It all started with Pope Francis’ visit last year, when several roads around the city suburbs of Namugongo and Mbuya had restricted access. This was followed by the swearing-in of President Yoweri Museveni held on May 12 at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
At the function attended by about 12 Heads of State, almost all roads around Kololo were closed to ordinary traffic. Similarly, the police announced the closure of the Entebbe Highway and diverted traffic to some feeder and access roads; this was all done to clear the way for the visiting delegations.
This is a new development because in the days gone by Ugandans were usually encouraged by the government to line the streets and wait to welcome the guests, ululating.
Of course there is need to appreciate the security concerns of those involved in ensuring that the guests are safe over the period of their stay in Uganda. But the security officers must avoid becoming overzealous and instead come up with more innovative ways of maintaining security during such visits.
It is worth mention that in African culture a visitor is a special person and is normally accorded privileged treatment. However, the visitor is not supposed to inconvenience his host by way of having privileges that might negatively affect the existing status quo at the host’s house.
But what would the visitor do if the host decided to extend such privileges beyond the guest’s expectations?
Well, over the past week Uganda has received two high profile guests: the President of South Korea and that of Turkey. During their visit that cumulatively came to five working days, several Ugandans were inconvenienced while others lost millions of shillings in business opportunities, because of security concerns.
Certainly, this is no good for an economy that is still trying to find a footing, so it is better for our security officials to come up with better security arrangements that favour both the visitors and the ordinary Ugandan who is trying to eke a living.
Otherwise, one would not love to imagine what would happen if we got five presidents visiting Uganda over two weeks!
