Good afternoon Members,

This is to inform you that the Uganda Reproduction Rights Organisation (URRO) Annual General Meeting, which was scheduled for Thursday, 27th November 2025, has been postponed.

A new date will be communicated soon. We regret any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding.

Thank you.
URRO Secretariat

Emmanuel N. Mukanga’s writing reflects a life richly lived – across Uganda, Nairobi in Kenya, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg in West Germany and beyond. His two-volume autobiography captures a journey through political upheavals, cultural transitions, and creative milestones. In Volume 1, he celebrates the deep cultural roots of the Samia of Kenya and Uganda. From coordinating the Makerere University Free Travelling Theatre to working as a producer and journalist at Uganda Television (UTV) and the Voice of Kenya Television (VoK TV), and being trained at Sender Freies Berlin, in TV Production, Direction and Editing, Mukanga has spent a lifetime shaping and sharing stories that bridge tradition and modernity.In this Q&A, he shares reflections on writing, exile, heritage, and what drives his life-long pursuit of storytelling.

Q1. Your autobiography unfolds in two volumes capturing a life that spans multiple Continents. What motivated you to tell your story so extensively?

A1. Initially in 1981, just over a year after my marriage to Lucy, we came from West Germany to Uganda for Christmas. I suggested to my elder brother, who had brought me up, that I was interested in writing his biography and gave my reasons why. I told him that he had led a colorful life right from university at Makerere, when he led students to demand that beer be sold on Campus and succeeded. Up till then, Africans were not allowed to drink bottled beer anywhere in the Protectorate. He then worked for a petroleum company, went into politics at local government level and eventually joined the first independence National Assembly in 1962, and became the Minister of Foreign Affairs the following year. When the Government he worked for was overthrown in 1971 by Idi Amin, he ended up in exile in Dar es Salaam and came back in 1979 after Amin’s removal. He went into business and was also chairman of the board of governors of The Milton Obote Foundation that owns Uganda House.However, my brother was not keen that I write his biography, so towards 2009, I realized that I too had led quite an interesting life in over 20 countries on 3 continents. That’s when I started putting pen to paper about my life, doing research and talking to elders who knew more than I did, about me, my family, my origins, my country, continent and the world at large.

Q2. When you look back at your youth in Uganda, what moments or experiences first awakened your love for story telling?

A2. As you may be aware, I was brought to Kampala from the village in Eastern Uganda when I was just 3 years old. I was then put in a nursery school at the Naguru Community Centre Hall, where I believe we were told stories and rhymes, though I wouldn’t remember any of them. When I went to Entebbe in P4 we were introduced to many stories, some of which were very funny others captivating. In 1964, Uganda Television came on air and as we had a small TV at home, I watched a lot of TV, especially weekly series. I also went to the cinema with my friends and we ended up narrating what we saw on TV and at the cinema to our friends who had not seen the movies or just exchanged notes with those who had. I believe that is what awakened in me the love for story-telling.

Q3. You began your career as coordinator and leader of the Makerere University Travelling Theatre. What impact did theatre have on your understanding of people and narrative?

A3. During the three years as a member of the Makerere Free Travelling Theatre, I learnt that everybody needs a good laugh, even if it is at the misfortunes of others. Secondly, when you are narrating a story, especially through theatre and to diverse audiences, make the narrative simple to understand and reflective of the audiences’ experiences. The University of Nairobi also started its own travelling theatre with the help of author and dramatist, the late John Ruganda, who had started the travelling theatre at Makerere.

Q4. As a journalist at Uganda Television, you witnessed Uganda’s political and cultural transformations firsthand. How did that shape your worldview and voice as a writer?

A4. That experience convinced me that I had to document what I witnessed. I met and shook Idi Amin’s hand at least ten times, because he often came to the Nakasero studios and I also saw and met him at workshops and functions, like the Agricultural Show in Jinja which I used to cover. At UTV, I was put in charge of drama and was thereby able to help upcoming dramatists to sharpen their presentations. I fled Uganda when Amin was still president and before the 1979 war. During that period many people disappeared and were murdered without trace. Others like myself fled the country and many of my OBs and colleagues left the country forever. I have a friend in Germany who has never set foot in Uganda again since he left in the early 70s. I started working at UTV after my first year at Makerere and joined full time on graduation. The following year I fled to Tanzania into exile

Q5. You grew up under the guidance of your elder brother, the late Sam Odaka, a key figure in Obote’s government. How did his mentorship influence your personal values and career path?

A5. As mentioned earlier, my elder brother Sam Odaka made sure that I got a good education from nursery to S6. He was in exile when I completed my HSC and when I joined and completed my University education at Makarere. He was a father figure to me and cared a lot about me and for me. He loved being with people and practically every day, his friends came to visit him at home. He never looked down on anybody and chose his words carefully. I have tried to emulate him but as years advance, instead of having friends come to my home, I meet my friends in the city Centre at certain specific locations. Because he used to get all the English and Luganda newspapers at home every day, he insisted that I read all of them daily, in addition to some weekly and monthly magazines like The Weekly Topic, Time and Newsweek. That way I got to know what was going on in the country and in the world. When he was a boy scout, he was sent to England for a jamboree. It was obvious that I also had to become a cub scout and later on a boy scout and to look forward to going abroad.

Q6. The collapse of the Oboe Government forced you into exile. How did life in Tanzania and Germany transform your perspective on identity, home, and belonging?

A6. Going into exile was not the first time I was leaving my homeland, Uganda. While on the Makerere Free Travelling Theatre in my second and third year, our itinerary included performing in Kisumu, Nakuru and Nairobi, where we also acted on Voice of Kenya Television. Life in Tanzania and Germany transformed my perspective on my identity, home and belonging in several ways. I loved Dar es Salaam because I felt at home there and was with part of family. The Tanzanians were Africans like myself and I was able to improve my Swahili. I was there for only nine months and within the first three weeks I had taken driving lessons and had a driving licence. I also got to meet the German ambassador at a cocktail at my brother’s place and on telling him that because the Germans were the ones who had supplied UTV with Outside Broadcasting vans, I would like to go to Germany for further training. He invited me to the embassy where I filled out an application form. It took nearly a year before I was invited to go to Berlin, by which time I had moved to Nairobi and it was the German embassy in Nairobi which told me when and to where I would be going to Germany.Germany was very different. The people were different, overwhelmingly white, with very few foreigners at that time, especially blacks. So my friends were from Africa, the Caribbean and Blacks from Trinidad and Tobago and from the US. On weekends we mostly went to a disco called the Cadillac where we danced away to African and Caribbean music. Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff were very Popular. Some bands from the then Zaire would also perform live and we would not miss any performance. That way I learnt that I was not only Ugandan and African, but also belonged to the Black Race.The food was different, though I loved the sausages, bacons and an assortment of hams. I went to Germany for 14 months but stayed for 14 years. As the years went by, I started having a strong yearning to return home to Uganda. I realized that going back to Tanzania or Kenya would not do. I had to go back to Uganda where I wanted my 3 children to be raised from.

Q7. The Discarded Brick Volume 1 draws from the Samia people’s oral traditions. What wisdom from that culture do you feel is most relevant today’s changing world?

A7. In my third book, “The Wisdom Pot,” I included a picture of men seated around a big round clay pot, seeping their malwa (sorghum beer), using long straws of 1-2 metres long. This communal partaking of the drink enables people to exchange news, address problems and disputes and propose solutions. I wanted to use that picture on the cover page but my publishers in India told me that people would not understand what it was all about. Men with only one wife are not allowed to seat next to the pot for fear that if a man was told that his one wife had died, he could easily kick and break the beer pot. This way of promoting social cohesion is worth emulating even in today’s changing world.

Q8. How do you balance your roles as historian of your own life, a custodian of culture, and creative storyteller?

A8. I see no contradiction between being a historian of my own life, a custodian of culture and a creative storyteller. To the contrary, I learnt a lot about myself, my family, our culture and history. I did not know that my clan is said to have originated in Bunyoro and I ended up taking a Munyoro girl for a wife. Nor did I know that my father was a primary school headmaster for 13 years I always knew him as a fish merchant. These discoveries have enabled me to be more knowledgeable and creative in my storytelling.

Q9. What challenges have you faced as an African writer publishing stories that span both traditional and global contexts?

A9. The challenges have been several. Firstly, identifying the right publisher both locally and internationally was not easy. I zeroed down on an Indian publisher because all the others were too expensive. 2021 and 2022 when three of my books were published was also during the Covid 19 pandemic and although it enabled me to dedicate more time to completing my books, restrictions like curfew were a hindrance. As earlier mentioned some of the images I wanted to use were rejected because they lacked universal appeal. Publishing from abroad has the problem that freight charges and pre-tax raise the purchase price per book by nearly three times. I therefore requested my publishers to send me digital copies of the books so that I print and bind from Kampala, which has significantly brought the price down.

Q10. Many young writers in Uganda are just beginning their journey. What advice would you give them about staying authentic to their roots while writing for a wider audience?

A10. I would recommend that they consult veteran writers to help them with editing and proofreading. They should also be able to accept a critical appreciation of their work for improvement. To remain authentic to their roots, they need to do the necessary research about their roots, so as not to misrepresent their origins.

Q11. You’ve lived and worked in diverse societies. How has this global experience influenced the way you view African literature today?

A11. In my younger days I used to read mainly European novels such as those by James Hardley Chase, James Joyce and others. This was in addition to set school books which included a lot of African literature, by authors like Chinua Achebe and Ngugi wa Thiongo, together with mainly English authors like William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. South African, Nigerian and Ghanaian authors have also written captivating books. In West Germany, I was also exposed to German authors after having mastered the language to enable me to do my Master’s degree in Mass Communication.I find African literature very captivating and down to earth and I relate very closely with it because it describes scenes and situations that I am familiar with and that bring out our African heritage and culture.

Q12. What projects are you currently, working on and how can readers find or access your books?

A12. Mid this year, I published my fourth book, “The Development of the Mass Media in Uganda – 1962-1982.” Currently I am mainly occupied with trying to sell my books. I gave some books to a bookshop to sell for me, but in two years they told me that they had sold only one book. I had been warned about this by a reputable printer, who said that some bookstores re-print authors books and sell their copies while yours are not sold.My next book will be called, “Majanji, the Forgotten Port.” I started talking about this port in the “Discarded Brick, Volume 1.” Majanji Port, which lies 13 kilometres from Lumino, my birthplace in Busia district, was commissioned in 1916, during the first World War. The British were fighting the Germans then in Tanganyika and had recruited natives to fight for them. Soon afterwards there was drought and famine and in 1917, the British brought in sacks of rice from India, through Mombasa and by train to Kisumu. The rice was then put on steamships to the Uganda Protectorate. On arrival at Majanji Port, it had been infested with fleas carried by rats, that carried the Bubonic plague known in Luganda as Kawumpuli. It spread all over the country and killed may people. During the great floods of 1961/62, Majanji port was submerged and when the water subsided, it has never been re-opened.Every year, the American Library of Congress sends someone to Kampala to buy books from Ugandan authors, which are then given to some universities in the US and the UK. They have bought several copies of each of my 4 published books. This year, the Russians too came and bought some books and they will be back next year. Otherwise my books are available on Amazon, Kindle, Flipkart, KOBO iBooks, The Notion Press of India and from me, the author.

Closing Note This Q&A is part of URRO’S initiative to highlight Ugandan authors and cultural voices whose work inspires new generations of writers. By sharing stories that celebrate both heritage and human experience, URRO aims to promote creativity, literacy, and author’s rights in Uganda and beyond.