Frank Gashumba has thrown down the gauntlet for Uganda’s self-proclaimed celebrities, and he has some very specific ideas about what the title should look like away from the cameras.
Forget the followers. Forget the famous name.
Gashumba wants the lifestyle to match.
Speaking on his Radio4 talk show, the political and social critic took aim at people who proudly call themselves celebrities but, in his view, live in ways that do not reflect the image they project.
And he went straight for the examples.
Stop branding yourselves as celebrities when you still wear second-hand clothes. When you give yourselves that title, you have to look and live it.
For Gashumba, celebrity status does not end with being recognised in public or attracting attention online. If someone claims the title, he believes they should carry it into their everyday lives.
That is why he also took issue with celebrities who, according to him, still use charcoal stoves at home.
The message from Gashumba was blunt: do not just call yourself a celebrity. Look like one. Live like one.
Whether Uganda’s celebrities agree with his definition of the lifestyle, however, is another matter entirely.