I just got the following email from a good friend that was sent to Uganda on very short notice, so has been there for the recent excitement. I will include some links on the recent events from the news after the email.
Greetings from Uganda!
I’ve only been here a couple days, but I thought I should update you all on what’s going on here. I don’t know if any of you have seen Uganda in the news these past couple of days, but the tensions are high here. I think you all know that Museveni changed the constitution so that he could run for a third term (elections in March), this has pissed a few people off. Besigye, who was Museveni’s friend and doctor at one point in time, then was his opposition in the 2001 election (came in 2nd) returned from exile last month to run against Museveni again, stating “It was time to return and take on the dictatorship”. Yesterday as he was returning from a rally in Mbarara he was arrested and brought to Kampala under charges of treason and rape. This did not turn out good for Kampala. Riots broke out in the center of the city surrounding the Police Station and the State House. I am staying at the Speke Hotel, somehow in the middle of all this, and managed to sleep through all the shooting, car burning, looting, tear gassing, etc. Jet lag is a killer! I awoke this morning to the debris in the streets and the pictures and stories on the papers.
So today is another day and more riots are occurring in the city center. The Peace Corps office is closed for security reasons. I am stuck in an office in Nakasero and when the driver takes me back to the hotel I have to stay inside. So much for going shopping and exploring, good thing I’ve already experienced Kampala!
On the bright side, Museveni is trying to make some people happy and cover up his wrong doings by announcing today that he is going to make Secondary School free. Yay! Although when you read into the story...the program will start with students entering S1 and the Govt will only cover 15,621 UGX per student per term (what secondary school costs only $8???). Oh well, it’s a start I guess.
So anyways, it is great to be back, aside from the rioting and politics. It feels so normal yet I keep noticing small details of things that I had forgotten over the past year and half. I have easily remembered though how much I suck at Luganda, oh well, it’s appreciated even if I can just greet, right?!
Nsubira muli bulungi! Ogamba ki?
Dawna
Here are the promised links to articles on what Dawn was talking about:
Besigye Riots Continue from The Monitor via AllAfrica.com
Museveni Assures He Can Contain Riots from The Monitor via AllAfrica.com
Museveni Backtracks on Succession from the BBC
Police Kill Rioter from the BBC
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