‘Manchester Happened’ by Jennifer Makumbi: Home is a place and a feeling

Have you ever considered relocating abroad—or ‘Bulaya’, as Jennifer Makumbi calls it in her book Manchester Happened? The book is a collection of 12 short stories that follow the lives of Ugandans who moved to Manchester in the 1950s.

Makumbi depicts life in two contrasting worlds: Kampala and Manchester. Both of these places represent "home" in different ways. These stories are divided into two parts: "departing," highlighting the experiences of leaving Uganda, and "returning," reflecting on the challenges of returning.

Through these stories, Makumbi explores identity, shame, belonging, colonialism, culture, parenthood, and betrayal, weaving each theme into the lives of her characters. Her writing offers insights into the interplay between these two worlds. 

The first story, Our Allies the Colonies, introduces Abbey, a Ugandan who arrived in Manchester in the 1950s. Abbey’s identity shifts depending on his circumstances and needs: in Manchester, he is Abbey; among Arabs and Zanzibaris, he is Abu Bakri, but his actual name is Ssuuna Jjunju. Abbey’s name changes reflect his attempts to navigate the discrimination that comes with being unapologetically Ugandan.

Ssuuna left Uganda with dreams of joining the King’s African Rifles, a British Colonial Auxiliary Force. “He wanted to hold a gun and hear it bark, then travel beyond the seas and be part of the warring worlds.” But, as with many plans, his ambitions unravelled. Instead, he finds himself in Manchester, grappling with culture shock and the biting cold.

Through Abbey’s story, Makumbi highlights how bravery is perceived differently across cultures. When a nurse at a children’s home suggests, “In this country, it is brave and selfless to give up a child to someone who will love him and meet his needs,” Abbey counters firmly: “Brave? In my country, a parent will die first before they give up a child to strangers.”

In The Nod, Makumbi explores the subtle connections forged through recognition and shared experiences in unfamiliar places. She suggests that other people's eyes mirror who we are. When we find ourselves in new surroundings, we instinctively seek familiarity and comfort by searching for that recognition in the faces of strangers.

However, Makumbi cautions against this reliance, pointing out the vulnerability of seeking ourselves in the eyes of those we do not know. “In most cases, there is a flicker, an acknowledgement of I’m glad you are here too. Someone gave this acknowledgement a name—it is called a nod.”

Let’s Tell This Story Properly is a standout piece. It is not a love story—it is a story of betrayal. The story introduces us to Nnam, a mother of two and wife to Kayita, 45. One Easter morning, Kayita unexpectedly dies in the bathroom. Expectedly, he has to be buried in Uganda. 

While mourning her husband’s death in Uganda, Nnam is faced with another grief—one that, in many ways, eclipses the loss of her children's father. Makumbi masterfully reveals the situation's complexities, emphasising the dangers of accepting things at face value. “Let’s tell this story properly,” she paused. There is another woman in this story.”

Many people dream of having children and grandchildren. Thanks to medical advancements, aspiring parents and grandparents have various paths to achieving this goal—but at what cost?

In The Aftertaste of Success, we meet Kitone, who returns to Uganda after spending many years in Manchester with her father. As is customary in East African culture, she visits relatives in Kampala. These visits introduce us to Nnakazaana, Kitone’s grandmother—a trailblazing businesswoman in the 1950s who defied societal norms. “The tongues said she made her money by selling herself,” Makumbi writes, capturing the whispers of a judgemental society.

Kitone’s relationship with her mother drifts from the typical mother-daughter bond. She was not conceived in the conventional sense. Kitone exists because of a grandmother determined to have a grandchild at any cost and a father who resisted parenthood, believing in the freedom of choice.

“No one ever thinks about their conception,” Kitone reflects. “But now that I’m forced to contemplate it, I would have liked to imagine myself the product of a bout of passion. My parents’ love for me started with a strong attraction to each other.”

Makumbi’s writing is both calm and humorous. This shines in Memoirs of Naamaso, a funny and touching story about a stray dog whose curiosity leads him from the nightly streets of Kampala to a home in Manchester, following his friendship with a house dog.

This collection invites readers to question their identity, culture, and family assumptions. For those contemplating a move abroad, Manchester Happened offers an anthropological lens to explore what such a decision could mean for their future and that of their loved ones. It is a reminder that “home” is as much a place as it is a feeling—and, for many, an ongoing negotiation.

Jane Shussa is passionate about books, coffee, nature, and travel. She serves as a Senior Digital Communications Officer for Twaweza East Africa.