Martyrs’ Day: How to stay safe in crowded places

Organisers of the celebrations at the Uganda Martyrs Shrine Namugongo in Wakiso District, said they anticipate about 1.3 million pilgrims will attend this year’s event. Last year, 1.2 million people attended the event.

Dr Herbert Luswata, the president of the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), said densely packed crowds can facilitate the spread of infectious diseases.

“Usually, people are affected by the environment. Some people faint because of the standing position. People who are very old, those who have poorly controlled diabetes, poorly controlled hypertension cannot stand the pressure in such areas where there is that kind of crowding,” Dr Luswata said.

“And so, most of the cases, you’ll be getting people who will be fainting. And usually when they check, when they take them to the hospital, what they find is that maybe these are patients with hypertension, diabetes, and old age people who cannot stand the stress. The other category is children, accidentally some people end up stepping on them,” he added.

Dr Luswata said another common occurrence, typically a day or two after Uganda Martyrs’ Day, is the manifestation of food poisoning.

“This is because people don’t adhere to hygiene practices. They buy food from the street, from anyone, and some people may not wash their hands while eating,” he said.

He added: “The other common thing is typhoid because typhoid is also transmitted through eating dirty food. And if someone who is selling food is having and they don’t keep their hands clean, they can keep transmitting it to buyers who eat their food. The common things will be diarrhoea and vomiting because of food poisoning, and then typhoid.

Dr Luswata urged parents to take “serious” precautions with their children’s health.

Children’s safety

“Children should stay at home, and then very old people where we suspect risk of chronic illnesses which are not well managed, should not be allowed to enter such places because there is a big risk to their lives. Food vendors should be screened for transmissible diseases like typhoid,” he said.

According to Kira Municipal Council leaders, where the celebrations are taking place, food vendors and handlers were tested starting from May 27.

The principal health inspector for Kira Municipal Council, Mr Julius Ssebuyungo, earlier said the vendors were going to be tested for typhoid, tuberculosis, and skin diseases.

Security officials, who talked to this publication, said security at both the Anglican and Catholic sites has been tightened. The officials, however, called for a high level of vigilance from pilgrims because of the terror threats.

Kampala Metropolitan Area Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said personnel from the Special Forces Command (SFC), Uganda Police Force, Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), military police, and other intelligence agencies have been deployed. These include both uniformed and non-uniformed officers.

Mr Onyango advised pilgrims to avoid bringing large luggage to facilitate easier searches. He also urged them to stay vigilant for any terror alerts because “intelligence is giving us reports that terrorists, as usual, are still planning to attack us.”

“If you see somebody strange and acting weird, you are supposed to immediately notify intelligence, or notify police, or notify any security personnel, so that that person is handled immediately. But our counter-terrorism officers are on site to deter any threat,” he said.

Stay alert

He added people should also be alert about general crimes such as pickpocketing, snatching phones, vandalism, assaults, and people fighting, especially those outside the sites.

Mr Onyango urged parents to closely monitor their children to prevent them from getting lost. He also advised them to write their contact information on a piece of paper or sticker for their children to carry, so they can be contacted if needed.

Mr Hussein Kato Nsobya, the head of sensitisation and awareness at the Directorate of Terrorism, said: “We know terrorists have made eastern DRC their safe haven. And with the operations going on, a lot has been done and many of these criminals are running away and crossing back to Uganda.”

“We are calling upon the public to be observant and vigilant. Let them be careful. They should be mindful about picking any abandoned objects. …terrorism is real, as we see it. Our main target is to see that at least we have peaceful Martyrs’ Day celebrations,” he added.

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