Glenna Gordon
Glenna Gordon works in Uganda as a reporter for the only independent daily paper, the Monitor. She also blogs for the Huffington Post and several other sites. Visit her personal blog at www.ugandascarlettlion.blogspot.com, or her homepage at www.glennagordon.com.
Ill on the inside: AIDS in Uganda's prisons
The gate of Mityana Prison, an hour east of Kampala, is guarded by a single khaki-clad officer with a rifle. As prisons go, it's not large, housing just 107 inmates. Zaini Kizire, 28, is one of two HIV-positive prisoners here. Sitting with a group of female inmates, all wearing beige smocks, untailored except for sleeves, she folds her body into the smallest space possible on the concrete floor. ...
Karamoja disarmament campaign triggers violence
At the end of September, around 1,000 Karamojong warriors clashed with the Ugandan army at the base of the Morungola Hills in the northeastern region of Karamoja. The violence erupted after the local Dodoth people's cattle had been impounded by the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) in an attempt to force them to give up their guns in return for their livestock. Rather than complying, the warriors ambushed the army, killing one soldier and injuring three others. The next three to four days of combat left between five and 12 dead on each side, culminating in the army's deployment of a helicopter gunship to disperse its hardy foe. Those numbers don't include any deaths that may have been caused by the helicopter, because the Karamojong had already retreated back to their territory in the hills where it's impossible to say how many met their end. Even the United Nations can't go up there to investigate as they fear the Karamojong might attack official vehicles. ...
Taking advantage of the refugee system
Leon Musafiri speaks English, French, Swahili and at least six other African languages. He can tell from a person's accent if they're from Rwanda, Congo, Uganda or Burundi, and he'll even often narrow it down to region. He gauges accents, verifies stories, and knows his geography and history. As a Congolese refugee who works with a lot of refugees in Uganda's capital, Kampala, he says he generally knows who's a legitimate refugee under international law and who's making up a story to get the benefit from aid agencies. ...
What northern Ugandans really want
Ellen Rose Lalam can't remember the exact year her when her husband was hacked to death with a panga blade in a raid on her village. "2001," the group of villagers surrounding her murmurs when she can't come up with the date. ...
Uganda dispatch: Karamoja attack begs tough questions
On May 29, Richard Achuka drove a United Nations World Food Programme truck across the arid and impoverished landscape of Uganda's northeastern Karamoja region. His car sped ahead of three others in a convoy that included a Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) army escort. It was already dark out. The day had been a long one - filled with delivering food to schools, homes and various organisations. The caravan had many stops, which is hardly surprising given that 70 percent of the population of Karamoja benefits from WFP programmes. ...
