The burdens by John Ruganda.

John Ruganda (30 May 1941 to 8 December 2007) was Uganda's best known playwright. Beyond his work as a playwright, Ruganda was also a professor at University of North, South Africa, University of Nairobi, and Makerere University.

Ruganda's plays "reflect the reality of the East African sociopolitical situation after independence." He was considered a shaping force of East African theater. The Burdens (1972) and The Floods (1980) have become a regular part of curriculum in Literature classes.

John Ruganda, who died in 2007, was considered a shaping force in East African literature, and his published plays – The Burdens (1972) and The Floods (1980) have, over the years, featured among the required texts for literature in English courses at high school level in Kenya and Uganda. The Burdens was first published in 1972 by Oxford University Press.
Set in post colonial times, the play touches on many themes, including education, politics, poverty, and violence. Wamala, the father at the center of the drama, is a man living in denial, unwilling to accept his slide into poverty, after he loses his post as a Minister in the government.
"………….he had found himself a minister, with all the licensed and unlicensed accessories befitting his office. The trouble is once you surprise yourself with this finding, you not only forget your former self but you also look forward to bigger surprises…..there is always an audience to cheer you until one day the axe falls and you are all alone….."
Once at the top, Wamala feels humiliated by his inability to look after his family, and seeks solace in taking liquor. He blames his wife Tinka for bringing him down. But neither Tinka nor their fourteen year old son, Kaija, is prepared to let him off. Tired of sharing a bed with his bedwetting sister, Kaija feels that he is old enough to have a bed of his own, and pesters his father to buy him one. But the young boy's pestering is met with silence …"a silence that gnaws…"
Wamala's humiliation is further compounded by his isolation from his children, who increasingly lean towards their mother. Kaija, in particular, is very close to his mother, and the two enjoy a special bond that goes beyond the mother-son relationship. He always runs his mother errands, and keeps her company until late in the night, when Wamala returns home drunk. And he often stands up to defend his mother when she and Wamala get embroiled in their frequent fights.
The situation in the house is always tense. Tinka exploits sympathy from her two children to taunt and further humiliate her husband. Rather than confront the present, Wamala looks to his happier past for solace – a denialism that infuriates his wife even further. In the end, the constant quarrels lead to a deadly climax.
The Burdens depicts many of the dysfunctions in post-colonial African society – at a personal and societal level, and is a brilliant portrayal by Ruganda, one of East Africa's best known playwrights.

Foursum foundation has embarked on performing this play at the National theatre, as part of their annual schools theatre programme. Under this programme, the theatre outfit chooses literature set plays from the on running curriculum for both O and A level and enacts them on stage. This initiative has been ongoing for the last three years and so far it has been a success. The burdens, as a play tackles post independence issues at the time Ruganda wrote the play. But it is not surprising that the same issues that he tackles then are still relevant (With a few contextual changes of course) to today's political and socio- economic situation…

The major theme of the play is the suffering and frustration of the common man in todays post independence Africa. The play opens with Tinka, weaving on her mat and wearing 'I have been through hell' look on her face. This opening spectacle alone tells the audince what to expect, Tinka is not a happy woman. Her situation alone, from the setting doesnot show anything but misery and suffering.

The play explores the political, social and economic situation of the country at the time. The writer uses Memory is an escape zone where characters hide from their unpleasant present, they always trance into a remembrance of the past and paint a clear picture of what and how optimistic they all where. Wamala is the symbol and voice of frustration and hopelessness. The once optimistic Wamala, chief and respected man in society. The once hopeful and celebrated person in society has fallen from grace to grass, and how does he deal with the situation? He day dreams and fantasizes on ideas like all hopeless common people do…until Tinka is fed up with all this and ends his life for him. Something I may say is the fate of any disadvantaged man going through what Wamala did…


The staging of the play is set to help and enhance the creative imagination of the students in answering their final literature exams. It is believed that seeing is believing, when these students watch the play on live stage, the impact created in their minds is so enormous that it cannot easily be erased.
Supported by the Uganda National Cultural Center, the theatre has given space to the group for two shows, and over fifty schools invited to participate.

VENUE: NATIONAL THEATRE

TIME: 10AM AND 2PM

DATE: 10TH MARCH 2015

FEE: 5000Ugshs per student

Just because the show is designed for children does not mean its a children's play alone. The issues tackled in the play have and still prove to be relevant to the adults. And I must say, every Ugandan or East African ought to watch this play as well. The presentation is the same for both adults and students, so come be part of this learning experience. The burden will sure be lifted.