Govt pledges support for ADF war victims

The pledge was made by President Museveni during celebrations of the army week in Kasese.

Government has pledged to assist families of people who were massacred by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels on October 7, 1997, in Kyinyabisikyi Village, Kasese District.

While addressing residents at the burial grounds and the spot where the rebels raided and killed 19 people, President Museveni promised that the government would do what it can to assist families of the departed people.
“Government will take over responsibility of the orphans and also offer the assistance it can afford to each of the bereaved families,” the President said.

After laying a wreath at the grave on Sunday, the President conveyed government condolences and sympathy and decried the atrocities that were allegedly committed by the rebels in the area.

The rebels are among others accused of looting, killing and displacing people.

Mr Museveni also laid the first brick on a house the UPDF is constructing for a survivor of the ADF raid, Mr Joseph Kinume Bwambale, whose two wives and some children were killed on the fateful day.

In his five-minute address, the President told the crowd that the ADF rebels were no longer a threat because the UPDF was now more equipped than it was in 1996 when the rebels attacked the country.

The President, who was in the Rwenzori region to crown the UPDF week that preceded the Tarehe Sita national celebrations, hosted in Kasese, said UPDF was also going to put a memorial shade at the graveyard where the 19 people were laid to rest.

Making requests
The residents requested government to take over the management of Uganda Martyrs College, located about 500 metres from the graveyard, a request the President accepted.

The district chairman, Lt. Col. Dula Mawa Muhindo, had earlier presided over activities including offering free health services, construction of selected bridges, schools and roads, which the UPDF took over during the army week.

The ADF rebels terrorised the region in the late 90s, killing hundreds of people and causing the displacement of several families.

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