A tribute to Gandhi
MAY I share with your readers a marvellous sight that I have just witnessed during my travels to the town of Jinja in Uganda.
I am attending the Mabasala Annual Convention in Mbale arranged by Namca, a US based non-governmental organisation that co-ordinates diaspora remittances in Uganda.
I was invited to share my experiences regarding services to migrant labourers in the mining industry in South Africa.
Today I earned the nickname “mubaso” as the only “white” person at the conference.
During my recent visit to Jinja, famously known as the source of the River Nile, I came across an unexpected sight – a beautiful bust of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
The idea of the statue at the source of the Nile was initiated by the Indian community, who were forcefully uprooted from the town in the 1970s by the then-president of Uganda, Idi Amin.
Jinja was the location of a large population of Indians, who arrived here from India in the 1890s.
By the 1970s, the approximately 5 000 Indian residents of Jinja had flourishing businesses. Sadly, they were seen as outsiders and a threat to the economy, due to their thriving business acumen.
In what was seen as a xenophobic mission, Amin evicted the residents of Indian descent and allocated their palatial homes and businesses to the locals.
The street scenes show the remains of their buildings.
There are several houses that show the palatial properties they owned, many of which are now hotels and homesteads.
Further down in Jinja, on Bell Avenue West, we see a Hindu temple.
None of the beautiful Indian artefacts are left. What remains, though, are the street signs and signs of now dilapidated and unkempt homes, not like the luxurious homes of the past.
The statue was only erected in 1997 as per an agreement between the governments of Uganda and India, and to fulfil one of the wishes of the Indian icon.
It was unveiled on October 5, 1997, by Inder Kumar Gujral, who was the then prime minister of India.
The statue pays tribute to the influential work of Gandhi, as well as a reminder of his will to have a portion of his ashes sprinkled at the source of the Nile.
This was also a reminder of Gandhi’s 21 years on the continent, influencing policy and championing the rights of the marginalised in the most non-violent way possible.
Jinja must have once been a remarkable town.
Today it is a bustle of local trade and a booming tourism site.
Jinja marks the first dam built on the Nile and is responsible for most of Uganda’s hydroelectrical production. It was at this spot where it is reported that John Speke first saw the source of the Nile.
The statue itself represents Gandhi’s peacefulness, tranquillity and vision of peace to be spread to the world.
It stands amid a tourist activity centre visited by thousands of people daily. It is said that part of Gandhi’s ashes were given to the river as a symbol of ever-growing peace.
On October 2 annually, thousands of visitors visit this spot to pay tribute on the birthday of this great hero, peace activist and world icon.
This visit presented a remarkable opportunity to gain more insight into this tranquil surrounding, housing the statue of an extraordinary hero.
May we all have the opportunity to pay homage to this site on our travels to Uganda.