“The Tongue Turns To The Aching Tooth”—Revisiting The Satirists of Idi Amin-Ruled Uganda

A middle-aged man, in a simple-branded T-shirt and trousers, is on a commercial motorbike. Filmed in slow-mo, the motorbike glides past a building whose wall holds remotely colourful images of some Ugandan figures, perhaps persons of considerable historical significance, and a conspicuous BANK OF UGANDA inscription. A voiceover accompanies the opening scene of The Tongue Turns To The Aching Tooth, a documentary about some newspaper cartoonists during Idi Amin’s regime in Uganda. The narrator is Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, a thriving present-day cartoonist and the motorbike passenger who would go on to interview the legendary cartoonists of Amin’s era.

In 1971, while he was Chief of Staff of the Ugandan Army under Dr Milton Obote’s civilian administration, Idi Amin forced himself into power through a bloody coup, declared himself president and took on the highest Army rank in the country, the Field Marshall. Victims of this coup included Anglican Archbishop Janani Luwum, and the chief of Justice and former Ugandan prime minister Kabimu Kiwanuka among other high-profile figures. Remembered in history as one of the most brutal post-independence African dictators, Amin’s eight-year reign was characterized by suppression of human rights, economic corruption, widespread extra-judicial killings and dismal foreign policy. People and organizations that antagonized his government were brazenly dealt with. The press was not exempted from his high-handedness as its freedom was greatly incapacitated. Yet it was in these grave circumstances that a loose group of cartoonists kept featuring their works in some of the country’s prominent newspapers for humor and sociopolitical satire. The documentary, The Tongue Turns To The Aching Tooth, investigates and uncovers the activities of three standout Ugandan cartoonists of this period: James Tumusiime, John James Sserwanga Salongo (JJSS), and Willy Ochaya a.k.a. Drinkwater or Drink H2O.

Directed by Michiel van Oosterhout and shot by Cyril Ducottet, The Tongue Turns To The Aching Tooth is a 41-minute documentary that tells the untold story of newspaper cartoonists during the political tensions of the 1970s when President Idi Amin was in power. Released on 9th January, 2025 on Michiel van Oosterhout YouTube’s channel, the documentary delves into an important aspect of Ugandan and Africa’s history, creating awareness around how the quasi-journalistic commitments of a few people influenced the sociopolitical landscape of the times.

The documentary does not only attend to the experiences of these cartoonists against the backdrop of the country’s political upheaval. It also shows Ssentongo’s involvement in the whole process of documentation, from his journeys to voiceover observations, intelligent musings and conversations. His questions are penetrating but delivered with immense calm, helping the interviewees to provide explanations that better contextualise their crafts and contributions to Uganda’s political history.

A quick Google search reveals Ssentongo as an award-winning academic, portraitist, columnist and self-taught cartoonist. Since 2006, he has contributed to The Observer, a leading Ugandan newspaper. He boasts at least two national honours, won in 2021. As an academic, he has a doctorate degree in philosophy and has served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Uganda Martyrs University. His intellectual accomplishments include editor credits for two volumes of books; several published writings in peer-reviewed journals, monographs and books; and a collection of his cartoons, Uncomfortable Laughter, published in 2020. 

The first interviewee in The Tongue Turns To The Aching Tooth is James Tumusiime, who is known for the cartoon character Ekanya, a daredevil vagabond. Tumusiime had left the country when Milton Obote became Head of State for the second time in 1981 and returned after Yoweri Musevini assumed power in 1986. Upon return to the country, he co-established the state-run New Vision Newspaper and Fountain Publishers. During conversation with Ssentongo. Tumusiime demystifies Ekanya as a character known for mischief. Through this character and other cartoon works of his, Tumusiime passed crucial social messages that resonated with the ordinary people of Uganda. He remembers Idi Amin’s regime for its brutality, as one rife with insecurity, and recalls being intentional about avoiding confrontations with his government at the time. His cartoons often branched into areas of sports, family and education, but overlooked politics and religion (Islam). Because Amin was a Muslim, it was in Tumusiime’s discretion to be careful around religion. However, despite all caution, Tumusiime remembers running into trouble with the authorities for a particular cartoon that was misinterpreted as an address to Amin who had overseen the killing of Archbishop Luwum that night. Luckily, Tumusiime was able to seek refuge elsewhere before the government’s intelligence got to him.

The second interviewee is 100-year-old John James Sserwanga Salongo (JJSS) who, at the time the documentary was shot, still worked at Radio Budda in Masaka. His journalism career dates back to the 1960s when he started out with Uganda Eyogera, the official newspaper for the Buganda kingdom. He then joined Taifa Empya Newspaper where he introduced and started drawing cartoons. His works, like those of other journalists at the time, focused on social themes. In his interview with Ssentongo, JJSS is regarded as “the first Ugandan cartoonist”, with his works in the early 1970s projecting the daily struggles of ordinary people in society. However, at some point, the restrictions on press freedom during Amin’s era did affect him when the editor of the newspaper stopped the cartoons for fear of Amin shutting down the press outfit.

Willy Ochaya, who operated under the pseudonym Drink Water or Drink H2O, drew over a hundred cartoons for the Voice of Uganda between 1975 and 1976. Unlike his contemporaries who prioritised artistic discreetness, Drink Water’s cartoons were overtly political, catering to Pan-African and women rights issues. Because his cartoons attacked the Amin administration, it was important for him to remain anonymous as his life was at risk. Two illustrations stood out in his cartoons: Mafuta Mingi, a term for people, such as the police and traffic officers, who received kickbacks from their side work and developed big stomachs; and the Mzee Kijana, which described government officials, including the president, getting involved in activities that are similar to those of young people and commoners in the society. The Mzee Kijana category also critically addressed all of Amin’s policies. 

Through the experiences of these three men, The Tongue Turns To The Aching Tooth revisits a critical moment of a country’s past, allowing for possible reflections over how such antecedents may impact her current and future political trajectory. The documentary also highlights the strength of art as not only a didactic or satirical tool but also a mechanism for survival in turbulent circumstances. Towards the end of Ssentongo’s virtual conversation with Drink Water, the older, experienced cartoonist makes a light joke of Amin’s intolerance and ruthlessness. “You don’t portray Amin trying to kill somebody openly,” he says. “Once you do that, you’re going to drink water in the ocean or in the lake.” We then see the interviewer, isolated in his study, sketching an image as the camera gradually fades out on him.