PROFILE: Nana Kagga on chasing originality

Nana Kagga’s liteside

Any three things we don’t know about you?

I am obsessed with high heeled shoes. I am a loner and believe that I am my best company. My biggest achievement is my three children and through them, I have learnt to be grateful. Everything I have done in life has never measured up to those three human beings. I am stuck in the 70s and 80s fashions because they have stories behind them.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

The ability to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses and be okay with it.

What is your greatest fear?

I fear that the world we are living in now has started to throttle the legacy we are leaving for our children.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

When I get fixated on something, it doesn’t matter whether it is right or wrong. Even some of my biggest arguments arise out of that.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

I don’t like bullies and there is a new culture of bullying in Uganda where people pay to force others into signing agreements.

Which living person do you most admire?

My parents; despite their differences, they each came with traits that have helped me become who I am. My father’s level of tolerance and discipline has taught me that doing certain things is only a sign of humility.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Shoes and no question about it; every morning when I wake up, I think about shoes first before anything else.

What is your current state of mind?

I am at a point of comfort with who I am.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Our positions and possessions; we don’t want to know people but what they have.

What does being powerful mean to you?

That is an intimidating word which I don’t acknowledge or agree to because everyone has his or her own weaknesses.

On what occasion do you lie?

If I had to protect my child, then why not tell a lie.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

My legs are very masculine.

Which living person do you most despise?

Everyone is the way they are for a reason so I don’t despise people.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

I have always liked men who are complicated in a way that they can’t be easily figured out; they will keep you learning from the time you meet them to the next level.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

Kindness is such an important thing not only to herself but also to others.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

My three children.

When and where were you happiest?

When I realised that I had actually said goodbye to my first husband Chad; it took me a long time to forgive him for dying and not saying something after realising that he held on for me.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I would love to learn how to sing.

Where would you most like to live?

In Uganda but just put me beside the lake though in a nice house with maids and a shoe closet.

What is your most treasured possession?

My wedding ring from Chad is the only thing I have left of him.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

It’s terrible to suffer multiple losses in a time so short. Some people never recover and die along with their loved ones.

What is your favorite occupation?

I like the intellectual title of a ‘chemical engineer’.

What do you most value in your friends?

Consistency; I have had friends since age ten and I don’t see them quite often but we are always in touch.

Who are your favorite writers?

I have really been fondest for Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; I find her hilarious and sarcastic.

Who is your hero of fiction?

Freda Kahlo; she is one of most unconventional women I have heard about. Which woman would afford to walk around in a unibrow?

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

President Sankara of Burkina Faso was a revolutionalist and I like to shake structures like he did. I am also fascinated by people who go against forces of nature.

What is your greatest regret?

I regret not having been a model.

How would you like to die?

I want to lie down, say good night to my children and drift away peacefully.

What is your motto?

‘Impossible is just a word’, everything you dream of is a reality’ and ‘We are own biggest obstacles’.

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editor@independent.co.ug