The trouble started when the Kabaka (traditional King of Buganda) planned a visit to the town of Kayunga (about an 1.1/2 hours). A self-styled clan leader (from the Buganda people) stood up in Kayunga and said that the Kabaka must ask permission from him to visit the town. At this point President Museveni’s government sensed trouble and stepped in preventing the Kabaka from travelling.
Tens of thousands of young men rise from uncomfortable nights on dirt floors in the capital, pull on trousers and shirts (probably the same ones they wore the night before) and wander aimlessly into old Kampala. Most have not had breakfast, have migrated from rural areas with a poor education and are jobless. Some find work as ‘turn-boys’ on the ‘matatus’ (mini-buses), some ride ‘boda-bodas’ (passenger carrying bicycles) and others trade commodities in the markets. However, most have nothing to do and what is worse, they are very unlikely to find anything to do.
Given any excuse, they will vent their frustrations in noisy protests that can results in riots and wholesale looting. This is what happened when the Kabaka was prevented from travelling to Kayunga. While President Museveni (and other successful African leaders) have managed to keep tribalism from politics, this stand against the Buganda king was a catalyst for trouble. The security forces were caught off-guard and soon there was wholesale looting, burning of vehicles and stores. Unemployed young men smashed windows, helped themselves to others property and saw it as an opportunity to make some money – they know of no other means that is as easy.
The problem was accentuated by hordes of people who flocked to see the riots, crowded into first floor balcony’s and witnessed the shambles at street level from what they thought was a safe position. Most of the killings were from security forces firing in the air in panic and hitting those in high buildings.
Hordes of uneducated, unemployed young men will continue to be a major challenge for sub-Saharan Africa. However, the good news for Uganda is that the security forces came down hard and made it clear this sort of behaviour would not be tolerated. A few days ago, the Kabaka and a delegation of powerful representatives from his kingdom meet the President at State House for the first time in 4-years. The catalyst to the problem is being addressed, and there is every indication that things will not be allowed to deteriorate to this level again.
