People are being arrested for walking to work in Uganda. Escalating food and fuel prices are adversely affecting many Ugandans, creating political discontent. The government, which recently hundreds of millions of dollars on a re-election campaign and spent $740 million on fighter jets apparently worth only half that amount, has been silent about the latest problems and is perceived as being indifferent to people’s concerns.
Thus Dr Kizza Besigye, the unsuccessful presidential candidate at the recent elections, has achieved a new status as the leader of the “Walk to Work” protests. The stated aim of the protests is to force the government to do something about food and transport costs. This left the government with a dilemma: if they allowed the walks, the crowds in the city might grow and a Tunisian or Egyptian situation might develop; if they stopped the walks, they would look foolish for preventing people from walking.
The government went for the second option. They met the “Walk to Work” campaign last Monday with violence and brutality, arresting the leaders in full view of the television cameras. Besigye, who had suddenly become a heroic victim of high-handed government brutality, was then released from jail in time for Thursday’s walk to work, during which he was shot in the hand by police. Yesterday morning he was arrested again.