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How Sam Bright MUHINDO and the team ended up in Cells at CPS Omugo

This marks the end of our awful journey series to the West Nile District of Terego District where Sam Bright MUHINDO had gone to pick a girl-child in Aseru Sharon.

Aseru, the 8-year-old girl child was randomly identified by Bravo Shoes Community Support Team back in June 2022, she still has a long journey to overcome the barricades ahead of her as a girl child.

Maybe Aseru had to borrow a thing or two from Sam Bright MUHINDO, the boy behind the story of the barefoot who used to dance at functions for money to take care of his family.

To cut his story short, MUHINDO has since changed dramatically; he is a student at the Namuwaya Education Centre while back in the day, he was posted on TikTok smoothly dancing to musician Diamond Platinumz’s song and Bravo Shoes started looking for him.

Like everyone out there, the organization looked for a handsome dancing boy and was taken back to school. He is now a presentable student who danced all his way to school.

MUHINDO was found at the function hundreds of kilometers deep in Kasese; he was given money which he used to buy plastic shoes and the rest he shared with his struggling family.

While still at Aii-vu Sub County preparing to hit the road to Kampala, Hayati, and her father, Salim Ibrahim were supposed to be on board.

Bravo had planned to book a space for two to sleep in Kampala, and report to school the next day because of the fatigue that comes with a distance of 510 km.

An annoyed voice call came from one of the authorities from the district headquarters demanding to meet the team before they do anything in Terego.

According to Yesigye Brian Bravo, the Executive Director of Bravo Shoes Community Support Organisation (BSCSO), the person at the end of the call was “angry” and commanded that the team reports to the district headquarters or else “security will come for you.”

The team drove straight away to the district at around 2:00 PM, we found the entire hierarchy from the ranks of the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), DISO, ISO, Chairperson LC 5, LC 3 Chairperson Aii-vu Sub County, and councilors among others.

The Terego District LC 5 Chairperson Saka Wilfred chaired the meeting and faulted the BSCSO for not involving the district authorities. He then advised the team to go back and follow the rightful procedures.

“Actually, all the NGOs have to sign an MOU with us, we have all the structure that it takes to accommodate the district. There are organizations registered in Kampala that don’t show any presence in Terego,” he said.

After listening to Bravo, Saka guided that the organization should fall back and present the right documentation regarding its legality among others.

“In Terego district, in the interest of the child, we need your documentation such that we have you in the file first” Saka resolved.

 

Why the RDC called the team “Poor”

“You don’t even look money; how did you beat the security apparatus to come here (Terego)…. Why are you picking one child? Why not 100 children…..Bring those dollars here, we know where the vulnerable children are…….. ” Said Bessi Ajilong, the RDC, Terego District.

During the discussion with the district leadership, Bessi Ajilong the RDC Terego District had different thoughts and she raised a couple of suspicions about the organization.

Ajilong questioned the organization’s methodology of operation before she started belittling the team members as people who looked “Poor” and struggling.

“I acknowledge your presence with suspicion. When you left Kampala, am sure you crossed twice, should know that there is a government. We are not yet sure of your intentions. As the head of security is still very suspicious. Your methodology could be right but the procedure is wrong,” said the bitter Ajilong.

According to Ajilong, despite the branding and the online live updates through the team’s public social media platforms, her security could not detect that the organization had nothing to offer.

“You are talking about social media; it is the worst! Some organizations promise to take our students to good schools but end up taking them to ramshackle schools,” she added.

Ajilong said that though the district is poor, they can still survive without help and the government will “struggle” to empower them.

“In our poverty, we can survive. If you have money that is disturbing, you bring it here. Bring that resource envelope within our set up we can use it effectively,” she advised.

Adding; By the way, the most learned people are in this region, you are lucky you survived lynching. This kind of surprise, the game of chance doesn’t work here.

After the meeting was closed, the team learned that we were under detention and no one was supposed to move. Even when any member wanted to ease him/herself, a policeman would escort him/her.

As it was approaching 5; 00 PM, the District Police Commander (DPC) (names withheld) came along with detectives from Omugo Central Police Station, they sat with us asking curious questions, and at the back and front of the car, sat two armed policemen whom we drove with before they detained us at around 8:00 PM in the police cells.

The following day we learned that a file on human trafficking was opened after spending a night with 8 other suspects who (some) had spent between 8 – 13 days in prison over different crime-related cases.

NB: Sam Bright MUHINDO was not locked-up with us in cells. MUHINDO spends his night sleeping on Aseru’s mattress in the detectives’ office. He spent the rest of the days admiring police officers and asking questions about why we are far away from him.

“You don’t even look money; how did you beat the security apparatus to come here (Terego)…. Why are you picking one child? Why not 100 children…..Bring those dollars here, we know where the vulnerable children are…….. ” Said Bessi Ajilong, the RDC, Terego District.

The above and more will come in our Part 3

The Monday morning journey from Arua to Terego District was not any better than the scenes of June 2022 when we spotted Aseru Sharon.

On 12^th September, though many school-going children are seen along the road while others are home doing chores, Aseru was supposed to break the same jinx.

Reaching Aii-vu where Aseru was spotted, we quickly called the Youth Councilor Asizo Faiza who later took the Bravo Shoes Community Support Team to the Sub-county offices to meet the L C 3 Chairperson Anguyo Kennedy who was supposed to lead us to Aseru’s home and officiate the function.

One of the team members signed in the visitor’s book on behalf of the organization as we waited for Anguyo who had delayed reaching his office.

After reaching his office, they had a long conversation with the organization’s Executive Director Yesigye Brian Bravo, and Aseru’s grandmother arrived at the offices.

The meeting didn’t yield anything as Aseru’s grandmother allegedly declined to let her granddaughter go to school.

Hayat Comes in the Picture

After frustrating Aseru, another young girl Hayat Leila, 8 years grabbed the opportunity. The reason for Hayat to come in was based on the fact that she was coming from the same community and was a girl.

Her father, Salim Ibrahim is a former British American Tobacco driver who retired to the village and her mother is Afisa Salim who also consented through the father in her absence.

Unlike Aseru, Leila was a Primary 4 student at Akua Primary School about 4 KM from Aii-vu. It took her father courtesy of a friend to lend a motorbike and a few minutes away, Hayat was home preparing to join Sam Bright MUHINDO and come to Kampala.

Earlier, the LC 3 chairperson had told Bravo that despite everything, he did not involve the leadership in these activities.

However, the physical communication link between the organization and the authorities was through the guidance and the coordinator ship of Hassan Papito, a resident from Arua City says lots of communication and visits were done. As well as the phone calls between the same leaders and Bravo.

According to Papito, he had tried to connect with Chairman LC 1 thrice but was never home and he could hardly pick up or return his calls.

“Education is the key to each and every little girl and the boy child as well. The mindset of our people, misbelief, and challenges in the past decades is still the problem,” he said.

Papito says he is grateful to work with the organization on their cause to support education, unfortunately, he has not been at ease since he started traveling with the organization, and his life has been threatened by security and tribal undertones.

“We have a lot of challenges in our region, I have been attacked by unknown people and threatened by the Police and the local authorities,” he added.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics 2016/17 report, only 11% of children who finish primary school in the West Nile Region proceed to the secondary level.

The 2016/17 National House Hold Survey report shows that whereas 92% of the school-age going children in the region were going to schools within 3km of their home, few completed primary education, and only 11% of those who completed primary level joined secondary school.

The West Nile region was also found to be one of those with staggering levels of poverty. Although poverty in the region had reduced from 43% to 34.9% within the last three years, it still remains one of the highest in the country standing way above the 21.4% national level.

Sunday morning’s journey to the West Nile District of Terego started quite boring despite having the ever-humorous Sam Bright MUHINDO on board to pick Aseru Sharon.

The 8-year-old girl child was randomly identified by Bravo Shoes Community Support Team back in June 2022.

On Monday 12^th September was the D-Day to mark a new chapter in Aseru’s life as she was about to step a footprint in school, MUHINDO, the organization Education Ambassador, Western Region was to orient Aseru about life in school and her new role on Education Ambassadorship for girl child from West Nile.

For the record, whenever the Bravo Shoes Community Support team travels for these activities, authorities from the local council, security, and councilors among others are informed and usually become part of the activities as seen in our previous documentaries and articles.

From Kasese, Budaka, and Bugiri among other places the organization has set foot, the authorities have been reliably informed and played a greater role unlike in Terego where the leadership is divided.

In Terego, the authorities were religious aware of our activities from the day the organization set foot in Terego, Aiivu Subcounty back in June, and days prior to 12^th September, the Local Council 3 Chairperson, Anguyo Kennedy was at least aware of our activities and our plans prior to the due date.

Like before, we took Masindi- Packwach- Arua route through Murchison National Park away from the usual Hoima-Masindi-Kigumba-Bweyale-Karuma-Pakwach-Nebbi-Arua which is still under construction.

Reaching Kichumbanyobo the Masindi South Gate, unlike before, the silence was observed throughout the route to Murchison National Park, our known friends like baboons, monkeys, giraffes, warthogs, and buffalos were few and rare observers unlike before.

Experts in wildlife urge that, we arrived after the prime time when animals come out to graze. Indeed, we arrived in the park close to afternoon hours, and yours Sam Bright MUHINDO, had little to admire. No wonder! He called a baboon a monkey!

Despite the distance, Muhindo got a new lease on life after reaching Packwach, his passionate way of life could not live the children of Packwach the same. In fact, Sam Bright MUHINDO had an offer to the smiling kids who gathered along the road.

As he unleashed his lifestyle dance strokes, no one could beat him and all kept admiring the wonderful kid’s rare strokes. “That one is high level….” Said one of the young ladies who participated in the challenge.

Sam Bright MUHINDO left Packwach without selecting one and promised to come back another day.

As we hit Arua, the team was up to rest, to prepare for another day to pick up Aseru Sharon to go to school.

Dressed in a short-sleeved pink shirt, grey suspenders, a bow tie, and shorts (all grey), the faster-rising star Sam Bright MUHINDO could not leave his sunglasses home and his black sneakers.

He had earlier had a live interview with Yesigye Brain Bravo and for the first time the young lad opened up about the domestic violence he witnessed back home explaining how his mum could fight in the children’s presence.

Before he could raid Freedom City for his first appearance on the Dancefest with Arafat 2022 on Saturday, the young man paid a courtesy visit to Kololo Airstrip to catch a glimpse of my Kid a Superstar proprietor Joseph Masembe.

Sam Bright MUHINDO lived a low profile from the dugout at Freedom City Gym until he stepped on the stage to perform his particular act.

On the stage, the dancing star pulled his usual antics full of maturity and perfection despite hundreds of eyes gluing on him.

Little known to many in the building Sam Bright Muhindo was able to thrill and some joined him to pull up his rare steps from a couple of songs from Mavo Culture among others.

He later joined the rest of the revelers for aerobic classes.

According to Arafat Zaga the organizer of the Dance Fest, Sam Bright MUHINDO does not disappoint and his perfection was expected.

“He is like my little brother and very proud of him. When I see him, I see myself way back. We share so many things in common and am proud to have met him. He is a natural talent who just needs a person like Bravo. I see a future dancer and at some point, a very good leader,” he described.

The dance fest attracted hundreds of participants including the young during the day and the adults at night. Lots of performances from Afro dance, Empere, Salsa among others were performed.

The Dance Fest was coined to unite people from different backgrounds to showcase the craft and change the perception about dance to show people that you can dance to keep healthy.