Stories ‘expose injustice, spark change and preserve memories’

By Michael Ainomugisha

July 1st was more than just my birthday this year. It’s also the day I begin a new chapter as a part-time writer intern for Uganda Christian University Partners. That’s not just a role to me; it’s a meaningful opportunity to tell stories that matter. And maybe it’s a quiet sign that I’m right where I need to be.

If you’ve seen my WhatsApp profile picture, you’ll notice a powerful image of Michael Jordan, teary-eyed, holding tight to the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after winning his first National Basketball Association title in 1991. I picked that picture from Pinterest after watching The Last Dance, a documentary series about the Chicago Bulls. It redefined how I see both struggle and success.

For me, that photo isn’t just about basketball. It’s about what it means to fight for something when nobody’s watching — to lose, to push on and to finally win.

That image? It’s not just a photo.

It’s a mirror.

I was born and raised in Western Uganda in a family of four children. I am the first born.

Michael Ainomugisha holds the trophy after the UCU Badminton team emerged victorious in the Federation of African Universities Sports (FASU) Badminton Challenge, held at Makerere University in Kampala.

Growing up, I was always drawn to stories – the kind you could feel in your chest, the kind that connected people across distance and difference. Every evening, whenever my father would be home, he would carry two weeks of copies of newspapers, mostly New Vision, The Daily Monitor and Bukedde and that made reading newspapers a discipline.

In fact, I was always tasked with narrating what I had read in the English dailies in my native language, Runyankore, and sometimes I would mimic radio anchors in English language. I’d even pretend to “interview” people and summarize top stories like a news anchor. That skill and curiosity never left me.

So, when it came time to choose a career path, journalism wasn’t a difficult choice. I didn’t choose it because I wanted to be famous or chase headlines. I chose it because I believe stories matter. They expose injustice, spark change and preserve memories. Journalism is how I make sense of the world and, in a way, how I try to make it better.

Studying journalism and communication at Uganda Christian University (UCU) has given me more than just skills. It has given me vision. From pitching stories to producing podcasts, I’ve grown to understand that communication is not just about speaking; it’s about connecting. One of the highlights has been learning how to use audio and multimedia tools to bring voices to life – especially voices that often go unheard, something that helped me start my own podcast The Michael Ainomugisha Podcast.

But more than anything, I have also loved the adventure of the field, especially when it rained on me while covering a muddy football match between UCU and Makerere University while on my supervised internship at New Vision.

Outside class, I wear many hats. I worked shifts as a service person in a restaurant to make ends meet while balancing school, from my first year through my second year. It was not easy some days because I had to be in class for my lectures and rush to work for evening shifts. But even in those moments, I hold on to faith. I pray. 

And when prayers seem unanswered, I work even harder.

When I wasn’t working or studying, I was creating. I launched Uganda Daily, a podcast inspired by one of the most listened podcasts, The Daily from The New York Times. This, though, hasn’t been an easy task since it required my subscription to news agencies, but one day, I will resume its production.

As for my journalism journey, I believe in quiet, purposeful storytelling. I’m not interested in noise for the sake of attention. My focus has always been to inform, uplift and document truth when I have ventured into the world of communications. I have a love for integrity. 

As for that Michael Jordan photo on my WhatsApp, I carry it like a badge of honor. Jordan wasn’t just crying because he’d won. He was crying because he knew what it cost him. The losses. The sleepless nights. The weight of expectation. The sacrifice.

I haven’t won a trophy yet. But I know what it means to hold on, to keep going when it doesn’t make sense, and to believe in something even when there’s no applause. Like Jordan, I’m in my own “Last Dance.” I’m pushing through the final stretch with a pen in my hand and faith in my heart.

Because for me, journalism is more than a profession. It’s a calling. And I’m just getting started.

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Michael Ainomugisha is one of three new writers that Uganda Partners has within its training model. He is an intern doing two stories a month, starting July 2025.  All three are sharing part of their own stories as a first assignment.