Dear Ugandan Gen Zs, as I write, my heart is bleeding after preparing for more than one month to participate in the March to Parliament Protest that was slated for Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
To my dismay, in every contact I tried to make from the WhatsApp groups I had joined, no one seemed interested.
Last evening, I geared up with my canvas shoes, black jeans, and white T-shirt, ready to join you. This morning, I warmed up and carried a bottle of water, and the clock was ticking……tick tok, tick tok as I looked forward to 10:00 am, the agreed time for the match with parliament.
As I approached town around 09:30 a.m., I only saw business going on as usual along the Central Business District.
While appearing on National TV, Kashari North County Member of Parliament (MP) Basil Bataringaya urged Ugandan youth to keep calm while looking for answers about corruption.
“The problem is that external forces hide behind protesters.
I thank the president for standing his ground to protect parliament and urge calm from the people who want to fight corruption. The youth think that they can do what the Kenyan youths did.
Kenya is different from Uganda. We have many youthful MPs in parliament who can listen to your grievances. Do not go to town with the intention of looting shops, “MP Bataringaya said.
According to a fellow millennial, she was shocked to pass by the Acacia and Kololo streets only to see Gen Zs coming out of the bars instead of preparing to join their generation to go to parliament. This was a real indicator that Uganda is not Kenya.
Yours sincerely,
Sophie Lalonyo
