Four days into the new ‘‘TwenyTweny Won, many Ugandans are just happy to have seen the end of Tweny20 which was, indeed, a rollercoaster year. But that doesn’t mean there was no entertainment, with some of these hashtags that kept us going.
We have been through a lot in TwenyTweny. In a militaristic approach, some people opted to call in Twende Twende (let’s go!) No wonder, the only virgin at 32, Joel Ssenyonyi broke his virginity. Covid-19 lockdown for about six months made “hashtag activism” even more prevalent. These are some of the most popular hashtags that have hilariously served Ugandans in 2020.
#JanWorry
January pushed some of us to the wall and hung by the thread throughout the 51 days of JanWorry. Some broke men did not have food and asked to borrow meat for cooking and return it to enjoy the gravy. Those who survived January like Rickman Manrick had to fly swiftly into February.
#OmwavuWaKufa
As people made light of their financial blues, #OmwavuWaKufa took everyone by storm. At the beginning of the year, news broke out that a muppet character “Kermit the frog” had died. The country went through weeks of agony until his family disregarded the ‘fake news’.
Kermit frog was heavily used by businesses for their merchandise photoshopping Omwavu into their adverts. He was invited by IHK for a free circumcision exercise while a job search landed him in Karamoja to chase locusts out of Uganda. Omwavu, the GOAT of 2020, is still alive.
#NTVDanceParty and the rest
When the going got tough, TV stations got going. The media lockdown parties tickled our night experience. #NBSKatchUp and #NtvDanceParty became trendy hashtags on social media, every Friday and Saturday of the lockdown bringing nightclub experience to viewers into their castles. If you were not tuned into NTV Dance Party or NBS Saturday Night Live, why were you still awake? Thank God those hectic nights gave us Lynda Ddane. Even if you did not admire her hips, you had to pay attention.
#Men’sConference
Valentines this year? A viral two-day Men’s Conference starting on February 13 at 00:01am until February 15 at 23:59am tried to prove that you are a man whether you have a woman or not. The boy child who fretted the idea of Valentines in FebWorry devised a hilarious escape plan. The fictional “secret men’s conference” issued reminders, invitations and itineries. Hilarious and fake messages were issued cleverly reminding men not to sleep at home on Valentine’s Day in order to avoid expensive dinner dates and gifts.
At one time I was tempted to think the conference was real as those who had secured their seats shared legitimate looking screenshots of tickets and booking confirmations.
Apart from Kenya, the ‘free-to-attend’ conference remains mere talk and social media parties that never really happen.
#EbirumaAbayaaye
Did you miss the “Ebiruma Abayaaye” challenge? The social media streets have been trending with Bino byebiruma abayaaye slang. Firebase singer Zex Bilangilangi, who reportedly used to tag the slang along his posts and skits about his lifestyle and videos, is credited for keeping us talking. The chapter was closed with “Ebyalema Abazeeyi”.
#BlackLivesMatter
BlackLivesMatter, a global phenomenon, was used roughly 47.8 million times on Twitter – an average of just under 3.7 million times every day. In the 10-year history of Twitter, #BlackLivesMatter was the third most used social-issue. The phrase “black lives matter” was first used by a black community organiser in a Facebook post following the July 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of black 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The hashtag surged on after the death of George Floyd in connection with police-related brutality. Ugandans could not be left behind as they used it in support of the broader social movement or to flag general racial issues. Some miscued it by using #AllLivesMatter.
Lynda Ddane
#SMAU
The Stingy Men Association of Uganda (Smau) cared so enough for the boy child once again.
For the men that needed their expenditures to be regulated, this was the right body. There were many variations but the advice was always hilarious. In one caution, members wishing to travel to the village for Christamas were advised not to waste money by walking half the distance and then board cargo trucks. One member was apprehended for handing a lady a huge amount of Shs500 in violation for the rules of giving.
Enter Jerome
When 2020 was not meant to be your year but you force it to be. Ironically, Jerome, the ‘only son of my mother’, travelled from Fort Portal to Nyamitanga amidst all the Covid-19 risk to surprise us with his misfortune after sleeping in another man’s mosquito net. His defence line? I am the only boy of my mother! In a script excerpt of Gipir and Labongo, we witnessed the harmless use of a spear in a duel. Mummy’s only boy was probably caught after following advice from Stingy Men’s Association of Uganda (SMAU).
Meanwhile, Police forgot to charge Taata Bella and Jerome for spreading Covid-19. The award for Hard Guy of 2020 goes to Jerome for sleepwalking into another man’s house and acting like Arsenal FC that breaches away games rules. Jerome should be kept in a museum for future reference.
As you prepare to sanitise and keep social distance, awo ne bwentema.
gkatongole@ug.nationmedia.com