Ever heard about people park conflicts? This seems to be the order of the day for the communities neighbouring Kibale national park in the Albertine rift of Western Uganda.
It was at around 10pm of a cold night after a busy day in Kibale national park when I heard several gun shots at a stone throw from where I was camping. The gun shots went again casting me into trembling. As I thought about which side of the thick forest to run to, then alarms of many people this time including the drums. I got further got mixed up wondering if this were Kony rebels brutalizing people perhaps found on a party. Then a friend came to my rescue by telling me that game rangers were only scaring away a heard of elephants that usually raid people's crops. The drumming and shouting came for about three hours in because the rangers' guns had run out of bullets. These were the peasants who own the crops that usually attract the elephants and other animals out of the fence less national park. I got re leaved to relax again to sleep on my single bed.
At around 2pm, the other guys started making noise jumping from one tree to another. I had to wake up again so that these 'thieves' find me ready to confront them as a man once and for all. Baboons were playing in the compound adjacent to my sleeping place. I couldn't say good morning to any of them but only to acknowledge their right according to scripture. "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord". The same were the guys that gave me a sleepless night mistaken as thieves.
I took a walk around only to find a few villagers up and ready to go to dig again despite the sleepless night with elephants. One later disclosed that a carnivore perhaps a lion had eaten up all her piglets. I concluded that this place is only very good to visitors and never to the residents.
