On 5 October 2026, Watchdog News published an article by Dr. Nestor Basemera titled “Bye-Bye Morals, Welcome Vulgarity: Uganda’s New Normal.” In a similar vein, the Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition argues that the growing use of vulgar language and the apparent erosion of moral standards are issues that deserve serious attention in Uganda.
Basemera stated, “In today’s Uganda, vulgar language is no longer just used to shock people; it has become everyday punctuation, social armor, and normal speech.” She continued, “From chaotic taxi parks to viral videos on TikTok, profanity has suddenly become the new national dialect. Schoolchildren, corporate workers, boda boda riders, and market vendors alike are using words that used to be strictly forbidden.”
What Basemera may have forgotten to include in her article is the conduct of some X (formerly Twitter) users who, when responding to published articles they disagree with, use words that are not fit for human consumption.
As critical thinkers, we are not here to critique Dr. Basemera’s article. Our main purpose is to show that, in Uganda today, coarse language, personalised insults, and theatrical vulgarity have increasingly replaced reasoned argument.
While writing about moral decay, Basemera described vulgarity in Uganda as an arena of power. Let us listen to her observation: “Step inside any packed taxi near Jinja Road in Kampala, and you will hear a massive shift in how people talk.” This suggests that moral standards governing language in such public spaces have changed.
Prof. Benson K. Wambari, in his 2022 work Morality and Religion, argued that morality is the set of rules, values, and standards that guide people in deciding what is right or wrong, how they should behave, and how they should relate to one another in society. Its ultimate purpose is to promote peaceful coexistence, social harmony, and the well-being of everyone.
Therefore, in line with Dr. Basemera’s article, the Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition calls upon Ugandan government agencies responsible for ethics and morality to find practical solutions to restoring moral values among Ugandans. The question is whether these institutions can develop effective measures to promote respectful communication, responsible public conduct, and a culture in which disagreement is expressed through reasoned argument rather than vulgarity.
Ayub Mukisa, PhD, writes from the Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition (KACC).
The post Dr. Ayub Mukisa: When the Abnormal Becomes Normal: Morality and Vulgarity in Uganda — A Rejoinder appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.