staying in kampala for now...

October 24^th, 2010

Well, it is Sunday and I am still in Kampala. Plans have changed a bit, and it looks like I am not going to be heading north to Pader for another couple weeks. The work I am doing in the city now will keep me busy for now, and so I will be staying put until at least the first weekend of November.

The first week in the new place has been good. Unlike the hotel I was at, this place doesn’t have a generator and so when the power goes out, as it often does, it can throw a bit of a wrench in whatever it is you might be doing (i.e. cooking dinner). Luckily enough the power has only gone out once in the evening. The sun sets here around 7 or so every day, and if the power is out, the apartment becomes dark as night! Gives you a reason to go to the bar, not that we have needed one most nights! I have met quite a few really cool people that I have been having dinner and hitting the bars with.  I have just kind of joined their little group, but everyone is a lot of fun. 

Dave (the Aussie) and I made it out to play tennis yesterday at a court nearby, which was a blast! The club let us play on the centre court, chalked up the lines before we started, and even offered us a ball boy (to which we declined)! We had a bit of an audience as the military and police would come and watch as they had their lunch. Kind of felt like we were playing on the clay at the French Open at Roland Garros! Just beyond the courts, in the cricket pitch, the National Resistance Movement (NRM; governing party in Uganda) was hosting their nominations for presidential candidates. Of course there is no doubt that current President Yoweri Museveni will be the nominated candidate. The impending election (scheduled for February or March) is a popular topic of conversation right now in Uganda. This will be the third multi-party election in Uganda, and there is quite a bit of dissension among Ugandans towards the current government. Museveni has been in power for 24 years to date. Many are sceptical as to how fair this election, like those previous, will be. From speaking with several local Ugandans, it is very evident that the government has been handing out money, in exchange for votes, and people are upset by it. Moreover, promises haven’t been fulfilled, nepotism is common place in the government, and people aren’t noticing a change, at least in Kampala. In light of this, most people think Museveni will win this election because the opposition is not organized or strong enough, and this will mean another five years in power.  It will be an interesting and exciting few months leading up the election.

On a similar issue, Southern Sudan is holding a referendum in January on the issue of secession. As Sudan borders Uganda to the north, there is the potential for there to be spill over effects in Uganda. The referendum has the potential to be a bit more volatile than the Ugandan election and so the New Year brings quite a bit excitement and uncertainty in the region! 

              

A Ugandan newspaper made headlines around the world this week, but it received very little attention here in Kampala. A magazine called Rolling Stone published the names and addresses of 100 gay Ugandans, and called for their hanging. Homosexuality has been a hot issue in Uganda lately, with an MP introducing a bill last fall that would see the death penalty be handed out as a sentence for homosexuals in some cases. Homosexuality is currently against the law in Uganda, and has the potential to carry a lengthy prison sentence.   Unfortunately, this is not uncommon among African countries. Between this and the story back in the US about the four young people who committed suicide because they were bullied for being gay, it is quite unnerving. 

Go Leafs Go!