Of Saints and Scarecrows

When Ssempa and Sister Julian come together, this only spells tragedy. Ssempa - irreverent, crafty and atheistic - and Julian - a pious, subservient Catholic nun - suddenly ?nd themselves the focus of two religious communities with irreconcilable interests. The unexpected liaison between the two protagonists ignites unforeseen passions within each of the communities, and causes unbearable tensions between them. The two communities inevitably collide, crushing the two hapless lovers in the process. In this contentious, satirical and racy tale that straddles the Great Lakes region and concerns itself with one of the cataclysmic eras of Uganda's history - the 1950s through to the 1970s - Ulysses Chuka Kibuuka explores the complex workings of politico-religious relations and their points of intersection with interpersonal relations. He deals with this within the context of realities occasioned by externally imposed religious and cultural mindsets and practices, and the sputtering cauldron of contradictions and animosities that these engender. Even when these tensions claim Ssempa and Sister Julian as their victims, the tensions do not dissipate. Ulysses Chuka Kibuuka was born in1953 at Karera, Bugongi-Sheema, western Uganda. He attended St Peter's College, Tororo and the Aga Khan School, Masaka. In 1986 Kibuuka was with the NRA guerrillas that ousted the Milton Obote regime and he still serves in the armed forces. His ? rst novel, For the Fairest, won the 1993 UPABA Award for best fiction and was reviewed by the BBC Artshouse in 1996 as well as The New Vision and Radio Uganda. He is also the author of Pale Souls Abroad and Other Tales and A Wife for the Clan.