The real reason is much less dramatic...a make up of Laterite and clay enriched with iron and aluminum give it its color. It is much like the soil of the US Southern State of Georgia...baking hard in the summer sun.
But here in Uganda...given the upheaval..civil wars...and genocides...it is easy to believe in the myth.
The worst of which was the brutal reign of General Idi Amin who took over in a bloody coup from 1971 until 1979.
Amin was called "The Butcher of Africa" and killed (or had killed) an estimated 500,000 people in the eight years before he was ousted and died in exile.
Most were civilians.
Idi Amin
The Rise and Fall of Amin
https://youtu.be/mCD3FwuDIcU
Officially, The Republic of Uganda...the years of civil unrest have taken its toll. In 2012- 70% of the population was under 30 years old.
Uganda is in the Great Lakes Region of Africa
And later we will check out Lake Victoria, specifically.
Uganda is one of the poorest countries in the world...and most of its people live on less than 1.25 USD per day.
Lake Victoria drains from the Victoria-Nile Basin to the Nile River.
The languages spoke here are English and Swahili.
Most of the population are Catholic...except for a small percentage of Muslim.
Life expectancy here is 53 years.
Next time we will explore the Great Lakes of Africa...and Lake Victoria.
Until then...
