A Seed on Good Soil or a Seed on Rocks: Museveni’s Contestations with Democracy in Sowing the Mustard Seed

This paper discusses Yoweri Museveni’s Sowing the Mustard Seed and argues that he uses this literary text to construct identities of him as a nationalist leader. In his autobiography he guides the reader to approach it, not as a scheme to glorify himself, but as an insight into true leadership. However, this paper reveals that Museveni is the quintessential politician determined to retain power using any means available to him, including likening himself to Jesus Christ, the fêted sower. The paper argues, Sowing the Mustard Seed, is Museveni’s scheme to hold onto power. It hinges on the thinking that Museveni’s rereading of Fanon is faulty and malicious. Although he draws from Biblical parables and imagery, this paper hints that Museveni’s seed might have fallen on rocks and arguably has failed to sprout. He fictionalizes Ugandan history in his autobiography through the use of several stylistic devices to portray himself as a Che Guevera of Uganda, a revolutionary saviour of a dilapidated state. Museveni conceptualises democracy in Uganda through the parable of the mustard seed. By anchoring the title of his autobiography on the Bible, Museveni hopes to create an intellectual space whereby the readers may view him as the sower who sows the seed of democracy in Uganda. Keywords: democracy, yoweri museveni, parable, saviour, jesus chris

Multilingualism and Language Use Patterns: Students Attitude towards Kiswahili in Garissa Town, Kenya

This study investigated language attitudes of secondary school learners of Somali descent toward Kiswahili and their patterns of language use in various domains in a multilingual context as evidenced in Garissa Town. The target population was secondary school students in public and private schools within Garissa town, Garissa County, Kenya. Field data was collected through questionnaires. A total of 100 respondents were involved in this study. This sample was obtained through simple random sampling technique. This study obtained quantitative data from respondents’ responses to guided questionnaires in order to determine their attitude towards Kiswahili. Data was analysed descriptively and by way of tables. The findings reveal that secondary school students within Garissa town have a positive attitude toward Kiswahili. Somali language is mainly spoken at home. English is mainly spoken at school while Kiswahili is used for intercultural and interethnic communication. Keywords: Patterns of Language Use, Language Attitudes, Multilingualism, Kiswahil