There was drama on Saturday March 4, 2023 in Kayunga Town of Uganda’s Kayunga District when Mr Muruli Mukasa, the country’s Minister for Public Service, and other government officials fled from angry youth who were protesting the failure by organisers of a workshop to give them transport refund.
This melee took place at Light College SS during a one-day workshop organised by Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) to train youth on how to choose and initiate profitable enterprises.
Mr Muruli Mukasa was chief guest while Mr Hassan Nakabaale, the URBRA director for corporate and public affairs was one of the key trainers. Mr Andrew Muwonge the Kayunga District chairperson and Mr Abdul Batambuze attended the workshop.
The workshop started on a good note with participants and organisers interacting well until the end when participants were asked to go for lunch. After lunch, the organisers started packing their training materials in their cars.
This infuriated the youths who then started demanding to be given transport allowance.
“We have been here the whole day and when we were being invited we were promised some transport refund,” one of the participants shouted.
Other youth in a unison demanded that they are paid or they would block the organisers from leaving the venue. This caused a stampede as the organizers tried to find a way out of the fenced school venue.
One youth closed the gate as others shouted, “Shall we eat knowledge?”
Mr Nixon Ssenkusu, the Kayunga District youth chairperson, tried to calm his colleagues in vain.
“Let us calm down,” Mr Ssenkusu pleaded. But some youth surrounded the minister’s vehicle forcing him to close it abruptly.
The minister’s bodyguard then opened the gate and he was whisked away together with other government officials.
The youth accused the organisers of using (sic) them to get ‘fat’ allowances.
“You have taken our attendance now you are going to claim a lot of money,” one participant claimed.
The bodaboda riders claimed they had not worked the entire day and therefore expected to be paid.
But Mr Ssenkusu said there was miscommunication between participants and organisers of the workshop, adding that if they were indeed promised the transport refund then they were right to demand for it.
He, however, accused youth of not valuing knowledge but looking for quick money.
