Police Warn Against Chasing Grasshoppers

Police in Uganda have warned motorists and people chasing grasshoppers, a local delicacy, to avoid accidents after a schoolgirl was killed while pursuing the insects.

The schoolgirl was killed Nov. 16 when a car struck her as she was chasing grasshoppers on a highway east of Kampala.

Locally known as “nsenene,” grasshoppers swarm during Uganda’s rainy season, from November to April. The insects are usually roasted and sold on the street as hot snacks. Slightly more than a pound of the de-winged grasshoppers sells for $1.50.

Grasshopper purveyor Johnstone Mugera, 26, said he and his family members transport grasshoppers in sacks from Masaka, a nearby district where they fall in large swarms.

“I have been in this business for the past seven years, and I have saved lots of money from it,” Mugera said. “I know so many friends who have built houses and bought cars from this business.”