Gen Tumwine on why he doesn't wear a tie

Security Minister Gen Elly Tumwine hates the uniformity of formal western suits that are the dress code in Parliament. He has been appearing in his creatively designed shirts without neckties and at one occasion he was thrown out of Parliament. Umaru Kashaka had a brief chat with him.

When was the last time you put on a tie?

I decided to stop putting on a tie the day Mwalimu Julius Nyerere (former Tanzanian President) died. I decided on that day (October 14, 1999) that I would never put on a tie and that it should never be put on my dead body. This is in honour of former African leaders such as Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana) Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia), Nelson Mandela (South Africa) and even Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire now DR Congo). They demonstrated how we should get away from the colonial identity of a tie. This hanging piece of cloth serves no purpose but a mark that you were colonized by a designer of the last century.

And when did you start wearing your own traditional clothes?

I have not put on anybody's clothes since 1989. I only design my own clothes and every week I come up with a different design.  I am looking forward to the day I will put out my unique designs. But I have a bias towards green colour and it is because of the analysis and observations of nature. I wonder how come that the most important colour that God found necessary to create that we live with is green. The best environment people want to live in is green. It is the one which you stay with for the rest of your life.

What is your best design?

My best design is my residential house in the village (Rwemikoma sub-county, Kiruhura district). It is my greatest art piece because it is not anywhere. It is my personal design. That house has no corner. It is round and everything in it is round.

Do you still paint?

I haven't painted since I became a minister but I keep drawing and writing.

You have a number of songs and videos where you celebrate your culture and love for Uganda. Why do you sing?

My songs are deliberate and I don't sing them for money.  For example, the first song [he then signs Ainunu] which is very famous is about our beautiful country Uganda. In that song, I tell people of how wonderful our country is—the land of milk and honey, the pearl of Africa... 

The other song is [titled] Live your dream and enjoy your life. It tells people that they must work hard to have a dream and enjoy it. Then there is also the King of Africa for Pan African movement. It asks, "If they were the king or queen of Africa what would you do for Africa? What do you say to Africa?

Would you tell young people to be proud of Africa?" Those are some of the songs I have but I am still composing more. All in all, you must know your God. You must have time for God.

What do you enjoy most?

I enjoy meeting people and holding discussions with them. I learn from these discussions. I also enjoy being with my long-horned Ankole cows. They give me the best exercise that I enjoy. I don't have to run around. I walk with them quite a distance and climb hills. I water them.