A large glass water jar, crystal clear as the water it holds, sits majestically upon a long table layered by a green floral-patterned table cloth.
Thirteen empty glass bottles which I fathom previously held liquor stand neatly filed on the table’s edge. In one of the glass bottles, a potted plant grows; its serpentine roots float aimlessly within the glass confines like an ensnared Medusa.
A carpet of the crimson shade covers the tiled Lumumba Boy’s Hall floors. Clean cream walls enclose the room. Green curtains shield the two wardrobes from prying eyes. Two neatly dressed metallic beds fill up the little space inside the room with two wooden chairs wrapped in chair covers on the floor. The neatness of Alex Lukwago’s room is really startling.
Lukwago is a visually impaired law student at Makerere university. He is one resilient fellow who refuses to let his total visual blindness impair his vision.
Born to a polygamous political father and business woman on the 30th day of November in 1993, Lukwago is the fifth child to the couple.
As I compose myself in the room, a quiet fellow joins us and we become three. I later learn it is Wilson Kigundu, Lukwago’s helper.
Lukwago heaves deeply and asks whether I’m ready to which I respond in the positive. He sighs deeply.
“I wasn’t born blind, I was a normal child till the day that has remained etched in my life: the 25th day of the 1997 December Christmas. I was rushed to Mengo hospital where doctors predicted doom – a life of gradual sight loss. I held on unto my sight till 2003 when pitch darkness made my eyes their place of rest. Before then, I still could make out blurred objects before me,” narrates the 23-year-old.
As many would predict, once this impeding blindness was detected, Lukwago’s family was taken aback.
“We were devastated by the news. The frightening realisation that my life would soon be a sea of darkness was immense on my timid soul. The whispers turned steadily into songs, every one was certain I had been bewitched. Doctors failing to identify a specific cause intensified the rumours. I’ve personally never been a believer in the existence of sorcery. My condition is wholly medical,” he continues.
Lukwago speaks with a refreshing honesty, there isn’t an iota of emotion detectable in his voice.
But here I ask whether he ever feels vulnerable. An emphatic “not in any way” is given in response.
“I’d only feel vulnerable in the Gordian knot that Kampala city is. I can ably do as others. I can cook, peel matooke, read Braille, do my laundry, run my Facebook, use my computer, have my own bath, find my way around familiar ground like any other,” Lukwago energetically adds.
But he recalls that when doctors told him that he would soon become blind, he decided to use the remaining days of sight to identify the world around him. Here, the Law student talks of how he remembers his patents’ faces, his most loved red colour.
“It’s a bit strange, some faces of the people you love, you hardly can recall. Those who came after you lost your sight you can only imagine what they look like.” he says.
Inspiration and pleasure
To Lukwago, life would be a rougher road to walk if it wasn’t for the care and love from his parents. He feels the two have made him what he is today, and he can never thank them enough.
“My parents, Mugerwa Robert and Kyalisima Prossy are my sources of inspiration. My mother is a mother of the Nation: a primary school teacher and social worker in a community development organisation. My father is a politician. His passion for farming contributes towards the food basket. He grows Cocoa and Coffee. In my eyes, they’re a success story in their own little way, he says.
Lukwago finds loads of pleasure in pro-disability rights advocacy and feels that he isn’t badly off in all ways of life. “I like extending a hand to those I consider more needy than me. I personally know what it means to live without anything,” he softly says.
In his free time, Lukwago loves listening to music, reading novels and Julius Ocwinyo’s “Fate of the Banished” is his most preferred. At this point, he plays mellow music from his laptop which has a visibly cracked screen.
Memories with his eyesight
But for a person like Lukwago, who was not born blind, a lot of childhood memories have always crossed his mind.
“I miss riding.” he says with a sorrowful voice. “I would have missed seeing faces of people but somehow, my imagination comes to my aid. I often make use of people’s voices. The voice is a powerful tool. By their voice, I can tell someone’s kind. I can discern one’s height by their voice.”
Bad moments
Lukwago’s sight loss is not the worst thing he has experienced in life.
“After I lost my sight, the 18th day of February 2016 haunts me. The fact that my vote somehow didn’t count is one terrible thing. I feel I was robbed of my civic right. I left home that day with the assurance that I’d cast my vote. My name wasn’t in the voters’ Register… I’ve never been more embarrassed,” he recalls.
At a certain point in life, Lukwago even thought that God was no longer considering him as human being because of the situation he was going through. He even accused his parents of not doing enough to reverse the situation.
“I, however, was sadly wrong. my parents tried more than they ever could. The Good Lord has a purpose for which he took away my sight,”Lukwago adds.
Fears
Like most students in Uganda nowadays, who feel they are studying but they will not get employed, Lukwago is equally pessimistic he will not easily get a job.
“I have a soul-gnawing fear within me: shall I be treated like the rest? Shall I suffer from the pains of job market discrimination based on my lack of sight? What if after all this hustle I fail to find a job? This is one honest fear I have,” he discloses.
Love life
“I’m in relationship. I, however, won’t mention names. The lady is in first year will be in her 2nd year soon… We met way back in High school, at Iganga secondary school,” he intimates before chuckling at my relentless efforts to know who the girl is.
“I’m a man. I made the first move, we became friends and out of that innocent friendship, passions blossomed. She’s understanding, caring [and] loving”
But Lukwago’s parent’s don’t know about the relationship yet. He says they’ve been exerting slow but consistent pressure on him to get a girlfriend. The two love birds have been in a relationship for close to two years now.
Future prospects
“I don’t seek pity, my dignity won’t let me. Empathy I might appreciate but I certainly won’t welcome sympathy,” Lukwago says.
Lukwago thanks all lecturers at Makerere University School of Law for their friendly policies towards people like him.
“My Law class is living testimony of the goodness of society! My closest friend Malunga Acidri, is a gem. He leads me to and from class every single day! Bless that boy! It’s difficult to imagine life without Malunga,” he says.
But before we part ways, Lukwago has a few things to share with the public: “I am human, normal like any other, with feelings and dreams. I hope society understands that. I dream of getting married, passing the bar, becoming an advocate and serving society.”
Photos | Zahara Abdul | Campus Bee
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