Vision guests dine with flair
IT was a hushed hall and leaning into their seats, were perhaps the finest crop of 30-somethings, — no tell a lie — of the future of womanhood in Uganda. They hushed for, before them and on stage, the Kombat Dancers in the form of Natasha Sinayobe and Michael laid bare to an alluring show that s
By Timothy Bukumunhe
IT was a hushed hall and leaning into their seats, were perhaps the finest crop of 30-somethings, — no tell a lie — of the future of womanhood in Uganda. They hushed for, before them and on stage, the Kombat Dancers in the form of Natasha Sinayobe and Michael laid bare to an alluring show that said it all.
The battered woman, the unappreciated woman, the secretary woman and the by-the-way woman is no more in Uganda! While they may have missed out on the future, the woman of yesteryear has taught the 30-somethings a valuable lesson.
Shed your gomesi (busuuti) for a flair skirt and trousers and have ambition. Get rid of the kitchen sink shackles and the masanda (sup)-covered hands and go out there and stand equal as that man — if not above him for today’s woman has to have more than a touch of flair.
Not only has today’s woman re-defined herself and shown the world that she is much more than just a housewife, secretary, nurse and teacher, as it was then, today she has gone corporate.
She is the new age woman — educated, astute, able to juggle a multitude of tasks from the weekly family shopping, changing the kids diapers, preparing the family meal, while still able to wear a smart designer suit and taking command of a heated discussion in a boardroom full of ‘men’ who (and will not admit it) know that the monopoly that they once had to the top jobs is up.
The woman Sinayobe portrayed was exactly that. She rose from the backroom of the house where man had confined her and now commands equal status — if not a status way above man, skilled and able to do just about anything a man could do — right down to being a hardhat wearing construction manager or being at the helm of a top company just like Allen Kagina is at the Uganda Revenue Authority, Justice Julia Sebutinde is in the legal field or Barbra Kaija is in the media world.
And with Women’s Day barely six days away, it was perhaps befitting that The New Vision CEO, Robert Kabushenga, went ahead and launched Flair for Her, the latest in the magazine installments from the Vision Group at the Kampala Protea Hotel.
While telecom companies may throw outlandish sums of money at a launch, The New Vision’s budget was modest, but yet attained the same results and feed back as a multi-billion telecom launch. Even the bean counter, Zubiar Musoke, The New Vision’s financial man, could afford to smile for it was money well spent.
Peter Kaggwa’s Event Warehouse worked for every penny Musoke forked out. The décor was stunning, their hands on approach was appreciated while on the other end Tendo Kagwa and his Globetek lads did more than enough to keep the picture in check.
While the launch was predominately female affair — and why not — hello, the magazine is called Flair for Her, the belle of the night and the cover girl, Anne Aliker of Stanbic Bank was not present.
Not that she shunned the event, but as a corporate woman and a mother, she was away in Turi, Kenya checking on the welfare of her children. But behind every successful woman there is a man, in this case a husband.
Okello Aliker who is indeed successful and has a way of working wonders with teeth, stood in for her. But he did not come alone. He went the flair way and turned up in the tow of three ladies — Robin his daughter, Camilla Aliker his mother and Justina Sebagereka, his mother in-law.
And there was also Benjamin his son. With that predominantly female support, Anne must have felt proud of the support.
Then enter Keturah Kamugasa, the editor of the magazine. From the moment she stepped up to the podium there was one thing on her mind. Assertiveness! She wanted height and she got it by standing on the elevated platform.
She wanted the magazine to be a success and she is going to get it. She wanted support from management and they gave it to her. She got everything she asked for including getting her flared groove back!
She promised not to let women down because her mother, step-mother and father had instilled in her all the qualities to be a successful person which she has in turn passed onto the magazine.
And to wrap up the show was Kabushenga. He did not mince his words. If anybody doubted his qualities as a CEO, they had better think again.
The New Vision has a healthy bank balance.
They have a runaway successful new magazine, they are innovative, the lead and the people they employ, especially the women have their feet firmly on the ground.
And like he said, in almost all meetings he chairs, women are the majority. And just to prove that Flair for Her will be a success, he told Kamugasa and her team, that he wants the magazine to be a monthly magazine in three-months time.
And it will be for Kamugasa did tell us that: “Whatever I do, is always a success.†With that kind of assertiveness, there is no need to watch this space.
IT was a hushed hall and leaning into their seats, were perhaps the finest crop of 30-somethings, — no tell a lie — of the future of womanhood in Uganda. They hushed for, before them and on stage, the Kombat Dancers in the form of Natasha Sinayobe and Michael laid bare to an alluring show that said it all.
The battered woman, the unappreciated woman, the secretary woman and the by-the-way woman is no more in Uganda! While they may have missed out on the future, the woman of yesteryear has taught the 30-somethings a valuable lesson.
Shed your gomesi (busuuti) for a flair skirt and trousers and have ambition. Get rid of the kitchen sink shackles and the masanda (sup)-covered hands and go out there and stand equal as that man — if not above him for today’s woman has to have more than a touch of flair.
Not only has today’s woman re-defined herself and shown the world that she is much more than just a housewife, secretary, nurse and teacher, as it was then, today she has gone corporate.
She is the new age woman — educated, astute, able to juggle a multitude of tasks from the weekly family shopping, changing the kids diapers, preparing the family meal, while still able to wear a smart designer suit and taking command of a heated discussion in a boardroom full of ‘men’ who (and will not admit it) know that the monopoly that they once had to the top jobs is up.
The woman Sinayobe portrayed was exactly that. She rose from the backroom of the house where man had confined her and now commands equal status — if not a status way above man, skilled and able to do just about anything a man could do — right down to being a hardhat wearing construction manager or being at the helm of a top company just like Allen Kagina is at the Uganda Revenue Authority, Justice Julia Sebutinde is in the legal field or Barbra Kaija is in the media world.
And with Women’s Day barely six days away, it was perhaps befitting that The New Vision CEO, Robert Kabushenga, went ahead and launched Flair for Her, the latest in the magazine installments from the Vision Group at the Kampala Protea Hotel.
While telecom companies may throw outlandish sums of money at a launch, The New Vision’s budget was modest, but yet attained the same results and feed back as a multi-billion telecom launch. Even the bean counter, Zubiar Musoke, The New Vision’s financial man, could afford to smile for it was money well spent.
Peter Kaggwa’s Event Warehouse worked for every penny Musoke forked out. The décor was stunning, their hands on approach was appreciated while on the other end Tendo Kagwa and his Globetek lads did more than enough to keep the picture in check.
While the launch was predominately female affair — and why not — hello, the magazine is called Flair for Her, the belle of the night and the cover girl, Anne Aliker of Stanbic Bank was not present.
Not that she shunned the event, but as a corporate woman and a mother, she was away in Turi, Kenya checking on the welfare of her children. But behind every successful woman there is a man, in this case a husband.
Okello Aliker who is indeed successful and has a way of working wonders with teeth, stood in for her. But he did not come alone. He went the flair way and turned up in the tow of three ladies — Robin his daughter, Camilla Aliker his mother and Justina Sebagereka, his mother in-law.
And there was also Benjamin his son. With that predominantly female support, Anne must have felt proud of the support.
Then enter Keturah Kamugasa, the editor of the magazine. From the moment she stepped up to the podium there was one thing on her mind. Assertiveness! She wanted height and she got it by standing on the elevated platform.
She wanted the magazine to be a success and she is going to get it. She wanted support from management and they gave it to her. She got everything she asked for including getting her flared groove back!
She promised not to let women down because her mother, step-mother and father had instilled in her all the qualities to be a successful person which she has in turn passed onto the magazine.
And to wrap up the show was Kabushenga. He did not mince his words. If anybody doubted his qualities as a CEO, they had better think again.
The New Vision has a healthy bank balance.
They have a runaway successful new magazine, they are innovative, the lead and the people they employ, especially the women have their feet firmly on the ground.
And like he said, in almost all meetings he chairs, women are the majority. And just to prove that Flair for Her will be a success, he told Kamugasa and her team, that he wants the magazine to be a monthly magazine in three-months time.
And it will be for Kamugasa did tell us that: “Whatever I do, is always a success.†With that kind of assertiveness, there is no need to watch this space.