ENTEBBE – The Long Way Home

Uganda may be officially at peace, but it’s a country prone to explosion. Like all of East Africa, it treads a fine line between nationalism and tribalism. My final days in Uganda were marked by the latest in a long line of flashpoints in the country’s long, tortured history. The day after our return to Kibaale from Kisoro, it became clear that there was a situation brewing in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. The king of Uganda’s largest tribal people, the Buganda, was meant to be speaking at a youth rally close to the capital but the national government had made moves to stop him. This angered the king’s supporters, who protested and, soon, that protest became a riot. (The BBC covered the rioting and you can read more of the background at this page on their website.)


Most of the pics for this, final, entry come from Entebbe because, well, folks were distracted with other things elsewhere in the country. So, we start with pretty lilys...

The rumours were soon followed up by alarming e-mails from the Canadian embassy warning expats to stay out of the capital and to consider evacuating the country. A standard response for most western countries when local trouble kicks off; and a slightly unhelpful one since most road routes to the international airport at Entebbe pass through Kampala. However, what became clear over the course of the day as we scanned the Internet news headlines was that the violence was spreading south from Kampala and throughout the Buganda region. In other words: right towards us. When gunfire was heard in Masaka, a number of the Pacific Academy’s volunteers decided to leave town and head to Kibaale. But with the army beginning to shut down major routes to contain the riots, they were forced to take a long, circuitous route along back roads. Friday evening was uneasy as it appeared that protests were beginning in Kibaale as well… The Canadians gathered to play board games (as fine a distraction as can be conceived) and see what would happen on Saturday, when the controversial visit was scheduled to happen.

Thankfully, by Saturday morning, the king had decided to call off his visit and the announcement quickly ended the rioting. Kibaale and Masaka returned to normal but reports from Kampala suggested that the army’s presence in the city and manning roadblocks wasn’t going to end soon. This was destined to be a problem for me since I was due to be flying out of Entebbe on Sunday evening. So, after receiving advice from locals and from Kampala, we decided to make the trip a day early and try and find a different route to Entebbe. We travelled in two cars, each of which had an armed guard in the front seat. (Another first for me: a road trip in which someone really was ‘riding shotgun’) First stop was in Masaka where we left the rest of the Pacific Outreach team. The city appeared to have gotten straight back to normal; with only the occasional ominous black smudge on the road to mark where a tyre fire had been burning the day before.


... the impressive sounding Dragon Spider. Another of those charming species where the females kill and eat the males; and other such delightful things like that!

The main route to Masaka was also quiet and, although there were soldiers posted along it, none of them seemed to be blocking travel. Before Masaka we turned to the south east and towards Lake Victoria. Jeff had been told about a possible means of evacuation for those needing to avoid Kampala in a fishing village by the water’s edge. A series of motorized fishing boats on the beach seemed to be running an impromptu taxi service which, for only a few dollars, would take me across the mouth of the lake to Entebbe. A ten minute journey which would bypass an hour’s congested traffic, and possible roadblocks, in Kampala. And, after briefly stopping to help rescue a family whose boat’s engine had cut out halfway through the journey, we buzzed through the afternoon rain to reach the other side without mishap. (Jeff, Rachel and our guard headed back to Kibaale that evening without further incident and the past couple of months have been trouble free in Uganda)


Arriving on Entebbe's rainy shores; but still a little piece of calm after excitement elsewhere.

Compared to the tension which had gripped other parts of the country, Entebbe appeared to have remained as an oasis of calm throughout the troubles. Being away from the capital had helped to ensure that all flights in and out of the country had flown as scheduled, and the dock on leafy suburban streets was calm. Without a taxi in the vicinity, I took my large rucksack for a death defying spin on the back of a boda-boda through Entebbe’s streets to my motel.


Curiously out-of-place Californian palm tree in Entebbe Botanical Gardens.

This turn of events does mean that I get an unexpected day to wander around Entebbe; which is a beautiful little town broadly ignored by virtue of the fact that most who come here are either heading to or leaving the airport. I spend a lot of time in the Botanical Gardens, which appear to have been planted by a very diverse group of personalities over the years. There are Californian palm trees, coffee plants and aloe vera spread throughout the large area. Entebbe was formally the capital of Uganda and there are signs all over the gardens of some of that past. Idi Amin used to spend time here thinking over his most important decisions; although given what he came up with you have to wonder if he wasn’t interrupted… Apparently Hollywood also found its way here in the 1930s when Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan films were shot here. Truth be told there isn’t quite enough jungle to film that much; but the dark canopy complete with hanging creepers (strong enough to swing on!) do certainly have the right look.


Hanging out in the jungle part of the Botannical Gardens.

And after a few hours waiting at the airport, I began my epic 24 hour journey home. But compared to some of the journeys I’d just undertaken on the breakneck dulla-dullas of Zanzibar, the bush roads of Kenya and with shotgun toting guard across the waterways of Uganda; it’s probably tamest bit of travelling of the entire journey...


And, of course, no Phworld journey would be complete without the inevitable, and not quite chronological, line-o-map! So here's the East Africa one.