From World Cup fever to Ebola fears, Kampala pauses to reflect

The question came before most people had even found a seat.

“Where are you watching the World Cup opening from?” Ronnie McVex, the evening’s host, called out to the gathering crowd at Old Tymerz, the cosy kafunda in Ntinda that has quietly become one of Kampala’s most interesting Friday night destinations.

The answers came back immediately. From living rooms packed with friends to neighbourhood kafundas, and even those resigned to sneaking a stream on their work laptops on a Thursday because, yes, the opening match falls on a workday.

It was the kind of exchange that felt less like an event opener and more like the start of a conversation that had been waiting all week to happen.

With the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicking off in just six days, football dominated much of the early conversation.

Shadrach Mutebi, one of the guests, offered a nugget that stopped the room.

“Curaçao is the smallest country by both land area and population to qualify for this year’s World Cup.”

Most people in the room had never heard of Curaçao, let alone imagined it on a World Cup stage alongside Brazil, France and Argentina.

Back home, there is always something happening.

The freshly sworn-in Members of Parliament and Cabinet ministers are the talk of the town. A fresh wave of X, formerly Twitter, episodes involving Hon Justine Nameere has simmered throughout the week.

The cartoon controversy between Hon Spire Ssentongo and Dr Justine Nameere over satirical cartoons depicting her behaviour has also dominated discussions.

And above it all is Ebola.

The disease has crept back into public consciousness, and the anxiety is real. People are watching the news closely, checking on family members in affected areas, sanitising their hands whenever possible, and quietly recalibrating their sense of normalcy.

“It’s so hard to stay sane in this motherland with all this drama!” one guest declared, half laughing, half serious, and the room knew exactly what she meant.

Since April, Gilbey’s Hangouts has positioned itself as a no-judgement zone and a space where people can show up after a long, chaotic week, sit next to a stranger and leave feeling like they understand the world and the people in it a little better.

“Every week, we see people walk in carrying the weight of the news cycle, the politics, the health scares, the online noise, and what Gilbey’s Hangouts does is give them a safe, welcoming space to unpack all of that with like-minded people,” said Raymond Karama, Gilbey’s Brand Manager in Uganda.

Gilbey’s Hangouts takes place every Friday at Old Tymerz in Ntinda, Kampala.