Breakfast at 0630 and on the road to Jinja at 0730. Shortly after leaving Sipi we encountered a man beating his wife on the road. We intervened mildly and he seemed to leave her alone. This episode put Fr Fred's Family Ministry and the Church's opposition to bride price/ dowries into better context for me. The position of women in Ugandan society is one I am only dimly understanding but I can see a number of issues.
Saw a couple of overturned lorries on the journey - one we actually saw overturning as its driver attempted to dodge a traffic jam by driving wih two wheels off one edge of the road but he misjudged the camber and slowly toppled.
Arrived at Bishop Willigers's house at 1045 and spent an hour talking to him. The Bishop is a seventy-seven year old Dutchman who has run the diocese for forty years. He speaks without ceremony and with great common sense. He was very informative and open with us and was very supportive indeed of our initiative in Irundu. He did most of the talking (in response to our questions) and I have got the whole meeting on video to share with people at home.
Then back in the van, through the heat, dust, fumes and roadworks to Kampala where we left Theo and Zoe (they are spending the next week on safari) and on to Entebbe where we arrived an hour and a half before the flight. After being asked by police to declare any firearms (!) and bidding farewell to Peter, our great driver, we checked in slowly - the computer system had crashed and the baggage conveyor was broken. The ground staff were not actively unfriendly but they were very indifferent to passengers. Then an uneventful journey home.
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