"At least 200 people arrested in connection with violent riots that
engulfed Kampala and neighbouring districts from September 10 to 13,
were yesterday charged and remanded to Luzira Prison in various courts
in the city." - News from Uganda today via allAfrica.com.
It's the aftermath of riots in which 13 have been killed since Thursday as a result of "disputes between the government and members of the Buganda, one of Uganda's four ancient kingdoms." (from AP)
(Unaware of Uganda's "ancient kingdoms?" Background here.)
The Buganda have a King named Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, whose attempt to travel to a political rally was prevented by the government, causing the first of the violence on Thursday. Since then, the AP reports along with other tribal violence, "a 13-year-old boy shot in the head and another man shot in the back as stone-throwing protesters fought running battles in the streets with police."
The standoff continues. The Kampala Daily Monitor covers the local politics.
Moses Solomon Male, a pastor in Uganda, notes in the AP story, "Those people rioting on the streets are unemployed and poor.... The government has not addressed their problems."
Indeed, and with Uganda's demographic challenges, the situation ought only to get worse. Here's an article that claims that "for every one job that is available they are about 50 people to fill it." And Nationmaster.com lists Uganda as number 224 of 224 nations in the lowest median age of males, at 14.9 years.
All of that may be true, but it's also true that just about everybody who visits Uganda on an organized tour enters by land or at the airport in Entebbe, and never needs to go near Kampala. The U.S. State Department has posted their usual Travel Alert.
Obviously you want to avoid Kampala now. But don't you dare cancel your longstanding plans to visit the hippos on the Kazinga Channel at Queen Elizabeth National Park or to hike Rwenzori or track the mountain gorillas at Bwindi. They're an entirely different world from urban Kampala.
(Photo of Kampala, Uganda from the Uganda Gallery at EarthPhotos.com.)
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