Not the usual “How true was [name] when they said…” quotes. These go a little deeper, into the uncomfortable corners of the mind where life stops making sense and everything becomes a question.

“He who sees too much ends up not fitting in anywhere.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

“The more you understand this world, the more you destroy yourself. That’s why fools are happy, and intelligent people live in loneliness.” ~ Unknown

“I am a victim of my own conscience, constantly feeling guilty for things I have not done.” ~ Franz Kafka

“How many years does it take to forget a minute?” ~ Unknown.

“And yet the only exciting life is the imaginary one.” ~ Virginia Woolf

“There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” ~ Unknown

“Are we what we do with time, or are we what time does with us?” ~ Mahmud Darwish

“And if I have died and don’t know about it, of whom do I ask the time?” ~ Pablo Neruda

“Let the young man in his desperation go out and hunt. If he kills the elephant, his poverty ends. If the elephant kills him, his poverty ends.” ~ African Proverb

“Was he a man dreaming he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was a man?” ~ Zhuang Zhou (Zhuangzi)

“Reality exists in the human mind and nowhere else.” ~ George Orwell

17 October 2026 – Students, staff, partners and well-wishers gathered at Uganda Christian University (UCU) Main Campus in Mukono for the Annual UCU Tuition Run, an event that raised over UGX 50 million in contributions and commitments to keep struggling students in school.

Organised by the 28th UCU Guild Government, the run carried a message that every student deserves the opportunity to complete their studies.

The tuition run is organised by the Guild President and his cabinet, with support from the Director of Student Affairs (DOSA) and university management. Proceeds from the run support students who are already enrolled but face unexpected financial hardships midway through their studies.

Speaking at the event, UCU Vice-Chancellor Professor Aaron Mushegyenzi explained who the money is meant to help. Some students have lost the parents or guardians who paid their fees. Others come from families where a breadwinner has lost a job or been disabled in an accident and can no longer provide.

“Because those students are already in their second year, or third year, or fourth year, it pains us to see them drop out of their program,” he said.

In his speech, the vice chancellor thanked Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, Prime Minister of Uganda, who was invited as chief guest, for her generous contribution of UGX 20 million.

Several university offices also made commitments:
Vice-Chancellor’s Office: UGX 15 million
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Finance and Administration: UGX 10 million
Directorate of Student Affairs: UGX 2 million
Communication and Public Relations: UGX 1 million

He also thanked partners, including Uganda Partners for their UGX 2 million contribution, Star Express, Audio Studio, Jibu, among others. He appealed to those who could not attend to donate generously.

Rounding off the day’s activities, Apenyo Bekele and Prisca Waku emerged as the overall best runners in the male and female categories, respectively.

The run is one of several fundraising activities for the cause, alongside a singing and painting competition.

The university’s finance department holds and manages all the funds raised, ensuring eligible students can apply for support. Each year, this system supports roughly 150 students.

For students who might otherwise leave before graduation, this support can mean the difference between completing their studies and dropping out. Those who wish to contribute to the scholarship fund can contact the Directorate of Student Affairs or the 28th Guild Government at the UCU Main Campus.

Written by Irene B. Nyapendi.

PHP, short for Hypertext Preprocessor, is an open-source scripting language that powers roughly 70% of websites and apps that use a known server-side programming language. We are talking millions of websites and web applications, from high-traffic platforms like Wikipedia to those built with content management systems such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Magento, as well as frameworks like Laravel.

On 21 October 2026, researchers using AI discovered two critical security vulnerabilities in PHP. The team behind the disclosure said that attackers could exploit these vulnerable servers remotely without even logging in.

The worrying part is that the flaws are in PHP’s core engine, not necessarily in the applications built with it. That means your website’s code could be perfectly secure, yet the underlying PHP installation could still leave your server exposed. These attacks can allow unauthorised code execution, steal sensitive information, tamper with files or compromise affected systems.

NSA & NCSC on PHP Security Vulnerabilities
The threat is serious enough that some organisations in Europe and elsewhere temporarily took websites offline to address the vulnerabilities. The US National Security Agency (NSA), the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and other cybersecurity authorities globally have continued to caution organisations about the dangers of this imminent threat.

PHP Vulnerability Fix: Patched PHP Version
Fortunately, the PHP project has since released security updates to address both flaws. Organisations running supported versions can protect their systems immediately by upgrading to PHP 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36, or 8.2.35. However, those running older, unsupported deployments may need to migrate to one of these modern releases, as PHP 8.1 and earlier versions have reached End of Life and do not receive security updates.

If your website runs on a CMS (like WordPress) or uses shared hosting, contact your hosting provider to confirm PHP has been patched. If you manage your own VPS or dedicated server, update PHP to a patched version immediately.

AI Effect on Cybersecurity
Historically, weaponising a massive, complex security flaw of this magnitude to hack a website required a deep understanding of cybersecurity, memory management, and software engineering, but AI is changing that. We are getting to a point where someone with just a laptop and a capable Large Language Model (LLM) could point an autonomous agent at websites across the internet and command it to launch attacks until it uncovers a vulnerability.

And you might be thinking, “Claude and ChatGPT aren’t gonna let me do this,” but there are plenty of open-source models that people can run on their own hardware to do stuff like this.

Should we say the barrier to executing sophisticated cyberattacks is falling super-fast, and websites aren’t getting any more secure?

Written by Isaac Odwako.

You know that moment when you say you’ll stop after this TV show episode, this chapati, or one last scroll. Then your finger, your hand, or your eyes quietly decide to keep going, just one more. Suddenly, thirty minutes have passed, three more pieces are gone, or you’ve finished a whole packet.

This is not simply a lack of willpower or discipline. Your brain’s reward system is doing exactly what it was designed to do, but in a “more” world where there is always something more to watch, eat, or scroll through.

The star of the show is dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain that plays a key role in motivation and reward. Many people call it the pleasure chemical, but it is more accurately associated with “wanting.” Dopamine levels rise when the brain anticipates a possible reward, not necessarily when the reward arrives.

This response helped our ancestors pursue rewards essential to survival, from finding food to exploring their surroundings and seeking social connections. When opportunities were limited, the drive to keep searching made sense because the next reward was never guaranteed. Today, however, we live in an environment where many rewards are easier to access and repeat, from endless scrolling and autoplay videos to readily available snacks.

Social media and streaming platforms took advantage of this through a process known as variable reward, the same principle that makes slot machines hard to leave. As you scroll, most posts may barely hold your attention, but every so often you find something funny, surprising or exactly what you wanted to see.

Because you never know when the next rewarding post will appear, you keep scrolling; your brain keeps checking. Likes, comments and unexpected discoveries make the experience even more engaging, encouraging you to return for another hit of novelty.

A similar pattern occurs with food: anticipating the next bite can keep you eating, even as satisfaction gradually fades.

Over time, repeated exposure to quick rewards, such as doomscrolling, can make ordinary activities feel less rewarding, particularly those that require more time and effort. Meanwhile, the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in planning and self-control, struggles to ‘shout louder than’ the immediate ‘just one more’ signal.

How Do You Break the Loop?
Though powerful, the loop is not unbreakable. Awareness is a good place to start. Noticing the urge without immediately acting on it weakens the automatic path. Setting clear stopping points in advance, such as “I will watch only two episodes” or “I will put the phone in another room after this message,” gives the slower, wiser part of the brain a better chance to resist the temptation to continue. Replacing the habit with another activity you enjoy, even if it offers a milder reward, can also help you gradually build new habits.

So, the next time “just one more” appears, smile a little. It’s an ancient survival system meeting modern abundance. Understanding how “just one more” works will not make the urge disappear, but it can help you recognise it for what it is, and perhaps make a more deliberate choice about what to do next.

By Alfred Galandi.

Click here to read Part 1

#8. Gutamiiza
This song was recorded when the Ugandan music industry was writing off the Goodlyfe and embracing Fik Fameica and others. Radio was here to prove he was still the monster writer, and he did. Most listeners don’t capture the meaning of most lines, though they enjoy the output.

“Nga nefunyafunya nga omujaasi mu gonjo” means rolling like a soldier trapped in a fish-net. Helplessness.

“You and me love; we are star synchronise (unclear words) nyatiti kamba nane”

Nyatiti kamba nane refers to a traditional Kenyan 8-stringed instrument. Nyatiti means a stringed lyre, and kamba nane means “eight strings” in Swahili. How exactly “nyatiti kamba nane” fits into the lyric is genuinely hard to pin down with certainty, because Radio seems to slur or swallow the words connecting “synchronise” to “nyatiti kamba nane,” making the exact phrasing difficult to isolate by ear alone. Spotify’s official lyrics transcribe the line as something close to “I’ll change your edi kamanani,” but that phrase doesn’t correspond to any word in the languages Radio was known to sing in, which suggests a mishearing rather than an actual lyric. “Nyatiti kamba nane” fits both phonetically and thematically far better.

The likely words if you listened repeatedly are: “You and me, love, we are star, synchronise sound ya nyatiti kambanane,” meaning two lovebirds combining and aligning like how the eight strings of a nyatiti work together to produce a single, unified sound rather than separate notes. In other words, two people becoming one instrument to make something as beautiful as music.

“Nkwambalira mu kakufu kale darling nakukolamu mudaali… Negalira mu nyumba ya mayinja nakomelera misumaali”

These are hauntingly beautiful lines that read exactly like a dark fairy tale romance, such as Rapunzel, where characters perform impossible feats for love.

Here is a breakdown:

“Nkwambalira mu kagufu kale darling nakukolamu mudaali…”
(I wear you inside my necklace, darling. I made you into a medal…)

In folklore, a princess or a knight carries a magical token, a piece of their lover, to give them strength.

Radio elevates his lover to the status of a sacred prize or a royal honour. He is placing her directly over his heart. She is his ultimate achievement, a priceless treasure he proudly keeps close to his heart at all times.

“…Negalira mu nyumba ya mayinja…”
(…then I locked myself in a stone house…)

To protect this love, Radio willingly cuts himself off from society, friends, and reality. The cold, heavy stone signifies the lock strength. Like Rapunzel locked in her tower, he shuts out the whole world. No friends or family, just him and her.

“…nakomelera misumaali.”
(…and nailed it shut.)

This is the most tragic yet deeply romantic climax of the lyric. By nailing the doors shut from the inside, Radio ensures there is no escape and no rescue mission. The nails are reinforcing the guard of stone. He chooses to trap himself with her forever so that nothing will set them apart, not even themselves.

#9. Everything I Do
This is one of his most narratively complete songs, closer to Fred Sebatta’s full-scene, drama-leaning style. There’s an actual plot: Radio calls the girl who gave her a number (maybe it’s the girl whose number he asked for in Sweet Lady), but instead of her voice, it’s the automated network operator that answers, “the [subscriber] you are trying to call is unavailable.”

This is the person he calls “akawala akajibeelako…,” the cold, computerised rejection standing in for her own silence. He then threatens to move his bed behind her house so she dreams of him; he sends her a flower, and she refuses it. Each detail escalates the rejection until the song ends, not in an image, but in an emotional break; he screams, “eiyeeee…” and then Weasel Manizo comes in.

#10. Pollination
“Baby honey bee, it’s pollination time.” Radio uses biological pollination to convince a girl to allow him to be next to her. Bees don’t choose to pollinate; it’s simply what happens when the conditions are right. So, he’s wondering why she is declining when all conditions are right.

#11. Ntunga
“Ntunga onzizewo bujja” (stitch me up, make me brand new again) and “Oli mpiso etaluma” (you are the sewing needle that doesn’t hurt) are some of the most mind-blowing lines ever written. The latter is an oxymoron.

“An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines two words with opposite or contradictory meanings placed right next to each other, creating a small, self-contained contradiction, and the tension between the two words is exactly what makes the phrase memorable or thought-provoking.”

A Pass builds on these lines to say in Wuuyo: Njagala ontunge nzenna, onebase ku kyaalani (Here, I have lain on the sewing machine; I’d like you to stitch me all up). A Pass brings in the idea of the sewing machine, though Radio never specified where he preferred to be stitched: whether by the sewing machine needle or the traditional needle (perhaps the Ntunga video led him on). This is exactly what Radio did with his writing; he gave you room to find a picture in your mind and relate to it. A Pass perhaps related to it in his own way.

Note: Don’t be confused by the internet when it says Wuuyo was released before Ntunga.

“Smell ya Moschino, dress ya Valentino” (Moschino perfume/Valentino dress): Moschino and Valentino are high-value luxurious Italian brands. It is surprising that the girl who wears such expensive brands, most likely a rich man’s daughter, can prepare “empombo/oluwombo,” and use a needle to stitch. Maybe that line is there to depict her politeness and her gifted hands; the very reason Radio loves her and trusts her therapy.

Radio Mowzey often unapologetically used high-end but meaningful diction to perhaps show that he went to school; for instance, in Don’t Cry he drops the terms ‘Legato’ (pronounces it as Regato), ‘Sando’ and ‘Vibrato,’ and Ugandans go bananas!

#12. Nkwetaga
Nkwetaga sets Radio apart as the lyric professor; in the music video, he is teaching the community. He explains the value chain in the human ecosystem, the value of everyone and usefulness to each other. The chain, from the teacher, doctor, grandma, parents, animals, to the butcher, isn’t just a nice image. It’s as though Radio is saying this is how he really saw people connect: nobody starts the chain, and nobody is the last link either. Everyone in it both needs help and gives help.

The teacher taught the doctor. The butcher, who looks like the end of the line, is actually feeding the kids who will grow up to be the next teachers and doctors. And when you match that with the second verse, manure turning into fertiliser, then a harvest, then shared profit, the point gets even clearer: even the dirtiest, least important-looking thing in the chain is still needed to make the good things happen. The government benefits from a musician through taxes. No one is useless. No one can be cut out without the whole thing breaking.

The line “taata azimbe nyumba bbiri” shows the epitome of a wealthy family man; a wealthy African man typically has two houses, one in the village and another in town.

Radio mentions Asante and Abba; Asante Manzi Ssekibogo Nakintije is Radio’s son, and Abba Marcus Mayanja is Chamelone’s son. Mentioning their names hits differently because their fathers spent years doing the opposite of what the chain is about; instead of holding the links together, they were breaking them on purpose.

Lwaki Tokula (also called “Kanywamusaayi”) is widely seen as Radio and Weasel’s diss at Chameleone, and even inside that angry song, they still say “Tuli ba musaayi gumu,” we are one blood, and beg him to stop fighting and respect one another. Sitaani and Camilla carried the same kind of anger. On his side, Chameleone answered with songs like Bayuda and Byansi Byakuleka, and it didn’t stay in the music; the two camps actually fought physically too.

So, when Asante and Abba’s names show up in a song about how nobody can survive alone in the chain, it feels almost like an accusation. These two men proved, over and over, that they could break a link, could turn the ‘like brother, like sister’ saying into open war. But the chain doesn’t care who is fighting whom. Asante will need something from Abba one day, and Abba will need something from Asante, whether or not their fathers ever made peace. Fortunately, Chameleone and Goodlyfe made peace.

Compiled by Mwesigwa Joshua

Available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and web browsers, open-source ArtCraft has become a hot topic. And you, my friend, are probably wondering what all the fuss is about. How do you get your hands on these apps, and what should you know before installing them? Based on what I’ve learnt so far, here are my two cents…

ArtCraft is a free open-source suite of creative and productivity apps designed as alternatives to Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office.

How to Download & Install ArtCraft (Latest Version)
The easiest and safest way to get started is to visit getartcraft.com or the official ArtCraft GitHub repository and download ArtCraft Launcher.

Think of ArtCraft Launcher as Adobe Creative Cloud: a central dashboard for downloading, launching and updating the apps. The difference? ArtCraft is lightweight. The launcher file is 8 MB and grows to about 21 MB when installed, although sizes may vary between subsequent releases.

Once you’ve installed the launcher, things are fairly self-explanatory. Choose the apps you want, install them and get started.

What You Should Know Before Downloading ArtCraft

#1. Download ArtCraft Launcher, not Individual Apps
Although individual apps, such as PhotoCraft (a Photoshop alternative) and WordCraft (a Microsoft Word alternative), also have their own installers, the all-in-one ArtCraft launcher makes it easier to install and update multiple apps without downloading each manually. Since the ArtCraft suite is still new and actively being developed, regular updates are important.

#2. Requirement of 8 GB RAM & 2GB Storage?
One of ArtCraft’s biggest attractions is its smaller installation size compared with Adobe apps. However, actual hardware requirements for RAM and CPU usage vary depending on the application, the file’s complexity and the task being performed.

#3. ArtCraft Compatibility with Adobe & Microsoft Apps

Another benefit of ArtCraft is a consistent interface. If you are familiar with, say, Adobe Illustrator or Microsoft Word, you will find that their alternatives (clones), VectorCraft and WordCraft, use the same controls and keyboard shortcuts.

File Compatibility
ArtCraft apps can also open and read their corresponding files (native file formats) from the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, and vice versa. However, compatibility may vary depending on the software versions you are using.

Third-Party Plugins & Extensions
Currently, ArtCraft applications are not compatible with Adobe-supported third-party plugins and extensions such as Mr Horse, Aescripts, Red Giant, Nik Collection.… However, this may change as development continues.

#4. Legally Free Software
All ArtCraft apps are free and open source. If you’ve been relying on cracked Adobe and Microsoft software, the ArtCraft suite gives you a legitimate, up-to-date alternative without an Adobe subscription.

An open-source app is software whose source code is available for anyone to view, improve or modify, rather than being kept secret by its creators.

However, don’t uninstall Adobe apps just yet. ArtCraft is still developing, and some features may be missing, work differently or need further refinement. Test the tools you use regularly, open your existing projects and check that everything works as expected before switching.

Who Should Use ArtCraft Apps?
If you’ve been using cracked Adobe Creative Suite or Microsoft Office software, this is for you.

If you’ve been limited to older Adobe software because of an outdated or low-end PC, ArtCraft offers alternatives that replicate the latest Adobe apps without demanding the same hardware resources.

If you’re a multitasker with a high-end PC but want to save on app installation size, RAM and CPU usage, ArtCraft is a good lightweight option.

However, if your work depends on advanced editing tools, specialised effects, third-party plugins or established professional workflows, test the relevant ArtCraft apps thoroughly before crossing.

ArtCraft is built around local file processing and user privacy, and it does not offer the same built-in cloud storage and syncing integration as Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft OneDrive. If you rely on automatic cloud storage, you may need alternative file-sync methods.

ArtCraft Alternatives to Adobe, Microsoft, and other Apps 

Below are some of the ArtCraft applications and their Adobe and Microsoft counterparts. The collection is still growing, with tools extending into areas such as audio production with SoundCraft (an Avid Pro Tools clone), computer-aided design with CADCraft (an Autodesk clone), and web design with FigCraft (a Figma clone). It won’t be long before ArtCraft launches its own open-source alternative to Windows!

Adobe Alternatives by ArtCraft
PhotoCraft: Adobe Photoshop for image editing
VectorCraft: Illustrator for vector graphics
FilmCraft: Premiere Pro for video editing
LightCraft: Lightroom for photo management and RAW processing
EffectCraft: After Effects for motion graphics and visual effects
DesignCraft: InDesign for page layout and publishing
PdfCraft: Acrobat for PDF tools.

Microsoft Office Alternatives by ArtCraft
WordCraft: Microsoft Word for word processing
GridCraft: Excel for spreadsheets
DeckCraft: PowerPoint for presentations
DesignCraft: Publisher for desktop publishing.

Is ArtCraft ready to replace Adobe and Microsoft? The verdict is yours, dear friend… let me know in the comments.

Mowzey Radio, the second half of Radio and Wesel, wasn’t just Uganda’s most beloved voice; he was a monster writer. He spent his childhood listening to Fred Sebatta and inherited his writing style, dramatising feelings rather than narrating them. But where Fred Sebatta had 15 minutes to build a full scene, Radio often had one line. He made you feel what Sebatta would make you see. He did this with his lyricism, poetry and strong imagery.

When he asks Jennifer for a certain dance she performed at Julie’s wedding, as well as to sing Christina Aguilera’s song, it’s hard to understand that Julie is a made-up character and that Christina is a real person. And when he shouts a girl’s name like a Vuvuzela, you’re reminded of the World Cup in South Africa, but when he mentions Tshabalala, your mind can’t figure that out.

Think of Mowzey Radio as a poet, lyricist, mind-painter, manipulative scriptwriter and more. He drew something in your mind, and it made you cry or smile.

Radio delivered deep lines with magic that lived in the gap between what he said and how he sounded saying it. He was a trained community psychologist who had the skill to bring out of his listener all the emotions he wanted. Listening to Radio Mowzey and crying wasn’t accidental; it’s something he planned the moment he put his pen to paper, as a professional film scriptwriter would. See these lines;

#1. Zuena
“Unapendeza sana sana… Unaniumiza sana sana” (You are so lovely… you hurt me so much)

The intention of that line seems to have been creating a rhyme (-ndeza, -umiza), and this is where most writers would miss it; they want to rhyme but forget meaning and emotion. That line sets up the song’s whole engine in one breath: beauty and pain arriving together, inseparable. Then he escalates into something few songwriters would risk, trying to measure love using a measuring machine: “Zuena, lwaki tonteka ku minzaani… noopima nolaba akwagala y’ani” (Why don’t you put me on a scale and measure who loves you).

The line “Oli nga ekyuma ekipima obudde obwembela” (you are like a temperature-measuring machine) isn’t necessarily a romantic cliché; it’s a deliberate refusal to sound plain. An amateur writer would say, you are a thermometer! But to a common Ugandan who has ever had their temperature tested, he wanted to show that Zuena is like that device they put on your body to test your ‘hotness’; most Ugandans are not good at pronouncing ‘th,’ so he saved their day.

That’s the same instinct John Donne used centuries ago, comparing love to a compass or an astronomical instrument: forcing an emotional truth to justify itself in the language of precision.

The line, “Ku countdown y’omutima gwange gwe ali ku number emu” (on the countdown of my heart, you are at No.1), a radio listener understands what a countdown is and what a number one song on a countdown feels like.

#2. Nyambula
This breakup song was, in a sense, a quiet jab at Jose Chameleone. Many Leone Islanders remember Chameleone as the demanding boss who would order his protégés to remove his shoes for him, barking, “Nyambula engatto!” (Take off my shoes!), which is how he earned the nickname “Nyambula” within the crew.

Radio took that inside joke and turned it into a genius disguise: although the song is titled Nyambula, in reference to Chameleone, he actually pronounces it Nyambura throughout, reshaping it into what sounds like a breakup song about a Kikuyu girl named Nyambura. The real meaning hides in plain sight, buried inside a name that sounds almost, but not quite, like the joke it’s actually built on.

“Bwewakaabanga nga nze gwokaabila, nga lwokubye enddulu wuuwi nzilukilira” (When you cried, it’s me you were crying for. When you raised an alarm, it was me who responded) is nearly non-metaphorical; it reads almost like testimony. Radio is describing himself, and likely the other Leone Islanders, as the ones who always showed up whenever Chameleone got into the fights he was known for picking. But the line also works as a broader truth about relationships: in most partnerships, one person ends up carrying the weight, always the one to step in, always the one to fix things. That person is usually left heartbroken in the end, because when their effort goes unnoticed, the other party eventually walks away.

“Naye nondekaawo, ogenda webigula n’abazungu. Abalina sente mpulira balingamu n’obubundu” (You left me alone and went running around with loaded foreigners… they had some guns too). On the surface, this line exists mostly for the rhyme (-zungu, -bundu), but it does real work underneath. It paints the picture of someone trading loyalty for a “high life” with foreign men, and the mention of guns adds a sting of helplessness: the image of a white man with a gun taking your girl, and there being nothing you can do about it.

#3. Where You Are
Radio was good at language mixology: mixing Luganda, English, and Swahili.

“Rohoni unanitesa kishenzi” (inside my soul, you torture me mercilessly) carries the raw emotional charge, and the song immediately code-switches into English for the plainer request, “find a place we can go… lost in your arms.” The Swahili carries the suffering; the English carries the asking. Radio may never have consciously thought of it in these terms, but his instinct, his genius, working beneath deliberate thought, arrived at the same result. And as listeners, we can still notice it, even if he never mentioned it anywhere.

#4. Ngenda Maaso
What happens when you go after a man with a thousand talented, poetic ways of hitting back? You end up on the receiving end of his pen. Chameleone, New Vision, and Bebe Cool all felt the sting of Radio’s writing in this song. “Elinya lyange olisiize enfuufu. Ogambye abantu ebyenyanja byange byentunda bivuundu” (You have smeared my name with dust, you tell people I sell rotten fish) and “Amagoba gange gakukwasa ensaalwa so nga maanyi gange lwaki oyagala okufuna amangu” (my profits make you jealous, yet it’s my hard work. Why do you want to make quick profits?) were both aimed squarely at New Vision, who Radio and Weasel accused of publishing false stories about them.

He used the simplicity of a fish business to depict just how envious the music industry was of Goodlyfe.

The honest context behind it: when Goodlyfe rose to fame, it stirred real resistance from industry gatekeepers blocking anyone from climbing past a certain point. Reportedly, the media itself had been influenced by powerful industry forces determined to hold back rising acts. Goodlyfe’s momentum caused such a stir that they ended up in direct conflict with Vision Group, Ange Noir (now Club Guvnor), DJ Shiru, Straka Mwezi, and other established gatekeepers of the scene.

In fact, Goodlyfe wrote separate songs as direct responses to specific rivals: Kiduula aimed at Ange Noir, Bakasitoma aimed at New Vision, and Camilla, Sitani, and Lwaki Tokula aimed at Chameleone, who, in Ngenda Maaso, is the target of the line “banoonya ng’ensowela” (they hunt for me like a fly), a reference to Chameleone reportedly hunting down and confronting Radio and Weasel in clubs. Other unspecified rivals were addressed in songs like Talk and Talk. Though Radio and Weasel were, on the surface, mainly known for love songs, they clearly made time to answer every attack thrown their way.

#5.  Enyimba Z’omukwano
This is one of Mowzey Radio’s most emotionally heavy writings. “Okwagala nabwo bulwadde olukukwatako tebiwona, mazima obelera ddala ng’eyalwala kokolo okulemala” (Love is like a disease that never heals; it’s like a cancer that cripples you) is about as far from a typical love song as a love song can get, and then he breaks the fourth wall entirely: “Enyimba z’omukwano zinyiiza. Ziwanawana nyo abagalana” (I hate love songs; they praise lovebirds.) That line is remarkable.

Enyimba z’omukwano is almost a direct echo of Ne-Yo’s So Sick, another heartbreak song where the singer admits he is tired of hearing love songs because they only remind him of what he lost, even though he sings love songs himself. Both artists use the same trick: turning the song into its own confession.

The line “Nze nebwenebaka n’enema okuzukuka” (even if I sleep and never wake up) reads less like poetic hyperbole and more like exhaustion with being alive inside the feeling of love. He made it appear like he was helpless and vulnerable to the point of wanting to die, the same way he did in Nkwagala when he said: “Esaawa bweliba etuuse ng’owulira okooye okundaba onyambanga mukwano n’ongamba nenoonya ekyokola” (In the moment when you feel tired of me, I beg you to let me know so that I look for what to do). The emotion that line engenders is that what he would do might as well be committing suicide; and since no one wants to be the cause of someone’s suicide, the person he was addressing would make sure he never gets tired of him.

#6. Machozi
“I am standing by the roadside hoping you’ll be passing by, come see me.” Every boy has stood at some roadside waiting for his crush to pass by.

#7. Bread and Butter
“Bread and butter” is an idiom that means a livelihood. So, this meant that the girl was Radio’s livelihood.

But here is the catch. Radio had to make this line work for listeners unfamiliar with the English idiom, many of whom didn’t even know what butter was, since it isn’t common in most Ugandan households, or at least they don’t know it’s called that. So, he translated it into Luganda as “Oli mugaati gwa butter,” literally (You are bread with butter). That direct translation carries a different meaning altogether. In English, the phrase is about necessity, something you can’t do without.

In Luganda, the meaning shifts to taste and sweetness; bread smeared with butter is simply delicious, so the line becomes “you are as sweet as bread with butter” rather than “you are essential to my survival.” That shift is exactly why local fans connected with the song so strongly: most weren’t decoding an idiom about necessity; they were hearing a simple, relatable compliment about sweetness.

“Olinga enkuba etonya ekiro ku mabaati” (You are like rain that rains on the roof at night) means her presence gives him comfort in a quiet, steady way, like the calming, repetitive sound of rain at night when everything else is still.

“Oluusi ndoota nenkulaba nga otudde awo kumpi n’eddinisa, obufananyi nembukuba, negative neenzooza” (Sometimes I dream and see you seated by the window, I take pictures in the dream and develop the negatives) means he thinks about her so often that even his dreams are detailed and specific, not a vague image, but her in a clear setting, by the window. He treats the memory as worth preserving, the way you’d develop a photo to keep it permanently, saying the dream felt real and important enough that he wanted proof of it afterwards.

“Olina omusango gw’okuwoza mu kirooto lwaki wansooza” (You have a case to answer as to why you jeered at me in the dream) means that in the dream, she mocked or laughed at him, and he’s now confronting her about it as if it really happened, even though it only took place in his imagination. Treating something imaginary as a real offence is his way of joking about how much the dream affected him; he was bothered by something she never actually did.

Click here to read Part 2

What if I told you luck isn’t random? And that it’s maybe a probability problem, and the people you deem lucky aren’t actually lucky?

Maybe these people just happen to know something that you don’t. James H. Austin, an American neurologist and author, in his 1978 book Chase, Chance, & Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty, states that there are four types of luck, as explained below.

#1. Blind Luck
Winning the lottery, being born into a family with everything people yearn for or being born in a country with more opportunities; these are things that are out of your control, and this is what most people think of when they think of luck.

But remember, since you don’t choose either side of the coin, whether to be born into a rich or humble family or to win or lose the lottery, relying on blind luck is a trap. Looking to the past or the future for a lucky break breeds passivity. You must take action to break the cycle or somewhat influence it. This invites us to the second kind of chance.

#2. Luck from Motion
Think of putting yourself in positions where luck is more likely to find you. You say hello to strangers; maybe one of them could be your next client; attend that conference, and apply for the job you think you might not get. You move to a dense city filled with more opportunities: migrating from your village or town to Kampala, Kampala to Nairobi, or onward to New York, London, or Singapore. Most importantly, you say yes to new experiences and seize every opportunity that comes by. By taking these steps, you actively expand the surface area for luck to land.

Remember, the more places you go, people you meet, and experiences you try, the more surface area you create for unexpected luck to strike.

#3. Luck From Awareness
This hits hard! We live in a world where millions of students start school and graduate only to compete for the same careers. In such a crowded system, unique awareness becomes a powerful tool. Because when everyone is looking in the same direction, you have to ask: How do I see things differently?

Seven people can look at the same situation, yet only one or two will spot the hidden opportunity behind it. As the saying goes, chance favours the prepared mind, or in this case, the person actively looking for it.

To paint a clear picture, take SafeBoda co-founder Ricky Rapa Thomson, who was just another Kampala rider in 2014 until he chose to reimagine the Boda Boda industry instead of simply waiting around for customers. The same is true for the innovators behind the M-Pesa/Mobile money idea that has simplified financial transactions for millions.

#4. Luck from Uniqueness
This is how you turn the tables. You put yourself out there and become known for a specific expertise. By developing a unique skill set, you become the go-to person in your area, the graphic designer everyone hires for posters, the photographer called for every wedding, or the attorney everyone recommends. At this point, opportunity starts chasing you more than you do.

In the end, while most are waiting for luck to find them, have you ever wondered if luck is actually waiting to be found? Maybe I should’ve just called this “How to Create Your Own Luck”, lol.

Tanzania is phasing out physical airtime scratch cards to promote digital payments and expand electronic recharge services. The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) announced the plan in a public notice issued on 8 October 2026.

The transition follows public awareness campaigns launched on 1 October, with the initial phase scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2027. The pilot will cover all districts in Dar es Salaam and selected districts in Dodoma, Arusha, Mwanza and Mbeya. Authorities will announce a nationwide implementation date later.

Under the plan, subscribers will adopt digital recharge methods, including mobile applications, USSD codes, mobile money wallets, bank ATMs and authorised banking agents. Major operators affected include Vodacom Tanzania, Airtel Tanzania, Yas (formerly Tigo), Halotel and the state-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTCL). The move is said to reduce the environmental impact of physical vouchers and support the country’s transition towards cashless (digital) financial services.

Uganda’s 2018 Airtime Scratch Card Ban Reversal
Uganda attempted a similar transition in 2018 when the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) announced plans to prohibit airtime scratch cards, setting 31 July 2018 as the deadline. Unlike Tanzania’s emphasis on digitalisation and environmental concerns, Uganda’s directive was driven largely by security concerns over unregistered SIM cards and their alleged links to criminal activities.

Lawmakers and the public strongly opposed the ban, prompting the government to reverse the decision on August 9, 2018. However, because MTN, Airtel, and Africell, Uganda’s top telecom operators at the time, had already stopped printing and distributing scratch cards ahead of the ban, the market shift was unstoppable. Electronic airtime purchases seamlessly took over as vendors sold out the remaining paper stock.

Kenya’s Digital Adoption Without Ban
Known for a robust cashless economy in the region, Kenya has never enacted a formal statutory ban on physical scratch cards from the government or the Communications Authority (CA). Instead, their phase-out happened organically.

The rapid, near-universal adoption of Safaricom’s M-Pesa ecosystem, alongside digital offerings from Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya, shifted most users to electronic top-ups. Airtime scratch cards remain legal and are still printed and sold at small kiosks to serve rural markets.

And now, the big question: Does Tanzania need a government-led phase-out to move from airtime scratch cards to digital recharges, or can its major telecoms and market demand drive the transition, as Kenya’s experience suggests?

A little bias? Perhaps. A few facts about Uganda’s independence you probably didn’t know? Absolutely.

#1. Independence Day also Honours a Late King
The date, 9 October, was selected to coincide with the death of Ssekabaka Muteesa I of Buganda, who died on the same day in 1884. The day is historically attributed to Muteesa I’s role in inviting early Christian missionaries and explorers, a spirit of hospitality that would eventually shape the region’s future.

At the time, his 37-year-old great-grandson, Ssebaka Edward Muteesa II, was the reigning King of Buganda.

#2. Revised Independence Anthem
The national anthem performed at the midnight ceremony on 9 October 1962 is not completely identical to the one sung today. George Wilberforce Kakoma’s original opening line was “Oh Uganda may your children uphold thee.” It was officially amended two months later, in December 1962, after religious leaders protested that it was “Godless” and successfully lobbied Prime Minister Milton Obote to replace it with “Oh Uganda! May God uphold thee.”

“I feel that Uganda is a religious country and it is a pity that the word God is not named in her anthem.” – Archonship Erica Sabiti

#3. Independent under the British Monarch
Despite the midnight celebrations on 9 October 1962, Uganda’s independence did not immediately end its ties to the British monarchy. Under the 1962 Independence Constitution, Uganda became a sovereign state but remained a Commonwealth realm, retaining Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, holding the title Queen of Uganda.

The Queen’s constitutional duties were exercised locally by Governor-General Sir Walter Coutts, while Milton Obote served as prime minister and head of government.

This arrangement lasted until 9 October 1963, when Parliament, then divided between the ruling UPC (37 seats), the opposition DP (24 seats), and the Buganda KY royalists selected from the Lukiiko (21 seats), was influenced by Prime Minister Obote to amend the constitution. This amendment abolished the office of Governor-General and replaced the Queen with a locally chosen, non-executive president.

To fulfil a political bargain born of the ruling UPC-Kabaka Yekka alliance, Kabaka Edward Muteesa II was elected as Uganda’s first president, while Milton Obote remained prime minister.

In 1966, Uganda’s constitutional order changed dramatically when Milton Obote abrogated the existing constitution, assumed the presidency under the interim “Pigeonhole Constitution” and subsequently overthrew President Muteesa II.

#4. The Republic of Uganda
In September 1967, a new republican constitution was promulgated; it consolidated a centralised political structure and formally abolished the traditional kingdoms.

To be continued… Happy 64 years of Independence, Uganda!