Cannibalism
I have spent
quite some time studying the depth of news reporting in print media in Uganda. I
am a scholar and researcher trained from the critical pedagogical slab. I contend
that our perception of nature is uniquely flawed and varied. Through critical
analysis we are able to question the seeming imperfection to unveil the
true-ness of it, which makes sense to us, from our standpoint. Uncritical consumption
therefore, is associated with oppression and unconsciousness that has no place
in postmodernist world.
This brings me to the purpose of
this article, which is to evince the lack of critical analysis in print media
today. In particular, I have been awed by a rather strange subject - cannibalism
- in Uganda. I find that the reporting of this subject is utterly shallow, not analytical of all the facts of cannibalism and does not offer a rationally unified picture
of the nature of cannibalism claims in Uganda.
There is need to classify here that this article recognizes the role of journalism in as far as being objective as well as being a conduit through which societal issues are brought to public realms. However, the subject of this article is the lack of critical analysis of the issues in a manner that gives it proper context, shape and texture.
In addition, it is worthy
recognizing that the subject of cannibalism is startling. To know that section
of our society is still practicing cannibalism in the twenty-second century
despite the advent of empirical science and technology is indeed a major
setback to our civilization.
The online dictionary and Wikipedia
all posit that cannibalism is the “act” or the “practice” of humans eating
human flesh or body organs. The numerous media reports such as “scary cannibalism
story exposes many in the district” (NV, Sept 23, 2013); “Kibaale, the hub of
cannibalism” (NV, Sept 29, 2013); “Uganda: boy leaves schools over cannibalism”
(NV, Oct 27, 2013); “Two in Kasese arrested over cannibalism” (URN, Nov 24, 2010), etc.., are so shocking.
However, the missing critical
perspective in these stories is the glaring lack of empirical evidence of the “act” or “practice”
of cannibalism. The stories neither, provide a possible explanation of the
purpose for which, the main antagonists are found with human body parts or are
associated with exhumed graves or disappearances.
As a Ugandan, I am concerned
because it becomes very difficult to promote my country as a tourist
destination of choice for fear that tourists may fall prey to cannibals. Tourists
from Europe, America, Australia or Asia cannot distinguish between the
different tribal entities in Uganda. Reports of cannibalism become a subject of
generalization that incites fear in as much as the viral outbreaks of bird flu or Ebola have, elsewhere. Therefore,
the records need to be set straight, thus the call for a more critical and
contextual reporting on this subject.
Here and there, villagers report
suspicion of one another, of having been in possession of a corpse; that
someone has exhumed a grave; that bodies are missing from a grave; that a
person from the neighborhood has disappeared and therefore must have been “eaten”….etc.
These are the common narratives – speculations, unsubstantiated claims,
assumptions and rumors are what characterize these stories, just like all petty daily
talks of Ugandans.
None of the stories above provide
valid empirical evidence of someone having been seen gathering, cutting,
preparing, seasoning, boiling, serving, munching, swallowing, disposing human wastes,
such as human bones, nails, skulls - cooked or roasted etc. None provide testimonies, confessions,
revelations or any such narratives from persons suspected of the act of
cannibalism.
Herein lays the dilemma, the paradox
of ignorance, superstition, mysticism and the limitation of traditional belief
systems. On the part of the reporters, the question of “what it is” vs “what it
is not” comes to play.
Human body decomposes relatively
quickly and with high temperatures in Uganda, most bodies begin to smell after
three days before maggots appear on them. Bodies that have been processed in
the morgue and treated may take up to five or more days. However, in the
cannibal stories, most of these corpses are not processed or treated with any
preservatives. This implies that they must have depreciated and rotted fast. The
critical question to ask then is, why would someone exhume a rotten corpse that
stinks to eat? Of what benefits would such a diet be? How is it processed and
how long would such a process take a villager such that no one can detect it?
I believe that a responsible
reporting should have explored the true nature of this cannibalism claim, rather than
report the myths about it. By doing so, we have missed the epistemological
significance of this practice associated with disturbing graves and possession of body
parts irregularly.
Finally, it is important that we
do not exclude non-diagnosed mental illness in this subject because cannibals
that eat decomposed bodies are insane. Further, alternate sources of “disappearance”
must be investigated. Trade in human organs and because of the intimacy these
communities have with nature, some people may have been genuinely killed or
eaten by wild animals. I hear some snakes swallow human beings and wild animals
for sure, do attack humans for food.
END
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