Tight security

Uganda's top opposition leader Kizza Besigye returned home on Thursday just in time to join the boycott of President Yoweri Museveni's swearing-in ceremony. Besigye had reportedly been barred from boarding a flight to Kampala from Nairobi the previous day.

Besigye flew to the Kenyan capital two weeks ago after being assaulted by police during a demonstration against rising food and fuel prices.

Security forces have repeatedly used brutal force to strike down protests, including tear gas and shooting into the crowds. Some 10 people have been killed so far, including a two-year old child, who was hit by a bullet in the head last month.

The demonstrations have changed the face of Uganda's capital Kampala. In the usually peaceful city, protesters are erecting street blockades, throwing stones against police; tires are burning on major roads and black clouds of smoke rise over the downtown area.

Everyone should tighten their belts

It all started with a simple protest march. An opposition alliance had called on the population to walk to work in order to protest against high fuel prices.

Mugisha Muntu, a member of Besigye's opposition party Forum for Democratic Change, said rising prices were a pressing issue for the people. They are angry that the country's leaders are not suffering cuts the population faces.

"If you ask people to tighten their belts, and you loosen yours, it creates a problem and the government needs to read it that way," Muntu said.

He said most people were frustrated because of the levels of corruption in the government. But there was hope that the protests can show leaders the real feelings of the population.

"I think they've been out of touch," he said.

Arab revolutions as a role model

Thursday's celebrations for Museveni's inauguration ceremony are an example of just how far removed the country's leadership is from the people. The 66-year-old was reelected in February with 69 percent of the votes. It was a disputed election which drew strong international criticism.

Dozens of heads of state are invited to the festivities with a price tag of over $1 million (695,000 euros) - though the government is actually broke. Water and electricity have already been shut off in many hospitals to save money. Authorities have no paper to print on. At the same time, the regime is buying fighter jets for $750 million. This has made many Ugandans angry.

"When somebody tells me that the sugar is costing 3,000 schillings (0.87 euros) instead of 1,800 schillings before - it's impossible," said one man. How can the government spend so much money on the inauguration celebrations while the people are poor, he said.

"We need a change. We want another president," another man said. "He has ruled for over 26 years. Nothing is changing. We want other countries to come and help us, like in Libya."

The revolutions in Arab countries cannot be put on the same level as the protests in Uganda, though. While tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya or Syria, it is only a few hundred in Uganda. They protest largely uncoordinated in the slums and suburbs of the capital. The police has preventatively blocked off the city's central square.

The revolutions have nonetheless encouraged Ugandans to express their dissatisfaction. But it has also led to a brutal crackdown by the regime.

Lawyers condemn police brutality

Last week, the country's lawyers took to the streets. In their black robes, they converged on the High Court's front lawn and the Uganda Law Society's President Bruce Kyerere handed over a petition to the chief justice.

"The Uganda Law Society is particularly concerned about the excessive use of force by the police and strongly condemns the following: the use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians and the inhuman and degrading treatment of citizens of this country, the most brutal and violent arrest of various members of the public, including senior and respectable opposition leaders," Kyerere said. "A whole catalogue of these atrocities indeed qualifies to be categorized as crimes against humanity."

These are clear words against Museveni. This time, no police interfered. It seems no one ordered the use of force to disperse the march. But the protests have already seriously damaged the image of a country once known as the "Pearl of Africa."

Author: Simone Schlindwein, Kampala / sac
Editor: Rob Mudge