Police state

**Note. This is an old post I wrote but chose not to post in the interest of not scaring my worried older sister.

Wow. CHOGM is here, and it appears they believe that filling the city with more police than people is a way to bring more security. I have never felt less secure.

Trucks roam the streets filled with police men dressed in a military costume carrying large guns. They are just about shutting down the city by closing all the main thoroughfares and telling businesses to remain open though I am told no one will be able to get where they need to go.

The other day, while touring around Kampala with Agaba, I was approached by a police man after taking a photo in front of the Ugandan Parliament. You know... a PUBLIC building that is the seat of Ugandan democracy. The policeman told me matter of fact, "You are under arrest." I said, "Oh! Wow....may I ask why?"

He procceded to tell me that I was under arrest for taking a picture in front of their Parliament building. Needless to say there was nothing to inform anyone that it was not okay, and my friend Agabe (and others I've asked since) said he'd never known it to be illegal. Then he told me I had to delete the picture, which I did immediately. I apologized and told him I was sorry, I didn't know, I'm just a dumb American, etc. Then he said, "no the picture is still inside, I have to confiscate this camera". At this point a wave of dumb courage washed over me and I looked him directly in the eye and said in a very calm matter of fact tone (think Obi Wan) "No. You're not taking my camera, I'd like to talk to someone else." This unsettled him, and I could see his hesitation. He motioned over his superior, who asked me if I'd rather accompany them to the police station for a full investigation to which I unhesitantly replied "sure". He was taken aback and asked, "are you serious?" I said, "absolutely". Of course these men figured it was one of two things, either I was incredibly stupidly foolhearty (I mean who willingly goes to a Ugandan police station?), or I knew something they didn't know. My bluff worked and they caved. After clearly demonstrated to him that there was no photo of the Parliament building in the camera and apologizing profusely, the superior (over the protest of the guy who'd "caught" me) at last said "you can go".

Later I was told what was really going on was that they were looking for a bribe. The police earn very little money so they make up for it by extracting bribes any chance they get. I've heard people say that if the police stops them they'll "have me for supper". Now whenever I see a police officer it fills me with dread. They are roaming the streets in armed patrols. Tip to the President (who is touting Uganda as a tourist destination) - guns make tourists nervous.