2023-11-04 18:00:12
With each new song launched by the DJ, or almost, the revelers gathered around small high tables come alive, singing, dancing, twerking, before calmly resuming the thread of their discussions. It’s only 9 p.m. on this Friday evening in October but beer and whiskey have been flowing freely for hours at the Kyadondo Rugby Grounds, an open-air bar surrounded by sports fields on which the crowd overflows.
At the Villa nightclub in Kampala, October 28, 2023. BADRU KATUMBA FOR “THE WORLD” Cooking pork skewers at the Kyadondo club in Kampala, October 28, 2023. BADRU KATUMBA FOR “THE WORLD”
At the back, in thick smoke, hundreds of succulent and slightly spicy meat skewers are grilling, the signature dish of the Ugandan night. They nibble on the stick, without taking the time to sit down, so as not to miss a single minute of the night that is beginning.
« What, in Europe they don’t know that Uganda is the party country? In Africa, Uganda is number 1, by far. Every day is a holiday in Kampala, every day from Monday until Sunday “, boasts Allan, 24, who works in a public medical research institute “ the week » and runs his little telephone store « the weekend ». « Tonight I don’t sleep, it’s my free time », he announces. The young man will easily find something to occupy himself.
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In the heart of the Great Lakes of Africa, the dynamic and noisy Ugandan capital is known for its reggae culture and its heavy and catchy dancehall – this year, the young singer Alien Skin was a hit with Party, yet another hit extolling the merits of the party. The country is preparing to hold its now famous Nyege Nyege festival in mid-November (“an irresistible desire to dance”, in Swahili), which MPs describe as “ immoral » but which they fail to ban.
No closing time
Kampala has thousands of bars, scattered across its hills and sometimes spanning entire streets. As elsewhere on the planet, the offer ranges from the most upscale – where the VIPs of the Ugandan regime meet – to the most local and affordable, the blanket (a “small place”, in Luganda). But these establishments have one thing in common: no closing time.
Musicians at a private party in Yushili, Kampala, October 28, 2023. BADRU KATUMBA FOR “THE WORLD” At Villa nightclub in Kampala, October 29, 2023. BADRU KATUMBA FOR “THE WORLD”
« We don’t have a set time. If the customer is there, we are open. If everyone is gone, we close,” every seriously explains Mark Kamya, the manager of Bataka, a blanket hidden in the basement of a store in Bukoto, a middle-class neighborhood in Kampala. Around ten tables surrounded by small multicolored sofas, subdued lighting, music: it’s a neighborhood joint where beer starts at 5,000 Ugandan shillings (around 1.25 euros).
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Mr. Kamya, 30, explains the philosophy of his establishment: “ Here, the customer is the boss. Even if he is too “tired” and cannot walk or drive, he is still our client, he is at home. He can sleep here, on a couch, until he gets better. Then he can go home or resume the party. »
Same story at La Villa, located a stone’s throw away but targeting a wealthy clientele. Around midnight on Friday evening, the valets are busy in the large car park, while inside the customers move around rather calmly under fairy lights. There are no schedules here either, and no unannounced visits from the police, says his manager Nathan Kazoora Kawamara. “ Of course it’s legal! “, he smiles, puffing on his hookah and emphasizing that there need to be rules against nighttime nuisances, which pushed him to invest in noise-cancelling systems.
75% of the population is under 30 years old
Keeping the consumer as long as possible is also a profitability issue – very high according to the owners. “ Ugandans love to party, so this is the right sector to make money quickly, there is a lot of room. On a good night, you can reach 60 to 70 million Ugandan shillings [de 15 000 à 17 000 euros] », says Mr. Kawamara. As proof, breweries, such as Nile Breweries or Uganda Breweries, are among the top contributors to taxes in this poor country, just behind telecommunications, revelers often – and proudly – recall.
At the Kafunda bar in the suburbs of Kampala, October 29, 2023. BADRU KATUMBA FOR “THE WORLD” In front of the X-Hub bar in the early hours of the morning, in Kampala, October 29, 2023. BADRU KATUMBA FOR “THE WORLD”
Beyond the economic aspect, letting the country have fun could also be seen as a political strategy. Uganda is extremely young: 75% of the population is under 30 years old. Held with an iron fist by Yoweri Museveni, a former guerrilla and president since 1986, the country is heavily militarized and the opposition muzzled. During the last elections in 2021, many observers described his victory as fraudulent against… former singer Bobi Wine.
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The festival is a sanctuary, judiciously preserved from implacable political repression. “ We have freedom here », says Alice, 28, her voice slightly broken but her energy still overflowing as the day dawns on the X-Hub. It’s 7 a.m. and, although a heavy nighttime downpour transformed the parking lot into a mud skating rink, it was not enough to discourage the customers of this bar in Najjera, a peripheral district where, at that hour, the ballet of Motorcycle taxis, military trucks and cleaners in reflective vests started through the streets.
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Here, beers and chichas continue to be brought to the tables, the DJ is in an American hip-hop mood and the joyful atmosphere, still dancing after such a long night. “ The party is what connects us, I don’t really know why but this environment keeps us together, as a nation, it avoids conflicts », Estimates this nutrition advisor, who says she fought cancer around ten years ago. Is she planning to go to sleep? For now, she’s not sure.
In a traffic jam before entering the parking lot of a bar in Kampala, October 28, 2023. BADRU KATUMBA FOR “THE WORLD”
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