italy later this month will bring some much-needed energy back into the equation.

Anyway, back to complete my macroeconomics assignment now - will update the blog again soon!

Who cares about privacy?

I saw this cartoon on Wonkie today and absolutely loved it - it's definitely the cartoon of the year on the site for me! Check it out on:


Jacob Zuma: I have a dream, a big wet dream - Wonkie CartOOn!



South Africans have way bigger issue with their Mr LovePants president than worrying about whether his right to privacy is being invaded!

Laughs, smiles and money

Today I sat down and worked out my financial plan as part of my coaching exercises I need to complete before my next meeting with za guru. It's interesting only in that I don't really value being a millionairre or anything of the sort as much as what they money would enable me to do. Anybody that says that it isn't important is surely smoking something - money gives you freedom. Well, at least on 1 plane it does.

I am fortunate that I actually don't have many financial constraints - my house has been paid for and my expenses are actually quite minimal in Uganda - food is cheap and travel is too. It's only if and when I want to start travelling that things become rather tricky - take my trip to Rwanda some time back to see the gorillas (Go go go if you haven't already - it was amazing!)

So I'm splitting my plan in two levels - one that is focused more on a steady stream of annuity income to support my day to day expenses, and another bucket for rainy day type expenses or lump sum needs - like for travel, a new gadget etc. While some of the freelance stuff I've been doing does keep things ticking along, I definitely need something a lot more stable and regular. Well either that or I need to win the lottery soon - very soon!

I came across some interesting options reading my favourite Wonkie cartoon blog that got me thinking. I'm not sure what the gambling market is in east Africa but it seems to be booming in South Africa - considering a political cartoon blog now has a page pretty much exclusively dedicated to Online casinos in South Africa, I guess it must be a lucrative market! I think I may well use one of the affiliate programs advertised on Make money from websites and blogging - just to see what kind of return I can obtain. Somehow I'm not overly optimistic though - I'll still continue to buy my weekly lottery ticket, just in case LOL

In any case, I do hope the recessionary environment lightens soon - it's making it harder to get freelance writing work and if it continues for much longer I really will need to try something outside Uganda.

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2010! I am full of optimism for this year. Unlike the start of last year where I was pessimistic I feel a lot more upbeat this year about the prospects for better world. Lots of things have changed since last year. Barack Obama is now the president of the United States of America, South Africa hasn't collapsed with the coming of Pres Jacob Zuma (Will miracles never cease), swine flu appears to be under control, to just mention a few of the things that worried me about last year.

One of the causes of my depression was that I was constantly evaluating myself against a definition of success that I didn't quite have a handle on. On the advice of my dear friend and political cartoonist Pratish Mistry I consulted him as a life coach of sorts that made quite a significant impact.

At first I was rather sceptical about using such a person but after a few discussions I was quite convinced about the value I was receiving from the meetings.I had heard some horror stories about other friends that have visited life coaches and found that those therapists rejected many of their own fears and insecurities onto their patients, or rather clients. I would suggest you visit only a coach that has been strongly recommended by someone that you know closely. They are far too many charlatans out there and damaged that they might be doing could be quite high.

With Pratish, I managed to outline my goals for 2010 quite clearly and succinctly. He approached my life almost as though it were a business that needed to be run profitably. And profitably in this instance meant that I was maximising the return on my time. He acted more as a facilitator rather than an adviser. And I think this is what made all the difference. I felt as though my ideas were really my own -- not some psychobabble by some new age guru that was all great in theory it could not be put to practice.

Anyway, enough for now I will hopefully be more regular this year with my blogging to share my experiences and let you know all my life plan is going! All the very best of 2010!

Wow - what a year!

2009 was an excellent year. From having seen gorillas in Rwanda to experiencing the joy of life in Africa, it has really been a fantastic year for me. A lot of the anxiety and depression that I experienced in 2008 pretty much vanished over the 2009 year. I'm not sure if this was entirely my doing or just a function of circumstance but I'm grateful for it regardless.

My dear friends in particular Sizwe Mahlala and Oli Rikova have helped me tremendously to overcome some serious personal issues. I will be forever in their debt.

I do realise that I have not written much this year but I hope to change this in the year to come. I keep this brief is the concluding message for 2009 and kick off the New Year next month with a more regular diary of my life.

An extreme start!

Hello all and welcome to 2009. My start to the New Year this year was memorable to say the least.. it was intense and exciting. I visited Rwanda for a 10 day trek, part of which was to see the gorillas - an experience I cannot find the words to describe. If ever you have the opportunity to visit any place in Africa - let this be your choice. It brought joy and gave me a persepective on life like never before.

I am in the process of sorting out the photos for the trip at the moment and promise to post some soon... hopefully by the weekend!

I was a little sad to return from the trip but I have to say I am feeling a lot more optimistic about life in general and about 2009 since the journey. I've spent most of the last 2 days catching up with news on the BBC and of course the occassional browse on my favourite Wonkie for a lighter look on the same. Sadly it doesn't appear there has been much progress in reports on Zimbabwe. Alas.

Nevertheless, it's been a good start to the year and I would like to wish everyone the very best for 2009!