This country is not unsafe. But in the end it depends on your appearance and your actions. Let's take a closer look.
Safety first is Safety always. ~ Charles M. Hayes
Usually, the risk is everywhere. You can also get robbed during the day in a harmless European village. For sure the risk here in Uganda is higher, although it doesn't mean it is very dangerous here, because you can do enough to prevent those situations.
In general, after being around there for some weeks the inside feeling of insecurity reduces, you learn better to understand the people, how to joke or react in their language. Besides that, here is a list of points to keep in mind all the time.
Avoid carrying big backpacks, expensive brands, or clothes that lead people's attention to you
Don't leave your phone or money simply in your pocket, often enough it is not only your own hand resting there
Organize yourself! Often people want to call a taxi for you, order a drink for you or show you the way home. Yes, it can be a very friendly action, but also better don't trust them. Who knows if they have a friend that knows a friend
Don't put your bag or leave your bag on a table, chair wherever you are going, even if it only might be for a minute using the toilet, ordering something
It is widespread, some lonely men might also looking for some good company in African countries, also in Uganda. This is widely common and you will meet those 'mixed couples' in every single bar. Though, the ladies are sneaky: as a man, you spend their drinks, often also the transportation home. Even as a woman they would try their chance to get free invitations or at least to get your phone number to bother you for a longer time
For sure, there are also normal people. But how should you trust? Mostly you are a rich tourist from far away. We tried to take always the safe way and never had problems before. Sometimes it seemed to be harsh but often it got paid out because they really would have tried to rip us off.
Only carry around your most essential things and the amount of cash you need.
Try to avoid sharing personal information
Again, go after your gut feeling. It is often way better than you would expect it is. Still, getting in trouble in countries like that is not fun at all.
Money Mentality
Over there money takes a different dimension than what we are used to. It's important to gamble, they will always offer you high tourist prices. Also, if you are paying for the bus or for food you might wait for your change for quite some time. Maybe they hope you will forget about it or they are simply lazy. Just don't forget to ask for it to get it back. People, kids are begging, asking for Dollars, food, or ask you to pay for their next lunch, for a trip to another city, for their death-sick mother, or whatever ideas they have. You might get annoyed by that and sometimes it might even be disrespectful being seen only as a money machine and not as a 'normal tourist'.
Still, we liked to gift some Soda or sweets for the kids, sometimes. Some people are critical against that, why gifting sweets is so unhealthy. Well, in the end, they are eating sugar cane all day long, or simply rise and some local easy meals like Matoke (banana dish) or Ugali. So either the teeth are already affected a lot and this one single candy doesn't make a difference or they get sweets maybe once a year so for them, it's like Christmas and you'll see the happiest eyes.
Hotels And Guesthouses
In bigger cities like Kampala, Jinja you have the option to book more expensive and luxurious hotels or Airbnb's. Often they are meant to be for the few tourists coming here, including European standards, European food - definitely a cozy spot. To experience the real local life and standards though it's worth to stay in guesthouses. No booking in advance, often they are not even on Google Maps - going there in person is most effective and the easiest way to talk about the price. Mostly those guesthouses are super cheap either way. Here they cost approx. 40.000 UgS / 9€ per double room with or without a bathroom.
The standard is simple but completely fine, you'll get a double bed with a mosquito net, maybe a small table with a chair, and some slippers for the bathroom. The toilet might be a hole in the floor or a real toilet bowl. No toilet paper. But a water source to spray yourself clean. Things that might be not acceptable for lots of people, I think you only need to get used to it.
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