DEAR ZZINA POWER: MY boyfriend has become obsessed with the ‘Kyagulanyi News’ over the last year and it’s got worse in this Campaign.
He has even started to ask me to role-play presenting it during foreplay and he puts on the NTV Akawungezi At 7.
I went along with it once, hoping it would be a passing phase. But now he has suggested I introduce myself as Faridah Nakazibwe’.
I would describe myself as a fun person but I’m not comfortable with his latest request.
We are both working from home now and the news is a permanent feature. I am 24 and he is 26.
He works in customer services and I am a PA. We used to get on so well.
Our morning alarm is the news at 7am. He wakes and immediately checks his news feeds.
Then we go into the kitchen for breakfast and the Radio goes on — again with the news.
We both work in the lounge as it’s a tiny flat and the TV goes on — again, news channels all day.
I try to get out for a quick walk at lunchtime but if he comes along he is hooked up to headphones, listening to the updates.
The only time he wasn’t glued to the news recently was when he let me put on The Crown or The Serpent for an hour in the evening.
At bedtime he checks the bulletins, often until the early hours, and he won’t turn off his alerts which wake us up through the night.
I know it’s important to keep informed but since the ‘Kyagulanyi-effect’, I feel like this has taken over our lives and my boyfriend has disappeared.
I’m no prude but I’m not keen on dressing up as Fiona and pretending to be like Faridah.
I don’t even look like her. She has gorgeous legs and curvy, whereas I’m definitely a lot more slim.
ZZINA POWER: Your boyfriend really needs to step away from his news feed and I would suggest turning off all his notifications.
His behavior suggests that he is incredibly anxious about the ‘Kyagulanyi effect’ and the constant diet of news stories will be making this worse.
Of course it is good to be well informed during these times, so can you agree to one or two points during the day to listen to the news?
But avoid listening to it late at night. When we are tired it is harder to keep things in perspective.
There is no harm in letting him know you are unhappy with pretending to be another real person.
And I suspect if he can wean himself off his unhealthy diet of constant news he won’t make the same request again.
Enock Mugabi aka iWitness is a Journalist, Seasoned Writer and Music Analyst with a passion for sports.
Connect with him on social media using the links below in bio.
