Navigating the Great Lakes
KIGALI - I had a kodak moment at the hotel this morning when Fred Opolot, the executive director of the Uganda Media Centre came over to say hi to Monica Chibita, my former lecturer and now colleague at Makerere University.
We were all on the same flight from Entebbe to Kigali, shared cars and are also staying in the same hotel (the spankling new Top Tower hotel about which I ought to say a bit more later). Fred did not recognise me despite us having met at State House in Kampala a year or more ago, and speaking on the phone once in a while.
Of course there was that public spat a few weeks ago when Fred called a press conference to rubbish the findings of an opinion poll we'd run in the Daily Monitor on the basis that they'd asked for a copy and we'd not given it to them. We carried the story from his press conference and, asked for a comment about our position, I quipped that all the information about the poll was in the newspaper and that Fred ought to buy a copy.
So you can imagine how interesting it was this morning when Fred walked up to me and said, "Sorry, I am not sure we've met; what's your name?"
"Kalinaki," I said.
Cue a very shocked Fred almost jumping out of his skin before composing himself and reminding me that he actually buys a copy of the paper everyday. Classic.
We are in Kigali for the Conference of the Media in the Great Lakes region, another talking shop (why do I never learn?) I will say more about this. I just listened to a presentation by Dr Mvungi Edmund Sengondo of Tanzania about "a comparative analysis of the legislative framework for media and freedom of expression in the Great Lakes region". I regret to say that I was underwhelmed.
More later.
We were all on the same flight from Entebbe to Kigali, shared cars and are also staying in the same hotel (the spankling new Top Tower hotel about which I ought to say a bit more later). Fred did not recognise me despite us having met at State House in Kampala a year or more ago, and speaking on the phone once in a while.
Of course there was that public spat a few weeks ago when Fred called a press conference to rubbish the findings of an opinion poll we'd run in the Daily Monitor on the basis that they'd asked for a copy and we'd not given it to them. We carried the story from his press conference and, asked for a comment about our position, I quipped that all the information about the poll was in the newspaper and that Fred ought to buy a copy.
So you can imagine how interesting it was this morning when Fred walked up to me and said, "Sorry, I am not sure we've met; what's your name?"
"Kalinaki," I said.
Cue a very shocked Fred almost jumping out of his skin before composing himself and reminding me that he actually buys a copy of the paper everyday. Classic.
We are in Kigali for the Conference of the Media in the Great Lakes region, another talking shop (why do I never learn?) I will say more about this. I just listened to a presentation by Dr Mvungi Edmund Sengondo of Tanzania about "a comparative analysis of the legislative framework for media and freedom of expression in the Great Lakes region". I regret to say that I was underwhelmed.
More later.
posted by Daniel Kalinaki | 11:00 am
1 Comments:
Will we ever stop talking and start working? Why dont they donate the funds for those conferences to news rooms that will increase journalists salaries? Enough with the research we have enough to go around the whole century n most of the participants have heard it already, same on the first conference same on the umpth, same research at all conferences.
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