Recently, Uganda has been having some political unrest regarding changing the age limit for the president in the constitution. Currently there is a clause in the constitution that says the president cannot exceed 75 years old and cannot run if he will turn 75 during the next term. The current president, Museveni, has been in office for 31 years and over time has consolidated power so that he now serves as more of a dictator than a president.
In the next election in 2021, Museveni should not be eligible because he will turn 75 during the next term. To keep his power, he and the NRM, the ruling party, have been trying to amend the constitution. There has been growing unrest in the country, especially by youth, calling for reform and a change in leadership. This background and rising tension in the country culminated into two debates in parliament that have been dominating the news lately.
Chaos! Dark Ages Return! Doomsday! – These are real headlines that have been on the front pages of local newspapers the last few weeks describing the political issues in the country. The first time that parliament sat to discuss the age limit change, the opposition was so unruly, including excessive yelling and singing the national anthem on repeat to delay tabling the vote, that the prime minister had to end the session and send everyone home.
One week later parliament came together again to discuss the same issue. The tensions escalated to the breaking point within the members of parliament as a full out fight erupted in the hall. News coverage was shut down in the entire country for over an hour so the government could try and control the situation. After the news returned videos of parliament members in a large fist fight, throwing chairs at each other, exploded over social media and news outlets. The session ended with twelve members of the opposing parties, including the leader of the main opposition party, being arrested with questionable circumstances. With major opposition taken out, the amendment was tabled and will probably pass.
The unrest in parliament has spread to the rest of the country, and has been affecting our time in Kampala. On the two days that parliament was held, the US embassy in Kampala sent us out warnings not to go to any demonstrations and to avoid target areas, like Makerere University and City Center. Our school building with the School of International Training (SIT) is right next to one of the main police centers, and on the other side of that is Makerere. Especially on the second time that parliament sat, the tension could be felt through the city.
From our window at SIT we could see police tanks, riot vehicles, and armored trucks. We would watch as people in the streets ran from riot police marching to the university. Occasionally, you would here a loud pop during lecture and if you looked over Makerere, you would see a cloud of tear gas rising over the buildings. Despite the chaos in the city, SIT did an incredible job of keeping us safe and we were still able to continue our education. The tension in the country has faded a bit after the debates and it is now safe to be in the city again. It has been incredible living and learning about development in a country that so desperately needs it, and who’s future is uncertain.