The wave of coordinated attacks on security installations and personnel across the country has unquestionably cast a cloud of despair among Ugandans. It’s very unfortunate that we have lost our gallant men and women in uniform to these crafty schemes. May the souls of the departed continue resting in power.
The motive behind the atrocities has continued to be a subject of debate with some security sources suggesting it could be a rebellion and others indicating intent to acquire arms for criminal activities. Whatever the case, the security has been up to the task so far and should be applauded.
According to the brief to Parliament by Internal Affairs junior Minister, General David Muhoozi, as many as 20 suspects are in custody as part of investigations into the matter. Nine out of the 16 guns the assailants had taken with them after attacks on security have been recovered so far and only six still missing. We shall soon find them too.The last seven days particularly have been crucial in the fight against this crop of criminality. A joint security operation conducted in Iganga led to the recovery of two guns and vital clues to the criminal racket. A former UPDF soldier was found to have been the mastermind of the attack on Gaddafi barracks that claimed one life. He was put out of action, though not before he fired and killed another officer.
Just a day later, the assailants who tried to waylay a security patrol in Nakaseke were reminded of the unequaled capacity of the government to respond to such hostilities. Two were put out of action on the spot and the identification of victims should greatly enhance the investigations. The events above will superbly serve to remind Ugandans that their government has been, and is still at the top of the security game in the country. Not forgetting the string of rebellions and insurgencies their regime has quelled with utmost ease over the scope of its existence, the past two years have particularly been testing. The insecurity in the Greater Masaka areas in 2020-2021 particularly put natives in panic. Scores lost lives in the grizzly attacks on unarmed attacks using rudimentary tools like spears and machetes. In an address to the nation’s on the developments in Masaka, President Museveni, also commander in chief warned that Perpetrators risked dire consequences and one year down the road, this has only remained as a memory in the minds of Ugandans.
The same can be said about Allied Democratic Forces -ADF daring attempts on Kampala late last year. The triple bomb attacks in Kampala in September last year and another in Komamboga has since led to the reciprocal operation against the rebel outfit in their DRC hideouts. I am sure they must all be regretting their actions. As things are, ADF may find it difficult to resist being extinguished fully by the time UPDF leaves Congo.
The words of the Army Spokesperson General Felix Kulayigye should be highlighted in reference to the attackers of security. He vowed that UPDF was prepared to make perpetrators lose the appetite of the gun. And sincerely, the outcome of similar attacks has not been any different. The 2010 Alshabab on football lovers watching World Cup at Lugogo turned out to be an expensive mistake for the terror group. Twelve years later, UPDF continues to retribution them in Somalia.
It therefore,serves to call for calm from Ugandans for their government has proved beyond doubt over the years that there is unquestionable potential to crash such scenarios and this will not be different at all.
The writer is the Deputy Resident City Commissioner For Soroti East Division
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