If a person who owns a square mile planted with wheat is accused of stealing one chapati from a starving family; or a sugar plantation owner of stealing a small sweet from a little girl, you would probably ascribe the act to some mental disorder for the petty crime to be committed by such a wealthy person.
But, mental disorder aside, ignorance can also (mis)lead a wealthy person to commit petty theft. It is ignorance that has this year vulgarised our March, a month usually set aside in Uganda to celebrate the virtues and achievements of women. A woman leader in the ruling NRM party summed up the dangerous ignorance that has driven some of her colleagues into alleged petty theft with this advice: “When we chant our slogan that whatever men can do we can do, it doesn’t include theft!”
