A WHOLE NEW WORLD!

 Sometimes events totally define a particular period in human history. It will be difficult to remember the year 2020 in any other way except as the year of “Lockdown” as it has been characterized by Lockdown. Sometimes one wonders what this lockdown was really all about. Of course, it was not about Covid-19 much as that was the trigger event. I would rather think about it as God's way of giving the world a commercial break and resetting the timers; a time to re-steer and change course.

Many people are leaving the lockdown only to go back to their previous way of life and to their old agendas'. I personally wonder why I would cut out some of the things and habits established during the lockdown. Currently my life is healthier and more balanced. Each one must examine their lives and see the positive things that the lockdown brought into their lives and keep it that way. It would be a mistake to default to the old life after such a divine intervention in our lives.

The way we do church has significantly changed. The way we work has as well totally changed. The way we shop to a great extent too has changed. Family habits too have changed. Of course, human beings cannot survive without physical contact. However, there is new methods of reaching out that we have grown accustomed to over these couple of months which we must incorporate well in our lives; we only need to become better at it. Church schedules have changed somewhat to accommodate more online prayer meetings; in fact, church configurations in many cases have changed as well. Generally, many social meetings as well have become easier with online provisions meaning that we can actually do more with the same time. Literally the day has grown to almost feel like we have more than 24 Hours! So we can achieve more with some of the new methods of interaction that we have learned. Physical meetings and engagements must be left strictly for those things that demands that kind of interaction.

 Most people I know have been churning out more work and more hours of productivity during lockdown due to the online engagements, yet without the stress that sometimes comes with physical engagements. Of course, some will disagree with me, but I guess it is asking too much for me to expect otherwise.

Old habits die hard. For some people, once the countries started opening up, they have tried to do things the same old way they were doing them before. I muse sometimes as I watch these episodes; people trying to find round pegs in a world that now has square holes. This really shows you the true meaning of adaptation and how evolution eventually throws the non-adaptors out and very soon makes them extinct. I have seen churches trying to do things the same old way. I see many employers struggling to "normalize" the workplace. Many businesses are trying to get their old mojo back. One thing many of these non-adaptors don't realize, there is nothing normal about the events of lockdown 2020. The kind of switch that was flipped is the kind that has no reverse gears.

My personal resolution is not to revert to stuff I was forced to leave by the lockdown. There is a lot of good habits I have built up during this period that I now wonder why previously I found it hard to adopt. The world is now a totally different place than it used to be before the lockdown. Bringing old tools into a new type of battle today only leads to eventual defeat. Covid-19 has reconfigured the world and changed the battle field; this is not going back to the way it used to be. So, you had better re-configure, re-align and accept that the Covid-19 normal in many ways is really now the new normal.

A whole new world it is. The challenge is to relearn how to live. Will you?

DO WE DESERVE THESE LEADERS REALLY?

 It is said that people will often get the leaders they deserve. Election time in Uganda is around the corner. In fact literally we have 2 months to go to the ballot! Looking at the candidates that are presenting themselves, the pot is mostly disturbing.

Watching the second U.S presidential debate between Trump and Biden one can't help thinking of when we shall get there as a nation. Something Trump said resonates with my perspective to Politics; in criticism of Biden he made reference of him as "these Politician's" considering himself an outsider. When Trump campaigned the first time I remember telling some friends that he would lead the U.S like some corporate institution and not like any common politician. Those that expected political correctness rather than work soon found themselves outside the arena where the action was; as spectators! Trump has totally challenged the political landscape in the U.S and his opponents are always blind sided to his moves as they have tried to view him in the mould of a politician. They still don’t get it; He is not! he is a leader and change agent. Trying to see Trump as a politician creates serious fog and you will soon have him flanking you and before you know it overrunning your outposts.

This brings me to dear Country. I watch with angst the caliber of politician that the Ugandan populace has allowed into this arena. Many of these men and women have nothing to show in terms of personal achievement and competency. And yet, we thoughtlessly elect them to office expecting them to bring about change. I don't believe one's achievement ought to be in the field of politics for them to make a great political leader. In fact I think it is important the one proves themselves in other spheres before they present themselves for elective office. That is the only way we shall break the leadership Jinx of Uganda.

You find men and women whose only objective is to get into the office to "eat", running for these positions, and the electorate voting them in. Issues-based politics is still a long ways off as these types will oppose someone for the sake of opposing them, even when their opponent is proposing solutions that take the nation forward.

I have a few thoughts on my mind on this; almost none of us would ever give our precious house construction project from hard earned income to a builder that is not tried and tested; but we almost always do that when it comes to the politicians we elect. No wonder we are where we are and yet we keep mourning about why we make little to no progress as a nation in many things. How many of us would sign off on the disclaimer form and go under the operating knife of a surgeon that has never been proven? Yet we do that all the time with these leaders whom we choose and elect. How many of us whilst you are undertaking a major agricultural investment would accept advice from an agricultural extension worker that has unproven competency, and take them on to manage a multi-million-shilling project where we are investing our hard-earned money? Yet we do that all the time with the politicians we choose without weighing them and their competency and abilities as leaders. Remember, it doesn't matter the sphere; what matters is that someone has proven that they are an achiever.

Is it any surprise therefore that we are getting a raw deal with the short end of the stick being served to us? Mourning about it won't change the situation but doing something about it will. The competent people no longer want to run for these offices because it has sadly become an arena of unrealistic expectations which are now placed on it. It is about money politics; just take a look at what is going on right now. The voter buying is on a totally different level lately that even within the parties themselves there is no more democracy (mostly). Turn on any political discussion and the shouting matches will turn you off, with the panelists shouting at each other and almost no substance being discussed. The one that outshouts the other is the hero of the day. There is many uninformed people talking authoritatively about what they know nothing about. The lying is all over the place; one only has to listen carefully, and you will pick it up being presented as an authority. Sadly, the good people opt out as this is too muddy and unnecessarily expensive on all fronts, money and otherwise.

This problem won't fix itself. We have to fix it by taking action. Let's say no to incompetent politicians and yes to leaders. No to talkers that have nothing to show for it, and yes to achievers that can show something they have done. No to liars that confuse the population with small "cheeses" on their "mouse traps". No to un-invested men and women that present themselves for elective office to lead other men and women that have heavily invested in themselves and in their communities. It is one bad apple that will spoil the barrel, and yet we have far too many of them right now fighting to jump in. Let us get rid of them.

We must raise this standard so high that if anyone wants to run for any elective office in Uganda, they must prove that they have paid the price in proven personal achievement and in good social standing as well. 

It is time to make the change! 

THE LAW IS AN ASS...(Is there no cause?)

 

So, three days ago I wrote this blog "THE LAW IS AN ASS..." I got swift readership, lot of encouragement and then I also got a whiplash across my face! Not that I expected any less, but Why? I had touched the leopards... (refer to Gen. Kaguta speeches to fill the blanks in!) as some people thought.

It is interesting that the initial reactions of correction I got were from the learned friends as they thought I had attacked the sanctity of the priests of the "temple of Justice." Not at all brethren, not at all. This was only a case of mistaken identity and reading at cross purposes (if there is any such thing!). In fact I did quite the opposite if you care to read my article and read it well. What I did was to raise a flag on a seething wound that is swiftly going septic, a weapon of mass destruction quickly coming together, which if it is not handled well can potentially affect a lot of things beyond our own personal spaces.

Let me illuminate; in 2016 my partners and I raised some investment to carry out a major project in one part of Uganda that has had serious land issues. I recall driving some potential investors to this part of the country and showing them the land that we had acquired and asking them to support the next phase that called for serious capital investment. One specific gentleman I will never forget, an American guy, told the others who were with him: "Do not place your money here; land issues in Uganda are very volatile. You will end up loosing your money!" First, I was shocked at his boldness to his friends, then I was sad for dear Uganda (“O Uganda may God uphold thee!”), then I quickly transited to some pensive introspection and wondered if surely there was no cause to this astounding statement.  Had my people really come to this that now internationally we were known as land fraudsters?

Alas, there was cause! I was to discover first hand only a few months after that utterance the ridiculousness of the land issues in dear country (Story for another day). Therefore, I did not speak lightly nor redundantly when I mentioned what I did in my blog. I know for a fact that there is a lot of Judges that are doing their best to ensure that justice is served (I know a couple of such). But I also know there has been a few that issued terribly shocking judgments that have costed a lot of honest Ugandans their life’s savings and in some cases their lives due to broken hearts.

I am reminded of this land case where the mountain of evidence against the defendant could not stop the judge presiding over the matter to pass a shocking ruling in favor of the defendant. Everyone in court (and the matter for the complainant was handled by a rather competent senior counsel) including the defendant’s lawyer was in utter shock. This not withstanding that the case had trudged on for over five years up to this point and had costed the complainant loads of costs, only to experience an abortion of justice! That specific case is currently on Appeal and it has been over Four years now; it hasn't been heard yet. In the meantime, this bought the defendant time to wreck havoc on ground to the extent that even if he lost the case on appeal it only gives the Complainant an empty nest (never mind that there was a court order to maintain status quo with case on appeal). Of course, the circumstances leading to this state of affairs are so telling as to the state of some unscrupulous officers in the lands offices as well, who will work for and with anyone throwing potent “green” at them. Well, like I said, "the law is an ass!"

In my tribe we have a proverb that goes "omulya mamba abeera omu navumaganya e’kika" loosely translated it means, "it only takes one bad apple to spoil the barrel" or "others reputations are often sadly concluded from the misdeeds of one of their kind." Whilst my blog was not about the judges but rather about the manipulative Ugandans that will litigate on anything including matters where they flatly know the truth and the fact that it is not anywhere in their version of the story, my point was that these kinds of people have taken advantage of technicalities in the laws and exploit them to the extent that they end up getting "justice" which they then ride upon to cause so much destruction in their wake, which destruction in any case is the least of their worries. The situation is dire and must urgently be fixed otherwise people can only take so much.

Now to my brothers and sisters in the Legal profession, there is another way rather than trying to point out apparent "misdeeds" of the legally ignorant when they stand up to comment on this “divine language” of the law; stand up and be counted. Fight for the justice for which you burnt many precious hours learning to defend. When weird stories come up over matters legal, provide clarity on these matters where you can and as well make an effort to understand the full story. When two media houses post the same story two days apart from each other and there is a loud din from the competent, what does that tell you? You leave matters of interpretation to the aggrieved, and interpret they always will.

I challenge my brothers and sister of the "learned tribe", rise up and steer this ship of the law back on course, otherwise soon, the much-treasured profession will soon be a slaughter house where the law will be the treasured tool to effect the final blow upon those that most need justice. It is no longer OK for you to standby and look the other way when so much is at stake and their purpose with the pride of your profession. In time past you were known as the defenders of the weak, the vanguards of Justice and the dependable ones. There comes a time when there is cause for a fraternity to rise up and defend their pride .

My question to you learned friends, is in the quotation from the bible below.

1 Samuel 17:28-30 - King James Version

28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

….Is there No cause?

THE LAW IS AN ASS...

Recently in early September 2020 I picked up a copy of one of Uganda’s  Daily News papers, and somewhere conspicuously hidden in the middle pages was one of the most shocking articles of recent time; the Constitutional court had quashed the decisions and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Land matters in Uganda. The cost of this Uganda shillings Fifty-Four Billion (UGX 54bn) of the tax payers money and valuable time of 3 years blown away by the wind! There was the hidden costs as well; the lives lost and property destroyed as well as livelihoods cut short.

So how can this be? How can 3 years of a very expensive inquiry go up in smoke just like that yet it is discussing such a very sensitive issue? How can a matter of that magnitude of national volatility be seemingly left to fight on for dear life? One doesn't have to look very far to see that land issues in Uganda are a flash point just waiting to happen. There is so many aggrieved parties, both settlers and land Lords alike. Lives have been lost over land matters in Uganda and property destroyed and the bleeding continues unabated in many cases for now.

Land seems to be the one thing that over 80% of the Ugandan population still draws its livelihood from. What happens when the livelihood of such a big group of people gets threatened? I leave it to your imagination.

So, how did we get here? The Constitutional Court quashed the decisions and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Land matters which the Constitutional Court judges ruled as having acted illegally when it convened itself as a court of law in handling land disputes. Then begs the question, where and how did the commission of inquiry convene itself as a court of law?

Apparently one senior and very powerful citizen of the republic rushed to the court after the commission issued a warrant of arrest against him, thus the resultant action amounted to exercise of judicial power. Now, my learned friends have a common proverb that goes something like "the law is an ass" import being that the law, as created by legislators or as administered by the justice system, cannot be relied upon to be sensible or fair. Thing is, technically the judges are right, however matters of justice are not simply technical.

One wonders how far such manipulation of the law by selfish citizens (who use their advantage and never flinch to revert to the courts of law arguing the letter rather than the spirit of the laws) will stretch to serve the interest of those few to the chagrin of many; how those in vantage positions will continue to rub in the salt of their powers and for how long. In the meantime, the real world goes on like a ticking time bomb. At some point there is an inflection point always against injustice and when that time comes it does not care about the law, albeit only about getting the things crudely fixed to what the aggrieved think they should be.

This is just one example of how things can start to go terribly wrong, how a tsunami begins to boil up far out at sea and the would-be victims of it continue to sip at teas and cocktails at beautiful beaches totally oblivious of the approaching disaster. In the moment the tsunami becomes physically apparent to those at the beach it is usually too late to do anything about it. Somethings will carry out of their way, in their force, whatever they come across whether good or bad and usually only leave regrettable damage as they recede. Such is the power of a tsunami, and such is the power that manipulation of the law by those few selfish citizens puts into the hands of aggrieved and oppressed people.

Being a non-legal mind, I often ask my lawyer friends if nothing can be done about such injustices that are supported by the law. Often their answer is predictably the same, "it is the law!" In pursuit of this, I also recently during that same timeline saw a social media item making its rounds. In a local traditional court, "Mato Put", an alleged murderer was seeking reconciliation for loss of life apparently accorded by him. He wanted reconciliation with the family and friends of the deceased. The accused faced a panel of elders who questioned him and cautioned him to tell the truth; what followed has been subject of many arguments. However, my position has been that perhaps the African traditional courts had something that the western legal systems missed, something that sets things right; things lost when "the law is an ass." I pointed the opponents to my argument to The Truth and reconciliation Commission of South Africa, constituted by the late President Nelson Mandela otherwise called Madiba, the son of a traditional chief and himself a traditional chief by birth. Did this commission work? Did it deliver results? I would shudder if anyone said it did not. I recon this commission is one of the reasons present day South Africa has managed to achieve its current harmonious existence between the Black and their former white oppressors. Is it the best of relationships? Of course not, but it definitely is much better than would have been had the path of "the Law" been taken.

I also pointed my opponents to the Gacaca system used to reconcile Rwanda after the 1994 genocides. The Gacaca court is a system of community justice inspired by Rwandan tradition, loosely translated to "justice amongst the grass". This traditional, communal justice was adapted in 2001 to fit the needs of Rwanda in the wake of the 1994 Rwandan genocide where over an estimated 1,000,000 people were killed, tortured and raped. Now Rwanda is not at its best after such trauma, but it is definitely light years ahead of where it would have been.

So, there is something about these alternate systems of justice that stabilizes society when the law fails. Sometimes, stability of the society is much more important than the "rightness" of the law, hence the need for such interventions. The trick is to know when such a time and event calls for this kind of justice and for one to have the wisdom to put it together. This is where true patriotism begins.

 

OH WHAT A TANGLED WEB!

 "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" (Sir Walter Scott, 1808).

White lies, blue lies, colorless ones, harmless lies, prudent lies.... whatever you might say to justify your lying, it is all lies! There is no good lie. Ultimately when men first lie there is a looser in this equation; and that looser is often not the beneficiary of this lie.

Integrity is something that is getting increasingly in short supply in our society today. All aspects of life are full of lies, and often many of them are in the name of God! The world is becoming a pretty dangerous world to the truthful man or woman. A lot of what we see as prosperity is laid on a foundation dug on a bed of lies. People even lie right behind the pulpit, in the name of God too.

Problem with lying is that it is often the beginning of a tangled web that keeps growing around the liar. Sometimes its tentacles reach out even many years after the first lie is told. A liar can never live at ease. They live almost each moment looking over their shoulders lest the lies have caught up with them. I have seen lies at the corporate table in the name of prudent corporate politics, I have seen lies in marriages in the name of protecting the marriage. I have seen lies in business in the name of survival and lies in the church in the name of "touch not the LORD’s anointed.” Politicians lie to us for the votes, and the elected leaders lie to us to survive yet another day. Girl friends lie to boy friends to make a living out of one too many men, and men lie to girlfriends to obtain from them their honor in exchange for shame and nothingness.

Lying does not make anyone’s life any better. It only provides a temporary sense of relief, but like morphine, over time you need an increase of dosage to keep the pain at bay until the morphine is no longer enough and then you need a more advanced pain killer, and then another, and another... The threshold for tolerance is not limitless and will often catch up with you. This makes the world right now a very volatile place for people of truth. And yet the world as it is right now needs more people of truth. The tangled web of lies only gets bigger and nastier the longer you stay in it. The biggest deceit in all this is that you will find peace, treading on the floors of the temple of Lies; the is no peace to those that sacrifice at this alter.

Even the biggest tsunamis begin as small ripples in the middle of the ocean, which continue to feed on the external energy of other forces that eventually make them pickup more speed, water, mass and eventually only dissipate in destruction of years of work and investment. This is what telling a lie will do to you and your years of great work. And by the way, you probably will be the last to see the destruction coming!

Living a life of truth is at first grievous, but ultimately breaks out into joyous liberty. A person that makes truth their culture owes no one any obligation, not even themselves. They are at liberty to take on life as it comes and enjoy every moment of it without attempting to control every coming threat to the light of truth. Truth is such a liberating experience that eventually when you get used to it, living through the temporary pain it sometimes imposes becomes but a small price to pay.

Make up your mind to break the cycle of lies in your life and begin a new page. Pick up that "Get out of jail free" card and wear your freedom and liberty and walk free from the temple of lies, lest you be consumed by the very thing you presume to protect.

UGANDA: MAN IN THE MIRROR...

 Ugandan election Year is here; its been here anyway for a while, but Covid-19 managed to hide it some. 

As a country we have come from far, really far, and yet we still have some pretty good way to go as well before we arrive at the first reasonable station. Our suitors are back once again, telling us sweet nothings (pun intended), and the cycle re-starts again. I hope not this time round!

Ugandans have been famous for wishing things away. What’s been said about wishes is "if all wishes were horses, then beggars would ride!" But are they! It's really time to switch gears to accountable polling. It is time we chose the leaders that will bring about the change we need. Some have pleaded election malpractices, I say that is all because we let it happen. One former president of the republic whilst advising boxers that were about to compete, when they complained of cheating referees, simply gave them one piece of advice “knock them out; just score knockouts and we see how the cheating will happen!” Let all Ugandans of adult suffrage make it a point to go to the polls, this time with their brains in the right place rather than the pockets and let’s watch what will happen.

It has been said as well that we get the leaders we deserve. So, the other day I watched a clip of an Honourable Member of Parliament (not sure if they are honourable after this) being interviewed as to why he sponsored a relatively unpopular bill in Parliament; his response shocked me. In a rather casual and utterly stupid moment he responded something like "you know these things; once I pocketed my price I moved on. My goods are right now for the highest bidder!" Yes indeed, it has been that way for a while; not only for that legislator but for the voting folks in the country too. We are absolutely responsible for putting such Muppets into the house.

It is amazing how much we can do with our apparently "insignificant" votes. This time round we must place them to good use for the sake of value. How do I mean? Assess the candidates for ability to deliver value, assess capabilities and competencies, assess prior performance experience (it does not only have to have been in the political space). Assess their trust worthiness, their integrity, their commitment, their patriotism. We must decide never again to send useless people into any position of responsibility in dear country again. We must decide to become masters of our destiny too. It has been a while, whilst we let our tails wag the dog; story must change now.

A lot can be achieved with the right leaders elected into office for our communities and our country. Part of patriotism is each one of us getting out of our comfort zones and dealing with status quo where it is not delivering. Each one of us must exercise their civic duty of choosing your leaders. We lose our moral right to complain when we sit back as others make our key decisions for us; that CANNOT happen ever again! Have we not suffered enough with non-performance in political offices and public service? Have we not paid enough for that? Have our pockets not bled enough for services paid for using our taxes but never delivered? Aren't we tired of incompetence taking the reigns of society and leading us into temptation and ultimately evil?

We can make a change. In the words of the late Michael Jackson:

" ...I'm starting with the man in the mirror

I'm asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change..."

 

COACH ALEX: THE ENIGMA - KISS OF DEATH

Tuesday the 21st of July 2020, 07: 39a.m as I drive to work I get a call from Coach Alex. I am in a bit of a rush to get to work so I promise myself that I will call him back. But the timeline of this call is rather out of character with Coach Alex! Anyway I promise myself to call him back later; I forgot to call back.

Wednesday 22nd July 2020, 10: 47a.m Coach calls me again; am right in the middle of a meeting so I promise myself to call him back. Meeting ends, and I walk to my car to drive away. I call back coach Alex; time check 1:12p.m. The first words from Coach Alex send chills down my spine Silence followed on the line; I garner strength and I ask

Alex, like any young man rents a small apartment somewhere close to church. Aside from his boxing coach work he is our Security manager at the Church premise. Alex narrates to me how on Monday 20th July 2020 he felt phased and had a terrible headache after training the last team. Alex asks Shafiq, one of the young men in our Technical team to help him hold fort as he took a rest at his apartment. He got into his apartment, locked the door behind him, fell flat on his bed and was soon fast asleep.

Suddenly, after what seemed like a long time sleeping off this headache and fatigue, Alex wakes up in the dead of the night, only to realize that he has two uninvited visitors in his room; he pretends that he is still sleeping. The one man is stand right over his head with a huge hammer in hand, and the other is fidgeting with his TV set to get it off the wall mounting. It dawns on Alex that he is under attack! At that moment he realizes that he is totally vulnerable, and his head is exposed. So, in a sloppy sleepy motion, still pretending to be oblivious to his surroundings, he lifts his hand and covers his head and neck, a move his assailants clearly thought was one of a man still in dream land. Alex was simply making his first tactical move. He waits; and just as the guy standing over him turns to motion the fidgetor to move faster, Alex makes his move, grabs the hammer guy in a death grip with one hand! Alex begins to punch with his other hand very hard into the hammer guys ribs who now screams in pain; just then the struggle begins.

What Alex had not spotted was a third guy in the room, standing just behind his head at the bed stead with a machete! "Swish!! the first swing came in and hit his hand. Alex says he never felt any pain, but it felt like someone had hit him with a stick. Definately he now realised he had another assailant behind him. He swiftly turns with the hammer guy still tightly under grip, just in time for the second machette blow to hit the hammer guy right on the collar bone, slicing him open at that point. Another swift swing comes again, and Alex pushes the hammer guy again now towards the machette assailant just in time for the third blow to hit hammer guy across the face. Now at this point hammer guy is wailing at the top of his voice. Alex makes his move into the space of machete assailant and hits him with swift combinations of right and left hooks and finally an upper cut with his right that sends the machete guy tumbling down. This time the machette guy too is screaming for help

Alex is now going after machete guy, who is swiftly getting up from the floor and making for the door way. No.3 did not wait for any further instructions; he drops the TV set and makes swiftly for the door and out into the night closely followed by machete guy, hammer guy and then Alex hot on their heels into the dark of the night.

About a half kilometre away, and many unheeded threats to kill him, the assailants decide to drop their sack load of stolen goodies in order to increase their swift escape. Alex picks up the sack and walks back to his house. The entire neighbors had watched the entire 2 minutes fracas through their windows fearing for the worst to happen to Alex. He walks in with the sack, spreads out a huge loot of electronic goods; that night the buglers cum murderers had been busy in a number of homes. It is then that Alex realized he had sustained two deep cuts; one on his left hand, and another on his calf! He had lost a lot of blood and was now getting dizzy. Time on the clock was 3a.m!

The neighbors picked up a boda boda and rushed him to Mulago, and there was no service there! They rushed to another private facility where he was handled after handing over Two hundred Thousand Uganda shillings!

Alex is alive, and well, and back to his coaching. I met him on Sunday and we had a long talk about this event. He is in good spirits but he says what happened and the valiance was nothing short of a "Samson experience"! 

Coach Alex is happy to be alive today and continues in his service to improve lives of young men in the community. He told me some of his neighbors now think he is a ghost! They simply cannot believe what they saw; one sleepy young man fighting off four armed assailants and thereafter chase after them alone, recovering what was lost!

....to be continued