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Indian businesses face resistance in Uganda
A proposal for a company owned by Ugandans of Indian descent to grow sugar on a nature reserve sparked riots in the capital this month.
By Alexis Okeowo | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitorfrom the April 24, 2007 edition
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Kampala, Uganda - A proposal by the government to allow a company run by Ugandans of Indian descent to grow sugar in one of the country's last tropical rainforests exploded this month, raising troubling questions about economic development and relations with Uganda's Indian minority.
Hundreds of rioters rushed the capital's center after a rally organized by two opposition members of parliament went awry on April 12.
The uproar left three people dead, including one Indian man stoned to death by a mob, and police had to rescue about 100 others of Asian origin. Thousands of dollars worth of property, mostly belonging to Indians, was destroyed.
The events have revived memories of 1972, when former dictator Idi Amin expelled the country's 75,000 Ugandans of Indian descent.
Bitterness lingers
Several thousand Indians have returned to Uganda since Mr. Amin was deposed, but they're still viewed with suspicion here, and often accused of being disrespectful of indigenous Ugandans and taking advantage of the local economy.
To them, the Indian-owned Mehta Group's effort to convert about one-fourth of the Mabira Forest into a sugar plantation is a case in point.
Some Ugandans also resent Indians' domination of many businesses, particularly small-scale retailing. Indeed, small-business owners of Indian descent bore the brunt of this month's outburst.
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