The painting’s title comes from a saying among the Baganda people that the descendants of Kintu, the mythical first man, will never perish. Kyeyune’s interpretation of that maxim is a masterpiece of Ugandan art, executed with brilliant colors and in the artist’s characteristic impasto style. The figures emerge as though they have been carved out of the side of a mountain, alive and kicking. They are going nowhere, and, if they go, others will step up to replace them. Kyeyune kept this painting for years, convinced of its strength and hoping to be inspired by it, and it might have been exhibited by the Uganda Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale if everything had gone according to plan. The picture is a firm favorite of the collector’s family as well as many of his visitors.
