Portrait of Moses Kawooya in KJampala, Uganda on July 3, 2011. Moses Kawooya is a 59-year-old obese Ugandan man. He weighs 110 kilos. Kawooya is a dancer and the chairman of the group Sanyu African Music and Dramatic Society (SAMADS). Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni calls him to perform whenever he hosts foreign Presidents such as US Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, ministers and other dignitaries in Uganda. Kawooya says his big belly is genetic. His dad and his grandfather had the same physique. He takes pride in his enormous belly, saying it has earned him a living. “My belly gives me so much,” he says. Besides being a dancer, Kawooya has been a taxi driver for the last 30 years. Obesity is no longer a problem confined to wealthy nations. In Africa, an increasing number of people can be categorised as obese. In some African cultures, being fat is a symbol of good life, prestige and wealth. Photography by Bénédicte Desrus