Character	Role in the Play	Character Traits	What the Character Represents
Kyeyune	Fisherman and survivor who refuses to board the rescue boat	Brave, cautious, observant, resilient	The ordinary citizen who questions authority and survives through wisdom
Nankya	University lecturer; daughter of a victim of state violence	Educated, strong, emotionally affected	The suffering of innocent families; intellectuals also oppressed
Bwogo	State Research Bureau (SRB) official; leader of the “rescue” operation	Cruel, corrupt, manipulative, powerful	Dictatorship, abuse of power, state violence
The Headman	Local leader in charge of evacuation	Authoritarian, selfish, oppressive	Corrupt local leadership; blind loyalty to the regime
Ssalongo	Ordinary villager	Fearful, helpless	The powerless common people who suffer silently
Rutaro	Villager / victim of the regime	Innocent, unlucky	Victims of arbitrary arrest and violence
Nyangodhe	Figure in Kyeyune’s myth about Nalubale	Greedy, disrespectful	Greed and moral violation that bring destruction
Nalubale (Goddess)	Mythical sea goddess	Powerful, symbolic	Nature / moral order taking revenge for injustice

The Floods, written by Ugandan playwright John Ruganda, is a powerful political drama that uses metaphor and allegory to critique authoritarian rule and the devastating effects of state violence on ordinary citizens. First published in 1980, the play draws deeply from the social and political realities of Uganda under the dictatorship of Idi Amin, a period marked by brutality, repression, and widespread human rights abuses.

Context and Setting

The drama is set on an imaginary island in Lake Victoria, representing a microcosm of Ugandan society under a tyrannical regime. Ruganda’s own experiences and observations of political violence in Uganda—as a playwright and academic—infuse the play with realism and urgency. He writes not just about floods, but about political storms, bloodshed, social decay, and moral collapse brought about by autocratic governance.

The title The Floods is symbolic rather than literal. Although the characters prepare for unprecedented floods, these “floods” stand for the overwhelming tide of violence, fear, and death unleashed by the ruling powers. The term “waves” used in the play’s structure reinforces this metaphor, representing different stages or intensities of the state’s cruelty.

Structure: The Three Waves

The play unfolds in three distinct “waves” that together expose the brutality of the state and its impact on human life:

First Wave — Suspicion, Alarm, and False Security

The drama opens with a radio announcement warning that devastating floods will soon hit the island, urging everyone to seek safety by boarding a rescue boat. The Headman—an abusive local leader—takes charge of the evacuation. Instead of leading with care, he forces villagers to board the vessel, forbids them from carrying belongings, and even snatches precious goods. This oppressive behavior suggests that those in authority care more about control than wellbeing.

In this opening wave, we meet several key characters, including Kyeyune, a fisherman and survivor of earlier political violence. Unlike others, Kyeyune distrusts the announcement and refuses to board the boat. He warns that the “rescue” may be a decoy—a trap devised for reasons other than safety. Kyeyune’s skepticism introduces the theme of distrust toward propaganda and deceit by rulers.

Although the setting seems to suggest a natural disaster, Ruganda signals early on that something deeper—political manipulation—is at play. This deception reflects how the state uses misinformation to dominate and destroy its own people.

Second Wave — Violence, Trauma, and Personal Testimonies

In the second wave, the narrative shifts focus from collective movement to individual suffering. Ruganda uses personal stories to illustrate the extent of state oppression. Characters like Kyeyune and Nankya recount the trauma they have endured under the regime.

Kyeyune, while recounting his experiences, describes finding the body of a Major General murdered and dumped in Lake Victoria—his skull punctured, his corpse mutilated. This haunting image captures the pervasive cruelty and psychological trauma inflicted on citizens.

Nankya, a university lecturer with a PhD, narrates how her mother was beaten and raped by soldiers, demonstrating how vulnerability and violence intersect in the lives of ordinary people. Her academic status does not protect her—a striking commentary on how oppression spares no one regardless of background.

Meanwhile, the antagonist Bwogo—a powerful official in the State Research Bureau (SRB) and chairman of the island’s “rescue” mission—exemplifies the regime’s moral decay. Instead of protecting people, Bwogo uses his authority to intimidate, harm, and manipulate. His attempts to silence dissent and maintain control reveal the extent to which the powerful exploit violence for self-preservation and political gain.

This wave illustrates through dialogue and personal account how the state’s brutality infiltrates every aspect of life, turning every interaction into a struggle for survival, dignity, and truth.

Third Wave — Myth, Explanation, and Judgment

The final wave offers a symbolic interpretation of the violence. Kyeyune speaks of a native myth involving the sea goddess Nalubale, who was supposedly violated by a greedy man named Nyangodhe. According to the myth, the goddess’s wrath caused the deaths and disappearances of villagers as vengeance.

This mythological explanation functions on both literal and metaphorical levels. On one hand, it connects the physical environment and cultural belief systems; on the other, it conveys that unrestrained greed and injustice—personified as the violation of a goddess—bring disastrous consequences upon a community. It’s an allegory for how moral violation by leaders triggers social chaos and collective suffering.

The play ends with procedural justice as Bwogo is arrested, symbolizing a form of accountability for state abuses. Yet, this arrest feels more a culmination of accumulated testimony and resistance than a true restoration of justice. The narrative underscores that while individuals may be punished, the structural violence and fear instilled by tyranny persist beyond personal accountability.