Kigali Mayor Aisa Kirabo may find this inspiring reading. Her Kampala counterpart, His Worship Nasser Ntege Ssebagala, that ex-convict whom Kampala residents decided was the most qualified man to lead the city to new heights, never runs short of ideas.

After draining the city treasury of revenue in a series of shady deals, he has decided to get tough on tax defaulters, hawkers and all manner of petty traders who want to enjoy the city’s services but won’t pay a cent for the privilege.

Tired of endless cat and mouse games with them, he has found the silver bullet – give guns to the city law enforcement askaris. And for good reason too. In many cases argues Mr. Ssebagala, his team cannot enforce compliance with city ordinances because the offenders are armed.

Faced with AK47-toting adversaries, city law enforcement officers often take to their heels, leaving armed goons to set their own rules across the city. If these guys want a prime piece of real estate in the city, they will take it regardless of whether this will kill a public school or whatever else.

Sometimes the fights are over such mundane things as control over revenue extortion rings at public transport stops (stages in Ugandan speak) in the name of collecting City Council levies.

Whatever the reasons for arming city askaris, Kampalans are alarmed at the proposal, mainly because even without guns these fellows are bad enough. Now one is left wondering what they will not do when armed with firearms.

Mayor Ssebagala’s attempts to calm nerves by suggesting that they will be trained by the Police before he arms the askaris do not wash with a public that has learnt to trust its instincts about Ugandan politicians.

The fears are justified because even the police’s own Special Police Constables, are giving Police Inspector General Kale Kayihura enough of a headache. Adding the menace of armed city enforcers smells of more trouble but you cannot really blame Ssebagala.

Ugandans love, and respect the gun. A few years ago, in the name of fighting terrorism, that bunch of organized criminals masquerading as the Ugandan Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA), were trained and armed by the state. These days, they come in handy during elections or other political contests pitting the incumbent against the opposition, whipping voters into line and sometimes, actually voting for them where the ruling party feels really threatened.

The love and respect of Ugandans for the gun was amply demonstrated not very long ago when Uganda hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting CHOGM. Because nobody wanted accidental fire when the Queen of England was in town, SPC’s were disarmed ahead of the CHOGM.

They were instead given batons. How did your Ugandan react? They laughed at the guys, taunting them. They could barely enforce any order on the streets because Ugandans have been conditioned to respect you only if you carry a gun. So Uganda is no place for doves.

Way back in the eighties when the local soccer league was really vibrant, ‘red tops’ or military police were always deployed to police any match that involved bitter rivals Express and Villa. This was the only outfit that the stone throwing mobs that supported the competing team respected.

So with a history like that, should we really be surprised if city enforcers get armed.

Ugandans even believe that you need to have a military background to rule them. That is why the stiffest challenge to President Museveni in an election came from Col. Kizza Besigye, his bush war doctor turned foe. Ugandans have become hardened and believe that only someone with the killer instinct can manage them. So it is a vicious cycle and the only way of impressing them is by displaying a higher capacity for violence than the average man.

So smart players like a couple of city division Mayors have adapted to this culture and win local elections by projecting a ruthless capacity for mischief. That impresses voters.

This sometimes gets disheartening and people ask themselves who or what will wean Ugandans off gun worship? One social historian argues that it may actually take more violence to cure Ugandans of their instinct for violence.

A few weeks ago, there was temporary shock in Kampala after a member of the presidential guard killed seven people in a pub before turning the gun on himself. Later, it emerged that he had lost his phone to a prostitute who then took refuge in a pub in the city’s red district. Naturally, the bouncers would not let the angry fellow follow him into the pub. The soldier then walked over to his post a few hundred metres away, adorned his military gear and returned to the pub into which the prostitute had taken refuge. He opened fire indiscriminately before he took his own life.

A horrified President Museveni visited the scene but the army spokesman did not betray any remorse. He blamed the Bouncers for provoking the soldier into such a rage that he could kill. Well, not even that incident has stopped Kampalans from going about life as if everything were normal.

It may be outrageous but my social historian friend argues that it will take such incidents on a more frequent and widespread scale to cure Uganda of her love for the gun. Costly in terms of human life as they may be, they are what it will take to mobilize public opinion against gun culture.

He may have a point after all. The history of violence in Uganda goes back to our struggle for independence. While the struggle was launched by gentlemen who made their point through such peaceful means as consumer boycotts and reasoned argument, the radicals sneaked into the struggle and through various machinations, took power.

It was only in 1966, barely four years after independence that they showed their true colors. In several orgies of violence, they ousted the constitutionally elected President and abrogated the independence constitution. Since that period, the moderates have cowered under the threat of the militant radicals and attempts by the moderates to take charge of the situation have fallen flat.

Some people believe that even the current respite that Ugandans have seen over the past 23 years, is simply a case of the better devil beating the others but the essential character of the state has not changed much.

So, a greater degree of violence and the chaos it will trigger might just get Ugandans into finally deciding that enough is enough.

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