If the Engereza [English] had not come, I think that few of us would be around today. I do not mean that the Engereza were good, but they were tactful with us. You see, the Engereza is like a rat, he bites you hard and then blows a cool air over the bitten part. But all the same, we were able to breathe freely when they came. They never raided us, never even killed, but they ate us slowly until we got our independence.
This is English colonialism, poetically summarized, by a Kakwa elder in north-western Uganda.*
Speaking of the English in Uganda, Queen Elizabeth addressed Uganda’s parliament yesterday.
Prince Philip and I have many fond memories of our last visit together to Uganda. In the years since, your country has made considerable advances in spite of periods of adversity.
* Quoted in Inside West Nile, by Mark Leopold (who in turn quotes a dissertation by James Boliba Baba).
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