Cartooning Under Idi Amin’s Rule: New Documentary Revisits Uganda’s Hidden Satirists. “The Tongue Turns To The Aching Tooth,” directed by Dutch filmmaker Michiel van Oosterhout, follows three veteran cartoonists—John Jones Salongo Sserwanga, James Tumusiime, and Willy Ochaya—who used satire in Uganda’s newspapers during the 1970s.
Few Ugandans today know the names of those behind the pen, even though their work remains integral to the country’s visual and political history.
Released on YouTube on January 25, 2025, the 45-minute documentary shows how they balanced creative expression with survival under a regime where the wrong cartoon could be fatal.
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