There was widespread embarrassment amongst diplomatic circles in Uganda and Libya after a melee broke out this weekend in Kampala between Ugandan and Libyan security services during the visit of Libya’s leader Muammar Gadaffi. The incident occurred at a ceremony to mark the opening of the Gadaffi National Mosque in Kampala, built with funds provided by the Libyan Government

Trouble erupted minutes after Muammar Gadaffi and host President Yoweri Museveni had jointly unveiled the plaque commemorating the event. Overzealous Libyan guards had attempted to clear the entrance to the mosque and in the process pushed away Ugandan security services as well as those protecting dignitaries from other countries. This prompted a free for all between the various security services and the Libyans

The ensuing melee saw Libyan guards jostle Museveni and knock visiting Rwandan President Paul Kagame off balance, with tension rapidly escalating when guns were drawn. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed to defuse the situation. Gadaffi’s visit to Uganda has been marked by confrontation between his guards and the Ugandan security services with earlier incidents at a visit by the Libyan leader to the Nakivubo Memorial Stadium.

Uganda sources place the blame squarely on the over eagerness of the Libyan contingent who arrived in Kampala with a fleet of 30 vehicles , three green armour-plated presidential limousines, two high-tech vans fitted with electronic jamming devices, two mobile communication stations, a repeater station based at the airport, a mobile mini-hospital with five doctors, three Outside Broadcasting vans belonging to Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation, a state-run media agency, and heavy duty Land Cruisers for guards and aides.

This is not the first time Libyan security has been involved in a fracas on state visits in Africa. In 2006 Nigerian authorities refused to let Libyan guards into the country unless they gave up the vast array of arms they tried to bring into the county.