Jackline Nanziri was born in 1998 the Kiwanga area of Mukono, one of six children born to her father and mother. She attended schools in and around this community near Kampala. After she completed her high-school education in 2018, she went to study at the YMCA Comprehensive Institute in Kampala, later graduating with a certificate in fashion and design. Her first job was as a seamstress in a shop at Ham Towers, a short but memorable episode because it didn’t go well for her. It was a struggle to get customers and she didn’t have all the equipment she needed, so she quit after five months. Next, she became her mother’s assistant in a retail shop, taking advantage of available space to set up her sewing machine and attract customers who needed her services. Since 2022 she has been working intermittently as a clerk with a supermarket in the Nsawo area of Namugongo. Naturally, much of her work involves counting: counting cash, counting what needs to be replenished, even counting the minutes until her shift is over. Supermarket work is supermarket work, so she will do everything that is required of her, from dusting the shelves to restocking them. She is a demure figure behind the counter as she waits for customers to come by. “Things are not bad here,” she told TWR, “because we are getting more and more customers.” One of her challenges is transportation, she says, because she spends Shs. 5000 in boda-boda and taxi fare every day she goes to work. She seems to like her job even as she tries to do other things on the side.
One interesting fact about Nanziri is that she always wanted to return to school and earn a bachelor’s degree. She enrolled at Kyambogo University last year for a course in education, and she hopes to graduate one day despite her regular struggle to raise tuition. This diary, written from February to March 2024, shows her grappling with the same issues other Ugandans face: rampant dishonesty, romantic tension, and other travails of everyday life. Writing a diary, she said, had helped her offload heavy thoughts rather than “keep them inside me. If you put them in a book and another person reads, maybe that person will learn from them.” TWR did not edit this diary, but there are minor interventions to help the reader understand what the diarist is aiming to say. Even the ellipses are hers. – TWR
February 8
Today is my birthday and since morning my friends have been calling wishing me a happy birthday and \promising for gift even my boyfriend want’s to take me out but tomorrow have two paper’s to write and I have to read because their not easy paper’s … I don’t want to fail the papers but I also want to party it’s my day … So am jhust confused … Since my childhood have never celebrated [my birthday]. But on 5th [February] my boyfriend told me that we have to celebrate it … Was very happy to here that … where I work we work in shifts sooo that day of my birthday I was going to work at night coz I had a night shift so my boyfriend told me that we can prospond the birthday to 10th [February] … was okay with it coz it was going to be a Saturday and I don’t work on Sunday but guess what on Saturday I prepared myself coz he had called me to his workplace so I was sure after working then we go [out] at night but was very disappointed coz when the night reached he closed the door of his shop then he told me that we go … I asked him are we going out he said no, was like why … mbu I don’t have money. Just know I was very pissed … very annoyed the whole weekend without talking to him … MEN CAN DISAPPOINT.
February 11
My elder sister got a house helper to help her with her baby when she’s at work and house work. It’s now three days with her … but today someone called her telling her that he has [mistakenly] sent eight hundred thousand 800,000sh on her number but he is requesting for the refund but that phone the house helper is using was a gift to her by my sister’s husband so that it is easy for them to call and check on their son, and my sister’s husband used to deposit as in saving his money on that line before, so that money was [on the phone]. this guy who called the house helper told her you just send me five hundred thousand shillings 500,000shs and you take the three hundred shillings 300,000shs and the house helper got excited. she carried the baby up to the mobile money agent … this guy gave her the number where she should put the money … when she reached [there] she gave the number to the lady and told her to send 500,000shs Five hundred thousand shillings. After sending, the [Mobile Money] lady started demanding for money then the house helper told her the money is on this phone but I don’t know the pin number but let me call the person who knows the pin number then she called my sister’s husband … that hello uncle help me with the pin number of this phone (line) cause my grandmother has sent me 800,000 shillings on this number so I wanted to withdraw it … [my sister’s husband] just replied lemmie come home … but the house helper told him don’t come just give me the pin number but [my sister’s husband] insisted … when [my sister’s husband] reached the centre he saw people gathered when he reached [there] it was his house helper and his one year old son crying because the [Mobile Money lady] was taking them to the police because she wanted her five hundred thousand shillings … the guy had to withdraw the money he was saving on that phone so that he can pay and he told the house helper to go back home with the baby … but what she did, she took the baby in the house and closed the door and went back up to look for poison … there is someone who [heard] her asking for poison and called my sister’s husband and when the guy found her at the shop he just took her to the police … The policewoman asked her why she wanted to poison herself the reply was it’s not a crime to kill herself … then [my sister’s husband] asked her did you give the baby food she said yes … let’s go and you show me the plate. she was like I gave him the food in the saucepan not on the plate.
February 15
After being disappointed on my birthday … my second disappointment was on 14th [February]. Yesterday it was a Valentine’s Day hoped to be out with my guy as other couple’s were doing … we had to go out with him … but this guy can really disappoint … not that. He is [not] showing any sign of cheating but this guy can really disappoint … this round he told me he was not feeling well. to comform that he was not lying I had to leave my place to his to check and to comform that his not lying. thank God I found him sleeping because I went there as a surprise.
February 16
Today it was a worst day for my neighbour … this guy is a boda boda guy but his wife wants to show off like a “slayer”. Today the teacher of his daughter called him telling him about the bursary because his daughter finished Primary Seven … the guy was very happy because he didn’t have money to take his daughter to senior one … After the phone the guy told his wife that finally our daughter is going to join senior one and the woman was surprised. the woman always wanted her daughter to be in nice school not caring if they have money or not. This man gave the wife money for transport so that they can go with her daughter to her primary school … when the day reached the wife refused to go saying that her daughter can’t go to those funny schools where they give bursaries so she told the daughter to go alone.
February 17
But men can pretend. I have a neighbour where I stay … this guy is a womanizer he always brings different girls yet he has a girlfriend but even the girlfriend is not easy. today very early in the morning this girl brought a birthday cake it was very big then I asked her is today your boyfriend’s birthday. she said no. Then I asked her whose she laughed and entered the house. [Her husband had] not been there for like three days. [But] after putting the cake inside … in the afternoon the guy came back and entered the house and he locked the door … in the evening the girl came back and she knocked on my door I came out she asked me who is inside I replied your husband she was like am dead as he didn’t call me that his coming back. After she knocked [on] her door the guy refused to open, then she is like okay you just give me the cake and I go the party has started and they need a cake …The guy opened the door and threw the cake down then he kicked it and he was like pick it and take. what made the guy to be pissed was the words on the cake saying happy plus one my love … the guy told the woman you just leave my sight cause I will kill you … you bitch yet even him he is a womanizer.
February 19
It’s now two months since I left my former job … was doing door and wheel barrow marketing at Nilkanth Company Limited in Namanve Industrial area. I just left without telling anyone … not telling anyone wasn’t my intension but my boss pissed me off … it was a Friday morning wasn’t feeling well so I called him that very morning telling him I will not be able to come because am not fine … he was like permission not accepted why are you telling me this morning? I told him I woke up when am not fine … his last reply was am not paying for this whole week. was very pissed I refused to go back.
February 20
Today am very happy because my best friend came back to Uganda … he always stay in Germany but today he came back for adventure and so that we can celebrate my belated birthday but was very happy to see him and the gifts he brought for me … he got for me the original jersey for man united and the flame of me with art pencil … shoes and the phone Samsung S23 Ultra. was very happy because at least my birth month didn’t disappoint me even though I got the gifts late.
February 25
Today morning I got sad news that my [former] workmate has died of an accident … he was going to Jinja with a friend on the boda boda for a burial of his friend’s father where he was being knocked by a car. he was the one driving … he got injuries on the head but the person who was sitted behind has no injuries … those who saw him in the hospital yesterday are saying it wasn’t an accident even the doctors confirmed that its not an accident maybe someone killed him. the person who called said that the doctor said he has no injuries on the body but only the head, and his mother is saying no one has died in the village why is it that that person is saying they were going for burial in the village … he has died at a young age … he has left a young son and the woman … may his soul rest place.
February 26
Yesterday night when I was talking to my boyfriend through phone … I told him I wanted a business so that I can earn some extra money apart from my salary at work … was surprised because he was positive about it and he was like which business? I told him I wanted to deal in plastics but if he had any other business he knew he can tell me. another thing which surprised me he told me that he has 3 million [shillings] that he was saving for a car but he can give it to me … he said you first startup business I will save again … it’s really a pleasure.
February 27
My friend has two boyfriends. the one she loves so much works in a café and another one is a bank teller but she loves him because of the money he gets and the nice cars … yesterday evening she called me that she’s very annoyed the bank teller has proposed to her and he wants to do introduction ceremony and she was asking me for help so that I can talk to my mother so that she can act as her auntie but the way I know my mother she can even kill me … me I told her I can’t, but she can’t take the guy to her mother because she has already introduced the café guy to her mother and their village mates.
February 29
Have a friend but this girl is really stubborn … she has two boys as in she’s dating two guys … the first one works with platinum credit and the second one is a doctor he works with Mulago hospital. this man [lives with a woman] but he also wants to do introduction ceremony … but my friend is not willing because she loves this platinum guy sooo much and this guy is her village mate and they have dated for now it’s five years. So she was suggesting that I talk to my parents they play a role of her parents so that the guy brings things to my parents because her parents know the platinum guy. me I said no because my parents astrict and they can’t do so … so shes now confused because the guy really wants to be introduced yet he has never gone to his wife’s parents.
March 5
Congs to me because I have managed to open up my first business am so happy and I deal in phone accessories … It wasn’t easy and It took a lot of money … rent whereby busy places are very expensive whereby the landlady told me I have to pay 6 months and build up the kiosk but am happy that am going to add up on my salary and the first day I managed to get some customers it was really interesting.
March 7
It’s now over two months since I left my former job … was doing door and wheelbarrow marketing at Nilkath Company Ltd in Namanve Industrial area … since I left that place my boss has never called but yesterday night on whatsapp [he asked ] that when am I coming back for door marketing. imagine two months without asking me about that but anyway me I just told him I got somewhere else but I can get for you someone if you need. then he told me to get for him two ladies.
March 19
Today was woken up by my alarm which I set earlier before time of work … So I decided to sleep for a while … so he requested for some minutes from us to go and buy airtime. my dad “told him should I give you mine” and the guy refused and he went but my dad was not sure about that land so he decide to talk to the villagers and we were told that … that land is not for sale because of family issues and we were told that even that blocker is [a member] of that family but for him he wants to sale that land to get money because his poor and their parents gave them land. for him he sold his plus his house now he doesn’t have anything. Do you know that we waited for this man till going back home? He did not come back even calling on his phone it was kindly switched off we don’t know what happened but I think he saw us talking to those neighbours the village people. But I just thank God because my little money which I saved for almost two years someone wanted to take it in a second.
March 22
Yesterday my young sister called me at night telling me that they are trying to call on my brother’s phone but he is not picking since afternoon but he was [sent] from school because of too much hair and he was told to go and trim off then he comes back. Today morning my
So was shocked my boda guy calling me for the first time … checking on the time was very late … so had to rush in the bathroom, my uniform was not iron … I didn’t bother because the time was not on my side … reaching at work customers were waiting had to first count and confirm my opening cash before start working on them … I finished everything and I gave everyone he or she wanted to buy so had to arrange and organise myself. During afternoon hours wanted to check on my mum by calling her but checking on my phone it was not [working]. what annoys me have just bought it. had to call the guy who sold it to me so that he can change for me another … so right now am using the small phone … I don’t have a smartphone … yet I bought one.
March 21
People are really bad and greedy yesterday I went with my dad to that side of Katosi to buy my second plot … there is my dad’s friend who connected us to that blocker who knows that side the place is called Mpunge. The blocker guy took us to the first plot. Then the second one but the first one was fertile so we decided to take the first one … my dad told the blocker to call the owner and the chairman so that we can pay some money, the guy told us he had no airtime mum called me and he told me that a police officer called and he said that our brother was arrested yesterday because of the fake money … so this boy when he was [sent] from school yesterday for him he decided to go in town with a friend to buy a phone but I was told that they went to Mutaasa Kafeero [plaza] in town and they bought a phone. then these guys [in the shop] gave them a phone which they changed from the one they bought. reaching in taxi the phone was not the one they bought then they went back and told the seller you just give us our money we buy from another shop. the guy just gave them fake money and reaching to another shop they just arrested them.