The SPC in Kampala

There has been a distinct lack of good internet everywhere lately. Even the fast wireless in the orthopaedic clinic has been so slow; I had to give up on loading e-mail after 22 minutes. The question: Are you ready for CHOGM?

In other CHOGM related news, I was told a story on Sunday that makes me worry a little. The SPC are the police brought on board to control “the people” during CHOGM. They arrest for being in somewhere at the wrong time, throwing litter on the ground, or selling goods on Kampala road (and until recently everyone threw out their garbage and sold goods on Kampala road). They were only given a month or so training before being handed a gun and a baton and told to patrol Kampala. There are rumours flying that the government doesn’t have the funds to pay them, which will leave 1000+ angry, untrained officers with guns at the end of CHOGM.

But that’s not the worrying news.

An SPC officer was supposed to bring in a suspect, so he marched into the local area and demanded the people tell him the location of the suspect. They were mostly ignoring him. Rumour has it he wanted to make the people listen/fear him so he shot randomly into the crowd. A man was wounded in the leg and a young girl (13 or 14) was killed. The crowd, sick and tired of being repressed by untrained violence, responded with mob justice and beat the officer within an inch of his life.

I haven’t seen anything on this in the local papers, just something I heard from a fairly in-the-know friend of mine. It speaks volumes to the tension the Ugandan people have been put under for the preparation of CHOGM. Ugandans for the most part are friendly, and peaceful, remembering past years of violent repression.