Drawing to a Close

A rumored terrorism plot at Uganda’s main airport has come and gone with little left in its wake.  Such threats are becoming commonplace in Uganda as fears that the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab will enlarge its target area beyond Kenya once again.  Some may recall that Al-Shabaab managed to simultaneously detonate two bombs in Kampala during the World Cup finals four years ago, killing nearly 100 and maiming numerous others at an outdoor viewing area.

The pace of our efforts here in Uganda has made it difficult for me to provide daily updates, so I will combine the prior three days into a truncated post.

Thursday began with a breakfast meeting at the hotel to plan the remainder of the case briefing following Wednesday’s completion of the more than 160 prisoner interviews at three Ugandan prisons (Luzira Upper, Luzira Women’s, and Murchison Bay).  After the meeting, the eight teams reassembled, though three students returned to the prosecutors’ office to continue gathering and scanning police files.  In the early afternoon, the film crew and I assembled at the same office to interview Mike Chibita, the lead prosecutor for Uganda.  Film director Andy came up with a general outline that served as my base of questions, which he followed by a series of big picture questions to close the Q & A session.  John the cinematographer captured about ten minutes of “vignettes” of Director Chibita in various poses and places in his office.

Every time I’m with Director Chibita, my respect and admiration for this brilliant and focused leader climbs yet a notch higher – he was a great sport and offered such hope and vision for Uganda.

The case preparation among the Pepperdine lawyers paused for a few hours on Thursday evening (while the students pressed ahead) as we gathered for dinner with numerous judges who had visited Pepperdine over the past few years.  We also invited the Officers in Charge of the prisons with whom we have worked on this trip and enjoyed hearing their hopes and dreams for the future.  (Even as I write, we are organizing a trip to the United States early next year so the prison leaders of Uganda can come to the United States to share best practices).

Friday began with an interview of Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki.  He is truly the Thomas Jefferson of Uganda – he was the lead drafter on Uganda’s 1995 Constitution and served more than ten years as Chief Justice before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 in March of 2013.  Controversy still surrounds the President’s use of a legal loophole many believe doesn’t exist to nominate Odoki to resume the post of Chief Justice.  This critical legal issue is now before the Court of Appeals after a Member of Parliament filed a Constitutional challenge to the appointment.

Like Director Chibita, Justice Odoki was full of hopes and dreams for Uganda, but he was also somber and reflective about the past.  He eloquently described the transition from the “Rule By Law” under despot Idi Amin to the “Rule Of Law” in recent years.  At times he was playful; at times he was serious.  But he was always humble and personable.  He surprised us all by readily agreeing to don his robe and wig for about ten minutes of John filming him with his magic MOVI camera.  Truly, a good time was had by all.

I had an inconclusive afternoon meeting with the Dean of Makerere Medical School in an effort to further advance Henry’s medical school aspirations.  The upshot of the meeting was that the competition for the few spots remaining after the government sponsored spots were allocated has increased again this year such that a place in Makerere’s class (top in the country) now seems to be a bit of a longshot.  Henry is meeting me in Kampala on Monday so we can explore additional options at other medical schools before I head home on Tuesday.

We bid farewell to Professor Carol Chase, Jared Johnson, Karissa Freano, Bryan Pereboom, and Dana Hinojosa before those of us who were still here (including the fourteen students) had a lovely dinner at the home of Director Chibita.  The Principal Judge (head of the Ugandan High Court) delivered and encouraging and quite gracious speech at the dinner about how the partnership with Pepperdine has led to important and lasting change in Uganda.

Early Saturday morning, the Goodmans, Nootbaar Fellow Susan Vincent, and most of the students headed north for a safari at Murchison Falls.  I stayed behind with the film crew for some final work, though this wasn’t a huge sacrifice – after three safaris there over the past four years, the luster has faded.  That being said, a contact I have at the US Embassy arranged for the group up to be joined by a Ugandan wildlife official who supposedly has a GPS tracker on the lions, so this should be a safari to remember.

Eric Hagen and Erica Olson also left Kampala, though they were bound for Rwanda where they will do some gorilla and chimp trekking before heading home.  Later that morning, I headed back to Luzira with Andrew and the film crew for some final planning for the future and a few last shots the crew wanted to capture.  When we arrived, we learned that a huge portion of the prison staff were off duty because they were engaged in a soccer match against one of the prison teams.  As I have said before, the feel of the prisons in Uganda is quite different than in the United States.  There is very little animosity between the guards and the prisoners; perhaps playing soccer together is part of that winning formula.  (Staff 3, Prisoners 0).  The filming at Luzira fittingly ended with a touching moment between Andy, John, and a prisoner named Wilson who has been serving as one of our main translators this week.  He softly, but beautifully, sang a song that reflected the fact that while he was a prisoner here on earth, he has eternal freedom in the Lord.  I really hope that makes the final cut of the film.  There won’t be a dry eye among the viewers.

In the afternoon, I connected with some dear friends (Jay, Jill, Jake, Jared, and Jayne Gregston) for a meeting with them, their lawyer, the Registrar of the Family Division of the High Court, and the boy they are desperately trying to bring to the United States for life-saving cranial surgery.  Two prior operations only served to temporarily slow the spreading tumor behind the eye it has already claimed.  Please pray for favor and speed within the courts – the Gregstons have secured wonderful doctors and a generous hospital in Oklahoma who have agreed to treat the boy if he can secure an order from the Ugandan courts and a visa from the US Embassy.

The final day of filming will be tomorrow.  I really can’t wait to see the final product.  I have no doubt that it will be visually stunning.  I also have no doubt that the director has his work cut out for him.  Imagine having 10,000 puzzle pieces spread out before you and then trying to assemble a coherent and captivating image from the 500 of them.  I have a great deal of confidence he will put together an inspiring story of transformation among our students and the Ugandan judicial system.

Tomorrow morning, the film crew will be pointing the camera at yours truly before they fly out in the afternoon.  Please pray I will be able to keep my composure as I talk about Henry, the Pepperdine students, and the people of Uganda – all of whom I love deeply.

(The internet connection is too slow to upload photos — I will do so later.