TRAVEL BY BUS ACCROSS E.AFRICA BORDERS

By Jossy Muhangi

Uganda-Travel-feature

Across East Africa aboard Akamba bus

APA-Kampala( Uganda )When the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) Kenya selected me to attend its seventh African Resource Bank (ARB) meeting in early November,2009, to be held in Arusha , Tanzania , two prospects excited me.

One was the likelihood of a flight aboard a Kenya airways Boeing (Africa’s pride), through the ultra modern Jommo Kenyatta International Airport en-route to Kilimanjaro airport (KIA).My target was to have a clear aerial view of the snow capped Kilimanjaro mountain popularly know as the “Roof of Africa” although others call it the summit of the Black continent, being the highest in Africa at 19,341 ft .

The other prospect was of course which personalities in the academia, civil society, governance and the media. Being a resource bank meeting, I did not expect to withdraw or deposit cash there since the convener had clarified that the bank was a forum where different scholars and thinkers deposit and withdraw ideas on relevant themes affecting Africa .

Contrary to my travel expectations, the events manager wrote in bold fonts in the last paragraph that the participants were expected to find their way to the venue of the event which was Kibo Palace Hotel, a plush state of the art resort centre along Old Moshi road in the centre of Arusha town.The organizers with the support from Friedrich Norman Foundation would cater for accommodation, meals and conference materials

Unable and hesitant to raise the 300 US dollars for the return ticket as well as the cabin costs for the connection between the airport and Arusha town, I opted for the road transport.

My search on the internet indicated that there were several bus companies including the Scandinavian Express, Akamba Public Transport Company, Starways, Kampala Coach, BusCar ,Dar Express and Gateway among others.

Scrolling through the fares ,I was misled by the attractive fares offered by Akamba whose brand slogan is “Connecting East Africa”, little knowing that the rates had not been updated on the bus company website. I was later to be shocked to my nerves when I learnt that the rates had since more than doubled while the info on the website remained obsolete.

Anyhow, I was told I would spend not less than 18 hours on the road or in transit including the time spent at the two borders clearing the travel documents and connecting from a Kampala-Nairobi bound coach to he one heading for Dar es Salaam through Arusha, Moshi and Korogwe .

We set off at 3.pm through the hustle of Kampala traffic jam and by 6 p.m we were at the Uganda-Kenya border of Busia where departure forms were filled and endorsed at the Immigration points while those without passports bought temporary travel documents valid for one month.

So considerate are the long route bus companies that they provide meal coupons for all the passengers for light snacks once in Nairobi before catching the 6 a.m bus headed for Arusha through the semi arid Maasai plains and Namanga border post .

The Immigration hitch and border conmen

Since the East African countries are still using different national currencies and its is still optional either to use a national passport or the East African one, money changers are doing brisk business at the border points .By the time a rare traveler comprehends the exchange rates ,some with decimal points, some have already fallen victims of fake notes, poor calculations to the benefit of the money changer while others are conned by smart looking conmen who extort money from them purportedly for the passport stamp or visa. Formally, there is no visa requirement or any other charges for travelers within East African community states.

My hard luck struck when I discovered that the 12 year old boy I had been traveling with to visit our relatives in Arusha, had his travel document indicating he had been granted permission to visit Kenya , since it was issued at the Uganda – Kenya border and he was at the time entering Kenya .

A Kenyan Immigration officer took advantage of this omission to ask me in Kiswahili “Olimupeleka wapi” meaning where are you taking the boy. On telling him he was visiting Arusha,he insisted the travel document never indicated so. Though I argued the travel document was valid in any part of East African community, the mean looking officer ,ignored me until the queue was cleared and he openly asked me for 10,000 Tanzanian shillings to correct the anomaly which I had to part with reluctantly lest the bus rushing to Dar,500 kilometers away would leave us stranded at the border.

I also discovered that a number of my friends lost cash to the money changers while others were conned into paying more for the stamp which is free of charge.

Language barrier

While it was okay for the meeting participants to freely exchange in English, there were major problems particularly for Ugandan visitors and participants to freely communicate with the hotel staff and the rest of the community in Arusha. The commonest language is Kiswahili which in Uganda is a preserve of few people mostly the armed forces although the Kenyans had less problems getting on well with their Tanzanian neighbours .No wonder that some of us would at times use sign language to ask for certain services from the hotel staff and the business community in the chilly Arusha town which lies on the foot of Mount Meru and not far from Kilimanjaro ranges.

However, Tanzanians being one of the most hospitable communities in East Africa , they are always ready to do what it takes to assist the visitors .

Arusha is the home to the East Africa Community headquarters currently housed at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) along the East Africa Road . The gigantic structure also houses the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) trying the 1994 Rwanda genocide suspects as well as the East African Business Council.

It has become an international diplomatic town with most of the peace talks and deals between warring countries negotiated here , as well as a tourist hub surrounded by several national parks including the famous Snake Park .

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Ritual murders

Death stalks Uganda’s children as ritual murders increase

By JOSSY MUHANGI
Published August 30, 2009Eastafricainfocus

A Ugandan businessman is standing trial before a High Court judge for allegedly procuring the ritual murder of a 12-year-old schoolboy. The businessman initially paid US$ 170 in cash and promised a further US$7300. The boy was kidnapped and beheaded last year at Kayugi village in Masaka district, central Uganda.

The businessman was initially co-charged with two traditional witchdoctors whose shrines are said to be used for such rituals.

The murder of this schoolboy is one of many now routinely reported in the Ugandan media. Often, such rituals are related to promises of wealth, warding off bad luck and successful completion of mega construction projects including roads and commercial blocks. In western Uganda, for example, a middle-aged man is in detention for parading his own son for sale.

According to police reports, about three cases of ritual murders were reported in 2007 but they rose to 18 last year. The situation got worse this year prompting the state to set up a special division of the police to investigate, prosecute and crack down on the vice.

The police suggest the ritual murders seem to have taken a new twist with middle-men hired to procure murders especially of children, who are believed to be taken to the shrines of the witchdoctors where rituals are performed to reportedly appease the underworld spirits.

The biggest suspects are companies and individuals in the roads and construction industry whose businesses have allegedly either stalled or moving sluggishly. The other rumour surrounding the rampant ritual murders reportedly involve burying of human body parts under the construction foundations and basements apparently to attract tenants and stave off stiff competition from others with similar projects.

Whatever the myths surrounding these alleged practices, Uganda is opening its eyes to the reality of superstition.

While no witchdoctor will confess to openly indulging in the vice, some of them claim that the underworld spirits do cherish human beings, allegedly preferring those without scars, circumcised genital organs or pierced ears. Consequently an informal campaign has taken off in various parts of the country, besides other precautionary measures to protect especially helpless children from being kidnapped, to intensify ear piercing for both male and female children as well as circumcising the boys. This came about from unconfirmed stories that some circumcised boys and girls with pierced ears had narrowly survived ritual murders and been let free by their captors.

Ear piercing is no longer a preserve of girls seeking extra beauty using ear pins and rings but a security measure. Yet the practice also introduces another problem- contracting HIV/Aids through sharing pins.

Meanwhile, a traditional healer only identified as Kigambo in Western Uganda claims that criminals are hiding behind the suspected ritual murders to harm their colleagues over disputes like land, property ownership and relationships going sour knowing that the witchdoctors will be the first suspects. He argues that murderers now have a tendency of dragging the bodies of their victims to places near the witchdoctors’ shrines to make them appear culpable.

The special police division created to curb ritual murders has not released results of their findings besides enforcing measures like compulsory registration of all traditional healers and witch doctors for regulation purposes, banning of the healers from advertising their exaggerated powers and advocacy campaigns to ensure safety of the children. It is now hoped that the expedited trial of the suspects currently accused of the murder and the stiffness of the resultant penalties, should they be found guilty, will act as a deterrent to those engaging in the vice.

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Reach Jossy Muhangi at editor@eafricainfocus.com

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BIO TECHNOLOGY

Biotechnology: Africa’s Hope for Food Security and Improved Health

Jossy Muhangi

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GM crops could boost food production and reduce hunger crisis in Africa. Uganda’s researchers in bio-technologies are convinced that successful implementation of Genetically Modified (GM) crop production would boost food production and end the hunger crisis bedeviling most countries in Africa today. In Uganda, over 40 out of 83 districts are currently facing a threat of hunger following persistent droughts, floods and crop disease strains like cassava mosaic and bacterial banana wilt.

The experts currently meeting at the Lake Victoria shore colonial town of Entebbe say that Africa needs to adopt biotechnology in order to feed its starving population in view of stagnating agricultural productivity, harsh effects of climate change and a growing population.

Figures available at the Uganda’s ministry of Health indicate that malnutrition is widespread with more than 36 percent of children under three years and 10 percent of mothers in Uganda suffering from chronic under-nutrition.

Millions of small holder farmers in Africa can no longer grow enough food to sustain their families, communities or their countries leading to recurrent food crises on the continent, according to Uganda’s minister of state for Agriculture Lt. Col. Bright Rwamirama .He says that pests, disease and unpredictable climate conditions have made large scale production untenable in Uganda.

South Africa, Egypt and Burkina Faso have started commercial use of GMs while others like Uganda are carrying out field trials. Some countries like Zambia have vehemently refused to embrace biotechnology.

Dr. Mark Rosegrant, the director of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI’s) Environment and Production Technology Division says that in the coming years, growing populations, stagnating agricultural productivity, and increasing climate change will make it even more difficult for Africa to tackle poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. He adds that Considerable experience suggests that biotechnology can contribute to improved food production and quality in developing countries. Moreover, crop traits currently in the development pipeline—including drought and heat tolerance—are of particular value to African farmers.

Through continued research, IFPRI hopes to provide more information about genetically modified crops and their potential to benefit smallholder farmers and improve the lives of other poor people throughout Africa.

“To confront these challenges, many African countries are increasingly assessing a range of tools and technologies, including agricultural biotechnologies, which hold great promise for improving crop yields, household incomes, and the nutritional quality of food in an environmentally sustainable way,” argues the expert.

Research presented at the ongoing conference, shows that in delaying the approval of GM fungal-resistant banana, Uganda foregoes potential benefits ranging from about US$179 million to US$365 million a year.

According to IFPRI analysis, expansion in the adoption of GM crops could also significantly lower the price of food in developing countries by 2050. Realizing these benefits, however, depends on acceptance by farmers, public awareness and consumer preferences, regulatory and market issues, and strong political will, including the willingness to invest in new technology.

According to experts, deciding whether or not to make GM crops a priority in their agricultural development and food and nutrition security strategies and invest in modern biotechnology is an important consideration for many African countries. Dr. Rosegrant says that by bringing social scientists and decision makers together, the first-of-its-kind conference aims to bridge the gap between policy and research, and provide solid information and evidence on which sound choices and investments related to GM technology can be made.

To help inform such policy decisions, conference participants are sharing research findings that address critical questions, including, What are the potential economic gains and drawbacks of GM crops, especially for poor, rural households, What obstacles prevent smallholder farmers from gaining access to and successfully using GM technology, and how can these constraints be overcome and the lessons to be learned from other developing countries, such as South Africa, China, and India, where GM crops are already being commercially grown by smallholder farmers.

Improving of policymaking to ease the dissemination and commercialization of agricultural biotechnologies as well as the regional and international trade implications of growing GM crops in Africa will also be discussed in the three day event.

“Managing the opportunities and risks posed by GM crops, including trade-related challenges, requires countries to have well-functioning, efficient, and responsible biosafety systems,” says Dr. Margaret Karembu, director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) AfriCenter in Nairobi, where the Kenya Biosafety Bill became law in February 2009, joining Mali and Togo, which enacted national biosafety legislation in 2008.

“These countries’ experiences offer useful lessons for other African countries working to develop biosafety policies, including the increased potential to benefit from proven research and help smallholder farmers with limited resources gain access to agricultural bio-technologies and successfully use them,” she added.

The conference under the theme “Delivering Agricultural Biotechnology to African Farmers: Linking Economic Research to Decision Making,” is organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in collaboration with the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology and the Science Foundation for Livelihoods and Development.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an alliance of 64 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations.

By Jossy Muhangi
Journalist - Uganda