By THE OBSERVER UG
For anyone over 40 years and has regularly been in the Kam- pala city centre, the name John Jones may not be new.
Towering, well-built and stylish with short dreadlocks, Jones was one of Kampala’s most recognizable figures in the eighties and nineties. He was renowned for hanging out in Kampala Central’s happening places. His strong Jamaican-American accent also stood out but stories of his nationality and what he did for a living continue to divide opinion.
Until recently, the now 65-year-old had lived in City House since 1982 but the December 11, 2023, fire that gutted the building, has left him homeless. The traumatic event has since taken a toll on his mental health, and nursing injuries. Today, he lives off handouts from well-wishers as he crawls from one street to another for shelter, writes Yudaya Nangonzi.
On the fateful day, John Jones was inside his single room offered to him by the proprietors of the City House building. For more than 40 years, he had never witnessed such a harrowing experience which left one person dead.
“I have lived here since 1982 but all my property is no more,” John Jones said.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire started at around 9am from the basement comprising bars and several restaurants before spreading to the top floor where he stayed. John Jones was planning the day’s activities when he noticed smoke seeping through his door. He hurriedly opened the door to find an alternate route, but the thick smoke had engulfed the entire floor.
“I was half-naked by that time but I had to run out. Thankfully, I know all the corners of the building which eased my miraculous exit,” he said.
As the Fire Prevention and Rescue Services officers struggled to extinguish the blaze, John Jones was among the city dwellers standing by the roadside and watching their efforts in disbelief.
With only a short towel around his waist and barefooted, photos of him in the crowd went viral online. Social media revelers made several comments about his image with arguments that he had been in one of the lodges on the building. Some tenants in the building who have lived longer with John Jones are now distressed about their own who once lived a humble life and now languishing on Kampala’s streets day and night.
NO HOME, FAMILY TO HELP
He escaped the inferno with nothing but his small towel and one pair of boxers on him. Having lost his home and possessions, he found himself back on the cold and taxing streets of Kampala city. At the time of this interview, he had sought refuge near the Church House building along William Street, where he encountered other survivors and businesspeople, each grappling with their tales of the tragedy.
Clad in a red T-shirt inscribed with the words; Ruparelia Group, the foul smell from his wounded left foot was unbearable. Nevertheless, he agreed to a brief interview.
“I am sick. I am in pain. I was taken to Kiruddu hospital but I didn’t get any treatment and I found my way back to the city,” John Jones said in a low tone, as he struggled to keep away flies piling on his bleeding wound.
With no family and friends to turn to and hardly any resources at his disposal, John Jones’s once comfortable life inside City House has been reduced to a daily struggle for survival. The trauma of the fire lingered on his wrinkled face. His favorite chains dangling around his neck looked heavier on his now skinny body – contrary to the image of his gigantic bare chest with a potbelly that went viral last year.
His physical health has greatly deteriorated and now isolated from the bustling urban life he had once been a part of. Passersby hurriedly walked past him, oblivious to the tale of his resilience while those known to him called out his name to express their sympathy.
There’s hazy information about his family, siblings, or extended relatives and friends, which further complicates his situation. He claims to be his father’s – a one Dr Grain – only child.
WELCOMES A GOOD SAMARITAN
In this harsh reality, John Jones’s condition is a testament to human endurance, but the struggle is still far from over. Although he is trapped in a cycle of poverty, sickness, and homelessness, a good Samaritan recently came to his temporary rescue. The businesswoman, a tenant at City House, said she had known John Jones for more than 20 years.
“I took him to a private doctor for assessment. His foot got burnt in addition to a slightly deep cut underneath. He got treatment and the doctor has just changed the dressings on the wound.”
Initially, the woman handed over the drugs to John Jones but he took an overdose. It took well-wishers who saved him that night on the street. She has since decided to personally give him the drugs twice a day. At Church House where we conducted the interview, security ordered him to vacate the area the following day. He relocated to the front part of the City House building just opposite Radio One offices.
People running businesses here during the day also ordered him to find shelter elsewhere. At the time of compiling this story, the good Samaritan had just returned from Luwum street to check on him under a tree shed.
“I leave town around 8pm after giving him medication. Whenever I take for him foodstuffs, he says thank you so much mummy for taking care of me. He’s appreciative and that motivates me,” she said.
The woman’s biggest worry, though, is that the old man crawls around due to the pain in his foot. She has known John Jones to be a clean man but she wondered how he uses the toilet nowadays. He moves with a small bucket to ease himself and later crawls to find a convenient place to pour the urine.
“For long calls, I have no idea how he does it because the closest toilets would be at Maria’s Galleria building but each turn is charged Shs 200 in addition to crossing the road which is risky for him. The toilets in City House were affected by the fire. Maybe, he would have crawled and used ours because he knows them,” she said.
She also contemplated getting him a blanket but in his weak state, street children may steal it at night. When I asked why she was passionate about supporting the old man but didn’t want her name to be known in the press, she had this to say.
“I am not rich. Let’s glorify the name of Jesus for enabling me so to do this.” She went ahead to quote the book of Matthew 6:3-4 which reads: “…when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then, your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you”
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT THE LIFE OF JOHN JONES
Eddie Tumusiime, a graphics designer and printer who has been a tenant in City House, has known Jones since the 1990s.
“He used to move with springing strokes, visiting gyms and partying places. Jones’ name used to appear in newspapers as a city socialite of those days. Sudhir Rupare- lia was his friend, and gave him free accommodation at City House,” he said.
He said Jones told him he was a native of West Africa and a member of the US Marines who was left by the military vessel at Mombasa, Kenya as he was having high life with women and alcohol. That he then decided to relocate to Uganda after hearing that Uganda was a paradise, where anyone would survive and succeed.
According to the LC 1 chairman of City House village, Mat- thew Mukasa Ssentamu, the old man has been a peaceful resident. He has known him since he came to the city in 1987.
“John Jones used to be a smart man with a good accent in spoken English. In the 1990s, he would get episodes of losing his mind, shout, and walk around the city without causing harm to anyone,” Mukasa said. He added that people have approached him to reinstate the old man in the building but “my hands are tied since I don’t own the building.”
He said that during the daytime, John Jones was allowed to walk through the building but prohibited from staying there at night. Another tenant who has known him since 2002 said he was engaged in casual jobs such as fetching water, cleaning shops, and clearing rubbish at a cost.
“City House has some fraudsters but he has never joined them. He’s a peaceful man. Back in the day, whenever he had sufficient money, he would even buy some prostitutes whom he kept inside City House to enjoy himself.”
According to Siraje Mabiriizi, little is known about John Jones despite knowing him for more than 40 years. Mabiriizi was a resident of Plot 4, around the current Arua Park in 1974.
“I first saw him along Wilson road on a building then known as Ku Mbwa. When the building was modified to Zaniab Aziz Emporium, John Jones came to City House.”
He added: “I want to believe that he either came from Liberia or Sierra Leone. He knows those two countries like the back of his palm whenever we chatted.”
Mabiriizi also noted that his friend is one of a kind. He has lived in the city but hardly speaks any language besides fluent English. In the 2000s, he was labeled a government spy but over time, “we have also ruled that out.”
John Jones, once a proud resident of the city, hopes that the management of the City House building will extend another olive branch to him once renovations are completed to guarantee his sense of security and belonging.
As the deputy Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman, Luke Owoyesigyire, said then, the building looked unsafe for occupancy. Until then, John Jones will continue to wander through the city streets.
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