My night watchman, Abel (here they say "ahh-Bell"), just returned from helping bury his 16 year old brother, Markson, in southern Uganda. Markson attended a larger boarding school (boarding is VERY common here- due to British influence). He and some friends complained to the headmaster (principal) of their school that the food was bitter and could they get the corn millet from some place else so the kids would be able to eat it? He roughly refused them. So they planned peacefully to ask the cook (here called the master cook) if he could do anything. But the headmaster found out, hired the local police (some are decent, some are corrupt) and those local police waited and ambushed the boys outside their dormitory. Instead of using rubber bullets, they used a real one. One shot was all it took.
Markson was the number one student in his class all through school. He was peacefully going to request help for a frustrating situation. But he was murdered in cold blood.
Do you want to know how Abel and his family found out exactly what happened? The headmaster, audacious and aggressive, went to the family funeral with a contingent of body guards (made up of some police, plus others) and told the family it wasn't his fault that Markson died; he'd asked for it. Ummm. What?!? The headmaster went with body guards because they lynch people here and he was afraid the family would kill him on the spot. But he says he had nothing to do with the hiring of the police.
FYI supposedly a small group of police were arrested and are being interrogated. Nobody has yet determined who shot their gun and so far, there is further confusion. But meanwhile a family and a school mourn the loss of their top senior boy. What a waste.
Corruption is common in many parts of the world. But I think that until we know a personal story, we remain aloof and disengaged. By knowing a firsthand story, how do you feel now? I feel sick and angry.
And yet I'm trusting Jesus to do His thing. It may not be in this world. And I am not being dismissive or simply using a cliche when I say that God knows and He cares. He is trustworthy to care for even these types of situations. Pray He will bring justice in His way. And pray for Abel and for his family. Thanks.