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Uganda: Drama as Gadaffi Opens National Mosque
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New Vision (Kampala)
19 March 2008
Posted to the web 20 March 2008
Barbara Among and Madinah Tebajjukira
Kampala
Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi yesterday officially opened the national mosque at Old Kampala amidst chaos that saw Rwandan president Paul Kagame caught in the scuffle between presidential guards.
Kagame, who arrived about 40 minutes late, as President Yoweri Museveni and other eight presidents were inspecting the mosque, was first held at the main gate for close to 10 minutes as the Police cleared the crowd that had blocked the entrance.
Kagame encountered more resistance as he went through the main entrance, minutes after Museveni and Gadaffi had opened the mosque.
When Kagame's aide tried to open the door, Ugandan security operatives pushed him back. A scuffle ensued between the operatives until Kagame's guard, forcefully got his master inside.
Moments before, another scuffle had ensued as Libyan and Ugandan security operatives struggled to guard Museveni and Gadaffi. They blocked journalists from taking pictures of the leaders unveiling the plaque.
Inside the mosque, commotion started from the women's wing as they fought to see Gadaffi. The women, who ritually sit behind, pushed forward when Gadaffi's arrival was announced.
Outside the gate, a fight ensued between the Police and angry Muslims, who had been blocked out because they lacked invitation cards.
"It is our mosque, why stop us?" they shouted as they pushed forward, forcing the Police to abandon the detector machines. The army then joined to help control the situation.
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"We have come to pray, not to fight with you. Why stop us?" asked one.
"It's not a case of negotiation, just go," a Police officer retorted.
Kampala Extra regional Police commander Edward Ochom said the scuffle was caused by people who insisted on entering the mosque compound even when it was full.
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