Dystopian Futures: Ugandan Science Fiction and Post-Apocalypse Contagions

Uganda, like most countries on the African continent, has in the recent past grappled with existential pandemics such as AIDS, Marburg disease, cholera, Ebola, and currently the Covid-19 pandemic. All the above-mentioned disease outbreaks have often unleashed unimaginable suffering on Uganda’s population. This is perhaps why Ugandan scholars and public intellectuals—especially its writers such as Mary Karooro Okurut, Moses Isegawa, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, and Austin Ejeit—have used fiction to offer insights into the various contours of these contagions. For example, in their interrogation of one of the worst pandemics to hit the Ugandan society—AIDS—a host of writers have centred a cautionary tale motif and verisimilitude to show how behavioural change can effectively combat disease outbreaks. This article builds on this substantial Ugandan archive of plague writing by focusing on one genre of Ugandan writing—science fiction—that has not received much critical attention for its exploration of pandemics. I explore how Dilman Dila’s “A Leafy Man,” “Where Rivers Go to Die” and “The Taking of Oleng” use science fiction tropes to proffer insights in contemporary Ugandan plagues. I argue that Dila uses science fiction to effectively delineate the causes of, how to cope with and the myths that circulate about these catastrophic occurrences in the Ugandan public sphere. Opsomming Soos die meeste lande op die Afrika-vasteland het Uganda onlangs met eksistensiële pandemies soos vigs, Marburg, cholera en ebola geworstel, benewens die huidige Covid-19-pandemie. Al die bogenoemde siekte-uitbrekings het dikwels ondenkbare lyding vir Uganda se bevolking meegebring.  Dalk is dit die rede waarom Ugandese vakkundiges en openbare intellektuele—veral skrywers soos Mary Karooro Okurut, Moses Isegawa, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, en Austin Ejeit—fiksie gebruik het om insig in die verskillende kontoere van hierdie besmettings te bied. Byvoorbeeld, in hul ondersoeke oor een van die ergste pandemies wat die Ugandese samelewing getref het, naamlik vigs, het vele skrywers ’n waarskuwende verhaalmotief en skynwaarheid die middelpunt gemaak om te wys hoe gedragsverandering die uitbreking van siektes doeltreffend kan bekamp. Hierdie artikel bou voort op dié omvattende Ugandese argief van skryfwerk oor siektes, deur te fokus op een genre van Ugandese skryfwerk—wetenskapsfiksie—wat nie veel kritiese aandag gekry het vir die bestudering van pandemies nie. Ek ondersoek hoe Dilman Dila se “A Leafy Man,” “Where Rivers Go to Die” en “The Taking of Oleng” wetenskapsfiksie-stylfigure gebruik om insig oor hedendaagse Ugandese plae te bied. Ek voer aan dat Dila wetenskapsfiksie gebruik om ’n doeltreffende beeld te skep van die oorsake van hierdie katastrofiese verskynsels wat in die Ugandese openbare sfeer sirkuleer, hoe om dit te hanteer en die mites daaromtrent.