Kansanga Residents Jubilate On Entering 2002

Time check was 12:00am. Venue was Al’s Bar, Kansanga. When the DJ announced that it was 30 seconds to January 1 2002, the crowd went hilarious, writes Lillian Nalumansi. Strangers shook hands, lovers kissed and friends danced wildly. They did not have to wait for midnight to show that they were happy. The old year was gone and they were jubilant to receive 2002. Expatriates, most of them with prostitutes, and the locals in the company of wives or girlfriends rushed, to the dance floor as proof that they were happy to be alive in 2002. Heads swayed like they were about to be detached from the neck, hands moved up in the air, and shouts of ‘happy new year’ filled the packed dance floor. Outside Al’s bar, boda-boda riders joined and hooted in unison when it struck midnight. At Kansanga market, excited residents welcomed the year by burning papyrus mats. At Half London, it was a more relaxed atmosphere with a dignified audience. Husbands and wives came together with their children to enjoy 2001’s last dinner. Here, it was decent dressing and there was no need to worry about one’s valuables being snatched. Even when it approached midnight, there was not much hullabaloo about it. It was the bar’s waitresses that hurried to blow up balloons to welcome the new year. Meanwhile, at Capital Pub in Kabalagala, I did not have to wait for midnight to strike to know that the crowd would turn wild when it turns 2002. By 9:30pm, prostitutes were at work as usual. They wore skimpy outfits, leaving nothing to the imagination. In a bid to lay their hands on more money, the target for this night were the white men and Asians. They were like a swarm of bees every time a white or Asian man entered the bar. It did not matter that the men walked in singly or in a group. Ends