Uganda Independence Monument

ANALYTICAL INSIGHT OF UGANDA INDEPENDENCE MONUMENT

The independence monument has featured on several currency notes of Uganda making it one of the most popular sculptures in the whole country. Many have taken initiative to inspire visitors both local and international to visit the physical site of the sculpture

To a certain extent, it has surely been a success. The beauty with Uganda’s independence monument is the volume of the independence message it puts out that doesn’t only speak to Uganda but to individual lives that have been through a struggle for years.

These struggles might be in form of poverty, lack of education, and a lot more of the chains that bind people from the lives they may desire.

Location

The sculpture site is located next to Sheraton gardens near the roundabout of Speke road, Nile Avenue, and Shimoni road. The place can be accessed using a “Boda boda”, Taxis and coasters in case you are coming from Jinja or Mukono.

Standing at 6 meters tall, the independence monument portrays an adult whose feet are partly bound but their hands are free to carry their child above them to see a future that lies beyond the pains and brokenness of the present which when the child sees, joy pushes them to lift their hands in regard to what they see ahead

Making of the Monument

The monument is made of  sand with cement and metal wires.

Meaning of the Monument

Though the mother finds it very hard to even take a step forward, they have a dream of a free generation that might be blurred but carrying their child above them might partly enable them to see beyond what their present circumstances.

The ropes that bounding the mother were falling off, representing the acquired independence

The mother is also having both her feet on ground implying that she was being strengthened by her motherland to do whatever she was doing

Unlike in normal circumstances where those who are bound are normally bound by chains, in this aspect of the Uganda independence monument, the mother is bound by ropes though they appear like bandages.

This stands out as a  reminder that there is always an opportunity to raise a free generation, regardless of whatever pains that bind us, and keep us from moving on. The monument speaks volumes of a free future generation where the present generation partly forsakes their freedom and comfort to lay a freedom foundation for those that come after them.

The child raises their hands in joy and celebration of the future they will surely be part of, not because it is paradise, rather because they will have the opportunity to do whatever they do for God and their country as the major influence not because they wish to please a certain master.

Spending a few minutes thinking about the independence monument grants an insight into the debt every Ugandan citizen has towards the future generation. Not simply living for ourselves but upholding those we hold dear for the sake of the future freedom.

Furthermore the child carried is not a baby; implying that they have seen and experienced what it means to be bound, and they should treasure the future their parents hopes for them.