from the press

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/sunday_life/Ladies_black_is_beauty_81939.shtml
Sunday Life March 22, 2009
By Joshua Masinde
Book: Butterflies of the Nile
Author: Jane Musoke-Nteyafas
Publisher: Cook Communications
Reviewer: Joshua Masinde
She writes poetry, short stories and plays. She is distinctly feminine, describing the African woman’s beauty with a passion. Such is her description: “In the beginning, God populated the earth with black women and he made them a rich embellishing combination of all colours and shades.
They were beautiful rainbow complexions of coffee, cocoa, and ebony, chocolate…” she writes on, “and the Devil came along and created skin lighteners…”
Butterflies of the Nile by Jane Musoke-Nteyafas, is drawn from a poem by the same title. The poem is an artistic and compelling praise of African beauty (read African women’s beauty).
Despite the beauty the African women are endowed with, it is strange but uncommon how the natives of Africa, especially the men who live in exotic lands, have alienated many things African by having a chronic penchant for exotic tastes. Muhwezi, in Prom Night, passes for one of such alienated blokes.
He is a Ugandan-born, Canadian-bred chap who does not appreciate his Ugandan-born Canadian girlfriend, Aisha. Despite her breathtaking beauty, which is admired by many a man, Muhwezi does not appreciate such African beauty.Aisha is authentically beautiful.
But, as Muhwezi does not appreciate her as much as she deserves, she puts on makeup and uses lots of beauty enhancing elements to appease him. Nevertheless, he does not still appreciate her spruced up appearance meant to placate him.
In a drunken stupor, he abuses her instead. Nteyafas writes of deep love and affection in Nakimera’s Love. Nakimera and Rwomushana, both from Uganda but living abroad, meet on an online chatting site.
Although they live continents apart, they fall deeply in love such that Nakimera does not object to his suggestion of going to England to stay with him. Nakimera’s Love is an enchanting love story of the African love, which brings together and binds her and Rwomushana. Through her, Rwomushana appreciates how beautiful women from his home country are.
Modernity has brought with it myriad makeup, which most women use to appear (beautiful), fashionable and sophisticated. The face presents such a scenario. Katrice, an African woman, though beautiful in her natural way, uses a lot of makeup to fake artificial beauty, which unfortunately she does not attain.
She has the body and features, which though she dislikes, present her as more beautiful than one would ever think. After adorning the makeup, she is visibly ugly and is abandoned by her boyfriend.
However, her second boyfriend dissuades her, just like her mother did sometime back, to stop using makeup as it exaggerates her looks and makes her appear ugly. After ridding herself of all makeup, her authentic African beauty stuns her boyfriend, who vows to keep by her side forever.
Nteyefas is potently feministic, championing the rights and place of women in modern society. In her simplicity, she writes strongly and passionately of the beauty of African women, love and relationships.
The themes run through the plays, poems and short stories, with a touch of biblical allusion spicing up some stories. She writes to heal the distorted stereotypes and misconceptions attached to African women’s beauty. It is powerfully written, passionately moving, truly sensitive, and ecstatically enchanting.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/smartmoney/Banking_fortunes_on_the_betting_game_83250.shtml
Smart Money April 16, 2009
Justus Lyatuu & Joshua Masinde
Kampala
In a pure game of chance, many Ugandans are increasingly placing their hard earned cash into a growing betting industry that is attracting especially younger people who enjoy the thrill of betting.
The betting industry in Uganda is not exactly young but is emerging from the informal and stagnated into a modern business enhanced by technology and innovation.
Justine Mwanje, a student, has been betting since 2005. Last year, he placed Shs10,000 and won Shs250,000. He says such fortunes have encouraged him to frequent betting stores. He also admits that betting is addictive. He has also made losses.
“Every weekend I bet roughly Shs10,000, but for the last two weeks I have lost,” he adds. Adam Sebugeni, House Manager, Sports Betting Africa – one of the betting companies, Bwaise branch told Smart Money that in February this year he won Shs150,000 after making a bet with only Shs10,000.
Betting stores are fast becoming places for people to spend most of their time attracted by the thrill to win while others have been knocked of their feet by the addiction that comes with playing the game many times.
Betting companies have cunningly moved into sports activities attracted by the growing number of Ugandans who love sports especially top European soccer leagues such as the English, Spanish and Italian.
Cricket and rugby have also become popular attracting many people especially foreigners to bet on them. At Sports Betting Africa in Bwaise, more than 200 participants place bets over the weekends. Mr Sebugeni says one can bet as little as Shs500 and a maximum of Shs150,000. The number of winners varies but Sebugeni says about 50 people win cash on a good weekend.
Royal Sports Betting, another of the flourishing betting companies, holds a record of losing Shs34 million to a lucky customer in one single bet, according to proprietor Zaheer Nathani.
He also said a customer once lost Shs5 million to the company. Mr Nathani says that betting has become a competitive business with more companies entering in the industry.
Some of the companies in the betting business include; Sports Betting Africa, Royal Sports Betting and Kings Betting among others. These compete directly with casinos such as Simba casino and Kampala casino.
Royal Sports Betting started four years ago and according to Mr Nathani business is booming. He says he found out that people could not afford to go to expensive casinos and needed something cheaper and less frightening.
At Royal Sports Betting, one can bet with as low as Shs500.“We wanted something that even a common man could afford. We give the best odds to our people though high profile people get special odds depending on the game,” he says.
The service provider presents the betting odds, from which clients choose. Odds are figures for betting, the betting can be conducted on any game though betting on the English Premier League matches is the most popular and attracts a big number of clients.
He says the trick – indeed one needs to be good at trickery to participate – for success is being knowledgeable about the teams one is betting on.
Royal Sports Betting has machines connected to the internet and provides key information to sports novices. Much of the information is available and helps customers acquaint themselves before going to bet. Royal Sports Betting handles between 400 to 500 customers a week.
To attract more customers, betting companies have invested heavily in electronic gagdets like computers with internet and clients can get their results online.
In the meantime, Kampala City Council makes Shs446,500 from issuing trading license to the betting companies and the Ministry of Finance, also collects an annual fee of Shs300,000 from the businesses as well.