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So which one is the government paper? posted on March 17, 2010 - 10:26am
Hint: The President is in a row with Buganda. For me the destruction of a World Heritage site trumps the riot story (especially since the riots were all over the radio and television all day yesterday). The fire occurred last night.
Did Makerere shooting need to be fatal? posted on March 17, 2010 - 9:40am
According to an article this morning in the New Vision, the three students were not transported to a hospital for a whole hour after they were shot. Eyewitnesses said Richard Hafasha, a private security guard, fired one bullet which passed through Nyongesa’s chest and hit Amoga who was behind him. The bullet also hit a Ugandan student, Amon Mugezi, and got lodged in his neck. Mugezi is a third-year law student. The bodies lay in a pool of blood for about an hour until other students in the hostel mobilised funds and hired a car that took them to Mulago Hospital. By press time, Mugezi was still in critical condition at the hospital’s intensive care unit. How can this be? Did no one think to call the police? Emergency services?
Makerere students riot and forget to tell anyone posted on March 16, 2010 - 4:41pm
Last night two Makerere students were shot by an armed security guard leading to widespread riots near the university today. Uganda Online - Makerere Students on Strike after 2 Killed However no one thought to utilize Twitter to get the story out. Searches for #Makerere all day on Twitter Search resulted in nothing more than news reports. How is it that students -- particularly politically-active students -- are not making use of the social media tools available to them. Is it ignorance of Twitter? Is it the high cost of an internet connection? What has led to this?
Cost of Stadium Reveals Tensions in South Africa - NYTimes.com: In the past month, three supposed hit lists landed in South African newspapers. One includes people to be shot, another those to be poisoned. The Sunday Times recently quoted a repentant Mozambican assassin who asserted that he was hired by top-level politicians and businessmen to kill their adversaries, describing his profession as the work of a “cleaner.”
Invisible Children - Full video posted on March 12, 2010 - 11:40am
I have been hearing a lot about this video and I wanted to see what all the hype is about. Here it is from Google Video:
OK the Australians win! Hilarious. posted on March 12, 2010 - 11:08am
As a professional cynic (read journalist), I am usually pretty negative about the do-gooder attitudes of Americans -- or Westerners for that matter --who think they can parachute into third-world countries and change the world. It might look good on a College resume but after they fly home, the struggle continues. The one thing I have learned from living in Uganda is that the people in power here are often more concerned with their own wealth and power than with the plight of the common Ugandan. Why should a UN worker who works a three-year stint in Uganda care for the welfare of its citizens when many Ugandan politicians and civil servants don't? Or more precisely, why do they even care?
US bill to help northern Uganda posted on March 4, 2010 - 9:48am
It looks lie the US is about to pass a bill that would assist Northern Uganda and up military and media pressure on the LRA. Part of the goal is to try to convince soldiers to leave the bush. Uganda: Feingold Statement on the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act (allAfrica) Kony has become a sort of cult hero in the the US along the lines of bin Laden and Charles Manson. Books have been written and films made with an unhealthy and incomprehensible goal of "meeting the man". And for some reason, the topic of returning child soldiers has struck a chord outside of Uganda. I am not saying that this topic is unworthy but I guess it just stirs my ever-present cynicism.
51 die, 300 missing in Bududa landslide posted on March 2, 2010 - 5:40pm
Another weather tragedy hits the world, this time from the slopes of Mt. Elgon in Uganda. Everyday people are dying just because they live in this village or in that house. 51 die, 300 missing in Bududa landslide Over the weekend, two old friends of mine and their two young children (3 yrs and a newborn) died because they found themselves in that plane with that mechanical problem. Hundreds of lives can end for no better reason than chance.
Horrible article on BBC website posted on March 2, 2010 - 10:15am
When you read the following headline: BBC News - Yoweri Museveni 'preparing son to to lead Uganda' you think that Museveni was quoted that is he grooming his son for his office. But it is a quote from the opposition. Terrible journalism and editing. But I am more concerned that the president's son is leading the presidential guard. The army must be impartial when it comes to political issues but if your father is the president, guarding him can be nothing but personal... By the way - FA is back!