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VIOLENCE AND MEMORY IN JOHN RUGANDA’S THE BURDENS AND THE

FLOODS.

SAMBAI C. CAROLYN

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of Witwatersrand,

Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.

Johannesburg, 2008.
 ABSTRACT

This research report is an investigation of the theme of violence and the use of memory in
John Ruganda’s two plays: The Floods and The Burdens. This study examines the
representation of a historic period in Uganda’s history as represented in Ruganda’s two
plays. The study focuses on the reign of Idi Amin, Uganda’s former dictator. It gives a
detailed examination of the use of violence by the state as a tool for achieving and
maintaining power. I argue that the totalitarian state uses violence to assert its power and
to eliminate its enemies. I also examine how Ruganda represents Idi Amin’s regime in
The Floods, focusing on various forms of violence and how he uses the setting of the
play, characterization and dialogue to highlight the extent of violence in the regime. The
first chapter gives the background of the study focusing on the social and political
contexts in which the plays were set. The second chapter deals with violence both by the
state and violence in the private space in The Burdens which deploys the space of the
family to critique violence by the state. In this chapter, I also discuss the politics of dead
bodies. Here I argue that the desire of the state to stay in power does not end at
controlling the people while they are alive but that it includes how dead bodies are (mis)
treated. In the final chapter I discuss the role of memory in the two plays. I argue that in
The Burdens, memory is an escape zone where characters hide from their unpleasant
present. In The Floods, I try to show how memory forms part of the narrative of the play
in that characters retell their experiences for purposes of unfolding ‘facts’ about the
regime.

ii
 DECLARATION

I declare that this research report is my own unaided work. It is submitted for the degree
of Master of Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been
submitted before for any other degree or examination at any other university.

Name of Candidate

Sambai C. Carolyn.

_______day of _______2008.

iii
 DEDICATION

To the Late Professor John Ruganda whose two plays this work covers. Rest in
Peace.
To the great teachers; the Late Mrs. Eunice Keino and the Late Mwalimu Lawrence
Lelmengit both of whom died in February 2008. Your demise is such a painful loss
but we hope to lift the banner high…Teachers, you will be remembered for your
great service. Rest in Peace.
And to my parents Jane and Hosea Sambai and for this great sacrifice. Thank you.

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the help and support of various parties that contributed in
different ways to the success of this study. First will be to my teacher, Dr. Fugich Wako
who I owe lots of asante for that small talk outside the Senior Common room in Laikipia
Campus of Egerton University. I believe that is where it all began. You were sure but I
was uncertain it would end at this. Thank you so much for the constant encouragement
throughout this time.

I am heavily indebted to the University of Witwatersrand for giving me the chance to do

my masters degree here, for awarding me the Postgraduate Merit Award and for the
conducive environment that made everything bearable. At the department, I must say
kongois to Prof. Ogude, Prof. Hofmeyer and Dr. Ojwang for the invaluable knowledge
shared. I am particularly grateful to my supervisor and guide Professor Bheki Peterson
for the great patience all through the writing of this report. It was not easy getting to
master the language of drama and I still don’t think I have, but I must say that your
perseverance and rich contribution throughout your supervision is greatly acknowledged.
Kongoi Mising. Mrs. Merle Govind, I will never be able to thank you enough for that face
that I only needed to think of. Thank you for being there all the time.

I would also like to appreciate the support I got from the Kenyan community at Wits.
Thanks to the Misois for the warm welcome and for having hosted me during my first
month in South Africa. Thanks a lot to Samson Kurgoi, Sam, John, Titus, Jacob, the Late
Dan Ogolla and Kutto for every bit of support. My heart also goes out to Prof.C.J.
Odhiambo, Dr.Tom Odhiambo and Mr. D. Kweya, some teachers who were very
encouraging. Asanteni sana. Special thanks to Grace, for reading my drafts. You were a
great source of inspiration even when it seemed impossible. Dinah, thank you for the
‘highway’ discussions and others made since the beginning of the project to the end.
Thank you for the enriching and enlightening moments that we shared, for your unending

v
support and pleas that I hang on….it got better by the day… that is how I have this! May
you live to inspire others. I also wish to thank Jennifer for all we shared, for being that
special and supportive friend. Tulilia pamoja…it’s time we smiled. Girl, asante sana and
for that inspirational work on ‘wafu’.

My sincere gratitude goes to my classmates Violet, Nomsa, Jendele, and Mkhize for all
the inspirational class discussions we had. Thank you and may you live to handle more of
such in future. I am also grateful to Mekusi, Mutonya, Senayon, Chris, George, Florence
and other students and friends whose names I have not been able to mention here, but
whose ideas and words were very useful in various ways. Thank you for your willingness
to help. Lastly, to my family, Mum, Dad, Paul, Wamboi, Zipporah and the boys: Rogers,
Franklin, Kevin and Gideon, I am honestly grateful for your prayers, patience and all
manner of support. Paranjeska is now here!

vi
 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Title__________________________________________________ i

Abstract______________________________________________ ii

Declaration __________________________________________ iii

Dedication ___________________________________________ v

Acknowledgements __________________________________ v-vi

Table of Contents _____________________________________ vii

Chapter One: Introduction____________________________ 1- 17

Chapter Two: ‘Designing a People’s Destiny’: Violence as the Language of the State

18- 33

Politics of Dead Bodies in The Floods_________________________ 34-43

Violence in The Burdens _____________________________________ 43- 48

Chapter Three: The Memory of Violence in The Floods and the Violence of Memories
in The Burdens___________________ 49-63

The Violence of Memories in The Burdens 63-71

Chapter Four: Conclusion_______________________________ 72-75

Bibliography _____________________________________________ 76-82

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 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

Ruganda the playwright

Until his death, John Rugyendo Ruganda was one of the leading and established
playwrights in East Africa.1 He was described as a literary giant in the region. He was
one of the fathers of Uganda’s literature as well as a supporter and mentor of many in this
field. Ruganda studied English at Makerere University where he was also the editor of
two student journals –‘The Makererean’ and ‘Penpoint’. Ruganda graduated in 1967 and
worked as an editor with the Oxford University Press and co-edited the literary journal
‘Zuka’ with the late Jonathan Kaariara. In 1972, because of the volatile situation in his
homeland attributed to the political instability in Uganda, Ruganda went to Kenya where
he first worked as an editor at the Oxford University Press in Nairobi.2 Ruganda
eventually joined the University of Nairobi as a lecturer in the department of Literature
where he specialised in teaching drama. Until his death in December 2007, Ruganda was
teaching at the University of the North (now called the University of Limpopo) in South
Africa. Having taught literature at several universities, the playwright had a long and rich
experience in theatre and drama. This is evident in his works. Ruganda featured on the
East African literary scene not only as a director and teacher of drama but also as a poet.
His poetry has been greatly anthologised in collections of poems from East Africa.
Ruganda also founded theatre groups, acted and directed many plays. He was one of the
founding members of the Makerere Free Travelling Theatre and was elected as its chief
organiser in 1966. In 1970, Ruganda was the secretary of Kampala Writers Club and
founder member of the Ngoma players, a theatre group in Kampala. In the early 70s,
Ruganda served as the chairman of the Uganda Authors and Linguists Association. In

1
John Ruganda died of throat cancer on the 8th Dec 2007 at the Kampala International Hospital Mulago in
Uganda. He was diagnosed with the cancer in July 2006 and had since been undergoing chemotherapy.
Visit: http://www.eastafricanpublishers.com/News/John%20Ruganda.htm.
2
Many other Ugandan writers who fled their country to Kenya due to the political instability in the country
included Okot p’Bitek, Austin Bukenya, Henry Kimbungwe and Richard Ntiru who later worked with the
East African Educational Publishers. Visit: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979985&cid=291.

1
1971, Ruganda was instrumental in the establishment of the Makonde Group, an amateur
theater company that performed plays in local languages all over Uganda.3

John Ruganda has written eleven plays some of which are unpublished. His published
plays include: The Burdens (1972), Black Mamba and Covenant with Death (1973),
Music without Tears (1982), Echoes of Silence (1986), The Floods (1988) and Shreds of
Tenderness (2001). His unpublished plays include: The State Zombie, The Glutton,
Pyrrhic Victory, and End of the Endless. Among his published plays, The Burdens (1972)
and The Floods (1980) have been used regularly as prescribed texts in the ordinary and
advanced level syllabi of the Literature in English courses in Kenya and Uganda. Most
of his plays are studied in universities and other institutions of higher learning in East and
Central Africa.Three of his major plays have won major literary awards. Covenant with
Death won the East African Creative Writing competition in 1966. The Burdens won the
second prize of the 1972 Jomo Kenyatta Foundation Prize for Literature and in the same
year Black Mamba was awarded an excellence certificate during the Makerere Golden
Jubilee Celebration. Pyrrhic Victory won the Makerere University inter-hall Competition
in 1965 and End of the Endless won the Uganda Theatre Guild Competition in 1966. In
1979 The Floods received international acclaim when it was presented at the festival of
Small and Experimental Scenes in Yugoslavia.

A general examination of his plays shows that Ruganda’s concern is the plight of the
African man. His plays, which are largely inspired by a keen observation of the activities
in his country soon after independence, expose political oppression. Ruganda’s major aim
of writing as echoed by a literary critic, Chris Wanjala, is to improve his society which he
(Ruganda) felt had gone wrong and he needed to do something about it.4 Generally,
Ruganda’s plays attempt to condemn the ills in the society or try to correct the situation.
Shreds of Tenderness for instance focuses on a military coup, its effects on the political,

3
John Ruganda is regarded as a pioneer playwright, a theatre director and a dramatist in the region. He
featured as an actor, a stage director and a teacher of drama at various institutions. See Waliaula (2003) and
Imbuga (1997) for an account of Ruganda’s career background.
4
In an article entitled ‘The Death of East Africa’s Literary Giant’, ChrisWanjala commends Ruganda for
his commitment to the betterment of the society and that the literary world has lost a great artist. This
information is available at: http://www.eastafricanpublishers.com/News/John%20Ruganda.htm.

2
social and economic well being of specific individuals and the nation as a whole. The
play makes use of three characters (Stella, Wak and Odie), siblings who were all affected
in different ways during the coup depicted in the play. Stella is raped by the military men,
Wak is forced to flee to a neighbouring country for safety (assumed to be one of the East
African countries: Kenya or Tanzania) and Odie who remains in the country during the
coup is physically roughed up by the police and escapes with a dent in his head. Odie
consequently loses his memory and starts to behave like a demented man. The play shows
how a military government tears the nation and destabilises it in all senses. This play is a
reworking of his earlier published play Music without Tears (1982).

Black Mamba (1973) deals with the social and intellectual hypocrisy of an intellectual,
Professor Coarx. The professor who teaches in one of the universities has specialised in
speaking against immorality yet as the play unfolds, he is seen to be engaging in the very
acts he is condemning. With the assistance of his house-help, Berewa, who brings in
women to the professor’s house, the professor, engages in secret sexual relationships with
several women including Berewa’s wife. It is his student, Odiambo, who uncovers the
professor’s other life when he runs into a woman in the don’s house while he is
submitting his assignment. The play is an amusing social satire which exposes the
professor’s double standards. At a broader level, the play dramatises the plight of
African states under white expatriates who could be said to preach water and drink wine.

Covenant with Death (1973) dramatises the social and psychological problems brought
about by human alienation. It deals with the myth of Kaikara, the goddess of fruition,
who gives a girl child to an old couple that was childless but cautions that the girl should
not get married. In a society where women who do not get married are scorned, and
treated with contempt, Mutama finds it very difficult to continue living in that society.
She decides to run away from home to get married to a white man in the city and to hide
from her society. Unfortunately, Mutama cannot conceive in her marriage because the
goddess has cursed her for having defied its orders. Mutama comes back home and dies
of a mysterious disease which the villagers believe is a curse that is a result of her
disobedience to the goddess of fruition.

3
Ruganda’s plays cover a range of social concerns that are of great relevance to
developing African nations. Furthermore, his plays deal with some aspect of
contemporary reality in East Africa. Ruganda’s plays question the current leadership
patterns in Africa, where the leaders have created oppressive classes within the society.
The plays
deal with social and economic inequality, the lack of moral values within the society and
the deteriorating state of the common man who in most cases is represented as being
innocent thus paving way for his/her manipulation by the elite members of the society.
Francis Imbuga (1999) notes that,

For all their diversity, Ruganda’s plays have tended to gather around
central themes which are of immediate relevance not only to Uganda or
the African region from which he comes, but also to the rest of Africa
nations of the world which have undergone similar historical experiences.
(Imbuga 1999: 277)

Imbuga (1999) continues to note that, ‘the overriding contemporary reality in the region,
as in many parts of Africa, has been one of political restlessness’ (Ibid: 277). Practically
in all his plays, Ruganda exposes some aspects of corruption, betrayal and exploitation
and subtly hints at possible ways of alleviating the problems. Ruganda attributes most of
the chaos and upheavals which have characterised post-independence African states to
the destruction of traditional institutions like monarchies, which in many countries have
been replaced with regimes of selfish politicians who have no respect for the sanctity of
human life (Ibid). Ruganda as a playwright may be disillusioned by the shattered dreams
that were ushered in immediately after independence but he has not yet given into
despair. His plays end on a positive note signalling a sense of hope. His concern is to
bring order to the chaotic existence that he perceives in his midst.

Ruganda’s plays depict his willingness to speak for the voiceless in the society. He
dramatises the common man’s struggle for survival in a politically, economically and
socially hostile environment where the rich minority exploit the poor majority. Ruganda
crafted plays that dealt with the big question of man and his relationship with the
environment. Most of his plays deal with the absurd and weave humour and satire to hit

4
hard at the powers that flourish in corruption and opportunism. Ruganda’s aim was to
bring the society to an awareness of the source of their problems and point out make
possible solutions.

Concerning his style of writing, Ruganda’s plays deploy a variety of structures, ranging
from three act-plays in The Burdens, to a two act structure in Black Mamba to a one act
play in Covenant with Death. This kind of structure allows the playwright to economise
and use a small number of characters. In most cases, his cast consists of a maximum of
four characters and a minimum of three. Most of the details of the plot are filled in
through flashbacks, reminiscences and role-play. Solomon Waliaula (2003) notes that as
a seasoned director Ruganda has most likely ‘scripted his plays with their theatricality in
mind. He disabuses of the simple dichotomy we rush to make on who are the heroes and
the villains whenever conflict arises’ (Waliaula 2003: 2).

This study is a discussion of the representation of violence and the use of memory as a
writing or narrative strategy in The Burdens (1972) and The Floods (1988). The study
deals broadly with the theme of violence and particularly violence as a tool for
performing power by a totalitarian state. It further examines how violence in the private
space is linked to violence by the state but in a very subtle way. Violence in The Burdens
is seen to be making a commentary on violence by the state later represented in The
Floods. This is because, at the time of the publication of The Burdens, criticism against
the inhuman government was a dangerous thing to do.5 For this reason, Ruganda in this
play decries violence using the family space. He only manages to openly write about the
violence of Idi Amin’s regime in The Floods after his fall from power in the 1980s. The
study examines Ruganda’s use of memories of violence to narrate the experiences of
violence for purposes of pointing out the grave effects of ‘absolute power’. The study
also examines how memories of a past lead to a violent present. Since the study is based
on plays, the study investigates how Ruganda uses aspects like characterisation, the

5
Kawadwa who was a leading playwright in Uganda in the 1970s was killed for using his plays to criticize
Idi Amin’s regime. See Mwazemba John. ‘Ruganda’s Contribution will be Missed’. The Standard.
Published on 6th January 2008. Available at: http://www.eastandard.net/archives/index.php.

5
setting and dialogue as the major strategies for exploring the theme of violence in the
plays.

The following are the major questions that this study attempts to answer: what is the role
of violence in an authoritarian state? What are some of the strategies that Ruganda
deploys in representing violence in his plays? Is there any relationship between violence
in the private space and violence in the state? What is the role of memory in a violent and
or ‘blissful’ past? What are some of the strategies of memory that Ruganda uses to write
violence?

Idi Amin’s regime was marked by the deaths of thousands of people, all of which were
committed by the state, displacement of many Ugandan nationals and expulsion of Asians
from Uganda, which led to social and economic instability. 6 Attempts by writers to
represent this moment deserve analysis considering the challenges of writing or
representing violence. This study therefore examines Ruganda’s effort of speaking about
the extreme violence that characterised Idi Amin’s leadership in Uganda. It is Ruganda’s
ability to clearly address violence and its effects not only on the individuals but also on
the society as a whole that partly forms the interest of this study. I argue that Ruganda,
writing in a very hostile social and political environment, manages to make a
commentary on the political situation in Uganda with the hope of awakening the people
to their own predicament by pointing out the major causes of their problems.

The two plays address a very important theme in the social and political concerns
however very few studies have been done on Ruganda and particularly on his
representation of violence. The two plays, which belong to the genre of drama, have
received very little critical attention when compared to other literary genres such as the
novel. It is pointed out that even the more influential literary critics do not discuss drama.
In the introduction to his book, Mazungumuzo: Interviews With East African Writers,

6
Amin’s regime has been widely recorded in fictional and non fictional books. There are stories of his
brutality, cannibalism, of feeding the corpses of his victims to crocodiles, of keeping severed heads in a
freezer at his home and bringing them out on occasions for "talks" - most or all of which are
unsubstantiated, but not necessarily untrue. See for instance, Sidiqqi (2006) and Isegewa (2000). See also
Mamdani (1984) Kasozi (1992) Mutimbwa (1994) and Jorgensen (1981).

6
Publisher, Editors, and Scholars, Prof. Bernth Lindfors reflected that playwrights such as
Robert Serumaga and John Ruganda were not discussed. In Kenya, for example, the art of
criticizing drama and theatre is less developed. Doctoral theses on drama are meager,
compared to those on the novel and oral literature.7 Drama then seems to have been
neglected in literary scholarships. Rotimi (1989) argues that drama is ‘the best artistic
medium in Africa because it is not alien in form as is with the novel yet most postcolonial
criticism overlooks drama’ (Quoted in Gilbert and Tompkins 1996:8). Critics, he goes on
to add ‘tend to analyse artists’ prose projects than their drama’ (Ibid). Plays are still
written and published for the aesthetic roles that they perform while little critical attention
is given to them. Drama, as an art form, according to Joe de Graft ‘is closer to life as men
actually live it than any other form of artistic expression’ (quoted in Gikandi 2004:438)
yet little criticism is given to this rich field in terms of analysis.

Ruganda is categorised as an African writer whose writing is marked by the expression of

post independence disillusionment and the transference of anger and blame from foreign
to indigenous leaders, yet he has received very little critical attention as an artist. The
rationale for this study gestures to the need to study two of Ruganda’s dramatic texts as
representative of a historical trajectory through the less studied body of drama. The main
area of interest in this study is how Ruganda, through the genre of drama, attempts a
representation of Uganda’s history during Amin’s regime. This study is also important in
that the existing studies that have been done on Ruganda’s plays mainly deal with the
analysis of the theme of gender and the representation of women in the society. The most
recent study on Ruganda’s plays done by Waliaula (2003) focuses on ‘Gender Relations
in Ruganda’s plays’. Waliaula examines how Ruganda uses characterisation to discuss
issues related to gender in the plays. Ciarunji Chesaina (1987) also analyses women
characters in East African drama. Chesaina portrays men as violent and abusive
characters who solve problems through openly dismissing or fighting women. In these
two studies based on Ruganda’s drama, the female characters are read as inferior to their
male counterparts. These scholars use the skill of character analysis to study the theme of
violence as represented in the plays.

7
This information is available at http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=75560044.

7
In terms of style, scholars have examined how Ruganda uses symbolism in the
exploration of his thematic concerns. Obi Obyerodhiambo (1990) in ‘Symbolism and
Meaning in Ruganda’s’ play notes that Ruganda deploys symbols to put across his
thematic concerns. Characters in the plays do not only speak for themselves but represent
and symbolise real characters that we can make reference to in real life. Ruganda uses the
old weak characters to represent the oppressed masses while characters that represent
power are presented as strong and soldier like to speak about how violence operates
within situations of power imbalances. The use of symbols in the plays is useful in this
study and is evident particularly in The Floods where the characters and the setting are
very symbolic. Imbuga (1999) makes a general study of Ruganda’s style of writing. In
what he calls ‘trends and circumstance in Ruganda’s drama’, Imbuga identifies
Ruganda’s major target of criticism as the politicians whom he blames for the
exploitation of the poor. The politicians are read as a group of selfish individuals who
pursue their further embourgeoisment at the expense of the welfare of the poor majority.
A number of studies on East African playwrights acknowledge writers efforts to represent
the masses and speak on their behalf. Peter Nazareth (1980), for instance, regards
Ruganda as ‘an invisible teacher who uses drama to comment on disintegration and
corruption in the post independent societies’ (95). It is important to also note that a
number of studies done on Ruganda and his plays make general analysis of the
playwright’s major areas of concern like exploitation, disintegration of moral values,
social and political instability, conflicts at domestic and political levels.

This study pays keen attention to how Ruganda imagines and represents history in the
fictitive world. I am particularly interested in the political and social landscape of Uganda
in the early seventies, when Idi Amin ruled the country. The study’s focus on the theme
of violence in Ruganda’s plays is an area that has not been explored with regard to his
plays. Apart from exploring a totally different theme from what has been explored, by
focusing on violence and the representation of violence in two of his plays, this study is
an addition to the existing criticisms not only on Ruganda’s works and on East African
literature, particularly drama, but it is also an addition to the studies done on the theme of
violence as a major area of concern.

8
Violence in the study will be discussed based on two major areas that the plays attempt to
address differently. The first approach is on violence and the state while the other is on
violence in the private space.8 To situate the study, I examine various views on violence
and its use in a totalitarian state. Scholars like Hannah Arendt, (1969) argue that powerful
states use force and violence not only to control but to perform power. This study benefits
from a reading of Michel Foucault (2004) and Arendt (1969), the modern theorists on
power and violence whose studies indicate that there is a relationship between power and
violence. Power according to Foucault (2004) is a relationship between two entities.
Within this relationship, the entities struggle for position and advantage. It is this struggle
to have an advantage over others that at a point leads to the use of violence. In an article
‘The right of death and power over life’ by Foucault (2004) questions why power
exercises its highest prerogatives by using violence. He argues that one way of exercising
direct power over others is through inflicting pain which in my understanding results in
violence. Here Foucault’s conception of power entails control through disciplinary
measures. Conclusively, violence is used by the powerful over the less powerful for the
reason of reinforcing that power. Power denotes a sense of using force to make others
obey or even to control.

Violence often enhances obedience. Arendt (1969: 35) argues that ‘violence is nothing
more than the most flagrant manifestation of power and that the ultimate kind of power is
violence’. For Arendt, violence reinforces state power. Arendt’s argument is that
governments resort to violence when they feel that they are losing control and that
violence compensates for their powerlessness. Violence appears where power is in
jeopardy (Ibid: 56) and that where genuine power exists there is no need for violence.
Violence is aimed at gaining and maintaining power and control over the victim. The
argument being put forth tries to answer the question of why the state uses violence.
While it is true that the desire to gain and maintain control or power results in violence, it
is also possible to argue that the abundance of power also leads to violence. As it will be

8
The term ‘private space’ is used in this study to refer to the domestic or family space where violence
occurs in The Burdens. In this space, Ruganda not only offers an alternative in which violence can be
enacted but also looks at this space as a microcosm of the state.

9
discussed in the next chapter, excessive violence, in the texts under study, is attributed to
the state’s urgency to gain control and display power.

Ruganda explores the destructive power of the state using the horrifying sight of dead
bodies. In my discussion of the theme of violence, I argue that violence in The Floods is
used by those in power as a tool for doing away with the enemy. The state uses various
forms of violence to assert its power over those who seek to challenge it. The power of
the state is not only seen in how it controls the people while they are still alive but it also
includes the state’s desire to have control over the dead. Dead bodies in the play signify
extreme violence.

In commenting on the writing of violence, Richard Priebe argues that, ‘violence has
become an inseparable part of our shared humanity…’ (Priebe 2007:91). He also notes
that writers strive to write about violence since literature is a reflection of the society and
that writers get preoccupied with narrating what is happening in the society. This study
therefore adopts this view and argues that Ruganda, as a writer in the post colony adopts
distinctive ways (for example the use of fragmented narratives and mentally affected
characters) of presenting the social ills prevalent in the society in ways that can
appropriately capture the post colonial condition of the people whom he writes about. I
argue that in using an old man who is nearly mad, Ruganda presents the details of injury
and pain as consequences of the abuse of power. Since violence is hard to speak about,
focusing on its effects, whether physical or psychological, serves as spaces for
confronting violence. The power of the plays lies not so much in the description of events
as they unfold but in the memories of victims and witnesses of violence. Apart from the
physical scars that the characters bear, the characters’ fragmented speech and confused
narratives show an element of disturbed minds which are results of violence.

The study also makes use of ideas from scholars like Richard Werbner (1998) and Wole
Soyinka (1999) who explore the role of memory after a violent past. Memory plays a key
role in the discussion of violence in the two plays. Memory is structured by experience. It
not only includes remembering but it also includes selective amnesia where people forget

10
certain unpleasant experiences that they encountered either individually or as a social
group. Certain recollections are given priority while others are viewed as being less
significant. Memory is not only actively involved in unearthing a truthful past and by so
doing inscribing events of the past therefore serving as an archival documentation of
history but that it also aids in what Soyinka calls ‘reconciliation and reparation’ (Soyinka
1999:19). He points out that memory is very important in healing from a violent past
which would otherwise result in ‘trauma in memory’ to use Werbner’s words, (Werbner
1998:67). Soyinka discusses how past wrongs can be righted. The memory of a painful
past has a cathartic value that comes with ‘speaking out’ which aids healing Memory is
the ‘healing balm’ to use Soyinka’s words, (Soyinka 1999:19) that Ruganda advocates for
victims and witnesses of violence

Memory here is understood in two senses. One is the memory of a past that is not blissful
but is much better than the present. For the Ugandans life before the Idi Amin regime
could be said to have been better than what they experienced under Amin’s regime. This
is the kind of life that characters in The Burdens look back to before Amin’s brutality.
The other sense of memory achieved has to do with remembering and forgetting. This
memory specifically deals with violent experiences and how characters deal with the
trauma and pain that comes as a result of violence. Memory thus becomes handy in that
one either chooses to forget or to remember. In The Floods, the characters experiences
form the narrative of the play. Characters narrate their experiences in order to heal from
the ordeals that they suffered under an authoritative state. My reading of memory in The
Floods not only refers to the violent historical past that the play makes reference to but it
also looks at the life characters in The Floods look back to. Remembering in this case
means that the characters relive and talk about how violence by the state and its agents
was actualised. Memory in this discussion will include characters’ attempts to relate what
happened before Idi Amin took over power. This in my reading, is linked to the way
characters in The Burdens nostalgically remember and constantly reflect back on their
past in order to deal with their present predicament. I will thus extend my reference of the
past to include life before the brutal regime of Idi Amin.

11
The following section aims at situating the study of violence and memory in the two
plays. Given the fact that Ruganda is dealing with violence at two different levels in the
two plays, it is imperative that I highlight the social and the historical contexts within
which Ruganda wrote The Burdens and The Floods.

The Burdens (1972) is set in Uganda in the early 70s. It was published a year after Idi
Amin took over power from Uganda’s former president, Milton Obote, through a military
coup.9 Obote’s regime is accused of corruption, dictatorship and financial scandals. 10
Amin successfully overthrew Obote’s government with the hope of bringing better
leadership. The coup was initially welcomed because Amin promised to introduce
economic reforms and a better life for the people. The Burdens examines the state of
Uganda before Amin’s brutal regime while The Floods represents the violence that
characterised Amin’s regime.

The Burdens highlights the state of affairs in Uganda after independence. It underscores
the disillusionment of the people whose unfulfilled hopes are blamed on the political
instability in the country. Poverty seems to be on the increase, with many people living in
squalid conditions. The people, on the one hand, do not have access to health facilities,
good food and clothing. On the other hand, the politicians are seen to be getting wealthier
through money acquired unlawfully. The social, economic and political status of the
country is seen to be controlled by power hungry leaders. Just when the people are
expecting salvation from a change of leadership, they are further plunged into poverty
and fear by Amin’s dictatorial regime.

Uganda which was once referred to as the ‘Pearl of Africa’ was a society based on
equality for all. The country’s stability and pride was plunged into problems by its selfish
leaders. Analysis of Ugandan politics show that Uganda’s first presidents led the country

9
In April 1962 Milton Obote became prime minister of Uganda under the leadership of King Sir Edward
Mutesa. In October, 1962, Obote led the country into independence. Idi Amin took over power through a
military coup in January 25th 1971 when Uganda’s then president, Milton Obote was away attending a
commonwealth conference in Singapore. See Nabudere (1980) and Mutimbwa (1992).
10
See http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/amin.html for more information on Amin’s and Milton
Obote’s regimes.

12
into anarchy with Obote focusing on eliminating particular ethnic groups. Phares
Mutimbwa notes that the systematic killings by Amin’s soldiers were aimed at the Langi
and the Acholi who dominated the security force during Obote’s regime. These people
were to be Amin’s enemies because they were loyal to Obote (Mutimbwa 1992:88).
This practice of wiping out others was later perfected by Obote who destroyed almost all
of Idi Amin’s supporters. When Obote seized power from Amin to lead Uganda for the
second time, more killings (of specific groups) were witnessed, this time round focusing
on Kakwa and the Nubians who perpetrated the killings during Amin’s rule (Ibid: 79).
Mutimbwa (1992) further notes that the ‘controversy was rooted in power politics
between Amin and Obote. Mutimbwa continues to assert that, ‘Amin burst into
presidency through the barrel of the gun stumbling onto the pages of history through
massive killings and amassing wealth and resources’ (Mutimbwa 1992:76). Amin ruled
by decree. He expelled Asian residents and launched a reign of terror against his
opponents, torturing and killing tens of thousands. In1976, he had himself proclaimed
“President for Life.” In 1977, Amnesty International estimated that 300,000 people may
have died under his rule, including church leaders and recalcitrant cabinet ministers. 11
Violence in Uganda was institutionalised under Amin, managed by the state and directed
against unarmed and largely innocent civilians. The extent of violence saw the enemies of
the state and organised groups opposing the coup liquidated in massacres.

The new regime, as Amin’s regime was described after Amin seized power from Obote,
engaged in ruthless efforts to eliminate real or potential enemies. Opponents usually
disappeared or were summarily killed rather than arrested. In the name of order, the
agents of the state promoted violence and disorder (Jorgensen 1981:296). The groups
targeted included Obote’s supporters. Jorgensen further notes that ‘murders and
disappearances were the most feared forms of violence under Amin’s regime. The regime
denied involvement in the killings yet for a fee, agents of the state could often direct
relatives to the locations of the bodies of disappeared’ (Jorgensen 1981:313), an
indication that the state was aware of and even behind the killings.

11
This information is available at: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108066.html.

13
There are about 18 reasons why Idi Amin thought a coup was necessary in Uganda.
Ironically, one of the key reasons that Amin gave is that the people of Uganda wanted a
better leader. It is no doubt that the people of Uganda anticipated a better government
after Amin seized power. Large sections of the people in Uganda welcomed the ‘new’
regime favorably because they were disenchanted with Obote’s regime.12 Amin was
regarded as a savoir. But Amin’s rule was ‘a new era born in repression and bloodshed’
(Mamdani 1984: 38). It turned out to be not any better than Obote’s regime. Within a few
months of his rule, murders and public executions became normality in Uganda.

In cases where coups occur, the military governments have always promised better
governance but end up being more brutal and incompetent than the former civilian
governments.13 Obote’s regime was later preferred to Amin’s because of Amin’s brutality
and failure as a leader. According to Wadada Nabudere (1980) ‘violence in Idi Amin’s
era increasingly became the method of solving petty contradictions among the people
where the civilian regime resolved the disagreements with detentions and imprisonment’
(Nabudere 1980:290). The army was given excessive powers to arrest and to punish
offenders.

In an attempt to justify the coup, Amin and his government stated among other reasons
that ‘we all want unity in Uganda, we do not want bloodshed’ (Nabudere 1980:290) yet
that is exactly what he did. The fact that Amin’s regime did not want bloodshed was
obviously forgotten as soon as it was pronounced. Instead of ushering in peace and order,
the regime promoted violence. Nabudere (1980:281) asserts that ‘the coup slowly took
away most of the democratic rights acquired by the people in their struggle for self
determination and national independence’. Jorgensen further points out that ‘the regime
engaged in ruthless efforts to eliminate real or potential enemies’ (Jorgensen 1981: 296).
He continues to add that murders and disappearance were the most common forms of

12
See Mamdani (1984:37).
13
What comes to mind is the Nigerian case where the military governments are presented as being more
corrupt, inhuman and inefficient than the civilian governments that they overthrow.

14
violence where most of the killings were perpetrated by the state security apparatus with
Amin claiming complete innocence in the murders.14

According to Mutimbwa (1994:120) ‘violence was institutionalized under Amin,

managed by the state and directed against unarmed and innocent civilians’. The value of
human life came to mean little during this time. People ceased to fear death for they saw
violence committed against others as something normal. The citizens, filled with fear
were left hopeless and without protection from humiliation, molestation and
dispossession by Amin’s supporters. The army constituted the rich stratum that not only
physically violated innocent people but also looted from the victims of violence. Such is
the background from which The Burdens and The Floods stem. The atrocities that
characterized this regime inspired many writers to write about this period’s events.15

According to Imbuga (1999) the inspiration for Ruganda’s concern with corruption and
exploitation of humanity in his plays comes from his critical observation of the activities
of the government and its agents in Uganda soon after the country’s political
independence. Imbuga believes that ‘Ruganda attributes most of the chaos and upheavals
which have characterized his country’s history to callous and selfish political leaders who
have no respect for humanity’ (Imbuga 1999: 275). Given this contextual basis, Ruganda
in the two plays presents what appears to be an account of this regime’s activities through
two different accounts: through the state in The Floods and the family in The Burdens.

The Burdens forms the background for the study and analysis of violence in The Floods
(1988) which speaks about the violence of Idi Amin’s rule. The Burdens does not focus
on the violence of the state as such or on the coup itself but it strongly highlights violence
in the private space. The family not only serves to criticize the state but provides an
alternative in which violence in the state is espoused. Violence in The Burdens anticipates
14
Jorgensen (1981:314) provides a statistical record of the estimates of innocent people who were
murdered during Amin’s reign as 80,000 within the first two years and between 300,000 and 500,000 by
the end of the regime. Ironically the killings were executed by the State Research Bureau and Public
Security Unit which was supposed to offer security.
15
It is imperative to note that it is not only in the literary world e.g. the novel, drama, poems etc that
Amin’s regime has been recorded. The era marking his rule has also been represented in various forms
including the films: The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin and The Last King of Scotland.

15
and pre-empts violence in The Floods. Violence in The Burdens serves as a mirror to the
violence yet to come in The Floods. Violence in The Burdens is read as an allegory of
violence in the state which is the centre of the discussion in The Floods.

Given the fact that The Burdens was published just after Amin assumed power, basing the
play on the family space was Ruganda’s safest way of making a commentary on the state
of affairs in Uganda and her failing leaders. This is attributed to the fact that Idi Amin’s
brutality would not let anyone speak about his inhumanity openly. At that time, the
people who overtly commented on the brutality of the regime were executed through
calculated firing squads or killed in other brutal ways which ranged from hacking to
death or having the ‘culprits’ hammer one another till they died.16 Amin’s brutality
instilled fear in the people who opted not to talk about their predicament openly. I find
the level of violence in The Floods as making a clear commentary about Amin’s brutal
regime. The play’s publication after the fall of Idi Amin attests to the fact that it was
dangerous at that time to make any engagements with Amin’s brutality without the risk of
being executed. It is in The Floods that Ruganda openly condemns violence.

The action of the play in The Burdens (1972) is centered on the fall of a prominent
cabinet minister who unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the government. The major
theme being addressed in the play is disillusionment. After the fall from power, the
former cabinet minister has to grapple with life in deplorable conditions. The play takes
note of life before and after the fall of the cabinet minister from power focusing on how
he deals with disillusionment as a common man.

The attempted coup in the play alludes to the real coup that took place in Uganda led by
General Idi Amin leading to a transition from a civilian to a military government. My
reading of the attempted coup in the play by a government official is informed by the fact
that Idi Amin was the Major General of Uganda’s armed forces at the time when he

16
The execution of the Catholic Archbishop Janani Luwum for condemning Amin’s inhumanity is a case in
point. Also, most writers who viewed Amin’s regime as being corrupt and inhuman and wished to make
commentaries on the same chose to write from exile. John Ruganda, Peter Nazareth, among others, fled
Uganda to other countries where they could speak about Amin’s brutality without the fear of being
executed. See Mutimbwa (1992) and Kasozi (1994) for instance.

16
seized power from Milton Obote. The play thus sets the ground for the discussion of what
happened after Idi Amin assumed power as the president of Uganda.

The contextual setting of The Floods is Uganda, in the 1970s, the period of the brutal and
dictatorial leadership of Idi Amin. The play which was published in 1988, almost a
decade after Idi Amin’s brutal regime, is an imaginative representation of Amin’s
tyrannical regime in Uganda. Activities in the play span the period in which Amin ruled
Uganda ruthlessly. The play further mirrors how the Ugandan state used its power
abusively. The massive killings that characterized Amin’s regime are represented in the
play through scenes of violence memorized and enacted by the characters in the play.

Using the above given information and tools of analysis, I engage in the reading of The
Burdens and The Floods focusing on violence, the representation of violence, forms of
violence and the use of memory in the two plays.

In the next chapter I discuss the theme of violence in the two plays, the representation of
violence in The Floods focusing on the use of violence by the state to perform power. In
The Burdens, violence is limited to the private space, but, I argue that Ruganda is using
that private space to talk about violence in the state.

17
 CHAPTER TWO

‘DESIGNING A PEOPLE’S DESTINY’: 17 VIOLENCE AS THE LANGUAGE OF

THE STATE

This chapter investigates the theme of violence in John Ruganda’s The Floods and The
Burdens. It makes an analysis of the representation of violence while also looking at the
various forms of violence in the two plays. The main focus of the chapter is on the use of
violence by the state to assert its power in The Floods. In addition, the chapter
investigates Ruganda’s emphasis on the horrific in the play to highlight the destructive
power of an authoritarian state. Finally, the chapter also examines violence in the
domestic space in The Burdens which is a metaphorical exploration of violence in the
state.

The study examines the brutality and repression that characterised Idi Amin’s regime as
represented in The Floods. The play is replete with violence which reflects the
ruthlessness and inhumanity of that regime. At the centre of the discussion is the fact that
violence was used by the state as a powerful tool to demonstrate power. This violence
was directed towards imagined or real enemies who dared contest the state’s power. The
state that should protect its citizens is portrayed as having exposed its people to violence
in order to show its power. The study will therefore pay keen attention to the
representation of violence and forms of violence in the two plays which are concerned
with violence.

In order to contextualise the concept of violence in The Floods, it is imperative that we

consider various scholars’ views on power and violence. Eugene Walter (1969:4) defines
violence as ‘destructive harm, hence destructive kind of force’. Max Weber (1958:359)
notes that violence is a means specific to the state and that the right to physical violence

17
This phrase is borrowed from Ruganda’s The Floods (1988). Repressed characters make constant
reference to the autocratic leader as a designer of their destinies. Kyeyune for instance asks for divine
protection from ‘the self proclaimed designer of people’s destinies’ Ruganda (1988: 37, 57).

18
is assigned to all other associations and individuals only to the extent permitted by the
state. Bulhan Hussein (1985) defines violence as ‘any relation, process or condition by
which a group violates the physical, social and/or psychological integrity of another
person or group’ (cited in Simatei 2005:93). Kawalya Kasozi defines violence as ‘the use
of force whether overt or covert in order to wrest from individuals or group something
they do not want to do/give of their own free will’ (Kasozi 1994:11-12). The Concise
Oxford Dictionary defines violence as an injurious, hurtful conduct, as a lawful or
unlawful exercise of physical force and as intimidation by exhibition of physical force. In
other words, violence refers to an act of using force for the purpose of violating,
damaging or abusing someone’s life.

Although violence differs widely in meaning depending on the user and the context,
violence is bound to power and its ability to successfully force others to do something
against their will. Violence encompasses the inflicting of suffering upon another human
being by violating his body. For the purposes of this discussion then, violence is defined
as the act of abuse, of inflicting pain and treating others inhumanly through the use of
force. Violence includes intimidation, imprisonment, torture and the killing of innocent
people. It basically entails direct or indirect injury to persons.

By and large, social scientists have stressed that power is the capacity to control activities
and resistance to it by others with the threat of physical coercion (Russell 1938). Arendt
(1969:35) asserts that power, force and violence are similar yet very distinct terms. In
cases where those in power seek to demonstrate their power and authority, violence is the
most useful tool for displaying that authority. Authoritarian states exercise political
power through force and violence. All state systems consider violence as a normal
element in the maintenance of tranquillity. The state’s distinctive characteristic is the
monopoly of physical coercion. The possession and use of force by the state is an explicit
means of supporting the authority of the system. Margaret Wetherell maintains that
‘power is guaranteed by violence and the capacity to use force successfully against
another even if the force is potential rather than actual’ (Wetherell 1996:299). Power can
be described as a possession, by virtue of one’s position in the society. This position

19
allows one to impose his/her will and wishes against another. This power affords one the
capacity to influence others, to command resources and have his/her wishes respected and
enacted.

Richard Harland notes that ‘power is directly related to bodies’ (Harland 1987:156).
Power relations have an immediate hold upon the body; ‘they invest it, mask it, train it,
torture it, and force it to carry out tasks …’ (Foucault 1975:25). For power to be
performed through the use of violence there is need for human bodies, which then serve
as the objects of the performance of power. Foucault continues to add that, ‘bodies are
involved in the conception of politics’ (Foucault 1980:162). He further argues that, these
bodies are transformed from their natural bodies to cultural bodies. They become sites
where violence is performed. The body is the site where relations of power and
domination are exhibited and that ‘this subjection (of the body) is not only obtained by
the instruments of violence or ideology, it can also be direct, physical…’ (Foucault
1975:26). The body then becomes an essential tool for writing and exhibiting power.

Similarly, in a historical study of the social origins of violence in Uganda, Kasozi

(1994:12) notes that ‘the application of violence by the state’s leader appeared to be a
demonstration of his desire to show and stay in power’. For Kasozi, political violence,
violence connected with the struggle to attain and maintain power was aimed at achieving
the ability to control. He notes that, the brutal leader’s aim while in power is merely to
have power and reap its benefits and not to better the lives of its citizens (Kasozi
1994:104). It is for the purpose of the pleasure of being in charge and to make others
instruments of their will that those in power often mete out violence on the less powerful.
Generally, in such states as Idi Amin’s regime in Uganda, the mode of domination
involves the use of force and violence to control. Williams-Zack (2004:24) further notes
that ‘the modern African state has the monopoly or control over the means of the
violence…mostly marked by the utilization of coercive force’.

I argue that, excessive violence in The Floods is a signifier of state power and also the
language of the state. The use of force against its own people in order to assert its policies

20
and interests constitutes state violence. The state, in the play engages in violent activities
to eliminate all the people who are likely to be against the regime. Force is implemented
by the state’s military agencies which include the security forces. The principal
justification of the state is to offer security to its people but it ironically uses force against
its citizens.

In most independent African states, violence has become synonymous with leadership.
Most leaders are motivated by an excessive desire to demonstrate power through
violence. The leaders in the independent African states have thus become a source of
disillusionment to the masses. Independence has become a source of disappointment
marred by contradictions and frustrations (Bayart 1993:249). Independent Africa or rather
the post-colony, as used in Mbembe’s18 sense, is exposed as a state that has an affinity for
violence and excesses. In ‘The Politics of the Belly’ 19, Bayart notes that ‘the state in
Africa …is a foreign body which is moreover overweight, inefficient and a source of
violence’ (Bayart 1999:8).

The Floods is divided into three parts called ‘waves’. The ‘floods’ symbolise the blood let
out from the mass killings committed by the state. Floods imply an overflow or spillage
of something. The metaphorical sense alluded to in the play is that the amount of blood
that was shed was a lot. The playwright’s choice of ‘floods’ conveniently captures the
level of violence by the state, which led to massive bloodshed. Waves refer to a swell or a
ridge on a large body of water. The waves also denote a rising trend involving large
numbers of people. In the literal sense, waves in a large mass of water rise and fall when
there is lack of calmness. Waves denote a sense of disturbance. The waves are
figuratively used in the play to represent the lack of peace and harmony in the country.
In the play, waves represent different forms of violence at different levels ranging from
physical, structural and psychological violence. The waves also represent the
displacement of people from their homes. This is seen in the way people fled their homes

18
In Mbembe’s discussion, the ‘postcolony’ is defined as societies recently emerging from the experience
of colonialism. See Mbembe (1992:3).
19
Bayart portrays African leaders as a people who are obsessed with food and have an appetite for material
wealth. Violence is arguably the result of these excesses.

21
to other places for safety. Waves stand for the massive deaths, harassment of innocent
people by the security forces and death threats which instilled fear in the people. Due to
this, there is instability and lack of peace which has left the people living with fear and
uncertainty. Generally, the structural setting of the play, represented through the use of
‘floods’ and ‘waves’ enhances the understanding of the various forms of violence in the
play.

The Floods has four major characters who through the use of the play-within- a- play
strategy enact various scenes. Most of the activities in the plays are realised through role-
play, where characters assume different roles at different times. The play begins with an
announcement on the radio that there will be floods which will ravage the island. All the
islanders are asked to flee the island using a rescue boat that would ferry them to safety at
the other side of the lake. Bwogo, who is the protagonist in the play, uses his position to
dupe the inhabitants of the island. Also in this first wave, the Headman, who is in charge
of the island and the rescue operation, plays the role of an abusive leader. We also meet
Kyeyune, a former fisherman and a survivor of the violent regime, who dismisses the
allegations made about the impending floods and warns that the rescue boat is actually
fated to sink.

In the second wave, we meet Bwogo, a powerful man who participated in Amin’s violent
regime and Nankya who is also a survivor of this violence. In this wave, Kyeyune and
Nankya narrate their experiences of violence committed against them and others, by the
state. Kyeyune, through flashbacks, recounts how while he was fishing in the lake ended
up fishing out the body of ‘the Major General’ who was murdered and dumped in the
lake. The central focus of this wave is the violence of the state against the citizens,
recounted through the characters’ experiences. The second wave is marked by several
instances of physical and verbal violence where Bwogo uses his position to intimidate
and abuse Nankya and Kyeyune.

In the final wave, Kyeyune provides an explanation to the cause and the reason for the
violence meted out against the people. He attributes it to a myth where a sea goddess,

22
Nalubale was violated and raped by a greedy man, Nyamgondoh. The killings and
disappearance of the people, according to Kyeyune, is because of the goddess’s anger and
desire to revenge. The play comes to a close with the demonstration of justice through the
arrest of Bwogo by the police.

The narrative of the play is achieved mainly through dialogue. Following Brian Crow’s
(1983) analysis of drama as a literary text, my examination of the play involves ‘seeing’
the characters and ‘hearing’ them speak words without actually witnessing their physical
embodiments. Ezekiel Alembi notes that in drama, ‘characters are created so that they can
bring action to life through movement and direct speech’ (Alembi 2000: 2). For Alembi,
dialogue is the most important aspect of drama. It helps define character and aids the
inner eye by supplying and extending the images which capture the attention of the
reader. Dialogue in all plays allows for the analysis and explication of the theme of
violence.

In The Floods for instance, characters narrate their personal experiences and encounters
of violence. Nankya and Kyeyune who are the major characters in the play are victims
and witnesses of violence by the state. Through dialogue the characters delve into their
memories to narrate what each of them witnessed. Kyeyune for example narrates how he
fished out a dead body from the lake and later on found a human finger in the belly of a
fish that he was eating.

Kyeyune: Once upon a time young fellow, I used to catch empuuta twice your size …yes
I was the best fisherman in these parts until something strange happened to me...
A military man. Dead. Three long nails in his head, his genitals sticking out in his
mouth. A big stone round his neck. His belly ripped open and the intestines
oozing out. I looked at that body, son, and froze with fright. Here was a man, a
military man, who probably had a wife and children…what had he done to come
to such an unmourned for end? Had he perhaps in a moment of enthusiasm uttered
an unwelcome word to his masters? (The Floods Pg. 9-10)

Kyeyune: Fireside prattles he calls them. Am I a prattler now because I found a

human finger in the bowels of a fish? A human finger! I went out and
threw up... (The Floods Pg.10)

23
Kyeyune’s experience with the dead body captures the extent to which violence was used
by the state to destroy its real or imagined enemies. The Major General is reported by
Kyeyune to have been a threat to the reigning government and was thus brutally
murdered and dumped in the lake to avoid his body being discovered. Hundreds of other
people were similarly killed and dumped in the lake. The killings by the government were
aimed at retaining power and the elimination of potential rivals.

To further show how the powerful leader misused his position through the security
personnel, Nankya relates how her mother was roughed up by the police and raped
several times by the military men.
Nankya: ...One night guns are heard booming and rattling a mile from
home…more shots are heard advancing. Mother begins to panic.
There is …BANG! Mother’s door is burst open. Four figures turn
the house upside down…they look at her and burst out with
laughter. Mother freezes with fright…one of them rips her bra
open. Horrible laughter. He commands her to lower her school
skirt. Her trembling hands manage to do so. Horrifying bursts of
laughter. Soon four men are on top of mother, one after the other,
before she passes out… But that’s how I was born.
Bwogo: (Gripped by her story) Good God…And they got away scot free?
(The Floods Pg. 98)

Nankya also recalls how she lost a friend to the military men who shoved him down the
stairs and shot him dead.

Nankya: An innocent man. Killed for no reason. At that international. His

cries for help unheeded by one and all…pushed him down the
staircase all the way from the fifteenth floor …kicked and
shovelled him down the staircase with their military boots. Your
boys did. His brains splotched over the staircase. (The Floods
Pg.31-2)

It is clear then that the state used excessive violence not only to eliminate its enemies but
also to frustrate innocent people. The military men were used by the state to carry out
ruthless abuses against the populace. Why the state used this kind of force is explained by
the fact that it not only needed to eliminate all the people who were likely to challenge its

24
authority and power but that it also aimed at demonstrating its might. The killings thus
included the elimination of rivals, for instance the Major General and the ordinary people.

Apart from according us the chance to have a grasp of the nature of the atrocities
committed by the state, narrating and re-telling their violent experiences helps in the
character’s healing process. When abuses occur, they affect the life or rather the physical
and psychological integrity of the abused. As an event outside the ordinary realm of
experience, ‘the traumatic effects of violence and violent manifestations are bound to re-
surface’, (Mckendrick and Hoffmann 1990: 26 my emphasis). The physical and
psychological scars do not vanish quickly. They become part of the abused person’s life
and keep re-surfacing. In order to deal with the resurfacing of the traumatic experiences,
victims speak out and create narratives from their experiences for the sake of ‘getting
over’. The dialogue and narration that Nankya and Kyeyune have as victims and
witnesses of violence helps them to forget the painful past. Speech is the avenue through
which they let out their feelings.

The other avenue through which the play achieves the narration of violence is by
characterization. Characters assume specific roles in the play. Ruganda deploys different
types of characters to represent the brutality of the tyrannical leader alluded to in the play.
There are stronger personalities who are bullies because of their positions while we have
the weaker characters who are the subjects and get constantly harassed. The characters
that signify the brutality of the state act inhumanly. Violence in the play includes the way
in which characters in power use their positions to subjugate others. Characters in The
Floods are easily identified by what they stand for. Ruganda presents a situation where
the powerful characters exploit and abuse the powerless. Through a-play-within-the-play
format, characters act out roles that demonstrate the extent of violence at various levels.
The characters conveniently expose how the misuse of power by the leaders led to
physical, verbal and psychological abuse of the powerless. Bwogo for instance acts the
role of a brutal soldier who physically molests and verbally abuses Nankya and Kyeyune
in one of the plays within the play. Nankya has to obey all the orders given to her by

25
Bwogo. Also, the Headman, who is in charge of the island, uses his position to humiliate
the islanders who are his subjects.

The Headman in the first wave is in charge of the rescue boat and is also the leader of the
islanders. Vested with the responsibility of ensuring that the islanders board the boat, he
orders them around while hurling insults at them. The Headman dictates the kind of
luggage that the islanders carry to the boat while at the same time he physically and
verbally abuses the islanders as they come to board the boat. At one point he confiscates a
basket of fish from a fisherman and keeps it for himself.

Headman: (Relieved by his entrance) where do you think you’re taking all those?
Fisherman: But, but…
Headman: No ‘buts’…leave the fishnets here and proceed to the boat….the
basket too. Put it down. (The fisherman walks away wounded. The
Headman eyes the basket hungrily, empties the contents into his bigger
basket and pulls out a smoked fish.) (The Floods Pg.5-6)

The Headman is portrayed as an abusive and exploitative leader who, like all the leaders,
ironically declares that:

Headman: …But what I hate is exploiting other people… (The Floods Pg.7).

Through the character of the Headman, it is evident that power allows one to do as he or
she wills. A position of influence becomes the position where, instead of serving, those in
power expect to be served. Those in power are seen to be greedy and irresponsible people
who use force and violence to assert themselves. Through the above scene, Ruganda
exposes the inefficient character of leaders who capitalise on other people’s misfortunes.
Ruganda further uses irony to criticise leaders who are selfish and opportunistic but
would again, want to be seen as detesting evil. Irony for him serves to unfold the real
character of the people who own power and position in the society. These leaders
proclaim to be at the people’s service yet they are presented as a people who are
interested in selfishly guarding their own interests.

26
The other character who (mis)uses his position in the play is Bwogo. By virtue of the fact
that Bwogo is a military man and a former leader of the State Research Bureau (SRB), he
is presented as a powerful and violent man who physically and verbally abuses Kyeyune
and Nankya who represent the repressed masses. Physical violence in the play is
represented through the abusive character of Bwogo. First, in a metaphorical reference to
how Idi Amin murdered the people senselessly, Bwogo who served in the tyrannical
regime is presented as a murderer who killed even bedbugs. In a flashback, Nankya
recalls how Bwogo mercilessly killed the bedbugs while she pleaded with him not to.

Bwogo: you said, ‘don’t thumb them…the blood will stink’ and I
replied, ‘there’s water, Nankya. Sometimes water
washes blood away’. So I squashed the bugs with
the thumb and washed it afterwards…’Murderer!’ you
snarled at me! (The Floods Pg.18)

Negligible as the bedbugs are seen to be in relation to Bwogo’s thinking in the play,
Ruganda uses this to refer to how the common people were regarded by those in power.
To Bwogo, the thumbing of the bugs means nothing to him since he has power over
them; they cannot speak or act against him, just like the common man. If anything, once
murdered, their blood would simply be washed away with water and forgotten. The
washing away of the bedbug’s blood by Bwogo is a clear reference to the state’s
involvement in killing the innocent people and dumping them away. In the play, water
only covers up the evidence of the atrocities committed by the state but it does not
completely wash it away. This is because Nankya and Kyeyune, who were witnesses,
remember the violent experiences. Water symbolises the state’s will to institute forced
amnesia but as has been pointed out, the memories of violent experiences hardly go
away.

Water is used by the playwright to address the fact that it not only became a dumping
ground for the people who were murdered by the state but that it also became a place
where the state hid its inhuman activities. This is supported by the ability of water to
wash away blood. Washing away here represents the desire by the state to exonerate itself
from blame. Water ironically covers the ills committed by state and saves it from being

27
accused of mass murders but it, at the same time, holds the people who later return to
protest against the murderous state therefore nullifying Bwogo’s consolation that water
washes blood away. Thus, water is at the same time a site for repression and revolt
because later in the play the dead who were dumped in the lake rise from the water to
seek justice.

To confirm how the people were killed and thrown in to the lake, Nankya says:

Nankya…this lake can’t complain, though. It has been the dumping tomb of
many men…lorryfuls of wailing civilians, driven to their deaths,
over the cliff at the point of bayonets. The crocodiles have never
been more thankful… (The Floods Pg.19)

Nankya criticizes the state in dumping the bodies by ironically pointing out that:

Nankya: …let us dump the bloody bodies in the lake. Minimal pollution…And
everybody applauded and agreed you deserved the annual anti-
pollution award. That’s distinguished service for you. (The Floods
Pg.35)

Ruganda again here uses irony to condemn the state. A state that sees violence as a
normalcy and an act worth praising is absurd. While killing in itself is an abhorrable act,
it is very interesting that the world, as noted in the above scene, applauded the dumping
of bodies in the lake. In this case, murder is regarded as a normal activity that even
deserves an award. Ruganda is clearly rebuking the extent to which the society has lost its
value for human life where, instead of criticising violence, the people celebrate. Irony
here serves to awaken the society into detesting violence and acts of inhumanity.

Bwogo is further presented as a tyrant through his romantic/abusive relationship with

Nankya. Though they are purported to be lovers, Bwogo’s rescue plan to ‘save’ the
islanders from the coming floods was to ensure that Nankya dies in the ill fated boat. This
is because Nankya is said to know so much about Bwogo’s involvement with the state
killings.

28
 Nankya: Nankya and her mother had to be on the boat. Then the pre-planned
accident. The massacre in the boat…your hands and conscience would
appear clean. (The Floods Pg.67)

To further portray his brutality, Bwogo actually roughs up Kyeyune and fights Nankya
many times in the play. He pushes and shoots at Kyeyune when Kyeyune seeks refuge at
Nankya’s house. Bwogo who is a symbol of power in the play has the authority to do as
he wills. Bwogo expects to be treated as the boss. Kyeyune even calls him ‘master’
indicating that he must be obeyed yet Bwogo uses this position abusively. Through
dialogue, where Nankya is reminding Bwogo of his past, Bwogo turns to the use of
physical assault.

Bwogo: Stop it damn you! (He pounces on her. There is a struggle during
which Kyeyune enters excitedly. Bwogo who is startled by this
unexpected intrusion draws a pistol from his jacket and fires.
He misses. Kyeyune has collapsed to the ground….)
Nankya: Bwogo! You have killed him. (Tries to move towards Kyeyune:
Bwogo pulls her back)
Bwogo: Don’t. (His pistol at the ready)
Nankya: You’ve killed an innocent man-again. (The Floods Pg.36)

Bwogo physically assaults Nankya for having exposed him. The uncovering of Bwogo’s
violent past leads him to ‘fresh’ violence. Bwogo gets constantly unnerved and even goes
to the extent of shooting. Nankya risks losing her life by attempting to expose the ill
nature of the state and its agents against the people. In such a violent situation, attempts
are made to silence the subjects even when the state should be rebuked.

Bwogo: (Slaps her hard) STOP IT!

Nankya: You slapped me because I told the truth. (The Floods Pg.33)

This not only elaborates the state’s ability to destroy life at will but it also shows how
power works to the detriment of the powerless. Those who speak against the state risk
being killed. Similarly, in a-play-within-a-play, Bwogo acts the role of an army officer.
Ruganda here enacts a scene that portrays the violent and abusive nature of the military

29
men. This scene reflects how the security forces were used by the repressive state to
abuse and kill.

Bwogo: I’m hereby warning you that unless you cooperate fully with the
law enforcing officers, you will face…
Nankya: Firing squad. Is that it?
Bwogo: …Place of birth?
Nankya: General ward…National hospital. Floor mucked with faeces and
vomit. The walls with blood stains. Every patient choking with the
stench.
Bwogo: (His patience has run out. He grabs her and twists her hand behind
the back) Bloody bastard. What do you think you are? We have tried
to be civil with you… (forces her into a squatting position…gets out
his pistol and points at her temple.) (The Floods Pg.42)

Ruganda paints the violent situation in the state through the use of a violent officer who
represents the oppressive state. Bwogo’s ruthless language further characterises him as a
brutal leader who disregards life. Nankya, who is a representation of the oppressed, is
forced to give information which would determine whether she lives or dies. The
powerful state designs by all means the people’s destinies. The people’s fate lies in the
hands of their leaders whose only language is violence.

Focusing on the characterization of the oppressed in the play, Ruganda uses Kyeyune and
Nankya to speak about the predicament of the violated subject. The feebleness of
Kyeyune lends him to physical harassment first, by the Headman and later by Bwogo.
Bwogo shouts and hurls insults at him. ‘Oh! This infernal moron, what are you good for?
Wouldn’t even be worth the worms’ (The Floods Pg. 65). Nankya is also later raped by
Bwogo. Thinking of the figure of Nankya and her mother as repressed women who were
both raped by military men serving the state, Ruganda uses them to make metaphorical
reference to the state that uses its machinery to violate its people’s rights and to abuse the
powerless. Though speaking of a form of violence that most women and girls suffered
during the tyrannical regime, the raping is a symbolic reference to how the masses have
been raped by their leaders and are denied security and the good governance that they
expect from the state.

30
In the above scene also, it is noted that Ruganda uses language and a careful choice of
words to not only point out to the height of violence but also to speak about the sick
condition of state. The mention of the general ward, hospital, walls with blood stains and
patients denote a seriously ill and dying nation. The country is represented as being sick
and in dire need of an urgent remedy. Violence is the cause of the sickness that the nation
has been driven into. The sickness has not only affected the people as individuals but the
nation as a whole. The playwright is by extension pointing to the cause of the sickness
affecting the nation as being attributed to bad leadership.

Through his language, Ruganda forces one to pay keen attention to the nature of violence
in the play. The play is filled with an ‘overabundance of violent scenes’ as would be put
by Perraudin (2005:72). An example of a grisly scene that depicts destruction, loss of
lives as a result of violence is captured thus:

Bwogo: No wonder the damned place stinks: flood victim, mutilated

bodies of army deserters, unidentified corpses of the enemies
of the system, suicide cases…God! The list is endless. (The
Floods Pg.34)
Nankya: God I’m tired of meeting blood everywhere I go. The main
land is choking with it, the lake bubbling with it like a
cauldron and the island is barricaded with blood. (The
Floods Pg.36)
Nankya: …floor mucked with faeces and vomit. The walls with blood
stains. Every patient chocking with the stench. (The Floods
Pg.42)
Bwogo: Maximum security. Hell of a place. I’m telling you-and I
know. Pailfuls of shit and floods of piss and vomit. Blotches
of clotted blood on the floor, graffitoes written out in blood
on the walls… (The Floods Pg.43)

Ruganda centers on violence, depicting in vivid terms the torture the victims experienced
‘confronting us with the utter destruction and dislocation of the society’ (Odile 2005:63).
Ruganda seems to be highlighting and bringing to our attention to how power drunk
leaders have no sense of morality and have driven the nation into destruction. These
extreme forms of violence are ‘metaphors for the utter destruction of the society and the

31
nation in general’ (Priebe 2005: 66). The representations of violence ‘are detailed in
showing graphic, deadly human agency…only to shock the reader and to dehumanize the
individuals presented to us’ (Priebe 2005:50-51). Priebe goes on to add that ‘images of
violence in art (verbal or visual) are potentially so potent that they may serve only to
demonize and dehumanize the perpetrators of the violence…’ (Ibid: 48). It is possible to
argue that the reason why Ruganda goes to the extent of painting violent images in the
play is because:

The unthinkable, the unimaginable, the unspeakable can be thought,

imagined and spoken in literature with an impunity not granted to us in real
life, yielding an understanding we find hard to abstract from real events.
(Priebe 2005:50)

Concerning the representation of unpleasant real life experiences in art, Sony Labou
Tansi in his foreword to The Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez comments that ‘art is the
strength to make reality say what it would not have been able to say by itself or at least,
what it might easily have left unsaid’ Labou Tansi (1995:Foreword). Art has the ability of
confronting and presenting situations in a manner that may not be possible otherwise.
This way, Ruganda treats us to how Idi Amin and his army mutilated people, leading to
the destruction of most of the institutions within that society. Lives were not only lost but
also property was destroyed and most people were displaced. There is access to this
information through the way Ruganda uses his artistic skills to represent that horrendous
moment.

In discussing violence and the state in The Floods, it is imperative to discuss the role of
the radio in disguising and protecting the evil deeds of the state. In an interesting way,
Ruganda unfolds the role of media in the state during that violent moment. Studies done
on the role of the media in repressive states show that the media has been used to
blackmail the people. Apart from partnering with the state in silencing the people, the
media in such cases violates the people’s right to truthful information. It is thus clear that
for an authoritative state to assert its power, the nature of violence ranges from inflicting
direct pain on the body to ‘psychological brainwashing’ by providing improper

32
information to the people. Achille Mbembe notes that, ‘the post-colony is made up of a
series of corporate institutions and political machinery which once they are in place
constitute a distinct regime of violence’ (Mbembe 1992: 14). These institutions are key
in designing the people’s destinies for they are the instruments of violence used by the
state. The radio has been perceived by political leaders as a powerful kind of “political
megaphone” in their service (Bourgault 1995:80). Notably, the media has been identified
as a powerful tool that can be used to promote the interests of the dictatorial state
(Nyamjoh 2005). This role of the radio was evident in the case of the 1994 Rwandan
genocide where it was used to precipitate factional violence (Richards 2000:216). In The
Floods, the radio is seen to have been used by the state in spreading lies and dispensing
doctored information.

In the play, the radio failed to report on sensitive issues and atrocities committed by the
state but instead concentrated in spreading propaganda (The Floods Pg. 35). Most of the
people who disappeared or were killed by the military men were later reported to have
been the most wanted criminals or were planning something dangerous against the state.
The radio, with the help of the government, came up with reasons to protect the state and
set up people against each other in a bid to paint an innocent face of the murderous state.
Given the fact that a majority of the populace trust the state’s radio and newspapers, and
assume that what they say is the gospel truth, the state capitalised on this opportunity to
fool the unsuspecting masses into believing that the state did not have a hand in the
disappearance of the people.

The announcement by the radio about the impeding floods turned out to be a plan to
destroy all the islanders. This happens at the beginning of the play and the people are
fooled into boarding a boat that would later sink. The reason behind this conspiracy by
the state against the islanders is because Nankya, who happens to be an islander and
knows much about the murders by the state, is the target. Through killing her, Bwogo
hopes to eliminate all evidence against him and his involvement with the state in killing
innocent people. Unfortunately, Nankya does not board the boat in which all the islanders
perished through shootings by soldiers who were directed by Bwogo. From this analysis,

33
the state is seen as having the authority to deploy all means and mechanisms available to
assert its power. The security forces which are supposed to protect the populace, are used
by the leaders to torture and kill while the media and, in this case the radio, works for the
benefit of the state by misrepresenting the face of the state.

The Politics of Dead Bodies in The Floods

Violence in The Floods takes the form of mass murders of innocent people. The
inscription of violence ranges from blood marks on the walls and floors to the brimming
of blood in the lake. Death and the dead bodies in the play are a significant representation
of the extent of violence by the state. Although the deaths of the common men, is
highlighted in the play, currency is also given to the unexpected death of a prominent
person whose death and funeral arrangements are highly publicised, unlike the many
deaths of the common people which the state tries to cover. It is the differential treatment
of these two different deaths that forms the basis of this discussion.

It is imperative to note that in the play, the authoritarian leader’s desire to subjugate and
demonstrate power does not end at torturing and inflicting pain on a living body. The
performance of state power is further demonstrated through the disparate ways in which
the dead bodies are treated. The analysis of the (mis)treatment of dead bodies for
instance, the proper disposal or lack of it highlights issues of control and offers an insight
into power relations. Vanessa Harding (2000:171) notes that generally, in situations
where the totalitarian state seek to perform power over the dead, those who in life
occupied less influential positions tend to be treated indifferently while those who tended
to have power are treated more carefully. Those who are favoured by the state are
accorded decent burials and send offs. The different attitudes and behaviour towards the
dead represent an important theme with regard to leadership and the perception of both
the esteemed and the common man.

34
In his discussion of ‘Necropolitics’ Mbembe asserts that ‘to kill or to allow to live
constitute the limits of sovereignty’ (Mbembe 2003:11) whereby, the right to kill is
perceived as being a constitutive element of the state’s power. In his presentation, the
major question that Mbembe asks is; what does the implementation of the right to decide
who lives and who does not tell us about the person who is put to death and the
relationship between the dead and the murderer? Mbembe’s major focus is on what he
termed as the ‘state of exception’ whose central project is ‘…the destruction of human
bodies and populations’ (Ibid: 14). In Mbembe’s article, the state’s sovereignty has
control over the people and is defiant of the value of human life. Following Mbembe’s
argument, the destructive power of the state is not only portrayed through how it treats
the living but also the dead bodies. The inhumanity of the state in The Floods is captured
in the way that the ordinary people are mercilessly killed and further dumped carelessly
either in the forests or in the lake while treating the death of Mother Queen in an
honourable manner. My reading of the improper disposal of the common men and the
proper send of accorded the Mother Queen is one of the ways in which the state violates
and betrays its citizens.

Katherine Verdery (1999) in The Political Lives of Dead Bodies examines the various
ways in which political upheavals are often accompanied by incidents involving the
corpses of former leaders or rather heroes. In her discussion, Verdery’s central question
is; what exactly is particularly important about a corpse. Verdery posits that ‘dead bodies
have properties that make them particularly effective political symbols. They are thus
excellent means of accumulating something essential’ (Verdery 1999:26). Bodies are
potent vehicles not only for political meaning but also aid in the understanding of how
people relate at different levels in the society.20

Although Verdery’s discussion is based on the exhumation and reburial of the dead
bodies of political leaders and national heroes, for purposes of this discussion, I am
particularly interested in Verdery’s postulation that the dead body has symbolic

20
Bankston Carl III (1999) ‘Lively corpses’ at
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_11_126/ai/55707744.

35
meanings. The major question to be asked is how do dead bodies offer themselves to the
public for reading and what possible meanings can be read from these bodies. This
discussion seeks to examine how Ruganda presents issues of the misuse of power and
further subjugation of the subject through the improper disposal of the bodies of the
common men while juxtaposing that, with how the body of a distinguished person is
‘properly’ sent off. Though we do not expect all bodies to be disposed in the same
manner, the situation in The Floods forces one to read the contrast as being satirical of the
state through the meanings derived from the differential treatment of the dead bodies. In
his criticism of the state’s ‘biopower’, 21 where the state is presented as having the
authority to rule the body not only in life but also in death, Ruganda hopes to unfold the
absurdity of power seen in the way the improperly disposed bodies return.

Before the tyrannical state can commit its ultimate show of power, the body of the subject
is tortured, subjected to shooting and ultimately murdered by hanging, firing squad or
hacked to death and then left to decompose or is carelessly dumped. After the killing, the
bodies were then left to rot in the forests or dumped in the lake. One interesting thing that
merits mention is how Ruganda presents the state at its most absurd level. The bodies of
the people killed by the agents of the state are seen to be littered all over the place. This is
also expressed through Kyeyune’s encounter with a dead body while he was fishing.
Kyeyune in a distressed mood notes that: ‘…the world around me is falling into pieces,
corpses upon corpses along the streets, in the jungle, and in the lake, but no one takes
heed of the squeals of terror in the homesteads being deserted’ (The Floods Pg.50).

The use of the grotesquery and strange images of dead bodies depict a senseless and
brutal world that is deeply tragic presented in all its grimness and despair. Martin Esslin
notes that these images ‘castigate, satirically, the absurdity of life’ (Esslin 1964: 390)
with an intention of making man aware of his precarious condition. The tragic scenes
confront the audience with grotesquely heightened and distorted images of a world that
has gone mad. In the play, the absurd images represent a world that is out of tune with

21
Michel Foucault defines biopower as ‘that domain of life over which power has taken control’ (cited in
Mbembe 2003:11).

36
reality. These images lead the reader to the recognition of the fundamental absurdity of
the society under ‘powerful’ and destructive leaders.

The spectacle of the dead bodies of the common people littered all over the streets and in
the lake is contrasted with the distinguished treatment of the body of the Queen Mother.
In presenting the contradiction and unfair treatment of the common people in the nation
state, it is revealed that the death of Queen Mother ‘unleashed a motley of banal
absurdities’ (The Floods Pg.61). While the death of the masses should have caused an
alarm due to the fact that they were mercilessly killed and in large numbers, the death of
a single person receives more attention. This ‘spectacular’ event that marks her death and
funeral demanded the use of government resources to ‘compensate’ and appease the
family of the deceased. It is noted that ‘the beneficiaries of the Mother Queen were seen
booking emergency flights abroad.

Ruganda here uses ironic humour to satirise the power of the state considering how the
common people are led into ‘celebrating’ the Queens death while their own, who were
secretly dumped, were not given such a treatment. They were instead left for the
crocodiles in the lake and to rot out in the forests. In joining the state to celebrate the
prominent person’s death, Ruganda further presents the common people as a group that
has been zombified22 by the state to the extent of being blind to their predicament. The
special significance to the state, characterised the Queens funeral is Ruganda’s way of
criticising the leaders who capitalise on the helplessness of the masses. Apart from
criticising the state for its inhumanity and brutality, Ruganda also calls our attention to
the way the common people have been zombified to the extent that they cannot see that
the state is blinding them into believing that it is saddened by the death of its people. The
death of the Queen Mother sent ripples of joy among the manual workers who were
ironically excited about the unexpected holiday for a directive was given that there would
be a four week mourning period.23

22
Mbembe in ‘On the Postcolony’ defines the post-colony as a place of madness where neither the
dominated nor the rulers are sober. Mbembe (1992:9)
23
See Ruganda (1988:60).

37
What the common men have become blinded to is the fact that the massive killing of the
common people goes unmentioned. The state does not even care to mention the many
deaths it has committed, let alone according them a decent burial. But in the case of the
death of the Queen Mother, newspaper editors created spaces for full page advertisements
of condolences (The Floods Pg. 61) due to her position or status in the society. Like is
often the case with the death of prominent people in the nation state, the death of Queen
Mother as recounted by Nankya, a witness of the state’s atrocities, is a spectacular
celebrative event. Mbembe (1992:4) asserts that the tyrannical rulers use rituals to bind
the populace, even those who are not willing whereby in this case the whole nation goes
into a celebrative moment in honour of the distinguished dead. In the play, Nankya notes
that;

Nankya: Condolences to the bereaved family. We are one with you in this hour of
national catastrophe. Death hath untimely ripped the beloved one from
our midst…there will be state mourning for four weeks, a military burial
for the occasion and a statue erected in the city square…beneficiaries of
the deceased booking emergency fights abroad… (The Floods Pg.60-1)

This dramatic event is best explained as the state’s obsession with the exhibition of
power with reference to popular political figures. Clifford Geertz’s idea of the ‘theater
state’ is relevant in the discussion of the state’s involvement with excessive violence and
the desire to show off, creating a ‘spectacle’ or a theatre of sorts. The concept of the
theater state is informed by the post-colonial state’s ability to dramatize its
magnificence24 through violence in this case. Geertz (1980) argues that the state ‘puts on
a drama that serves as a symbolic expression of what greatness is’ (Geertz 1980:102).
Although Geertz’s discussion of Negara reveals a state that is governed by rituals rather
than by force, the ‘drama’ that accompanies the celebrative events in Bali causing a big
scene in the nation state is what we are likening to the state’s absurdity in The Floods.
The excessive violence presented through the exposure of dead bodies littered all over the
streets with others dumped in the lake causing ‘fouling of the air’ is a dramatic
experience worth noting. Contrarily, the exquisite treatment of the death of Queen

24
Mbembe (1992) argues that in order to demonstrate its powers, the leaders invent ways of staying in
power. This includes elimination of enemies, disempowering them just to show its magnificence. (Mbembe
1992:9).

38
Mother by the state presents a context in which the reading of the dead bodies portrays an
absurd and selfish state that flourishes on oppressing the masses.

Going by the above extract, the common man is seen to contribute to his predicament.
The common man is presented as having come to believe that he is less important
whether he is alive or dead but when prominent people die, they need to be respected.
This partly explains why the common people do not question the discriminatory
treatment of the dead people/bodies based on their respective stations in life. The state
though expects the common people not to question.

How then does the state commemorate the death of prominent people? Apart from
according the dead a distinguished send off, Verdery argues that there is a relationship
between spacio-temporal reconstruction and the politics of the dead body. Verdery
(1999) maintains that: ‘among the most common ways in which political regimes
‘remember’ is through marking spaces by placing particular statutes in particular places’
(Verdery 1999:26). Verdery continues to argue that these ‘provide contours to
landscapes, socializing them and saturating them with specific political values’ thus
signifying space in specific ways (Ibid). The death of Queen Mother is valued by the state
and must be commemorated in special ways like erecting a statue in her honour and even
naming a street after her. It is noted that: ‘…there will be state mourning for four weeks,
a military burial for the occasion and a statute erected in the city square’ (The Floods Pg.
60).

The grand moment that marks the death of Queen Mother is dedicated to the display of
power and status. It speaks of a state that selfishly guards the interests of a few elite. Her
funeral is set to be attended by many state guests, dignitaries and VIPs (The Floods
Pg.60). To mark this event, government dignitaries use this opportunity to incriminate
imaginary adversaries. It becomes a platform in which leaders ironically disclaim
atrocities that they had a hand in. Leaders use this opportunity to paint an innocent face
for themselves. Nankya notes that these leaders will be:

39
 Nankya: Proclaiming their avowed brotherhood and castigating the prophets of
doom.
Nankya: Counterfeiting Judas, disclaiming their atrocities of yester-years.
(The Floods Pg.61)

In presenting the hypocritical nature of leaders, a feature common to most leaders in

independent African states, Ruganda brings to the fore the inefficiency, excesses, and the
selfish interests that the leaders are driven by. The two contrasting treatments that the
corpses of the common people and the Queen Mother receive is a commentary on the
leader’s desires to build names for themselves instead of improving the lives of the
people.

Apart from using the dead bodies to speak about the senselessness and the absurdity of
the human condition, Ruganda uses the horrific image to satirise the state. This is
reflected in the manner in which the Major General who was murdered by the state
‘refuses’ to die. Ordinarily, leaders who chose to kill or murder intend to ultimately
silence the individual. But ironically, the Major General, who was murdered by the state
‘refuses to die’. The General’s refusal to die is a symbol of protest against the murderous
state for it is only in death that the body can revolt freely. By refusing to die, the dead
challenges the state’s power over life. Ruganda textually subverts the power of the state
through the General’s body which transcends this power to kill. The constant re-
appearance of the Major General’s dead body denotes his intent of challenging the
powers of those who killed him. The reason for his return is to torment the agents of the
state.

In a similar case Labou Tansi’s La vie et Demie (1979) novel speaks of a Martial, who
was brutally killed by the ruler, the Providential Guide for allegations of attempting to
rival the ruler. The Martial refuses to die after being cut into pieces of meat. Violence
inflicted on the body leads to resistance and transformation. Labou Tansi uses the
revolting body to comment on the absurdity of power drunk and inhuman leaders. Tansi
notes in the preface of the novel that: ‘I who am talking to you about the absurdity of the
absurd, I who am inaugurating the absurdity of despair, where would you want me to be

40
speaking from…at a time when man is determined to kill life more than ever? Labou
Tansi (1979: vi).

Martin Esslin (1964: 337) asserts that in plays that are categorised as belonging to the
‘theatre of the absurd’, ‘the human condition is presented as a concrete poetic image that
is at the same time broadly comic and deeply tragic’. The Floods could be regarded as
absurdist because of the presence of the horrific and the severely mutilated bodies that are
presented in a comical nature to express the ugly reality. Of great importance is the fact
that the absurd is ‘designed to shock [the] audience into a full awareness of the horror of
the human condition (Esslin 1965: 17). Esslin in the introduction to ‘Absurd Drama’
maintains that the absurd in general present a ‘disillusioned, harsh and stark picture of the
world’ (Esslin 1964:22). Ruganda uses ironical humour and grotesque images in the
narration of state related violence and absurdity. The figures of the dead bodies and the
absurd have thus become common features for the explication of violence by the state.
Such scenes seemingly explain the reality in a better way. Speaking of better ways of
presenting reality, Marechera notes that ‘writers search for new modes of expressing the
grotesque irrationality of power, thus develop devices that conveniently capture the state
for if one is living in an abnormal society, then only abnormal expressions can express
that society’ (Marechera qtd.in Veit Wild 2006: 89). Gikandi (1992: 380) notes that ‘our
new [global] situation demands narratives which face up to the task of representing the
ambivalences of the post-colonial situation’. The resolution to use dead bodies makes a
better presentation of the sorry state of affairs of Uganda under Amin’s regime.

The spectacle of the dead body that Kyeyune fished out of the lake psychologically
affects him. The image keeps returning to him signalling the ‘return of the repressed’.
Kyeyune even confesses that, ‘that man still haunts me…I should have brought him to the
land but I was afraid’ (The Floods Pg. 10). The return of the dead body is a way in which
the tortured and the murdered ‘come back’ to haunt those who participated in the killing
of innocent people. In the theory of repression, it has been argued that traumatic events
leave some sort of indelible fixation in the mind. Terr (1988:130) comments that
‘traumatic events create lasting visual images …burned in visual impressions’. The

41
painful memories of violence are brought to the fore through nightmares, dreams or
hallucinations.

Kyeyune experiences the return of the dead body notably because after fishing it out, the
image has become part of his memory. Major General’s target is Bwogo. The return of
the tortured is signalled by a whistle, twisting and scratching of toes (The Floods Pg.55-
6). These characteristics portend danger and death. Whenever a whistle heard, Kyeyune
warns about the ‘call of the beckon’ (Ibid: 106) which means death.

Kyeyune: (Some kind of whistling can be heard…)

Kyeyune: Did you hear anything?
Nankya: Anything like what?
Kyeyune: The whistling, you did not hear anything?
Nankya: What of it?
Kyeyune: the itch, do your feet have an itch? (She doesn’t understand) Then
we are doomed. On our way into the lake. Certain as death: the
whistle, the beckon… (The Floods Pg.55-56)

The physical features of the Major General draw attention to his grotesque image. The
major question to be asked is, of what use is the ugly image of the dead body in the play?
Through the use of the absurd to represent the ugliness of the situation, Ruganda is
expressing assent to the idea that ‘black writers should deploy the grotesque to portray
the undesirable, the corrupting and the destructive’ (Ogude 1996: 82). It is through the
ugly that a reading of the nature of violence and the atrocities that mark the period which
Ruganda is pre-occupied with in the play is made more explicable.

In an authoritarian state, there is a desire of the subject to challenge the oppressive power
and its inhumanity. Due to the existing nature of the relationship between the leader and
the subject, revolt is often not possible without the fear of death. In this case, Ruganda
uses the body of the Major General to challenge authority. In situations where violence is
used as a tool for subversion and control, the dead bodies are bound to ‘speak’ messages
of revolt. The body of the Major General is presented as laughing. The laughing dead
body becomes revolutionist, something that is sometimes only possible in death because
one cannot afford to revolt against a totalitarian regime and still live.

42
 Kyeyune…almost immediately the man with three nails in his skull shot up
like an agitated dolphin and started singing ‘I am the fisher of
men’. He let out one menacing laughter then disappeared back
into the lake. (The Floods Pg.38)

The dead body has the powers and freedom to revolt. Mashishi (1999:46) notes that
ugliness and laughter have a subversive potential. By laughing, the Major General is
involved in challenging the repressive authority which hopes that the only way of
silencing enemies is by killing, yet as is seen with the Major General, he is seen to be
alive. This element of absurd drama often has an element of humour which works as an
affirmative energy, a refusal to submit to disillusionment. This is seen in the way that the
General is seen to be ‘alive’.

The dead body is not only involved in presenting the reality but also in satirising the state
and condemning violence. Ngugi (1972:58) specifies the object of satire to be ‘a society’s
failings’. He points out that its function is to criticise the society when it departs from the
norms. The aim of satire in his view is to correct and the means to achieve it is through
painful and sometimes malicious laughter. Jonathan Ngate (1988) notes that a writer who
uses satire attempts through laughter-not so much to tear down (through criticism) -as to
inspire a re-modelling. Tyranny is the enemy that satire seeks to attack.

Violence in The Burdens

The Burdens is the story of the family of a fallen cabinet minister. Wamala is a former
cabinet minister who was detained for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government.
Characters in the play comprise Wamala, Tinka his wife, Kaija their teenage son and a
young daughter Nyakake who is suffering from tuberculosis. Having been a popular and
wealthy man in the society, Wamala and his family have been reduced to poverty after he
lost his job. They have to learn to live in the slums. Wamala cannot get a job because the
society’s perception of him yet he needs a job to support his family. Tinka resorts to
selling illegal beer, (enguli) and weaving mats to raise money for the upkeep of the

43
family. Wamala, who seemingly is more frustrated than Tinka, turns to excessive
drinking in which he hopes to hide his incapacity to accept the situation. Wamala
confesses that ‘I drink and drug myself against depression and frustration’ (The Burdens
Pg.25). The family is in an economic crisis which leads to social disputes between
Wamala and Tinka. Kaija is a school goer and needs to have his uniform replaced while
Nyakake needs urgent treatment yet the family cannot even afford a proper meal. The
family can even barely afford paraffin:

Tinka: ‘…You don’t seem to realize that that paraffin in this house is as
hard to come by as everything else’. (The Burdens Pg.2)

Looking back to their blissful past, Tinka and Wamala cannot help blaming each other for
their present predicament. Tinka is blamed for being a millstone around Wamala’s neck
and of pulling him down, ‘she dragged me down’ (The Burdens Pg.6). Wamala
complains that the only thing that Tinka is good at is undermining his efforts (Ibid: 31).
Tinka blames Wamala for being recklessly ambitious. The family’s fall from fame to
poverty is blamed on Wamala. Their lives in the slum, where they cannot afford a decent
meal, or even proper health services cannot be compared to how they lived when Wamala
was a minister. Their wealthy past is starkly contrasted with the present.

Tinka: Shopping at the supermarket over the phone.

Wamala: Business deals done at the intercontinental
Tinka: The hair dresser coming home. (The Burdens Pg.41)

The couple’s inability to come to terms with their current situation is the source of
conflict. Tinka and Wamala both agree that coping with the present is difficult, especially
after such a wealthy past (The Burdens Pg.37). Their problems and misunderstandings
are solved through violence. Tinka verbally abuses and constantly fights Wamala because
of his inability to provide for the family and his drunkenness which makes him come
home late in the night. The family faces a lot of problems which in Tinka’s own thinking
will be solved through the murder of Wamala. It is possible to argue that at the end of the
play, Tinka achieves some relief from her burdens when she kills Wamala and her
children are taken to the orphanage while she is taken to jail. Having taken over the

44
economic providence of the family, Tinka roughs up Wamala who has now been reduced
to a dependant. Tinka’s current state worries Kaija for he has noticed that Tinka has
grown bad tempered (The Burdens Pg.14). Wamala has to learn to live in a hostile
environment.

Tinka: I’m sick to here (indicating her neck) with your ideas. Small ideas, big
ideas, creative ideas…it’s all rubbish. Not interested…I am not
interested, do you hear? Who is she this time? (The Burdens Pg.21)
Tinka: Your mind is as tattered as your jacket, you should be ashamed of your
self. (The Burdens Pg.28)

Tinka is presented as deploying vulgar language to address Wamala because of her

position in the family. Because she is the breadwinner of the family, she views herself as
being more superior to Wamala and can therefore use her position to do what pleases her.
This situation is similar to what we experience in the totalitarian state where those in
power use their positions to abuse others just because they are subject to them.

Violence in the play ranges from verbal abuses to physical fights. It becomes the best
way for solving problems. The internal problems facing Wamala’s family speak to the
problems facing the society and so does the violence. Mckendrick and Hoffman (1999)
point out that violence is recognised as a manifestation of unequal power relations. I
argue that violence in the public is reproduced in the private space. The prevalence of
violence in a society has a direct effect on the prevalence of intimate violence. There
seems to be a close correlation between the level of violence in the society as a whole and
that occurring in the family situation according to Martin (1978:347). Mckendrick and
Hoffman argue that ‘because the family is a microcosm of the society, the prevalence of
violence in a particular society is invariably linked to high levels of domestic violence’
(Mckendrick and Hoffman 1999: 164).

Foucault (1975) asserts that ‘the relations that thrive on the basis of the use of violence to
perform power go right down into the depths of the society…’ (Foucault 1975: 27).
Issues of domination and power problems are bound to occur in the family as it does in
the larger family or the nation. Violence in the family could also be read as an allegory of

45
violence in the state. Harland comments that ‘politics is no longer restricted to the level
of the general class relations, but percolates down into domestic relations’ (Harland 1987:
161).

Tinka’s violence towards Wamala can be explained by the fact that she has taken a role
traditionally reserved for men. Gender analysts like Horrocks (1994:56) assert that the
society has certain expectations from men one of which should be to provide materially
for the family. Having lost his job, Tinka is forced to look for ways of maintaining the
family. Tinka feels overwhelmed by the burden of solely providing for the family while
Wamala spends time at the Republic bar with other women (The Burdens Pg. 26).
Tinka’s fury is captured thus: ‘I am going to kill that bitch of yours, I warn you. I’ll
pluck her squinty eyes’ (Ibid: 26). Her only way of dealing with the problem of having
fallen from power to poverty is through threatening Wamala with the use of violence. Her
allegations that Wamala is having extra-marital affairs are read as her way of venting her
unhappiness towards a husband who in Tinka’s words has become ‘another child’.
Tinka’s unhappiness translates to violence meted out on Wamala whom she thinks is the
cause of the family’s downfall. Violence in The Burdens is seen as a primary method of
conflict resolution.

Throughout the play, Tinka adopts the role of a violent and abusive character. In a-play-
within-a -play, Tinka plays the role of a rich and powerful man who exploits the common
man. Wamala, who represents the ordinary man, is threatened when he goes to sell his
ideas to the rich man (Tinka). Wamala thinks this will be a way of earning money to
support his family which is now being threatened by disintegration.

Tinka: (Pointing the ‘pistol’) now leave before I shoot. Before I call the police.
Leave or I shoot.
Wamala: Shoot? Shoot me? (Abrupt laughter.)Why don’t you go ahead….shoot!
shoot! (Loud and fast) Afraid of a pauper? (The Burdens Pg.61)

The above dialogue presents Tinka as being powerful and oppressive. Just like the leaders
in the state who take advantage of their subjects, Tinka disregards Wamala’s ideas
because of his position. Seemingly, the only language that the powerful speak is that of

46
violence. What is evident here is the fact that those who are in positions of power, both in
the public and private spaces use their positions to oppress others who are less powerful.

It is instructive to note that Ruganda in The Burdens positions Tinka, a woman at an

influential position and Wamala at a subordinate position for the very reason pointed out
earlier that open condemnation of the state was a dangerous route to travel for the
playwright. Positioning Wamala as the abusive head of the family would be easily
interpreted that Ruganda is attacking the head of the state. It is Tinka who is very
abusive in the relationship, yet again she is the one who is economically empowered.
Contrarily, we expect the roles she is performing to be performed by Wamala. As a
writer, it was important for Ruganda to highlight what he perceived to be the problems of
the independent African society (at that time) without the fear of running into a
confrontation with the state, which at that time could not condone any criticism. This for
me is Ruganda’s way of engaging with the issues of poor leadership and misuse of power
but in a very subtle way.

My reading of violence in The Burdens as an allegory of the state is informed by the fact
that the family as a social space deals with the problems of power and authority just as it
happens with the state. Wamala’s role as the bread winner in the family is threatened
because he cannot secure himself a job. Because Tinka has ventured into other means of
acquiring money to support the family, Wamala’s position in the family is reduced to that
of a dependant. This puts his pride at stake which leads him to anger and frustration and
eventually violence. The tension that exists between Wamala, Tinka and their son Kaija is
representative of the kind of tension that exists in the society where leaders manipulate
their subjects in an oppressive manner.

This chapter examined the theme of violence and the state. It argued that violence in the
state is the language of demonstrating power and authority and that violence plays an
instrumental role in subjugating others, thus participating in designing the people’s
destinies. The chapter also examined various forms of violence and how Ruganda
represents violence in The Floods through the setting of the plays, characterisation,

47
dialogue and language. I argued that dead bodies in The Floods demonstrate the ultimate
power of the state over people’s lives and even the dead bodies. The careless disposal of
the common men contrasted with the decent burial accorded to prominent people
demonstrates the violent nature and language of the state which is actively involved in
designing the people’s destinies. The chapter further established the idea that violence in
the domestic space reflects the level of violence in the state. The disorganization and
violence prevalent in The Burdens could be read as making an allegorical reference to
violence in The Floods.

In the following chapter I examine how characters deal with the memories of violence in
The Floods and how memories of the past lead to violence in The Burdens.

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 CHAPTER THREE

THE MEMORY OF VIOLENCE IN THE FLOODS AND THE VIOLENCE OF

MEMORIES IN THE BURDENS

This chapter examines the memory of violence in The Floods. It deals with how
characters try to remember their experiences of violence. The Floods is a representation
of Idi Amin’s brutal regime in Uganda’s history. Also, the chapter investigates Ruganda’s
use of memory to narrate the violence of that particular period. The play deals with
characters who experienced the violence of the regime in different ways and now have
the chance to re-tell their experiences. The chapter further looks at how the ‘past’
determines the course of events in the present in The Burdens. Violence in The Burdens is
attributed to the inability of characters to come to terms with their present state of poverty
after a wealthy past. This chapter then concludes with an investigation of how memories
of the past lead to a violent present in The Burdens and memories of violence in The
Floods

In the analysis, I noted that memory is a very instrumental strategy for the writing of
violence, particularly in The Floods. Memory here not only includes the acts of
remembering but it also encompasses the ways in which the state and its agents attempt to
force people to forget the acts of violence committed against them. Memory in The
Floods thus includes remembering and forgetting. Memory in the play forms the narrative
of the play where characters speak out about the kinds of violence that they experienced.
In the discussion of The Burdens, memory is limited to the way characters bring their
pasts into the present. Characters actively remember the past in order to deal with the
present. It serves as a safety haven where the characters’ hide from their present state of
poverty. However, going back to the past leads to violence. The chapter thus seeks to
investigate the significance of memory and how Ruganda uses memory in different ways
to address the theme of violence in the two plays.

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The Floods is filled with violent scenes as has been discussed in the previous chapter.
Violence in the play includes forms of political violence, psychological and structural
violence. Political violence is presented in the way that the state attempted to wipe out its
political opponents which resulted in the deaths of many people. This kind of violence
left many survivors with memories which constitute psychological violence. As a writer
speaking for the society, Ruganda uses a victim (Nankya) and a witness (Kyeyune) to
narrate the kind of injustices committed by the state against the populace.

Ruganda in The Floods has offered an analysis of the internal processes through which
the oppressed and the violated cope with their experiences of violence. As such, Ruganda
shifts from what we would call the ‘spectacle’ of violence. This allows for the exploration
of the psychological dimension of violence, trauma and the victims’ personal responses
which constitutes a large part of the experience of violence. To achieve this, Ruganda
explores the theme of violence through strategies such as memory and fantasy, allowing
the reader to connect with what Chan (2005: 372) describes as the ‘interior of
disproportion, dislocation and terror’. Ruganda in the play takes a further step by
investigating the effects of violence on the life of the victim.

Of particular importance in the discussion is the fact that violence in The Floods is
relayed by psychologically affected characters. This discussion is centred on how
characters re-live their violent pasts in The Floods. Nankya and Kyeyune are the victims
of violence in The Floods. Nankya herself suffered rape, lost her mother while Kyeyune
suffers psychological trauma as an aftermath of violence. These two characters’
experiences and memories are key in the discussion. Their memories are seen to be
violent because both Nankya and Kyeyune are presented as traumatised and disturbed
characters whose minds keep reflecting on their respective violent experiences. What
should be noted is the fact that it is not only the physical experience of violence that they
suffered that is affecting both Nankya and Kyeyune, but that these memories of violence
seem to be a present reality that is constantly haunting them.

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The major question that this chapter seeks to answer include finding out how people
relate or remember past injustices. Do the victims of violence choose what to remember
and what to forget? What role does memory play in the case of a violent past?

Generally speaking, violence affects the lives of the people either directly or indirectly.
Torture, maiming, and deaths are characteristic of any violent moment. The people who
escape death end up with psychological traumas. The survivors of violence live with
physical and mental scars which end up as indelible marks in the victims’ lives. The scars
from past violent experiences do not leave the victims even as they try to move on.
According to Freud, ‘unless individuals have sincerely come to terms with the past, they
exhibit a marked incapacity to live in the present’ (Sharpe 1961: 243-4). Considering this
fact then, in general terms, victims of violence try to remember certain experiences that
have had impact on their lives for purposes of trying to heal. In the play, such experiences
include Nankya’s story of how her mother was raped by the military under a directive
from the state and how she herself was later raped by Bwogo. Nankya also remembers
how she lost her friend Rutaro whom Bwogo was jealous of because of his intelligence.
The inability to overcome such memories that keep returning means that the affected
people will keep on living their present in the shadow of their past injustices. It is thus
imperative that in order for victims of violence to manage a more peaceful present, they
should break away from the past and this entails speaking out.

In analyzing the intensity and the severity of violence, Ruganda pays attention to how
individuals’ mental wellness was affected by violence. This is revealed in different ways.
The use of day dreaming, hallucinations, dreams and madness for instance are the key
ways in which the theme of violence is addressed in The Floods. Freud’s analysis on
dreams in ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’ is essential to this study. According to Freud,
dreams are a means of exploring the pre-conscious. He posits that ‘dreams are an
invaluable clue to a repressed major traumatic situation’ (Sharpe 1961: 71). Dreams are
disguised expressions of repressed fears and worries and present a strategy for
interpreting events. According to Sharpe (1961:69), dreams have meanings to be decoded
and analysed through a re-telling of the events which constitute past events. Dreams

51
follow ideas present in our consciousness. Freud notes that dreams have the
psychological function of helping our minds to process and eliminate trivial or
threatening material. He argues that dreams have functions and meanings. For him, every
dream is a meaningful psychical formation which can be given an identifiable place in
what goes on in waking life. Dreams and instances of hallucinations are interpreted as
displaying repressed feelings and bottled up pains that need to be purged out.

In The Floods, Nankya and Kyeyune drift into their pasts in day dreams, nightmares and
hallucinations. Kyeyune sees the military men bundling innocent people and hacking
them to death before leading them to the lake for dumping. Nankya also clearly
remembers how most of her friends were shot at and killed by the security men.
Following Freud’s argument these dreams and hallucinations represent the fears of the
people who witnessed violence. Apart from serving to document the violent period, such
memories show the pains most people have had to live with as an aftermath of a violent
regime. Through hallucinations and day dreaming, Ruganda attempts to explain the
effects and extent of violence in the play. Violence is portrayed as having a numbing and
a paralysing effect on the lives of the victims such that a normal life is not possible
anymore after the encounters with violence.

The effects of violence are also depicted through the fragmentary nature of the
characters’ lives and their minds. Kyeyune for instance suffers several hallucinations
calling us to question his mental state. Kyeyune exhibits a demented mind presented in
the way that he sees what other people do not see. The violence also led to disjointed
families. Scheper Hughes notes that ‘violence can never be understood solely in terms of
its physicality; force, assault or the infliction of pain alone. Focusing exclusively on the
physical aspects of torture, terror, violence is missing the point’ (Scheper 2004: 1).
Following Hughes’s argument, it is evident in the plays that violence affected more than
the physical. Nankya for instance bears the psychological scars borne from the rape by
Bwogo while Kyeyune has had to live with the images of dead bodies in the lake which
have imprinted themselves in his mind.

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According to Sabatini (1999), victims of torture do not have memories but have
hallucinatory representations of the violent pasts because experiences of horror disable
the psyche and alter the work of memory. The violent moment gets frozen around the
traumatic events and hurtful memories. 25 Violent experiences fix the mind to the violent
event so that the victim hallucinates and sees that violent event recurring. Seemingly, the
memory of the violence, which one has been a victim and or a witness to, becomes
fixated around the brutality of those experiences.

In the regime represented in the play, Nankya and Kyeyune remember how the people
who were thought to be against the state were sought after by the State Research Bureau
(SRB) and later murdered by the security agents. Kyeyune who witnessed these agents of
the state picking people keeps hallucinating about being tracked by the ‘security agents’.
At one point he sees them coming for him and he asks to be protected from them.

Kyeyune: They will. They will. The ambassadors of darkness. I saw them.
Tell them to leave me alone. (The Floods Pg.37)

This underscores the fact that victims have horrible memories that keep returning. In as
much as Bwogo tries to use violence (for instance shooting at Kyeyune) in order to
prevent him from speaking, most of the time, Kyeyune drifts into these memories
unconsciously. The use of violence to suppress memory is because memory works as a
threat for the agents of violence by exposing them and their activities. Another situation
where the people’s memories are further repressed in the play is when the violent regime
chooses to conspicuously memorialize the death of Mother Queen. Her funeral
arrangements are given more currency than all the deaths of the common people. In the
end, the people get pre-occupied with the death of the Mother Queen and forget about the
injustices committed against them.

It is also evident in the play that traumatic events leave some indelible impression in the
victim’s mind. Such memory imprints are not erasable. Crick and Robertson (1999:126)
note that, nothing stays secret forever. One cannot bury anything permanently. Memories
25
This information is available at: http://psychomedia.it/pm/grpind/social/sabatining.htm.

53
do not go away nor are they lost. Repressed memories always return. Though they may
be suppressed for sometime, they end up returning. Memories about traumatic
experiences do not come at once but mostly through series of flashbacks that are
disjointed and fragmented.

Though Kyeyune did not suffer direct physical abuse, the constant return of the dead
body not only disturbs his peace but it also instils fear in him. This highlights the effects
of violence on the victim’s psychology. Kyeyune is termed mad because it is noted that
after the experience of fishing out the body of the Major General, Kyeyune has become
scatter brained and goes about talking to himself, sometimes to trees and buildings (The
Floods Pg.35). Kyeyune keeps seeing the image of the dead body re-appearing to him
even when others do not see it. In this hallucinatory state, it is the image of a dead body
that is fixed in his mind underscoring the fact that repressed memories always return.

Kyeyune: Three stabs. Three nails. The man with three nails, his limp body
in my net…
Kyeyune: The man with the irresistible beckon. Three nails stuck in his skull.
(He looks for reassurance. His fright is abating.) (The Floods
Pg.37)

It is in this state of fear that Kyeyune recounts how the rescue boat sunk killing all the
islanders on board. Just after the boat had left, Kyeyune remembers seeing the man with
three nails shooting up like an agitated dolphin as he gathered the bodies into his net and
disappeared into the lake. Also, before the boat sunk, Kyeyune reports that he saw
soldiers shoot at everyone in the boat while others jumped into the water. The image of
the dead man that Kyeyune fished out of the lake is presented as having affected
Kyeyune’s mind and disturbed his peace. The image of the dead man returns to Kyeyune,
instilling fear in him.

Kyeyune: But the man with the three nails in his head never discriminates
between the indispensables and the disposables. He comes in many
guises. Sometimes a fisher of men, lonely and subdued. (The Floods
Pg.12)

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Most of the questions that Kyeyune is asked are answered through references to ‘the man
with three nails’. In a conversation in which Nankya and Kyeyune are in two different
worlds, Kyeyune responds to Nankya this way;

Nankya: What do they think they are? Will my daughter not grow up to be one of
them?
Kyeyune: (taken by surprise) Go? Go where? Are you alright madam?...I knew it.
I knew the moment would come….Can’t you see we can’t go
anywhere? Trapped by the floods and ambushed by the one with three
nails. (The Floods Pg.55)

The image of Major General’s dead body returns to Kyeyune and imposes itself on him,
forming a major part of his speech. The return of the dead signals the painful memories
that the victims of violence still suffer even after the end of the violent moment. The end
of the violent era does not mean the end of violence because victims still live with the
scars and memories that keep haunting them.

Nankya’s speech is also dominated by memories of violence. Nankya remembers how, on

government orders, innocent people were whisked from their homes never to return
again. The family of Nnalongo (she and her twins) is said to have been bundled into a
lorry that emptied people into the lake (The Floods Pg.40). Similarly, Ssalongo who was
whisked from his shop in a government vehicle was later reported as having been shot
while he tried to escape. Nankya further remembers how Bwogo directed the murder of
Rutaro among other innocent people. Rutaro for instance was killed by the security men
on Bwogo’s orders for having danced with Nankya (The Floods Pg.31). This partly
explains why Nankya treats Bwogo with indifference. It is Bwogo’s callous and abusive
past deeds that make Nankya resent him. Clearly the memories of violence for Nankya
have become part of her.

In a nightmare, Nankya sees ‘floods’ rising in search for Bwogo who represents the
repressive state in the play. The dead bodies, returning in the form of floods come back to
seek revenge and to haunt the authorities that perpetuated violence. Bwogo tries to escape
from the surging floods but he finally ends up drowning in the ‘flood’.

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 Nankya: The flood is descending upon you, Bwogo. In its determined pursuit,
it has swallowed up all your henchmen, one by one. You are all
alone now… (Bwogo dodges an imaginary wave and retreats…)
Nankya: The dead are no longer dead, Bwogo. They are up in arms to right
their wrongs. They have risen from their deep slumber at the bottom
of the lake and are carrying shrouds of vengeance towards you …
(The floods rise up higher to engulf Bwogo. In the meantime like a
man about to drown, he clutches at anything in sight…he tries to
ring out again and again, each time more desperately; no luck). (The
Floods Pg.46-7)

In this example, ‘the floods’ have been used by the playwright. Water which was used by
the violent state as the dumping ground for the people that it had killed now turns out be
the source of fear for Bwogo who represents the state in the play. The people who had
been disposed into the lake by the state now return as living people. Water metaphorically
symbolises both danger and safety for the state. The lake is a place in which the state
hides its evil deeds and at the same time it represents a point of revolt by the violated
masses.

In the above scene, the repressed return to seek justice and to torment their assaulters.
Having been killed and dumped in the lake, the dead, who are said to have been waiting
for Bwogo to join them in vain, have returned to punish Bwogo (The Floods Pg.46). It is
a representation of the uprising of the repressed against their oppressor. The fact that the
dead rise to seek revenge denotes an aspect of a people that were unfairly murdered
seeking justice. The point that is being put forth is that repressed characters like Nankya
have memories about the inhumanity of the state, memories that constantly force them to
denounce violence while hoping that justice will be effected.

Undoubtedly violence shapes the history and memory of a people who suffered brutality
either physically or psychologically. Priebe (2007) notes that violence is ‘an inseparable
part of our shared humanity…the wrongs of the past reverberate in the present’
(2007:91). For most victims, the pain of the past is not just history. It is a living present

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that is difficult to re-tell. According to Connerton (1989) we live our present differently
depending on the different pasts that we experienced. There is an important connection
between what happens in the present and what happened in the past. We experience the
present as connected to the past. Violence makes permanent imprints that keep recurring
in people’s minds. For instance, Soyinka notes that the ‘crimes that the African continent
commits against her kind are of a dimension and unfortunately of a nature that appears to
constantly provoke memories of the historic wrongs inflicted on the continent by others’
(Soyinka 1999: 19).

According to Hirsch (1995) memory is the ability to recollect and remember past
events.26 Memories are produced out of experiences. The victims of violence who do not
wish to remember their experiences of violence because of the intensity of the pain
suffered choose to willfully forget or censor their memories of violence. In other cases,
victims choose to remember the violent moment. Remembering entails recounting and
speaking about the nature of violence one suffered in order to facilitate healing or in order
for the victims to get over. Remembering for such victims is a way of dealing with the
traumas that come with experiences of violence. Speaking out contributes to the healing
of the traumatized individual.

Nankya’s memory of violence is not limited to remembering what she suffered

physically, but it also includes, structural violence, another way in which the society
propagated violence. Whitelaw (1985: 24) notes that structural violence ‘is embedded in
unjust or grossly unequal social systems …and it involves economic, social and political
deprivation and discrimination.’ It is a kind of violence inherent in structures which do
not allow the citizens equal life chances. Structural violence is centered on the unequal
distribution of wealth and power. We only get to learn about this kind of violence through
Nankya’s painful memories of her childhood. Having come from a poor family that
suffered oppression from the rich in the society, Nankya, who represents the common
people in the society, paints a picture of a state that employs certain strategies to
subjugate others.

26
See Tuvling and Craik (2000: xi).

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Nankya further delves into her memory to speak about class stratification as a form of
violence in her society. The society is presented as having set up structures that oppress
others highlighting how the society is divided along economic lines. The poor are
required to work for their masters for a little pay. They are denied the chance to live
happily because of the restrictions that their masters impose while expecting them to
serve them well. Nankya’s mother, for instance, served as a house servant to Bwogo’s
family under very exploitative circumstances. She remembers that ten people lived in a
twelve square feet house. (The Floods Pg.70)

Nankya: …and for all that fuss and fanfare, she got seventy shillings a
month, two pounds of meat at Christmas and seven of sugar at
Easter. Master hates this; Master hates that and seventy shillings a
month… (The Floods Pg.72)

In another painful memory that validates how structural violence operates in the play,
Nankya recounts how when her grandmother died, the family could not wail or cry out
aloud because their master hated noise.

Nankya: Only the constant sniffling and the streaming of tears down
distraught faces. Because the premises were not ours and Master
hates noise. (Goaded by the memory, she is trembling all over. She is
breaking down and tears rolling down her cheeks…) (The Floods
Pg.74)

The society is presented as divided into levels which favored others while it oppressed
others. The experience her family went through as the servants of the family of Bwogo
seems to have left an indelible mark in her mind, that is why she can talk about it some
years later. Nankya’s memories of the violence meted out against her family and others
do not seem to fade. These past memories shape and order her present. This further
buttresses my argument that victims live with the scars of violence. Asked to forget the
past, Nankya comments that:

Nankya: Am I supposed to forget about it? Create a rosy picture of my past?

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 ‘isn’t it only natural to look back in bitterness? (The Floods Pg.71)

I argue that memory, for Kyeyune and Nankya, who are the victims of violence in the
play, serves a great role in helping them heal from their experiences of violence. By
virtue of the fact that they are ready and willing to confront Bwogo who was an agent of
the violent regime, it is clear that these two characters want to break away from their
violent history or rather past. Though Kyeyune and Nankya delve into their different
experiences of violence through speech, what is apparent is that they both speak the same
language of victimhood which not only highlights the extent of violence that the people
of Uganda suffered, but it also helps in their (victims’) healing processes. At the end of
the play, we sympathise with their helplessness but justice is done because Bwogo, a
symbol of the violent regime and who has all along been trying to repress their speech, is
finally arrested and taken to jail by the police.

In an article ‘Violence and Memory: The Politics of Denial’, Barstow’s major thesis is on
speech. Concerning the representation of violent memories, she insists that the artist (who
seeks to write on violence) should find a style and create a landscape for atrocities in
order to compel the reader into believing what he or she does not want to believe. She is
against forgetting. Barstow (2000:600) notes that ‘memory implies a certain act of
redemption. What is remembered has been saved from nothingness. Either we find some
redeeming quality in a particular history or we will abandon it’.

In this article Barstow does an analysis of the violent experiences of women in Chiapas,
Mexico, and asks what makes remembering all-important. Notably, remembering exposes
one to pain, so why remember? Barstow (2000:592) maintains that though remembering
violent experiences is painful, ‘the first step towards transcending violence is the act of
remembering, refusing to forget it, no matter how painful that may be’. Barstow goes on
to add that failing to ‘remember’ or speak about violence means censoring that historical
moment (Ibid). For victims of violence, she says that the greatest fear in forgetting or
choosing not to speak about violence is that the same heinous acts might end up being
repeated. For Barstow, speaking out helps prevent its recurrence.

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Naturally, memories of some happenings melt and eventually get lost while some end up
being narrated into historical processes. In an analysis of the Hutu refugee experience in
Tanzania, Malkki (1995:105) notes that the genocide victims’ past was evident in their
present and the only way of dealing with such traumatic memories is to speak them out.
Malkki (1995:106) argues that speaking out helped the victims to come to terms with the
present. Having witnessed the murder of their family members and friends, the painful
memories and narrative accounts of violence helped in the integration of the victims into
the Tanzanian community. Malkki sees memory as a way of working through issues
evoked by a time of violent trauma.

Speaking out entails talking openly about the violent incidents that the victims of
violence experienced. In The Floods for instance, Nankya who was raped by Bwogo,
engages in a talk with him to remind Bwogo of his past injustices against her and other
innocent people. Bwogo who feels condemned becomes unnerved by the talk and turns
violent and slaps Nankya.

Bwogo: (slaps her hard) Stop it!

Nankya: You slapped me very hard. (The Floods Pg.38)

Violence in the play does not only mean the hacking of people to death but that there are
several women who were raped and violated by the military men while others were
displaced. In using Nankya’s experience above as an example, Ruganda hopes to map the
level of injustices that the state committed against its people.

In most cases where the oppressors are guilty of committing violence, there is always an
attempt to institute forced amnesia as is even evident in the play. Bwogo, the symbol of
power in the play attempts to erase the memories that Nankya and Kyeyune have about
the violent past and his involvement in the state killings. To achieve this, Bwogo resorts
to the use of physical or verbal abuse in order to silence them whenever they remember
the past. Hirsch (1995: 23) notes that the ability to control and manipulate a people’s
memory is a form of political power. Connerton (1989:13) notes that one of the ways in

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which a totalitarian government attempts to mentally enslave its subjects is by taking
away their memories. Bwogo insists that:

Bwogo: Things of the past are best unraked. What would happen if we relived
our past? Would we have time for our present? We must forget the
things of the past.
Nankya: Some things?
Bwogo: All things… (The Floods Pg.34)

The killing of the islanders is explained by the desire of the state to eliminate all
witnesses of violence. The idea of the rescue boat was to wipe away witnesses of the state
violence. In his analysis of how societies remember, Paul Connerton (1989) asserts that,
‘what is horrifying in totalitarian regimes is not only the violation of human dignity but
also the fear that there might remain nobody who could ever again properly bear witness
to the past’ (Connerton 1989:15).

In the play, Nankya and Kyeyune whose memories speak of the violence by the state
represent the will to remember against Bwogo’s wish to destroy them and thus erase
these memories. Bwogo notes that, after a violent moment, there is a ‘future to think
about and nasty memories to forget’ (The Floods Pg.69). While it is easy for the inhuman
state to forget all forms of violence that it committed on its minority groups and move on,
for the victims the violence never ends.

Kyeyune’s discourse in the play is preoccupied with images of ‘the man with three nails
in his skull’ to the extent that Bwogo thinks that Kyeyune is mad.

Bwogo: Is he alright? Or is he gone mad? (The Floods Pg.39)

Why does Bwogo regard Kyeyune as being mad? This is because ‘a mad person is
someone whose voice society does not want to listen to, whose behaviour is intolerable,
and who ought to be suppressed’ (Veit Wild 2007: 2). In an attempt to dismiss the truth
about Bwogo’s murderous character, Bwogo terms Kyeyune mad in order to silence him.

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Moreover, Bwogo regards Kyeyune as being mad because Kyeyune has the courage to
speak the unspeakable in a situation where speaking out is risking one’s life. Violence by
the state has led to the silencing of the people so that witnesses and victims of violence
opt not to speak about their experiences of violence in order to save themselves from the
wrath of the state. Ruganda through Kyeyune, who chooses speech over silence, is
criticising witnesses of violence who have allowed the state to continually trample on
their rights. Ruganda’s message is that unless the heinous activities by the state are
condemned violence and repression will not end.

Madness in the play is also used to speak about the situation of Kyeyune’s society. The
level of inhumanity represented in the play defies any attempts to regard all the events
and the perpetrators of violence as normal. In fact, it is Bwogo himself and others like
him who should be regarded as mad considering the murders he and the state committed
against the masses.

Notably, ‘the political situation in Africa is so full of absurdities, monstrosities and

grotesque aberrations that it demands a literary response reflecting the innermost madness
of this very situation and the structures ruling it’ (Veit Wild 2007:2). In her discussion on
the perspective of ‘writing madness’ in African literature, Veit Wild notes that ‘listening
to the speech of madness in literary texts means seeing that literature from a different
angle. It means looking at it through the lenses of writers who have ruffled up the surface
of realist representation and have explored issues and styles that represent a trespassing of
borders…’ (Ibid: 2). The absurdity of such situations, as of depicting the madness in the
society, demands a technique that adequately captures the situation in order to represent
the reality. The deployment of mentally disturbed characters speaks of the level of
inhumanity in the society represented in The Floods.

Memories of violence for Nankya and Kyeyune are emblems of victimised identities. The
characters are presented as having suffered forms of violence which left indelible and
severe imprints and images of violence in their minds. These effects are presented in the
play through the nightmares and hallucinations that they both suffer on different

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occasions. Ruganda’s mission in The Floods is to allow his characters remember by
refusing to forget the past injustices committed against them. Memory also serves as a
historical source. In this case, The Floods gives access to the history of Uganda during
the Idi Amin’s regime.

This section discussed the memories of violence and how violent events become a lived
experience for victims and witnesses of violence. It examined the effects of violence on
the lives of victims focusing on how violent experiences imprint themselves on the lives
of the characters thus, becoming near permanent memories that do not go away. The next
section discusses the violence of memories in The Burdens paying particular attention to
how memories of the past lead to violence in the present.

The Violence of Memories in The Burdens

This section attempts to understand how characters deal with the ‘burdens’ of their past
which in the discussion is considered to be the primary cause of violence in the present
lives of these characters. The memories of a luxurious past are seen to have barred the
characters from accepting their current state of poverty leading them to violence. There is
a lot of blaming of one another and dissatisfaction, attributable to the kind of a past that
the family had. The literal remembrance of this past is a traumatising experience for the
whole family. This leads them to live in denial. My understanding of the violence of
memories is literal in that memories in this play simply lead to violence within the
family. For me, memories in The Burdens are the causes of violence and are by extension
violent.

The Burdens is a play in which characters view themselves as ‘burdens’ that have caused
the family’s ‘downfall’ from riches to poverty. The members of the family perceive each
other as hindering the other from moving on. Wamala and Kaija blame Tinka’s pride as
the cause of their poverty while Tinka blames Wamala for being over ambitious. What
the family has failed to achieve is a reconciliation of the past with the present. It is clear

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that characters have some baggage that they have brought from their past into their
present lives. It is therefore rather difficult for them to move on because they keep
glancing back into their pasts for reasons to explain their present state. In their poverty
stricken state, Tinka nostalgically remembers her life as a chief’s daughter while Wamala
broods over his lost ministerial post. Their past is now a heavy burden that they have to
live with. Both of them are faced with the task of trying to trace ‘where the rain begun
beating them’. Their failure to provide themselves with the reason and cause of their
poverty results in the blame game which, as has been pointed out before, leads Wamala
and Tinka to the use of force and violence against each other.

Tinka is blamed for having dragged Wamala into poverty while Tinka herself accuses
Wamala of not making basic provisions for the family. The children also view themselves
as burdens to their parents. That is why Kaija devises ways of acquiring money to buy
what he needs. Wamala is seen as a big failure to his family but he was also burdened by
the past which he could not escape. In addition, his wife sought to drag him down and
turn the children against him. It is Tinka who finds herself free from all her ‘burdens’-
husband, son and daughter- in the end.

Violence in The Burdens is rooted in the characters’ inability to cope with their present
state of poverty after a wealthy past. Tinka who was the daughter of a prominent chief
and later got married to a cabinet minister finds it difficult to live in the slum. Wamala
and Tinka deal with the present situation of poverty by summoning the past to use
Hirsch’s word (Hirsch 1995:35). The past is a safety haven in which Wamala escapes the
present reality. The past is experienced through fantasies, dreams and illusions. Wamala
for instance dreams of his luxurious life while he was a cabinet minister. In one of his
many illusions, Wamala sees himself addressing a political crowd that once respected
him. The constant re-enactments of their blissful past speak of Wamala’s and Tinka’s
desire to escape the present reality and sometimes their inability to cope. Most important
in the discussion is the fact that ‘looking back’ serves as an escape zone for characters
and the reason for conflicts in the play. This is because ‘movement towards the future is

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often impeded by fixating on the past, in particular, by creating a romanticized
past…which leads to a form of disappointment or disillusionment’ (Hirsch 1995: 35).

Connerton (1989) identifies two ways of bringing the past into the present. One is acting
out and the other remembering. Connerton (1989) points out that ‘acting out consists of a
type of action in which the subject, in the grip of unconscious wishes and fantasies,
relives the present with an impression of immediacy which is heightened by the refusal or
inability to acknowledge their origin’ (Connerton 1989: 25). He continues to add that
acting out takes the form of ‘aggressive behaviors which may be directed against others
or against the self’ (Ibid). Connerton’s concept of acting out is important in our analysis
of memory and violence in The Burdens. My reading of violence in The Burdens is
informed by the fact that the aggressive behavior displayed by Tinka and Wamala is
because they have not accepted their state of poverty. They insist on holding on to the
memories of their luxurious past life.

Connerton’s major argument is that the inability to come to terms with the present
reflects the inability to let go of the past. The major point being made here is that, those
who cannot come to terms with their present (poor) situations end up in distressing and
violent situations that are attributed to the inability to break away from the (wealthy) past.
This is useful in the discussion of the past in the present, but it must be emphasised that in
the case of a wealthy past, a poverty stricken present invokes feelings of regrets when one
looks back. After spending the evening drinking, Wamala comes home late to meet a
furious Tinka who demands to know where he has been. Wamala evades Tinka’s
question and drowns himself in a world where he sees a happy and luxurious future. It is
important to note that the wealthy lifestyle that Wamala is dreaming about is what
characterised his life before he lost his job as a cabinet minister. This is a memory that he
has not managed to break away from.

Wamala’s inability to come to terms with the life of poverty is represented through the
perpetual backward glances that he makes in order to make the present tolerable and the
future worth waiting for. Kaija notes that Wamala dreams of ‘a big ranch, cars, many

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servants, and a free mansion’ (The Burdens Pg.11). In one of his conversations with
Tinka, Wamala drifts into a dream which represents his wishes. He dreams of a happy
life.

Wamala: (excited at what he thinks is fantastic news) I have got it, Tinka, at
long last. No more starving for us, tear up the tatters, pull down this
hovel. A big mansion awaits us. A limousine is beckoning.
Tinka: Are you mad…or drunk? (The Burdens Pg.20)

In another illusion where he sees himself as a minister addressing a big crowd, Wamala
drowns himself in memories of how as a prominent politician he used to meet great men
and command the attention of large audiences.

Wamala: Mistake me? Me being mistaken for a minister? But I was one, once,
Tinka. Remember? The makings of an executive minister are still
there. Intact. (Carried away by the memory, he demonstrates. Left arm
carrying an imaginary walking stick, right hand humoring imaginary
dignitaries, face smiling blankly. He walks down stage and ‘speaks’ to a
VIP) (The Burdens Pg.47)

This scene displays Wamala’s inability to break from away from his wealthy past. The
past for Wamala is a memory that he delves into in order to forget his present situation.
This is so because, every time Tinka talks about their bad state, Wamala goes back to
how blissful their lives were.

Tinka: We suffer Wamala. It is difficult for us especially after such a past.

Wamala: (dreamily) Oh that past… (The Burdens Pg.37)

It is clear that the family cannot afford to live the kind of life they were living before, but
Tinka still wants to hold on to the status of being the daughter of a chief and a wife to a
former minister. Even when Kaija is willing to sell nuts to buy himself a bed because
Tinka cannot afford, she insists that:

Tinka: How can it be said…oh no. Not as long as I have these two hands. It’s
the mothers pride son. Stalking a mothers pride…
Tinka: How can I bear the derisive laughter of the slum women? …don’t put you

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 mother’s pride at stake. (The Burdens Pg.8)

For her Kaija’s willingness to look for extra funds to supplement his needs is a source of
shame when the fact is that she cannot afford to buy Kaija a bed. Kaija has to wait for
Tinka to weave her mat and sell before he can get a bed. Later on when Wamala brings in
a second hand safari bed for Kaija, Tinka puts Wamala off. She says:

Tinka: (not looking from her weaving) We are fed up with second hand
things…you should be ashamed of second hand… (The Burdens Pg.18)

Given the fact that Wamala lost his job and has no source of income, it is expected of
Tinka to be grateful to Wamala for having managed to come home with a second hand
bed. But she becomes indifferent to Wamala’s excitement. Instead of embracing Kaija’s
present, Tinka still demands of Wamala a better life. Tinka’s problem is rooted in her
desire to continue living in the past. This is portrayed by how she laments that ‘who’d
have known we would come to this?’ (The Burdens Pg.37). She is clearly unhappy. Kaija
confirms that Tinka has grown bad tempered of late.

Kaija: …and besides, you have become bad-tempered …of late. Your smiles
used to embrace me, where have they gone? (The Burdens Pg.9)

Tinka’s unhappiness is the major source of conflict in the play. She keeps hurling insults
at Wamala for ‘never being really up’ (The Burdens Pg.6). According to Tinka, Wamala
is irresponsible since he cannot provide the family’s basic needs. Wamala’s helplessness
gives Tinka the mandate to physically and verbally abuse him. Tinka is constantly
fighting Wamala for this reason. It must be noted that Wamala is eager to provide for his
family. Kitonga (1977: 34) notes that ‘Wamala does not resent having a family to
support. Indeed he feels guilty of not having provided for it’. This is what Tinka fails to
appreciate. But Wamala reminds Tinka that:

Wamala: …when a man comes home from this hell, this crowd of power hungry
bastards, a man wants sympathy and sweetness. Not silent curses, not
poisonous whispers and despising stares. He is looking for something to
lean against and take in a little breath to enable him continue the

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 struggle… (The Burdens Pg.36)

Tinka’s unappreciative spirit coupled with the fact that Wamala lives with the anger and
bitterness of hopes that are unrealised leads him to the use of violence.

Wamala: you are a very subversive woman, Tinka. You are a big burden.
Wamala: (precipitating a quarrel) Look here, Tinka. I’m running out of
patience. I have pleaded with you, persuaded you…you are still stubborn.
(All tricks having failed, Wamala decides to use force. She catches up
with him. A scuffle. She is hurling insults at him and administering feeble
blows.) (The Burdens Pg.32-3)

Tinka is accused of being unsupportive even when Wamala, who has now resorted to
drinking in order to steel himself against depression and frustration, is seen to be making
great efforts to provide for the family. Ironically though, Tinka seems to have embraced
reality by resorting to brewing liquor and weaving mats to sell in order to provide for the
family. Tinka’s unhappiness is explained by her rootedness in the past, expecting a
comfortable living even when situations do not allow. This forms the basis of the
argument that past factors tend to influence or distort experiences of the present. Ruganda
in the introduction to the play notes that, ‘the feel of power is now an irritating memory
for Wamala and his family’ (The Burdens Pg. v). This memory stubbornly lingers in their
minds. It is an irritating memory for them because it is the source of fights, quarrels and
the eventual murder of Wamala by Tinka.

Concerning the presence of the past in the present, Malkki (1995: 105) notes that ‘the
past not only explains aspects of the present, it contributes to the structuring of social
actions in the present’. For her, the activities of the present are determined by the past. As
has been discussed, the burdens of lost status and having to live in squalid conditions pins
Wamala and his family down leading to constant disputes and disagreements. There has
to be a language which Tinka and Wamala use to communicate their resentments, the
language is the use of violence.

In the play, slight disagreements lead to verbal abuses which with time progress to
physical fights and then the eventual murder of Wamala. Ruganda uses shifts in time and

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place through role-play to show how the characters move between past memories and the
present. The ultimate murder of Wamala, for instance, happens after a role play. In a
play-within-a-play, Tinka acts the role of an exploitative rich man in the society. Wamala
is seeking the partnership of the rich man in order to set up an income generating firm.
Wamala and Tinka fantasise about how life would be if they got all the money that they
are dreaming of in order to forget their troubles. But again, running away from reality and
escaping into fantasy turns out to be another view of reality where hard feelings are
settled. After some disagreements in which both characters seem to be settling their pent
up feelings and disappointments, they end up in a fight. Tinka threatens to shoot Wamala
who fights back by destroying her brewing apparatus.

Wamala: I’ll tell you one thing though…one thing before you shoot and call
the police (he pounces on her, grabs her hand and throws down the
‘pistol’. He then reaches for her throat and there is a terrifying
struggle…his grip tightens. The woman’s eyes bulge out.) (The
Burdens Pg. 61-2)

Though enacted while the characters are in dreamy states, this scene is a pointer to the
deeper hostilities that have become part of Tinka’s life. The feelings of anger and betrayal
for Tinka are only settled through the elimination of Wamala who is blamed for the down
fall of the family. Though we actually do not see Tinka murdering Wamala, Kaija’s
dream gives an insight into how she actually stabbed him to death. Kaija unfolds the truth
through a series of recollections. Through him, it is discovered that his parents fought
publicly the night before and that he fled in shame and took his anger on the neighbors
who had witnessed the humiliating scene.

Kaija: … I saw you and father tearing at each other like mad…in that pool.
Your faces twisted, your mouths wide open, letting out blood. I
screamed, ‘Help! Help! Help!’…blood is trickling- tiny drops
absorbed in the dust. More drops. So a rivulet, a river and finally the
flood…then out of nowhere, a groan – like a bull resisting the
butchers knife. (The Burdens Pg. 72-3)

The dream that Kaija has in The Burdens reveals how Tinka actually killed Wamala.
Kaija saw his parents quarrel as passers-by cheered them to go on fighting (Ruganda

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1972:68). Kaija is an onlooker of violence in his dream. In this case, there is a subjective
experience of witnessing the murder that he later recounts to Tinka at the end of the play.
It is plausible to argue that, dreams are highly condensed symbols of hidden
preoccupations. The dream serves as an narrative that reveals psychic complexities and
conflicts within Wamala’s family as a whole. Violence in his dream is related to the
violent activities that he has been witnessing through out the play.

It is worth noting that in the above scene, violence seems to have become the normal way
in which the common people settle their scores. This is evident in the fact that passers-by
helplessly watched as Wamala and Tinka tore at each other. Violence is thus seen as the
approved way of expressing disillusionment. Ruganda’s caution though is that unless a
better solution is reached, violence due to unfulfilled dreams would cost the lives of
helpless people. Instead of directing their disappointments to the respective authorities,
the common man deals with the immediate member leading to intimate violence.

Violence in The Burdens is linked to the characters memories of a better past and their
inability to break away from that past. The deplorable state in which they are living in
forces them to look back into their pasts. This act of looking back for Tinka is very
annoying. It gives her the energy and strength to act violently against Wamala.
Summoning the past is a traumatic experience both for Tinka and Wamala. This is seen in
the way they sort of lose their minds, assume their past selves and eventually fight each
other as has been shown in the discussion. The characters lives are filled with dreams and
fantasies about the past expressing inabilities to cope with the poverty in the present. The
past is a safety haven in which they try to deal with their problems in the present,
unfortunately leading to violence.

In this chapter, I attempted to give an explanation of how violence in The Burdens is

linked to the characters’ living in the past and how memories of violence are represented
in The Floods. The study focused on how violence affects witnesses and victims of
violence and how memories of violence keep haunting them forcing them to talk about
their experiences. By focusing on the psychological and physical scars that victims of

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violence live with, Ruganda is denouncing all forms of violence by the state against its
people.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

This study was based on two plays, John Ruganda’s The Floods and The Burdens, which
attempt to make comments on the social and political situation in Uganda just after its
independence. It is very interesting to note that just like the other forms of art, drama, has
the potential of satirising and criticising the society. In an essay in East African Writers
Gurr and Calder (1974:34) note that drama has the ability to make people think seriously
about conflicts with a view to solving them personally and socially. Notably, drama has
its unique ways of putting its message across. Esslin (1976:96) believes that drama ‘is an
instrument of knowledge, of perception, thought and insight about the society’. He also
notes that ‘… all drama can be seen as a mirror in which society looks at itself’ (Ibid:
103). Drama is the most concrete form in which art can recreate situations. This
concreteness is derived from the fact that whereas any narrative form of communication
will tend to relate events that have happened in the past, and are now finished, the
concreteness of drama is happening in an eternal present tense, not here and then but here
and now’ (Ibid: 18). Furthermore, it is addressed to a group mind, ‘is collaborative art
which relies on action for its actualization and appeals to a combination of senses when
performed’ (Amuta 1989:156). As a collaborative art, it explodes the barrier of literacy
that shackles other forms in their written expression. There is thus a fundamental
distinction between drama and other forms of literature. The latter no matter whether
enjoyed individually appeals wholly to the imagination. For Esslin, what makes drama
drama is precisely the element which lies outside and beyond the words written down and
encompasses that which has to be seen as action or acted out or what Pfister (1988:6)
calls ‘scenically enacted texts’.

This study attempted to show that Ruganda’s plays cover a range of social concerns that
are of great relevance to Uganda just after its independence and more precisely before
and after Idi Amin’s regime. The force behind the imaginative writings of the playwright
just like other artists is in the desire to voice out ills in the society and to champion for the

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betterment of the lives of the common people. This study was based on the examination
of two plays which are pre-occupied with the theme of violence in Uganda. The argument
that I tried to put forth in this study is that violence by the authoritative state is for the
sake of showing power contrary to the view by Arendt (1969) that where there is violence
there is a lack of power. According to the study, violence is a means which the state uses
to eliminate imagined or real enemies and to control the populace. Ruganda captures this
theme in his play The Floods where he depicts the leader alluded to in the play as having
used the state machinery ranging from the use of security forces to the radio to control
and subjugate the people.

The other argument presented in the study is that in cases of instability and insecurity, the
common people are seen to be vulnerable. This is attributed to the fear instilled in them
by the brutal state and the fact that the common man lacks a representative. The leaders
who ought to protect the people expose them to violence. This complicity is seen in the
way that the common man blindly obeys without asking questions which means they are
a party to their destruction though we do not rule out the fact that the common man dares
not speak against the inhuman state because of fear. In this analysis, it was evident that
the massive deaths of the ordinary man do not matter to the state yet the death of a single
prominent person brings the affairs of the state to a stand still. I argued that in treating the
dead differently, the state further demonstrates that it not only attempts to show its
control over the people’s lives but also the dead bodies by designing how and where they
will be disposed. By underscoring the discriminative treatment of the dead bodies,
Ruganda highlights in a satirical way the hypocrisy of the state which seems to be moved
by the death of one prominent person while it is unmoved by its own killing of many
innocent people.

In trying to make an analysis of how Ruganda represents the theme of violence in the two
plays, I focused on characterisation, use of dialogue and the setting of the plays. Through
characterisation, Ruganda critiques the abuse of power through the use of powerful
characters who bully and even physically abuse the less powerful. The presence of
powerful and subjugated characters in the plays depict the reality of the situation that the

73
playwright hopes to unfold, where the powerful people wielded power against the others.
I also tried to establish the fact that the narrative of The Floods is achieved through
dialogue. Characters re-tell their experiences as witnesses and victims. This narration also
is a way in which the characters heal from their violent past. Nankya and Kyeyune speak
out their memories of violence highlighting the various ways in which the state betrayed
and abused the common man. In The Burdens, a glimpse of Wamala’s life before he lost
his job as a cabinet minister is achieved through flashbacks and dialogue.

This study further established that there is a link between violence in the private and
public spaces. My reading of The Burdens shows that the playwright used the domestic
space to comment on violence in the state. Having noted that the play was published a
year after Idi Amin took over leadership, it is possible to argue that in this play, Ruganda
uses the family, as a microcosm of the state to criticise the state while at the same
avoiding confrontation with the state. I also argued that violence in The Burdens stems
from a blissful past that Wamala and his family are not willing to break away from. This
inability to cope with the undesirable present forces Wamala and Tinka to make perpetual
backward glances that not only leads them to blaming each other and viewing the other as
‘burdens’ but that it also leads to violence.

The past is revisited through pleasant and unpleasant memories. Memory in the plays is
accessed through flashbacks, dreams, illusions and day dreaming. I argued that memory
is Ruganda’s way of accessing the past and that remembering aids in forgetting in the
case of painful pasts as it is in the plays. Here, speaking out facilitates the healing
process. It was apparent that despite the state’s desire to institute amnesia, characters in
The Floods try to remember the past injustices committed against them by speaking out.
While Kyeyune and Nankya try to remember the violent moments, Bwogo who
participated in the mass killings uses force to silence them as has been discussed. Bwogo
thus represents the state’s desire to force people into forgetting what it (the state) did to
them.

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On the whole, this study made an attempt to examine Ruganda’s plays, focusing on
violence as a theme that the playwright is pre-occupied with in the two plays. The first
chapter gave the background on the playwright and the historical and political setting of
the plays for purposes of contextualising the study. The second chapter dealt with
violence at two different levels; violence by the state and violence in the private space
where I argued that violence in the domestic space makes reference to violence in the
state where I further argued that violence is the state’s tool that it uses to control life and
death thus designing the people’s destinies. The final chapter looked at Ruganda’s
deployment of memory in the plays and how his characters deal with the burdens of a
violent past in one case and a blissful past in the other.

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The Last King of Scotland.

The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin.

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