Last Day in Uganda
Today is my last full day in Uganda. I fly back to Arusha tomorrow. Only ten more days in Africa. Hopefully my trip back goes more smoothly than my other travels so far. Beside the one-day delay getting to Tanzania, my plane from Dar Es Salaam was delayed as well. This worked out well as Air Tanzania ended up giving us a free lunch at the airport because of the delay. Avoid the Dar Es Salaam airport if you can, it is a mess. I got into the terminal, and it was a zoo. No signs telling me which gate my flight was leaving from. I had to ask for help, and someone guided me to the departures area. Also, the electricity went out two or three times during the layover. I don’t feel real warm and fuzzy when the power goes out in an airport. I would think the tower must have a backup-generator? Hopefully my return flight will not be too bad.
I am somewhat relieved to be leaving Kampala, as things have been a bit tense here recently. Besides the rioting prior to my arrival, there has been a large military presence in the city due to the arrest of opposition leader Kizza Besigye. On Friday evening, we were walking through town trying to find something to eat, and all of a sudden, we walked into an area where large crowds were gathering, and many members of the crowd were arguing with some of the soldiers on the street. Apparently, we were near the Ugandan High Court building, where Besigye was having some sort of arraignment. I was pretty anxious to get the hell out of the area. I have a feeling there will be more problems before the elections next year, especially if Besigye is found guilty in his court martial. The whole thing seems pretty fishy. The opposition leader just happens to get arrested during his campaign against the current president? What is really crazy is that he is receiving a court martial, even though he is not in the military. He is accused of being a “terrorist”, and the military is claiming jurisdiction over the matter because they claim Besigye had guns, which are “weapons of war”. From the few people I’ve talked to here about the situation, they seem to think it is all politically motivated, and that Museveni is a quasi-dictator.