Security under control despite killings - Kiyonga
Defence minister Crispus Kiyonga speaks during the pass-out ceremony of 37 senior army officers at Senior Command And Staff College Kimaka in Jinja District on Thursday. PHOTO BY DENIS EDEMA
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Protection. Defence minister says the establishment of a East Africa Standby Force to beef up security is nearing completion
JINJA.
The Minister of Defence, Dr Crispus Kiyonga, has insisted the government is still in firm control of the country’s security despite the spate of killings that have claimed the lives of nine Muslim leaders and other prominent Ugandans since last year.
“There is security in the country and people are living happily despite the disruptions we are getting from terrorists. Therefore, anxiety over insecurity should stop,” he said.
Dr Kiyonga made the remarks on Thursday while presiding over the pass-out of 37 army officers who completed a 10-month senior officers course at the Senior Command and Staff College, Kimaka in Jinja.
He said while there are some threats due to terrorists, who have been causing mayhem, the regional governments are putting in place a mechanism to eliminate those dangers.
“We are nearing having a standby army for East Africa that would beef up security, so there is no cause for alarm,” he said.
Dr Kiyonga said the training being conducted for soldiers in most countries in Africa is aimed at ensuring the continent is able to provide security for its people.
He said although there had been fear that there would be political unrest ahead of the 2016 polls, it has been established it was mere excitement among the ruling NRM party members.
Without mentioning what had caused the excitement among the party supporters, Dr Kiyonga said the situation has since been dealt with and it no longer poses any threat to security.
He said after consolidating security, the NRM government is focusing on improving people’s household incomes through Operation Wealth Creation and the exploration of oil.
