CRIME WATCH with John Kamya
Dec 11, 2002
SINCE mid-November, the country has been locked in the nsenene craze. The season of grasshoppers is characterised by people going crazy running around for the small insects.
Our Delicious nsenene Can Easily Lead To Grief
SINCE mid-November, the country has been locked in the nsenene craze. The season of grasshoppers is characterised by people going crazy running around for the small insects.
Some wake up at night to trap them using the technology of bright electric lights and later sell them to highly available consumers.
In the villages, work comes to a standstill when the grasshoppers come, with the school population falling drastically. I have no problem with people catching the grasshoppers given the insects’ level of delicacy to which I testify. However, my concern is the safety of the people while catching them, especially in urban areas.
In Kampala, for example, the most common sight is that of many people, mostly children, congregating around electric poles armed with branches to hit down the grasshoppers.
I have seen on many occasions speeding vehicles almost running over these children as they abruptly rush into the road to catch a grasshopper that has strayed there. Whose children are these by the way? children as young as seven years old that can be outdoors up to as late as 11:00pm?
Another risk that the children (and adults too) might get exposed to is electrocution by the high voltage wires. It is a common scene to see small children climbing the electric poles armed with fresh tree branches while trying to hit down the nsenene flying around the street light.
a fresh tree branch is a good conductor of electricity and if it touched the wires, its holder could easily be electrocuted. It is not clear if it is the parents of these children that send them over to catch the nsenene. However, parents in urban areas need to be mindful of the whereabouts of their children especially in the evening hours during this season of nsenene. So many dangers can befall the young ones.
On top of the road safety and electrocution risks, the children can easily be abducted while catching nsenene. They can also be abused either physically or sexually, especially the girls.
In villages too, parents and teachers should be mindful of the whereabouts of their children during this nsenene season. Apart from the other dangers we have enumerated above the rural children are further exposed to the dangers associated with bushes such as snakes. Ends
SINCE mid-November, the country has been locked in the nsenene craze. The season of grasshoppers is characterised by people going crazy running around for the small insects.
Some wake up at night to trap them using the technology of bright electric lights and later sell them to highly available consumers.
In the villages, work comes to a standstill when the grasshoppers come, with the school population falling drastically. I have no problem with people catching the grasshoppers given the insects’ level of delicacy to which I testify. However, my concern is the safety of the people while catching them, especially in urban areas.
In Kampala, for example, the most common sight is that of many people, mostly children, congregating around electric poles armed with branches to hit down the grasshoppers.
I have seen on many occasions speeding vehicles almost running over these children as they abruptly rush into the road to catch a grasshopper that has strayed there. Whose children are these by the way? children as young as seven years old that can be outdoors up to as late as 11:00pm?
Another risk that the children (and adults too) might get exposed to is electrocution by the high voltage wires. It is a common scene to see small children climbing the electric poles armed with fresh tree branches while trying to hit down the nsenene flying around the street light.
a fresh tree branch is a good conductor of electricity and if it touched the wires, its holder could easily be electrocuted. It is not clear if it is the parents of these children that send them over to catch the nsenene. However, parents in urban areas need to be mindful of the whereabouts of their children especially in the evening hours during this season of nsenene. So many dangers can befall the young ones.
On top of the road safety and electrocution risks, the children can easily be abducted while catching nsenene. They can also be abused either physically or sexually, especially the girls.
In villages too, parents and teachers should be mindful of the whereabouts of their children during this nsenene season. Apart from the other dangers we have enumerated above the rural children are further exposed to the dangers associated with bushes such as snakes. Ends