Penelope Sanyu

My Ka heart breaks in ways I’m not sure how to fix,I’m overwhelmed. A nation should never become so accustomed to exceptional measures that injustice begins to look ordinary! Today, we are watching families search for people who have disappeared,citizens are living with the quiet calculation of whether a phone call, a social media post, or attendance at the wrong gathering might change the course of their lives. We have watched @TimKalyegira and @miriamatembe being remanded to Luzira prison, @SueNsibirwa being hunted, the former Lord Mayor, @EriasLukwago once again becoming a symbol of the personal cost of standing in opposition along side many that we may not ever hear about on the news. We continue to hear reports/allegations of abductions that leave families and loved ones suspended between hope and despair, so many unaccounted for Ugandans and many more abducted / imprisoned/ missing persons. These are not isolated headlines, they are warning signs. The measure of a democracy is not how it treats those who praise those in power, It is how it treats those who question them. I have no interest in defending individuals because of their politics. My concern is much deeper than that. I am defending a principle I spent many years learning and trying to understand, the rule of law! Once the law becomes selective, none of us is beyond its reach, and once due process becomes optional, none of our freedoms remain guaranteed. When fear becomes an instrument of governance, silence begins to masquerade as peace and I’m here to remind you that it’s not ! History is painfully consistent because nations do not lose their freedoms all at once. They surrender them piece by piece, exception by exception, until one day injustice feels normal, qne this is perhaps the greatest danger before us in Uganda today, not that people are afraid, but that the rest of us begin to adapt to their fear. As a feminist, I have always believed that freedom is indivisible. If one Ugandan can be unlawfully taken, all Ugandans are less free and if one citizen can be denied due process, every citizen stands on weaker constitutional ground. Rights are not rewards for good behaviour or political conformity, they are guarantees that protect us precisely when they are inconvenient. My piece of writing is not a call for disorder, it is a demand for constitutional order. I am crying out in the only way I know how to demand that institutions be stronger than personalities, that justice be stronger than power, and that the Constitution remain stronger than political expediency. Uganda cannot arrest its way into legitimacy, we cannot intimidate our way into unity, we cannot abduct our way into stability. We are better than that! And perhaps the most patriotic thing any Ugandan can do today is to insist calmly, consistently and courageously that no one should be above the law, and no one should ever be beneath its protection. Don’t hide in fear, your voice matters,use it !

We invited adults to come and play, they picked up water guns and made it everybody’s problem. Apparently, some of you had scores to settle, and @Qweshunga provided the equipment . The most played game of the day was gogoolo and water guns, make of that what you will, Personally, I have questions. But mostly, I have gratitude. To everyone who came to the #QweshungaDay2026, thank you for trusting this beautifully stubborn idea that grown people deserve spaces to play, laugh, connect and return to themselves. You came with your friends, your curiosity, your competitive spirits and, clearly, very little mercy. You gave yourselves permission to be gloriously unserious for a day. Watching that unfold reminded me why I keep doing this. Building Qweshunga takes imagination, resources, difficult conversations and a village of people willing to carry a crazy idea until it becomes something we can all step into. I am deeply grateful to our partners, vendors, volunteers and my QBadass team for the work, care and energy that made this gathering possible. There is always something to learn and something to do better. I am holding those lessons alongside the joy and carrying both into what we build next. My hope is that you took a little of that freedom home, a new friendship, a lighter heart, a story to tell, or the reminder that the playful person inside you is still very much alive. Thank you for helping me build a movement where joy has somewhere to gather. Mwebale nnyo, my Qweshunga people. Until we collectively play again, please keep Qweshunga alive #Qweshunga #InspirePlayLive #Qweshungaday2026 🎥 @twikirizeronald

Today is a good day to play ! #InspirePlayLive #qweshungaday2026

One more sleep, Tugende tukyekole ! @qweshunga #qweshungaday2026 #IndpirePlayLive

Dear #SunsetCrew, Sunsets are the kind of company that makes you grateful to be here. May September end gently for you, and may October arrive carrying favour, good news, and a few beautiful surprises. @asiimwe4justice @bamulanzeki @BightOfBeninRes @MosesRutahigwa @kecho1 @firmatine @drjohnmark_b @Atulinda_Allan @qataharraymond @nickopiyo @MirembeNoah @Twonjex @twikirizeronald @scamwesigye2 @Twejaka @ZaharabdulFoto @CrystoTheDeejay

Tag and bring that friend, Yes, that one who is always busy, always serious, has their calendar booked until 2034, responds to memes and jokes with “noted.” Buy them a ticket, we need to find out what happened when they grew up. #Qweshungaday2026 #InspirePlayLive @qweshunga