Roadside crowds: some jeer, some cheer
Oct 18, 2005
THE return of Obote’s remains triggered mixed reactions on Entebbe-Kampala highway.<br>Led by six 1,000cc BMW outrider motorbikes and armed mobile police patrol, the 50-vehicle funeral procession snaked its way through Kitooro, Katabi, Kajjansi and other trading centres to Obote’s residence at
By Alfred Wasike & Charles Etukuri
THE return of Obote’s remains triggered mixed reactions on Entebbe-Kampala highway.
Led by six 1,000cc BMW outrider motorbikes and armed mobile police patrol, the 50-vehicle funeral procession snaked its way through Kitooro, Katabi, Kajjansi and other trading centres to Obote’s residence at Plot 13 Impala Avenue, Kololo.
The family travelled in three cars that had been arranged for by the burial organising committee chaired by minister Ruhakana Rugunda.
As the hearse left Entebbe, a handful of angry women in yellow airport employee uniforms jumped up and shouted, “We also cried, they too should cry,†referring to the repression that marked the twice-toppled Obote’s two terms as president.
Angry crowds in the various trading centres shouted at the convoy on its way to Kampala. Some threw stones at the black Uganda Funeral Service hearse carrying the casket.
At Kitooro, angry groups shouted, “Kawenkene (devil). However, a small group of UPC supporters, the Lango Community in Entebbe, waved placards reading: “We shall always remember our father Milton Oboteâ€.
At Abaita Ababiri, a woman flailed her hands in the air and screamed, “We are tired of Obote, let him follow those he killed,†At Katabi groups yelled, “Tukawonye (good riddance).â€
A large group at Kajjansi clad in bark-cloth drummed, danced and sang praises to Museveni. At Kibuye, they shouted, “Mutuwe akalambo tukookye (hand us the corpse to burn).†At Katwe, a very large group yelled, “Kafe. Kafe.
(Let him die). They waved the Movement’s thumbs-up and three-finger sign at the convoy.
On Kampala Road, they shouted, “Twala eri ekisirani kyo Obote. Laba abamawule ne baminista bebalina amafuta nebiseera ebyokwonoona (Take the bad omen away. Journalists and ministers have fuel and time to waste escorting Obote’s body).â€
At Obote’s Kololo home, the family and party supporters wept and sang UPC songs while they waited to file past their fallen leader. Large white marqees and hundreds of plastic chairs were set up in the large compound. At 2:29pm, the casket was opened for the viewing of the 80-year-old who died of kidney failure in South Africa last week. Clad in a black suit, white shirt and tie emblazoned with UPC colours, Obote lay wrapped in the Uganda flag. His trade-mark long hair had been trimmed.
Several mourners including Obote’s sister, Jane Kule and a UPC stalwart, Night Kulabako, broke down. Hundreds of students from Makerere University and other tertiary institutions were queuing to view the body.
Rugunda said, “It is sad we have lost a former president who led Uganda at independence. Despite our different political shades, we are united in giving him a beffiting send-off fit. This should end any past bickering over issues like these.â€
THE return of Obote’s remains triggered mixed reactions on Entebbe-Kampala highway.
Led by six 1,000cc BMW outrider motorbikes and armed mobile police patrol, the 50-vehicle funeral procession snaked its way through Kitooro, Katabi, Kajjansi and other trading centres to Obote’s residence at Plot 13 Impala Avenue, Kololo.
The family travelled in three cars that had been arranged for by the burial organising committee chaired by minister Ruhakana Rugunda.
As the hearse left Entebbe, a handful of angry women in yellow airport employee uniforms jumped up and shouted, “We also cried, they too should cry,†referring to the repression that marked the twice-toppled Obote’s two terms as president.
Angry crowds in the various trading centres shouted at the convoy on its way to Kampala. Some threw stones at the black Uganda Funeral Service hearse carrying the casket.
At Kitooro, angry groups shouted, “Kawenkene (devil). However, a small group of UPC supporters, the Lango Community in Entebbe, waved placards reading: “We shall always remember our father Milton Oboteâ€.
At Abaita Ababiri, a woman flailed her hands in the air and screamed, “We are tired of Obote, let him follow those he killed,†At Katabi groups yelled, “Tukawonye (good riddance).â€
A large group at Kajjansi clad in bark-cloth drummed, danced and sang praises to Museveni. At Kibuye, they shouted, “Mutuwe akalambo tukookye (hand us the corpse to burn).†At Katwe, a very large group yelled, “Kafe. Kafe.
(Let him die). They waved the Movement’s thumbs-up and three-finger sign at the convoy.
On Kampala Road, they shouted, “Twala eri ekisirani kyo Obote. Laba abamawule ne baminista bebalina amafuta nebiseera ebyokwonoona (Take the bad omen away. Journalists and ministers have fuel and time to waste escorting Obote’s body).â€
At Obote’s Kololo home, the family and party supporters wept and sang UPC songs while they waited to file past their fallen leader. Large white marqees and hundreds of plastic chairs were set up in the large compound. At 2:29pm, the casket was opened for the viewing of the 80-year-old who died of kidney failure in South Africa last week. Clad in a black suit, white shirt and tie emblazoned with UPC colours, Obote lay wrapped in the Uganda flag. His trade-mark long hair had been trimmed.
Several mourners including Obote’s sister, Jane Kule and a UPC stalwart, Night Kulabako, broke down. Hundreds of students from Makerere University and other tertiary institutions were queuing to view the body.
Rugunda said, “It is sad we have lost a former president who led Uganda at independence. Despite our different political shades, we are united in giving him a beffiting send-off fit. This should end any past bickering over issues like these.â€