(Posted 21st January 2024)
When the news reached me, belatedly, that Achola Rosario of the FOMO Travel Show had suddenly passed away in Nairobi, I stood in disbelief and then sat down in complete shock. In fact it took me some days to get my thoughts sorted out before I could even think of paying my last respects to her.
We had joked in the past that she would write a eulogy for me – being a stroke and cancer victim – as surely I’d go way earlier than her … now it is my sad duty to write a eulogy for her.
Achola and I had met quite a long time ago in Kampala, kept in touch, became acquaintances, eventually became friends and we eventually connected on Facebook some 10 years ago to share our ‘news’.
Then, a few years ago, her seeking some advice on the production and outreach of her FOMO Travel Show, besides discussing other issues related to her work, we agreed that she would become a ‘Contributing Editor’ of ATCNews and I would publish all her past and also any new additional episodes of the FOMO Travel Show. She was happy with that arrangement as it gave her added exposure and visibility and I was able to get her in touch with leading hospitality, airline and travel companies and executives, who in turn would make it possible for her to visit locations and travel there and back by air, where available.
At that time she was not yet permanently settled in Kenya, something she subsequently did and in her own words ‘for the better if not the best‘. She had sought refuge in Kenya following some politically motivated personal attacks on her while still in Uganda, and as a result she turned her back on her motherland.
Now, she is returning to Uganda to be buried by her family and friends and she will be sorely missed by those who knew her.
Gone too soon, very untimely at this young age, she will be remembered for her indomitable spirit, as someone who got knocked down by life so often and always got up again to soldier on. She was an inspiration to many and for that too she will be missed by those she counselled and gave guidance to.
For myself, I lost another friend, one of too many in recent years!
Rest in Peace Achola!
And for those interested in the book she wrote, an advance copy which she shared with me last year, read on below:
Title: NOt Black n White: memoirs of an existential ronin
by Achola Rosario
From Kenya
(Non-fiction)
Synopsis:
This is the story of a female Kenyan artist and journalist, who grew up in Uganda during the tumultuous 1980s, when the country had just expelled the hero turned tirant Idi Amin, and plunged itself into a decade of civil chaos and butchery.
Seen through Achola’s eyes as she grew up navigating the grim realities of life at the time, she lived a relatively charmed life within that often horrific context, with her family moving back to Uganda when she was 5 years old and literally going from rags to riches in the timespan it took for the current ruling president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to ascend to power and cement his grip on the country.
40 years later, President Museveni is now President for Life in the landlocked developing East African nation, and 44 year old Achola has fled back to Kenya to escape personal and political persecution, after working in the 2016 elections for the then contesting former Prime Minister John Patrick Amama Mbabazi.
As she slowly rebuilds her life in her home of birth, she contemplates the events that led her to where she is as a journalist and as an Pan-African Feminist turning 45 years old, in a story that spans three countries: Uganda, Kenya, and England. Woven into the narrative is a discussion about the consequences of political activism, abuse, African Feminism and gender fluidity, and ultimately the quest for personal redemption.
The funeral arrangements as of the time of publication:
