Africa Happenings

Living in Uganda has brought me much more in touch with news and events of Africa than ever before. I'm not sure how much press these events are getting in the US, but I though I would share some popular news stories that people are talking about here.

I've posted a lot of links. Peruse them as you please.

Tunisia: In December, riots and protests led to the overthrowing of current president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia. I don't know much about these riots other than that they were the main spark for what happened in Egypt (see below).

Egypt: In late January, Egyptians began protests over a variety of political issues. Ultimately, protesters were calling for the current president, Hosni Mubarak, to step down and a new government put in place. Hosni hasn't resigned, but he has said that he will not run again in the September presidential election. Since then, things have quieted down, but protests are still continuing. Several hundred have died and thousands more injured through these protests.

Sudan: Earlier in January, Sudan held a referendum vote on whether Southern Sudan wanted to secede from the Northern Sudan and create a new country. Everyone already knew, but the final results were released earlier this week and the overwhelming majority favored secession. The south won't officially secede until this summer but there have already been some issues. Yesterday, a minister and his bodyguard were shot and killed in Juba. There was also an army mutiny a few days ago leaving many dead.

Uganda: Things are really calm here in Uganda in comparison to some of the stories above. Although with the upcoming election, the U.S. Embassy doesn't seem to think so. I got this email message from them earlier today:

U.S. Embassy Kampala, Uganda
WARDEN MESSAGE
FEBRUARY 10, 2011

Reminder – Increased Security Threat around Ugandan Elections

This Warden Message is to remind all U.S. citizens that regional terrorist groups continue to pose serious threats to U.S. citizens and U.S. interests in Uganda. As mentioned in previous notices, the U.S. Mission in Kampala remains particularly concerned about the month of February, before and during the national elections. In light of these ongoing threats, the Embassy reminds all U.S. citizens to avoid large gatherings during this period. This includes events at hotels, sporting events, political events, shopping malls, etc. Any large gathering provides an attractive target for terrorists and should be avoided if at all possible.

While its true it can get more violent, things have been really calm here. Let's just hope that Ugandans don't take the lead of the Tunisians and Egyptians and protest if things don't turn out as they want. The current president, Yoweri Museveni, has been in power since the 1980s and is running again. I have actually enjoyed learning about how elections are done in other countries.

Campaigning is much different. Walls and buildings are plastered with posters and vans are going down the streets playing loud music to try and draw attention. President Museveni actually did a "rap" during a speech which has now been remixed and posted on YouTube. See below. Most of it is in Luganda, but it's still pretty funny and worth watching.