Museveni to punish Rwenzori fighters
President Yoweri Museveni (with riffle) in Bundibugyo on Wednesday. PPU photo
Kampala. Angered by the recent spate of violence in the Rwenzori region, President Museveni has ruled out dialogue with the perpetrators and vowed to deal with them “decisively and without compromise”.
The Rwenzori sub-region has for the past one month been rocked by violence with attacks claiming lives of more than 40 people, including security personnel while more than 8,000 people have been displaced in Bundibugyo District alone.
The violence took a turn for the worse this week when four people, including two UPDF officers were killed during clashes at Rwenzururu King Charles Mumbere’s palace, forcing the army to withdraw its soldiers from there.
On Tuesday, Mr Museveni pitched camp in the region where he made a security assessment tours of the affected areas ranging from Bundibugyo and vowed that those involved in the fighting have one option of surrendering.
A State House statement yesterday quoted Mr Museveni saying government will not engage in discussion with perpetrators of “criminal acts of murder and rape” and that those who “destroy the properties of the State and ordinary citizens” would not be spared.
“No one has a right to kill or rape a Ugandan not even to abuse a Ugandan. Nobody has a right to damage someone’s property not even someone’s chicken. No one should tarnish the name of Uganda and scare away business people and tourists. We shall not have any discussion or compromise on the above,”Mr Museveni said.
Rattled by the killings, Mr Museveni during his four-day trip ended yesterday, said there will be no room for discussion.
“...I think we have been a bit relaxed but it’s time we go back to the National Resistance Movement core principle; where no matter who you are, you should never infringe on the rights of other Ugandans, especially the right to life,” he said.
The President also warned residents against dragging cultural leaders into partisan politics and public administration.
The UPDF on Wednesday launched an operation code-named Usalama Rwenzori as Mr Museveni ordered an increase in deployment of security personnel in Bundibugyo.
