A warning from the US Embassy...

Revised: I zoomed in on the picture a bit so now you can see me, Brodie and Graysen. I took the boys downtown since I thought they would really like to see the big fire! We even brought some old tires from around the house to throw in the pile. Overall, it was a fun day for the boys' first riot experience. (yes grandmas, I am joking! I did not and would not go or take the boys anywhere near a mob/riot! The miracles of photoshop!)

Original Text:

In case this makes the AP wire, I'll preempt the onslaught of emails from concerned friends/family back home. Yes, there was rioting in Kampala today...you can read about it here: Kampala taxi-drivers demonstrations - April 11, 2008
We do go by this area quite often when we go into town. The riots were more of a protest by the taxi drivers who were mostly interested in people not hiring any public transportation in the downtown area. The police fired tear gas and eventually regained control after 4 hours. Apparently, they were upset that the police have been cracking down on them recently, impounding their matatu's for being unsafe, driver's driving without permits, etc.
Our neighbor who works downtown had driven to work, so they didn't give him any trouble driving home. But another mzungu friend twice got chased by a mob of guys with sticks because he was riding on the back of a boda boda (they were opposed to anyone making money on transportation). After the second mob - or I should say after he was a safe distance away from the second mob - he got off the boda and walked home.
So, it's no worse than what happens back in the states after a city wins a World Series or NBA championship, but because things are generally less stable in this region, it is a good reminder to be aware of our surroundings and cautious in general.
But in case anyone was worried, we are safe and were never in danger...and hopefully things will be calm tomorrow since we'll be heading near there for church Sunday morning!

P.S. No one was killed or seriously injured in the riots, so I took the liberty to have a little fun with the picture. And that is not a car bomb burning as it might look, but just a pile of tires and trash.