Govt links Busia school fires, Boda riders killings to ADF

The government has linked the fires that have gutted at least three schools in Busia District, a spate of Boda Boda riders killings and the recent murder of a businessman, to the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) rebels.

The revelation was made during a stakeholders’ meeting chaired by the state minister for regional cooperation, Mr John Mulimba, at Busia District council hall on Saturday.

“The attacks on schools, killings of boda boda riders, recent robberies and shooting incidents might be the work of the ADF,” Mr Mulimba said.

He added: “Since January, we have registered killings of boda boda riders, and now, we have registered robberies and murder by shooting, and seen our school dormitories burnt. We feel this could be organised crime linked to the ADF.”

But when contacted, Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Spokesperson, Brig Gen Felix Kulaigye declined to comment on the matter.

“I have to first contact Hon Mulimba before I can comment,” he said in a brief telephone interview on Sunday.

At least 20 pupils at Sibirisye Primary School, Lumino-Majanji Town Council, Busia District, last week escaped unscathed after fire gutted a boys’ dormitory, leaving the pupils’ and school’s property worth an unspecified amount of money destroyed.

The fire outbreak was the third in the district within two weeks, after the first incident at Victory Nursery and Primary School on March 18, left four pupils dead.

A day later, fire gutted a dormitory at Billy and Polly Primary School, leaving destruction of pupils’ property in its wake.

In the aftermath of all the fires, survivors said they “first smelt petrol before seeing fire coming through the ventilations to the dormitory”.

On the night of March 25, Rashid Kizza, 28, a mobile money and banking agent in Busia District was shot dead as he closed his shop in Sofia ‘B’ village, Busia municipality. His assailants later fled with an unspecified amount of money.

Eyewitness accounts suggest two suspected criminals riding on a motorcycle came to the shop and one immediately pulled out a gun which he had concealed in a piece of cloth and shot Kizza at close range.

Then, last Thursday, Bonex Taabu, a boda boda rider, was attacked by suspected machete-wielding assailants, who fled with his motorcycle and left him for dead in one of the streams in Mbehenyi, Masaba sub-county.

He was later rushed to Masafu Hospital with multiple deep cuts and abrasions on his head.

Mr John Hamala, a resident who discovered him, said: “We have been picking his teeth one-by-one from the scene, while he had deep cuts on the head, jaw and both temples.”

Taabu, who would shortly succumb to his injuries, is one of the many boda boda riders who have been killed and robbed of their motorcycles from late December to-date.

His death brings to seven the number of boda boda riders hacked to death, while his motorcycle adds to the 20 that have so far been stolen during the same period.

According to Mr Mulimba, President Museveni, during his national address early this year, warned that following the defeat of the ADF in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo, they could resort to soft targets, including attacks on schools and murders.

Mr Wafula Ogumbo, the former Busia District council speaker and former Resident District Commissioner (RDC), said at its inception in Western Uganda, the ADF took to attacking, killing and abducting students from schools and technical institutions.

“We should not take these attacks on schools and killing of motorcycle riders lightly; instead, this should be seriously investigated because it points to organised crime and near rebel activities,” he added.

Mr Wafula says the districts of Busia, Namayingo, Bugiri, Mayuge, and Butaleja had been fertile recruiting grounds for the ADF rebels.

“While I was the Namayingo RDC, the ADF rebels had cells in the district which they were using to attack and kill police officers and local leaders within and in neighbouring districts,” he said.

He added that they worked tirelessly, identified the cells and dismantled them through arrests of their leaders and closure of the camps they had opened.

A latest report from the Office of the Busia RDC indicates that police had foiled an attempted attack at Lumino High School after students reportedly sighted strangers in the school compound deep into the night and raised an alarm that alerted police.

Busia District, according to security sources, was the epicenter for recruitment of the ADF because their alleged leader Jamil Mukulu, who is currently in prison on charges of treason and terrorism, joined mosques in Arubaine, Busia municipality.

“As a radical, he seized this opportunity to carry out rebel recruitments in Busia before spreading his pitch to Namayingo, Butaleja and Bugiri districts,” a security source said.

Busia RDC, Mr Michael Kibwika, said security has in the past months intercepted three guns and materials used for making improvised explosive devices, which he said either belonged to the ADF or Al-Shabaab.

He said they have arrested nine suspects who are alleged to be behind the murders in the district and recovered army uniforms and ammunition from some of them.

The Masafu Town Council LC3 chairman, Mr Sam Okumu, said the issues of many foreign-registered motorcycles and wrangles amongst boda boda groups was fueling insecurity in the sector.

The Samia Bugwe South legislator, Mr Godfrey Were Odero, called for expeditious investigations into the suspected arson attack on schools and killing of the boda boda riders.

Fred Ahimbisibwe, Bukedi South Region Police Commander, Mr Fred Ahimbisibwe, called for information-sharing between security and the public, saying they (police) don’t work in isolation, but have informants among the public.

It was resolved that all LC1 chairpersons embark on the registration of all residents in their respective villages, no movement of livestock in the night, and the impounding of all unregistered motorcycles.

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