Charcoal and water wars are here, thanks to rising consciousness among rural folks
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and local leaders have banned the charcoal trade, but in a country with a booming population, and where only 1.7 million of about eight million households are connected to grid electricity, charcoal for cooking is too precious.
At the start of the week, Gilbert Olanya, the Member of Parliament for Kilak South in Uganda's northern Gulu region, got into a spot of bother over charcoal. Olanya was arrested by police for allegedly inciting people to loot charcoal.
The MP and his supporters, however, probably see themselves as heroic members of an environmental liberation movement. They intercepted a truck that was carrying charcoal, seized the cargo and carried it away. Police tear gas and scuffles followed.
