The Presidential Selfie!

Picture by @rkabushenga and @KagutaMuseveni at the celebrations of 100 Years of West Nile.

At the celebrations of 100 years of West Nile held in Arua on April 21, 2014, the president took time to officially launch Urban TV's takeover of Northern Uganda. And he did this in style; taking his first ever selfie to keep with the station's hip and trendy style. The selfie sparked a mini-storm on social media as tweeps and Facebook influencers discussed the validity of the selfie.

There was also the 'small' matter of the parody account @YKMuseveni that had been tagged in instead of the President's reported official account @KagutaMuseveni. While some tweeps faulted Vision Group's Robert Kabushenga and the president's communication aides for the mistake, someone did point out on Twitter that whether or not the genuine or parody account was tagged in would not make a difference since the said official account has never sent out any tweets.

Following the conversation on Twitter, I couldn't help but ponder the significance of the Presidential selfie;  So what , if the president took a selfie or attempted to take a selfie? Does it matter? 

I think it matters. I think it matters because of the 6 million Ugandans that President Museveni believes have smartphones.(refer to Innovation summit in Kigali, 2013). Or perhaps you want to use the more realistic 17 million mobile subscribers in Uganda. Or you can join me and imagine the number of first time voters in 2016. These are 18 - 22 year olds who literally live online. 

The moral of the story; social media and the use of technology is going to be a major medium of communication for the 2016 polls.

Our president has not previously shown himself to be tech savvy or a lover of change for that matter. This is unlike his contemporaries like Rwanda's Paul Kagame, a popular tweep, Uganda's very own prime minister Amama Mbabazi and his #AskThePM sessions, President Barack Obama of the US and his almost daily selfies. 

In light of these realities, I believe that our president's selfie is a sign that the President is willing to come to where we are,  if only for the sake of the 2016 polls. What we do with him while he is in our turf is up to us, but first we need to welcome him to our world and not ridicule him for not being perfect in our ways!

Let's get him to tweet and join the conversations the matter to us. Let's ask @sarahkagingo, the President's social media editor to organise a #AskThePresident session. Let's ask President Museveni to make the 6 million Ugandan smartphone owners claim he made in Kigali a reality by subsidising these vital gadgets. Let's ask him to direct all his subordinates including Generals, ministers, cadres, MPs, historicals et al to join the conversation  on social media. 

Let citizen participation and government accountability be the price for the 2016 polls.

How my biggest career interview with Esther Kalenzi didn't make it to Urban TV...

Esther Kalenzi; a 26 year old young achiever in the Heroes category and Team leader of award winning charity, 40 Days over 40 Smiles Foundation.

Esther's story has been told and retold. It is a story of courage and youth enterprise. It is the story of a woman with a big heart and young people with even bigger hearts. A story that started in February 2012 when Esther opened up a facebook page to mobilise her friends to give and make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children as a way of celebrating Easter. A story that has grown over social media campaigns and creatively implemented events like #buyabrick, #HoopsforGrace, #BeSanta, #5ASide.... 

Allow me introduce you to Esther and her team on Twitter through their latest caampaign, #Ibuiltadorm that climaxed with the commissioning of a dormitory for 210 kids at the Happy Times school in Luwero disrict. 

I love winners, just like everyone else. So, ever since I heard Esther's story, I've been eagerly looking forward to the day I'll tell her story on TV, the platform God has blessed me with.

So Lady luck smiles upon me this Easter and on Holy Thursday, I get Esther Kalenzi and Nada Andersen of the Star Leo Advertising Agency in studio to talk about social networking for social good.

The interview is amazing; we talk about the power of social media, the motivation for Esther and her crew of philantrophists, and the projects that 40/40 would be tackling next.For me, it's Mission accomplished! 

I will now wait for final touches to be made on the show so I can tell my friends and family that I told one of the biggest Ugandan stories on TV, but alas, it was not to be...

According to the technical team, the recording of my biggest career interview had been distorted by a DW recording that had been going on in the transmission room during our interview. The interview had been damaged beyond repair and would not be airing.

Devastated! It's Saturday and Esther is in Luweero doing what she does best; charity and compassion.

And like my boss told me on Easter Monday; with some stories like the Presidential Selfie in Arua, you get one minute and that's it! Hopefully, this will not turn out to be that kind of story. It is still top on my to-do list; tell the story of the Ugandan youths that dared to give, Team 40/40. Am starting with this blog post.

Luckily for Urban TV's viewers, Raziah Athman, the features correspondent at Urban TV attended the commissioning of the dormitory in Luwero and filed this beautiful piece. #Ibuiltadorm story by Urban TV's Raziah Athman 

To be continued....

Pictures; Sourced from Urban TV's coverage of Esther Kalenzi and 40 days over 40 smiles.

My name is Daniel Mumbere!

Hello, my name is Daniel Mumbere. I am a Ugandan TV presenter with Urban TV, a local TV station. I have a passion for storytelling. I have zeroed in on telling Ugandan stories in the fields of the youth, Technology and Social Media. I'll also share lessons I learn from conversations on TV, Online and in real life encounters with you. My ultimate satisfaction is telling your story. Am therefore looking forward to hearing your story and retelling it for generations to come.