Notes from the Stone Age: How a Devout Pickpocket, a Dead Phone, and the Corporate Grind Sent Me Back to 2005

What the report says

Nile Post published a first-person column describing a phone theft at a busy, upscale cathedral in Kampala and the disruptive aftermath. The writer says church security announcements about pickpockets were not taken seriously until a bag check revealed the device was missing. Security staff later said CCTV footage confirmed the theft during worship, according to the article.

The piece then uses the incident to reflect on how vulnerable people can be in crowded public spaces, including churches and funeral settings. It also suggests, based on comments from church staff and acquaintances, that theft can be organized and opportunistic, though those details are presented as anecdotal rather than documented in the article.

The column shifts to the practical consequences of losing a smartphone: replacing it with a basic button phone with a dead vibration motor, dealing with calls from the church, and navigating the administrative steps of blocking SIM cards and handling police and service-center requirements. The writer frames the experience as a forced return to analog life, using it to comment on modern dependence on phones in everyday work and social settings. The broader point is less about the single theft than about how quickly one incident can expose the routines, vulnerabilities, and inconveniences tied to digital life.