No Need to Be Alarmed

Yesterday and all this weekend, the capitol city of Kampala is under violent riots. So far 10 protestors have been killed, and dozens have been injured and arrested. The U.S. Embassy sent an email to any U.S. citizens in Uganda, advising us not to travel to the capitol. I am currently in Jinja, which is at least 2 hours away from Kampala, so we are safe. But Betty, our house girl was in Kampala yesterday with her 1 year-old son, and said it was very scary. She couldn’t get out of the city because the roads were blocked. She says tires were lit on fire by the side of the road, police were using tear gas to break up rioters and she and Kymbi got the fumes in their eyes, plus Kymbi was screaming at the sound of gunshots in the air. It turns out even though Uganda has a fairly stable central government; there are still tribal disputes because “cultural tribes” still have political leaders and agendas. Just because the British left Uganda with their final word as to the boundaries of kingdoms, many groups still argue over land and power.
We are a little worried because we have to pick up new volunteers on Monday south of Kampala. That would be a very scary sight for a college student fresh off the plane to be confronted by. The U.S. Embassy expects the violence to last only for the weekend, but you never know with emotions running high, and revenge on the mind, how long this could last.