By Joseph Mbazzi Muguluma
Ahhh, my sons! My daughters! My brothers! Have you ever wondered where money came from? Who first looked at a goat and said, “Forget this animal. Give me something I can put in my pocket”?
Sit down. Put your phones on silent. Pour yourself some tea or, if you are in Kifuuta, some bushera from Walusimbi. The Kifuuta Oracle has a story to tell you.
Money did not begin in Uganda, America or England. Its history stretches back thousands of years, when human beings discovered that exchanging goods could be easier if they agreed on something everyone trusted.
And that, my people, was the beginning of the good devil!
MESOPOTAMIA: WHERE ACCOUNTING BEGAN
Between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in present-day Iraq, ancient Sumerians developed systems of recording debts, trade and payments. Barley and silver were measured and used in economic exchanges.
Imagine a man exchanging goats for grain, only to discover that the farmer wanted chickens instead. Banange! Business was becoming complicated!
Silver, measured by weight, became an important medium of exchange. Clay tablets recorded transactions, debts and obligations.
Even then, people borrowed. People lent. People owed. And some struggled to repay.
Thousands of years later, we are still chasing debtors!
LYDIA: WHEN MONEY BECAME A COIN
Around the seventh century BC, the ancient kingdom of Lydia, in present-day Turkey, pioneered the minting of coins made from electrum, a naturally occurring mixture of gold and silver.
Suddenly, traders could carry standardised pieces of metal instead of weighing silver at every transaction.
That was a revolution!
A man could sell his goats, put coins in his pocket and walk away whistling. No more dragging animals across the countryside.
But my sons, something else happened. Wealth became easier to carry, store and conceal.
The coin was a clever invention, but human greed was already waiting at the door.
CHINA: WHEN PAPER BECAME MONEY
Centuries later, China transformed the world of money. During the Song dynasty in the 11th century, governments issued paper currency known as jiaozi.
Think about it: something as light as paper could represent value that previously required heavy metal coins.
Today, we have gone even further. Mobile money allows you to send shillings from Kampala to Kifuuta without carrying a single coin.
But remember the secret: money works because people trust the system behind it.
When confidence disappears, even a beautifully printed banknote can lose its value.
ROME: WHEN MONEY BOUGHT POWER
The Romans understood that money could do more than purchase food. It could pay soldiers, finance armies and strengthen an empire.
Their silver denarius became an important currency across Roman territories.
Money could reward loyalty, but it could also purchase betrayal. The biblical story of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, remains a powerful illustration.
The lesson is simple: money has no conscience. The person holding it supplies the character.
AFRICA: OUR ANCESTORS HAD MONEY TOO!
Banange, do not let anyone convince you that Africa entered history when Europeans arrived!
Across African societies, people traded using cowrie shells, gold dust, salt, iron and other valuable commodities. In parts of East Africa, cowries became important in exchange, while salt supported extensive trans-Saharan trade.
In Buganda and neighbouring communities, different forms of exchange existed long before modern currencies arrived.
Our ancestors understood value, negotiation and wealth. We were not empty-handed before colonialism.
THE POUND, THE DOLLAR AND THE FINAL LESSON
Britain’s pound sterling became a major international currency, followed by the rise of the American dollar as a dominant force in global finance.
Today, digital payments and cryptocurrencies are challenging traditional ideas about money.
But listen carefully, my sons and daughters.
Money was created to make exchange easier. Yet people have turned it into a source of endless competition, betrayal and suffering.
Pharaoh accumulated treasures but could not purchase another breath. The wealthy die, leaving their houses, cars and bank accounts behind.
So, what is the lesson?
Use money; do not worship it. Let it serve your ambitions without becoming the master of your conscience.
Use it like a panga: to clear the bush, build a home and prepare the road ahead. But hold it by the handle, lest the blade cuts you.
Money can build you. Money can break you. Your character determines what happens next.
Cross the zebra crossing wisely, my people. Do not run blindly after wealth until you forget who you are.
The Kifuuta Oracle has spoken!
