EXERCISE 4: PHYSICAL SAFETY – CRISIS SIMULATION
Working in groups, read the scenario below. Designate one person to take notes and one to present back to the full group. You have 25 minutes to develop a concrete response plan. Name specific roles, tools and actions, not just principles.
Scenario.
Cost-of-living protest in Uganda
A citizen-led group of around 40 activists has organised a peaceful protest in central Kampala to demand accountability for rising living costs. The group notified authorities in advance and appointed marshals and a documentation lead. They have one pre-arranged legal contact — a local lawyer who is not present at the protest, and no dedicated medical support beyond a first aider in the group.
Despite the notification, police arrive in large numbers shortly after the protest begins and declare the assembly unlawful. They deploy tear gas and fire live rounds in the direction of the crowd, a tactic Ugandan security forces have used on multiple occasions. Several participants are injured.
In the ensuing panic, participants scatter across multiple streets. At least four people are arrested and their whereabouts are unknown. The communications lead’s phone is seized. Mobile networks are intermittent, possibly due to deliberate disruption. The lawyer has been contacted but has not yet responded. The group’s marshals attempt to regroup, but participants are dispersed and some are injured.
Questions
- Communication networks are unstable and the communications lead’s phone has been seized. Using only the tools and contingency plans that could realistically have been prepared in advance, how does the group coordinate across scattered locations in the next 30 minutes?
- Four people have been arrested and their whereabouts are unknown. The lawyer has not yet responded. What are the immediate steps to locate them, and who takes each step, given that some team members are injured and others are still trying to reach safety?
- The group has no dedicated medical support and some participants are injured. How do they respond, and at what point does seeking formal medical care become a risk in itself in this context?