It’s a new year. New resolutions. The promise of a “New Uganda” (no pun intended) buzzes on, but the same old noise of Urban Uganda, especially Kampala Metropolitan still lingers like an incurable ailment; sadly, despite some of the finest diagnoses and prescriptions like NEMA’s Noise Standards and Control Regulations, crafted 23 years ago.
I went to bed by 8:30 PM on the first Saturday night of 2026, hoping to be up by 5Am to start my day “in power”; hourlong exercise, a few book pages, morning quiet time, then prepare for the Sunday service. Alas, I was up at 2 AM. I had lost sleep barely 5 hours after finally finding it! Loud music blasting all night in my neighborhood in Mukono from what seemed to be a political-rally- “after party” just couldn’t let me ‘rest in [temporary] peace’.
Normally, when you suddenly lose sleep at night, it’s advisable to try to get yourself back by staying in bed, eyes closed, lights off. If it persists then maybe, you could, with warm light- continue reading the bedside book you dropped when you finally dozed off, until you do again. However, none of that worked, the noise was simply too much. My ear drums were vibrating while my chest heaved from annoyance due to the noise disturbance! After 30 minutes of wriggling in bed with failed attempts to ignore the Kinyanya, I reached for my phone (never a good practice at night) to complain in a WhatsApp group with one of my Mukono Members of Parliament. Now don’t be fooled, I know about the legal provision for formally lodging a complaint against those emitting noise beyond permissible decibels. (Let’s not even go there). Anyway, no sooner had I began typing my message in this group, than I saw a message (link) posted at 1:28 AM by the area MP inviting members to either join a TikTok Live or watch a TikTok video. I immediately stopped typing. How could I expect action, let alone empathy for my sleep deprivation from a ‘night-lifing’ legislator!
Anyway, I closed WhatsApp and googled for the list of the “noisiest cities in the world”. I saw Cairo, Delhi, Buenos Aires, Mumbai, New York, among others. Kampala wasn’t among, to my disappointment; even when I later narrowed my scope to Africa.
Does that mean we’re good by international standards. No! How come we make it to global indices/rankings for other out-ward looking vices like corruption, human rights violations, epidemic outbreaks, and anything that threatens the international community! Two reasons: First, as it stands, Kampala’s multifaceted dysfunctions disqualify it from systematic, global, metrical analysis, let alone recognition as a city, essentially. Second, for seemingly innocuous vices such as noise pollution, everyone’s got to clean their own house. Besides, our ‘generous’ neighbors like America, who normally run to our rescue albeit for their political interests, have noisy New York and Los Angeles to deal with. However, what makes Kampala’s situation particularly disheartening is that- as the song has always been sung- “we have some of the best (most refined) laws in the world” including those on noise pollution- but just like the rest of the laws, they fail on enforcement largely due to lack of political will.
Maybe because this dire auditory dysfunction benefits the politicians and their noise-polluted political system: a noise-dulled/damaged intellect won’t cut through flimsy manifestos! Even worse, perhaps, due to long, undiagnosed partial hearing loss, the masses can barely detect the same lie/promise told 5 years ago/later.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies anything over 65 decibels as noise pollution- unwanted or harmful sound that disrupts daily life. Ugandan health researchers should study the correlation between noise pollution and mental health in Uganda. We may be surprised by the results. Some of the notable risks of noise pollution include hearing loss, cognitive disorders such as stress, anxiety, memory loss, etc.
Even with elections looming, scarcely does one hear majority politicians’ manifesto specifically address this critical issue as part of their public health and social order agenda. Neither those vying for urban domains nor even one of the green coloured parties that should, obviously, for symbolic reasons, be more vocal on environmental issues.
One thing is certain; we need to urgently turn down the noise gain in urban Uganda for a saner society; it’s not one to be protected.
Hopefully, I can catch some more sleep after checking out ear muffs online; it’s going to be a long day-you know how Sundays be around Kampala, thanks to our Pentecostal and charismatic neighbours that must apparently shout for their God’s attention; or has the city noise overtime also deafened their God, too?
