Thirty five years after his ouster and
eleven years after his death, military dictator and self-proclaimed “uncrowned
King of Scotland” Idi Amin Dada still exerts a cancerous influence on his
country. In 1972, Amin forcibly expelled 80,000 Asians (mostly of Indian
origin) from Uganda. Several thousand Indo-Ugandans have since returned, filing
claims for the property appropriated by the regime. Demagogues invoking Amin’s
name are only too willing to capitalize on the resulting tensions. Two families
are caught up in the racial and economic tensions escalating throughout Patrick
Sekyaya’s ironically titled The Ugandan (trailer here), which
screens as part of the Indian Cinema sidebar at the 2014 African Diaspora International Film Festival in New York.
Simon’s little brother was nearly
suspended for protecting Sonia’s little sister from a bully. They met during
the disciplinary aftermath and eventually fall in love. However, joining their
two families will be a tricky proposition. Their home was once the property of
Sonia’s father, Raman, who has instituted legal proceedings to retake
possession. In fact, he is playing a nasty game of hardball, even though Simon’s
sister Becky happens to be his secret mistress. Oh, but it gets even more
complicated than that, especially when Becky’s other lover Tony takes advantage
of a race riot to waylay her third brother Ralph and his ill-gotten loot. Naturally,
the hot-headed Ralph will not take that lying down.
In many respects, The Ugandan is not so far removed from some of the more
professional Nollywood films. The execution is a little rough and some of the
performances are slightly awkward, but Sekyaya’s ambition is impressive. He
tackles some big themes here, openly inviting an honest historical reckoning
with the Amin legacy. Even with his budget constraints, Sekyaya also stages a
pretty convincing riot, giving the film further ironic resonance in light of
current events.
To be fair, Sekyaya’s cast plugs away
rather gamely, including the director himself, who is suitably intense as
Ralph. Peter Mayanja and Dora Mwima demonstrate the greatest screen presence,
by far, as Simon and Becky, respectively. On the other hand, Arfaan Ahmed has a
bit of a rough go of it as Raman, but Sekyaya gets him through it.
