This picture of the Lugbara elder Nahore Aguaye Oya and his submissive wife is a wonderful exposition of the order of things among this community of people who live astride the River Nile in north-western Uganda. The male sitter is a former member of the King’s African Rifles, a colonial-era army, and in his alert posture there is a hint of his military background and his authority as a man. The wife, meanwhile, finds her level, so that it can seem as though they are not posing for the same painter. Executed in a neo-classical style, Lugbara Couple is a fine example of Kateete’s singular ability to describe the personal contours of life in traditional settings.
