Late Tuesday, influential blogger Titus Seruga posted an extract from a book title and thereby creating a stampede as curious elite Ugandans rushed for the copy early Wednesday morning. Titled “Behind the Presidential Curtain: Inside out of Real Paul Kagame from his body guard [Noble Maraba],” the book was portrayed by blogger Seruga as one with vast quantities of hitherto untold stuff about Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Page 202, from which the Seruga extract was derived, made reference to some of the Kagame private phone conversations with President Museveni. This must have created curiosity among Ugandan social media enthusiasts and resulted into the unprecedentedly high sales for Aristoc bookshop, the biggest of its kind in Uganda. Aristoc insiders say hundreds of curious readers flocked their different branches all asking for the same book. “We opened business [Wednesday morning] when a copy was going at Shs130,000 but the numbers that kept pouring in forced us to raise the price to Shs189,900 to check on the overwhelming demand but still people bought all the stocks we had.
The book stock had reluctantly been brought in over the weekend and the sales were normal but the moment people read that blogger’s post, they came rushing. It created awareness,” said a senior manager at Aristoc who preferred anonymity. “We expected action from government to maybe block the sale of the book like they have done before in case a controversial book had come to the market but there was none in this case.” The manager added that this same book was first stocked 6 months ago but someone then very powerful in security instantly bought off all the copies and the general public never came to know of the book. “We always promote new books when we get them but as of that time 6 months ago, they were all bought off before we went even into any marketing of the new book,” anonymously said the manager. Whereas Seruga’s post translated into good business for Aristoc owner lawyer John Katende, that the bookstore was permitted to freely sell the book might create diplomatic complications. There will certainly be diplomatic concerns raised by Kigali and thereby escalate tensions that already exist between the two capitals. The contents of the book are simply too controversial, intriguing and thought-provoking that Ugandans who missed out might end up Xeroxing from those who stormed Aristoc early and got themselves a copy. “We can’t tell how soon we are getting new stocks and if it will be possible at all to get a new stock,” is all the Aristoc manager said regarding how soon new stocks will be coming in.
