By Ahmad Muto
Proline Football Club director Mujib Kasule has condemned Ugandans that took to social media to share memes hours after it was announced that East Africa’s Pamoja Bid that set out to see Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania host the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 was successful.
The news broke on Wednesday, September 27 and typical of Ugandans making every development a bag of jokes, they turned to sharing memes on social media as a way of communicating their hopes, worries, aspirations and frustrations with what they think the tournament will look like come 2027.
A meme is an image, video or text that most times poke fun of a particular subject, character or event.
According to Kasule, the memes were an indicator of how much Ugandans do not treasure their country.
While appearing on a local radio station over the weekend, he said: “For me, it is an indicator of the lack of patriotism. With a patriotic population, regardless of how your country looks, when you have an opportunity like co-hosting the AFCON 2027, you will rally behind it.”
Kasule, however, argued that patriotism has for a long time been at odds with sports, but the successful Pamoja bid should be an opportunity to fix it.
“Patriotism in this country has not been a priority. However, sports provide an olive branch. When people get involved in sports, they forget their differences,” he argued.
The Ugandans on X were particularly concerned with security, infrastructure and the possibility of corruption that they claimed will leave loads of blemish on the country after the tournament.
The memes, however, were not only being thrown around by Ugandans. Kenyans, too, shared their worries online, questioning their readiness in the area of infrastructure, with some arguing that they should have focused on athletics instead.
